he usually went home alone, locked himself in his room and cried.

Doubt was his problem. First, I learned that he really doubted himself. After considerable discussion with Jim, I came to the conclusion his acceptance of his homosexuality was not as he made it appear. From his reading of abnormal phychology he wondered about his sex. As he said to me, "Am I a man or a woman?" "Who really was my father?" (He had never been able to find a birth record.) "Have I ever loved anyone?" "Does anything have any real meaning-or is life just an illusion?" "Dare I really trust anyone, completely?" "Must I go through all my life in doubt?" "The only reason I'm a Beatnik is that none of them try to pry into my personal life . . . I can get along with the other Beatniks because they don't ask 'personal questions' ".

Naturally it took considerable time and effort to bring about a change in his outlook on life. After exploring the various psychological "excuses he presented for his condition, we assumed none were satisfactory by way of explanation. He had experienced a rotten home life in his youth. So have thousands of people. Examples were cited of heroic characters who began in pot-sheds. Switching to the existentialist treatment, in a few words I made it clear to him quoting from Jean-Paul Sartre: "Whereas the existentialist says that the coward makes himself cowardly, the hero makes himself heroic; and that there is always the possibility for the coward to give up cowardice and for the hero to stop being a hero. What counts is the total commitment, and it is not by a particular case or particular action that you are committed altogether."

It was pointed out to Jim, and made quite clear, that man may be born a slave, a capitalist, or a proletarian, but his historical situations are variable, not permanent. Each individual must make decisions for himself. What

place in life he will fill, which persons he will trust and love, he must decide. We may expect a response in proportion to what we give and deserve. The absolute character of free commitment determines and justifies our every act. A few rebuffs now and again will not harm nor deter us but more likely make us realize the need for improvement in ourselves rather than doubt and mistrust everyone.

The final outcome in Jim Doe's story is interesting. He met a girl named Dora, a confirmed Lesbian. They got married and now have two children, a boy and a girl. Jim still says he is an homosexual and Dora affirms she is still a Lesbian, and they both live in Beatnik-land.

Having lived in the Village in New York in the twenties for a considerable time and in the Montgomery Block area in San Francisco during most of the thirties, among the Lost Generation I must admit I see little difference in the two. The emphases are placed, so to speak, on different parts of the social anatomy, but the ultimate aims of the two sections of the cultural strata are the same. Basically, they wanted and today want to be let alone.

I think the Lost Generation placed more emphasis on the social and civil liberties interests than the Beats are doing. I think the beat generation is more nude than the Lost Generation was. There is little to discover among the Beatniks. As a matter of fact, they have a certain amount of juvenile crudeness in their art work and writing, with exceptions of course. They, the Beats, are not forced to starve while many of the Lost Generation were, during the long siege of the depression.

However, with all their vices and virtues if they can teach the world by example the evils of social conformity, I feel they will go down in history having made a worthwhile contribution.