1914, Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his
wife, Sophie, in Sarajevo, the capital of the recently annexed provinces of
Bosnia-Herzegovina
[right: Achille Beltrame’s portrayal of the assassination]. This act provided Austria-Hungary with the justification it needed to
initiate hostilities against Serbia, marking the onset of the Great War, later
known as World War I. The United States would enter the war in April 1917, and
by August, President Wilson would mobilize all National Guard units. At that
time, Bill W. was a student at Norwich University and, as such, a member of
the Vermont National Guard.
Today in A.A. History—July 28–30
In 1950, Alcoholics Anonymous held its first International Convention
[left] in Cleveland, Ohio, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of A.A.’s founding.
The event aimed to honor Dr. Bob S., who was seriously ill and would pass
away in November, and to adopt the Twelve Traditions by acclamation. While
up to 10,000 attendees were expected from an estimated total membership of
96,400, only about 3,000 people registered, with a few hundred attending
without registering ahead of time.
During the convention, Bill W. gave a talk titled “The Group Conscience and
the Trusted Servant”* in which he discussed several key points, among
them:
I think that we have developed almost a
fetish that this is some terrific infallibility in the group conscience,
and I would like to modify it to this extent: that when the group
conscience is thoroughly informed, and when experience backs a decision or
conclusion it has reached, and when it isn’t too mad or too fearful, it
can (and almost always is) supremely wise as to the best interests of
Alcoholics Anonymous.
* This talk is reprinted in Our Great Responsibility: A Selection of Bill
W.’s General Service Conference Talks 1951–1970.
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