Who were the people who started ONE? How many of them were there, and what were they like? But, before answering these questions, it would be well to present a realistic picture of the setting in which they worked.

At that time Los Angeles seethed with stories of police brutalities, of so-called entrapment cases, of raids, of apartment doors being battered down, of officers hiding in the trunks of cars, of secret cameras and peep-holes, of tape-recorders concealed in portable radios or behind draperies.

One group listened in fascinated horror as a former vice-squad officer detailed the elaborate and devastatingly effective techniques used in pursuing and apprehending the deviate, methods so gestapolike and un-American that this man had resigned in disgust, then lived in daily fear of reprisals from his former associates.

People were very frightened, but they also were very angry; indignant that such things could go on in a country like ours, confused and bewildered as to what might be done to improve the situation. Few even dared to think of challenging the existing order. The best that had seemed possible was to grovel and crawl out of danger as each individual could best manage for himself.

It was said that ONE was a preposterous idea. "You will all land in jail," old-timers predicted, "and THEY would never let it be sold. These evils have been going on for years and can't be stopped. But you can, and quick!"

Fearful ones also claimed that no one would dare to place his name on a subscription list, for THEY would seize the lists, and then what? This objection carried weight with so many that a later issue of the magazine published a full account of the important and unanimous Supreme Court decision affirming that no agency whatever, not even the FBI or the President might have access to the lists of subscribers of a publication.

Despite all of the fears expressed, the tiny staff kept doggedly on, utterly convinced that there was a job to be done, and that someone had to do it. They were willing to take the risks, even if no more than a single issue should ever reach the public. Nor were they inclined to underestimate the dangerously explosive nature of the risks either. Six months was the longest life-span even the most optimistic staff member could possibly foresee.

This was the general situation which surrounded plans for incorporating and for enlisting editors. The plan was to have three editors, so that no single individual would have to bear alone the full brunt of whatever might happen.

First chosen was Martin Block, who had been moderator at the meeting when the proposal for a magazine was first made. An erudite and witty young man, he was a veritable encyclopedia of

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