fee NU DUBON BULLETIN 
Published Quarterly by the 
eee ieN OFtmerA UD Ue BOON 75: 0/G. EB Ty y. 
Number 78 June, 1951 
The President’s Column 
By Dr. R. M. STRONG 
THE EFFECTIVENESS of the Illinois Audubon Society would be increased if 
the officers and directors could know the membership-at-large better. The 
three annual teas we have had recently helped in getting acquainted, but 
less than a quarter of the members attended the teas, and time for con- 
versation was limited. We could not get acquainted with all of the mem- 
bers present whom we did not know nor could we meet new guests. 
Increasing costs of printing have made it impossible, during the past 
few years, to avoid a small annual deficit which so far has been met by a 
reserve balance that is nearly exhausted. This deficit would be larger if it 
were not for a generous arrangement which we have with the Chicago 
Natural History Museum for our lectures and board meetings. The annual 
cost of the lectures and the Audubon Bulletin is now $3.50 per member, and 
most members pay the minimum fee of $2.00 only. We could not carry on if 
we did not have some income from endowment. 
During the past year, a bequest from the estate of Mrs. Anna D. Holm- 
quist added several thousand dollars to our endowment. The finance commit- 
tee has taken several months to invest this money wisely, a difficult under- 
taking in these times. The additional income will reduce, but not abolish our 
deficit. This is a problem for careful consideration by the Society. 
The activities of the Society, outside of the Chicago region, are limited. 
Efforts to expand our program have been considered, but the problem is a 
difficult one. Down-state field trips and meetings have been held for this 
purpose in past years. If we had the money, we would try to hire a 
field agent to make contacts through the state and try to get new members. 
He could also stimulate conservation work. Mr. Decker in his history of 
the Society in the March number of the Bulletin said that Mr. Henry Oldys 
was engaged in the fall of 1913 for a four weeks’ tour of the state when he 
spoke before many audiences. He made a similar trip in the following 
spring. I do not know how this was financed, nor how successful it was. 
We have used various methods for getting information concerning bird 
or nature clubs in the state outside of the Chicago area. So far, we have 
not heard of many, and we do not know how complete our information is. 
A minority of the members of the Illinois Audubon Society live outside of 
what may be termed the Chicago region, i.e., fifty or more miles from Chi- 
cago. We wish there were more, and we invite suggestions about how to 
get them. Your letters should be sent to the chairman of the membership 
committee, Mr. Harry R. Smith, First National Bank, Chicago. 
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