issue of merit.

San Francisco Chronicle's postelection editorial cartoon showed a dejected and rejected Wolden åstride an angry donkey which exclaimed, "End of the trail!" (Wolden had run as a Democrat in a non-partisan election; the city has 222,000 registered Democratic voters.)

The morning Examiner also had slicing comment and Wolden was the butt. "The election represented an enthusiastic vote of confidence in the Mayor, and a public repudiation of the reckless campaign staged by the Wolden camp in an effort to win votes...through the use of shock tactics."

Elsewhere it stated that "Wolden, in attempting to unseat Christopher, played one of the wildest games in the memory of local political obserbers...a welter of charges which included such accusations as the one that San Francisco has seen homosexuality run rampant under the administration of Christopher."

The combined evening News-CallBulletin, under the headline, "Easy Win for Christopher," described Wolden's campaign as attacking the Mayor as a man "whose administration had provided a lenient haven for homosexuals." It added that "in the final weeks, Wolden's guns were firing mostly at the city's three newspapers because they editorially indorsed his opponent and took him to task for his sex deviate charges."

Columnist Jack McDowell in the News-Call-Bulletin stated that Wolden "was clobbered when three items 14

backfired." His dumping...was due to Wolden's failure to find an issue "that really stirred Joe and Suzy San Francisco's emotions." The colossal boo-boo, he said, was the "sex deviate bit.'

"This thing, instead of helping Wolden, backfired. From a practical standpoint, there is little a mayor or his police chief can do in eliminating sex deviates. The cold legal fact is this: it just isn't a crime to be one." Their acts, unless committed under certain (and documented) circumstances are not a cause for arrest, McDowell said. "San Franciscans are urbane folks. They know that." McDowell concluded that Wolden's tactics slurred not just a group of people, but the city itself-unforgivable in San Francisco.

At any rate, the Society, although damaged by the erroneous innuendo and inference of a candidate, had become well-known in the city where its headquarters were located. The truth was also clear: Mattachine had its headquarters in San Francisco because its former national office in Los Angeles had virtually closed when leaders there followed other interests. With the establishment of a San Francisco Area Council in the early months of 1953, and the crea tion of the publications department at 693 Mission Street in 1954, it was logical that the "home office" was moved here on January 1, 1957. And to the many hundreds of persons who had been aided by the Society's referral and social services, there was mattachine REVIEW

gratitude for its existence.

On the following pages, excerpts from San Francisco newspapers are

THE INITIAL BLAST!

reprinted which show some of the high points of the news coverage accorded this incident of unintended involvement in an election campaign:

San Francisco Progress ★ Wed.-Thurs., Oct. 7-8, 1959

Sex Deviates Make S. F. Headquarters

}

'Enlightened' City Rule Earns Praise

A just-completed survey of vice conditions in San Francisco discloses that this city, during the Christopher administration, has become the national headquar ters of the organized homosexuals in the United States. It is a sordid tale, one which will revolt every decent San Franciscan, but one which the San Francisco Progress believes is of vital importance to our city, and therefore must be told. The survey was made in an effort to determine the truth or falsity of George Christopher's claim that he has given the people a "clean city."

The facts are that some of the big call girl operations and a number of minor bookmakers have been put out of business. But in their place another form of vice homosexualism has been allowed to flourish to a shocking extent, and under shocking circumstances.