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Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 11, Summer 1946
Page 292
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292 FANTASY COMMENTATOR necessary. Sykora walked up to Julius Schwartz, a member of the audience, and shook a fist under his nose as a gesture of defiance to the Fantasy Magazine group. Then with the aid of his comrades he chased Hornig from the platform. Producing a gavel of his own (one which later became famous, being wielded at many conventions and fan gatherings), Sykora proceeded to call the meeting to order in the name of the New York branch of the International Scientific Association. Such brazen effrontery left the audience too flabbergasted to protest. Wollheim then ascended the platform and vividly outlined his sad experiences with Hugo Gernsback, which he was still in the process of detailing when the building superindent---probably summoned by Hornig---arrived and broke up the gathering. But the blaze was to leap still higher. The next meeting of the East New York chapter found all aggrieved parties present, in addition to numerous visitors. It was a banner assembly. Hornig seized upon this opportunity to expose the culprits. He dealt in detail with the campaign they had carried on against Wonder Stories through the TFG and the ISA, citing such incidents as the anonymous letters from "The Fantasiest" sent to heads of many SFL chapters. He claimed that the ISA members were not fighting for democracy, but were actually attempting to seize control of the fan world themselves. But Wollheim's talk at the dramatic meeting mentioned above had evidently proved more effective than was believed possible. The audience scarcely gave Hornig's talk fair consideration. Members conversed among themselves, many not taking the slightest trouble to listen, so firmly were they convinced that he was wrong. Then William Sykora arose to give his side of the dispute. And in a flash of comprehension the New York fan world realized that the drive against the Science Fiction League had changed leadership. Previously neutral, Sykora was now in the driver's seat, and was forcing the bitter campaign to a short, hard-fought conclusion. Behind-the-scenes plotting, the grand strategy of the campaign against the League as expressed by the last few numbers of The International Observer and The Scienceer, the New York chapter fiasco---all of these were now traceable directly to him. He was the master-mind harnessing Donald Wollheim's fighting rhetoric, with his organizing and political abilities now plainly evident. Argument by Argument, Sykora ripped the salient points of Hornig's appeal to shreds. And the audience, already leaning toward his views, now swung over en masse. There was but a single attempt to halt the shifting tide of opinion. George Gordon Clark, editor of The Brooklyn Reporter and organizer of the defunct Brooklyn chapter, rose to throw in his lot with Hornig's. The ISA had long suspected him of favoring the Wonder Stories clique, but until then Clark had expressed his views so cleverly that on one occasion an ISA reviewer had remarked in The International Observer that The Brooklyn Reporter did "not seem to show the slightest control by the SFL." Now, however, he sided openly with Hornig against the ISA. He slandered Sykora and Wollheim, his words being so strong that Wollheim threatened to file suit for slander if retraction were not made. Forced later to withdraw his statements, Clark with this action virtually resigned from fan activity. Though Wollheim probably received full credit for driving an opponent from the field, it should also be remembered that he was tiring of fandom anyway, so that loss of face was simply the deciding factor. The forces of Hornig were now in utter rout, though how complete his defeat was was not apparent for yet another month. At that time Hornig was reduced to offering reinstatement to Sykora, Wollheim, and Michel on condition they apologize for past offenses. Sykora at first seemed irreconcilable, though he had been less maligned than Wollheim, who, with Michel, gave serious consideration to the proposal. All three were reinstated at a later date, although it is extremely unlikely that they made amends for anything less flagrant than the breaking up of the New York SFL meeting.
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292 FANTASY COMMENTATOR necessary. Sykora walked up to Julius Schwartz, a member of the audience, and shook a fist under his nose as a gesture of defiance to the Fantasy Magazine group. Then with the aid of his comrades he chased Hornig from the platform. Producing a gavel of his own (one which later became famous, being wielded at many conventions and fan gatherings), Sykora proceeded to call the meeting to order in the name of the New York branch of the International Scientific Association. Such brazen effrontery left the audience too flabbergasted to protest. Wollheim then ascended the platform and vividly outlined his sad experiences with Hugo Gernsback, which he was still in the process of detailing when the building superindent---probably summoned by Hornig---arrived and broke up the gathering. But the blaze was to leap still higher. The next meeting of the East New York chapter found all aggrieved parties present, in addition to numerous visitors. It was a banner assembly. Hornig seized upon this opportunity to expose the culprits. He dealt in detail with the campaign they had carried on against Wonder Stories through the TFG and the ISA, citing such incidents as the anonymous letters from "The Fantasiest" sent to heads of many SFL chapters. He claimed that the ISA members were not fighting for democracy, but were actually attempting to seize control of the fan world themselves. But Wollheim's talk at the dramatic meeting mentioned above had evidently proved more effective than was believed possible. The audience scarcely gave Hornig's talk fair consideration. Members conversed among themselves, many not taking the slightest trouble to listen, so firmly were they convinced that he was wrong. Then William Sykora arose to give his side of the dispute. And in a flash of comprehension the New York fan world realized that the drive against the Science Fiction League had changed leadership. Previously neutral, Sykora was now in the driver's seat, and was forcing the bitter campaign to a short, hard-fought conclusion. Behind-the-scenes plotting, the grand strategy of the campaign against the League as expressed by the last few numbers of The International Observer and The Scienceer, the New York chapter fiasco---all of these were now traceable directly to him. He was the master-mind harnessing Donald Wollheim's fighting rhetoric, with his organizing and political abilities now plainly evident. Argument by Argument, Sykora ripped the salient points of Hornig's appeal to shreds. And the audience, already leaning toward his views, now swung over en masse. There was but a single attempt to halt the shifting tide of opinion. George Gordon Clark, editor of The Brooklyn Reporter and organizer of the defunct Brooklyn chapter, rose to throw in his lot with Hornig's. The ISA had long suspected him of favoring the Wonder Stories clique, but until then Clark had expressed his views so cleverly that on one occasion an ISA reviewer had remarked in The International Observer that The Brooklyn Reporter did "not seem to show the slightest control by the SFL." Now, however, he sided openly with Hornig against the ISA. He slandered Sykora and Wollheim, his words being so strong that Wollheim threatened to file suit for slander if retraction were not made. Forced later to withdraw his statements, Clark with this action virtually resigned from fan activity. Though Wollheim probably received full credit for driving an opponent from the field, it should also be remembered that he was tiring of fandom anyway, so that loss of face was simply the deciding factor. The forces of Hornig were now in utter rout, though how complete his defeat was was not apparent for yet another month. At that time Hornig was reduced to offering reinstatement to Sykora, Wollheim, and Michel on condition they apologize for past offenses. Sykora at first seemed irreconcilable, though he had been less maligned than Wollheim, who, with Michel, gave serious consideration to the proposal. All three were reinstated at a later date, although it is extremely unlikely that they made amends for anything less flagrant than the breaking up of the New York SFL meeting.
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