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Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 10, Spring 1946
Page 264
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264 FANTASY COMMENTATOR cret the infamous Gernsback affair and for refusing to print in their magazine anything which reflected unfavorably upon him or Wonder Stories. The intolerance of the Fantasy Magazine group toward newcomers in the field was thus also reaping its harvest of opposition. With each succeeding issue of The International Observer these attacks increased in volume and effectiveness. Those found in the "Sun Spots" column in particular left no line of fire untried. Wollheim showed a real talent for presenting legitimate news items in such a way that they reflected unfavorably upon Hornig, the Science Fiction League, Wonder Stories and Fantasy Magazine. He was an implacable foe, and had his column received wider circulation it seems quite likely that it could have brought the SFL to its knees without outside aid. Indeed, Wollheim boasted of his knowledge that copies of The International Observer were in the Wonder Stories editorial office, with all comments relevant to the situation encircled. (These very copies are now in the possession of this historian, and have proved invaluable in compiling an account of the affair. Wollheim was not correct, however, in stating that such words as "untrue" and "scandalous" had been pencilled in the margins beside such comments. Moreover, interest had not been confined solely to this feud, for Schwartz had also encircled all statements relative to the Anthony Gilmore expose as well as Tucker's "Heath.") Michel's column, "The Science Fiction Critic," was likewise active in the battle. In it he once remarked: I believe fantasy saw its best days when it (Fantasy Magazine) was the Science Fiction Digest in purpose as well as name. Lately it has become the stamping ground for Charles D. Hornig, managing editor of Wonder Stories, who has taken it over (apparently) and is using it as a medium to advertise his magazine. I think this is an obvious fact. Letters from an anonymous party terming himself "The Fantasiest" began to circulate among SFL chapter heads, with effective propaganda against the League. Ruppert, a friend of Hornig, once intimated that if he were to reveal to the president of the Authors League all that he knew about Gernsback steps would be immediately taken to put him out of business. At a meeting of the New York chapter Hornig himself was tricked into stating that the SFL's chief purpose was a commercial one. For a while Hornig refrained from making any public statements. But the relentless pressure could not long be endured. His first defense was in the nature of the vaguely phrased references to parties attempting to "undermine" the SFL who, he hoped, "would mend their ways." When this did no good, he threatened to "reorganize" the New York chapter, stating that the poor showing made by some of the top fans in the field there was shameful. The result being but to increase the activity of his opposition, Hornig resorted to a desperate and sensational expedient to quell this dangerous uprising. The September, 1935 number of Wonder Stories carried the following announcement: THREE MEMBERS EXPELLED It grieves us to announce that we have found the first disloyalty in our organization. We have discovered that three of our members, who run what they consider a competing club to the SFL, have done all within their power, through personal letters and published notices, to disrepute the League, Wonder Stories, and the Gernsback outfit by spreading gross untruths and libellous slander to other science-fiction fans and authors. They joined the League only to be able to attack it better. We are extremely sorry that we cannot know every fan's intentions when applications
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264 FANTASY COMMENTATOR cret the infamous Gernsback affair and for refusing to print in their magazine anything which reflected unfavorably upon him or Wonder Stories. The intolerance of the Fantasy Magazine group toward newcomers in the field was thus also reaping its harvest of opposition. With each succeeding issue of The International Observer these attacks increased in volume and effectiveness. Those found in the "Sun Spots" column in particular left no line of fire untried. Wollheim showed a real talent for presenting legitimate news items in such a way that they reflected unfavorably upon Hornig, the Science Fiction League, Wonder Stories and Fantasy Magazine. He was an implacable foe, and had his column received wider circulation it seems quite likely that it could have brought the SFL to its knees without outside aid. Indeed, Wollheim boasted of his knowledge that copies of The International Observer were in the Wonder Stories editorial office, with all comments relevant to the situation encircled. (These very copies are now in the possession of this historian, and have proved invaluable in compiling an account of the affair. Wollheim was not correct, however, in stating that such words as "untrue" and "scandalous" had been pencilled in the margins beside such comments. Moreover, interest had not been confined solely to this feud, for Schwartz had also encircled all statements relative to the Anthony Gilmore expose as well as Tucker's "Heath.") Michel's column, "The Science Fiction Critic," was likewise active in the battle. In it he once remarked: I believe fantasy saw its best days when it (Fantasy Magazine) was the Science Fiction Digest in purpose as well as name. Lately it has become the stamping ground for Charles D. Hornig, managing editor of Wonder Stories, who has taken it over (apparently) and is using it as a medium to advertise his magazine. I think this is an obvious fact. Letters from an anonymous party terming himself "The Fantasiest" began to circulate among SFL chapter heads, with effective propaganda against the League. Ruppert, a friend of Hornig, once intimated that if he were to reveal to the president of the Authors League all that he knew about Gernsback steps would be immediately taken to put him out of business. At a meeting of the New York chapter Hornig himself was tricked into stating that the SFL's chief purpose was a commercial one. For a while Hornig refrained from making any public statements. But the relentless pressure could not long be endured. His first defense was in the nature of the vaguely phrased references to parties attempting to "undermine" the SFL who, he hoped, "would mend their ways." When this did no good, he threatened to "reorganize" the New York chapter, stating that the poor showing made by some of the top fans in the field there was shameful. The result being but to increase the activity of his opposition, Hornig resorted to a desperate and sensational expedient to quell this dangerous uprising. The September, 1935 number of Wonder Stories carried the following announcement: THREE MEMBERS EXPELLED It grieves us to announce that we have found the first disloyalty in our organization. We have discovered that three of our members, who run what they consider a competing club to the SFL, have done all within their power, through personal letters and published notices, to disrepute the League, Wonder Stories, and the Gernsback outfit by spreading gross untruths and libellous slander to other science-fiction fans and authors. They joined the League only to be able to attack it better. We are extremely sorry that we cannot know every fan's intentions when applications
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