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National Fantasy Fan, v. 5, issue 4, June 1946

Page 10

or of the present constitution; all he says is that his experience proved that it is necessary for it to be like it is. Our experience has already proved that it won't work as it is. We will go into that in more detail in a minute.

Evans also creates an erroneous idea of the circumstances under which our competing constitutions were presented to the members. My suggested brief constitution was not coming up for vote as Evans' was; it was not on the ballot. There was no reason to require board approval of it. (As a matter of fact, the board never approved of the Evans constitution in the exact form in which it was finally submitted.) I was simply exercising the right of every NFFF member to speak in the official organ on a question of club interest, and presented my suggested constitution to buttress the argument. No one graciously allowed my sheet to be included; it was a right -- the same right I am exercising now.

I must ask your patience as we go thru the present constitution part by part, pointing out the most apparent flaws.

I -- Name. The N3F name was generally felt to be unsatisfactory -- we only rejected the alternative "United Fantasy Fandom" because it was even worse. "National", "Fan", and "Federation" all are either misleading or have unfortunate connotations. I realize that we are gradually getting used to the name; we are even thinking of perpetuating it in an emblem. But we should realize that to people still outside, we are not used to the name, the impression it creates is as different from ours as the meaning conveyed by the story title "Cooperate -- Or Else!" to Ackerman's man.

III -- This article sets up the division of power between the executive and directorate. No good reason for it has ever been suggested as far as a club is concerned. Some people, who apparently believe that that government is best which does the least, talk about "checks and balances", as though there were danger that a centralized administration might deprive us of life, liberty, and due process of law. They forget that this is just a voluntary association. On the other hand, the division of authority has already led to considerable friction within the administration, and some unfortunate incidents. Either the president must become in effect chairman of the board, giving up his special appointive power and the absurd veto; or the executive and the board must revolve in their separate sphere, the board virtually ceasing to operate upon the actual activities of the organization, save as a body voting Ja weeks after the action has been taken. I don't like the latter solution. I think that five heads are better than one, and that five board members is a small enuf body to function efficiently.

III-A-2: Here's that old Throttlebottom again, the vice-presidency. Whether the v-p will actually "advise and assist the president in his duties" depends entirely upon the geographical location of the two. As for filling the president's office if that's 

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or of the present constitution; all he says is that his experience proved that it is necessary for it to be like it is. Our experience has already proved that it won't work as it is. We will go into that in more detail in a minute. Evans also creates an erroneous idea of the circumstances under which our competing constitutions were presented to the members. My suggested brief constitution was not coming up for vote as Evans' was; it was not on the ballot. There was no reason to require board approval of it. (As a matter of fact, the board never approved of the Evans constitution in the exact form in which it was finally submitted.) I was simply exercising the right of every NFFF member to speak in the official organ on a question of club interest, and presented my suggested constitution to buttress the argument. No one graciously allowed my sheet to be included; it was a right -- the same right I am exercising now. I must ask your patience as we go thru the present constitution part by part, pointing out the most apparent flaws. I -- Name. The N3F name was generally felt to be unsatisfactory -- we only rejected the alternative "United Fantasy Fandom" because it was even worse. "National", "Fan", and "Federation" all are either misleading or have unfortunate connotations. I realize that we are gradually getting used to the name; we are even thinking of perpetuating it in an emblem. But we should realize that to people still outside, we are not used to the name, the impression it creates is as different from ours as the meaning conveyed by the story title "Cooperate -- Or Else!" to Ackerman's man. III -- This article sets up the division of power between the executive and directorate. No good reason for it has ever been suggested as far as a club is concerned. Some people, who apparently believe that that government is best which does the least, talk about "checks and balances", as though there were danger that a centralized administration might deprive us of life, liberty, and due process of law. They forget that this is just a voluntary association. On the other hand, the division of authority has already led to considerable friction within the administration, and some unfortunate incidents. Either the president must become in effect chairman of the board, giving up his special appointive power and the absurd veto; or the executive and the board must revolve in their separate sphere, the board virtually ceasing to operate upon the actual activities of the organization, save as a body voting Ja weeks after the action has been taken. I don't like the latter solution. I think that five heads are better than one, and that five board members is a small enuf body to function efficiently. III-A-2: Here's that old Throttlebottom again, the vice-presidency. Whether the v-p will actually "advise and assist the president in his duties" depends entirely upon the geographical location of the two. As for filling the president's office if that's 10