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BY-LAWS.

ARTICLE I.

OFFICERS.

SECTION 1. The president shall preside at all meetings of the national assembly; shall appoint all committees not otherwise ordered; may fill pro tempore any vacancy in any office or committee not otherwise provided for; shall have a general supervision over the affairs of the League; and shall make a report at the annual meeting of the national assembly. He shall be allowed such sums annually for the expenses of his office as shall be fixed or approved by the national assembly at any regular or special meeting.

SECT. 2. The vice-presidents shall, in the order of their priority, preside in the absence of the president at all meetings of the League or of the national assembly, and perform in such absence all the necessary duties of the president at the time; and in case of death, resignation, or removal of the president, they shall, in the order of priority, act as president until the next annual meeting of the national assembly.

SECT. 3. (a) The secretary shall receive and cause to be published all applications for membership; shall receive and be accountable for all fees and dues; shall keep a register of all applications and any action thereon; shall receive all protests and refer the same to the membership committee; shall keep a list of members and officers of the League, with notes of all changes in the same; shall keep suitable books of account, and shall pay out the funds in his hands only upon order of the executive committee or the national assembly.

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(b) He shall receive and answer, or refer to the proper officials, any correspondence with the members or officers that pertains to the affairs of the League, and any appropriate correspondence with non-members of the League. He shall notify members or officers of all meetings; shall issue certificates to all members of the national assembly; shall record the proceedings of all meetings of the League and of the national assembly; shall keep an accurate roll of the membership and generally provide himself with all necessary statistical and other information.

(c) He shall act as editor of the official department in the official organ over which he shall have control, subject, however, to the supervision of the executive committee.

(d) He shall keep an account with the treasurer, to whom he shall render a statement at least once every three months, paying to him such balance as may at that time be due over and above the amount required for running expenses of the secretary's office.

(e) He shall keep an account with each division, and shall render a statement to each at least once every three months and pay them at least once every three months such money as shall be due them.

(f) He shall issue to every member the annual membership ticket.

(g) He shall give bonds for the faithful discharge of his duties in the sum of $10,000. He shall receive a salary of $3,000 per annum.

SECT. 4. The treasurer shall receive and be accountable for all money paid over by the secretary or received from other sources; he shall keep suitable books of account; he shall pay out funds of the League only upon order of the executive committee or the national assembly. [page 21] He shall give bonds for the faithful discharge of his duties in the sum of $15,000.

SECT. 5. Bonds required from officers of the League shall be subject to the approval of the executive committee, and all expense incurred in procuring the same shall be paid out of the funds of the League.

SECT. 6. Any member may, if he chooses, subscribe for the L.A.W. BULLETIN AND GOOD ROADS at the club price of twenty-five cents per annum.

ARTICLE II.

MEETINGS.

SECTION 1. (a) There shall be an annual meet of the League at such time and at such place as the national assembly or executive committee may determine.

(b) At meetings of the national assembly any member thereof may be represented by proxy provided that the person holding the proxy shall be also a member of the assembly and a member of the same division.

(d) Prior to the meeting of the national assembly the president shall appoint a committee of three on credentials which shall examine and report upon credentials of delegates.

(e) At all business meetings of the national assembly, the established law (Cushing) of deliberative assemblies shall be observed. The order of business shall be as follows

Calling the roll.

Report of credentials committee.

Report of the president.

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Report of the treasurer.

Report of the secretary.

Communications or reports from standing committees.

Reports of special committees.

Unfinished or referred business.

Election of officers.

New business.

(f) At each annual meeting of the national assembly at least one day shall be devoted exclusively to the consideration of ways and means for advancing the work for road improvement within the various States and to the determination of a plan or plans for the effective co-operation of the State divisions in the further advancement of this branch of League effort. The day or days devoted by the national assembly to the separate consideration of road improvement subjects under this section, shall precede the regular business meeting of the assembly and shall include such proceedings as shall have been determined and announced by the national committee on improvement of the highways. At this meeting any member of the national assembly may invite the presence of citizens not members of the League, and the committee on improvement of the highways may provide for lectures, addresses, or reports from such persons as in the judgment of said committee are well qualified to encourage and advance the work for improved roads.

ARTICLE III.

DIVISIONS.

SECTION 1. The management of divisions having one hundred or more members shall be vested in a board of officers, consisting of the [page 23] chief consul, vice-consul, secretary-treasurer and representatives, elected as provided in Article V, Section 1, of the constitution, said board to have the power to make such rules and regulations as shall not be inconsistent with the constitution and by-laws of the League.

SECT. 2. The management of divisions having at least fifty and less than one hundred members shall be vested in a chief consul and secretary-treasurer.

SECT. 3. The management of divisions having at least twenty-five and less than fifty members shall be vested in a chief consul.

SECT. 4. The chief consul shall be the executive officer of the division. The secretary-treasurer shall keep a full register of the members of his division, and keep proper books of account of all receipts and expenditures, and publish in the official organ at the close of each term of his office a full and complete statement of the financial condition of the division.

SECT. 5. Vacancies occurring in the delegation to the national assembly from any division, either by death, resignation, promotion or removal, shall be filled by the chief consul of the division wherein the vacancy exists, and in case of failure to appoint within two months after such a vacancy has occurred, the president shall appoint.

SECT. 6. Each division having more than one hundred members shall file in the office of the secretary of the League a certified copy of its constitution, by-laws and rules and of each and every amendment thereto and shall certify to him the results of all elections within ten days after the votes shall have been counted.

SECT. 7. Divisions may add to their constitutions or by-laws the following article or one [page 24] not inconsistent with it, for the benefit of "unattached" members:

"When local consuls are appointed, they may at the discretion of the chief consul, be given jurisdiction over a certain territory to be defined on the certificate furnished them by the chief consul. In all cases where the territorial jurisdiction of local consuls has been fixed, the chief consul shall notify the secretary-treasurer of the appointment and the territory it comprises, whereupon the secretary-treasurer shall at once send to the local consul a list of all unattached division members in that territory, giving their names and addresses, and also supply him with lists every three months thereafter, containing the names of such members afterward joining from his territory.

"When the local consul receives the list of members, he shall communicate with, and call a meeting of all of them for the purpose of organizing a division club. At this, and at all subsequent meetings the local consul may preside, a secretary being elected at the first meeting, whose term of service shall expire at the time fixed by the division club. The division club shall correspond with the chief consul, and shall make a report to him at least every three months. At the meeting for organization, the club may adopt a name, and a constitution and by-laws not inconsistent with the constitution and bylaws of this division, or of those of the L. A. W. (national body), may be adopted. Meetings of the division clubs may be held as frequently as may be determined at the original meeting for organization. The objects of the division clubs shall be to promote the general interests of cycling; to ascertain, defend and protect the rights of wheelmen; to facilitate touring, to secure improvement [page 25] in the condition of the public roads and highways, and such other objects as may not be inconsistent with a League club. Local consuls may be allowed the expenses of correspondence upon bills approved by the division board of officers."

ARTICLE IV.

DUTIES OF COMMITTEES.

SECTION 1. (a) The executive and finance committee shall have the general management and control of affairs of the League while the national assembly is not in session. Shall regulate and direct all matters of revenue, disbursement and investment, and determine all questions of detail arising in the conduct of the League. It shall have visitorial power over divisions and may take summary action in cases of default.

(b) This committee shall have the power and it shall be its duty to explain, define and interpret any provision of this constitution or any by-law, or any rule of any committee of this League upon request of an officer of the League, and its decisions on such points shall be final.

(c) It shall direct and instruct the chairman of the racing board to collect from applicants in advance (except League clubs having twenty or more members) twenty-five dollars each for granting sanctions for national circuit race meets: five dollars each for open race meets: and two dollars for each additional day; and two dollars each for athletic meets scheduling two events; and all meets, the entries to which are limited to the members of the school or club holding the meet, shall apply for sanction, but [page 26] no fee shall be charged. And to apply the revenue derived to the expenses of conducting the affairs pertaining to the racing board, its chairman and members; to the employment of an official referee (to be appointed by the chairman) who shall be required to officiate at all national circuit race meets, and to the general improvement of the racing interests of the L.A.W.

SECT. 2. (a) To the membership committee shall be referred as they arise, all protests against members or applicants for membership. The committee shall act without delay, and a decision of the committee in the case of the applicant shall be final.

(b) The committee shall have charge of methods, means and measures for recruiting the membership, and with that end in view, shall correspond with the officials of the different divisions and prepare for an interchange between them of all recruiting matter (printed or otherwise) issued by the different divisions. The committee shall make a study of and devise ways and means of increasing the membership, and from time to time shall furnish division officials with suggestions and advice embodying the results of such study.

SECT. 3. (a) The committee on rights and privileges shall consider and advise in all matters pertaining to the maintenance of the rights of wheelmen, the enactment of legislation, and the protection of the privileges of the members of the L.A.W. and may take such action in connection therewith as the circumstances of the case may require.

(b) To this committee shall be referred all questions about a contested election in any division upon appeal from the division Rights and Privileges committee's decision or where such [page 27] division committee has delayed its decision beyond the specified period, or where the division has no such committee; they shall inquire into the facts prior to the next ensuing meeting of the national assembly, and shall report to such assembly their findings on the facts, with such recommendations as they may deem proper in the premises. In each case of a contested election the decision shall rest with the national assembly, and such decision as to the right of the incumbent of a division office or claimant thereto shall be final and binding upon that division.

(c) Whenever any division of the L. A. W. shall neglect or refuse to hold an election for officers in compliance with the provisions of this constitution and by-laws, such election may be ordered and held under the direction of the president of the League by a committee of which the chairman of the rights and privileges committee shall be one, said committee acting as nominating committee and returning board, and they shall declare the result of the election, their decision in the premises to be final. Members of any such division shall comply with the decision of the committee, and officers elected under the above rule shall serve during the unexpired balance of the regular term.

SECT. 4. To the committee on rules and regulations shall be referred all amendments to the constitution published in the official organ in compliance with Article IX of the constitution, and all amendments to the by-laws published in the official organ in compliance with Article XI of the by-laws. All such amendments the committee shall consider and present in proper form to the body authorized to act upon the same; but this provision shall not prevent the proper body from acting upon any amendment legally [page 28] given notice of if the committee fail to consider the same and report upon it.

SECT. 5. It shall be the duty of the committee on the improvement of highways, to promote in the public mind through the instrumentality of the League, a sense of the utility, general economy and desirability of high class roads, and an active sentiment in their favor; to encourage legislation requiring committees and public officials to construct and maintain good roads; to collect practical suggestions and information based upon observation and experience concerning the methods of making and mending roads; to publish printed matter calculated to further these ends, distributing the same to members of the League and highway officials, as in the judgment of the committee shall seem wise, and generally to perform such other duties as shall best promote the objects of the League.

SECT. 6. The committee on transportation shall arrange and secure special rates and agreements for the carriage of members of the League and their wheels; shall have power to represent the League in negotiation with transportation lines, and fix the routes for League travel, and also to arrange for the recovery of stolen wheels.

SECT. 7. (a) To the racing board shall be referred all matters pertaining to racing and the championships. It shall make all arrangements for the annual championships which are held under League auspices, and shall assign such other championships as are now or may be established, to be run under the auspices of such clubs or associations as it may consider most desirable, and under such conditions as it may deem expedient.

(b) It shall have the power to grant or to withhold sanctions for race meetings, and to impose [page 29] penalties upon race promoters and racing men who may hold race meetings or engage in racing at the same without the official sanction of the board. But no race meeting shall receive official sanction if it is to be held on Sunday, or has upon its schedule any event which is open to woman competitors. The board shall charge a fee for each sanction, but a League club having twenty League members on its roll; or meets, the entries to which are limited to the members of school or club holding the meet, shall receive a sanction without payment of fee.

(c) It shall be the duty of the board to make inquiry regarding any wheelman whose amateur status is questioned, and all protests or charges shall be entered with the chairman of the board, who shall provide for an investigation by a member or members of the board. Pending investigation, the party against whom these charges are brought may be suspended from the track. Suspicious circumstances, which are, in the judgment of any member of the board, sufficient to make the status of any wheelman a matter of reasonable doubt, shall be the basis of an investigation, in the absence of formal protest or charges. The member or members to whom the work of investigation is assigned, shall immediately communicate with the party under suspicion, either in person or by registered letter, lay all charges before him, or set forth the circumstances which lead to a reasonable doubt, and call for an answer to the charges, or a satisfactory explanation of the circumstances which gave rise to the doubt. If the charges are proved, or the reasonable doubt is not removed, it shall be the duty of the chairman to report the findings in the official organ, declaring that the party has forfeited his amateur status, and [page 30] warning all amateurs not to compete with him ; and such official declaration shall carry with it expulsion from the League, if the person concerned is a member thereof.

(d) The racing board shall have the right in considering and determining questions that affect the amateur status of any cyclist, to act upon any kind of evidence, circumstantial or direct. At the termination of the investigation by the member in charge, his findings shall be submitted to the chairman, who upon direct evidence may expel, and upon circumstantial evidence order a vote of the entire board, a majority vote of which shall expel.

(e) Whenever permission is granted to an amateur to compete at a greater distance from his legal residence than is allowed by the rule, the member of the racing board granting same shall require a certified, itemized statement of expenses, with receipts and vouchers, and shall notify the chairman at once that said permission has been granted.

(f) Any wheelman who has been declared a professional, or suspended for misconduct, shall have the right to appeal only to the national assembly of the L.A.W., and shall be reinstated only upon recommendation of the racing board, and by the unanimous vote of the assembly.

(g) The racing board, through its chairman, shall have the right of censorship over the character of prizes offered in cycle races, and may withhold or withdraw the sanction to race promoters, providing its decisions in excluding any prize is not complied with.

(h) It shall be within the province of the racing board to suspend from the race track, for such a time as it may deem proportionate to the offence, any wheelman guilty of unfair dealing [page 31] in connection with cycle racing, or ungentlemanly conduct on the track, or any wheelman who competes in a race not governed by the rules of the L.A.W., or those that may be approved by the racing board. Any wheelman who knowingly competes with one who has been suspended, will render himself liable to a like penalty.

(i) The racing board shall have the power to make such rules for its government, and the government of cycle race meetings, as may be deemed expedient, and may appoint one or more official handicappers at its discretion.

The following will be considered as unfair dealing and ungentlemanly conduct, and render the offender liable to a suspension:

1. Entering a class race to which his record does not give him the right of entry.

2. Suppression of true figures or rendering of false figures to the official handicappers.

3. The use of obscene language on the track.

4. Swearing at other competitors and at race officials.

5. Any other act which tends to disturb or obstruct a race meet.

6. Failure to pay entry fees.

SECT. 8. The committee on local organization shall consider and advise with reference to the formation of local clubs, consulates or associations composed of League members resident in cities and towns to the end that the objects of the League may be better advanced, the rights of cyclists determined and defended, and their interests better served. This committee may formulate and recommend rules for the organization and government of local bodies and may from time to time report through the official organ, such facts and information as may tend to encourage the work of local bodies and to [page 32] inform the membership at large of the progress, condition and benefits of these organizations; but no local club, consulate body or organization shall be formed or maintained whose constitution or by-laws shall be in conflict with the constitution or by-laws of the League or of the State division in which such local body is contained, nor shall any. such club, consulate body or association be formed or maintained except by the direct sanction and concurrence, and under the direction of the State division in which it is contained. Any State division may by its board of officers or by any authorized officers or committee thereof, prescribe and adopt rules not inconsistent with the foregoing provisions, for the formation, government and maintenance of local organizations, and may issue charters or certificates of approval to such organizations and from time to time cancel and revoke the same as may be deemed necessary.

ARTICLE V.

PROTESTS, SUSPENSIONS, REMOVALS AND EXPULSIONS.

SECTION 1. (a) Any member holding a position in the League, either as an officer, member of a committee, or member of the national assembly, who shall be charged in writing by ten members of the League with malfeasance in office or with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the League, may be suspended by the president pending an investigation of the charges.

(b) Any member against whom charges have been preferred as above, shall be furnished with a copy of the charges, and shall be heard in his own defence, after not less than twenty days' [page 33] notice, before a committee consisting of the president and chairman of the committees on rights and privileges, rules and regulations, membership and improvement of highways, and if found guilty of the charges preferred may be reprimanded, suspended for a specified time, removed from his position or expelled from the League.

(c) In case the charges are made against the president, the first vice-president shall have the powers and duties given to the president in clauses (a) and (b) above.

(d) Any member found guilty and sentenced as above shall have the right to appeal to the .national assembly, a two-thirds vote of which shall be necessary to overrule the decision of the committee. Such appeal shall be filed with the secretary within twenty days after the finding of the committee, and until it shall be decided the judgment shall stand.

SECT. 2. Any member of the League, not holding a position, charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the organization, may be protested in writing by four members of the League. In case of such protest the charges and specifications shall be sent to the secretary who shall make a record of the protest and forward all the papers to the membership committee. The membership committee shall furnish the protested member with a copy of the charges, and hear him in his own defence. If, after a full hearing, the committee shall find that the charges are sustained, it may impose a penalty of reprimand, suspension or expulsion, but in the latter case an appeal may be taken to the rights and privileges committee.

SECT. 3. A member of the League charged with being a professional wheelman may be protested [page 34] in writing by any member. In case of such protest the charges and specifications shall be sent to the secretary, who shall make a record of the protest and forward all papers to the racing board. In a case of this nature the racing board shall proceed as provided in Article IV, Section 7 of these by-laws, and its judgment shall be final and without appeal.

SECT. 4. An applicant for membership may be protested in writing by any member, but the protest must be in the hands of the secretary within two weeks from the date on which the applicant's name is published in the official organ. All such protests shall be regarded as confidential, so far as a disclosure of the protesting member's name is concerned. The secretary shall make a record of the protest, and forward all the papers to the membership committee. If after a full hearing the committee shall find that the protest is a just one it shall sustain the charges and deny the applicant admission. If the protest charges the applicant with being a professional, the committee may refer the protest to the racing board for investigation, and in such case shall abide by the decision of the board in finding for or against the applicant.

In case an applicant is denied admission his fee shall be returned.

SECT. 5. Expulsion from League clubs shall entail expulsion from the League provided the membership committee concur therein. When a member has been expelled from a League club and the club desires his expulsion from the League, the secretary of the club shall forward to the secretary of the League a full statement of the circumstances which led to the expulsion. The secretary shall make a record of the case and forward the papers to the membership committee. [page 35] If the membership committee shall find that the offence against the club was also an offence against the League, or if they shall find that the best interests of the League call for the expulsion of the member, they shall direct the secretary to expunge the name from the books.

ARTICLE VI.

TRANSFERS.

SECTION 1. Members removing from one division to another may obtain membership in the latter division by filing with the secretary of the League and the secretary-treasurer of both divisions notice of intention of such change, accompanied by a fee of twenty-five cents. Upon receipt of such notice the secretary of the League shall forthwith transfer the applicant as requested and shall debit the old and credit the new division with an equitable share of the fee and dues paid to the League during the year current by the member asking for the transfer.

ARTICLE VII.

ASSESSMENT OF DIVISIONS.

The national assembly may at any meeting, by a vote of the members and proxies present, lay a per capita assessment upon the divisions.

ARTICLE VIII.

UNIFORM AND BADGES.

SECTION 1. The uniform of the League shall be such as the executive committee may from time to time determine.

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SECT. 2. The executive committee may appoint a national tailor for the League, and each chief consul may appoint a division tailor for his division under such regulations and restrictions as the committee on uniform may make and impose.

SECT. 3. The emblem or badge of the League shall be a wheel, having upon its side three wings radiating from the hub to the rim at equal distances apart, and the letters "L.A.W." on the spokes between the wings.

(b) The emblems of the officials of the League shall be such as are established by the executive committee.

SECT. 4. Wearing the uniform or the badge shall not be compulsory, nor can they be held to indicate membership in the League, the League ticket being the only reliable certificate of membership.

ARTICLE IX.

SEAL OF THE LEAGUE.

The seal of the League shall be a fac simile of the League badge surrounded by the words "League of American Wheelmen, Organized 1880."

ARTICLE X.

ELECTION BY BALLOT.

All officers of the League shall be elected by written or printed ballot, and a majority of all the votes cast shall be necessary to elect. Each officer shall be elected by a separate ballot.

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ARTICLE XI.

ADDITIONS AND AMENDMENTS.

SECTION 1. The executive committee may amend these by-laws at any time when the national assembly shall have amended the constitution and rendered these by-laws inconsistent therewith. But this power to amend shall be limited to such changes as shall remove the inconsistencies. Announcements of all such amendments shall be published in the official organ.

SECT. 2. Additions or amendments to the by-laws may be made by the national assembly, by a two-thirds vote, but it shall make no amendment unless thirty days' notice thereof shall have been given through the columns of the official organ.