Title.
ARTICLE I. The Organization shall be known as the " United States Naval Institute."
Object.
ART. II. Its object shall be the advancement of professional and scientific knowledge in the Navy.
Organization and Officers.
ART. III. 1. The officers and the permanent committees of the Society shall include:
A President.
Vice-Presidents.
A Secretary.
A Corresponding Secretary.
A Treasurer.
(Secretary, Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer = Executive Committee)
A Committee on Publications.
Corresponding Secretaries for Stations.
2. Special committees may at any time be appointed by a majority vote of the society to consider questions not properly under the cognizance of the Standing Committees.
3. There shall be a Vice-President and Corresponding Secretary, in each squadron, and at each shore station, who shall be chosen to hold office for one year, by the members of the Society on the station.
Membership.
ART. IV. 1. The Institute shall consist of members, honorary members, and associates.
2. All officers of the Navy, Marine Corps, and of the Academic Staff of the Naval Academy, shall be entitled to become members without ballot, on payment of initiation fee and dues, to the Treasurer, or the Corresponding Secretary on the station.
3. Honorary members shall be selected from distinguished Naval and Military officers and from eminent men of learning in civil life; provided that the number of such members shall in no case exceed thirty.
4. Associates shall be chosen from persons connected with the Military and Naval professions, and from persons in civil life who may be interested in the objects that it is the design of the Institute to advance.
5. Honorary members and associates shall be elected as follows: Nominations shall be made in writing to the Executive Committee, and such nominations, with the name of the member making them, shall be entered on the minutes of the committee. At the succeeding meeting of the Institute the committee shall report. If their report be favorable, a majority of the members present shall decide the election; but, if unfavorable, a two-thirds vote shall be required to elect the candidate. Two members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for carrying out the requirements of this section.
6. The annual assessment for a member shall be five dollars, and for an associate three dollars, payable upon joining the Institute, and on the 1st day of each succeeding January.
7. Membership shall only be forfeited in cases where the recommendation of the Executive Committee, supported by a two-thirds vote of the Society, shall so determine.
Nominations and Elections.
ART. V. 1. There shall be a meeting of the Society on the second Thursday in January of each year, at which all officers shall be chosen, except those provided for in ART. III., Sec. 3.
2. Members not in attendance may vote by proxy at such elections, as well as upon questions relating to the Constitution and By-Laws; but vote by proxy will only be allowed in the two cases herein specified. Honorary members and associates will not be allowed to vote on any question.
3. A majority of votes recorded shall determine choice.
4. Members elected to the position of Officers of the Society will assume their duties as soon as notified.
5. Vacancies may be temporarily filled by the Executive Committee, but regular nominations and elections shall follow as soon as practicable.
6. All voting for officers shall be by ballot in session of the Society.
Duties of Officers.
ART. VI. 1. The President, or, in his absence, the Vice-President, or in the absence of both, a member of the Executive Committee will preside in Executive Session.
2. The transaction of all financial, executive, or administrative business, in which latter shall be included censorship of papers offered for presentation to the Society, shall be in the hands of the Executive Committee. The Committee will determine for itself its routine of business and form of record.
3. The Secretary shall keep a register of the members, a copy of the Constitution and By-Laws, in which he shall note all changes, a journal of the proceedings of the Society, a separate record of the proceedings of the Executive Committee, and a file book in which the reports of committees, &c., shall be entered. These books shall be at all times in readiness for inspection. Papers offered by members unable to be present, if accepted by the Executive Committee, shall be read by the Secretary. He shall give due notice of all meetings of the Society, and shall have control of the Stenographer and copyists employed to prepare records of proceedings.
4. The Corresponding Secretary shall attend to all correspondence and keep a record thereof.
5. The Treasurer, under the direction of the Executive Committee, shall be the disbursing officer. He shall keep a receipt and expenditure book, and an account current with each member. He will submit his books for examination whenever asked for.
6. The committee on publications shall have charge of the printing and publication of all papers and proceedings of the Society.
7. Corresponding Secretaries of stations shall keep the Institute, through its Corresponding Secretary, advised of new members, and of all matters of interest, and shall attend to the collection and transmission to the Treasurer of the dues of members.
Meetings.
ART. VII. 1. There shall be a meeting of the Society on the second Thursday of each month for the discussion of professional and scientific subjects.
2. Special meetings may be called by the Secretary, at the request of one or more of the general officers, or of standing or special Committees.
3. A. stenographer shall be employed to keep the record of all proceedings of regular meetings.
4. Annually, or as much oftener as the Executive Committee may decide, a record of papers read before the Society and the discussions growing out of them, shall be published in pamphlet form. Papers on intricate technical subjects may be published as a part of the proceedings of the Society without being publicly read, if in the opinion of the Executive Committee the subject to which they relate be not of a character to be appreciated on merely casual investigation.
Amendments.
ART. VIII. No addition or amendment to the Constitution and By-Laws shall be made without the assent of two-thirds the members voting. Notice of proposed changes or additions shall be given by the Secretary at least one month before action is taken upon them.