April 8 in A.A. History

In 1932 , Bill W. formed a stock-buying syndicate with two Wall Street figures—Arthur Wheeler and Frank Winans. Gardner Swentzel, married to his wife’s sister, Kitty, had introduced Bill to these two men. All three partners believed it to be a good time to buy stocks. Bill was to be manager of the syndicate. Each would put up capital for the venture.
     Aware of Bill’s growing drinking problem, Winans insisted on a clause voiding the contract and forfeiting Bill’s stake should he drink. As it happened, Bill had recently been fired after a drunken brawl with a cab driver. He had given his wife Lois his $2,000 severance check, but now he took it back to invest with the syndicate. Bill managed to stay sober for only five weeks, and therefore lost his entire $2,000 investment.

In 1939, the first copies of Alcoholics Anonymous were about to be printed by Cornwall Press. Frank Amos [near right] wrote to Willard Richardson [far right] to inform him of their imminent arrival. Knowing that Richardson was ill, he advised him to stay home until he was fully recovered. He also mentioned that he had already asked A. LeRoy Chipman [left] to take delivery of the books that were to be sent to Rockefeller Center. Amos requested that Richardson immediately send five books to:

    Dr. [Harry Emerson] Fosdick; Rev. M. J. Lavelle, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral; Mrs. [E. L.] Ballard [whom Richardson had solicited for funds the previous October]; Mrs. Charles L. Burke, of 375 Riverside Drive [who had given the Foundation an “anonymous” contribution of $50 [~$1,100 in 2025] the previous summer or fall; Mr. [Albert] Scott [another Rockefeller associate and trustee].

     He also suggested that each book be inscribed on the front flyleaf with a note such as “Compliments of the ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS.”

    At the bottom of this typed letter, Amos added a handwritten postscript: “You may want to place a copy in Mr. [John D. Rockefeller] Junior’s [right] hands.”
    All three of these men—Amos, Richardson, and Chipman—were associates of Mr. Rockefeller, as well as Class A (non-alcoholic) trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation.

In 1947,  after a challenging year of discussions regarding policy and structure, Bill W. submitted a 43-page report titled “Our AA General Service Center—The Alcoholic Foundation of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” to the Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation. The report outlined the Foundation’s history and recommended establishing an experimental General Service Conference, as well as renaming the Foundation the “General Service Board.” It reflected Bill’s concerns expressed in a letter to the Trustees dated 10 July 1946, as he sought to lay the groundwork for A.A.’s “coming of age.”
    Initially, the Trustees reacted defensively, ultimately becoming outright negative, as they perceived no need for change. Their passive resistance evolved into solid opposition.

In 1950, Illustrated magazine [left: cover] (London, UK) published Willi Frischauer’s article, “Alcoholics Anonymous,” which included 8 photographs spread over 3½ pages [below: the 3½ pages].