although it was the intention of the parent body to see that it did; in fact the greatest inroad the word Mattachine has ever made in that city rests on a slanderous article which occured in "Confidential" magazine over five years ago, and only a small percentage of the population, even the homophile population has ever heard the word.

The first part of this article dealt with the immediate necessity of the Board of Directors for taking the action that it did. There are deeper and more meaningful, if less urgent, advantages which also prompted the action. Here are the reasons as discussed by the Board and printed in Interim, the Society's Quarterly Newsletter:

1. TO MINIMIZE LEGAL LIABILITY OF THE MATTACHINE SOCIETY. The California Corporation that is, the National Headquarters must be responsible for every action, error, or act of omission by any and all area councils as it was previously set up. It has seemed difficult if not impossible, in the past for adequate consultation, coordination and control to be exercised in every matter of concern. With its limited resources, distance involved, and communications problems, the Board felt the area councils must become their Own independent units, shouldering their own responsibilities.

2. TO MINIMIZE THE THREAT OF INVOLVEMENT WITH CRIMINAL ELEMENTS. With a pattern of "branch offices," and new ones coming into being from time to time, the Mattachine offers some attraction to unscrupulous or criminal elements in the nation to solicit funds, names, etc., in the name of the Corporation and without the knowledge of any responsible officer or area council. Some evidence of this has come for-

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ward in the past. It cannot happen in the future.

3. TO FACILITATE MORE INDEPENDENT INCORPORATED GROUPS. Each former area council is now the nucleus for another independent local organization. incorporated in its own state, concerned with its own local problems, and free to perform its own social services, educational activities, and research projects in accordance with local needs. National policy at best is difficult to formulate and implement; strict control is downright impossible. Now independent groups--who can look to Mattachine for guidance as necessary and desired may work cooperatively along the same general aims and principles to accomplish the same original goals, plus others as local situations indicate.

4. TO MINIMIZE THE "THREAT" A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION MIGHT POSE. There is considerable negative feeling expressed from various public agencies about the desirability of a "national organization" working in this sphere. Eliminated will be the charge that any city is the "national headquarters of sex deviates," etc. While in fact this has never occurred, nevertheless the charge has been made with embarrassing results.

5. TO REDUCE THE ADMINISTRATIVE DETAIL. Neither the Mattachine Society nor its area councils have been able in the past to keep up with the necessity of administrative detail required for proper operation. For instance, uniform bookkeeping and financial reports have never been accomplished to the satisfaction of the national treasurer. Because of part time or volunteer staffs. and with such limited resources, there was no promise that these problems would be satisfactorily solved soon. Reduction of this administra-

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