U.S. Congress Act to Incorporate Near East Relief
August 6, 1919
"to provide for the care of orphans and widows and to promote the social, economic, and industrial welfare of those who have been rendered destitute, or dependent directly or indirectly, by the vicissitudes of war, the cruelties of men, or other causes beyond their control."
SIXTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. SESS. I. CH. 32. 1919
August 6, 1919.
[S. 180.]
[Public No. 25]
District of Columbia, Near East Relief incorporated.
CHAP. 32. – An Act To incorporate Near East Relief
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following persons, namely, James L. Barton, Cleveland H. Dodge, Henry Morgenthau, Edwin M. Bulkley, Alexander J. Hemphill, Charles R. Crane, William Howard Taft, Charles Evans Hughes, Elihu Root, Abram I. Elkus, Charles W. Eliot, Harry Pratt Judson, Charles E. Beury, Arthur J. Brown, John B. Calvert, William I. Chamberlain, Robert J. Cuddihy, Cleveland E. Dodge, William T. Ellis, James Cardinal Gibbons, David H. Greer, Harold A. Hatch, William I. Haven, Myron T. Herrick, Hamilton Holt, Frank W. Jackson, Arthur Curtiss James, Frederick Lynch, Vance C. McCormick, Charles S. Macfarland, Henry B.F. Macfarland, William B. Millar, John R. Mott, Frank Mason North, George A. Plimpton, Philip Rhinelander, William Jay Schieffelin, George T. Scott, Albert Shaw, William Sloane, Edward Lincoln Smith, Robert Eliot Speer, James M. Speers, Oscar S. Straus, Charles V. Vickrey Harry A. Wheeler, Stanley White, Ray Lyman Wilbur, Talcott Williams, and Stephen S. Wise, their associates and successors duly chosen, are hereby incorporated and declared to be a body corporate of the District of Columbia by the name of Near East Relief and by that name shall be known and have perpetual succession, with the powers, limitations, and restrictions herein contained.
SEC. 2. That the object for which said corporation is incorporated shall be to provide relief and to assist in the repatriation, rehabilitation, and reestablishment of suffering and dependent people of the Near East and adjacent areas; to provide for the care of orphans and widows and to promote the social, economic, and industrial welfare of those who have been rendered destitute, or dependent directly or indirectly, by the vicissitudes of war, the cruelties of men, or other causes beyond their control.
SEC. 3. That the direction and management of the affairs of the corporation, and the control of its property and funds, shall be vested in a board of trustees, to be composed of the following individuals: James L. Barton, Cleveland H. Dodge, Henry Morgenthau, Edwin M. Bulkley, Alexander J. Hemphill, Charles R. Crane, William Howard Taft, Charles Evans Hughes, Elihu Root, Abram I. Elkus, Charles W. Eliot, Harry Pratt Judson, Charles E. Beury, Arhtur J. Brown, John B. Calvert, William I. Chamberlain, Robert J. Cuddihy, Cleveland E. Dodge, William T. Ellis, James Cardinal Gibbons, David H. Greer, Harold A. Hatch, William I. Haven, Myron T. Herrick, Hamilton Holt, Frank W. Jackson, Arthur Curtiss James, Frederick Lynch, Vance C. McCormick Charles S. Macfarland, Henry B.F. Macfarland, William B. Millar, John R. Mott, Frank Mason North, George A. Plimpton, Philip Rhinelander, William Jay Schieffelin, George T. Scott, Albert Shaw, William Sloane, Edward Lincoln Smith, Robert Eliot Speer, James M. Speers, Oscar S. Straus, Charles V. Vickrey, Harry A. Wheeler, Stanley White, Ray Myman Wilbur, Talcott Williams, and Stephen S. Wise, who shall constitute the first board of trustees and constitute the members of the corporation. Vacancies occurring by death, resignation, or otherwise shall be filled by the remaining trustees in such manner as the by-laws shall prescribe, and the persons so elected shall thereupon become trustees and also members of the corporation.
SEC. 4. That the principal office of the corporation shall be located in the District of Columbia, but offices may be maintained and meetings of the corporation or of the trustees and committees may be held in other places, such as the by-laws may from time to time fix.
SEC. 5. That the said trustees shall be entitled to take, hold, and administer any securities, funds, or property which may be transferred to them for the purposes and objects hereinbefore enumerated by the existing and unincorporated American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, and such other funds or property as may be necessary to secure the safe and convenient transaction of the business of the corporation.
SEC. 6. That as soon as may be possible after the passage of this Act a meeting of the trustees hereinbefore named shall be called by Cleveland H. Dodge, Henry Morgenthau, Abram I. Elkus, Edwin M. Bulkley, Alexander J. Hemphill, William B. Millar, George T. Scott, James L. Barton, and Charles V. Vickrey, or any six of them, at the borough of Manhattan, in the city of New York, by notice serviced in person or by mail, addressed to each trustee at his place of residence; and the said trustees named herein, or a majority thereof, being assembled, shall organize and proceed to adopt by-laws, to elect officers, and generally to organize the said corporation.
SEC. 7. That a meeting of the incorporators, their associates, or successors, shall be held once in every year after the year of incorporation at such time and place as shall be prescribed in by the by-laws, when the annual reports of the officers and executive boards shall be presented and members of the executive board elected for the ensuing year. Special meetings of the corporation may be called upon such notice as may be prescribed.
SEC. 8. That a copy of the constitution and by-laws and of all amendments thereto shall be filed with the Congress when adopted, and on or before the 1st day of April each year said corporation shall make and transmit to the Congress a report of its proceedings for the year ending December 31 preceding, including in such report the names and residences of its officers, and a full and itemized account of all receipts and expenditures.
SEC. 9. That the corporation shall have no power to issue certificates of stock or declare or pay any dividends, or otherwise distribute to its members any of its property, or the proceeds therefrom, or from its operations. On dissolution of the corporation otherwise than by Act of congress the property shall escheat to the United States.
SEC. 10. That all members and officers of the corporations and of its governing body may reside in or be citizens of any place within the United States.
SEC. 11. That the franchise herein granted shall terminate at the expiration of twenty-five years from the date of the approval of the Act; and that Congress reserves the right to repeal, alter, or amend this act at any time.
Approved, August 6, 1919.
