Acacia Conclave Bulletin
From the Office of the Grand President
MAY 1920
G•·aml Pt·esillent.. .............................. ... ......... J. F. Groves, Ripon, \Vls. Gt·and \ TicE"-Pt·esillent.. .................................. H. D. Kent, Hays, Kansas
Grand Tt·easm•er•.... ...... C. S. 1428 JJw1t Ave. Chicago, Ill.
Grand Sec•·etary-E1litor ...... \V. Elmer Ekblaw, 713 \V. \Va shington Bd., l!r·bana, illinois
0UR last annual Conclave was held at Champaign , Illinois, September 17-20, 1919. Twenty one chapte rs were represented by strong delegat e s. The work don e was lar ge ly of a misc e llan e ous natur e and p e rtained to the reorganization of chapter life and the promotion of fraternity traditions and ideals. Some of our chapters report e d a remarkably small number of old men returning to school. In a few cases houses had to be s ec ur e d and the chapter home re-established by the faithful few.
In the face of such difficulties, all of our chapters have made remarkable progress. All reports indicate that an ample supply of masons are in school to furnish adequate membership for Acacia. Our chapters ar e taking their usual high rank among other school organizations In some instanc es chapter homes have bee n secured through h e roic efforts.
Owing to a number of circumstances, the Grand Editor has be e n unable to publish the Journal with the Conclave proceedings and chapter reports. Many chapters have helped out the situation by issuing their usual chapter publications and by inter-fraternity visitation. The Chicago Alumni have also helped by securing the attendance of active men from various chapters at their meetings.
CONCERNING THE 1920 CONCIJAVE
'l'hne and Place- -The next Conclave will be held with the !11innesota chapter at 1206 Fifth St., S. E., Minneapolis, Sept. 20-25 inclusive. Th e Minnesota State Fair and the opening of the University make this date the most desirable for our hosts.
Delegato--This will be an important Conclave with much work to be done. Send us your best man. H e should be well informed on Acacia affairs and have an appreciation of our ideals and traditions. Help can be obtained by a review of the minutes of preceding Conclaves, found in the Journals. Send the name and summer address of your delegate to the Grand Secretary.
C•·edentials The Grand Secre tary will suppl y with cre denti al ulanks f or y our del e gate Credentials should be s ig ned by your Ven e r a bl e Dean and se cre t ary. The membership of y our d e l e gat e must be on fil e wi t h th e Grand S e cretary show m g h e h as "crossed the desert sands".
Written Report--Your should b r ing a written r e port showing the exa c t conditions at yo u r chap ter T h is r e port aft e r b e ing read and properl y am e nded a t t h e Co n cl ave i.s to b e hand e d to th e Grand S e cr e tary for public a ti on Pl ease do not n egl e ct this important ite m. Your report shoul d cove r item s in this bull et in and in th e qu e stionnaire to be mail e d y ou f r om t h e Gr a nd S ecret ary's office.
Financial Report. Important. A.-Your d e l egate sh o u ld a l s o have a concis e writt e n r e port on all chapter fi nances. This sh ould includ e your steward account , chapte r accoun t a nd your home or buildin g equity.
B.-Our constitution and b y -laws pro vi d e th at a c o m pl ete financi a l r e port of each chapt e r with the Gra nd Fratern ity fo r t he curr e nt year be presented as a check in audi t in g t h e accou n ts of th e Grand Secr e tary and Treasure r Thi s r e po rt shou l d i nclud e all obligaUons for : Balance du e last y e ar; charte r fees; initiation fee s; p e r capita tax; pins ordere d; oookeeping s uppli es; so n g b o oks ; e tc. All moneys , specifically itemized , paid th e Gr an d S e cretary s hould also b e shown. This report is to be brought to t h e Conclave b y t he d e l e gat e and not mailed to th e Grand Secre tar y.
Revision of Ritual- At the last Concla ve, t h e comm i ttee on r ev ision of the ritual pr e sented a conCise printed re po rt of propose d r e vision of the ritual. This will be passe d upon b y t h e c hapt e rs be f ore becoming effective. Your del e gate s at th e l ast Co ncl ave was provided with the proposed changes and y ou r delegate to the n ex t Conclav e should be familiar wi t h the details o f th is deferr e d r e port . For further information apply to the Grand Secr etary
Greek J. egislation-For many years the qu estion o f dual membership has engaged the atte ntion of Acacia . Many Acac ia chapters belong to local pan-Hellenic and take no s o cial G r ee ks. Other chapters find it desirabl e to take inactive social Greek s In a few instances Acacia chapters have initiated acti ve Gr eeks . A t the last Conclave a by-law was passed, making all m e mb ers o f s ocial Greek fraternities ineligible for Acacia membership. S o me chapters claim that such action is unconstitutional. The matte r will be brought up for action at this Conclave. Your delegate should as far as possible the history of this movement and be ·able to present definite-ly the position of his own chapter (not his personal opinion) and give r e asons for such position.
Chapter Advisors-During the war period, Acacia has had in operation a s ystem of chapter advisors Such men are representatives of the Grand Council and are asked to confer with and assist
chapters along many lines. Quite valuable service has been rendered by such advisors. The Inter-Fraternity Conference has recently published a committee report endorsing such a system. Your delegate should come prepared to E!Uggest the names of suitable candidates for this position.
Travelling C01mselor-For two years previous to the war, Acacia had a travelling counselor. Many chapters felt that the plan was a success and wish to re-establish it. Your delegate should inform himself on the expense and benefits involved.
Fraternity Publication-For many years the official publication of Acacia has been the Journal. This magazine has been sent to all active members and to such of the• alumni as pay a subscription fee. It has been suggested that a small bulletin be issued, soon after the Conclave, giving a brief account of all important proceedings, and sent to all Acacia men. Another bulletin could properly be issued in the Spring, telling briefly of the year's work and of questions likely to be brought up for discussion at the next Conclave. What is your opinion of such a plan?
Accounting System-For some years there has been an effort to establish a uniform accounting system for all chapters. From time to time criticism of various systems tried has been heard. A committee was appointed at the last Conclave to review the present plan and make recommendations. What is your chapter doing along this line?
Chapter Extension-Quite promising Acacia Chapters have recently been organized at the University of Oklahoma and at the University of Indiana which makes 25 active chapters. In 1912 Northwestern chapter became inactive. In 1916 Stanford chapter surrendered her charter. Early in the world war period, Yale became inactive, as did most of our chapters. To date Yale has not re-organized and Stanford and Northwestern remain inactive. Committees have been appointed to investigate these chapters and will make recommendations to the next Conclave.
Grand Fraternity Reorganization-We have very short tenure of service throughout our Acacia organization. The average active membership is slightly over one year and we often have rapid changes in the Grand Council. Entirely too few men can say that they have attended more than one Conclave. At our next Conclave, some plan of reorganization looking to more continuity in the Grand Council and in the Conclave representation will be presented.
Chapter Houses-Your delegate should present a concise report concerning the status of your home. This report shOuld state whether your house is owned or rented, whether or not it is adequate for your needs, how the money for your chapter home has been acquired, your equity in such a h ome or building fund, etc.
All delegates should bring constructive plans and criticism.
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