404  MINUTES  OF  THE 
"  The  Executive  Committee  submit  the  following  Report  of  their  labors 
during  the  last  year. 
At  the  meeting  in  Cincinnati,  a  resolution  was  passed,  but  afterwards 
reconsidered  and  lost,  to  withhold  the  Proceedings  from  all  members  who 
are  three  years  in  arrears  with  their  annual  contributions. 
The  rise  in  the  price  of  paper  and  labor  made  it  obvious  that  the  cost 
of  publishing  the  Proceedings  would  be  considerably  higher  than  hereto- 
fore, and  in  view  of  the  depleted  state  of  our  treasury  it  was  suggested, 
and  agreed  to  by  the  Treasurer,  to  send  out  the  bills  for  the  year  1865  in 
the  early  part  instead  of  in  the  middle  of  the  year,  in  order  to  avoid,  if 
possible,  the  necessity  of  borrowing  money  to  meet  the  current  expenses, 
as  had  to  be  done  on  former  occasions.  A  glance  over  the  Treasurer's 
books  revealed  the  alarming  fact  that  the  amount  due  to  the  Association 
by  delinquent  members,  who  were  in  January  last  in  arrears  with  their 
contributions  for  four  years  and  over,  amounted  to  nearly  three  thousand 
dollars  ! 
The  Chairman  addressed  a  circular  to  the  members  of  the  Executive 
Committee  and  suggested,  in  view  of  the  reconsidered  resolution  before 
mentioned,  to  withhold  the  Proceedings  from  all  members  four  years  in 
arrears,  which  was  unanimously  agreed  to. 
It  having  been  ascertained  that  the  Association  was  not  in  possession 
of  the  signatures  of  many  of  the  members,  to  the  Constitution,  and  it  be- 
ing impossible  to  ascertain  whether  these  signatures  had  ever  been  given 
and  subsequently  lost,  or  not,  it  was  likewise  agreed  to  require  from  all 
such  members  their  signature  to  the  Constitution,  and  in  the  event  of  their 
refusal  or  neglect  to  comply  with  this  request  to  withhold  the  Proceedings 
irom  them  likewise. 
in  the  meantime  a  circular  had  been  addressed  to  all  the  newly  elected 
members  requesting  them  to  sign  the  Constitution  and  pay  the  dues  in 
ac-cordance  with  Art.  ii.  3  and  4.  The  same  circular  was  also  sent  to  all 
those  members  whose  signatures  were  not  in  possession  of  the  Executive 
Committee. 
The  answers  to  these  communications  were  extremely  few,  and  after 
waiting  for  several  weeks  another  circular  was  sent,  with  a  copy  of  that 
portion  of  the  preface  to  the  Proceedings  for  1864  referring  to  their  case. 
The  cases  of  delinquent  members  were  treated  precisely  the  same  way, 
two  circulars  being  sent  at  different  times  to  each  one  four  years  in 
arrears  who  did  not  respond  to  the  first. 
All  neglects  and  refusals  to  comply  with  the  requests  of  the  Executive 
Committee  shared  alike  ;  the  Proceedings  for  the  last  year  were  withheld 
from  such  members. 
At  the  approach  of  the  present  meeting,  early  in  August,  the  Chair- 
man issued  another  circular  chiefly  with  the  view  of  informing  all  con- 
cerned that  their  cases  would  be  laid  before  the  Association  for  its  action. 
In  the  larger  cities  one  of  the  members  of  the  Association  was  requested 
