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National Fantasy Fan, v. 5, issue 6, September 1946

Page 6

There was considerable discussion about the matter, and Laney admitted that it was an unfortunate incident in which he had been too precipitate and a little later a show of hands declared that the members did not believe that he had done it with any intention of sabotaging the NFFF, but because he really believed that the organization had outlived its usefulness.
During the didscussion it came out that it had been because most of the officers and others who had so believed were led into that error because of the earlier reports that very few of the former members were retaining their membership by paying their 1946 dues, which Widner explained at some length by telling how he had been delayed in getting the full reports up to date by the incidents of his leaving the army and trying to get readjusted to civilian life and settled down into that new routine once more. Several of the critics also admitted from the floor that they had been fooled by this membership mix-up, and that the latest report of the number of members and their names, and the amount of money in the treasury had changed their minds.
I'll be perfectly frank and tell you that there was some criticism of your work as president on a couple of counts, but no one even hinted in any way that they did not think you were trying your best to do everything you could for the organization. It is felt that you are the type of fellow who works best under direction of someone else, rather than being in charge of things and others. I have come to feel this, myself, but I want you to remember that that is absolutely no reflection on you at all, for there are more people of that type than any other. It was agreed that you did a magnificent job as Secretary-Treasurer, while Bob and I had charge.
Laney made the charge that you had presented no prepared program for the year, but I brought out by asking him direct questions, that neither had the Board after you had failed to do so. I also made him admit that no one had ever taken any direct steps to get you out of office if they thought you were incompetent, but had taken it out in yelling at you.
 It was the general consensus that you were working very, very hard to put the NFFF across, but that you lacked the complete ability to sublimate your personal feelings to the good of the work -- a thing that anyone must do to put over such an organization of individualists as we fans are. There was also the feeling that you should have worked out and presented a program of things to be accomplished during the year, as soon as or even before you took office. It was also agreed that when you failed to do so the Board should have done it, and I asked for and had passed a motion that the Board be requested within the next 30 years to prepare and submit such a program -- and I stated that I felt that I had enough influence with you so that I could get you to accept any such programs they might propose.
My purpose in asking this was two-fold: It would put it up squarely to the board to show if they were any more competent than you were, since some of them had claimed that you were not; and that it would give the NFFF fsomething concrete to work on during the balance of the year, and would keep it going and funstioning until the elections this Fall, and the beginning of the new year.
It was also urged, and mentioned by several, that influential fans who had the interests of the NFFF and fandom at heart should file petitions for some office in the NFFF, so that we could have plenty of competition in the coming election, and really get a chance to vote for our choice

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There was considerable discussion about the matter, and Laney admitted that it was an unfortunate incident in which he had been too precipitate and a little later a show of hands declared that the members did not believe that he had done it with any intention of sabotaging the NFFF, but because he really believed that the organization had outlived its usefulness. During the didscussion it came out that it had been because most of the officers and others who had so believed were led into that error because of the earlier reports that very few of the former members were retaining their membership by paying their 1946 dues, which Widner explained at some length by telling how he had been delayed in getting the full reports up to date by the incidents of his leaving the army and trying to get readjusted to civilian life and settled down into that new routine once more. Several of the critics also admitted from the floor that they had been fooled by this membership mix-up, and that the latest report of the number of members and their names, and the amount of money in the treasury had changed their minds. I'll be perfectly frank and tell you that there was some criticism of your work as president on a couple of counts, but no one even hinted in any way that they did not think you were trying your best to do everything you could for the organization. It is felt that you are the type of fellow who works best under direction of someone else, rather than being in charge of things and others. I have come to feel this, myself, but I want you to remember that that is absolutely no reflection on you at all, for there are more people of that type than any other. It was agreed that you did a magnificent job as Secretary-Treasurer, while Bob and I had charge. Laney made the charge that you had presented no prepared program for the year, but I brought out by asking him direct questions, that neither had the Board after you had failed to do so. I also made him admit that no one had ever taken any direct steps to get you out of office if they thought you were incompetent, but had taken it out in yelling at you. It was the general consensus that you were working very, very hard to put the NFFF across, but that you lacked the complete ability to sublimate your personal feelings to the good of the work -- a thing that anyone must do to put over such an organization of individualists as we fans are. There was also the feeling that you should have worked out and presented a program of things to be accomplished during the year, as soon as or even before you took office. It was also agreed that when you failed to do so the Board should have done it, and I asked for and had passed a motion that the Board be requested within the next 30 years to prepare and submit such a program -- and I stated that I felt that I had enough influence with you so that I could get you to accept any such programs they might propose. My purpose in asking this was two-fold: It would put it up squarely to the board to show if they were any more competent than you were, since some of them had claimed that you were not; and that it would give the NFFF fsomething concrete to work on during the balance of the year, and would keep it going and funstioning until the elections this Fall, and the beginning of the new year. It was also urged, and mentioned by several, that influential fans who had the interests of the NFFF and fandom at heart should file petitions for some office in the NFFF, so that we could have plenty of competition in the coming election, and really get a chance to vote for our choice