But, For the Grace of God...
By Wally P. Copyright 1995
Chapter 34: Summary

As the Big Book says "We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us."¹ This has most certainly been the case with the Intergroup / Central Office history book. Since I wasn't abel to personally visit and conduct independent research at each of the Intergroups and Central Offices that were established in the 1940s, I freely admit that this work is incomplete.

However, significant progress has been made, primarily due to the many Office Managers, Archivists, and Oldtimers who supplied the additional records that made this historical account possible. I am still receiving material, and God willing, I will continue to update and reprint this book on a regular basis.

Based on my study of the various Intergroups and Central Offices, I have noted several common characteristics:

1. Each Office was established for the purpose of supporting the life-saving activities of the A.A. groups in a particular community.

2. Each Office operated independently and autonomously. Office Managers and Secretaries did communicate amongst themselves, but at no time was any Office `directed' on how best to conduct its affairs. Each Office answered to its affiliated groups rather than to some `central authority'.

3. All of the Offices had financial difficulties. Few, if any, of the Offices were funded solely by group contributions. Many of the Offices sold literature, hosted city-wide meetings, and conducted special events to generate the supplemental revenue needed to keep the operations going.

4. Many of the Offices published and sold their own literature.

In the 1940s, The Alcoholic Foundation and the General Service Headquarters supported the local Intergroup / Central Office publication efforts. Dr. Bob may have been partially responsible for this support. He was one of the Trustees for The Alcoholic Foundation during this period.

Dr. Bob had helped put together the Akron "Blue Collar" pamphlets to make the program easier for newcomers to understand and follow. In addition, he approved the publication of The Little Red Book - an Orthodox Interpretation of the 12 Steps, written by Barry C. and Edward W.

"Few books have a greater record for humble service than The Little Red Book upon which so many members have cut their A.A. teeth. This book evolved from a series of notes prepared for 12 Step talks to A.A. beginners. A manuscript drawn up from these notes was sent to Dr. Bob at the request of U.S.A. and Canadian members. He approved the manuscript and the book was printed in 1946. Annual revisions have been made since that date. The Little Red Book is a faithful guide to working the mechanics of the 12 Steps. Based upon an orthodox interpretation of matter from Alcoholics Anonymous it presents a firm but workable evaluation of each step as our founders gave them to us."²

The Alcoholic Foundation endorsed the separation of the A.A. spiritual program of recovery from the organized, incorporated support services, which included the Intergroups and Central Offices. The Board of Trustee's position was that A.A. should remain unstructured and decentralized. Bill W. took the opposite position stating that A.A. needed to provide "some degree of direct control over its own financial assets, literature, general policy, and top service people."³ Basically, The Alcoholic Foundation believed that as A.A. grew, the Intergroups / Central Offices would continue to provide the necessary support for the groups. On the other had, Bill wanted additional structure that would link the groups directly to the A.A. book publishing business.

This conflict was exemplified by an exchange of letters between Leonard V Harrison, a non-alcoholic member of the Board of Trustees for The Alcoholic Foundation, and Bill W. On July 23, 1946, Leonard wrote a statement in reply to Bill W.'s letter to the Board on July 10, 1946, in which Bill outlined his "Code for General Headquarters."

Leonard made the following statement:

"I am in entire accord with Bill's ultimate aims. I cherish the spirit and tradition of the A.A. movement and desire to aid in the preservation of its integrity and effectiveness. Yet, I find that I completely disagree with the proposals which Bill makes regarding organizational structure and function. What he thinks would work better than do our present arrangements, I think would not work at all...

...I believe that integration of the trustee function with the group operating...function would deprive the Foundation of its present opportunity of exercising a sort of remote control on an advisory basis, would engulf us in every current question and passing storm, would place us in situations where we are not truly qualified to act, and would ultimately destroy such usefulness as we are now able to bring to A.A."

Leonard then replied to some of Bill's specific points:

Bill:
"Some of us think The Alcoholic Foundation out to be at the exact center of the A.A. movement, serving A.A. only."

Comment:
"We are not qualified to be at the exact center of the A.A. movement."

Bill:
"Here at Headquarters we cannot afford to make even one grave policy blunder. A single major mistake could touch off such an emotional chain explosion among the groups that it might make The Alcholic Foundation look like Hiroshima, the day after."

Comment:
"That is exactly what would happen, in my opinion, in the event that we enter the arena to participate in all of the future group struggles and ifficulties."

Bill:
"There is...reason for attempting democratic informality."

Comment:
"I see no need to employ "democratic informality" in signing leases for office space, setting salary schedules, authorizing audits, controlling funds, making contracts, and so on."

"In summary I would say that Bill is hoping for too much when he envisages The Foundation as a protecting, stabilizing authority standing Gibralterlike, yet directly involved in guiding A.A. group affairs...If we were established as the head of the A.A. movement we would be pitched into the arena of controversy and would become the shining target of any group disagreeing with our governance. It is my solid conviction that Bill's plan of organization would lead to the very confusion and disintegration against which he seeks to safeguard the A.A. movement."⁴

Bill commented on the deteriorating relationship between himself and the Trustees:

"Typically alcoholic, I became very excited, and this turned the passive resistance of my fellow workers into solid opposition. A serious rift developed between me and the alcoholic members of the board, and as the months went by, the situation became worse and worse. With much reason, they resented my sledgehammer tactics and my continued violence. As the tempest increased, so did my blistering memorandums to the board."⁵

Dr. Bob was not enthusiastic about Bill's proposal. In May 1948, he wrote the following letter to Bill:

"However desirable many of these changes may be, I have the feeling that they will be brought about without too much sudden upheaval. If the trustees are wrong, they will hang themselves. I am just as interested in A.A. as you are, but am not 100 percent sure as to the wisest course to follow and the wisest ultimate setup. It does seem that for the moment, perhaps, "Easy Does It' is the best course to follow."⁶

The Board of Trustees countered Bill's barrage of memorandums with a "Statement of Principles Governing the Policies and Activities of the Board of Trustees of The Alcoholic Foundation." This Statement was adopted by the Board in July 1948.

"During the past months the Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation have made a critical review of problems arising from the phenomenal growth of the A.A. Movement and from the swelling routine activities of The Foundation. In connection with that review the Trustees reached certain conclusions which are set forth below.

Basically the Trustees regard themselves as servants of A.A., first, in performing these secondary tasks which are necessary to support the principal objectives of the individual members of A.A., and secondly, in preserving the stability and integrity of the A.A. Movement. They affirm the aim of The Foundation to limit its organization and activities to the bare essentials required to perform its important but limited duties. The Trustees were also guided by their desire that The Foundation grow as little as possible while the Movement expand boundlessly in its healing mission to all who seek recovery from the ravages of alcohol.