Our Reaction to the "Exclusion Act"
| Open Letter | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Our Reaction to the "Exclusion Act" |
| From: | The LASFL |
| Addressed To: | Science fiction fandom |
| Date(s): | September 1939 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Science Fiction |
| Topic: | The Great Exclusion Act |
| External Links: | In Voice of the Imagi-Nation issue 3 |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Our Reaction to the "Exclusion Act" was a full-page statement by the LASFL to the Exclusion Act that barred six Futurians from entry to the 1939 Worldcon. It was printed in Voice of the Imagi-Nation 3 (September 1939), and apparently was the source of the name "Exclusion Act", as CSYoud called the phrase "snappy titling" in issue 5.
The statement, signed by then-director Russ Hodgkins, took a firm stance against Sam Moskowitz, William S. Sykora and James V. Taurasi, the "Triumvirs" who had barred the six Futurians from entry. The editors of Voice of the Imagi-Nation, Morojo and Forrest J Ackerman, supported the Futurians along with the LASFL, and hosted a debate through the letters column in VOM in the upcoming months. According to Far West Facts, Ackerman's column in Ad Astra, the statement was issued following five weeks of discussion among the LASFL.
Statement
FROM THE FULL AND ADJURED-UNPREJUDICED REPORT OF THREE DELEGATES TO THE CONVENTION--REPORTS ORALLY DISCUSSED DURING FIVE CONSECUTIVE MEETINGS OF THE LASFL--AND FROM PUBLISHED ACCOUNTS AND CORRESPONDENCE WITH CONCERNED PARTIES; IT IS THE CONSIDERED OPINION OF THE LOS ANGELES CHAPTER OF THE SCIENCE FICTION LEAGUE, AS OF SEPTEMBER 7, 1939, THAT THE ACTION ON THE PART OF WILLIAM S. SYKORA, SAM MOSKOWITZ AND JAMES V. TAURASI, SPONSORS OF THE "FIRST WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION", IN ARBITRARILY BARRING FROM THE PROCEEDINGS ADVERTISED AS "OPEN TO THE PUBLIC" SIX PERSONS--KNOWN TO ALL FANDOM AS SCIENTIFICTION FANS--WAS DISCRIMINATORY AND DICTATORIAL, PREMEDITATED AND OPENLY CONTRARY TO THE MASS-WILL OF THE CONVENTIONEERS, AN IRRECONCILABLE CONFLICT WITH THE DISTINCTLY DEMOCRATIC IDEALS OF SINCERE SCIENCE FICTION. IN BRIEF, IT IS BELIEVED THAT A MATTER OF PERSONAL ANIMOSITY--A LOCAL FEUD-- WAS ALLOWED TO RUN AWAY WITH REASON ON THE PART OF THE PROMULGATORS OF THE CONVENTION. OUR ATTITUDE IS ONE OF SEVERE CENSURE OF A SHAMEFUL OCCURRENCE, A REPREHENSIBLE HAPPENING WHICH WE FEEL WE REFLECT ALL FAIR-MINDED FANS IN STATING:MUST NEVER BE REPEATED!
OUR SENTIMENTS SCARCELY CAN BE TOO STRONG IN PLAINLY CRITICIZING THIS EGREGIOUS ERROR, IN OUTRIGHTLY CONDEMNING THIS--OUTRAGE.
AS THE OLDEST ACTIVE AND LEADING CHAPTER OF THE LEAGUE, THE LASFL HAS FELT IT ITS RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE PUBLIC THIS, THE DECISION OF ITS MAJORITY OF MEMBERS, AS ARRIVED AT AS DESCRIBED FOREGOING, AND AS OF THE DATE RECORDED.
Response From Moskowitz
Sam Moskowitz later accused the open letter of having been written based on hearsay. The LASFL clarified that the letter was drafted mostly by Forrest J Ackerman. They added that Ackerman and two other members, all three of whom were present at the convention, had been the ones to convince the rest of the chapter to make a public statement.
Mr. Moskowitz speaks most heart-renderingly of the boundless faith he had in fandom, and of the stain it has received by the action taken by the LA Chapter and other interested parties. We sympathize with him in his bereavement but beg to inquire why he has waited three months and more before attempting to justify his actions at the convention. Perhaps he had hoped that the incident would pass unnoticed, in which case he hardly gives fandom credit for the intelligence his faith implies.Unknown officer of the LASFL in Le Zombie, issue 16 page page 3 (October 28 1939)