WOLLHEIMISTS

from Fancyclopedia 2

The Second Fandom name for the Futurians, because Don Wollheim was the leading Quadrumvir.

They reached their peak while under this name -- at the time of the June 1938 FAPA elections. At this time the Phillies challenged them for control of the organization, with allegations of irregular and unconstitutional conduct; Wollheim countered by mailing out the ballots (the mailing bundle being delayed) along with a propaganda flier claiming that the PSFS group was trying to sabotage things and he himself was being libelled. (See illustration under "Art".) [not shown] Later the Philly slate was abused on political grounds, that VP-candidate Speer was an avowed Fascist and the Phillies planned to censor Michelist material from the mailings. The Wollheimists made a clean sweep of contested offices and Speer immediately started a Petition of Reprimand circulating and being signed. A little later, as described elsewhere, the Quadrumvirate quit.

The designation of the group came from the belief, widespread in Second Fandom, that the other three Quadrumvirs, and certainly the lesser lights of the Futurians-to-be, took their orders from Wollheim. To laugh this idea out of existence, the Loyal and Benevolent Protective Order of Wollheim Stooges was founded by Prize Stooge Michel; it was supposed to be open to anybody who had ever disagreed with Will Sykora. Actually, according to Lowndes, the unanimity of the Wollheimist/Futurian faction was the result of prior conferences on policy, in which they frequently laid down the law to the "Dictator".