September 14 in A.A. History

1943: An unnamed A.A. member in Chicago wrote the text for “Out of the Fog” [right: cover], which is still available as a pamphlet from the Chicago General Service Office. It begins:

Thirteen months ago I was in an interesting position. No, Murgatroyd, I wasn’t an expectant mother. Had I been, I would have known what to do. I’d merely have written a piece for True Confessions Magazine and thereby earned the necessary $50.00.

This interesting and delicate position of mine, however, was at least pregnant with chaotic confusion. Mine was mainly a confusion in terms—and that, by a carefully arranged coincidence, enables me to drag in a cute saying by my younger son, Jerrold, better known as Jaybo. He was 6 years old at the time and consequently pure of mind, but I have confidence in your ability to enrich the story with the dirtiest possible construction on his remark.

1954: [John] Mark Whalon [left], 70, Bill Wilson's longest, closest, and only local friend, died. As Bill was being born, nine-year-old Mark was among a crowd of neighborhood boys gathered on the porch to listen to Emily's screams, evidence of the strangeness of the adult world.

As an adult himself, he worked as a mailman in rural Vermont, driving 24 miles a day to deliver the mail to 80 homes, six days a week. In January1943, he was the subject of a photo essay in Life magazine titled “Life Rides the Route of a Rural Mailman in Vermont.”

He wrote two books. Rural Peace [near right: cover], published in 1933, is a collection of poems about the carefree moments, hardships, stark realities, and difficult truths of daily life in East Dorset, Vermont. Rural Free Delivery: Recollections of a Rural Mailman [far right: cover] is a 1942 autobiography about growing up and living in East Dorset.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

1989: Dartmouth [College] Alumni Magazine recognized Dr. Bob S. in an article [left, with the recognition highlighted] titled “Dartmouth Undying”^*:

Robert Holbrook S―― ’02, popularly known as Dr. Bob, founded Alcoholics Anonymous.

The entire one-page article seems to be about Dartmouth students’ relationship to alcohol, and seems to be one of a series of 16 articles by that title from September 1988–April 1990, which seem to be focused on oddities concerning the Dartmouth student body.

---

^*“Dartmouth Undying” has been a school song since 1921. In the November 1958 issue of the alumni magazine, an anonymously written article, “The College” (which appears to be a repeating column that ran from Feb. 1955–Jan./Feb. 1979), contains the following subtitled section (only its first sentence is quoted here):

Dartmouth Undying

The Class of 1921 last month presented the College with a specially bound volume containing the text of Dartmouth Undying, the poem by the late Franklin McDuffee ’21, which with music written by Homer P. Whitford has become Dartmouth's best loved song.

The Wikipedia article on “Alma Mater (Dartmouth College),” which is about the official school song of Dartmouth, titled “Alma Mater”, says that, “The difficult-to-sing [judge for yourself: here’s a musical rendition of it] ‘Dartmouth Undying’ replaced it in the fall of 1972, but the Alma Mater was restored as the official song in early 1973.” [right: sheet of music/lyrics for “Dartmouth Undying”].

1989: Glen Abbey Books published Richmond W.’s The Seven Points of Alcoholics Anonymous [left: “true” 1st printing].

2001: [Late—New York InterGroup (NYIG) history says, “A little more than two weeks after…September 11, 2001…”] In the aftermath of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, exhausted A.A. members among the firefighters, police, and clean-up crews recognized the need for meetings near Ground Zero. Simultaneously, a Red Cross official reported to the uptown General Service Office that they had received numerous requests for A.A. meetings. The Red Cross assigned A.A. a room in a respite center just southwest of the site, marked by a door bearing a circle and triangle. To accommodate everyone, Meetings organized by Southeast New York Area 49 and the New York Intergroup became places where A.A. members could not only meet but also rest, talk, and meditate. Members crafted an iron plaque [right] and presented it to GSO and NYIG as a memento.

September 13 in A.A. History

1937: [March 1937? March 1938?] Florence R. of Westfield, New Jersey, became the first woman to get sober in the New York City group of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and the second woman to do so anywhere. She was the ex‑wife of a man Bill W. knew from Wall Street; she had divorced him, thinking this would eliminate the cause of her drinking.

She ended up in Bellevue Hospital [right, c. late 1930s], where her ex‑husband took Bill’s wife Lois to see her. Bill and Lois got her out of Belle­vue, and she stayed with them for a while before moving in with other A.A. members and Ruth Hock. She began attending meetings in March 1937 but struggled with maintaining her sobriety. Because of her, the name “One Hundred Men” would be discarded for the Big Book and the publishing company of the same name.

After she got sober, her story, “A Feminine Victory,” was included in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. In writing it, she prayed for inspiration to tell her story in a way that would encourage other women to seek the help she had received.

1939: According to index cards of members maintained by the Central Office in Chicago, Illinois, Sylvia K. [left] had sobered up on this date. Her doctor, Seth Brown of Evanston, Illinois, had somehow learned about the new book, Alcoholics Anonymous, despite the lack of publicity at that time. He read it and called Sylvia, who would later say, “That call marked the turning point in my life.”

She is widely regarded as the first woman to achieve permanent sobriety and would play a crucial role in founding Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) in Chicago. Her story, “Keys to the Kingdom,” appeared in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of Alcoholics Anonymous.

1941: WHJP in Jacksonville, Florida, aired “Spotlight on A.A.,” the first ever radio series about Alcoholics Anonymous.

1946: Bob H., Mr. P., and Bill W., all members of the Richmond (Virginia) Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, presented a program about the Fellowship at the Rotary Club.

According to a September 19 article titled “Alcoholics Anonymous Put On Rotary Program” [right] published by the Rappahannock Record of Kilmarnock, Virginia, Bob “told about the organization and the work it is doing across the country,” while Mr. Philips and Bill…

gave personal experiences of their lives as alcoholics, telling how they had lost their business, friends and everything they had as drunks in the gutter before starting life anew as members of Alcoholics Anonymous.… Alcoholics Anonymous is composed of alcoholics who have voluntarily joined the organization and have overcome the curse of drink. The speakers said that about 75% those who join stay with the organization and never take another drink thus becoming useful citizens of society again.

1952: Hector G. was admitted to a clinic in Buenos Aires [left: location of Buenos Aires in Argentina], for serious alcoholism. There, he was treated by Dr. Roberto Pochat, an Argentine physician who had recently returned from the United States, where he completed a course on alcoholism at Yale University. Additionally, Dr. Pochat had been in contact with many members of Alcoholics Anonymous in the U.S., who had explained A.A. methods to him in great detail and facilitated his attendance at numerous meetings.

During Hector’s hospitalization, Dr. Pochat had him read A.A. pamphlets and the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous (in English), and suggested that he seek help from the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City after his discharge.

1969: Leonard V. Harrison [right], 77, Chairman of the Alcoholic Foundation Board of Trustees from March 1942 to October 1950 and from April 1956 to April 1961, died at his home. He also served as Commissioner of Welfare for New York City and was a director of the Community Service Society of New York [City].

September 12 in A.A. History

1912: Henry Berton “Bert” D. was born in Clark, Arkansas. In 1962, he would found Harbor House, a treatment center in Memphis, Tennessee.

1941: Robert Shaw, 70, died of a heart attack [far left: obituary; near left: grave] in his car in the driveway of his home [right], 253 West Penn Street, Long Beach, New York. A friend of Willard Richardson, he joined the Alcoholic Foundation Board of Trustees in December 1939 as its third Chairman, becoming the first Class A Trustee to hold that position.

He had been born in Chicago, Illinois, where he and his father, William Walden Shaw, had founded the Dake Bakery Company. This bakery was one of 40 acquired by Adolphus Green in 1890 to form the American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company. In 1898, this company merged with William H. Moore’s New York Biscuit Company and John Gottlieb Zeller’s Richmond Steam Bakery to create the National Biscuit Company, which later became known as Nabisco. Shaw retired in 1914 while still in his 40s.

1942: U.S. Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Lawrence Kolb [left] spoke at a dinner honoring Bill W. and Dr. Bob S. The following month, Bill would inscribe Kolb’s copy of Alcoholics Anonymous with the words, “To Dr. Lawrence Kolb / In grateful appreciation of his friendship / Bill W――” [right]. At the 10th General Service Conference in 1960, Bill would express his thoughts about Kolb:
Old Fitz Mayo, one of the early AA’s and I visited the Surgeon General of the United States in the third year of this society and told him of our beginnings. He was a gentle man, Dr. Lawrence Kolb, and has since become a great friend of AA. He said,

“I wish you well. Even the sobriety of a few is almost a miracle. The government knows that this is one of the greatest health problems but we have considered the recovery of alcoholics so impossible that we have given up and have instead concluded that rehabilitation of narcotic addicts would be the easier job to tackle."

1946: A dispute arose over a funding solicitation from the National Council for Education on Alcoholism (NCEA), written by Marty M. [left, 1940s]. It was printed on NCEA letterhead, which included the names of the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), Dr. Bob S. and Bill W.

Marty had founded the NCEA with the support of the two co-founders. In her role at the NCEA, she regularly broke her anonymity. Initially, Bill believed this was acceptable, and Marty spoke extensively about A.A. during her continual lectures across the country. This occurred before the publication of the Traditions. Even so, to many A.A. members, the inclusion of the co-founders’ names on NCEA letterhead implied a connection between A.A. and NCEA. In response, the Alcoholic Foundation published both a letter and an article in the October A.A. Grapevine denying any affiliation between Alcoholics Anonymous and the NCEA [right]. This incident contributed to the widespread belief that “total non-affiliation was the only solution” to A.A.’s relationship with other organizations.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

1970: [Early] Bill W. [left, at General Service Conference in April 1970] became completely bedridden.

1974: Bob Pearson [right] was hired as the General Manager (GM) of the General Service Office (GSO); he served in that role until October 1984. He got sober in New York City in 1961. His story, “A.A. Taught Him to Handle Sobriety,” appears in the 3rd and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Bob served on the General Service Board as a Class B (alcoholic) Trustee from 1968 to 1974 and continued working at GSO until 1986. After retiring, he contributed to A.A. in many ways, including writing a history of the Fellowship that covered the period from the publication of Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age in 1957 through A.A.’s 50th [51st?] year in 1985, but also included additional early history. Unfortunately, this manuscript never led to a published history, but it is available online.

September 11 in A.A. History

1915: Bill W. and Lois Burnham [left, 1915] were secretly engaged.

2001: The Underwood Building at 30 Vesey St. in Manhattan was damaged in the attack on the World Trade Center by Islamist terrorists but was not destroyed [near right, c. 1940; center right: looking West down Vesey St from Church St., 11 Sep 2011; far right, c. 2009]. From 1940 to 1944, it served as the first headquarters of the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City. Built in 1911 by John Thomas Underwood, the building originally housed the Underwood Typewriter Company [left: advertisement, c. 1911]. In 2008, it sold for nearly $15,000,000 [~$23,300,000 in 2026].

2001: Father Mychal Fallon J. [right], born Robert Emmett J. on 11 May 1933, died in the World Trade Center attack while serving as a chaplain for the New York Fire Department [left: iconic photo of Fr. Mychal J.’s body being carried from the World Trade Center, 11 Sep 2001]. He was an American Franciscan friar and Catholic priest who was very supportive of the gay community. Although others died before him that day, he would be designated as Victim 0001, the first official fatality of the attack. He got sober on 15 September 1978, and his funeral Mass would be held on his 23rd sobriety anniversary at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

1953: The first Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) group in Argentina was founded in Buenos Aires.

After reading Alcoholics Anonymous and getting sober in December 1952, Hector spent nearly nine months unsuccessfully attempting to establish an A.A. group. During that period, he remained in contact with the United States while visiting alcoholics in jails and hospitals. Through the Alcoholic Foundation’s General Service Office (GSO) in New York City, he met A.A. members who were visiting Buenos Aires. He also obtained unofficial A.A. publications from abroad and corresponded with numerous individuals. Gradually, Hector deepened his understanding of Alcoholics Anonymous and reinforced his own sobriety.

In September 1953, another alcoholic, Arthur M.—a British national who had lived in Argentina throughout his life—contacted Hector. While visiting family in the United States, Arthur had received treatment for alcoholism and subsequently joined A.A. in Dallas, Texas. Before returning to Buenos Aires, he obtained Hector’s name from GSO.

Working together with renewed energy, and aided by Arthur’s firsthand knowledge of A.A. in the United States, the two men succeeded in founding Argentina’s first A.A. group.

1965: The A.A. Grapevine [left: cover] published a brief article titled “Best of Bill,” which stated in part:

About a year ago, we began to think of printing readers’ favorites of Bill's articles in separate form so that they would be readily available now that some of our back issues containing them are sold out. We chose five articles on subjects which are no strangers to any of us—Fear, Faith, Honesty, Humility, and Love—and had them printed in small booklets (3½ × 5½") all packaged in a little envelope. We hope to add others to the package from time to time, so we gave the group of articles the overall title, “The Best of Bill.”

… We just returned from the Convention in Toronto, where the “Best of Bill” was introduced to the more than 10,000 people who attended this exciting, important and exhausting gathering of AAs around the world. The Grapevine had two booths on the Convention floors which were in continual danger of capsizing beneath the waves of AAs rushing back and forth to panel meetings. We're pretty certain thousands never saw our booths, or our new “Best of Bill” packet. But we are also certain (because we counted) that thousands stopped to look and to buy. We hope you will like the “Best of Bill,” too. Turn the page to see about prices and ordering [right: order form].

September 10 in A.A. History

1948: The Berea Group of Alcoholics Anonymous in Berea, Ohio [~12.4 mi, ~20.0 km SW of Cleveland], celebrated its eighth anniversary with Clar­ence S. as the main speaker [right: CD recording of his talk]. Its first meeting was on Friday, 23 August 1940, and the group continues to meet today.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

1950: [Early] Dr. Bob S. [left] underwent another operation. His live-in caretaker at the time, Emma K., recalled in 1977:

Then the pain was getting really bad. Every day, he went down a little further. And he did so hate to go to the hospital. But there were things that had to be done to him, and they couldn’t be done at home. So we [she and her alcoholic husband Lavelle K.] would take him in, and maybe he would stay a day and a night. Then we’d bring him back home.

We had good days, and we had bad days. I know one time he was in bed for six weeks. Sometimes, he had to have five or six shots. And he would always say, “Thank you kindly.”

1950: Bill W. [right] reported on the proceedings of the July 28–30 1st International Convention and A.A.’s 15th Anniversary Celebration in Cleveland, Ohio, in an A.A. Grapevine article titled “We Come of Age.” It began:

On AA’s 15th Anniversary everybody knew that we had grown up. There couldn’t be any doubt about it. Members, families and friends—seven thousand of them—spent three inspiring, almost awesome days with our good hosts at Cleveland.

The theme song of our Conference was gratitude; its keynote was the sure realization that we are now welded as one, the world over. As never before, we dedicated ourselves to the single purpose of carrying good news of AA to those millions who still don’t know. And, as we affirmed the Tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous, we asked that we might remain in perfect unity under the Grace of God for so long as he may need us.

1952: Héctor C. was admitted to a clinic in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a serious alcohol problem. There, he was treated by Dr. Roberto Pochat, an Argentine physician who had recently returned from the U.S., where he had completed a course on alcoholism at Yale University. He had also been in contact with many A.A. members, who explained the A.A. program to him in detail and had allowed him to attend many A.A. meetings.

During Héctor’s stay, Dr. Pochat encouraged him to read the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, along with several A.A. pamphlets, all in English.

1952: The A.A. Bulletin, a newsletter regularly sent to A.A. groups from the Alcoholic Foundation’s office in New York City, was renamed The Group Sec­retary. In 1955, it would be renamed again, to The General Service Bulletin. In May 1956, it would be consolidated with several other A.A. bulletins to create the A.A. Exchange Bulletin [far left: Vol. I, No. 1]. Finally, in December 1966, the A.A. Exchange Bulletin would be renamed Box 4‑5‑9 [near left: first Box 4‑5‑9, “formerly the A.A. Exchange Bulletin”].

1952: The Al-Anon Family Groups adopted the shortened form of the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, along with their own adaptations [right: Al-Anon’s Traditions, showing differences from A.A.’s]. It seems that Al-Anon has never had an equivalent to A.A.’s original (often referred to as the “long form”) of the Twelve Traditions.

1952: The Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City sent an “Interim Report” to General Service Areas and their Delegates. Some edited excerpts:

• A writer-consultant was retained to help with the development of… literature…
• A new basic folder on “The Structure and Services of AA” was prepared and distributed.
• Arrangements were made with Reader's Digest for 16 [sic] translations of Conference-approved literature. The languages were Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and French.
• Although the by-laws require that only Class A Trustees vote in elections for non-alcoholic members of the board, the names of suggested nominees will be presented to the Conference Committee on New Trustees for their consideration.

September 9 in A.A. History

1925: Melvin D. “Mel” B. [left, c. WWII] was born in Norfolk, Nebraska, the eldest son (with an older sister) of the three children of Bertha E. Swish­er and Learner A. B.

One of his schoolmates would be Johnny Carson, the longtime host of The Tonight Show. In 1950, Mel would sober up in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and become a prolific writer, freelancing for Ohio’s The Toledo Blade and authoring numerous books and articles. Writing as “Mel B.,” he contributed dozens of articles to the A.A. Grapevine and published several recovery- and A.A.-related books. Additionally, he served as the primary author, without attribution, of Pass It On [right], the General Service Conference-approved biography of Bill W.

1933: William “Bill” B. was born in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of William and Ruth McLintock B.

He would get sober on 8 April 1962 in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and become a close friend of Lois W. [left: Bill with Lois] for the last 16 years of her life. He would author The Lois W―― Story: When Love is Not Enough (2005), along with 24 other titles. He would co-write the screenplay for the movie of the same name (2010) and write the screenplay for, as well as act in the role of “Wade” in, My Name Is Bill W. (1989). Additionally, he would produce several other films, including Dog Day Afternoon, Kansas City Bomber, and Serpico. He would serve as a volunteer at Stepping Stones (Bill and Lois’ former home) for half a century and sit on the Stepping Stones Foundation Board of Trustees from 1997 to 2006.

1935: Ernest “Ernie” K. [right] was born in Rochester, New York—just three months after Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) was founded. He was the oldest of two children of Edward and Josephine K. (a 4-syllable Polish name). In 2009, he would reflect back on his surname:

Eight years of grammar school in a German parish shortened that name for practical use, and when I began graduate school bringing transcripts in two names, I was ad­vised to choose one. Tired of too-lengthy phone interactions, I opted for the one that was easier to spell. But I do remain proud of my Polish heritage and advertise it when­ever appropriate.

In 1979, Hazelden Educational Services would publish Ernie’s Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous, a revised and expanded version of his 1978 Harvard University dissertation. He went on to write at least six more books, along with numerous monographs and articles on the intellectual significance of A.A., recovery, and spirituality.

1936: Lois W.’s father, Dr. Clark Burnham [left], age 81, or possibly 80, died of pneumonia [right: New York Times obituary] at Mount Vernon Hospital in Mount Vernon, New York. He had graduated with honors from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and studied medicine at the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), specializing in gynecology. After his death, the Burnham family home at 182 Clinton St., Brooklyn, New York, was taken over by the mortgage company, but they allowed Lois and Bill W. to live there at a reduced rent (due to rent controls in the depressed housing market) until the end of April 1939.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

1948: The A.A. Grapevine published an article titled “And So From My Heart I Say,” by Rev. Sam Shoemaker [left], reflecting on the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.):

It does not seem many years ago since we invited some of our gentleman-drunk friends to come and stay at Calvary House; and when there was a “second floor” to old Calvary Mission, down in the Gas House District, where some of the men who knew better days and were ‘standing’ in the new-found way of life were living together in a kind of starkly simple spiritual community.

We made a lot of mistakes in those old days. Some of the boys helped the others, as we hoped they would; but some helped them downwards instead of upwards. Yet these early experiments had their contribution to make to the beginnings of Alcoholics Anonymous. At least they showed some of the ways not to do it.

Bill often says he saw something in these men which showed him there was a law in operation here, [sic] If a few men could find sobriety through what William James called “a firmer hold on religious realties [sic],” then many might. He went to work to discover what those laws were, and to set about ways of making them available to more people.

Bill is a smart fellow, but I shall always believe there was something way beyond Bill working in the amazing shrewdness with which he gained his insight into alcoholics, into eternal spiritual laws, and into the ways in which one can bring men and women into touch with God without raising needless religious prejudices and creating unnecessary spiritual divisions.

September 8 in A.A. History

1894: James D. “J.D.” H. [right] was born in Groves County, Kentucky. He would become A.A. #10 (some sources say #8 or #17) in September 1936 and go on to be a founder of A.A. in Indiana.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

1947: The A.A. Grapevine published “Little Rock Plan Gives Prospects Close Attention” [left] by B.H.G., presumably Bud G., the founder of the Central Group in Little Rock, Arkansas.

More than five hundred men and women have been initiated into A.A. through the Little Rock Approach Plan… since its creation seven years ago when five men got together and began to use the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, which had just been published.

It is interesting to note that of these men, the founders of the movement here, all are alive and only one ever had a relapse. They are living, walking proof of the state-ment that “it works.”

The Little Rock Plan was, we believe, the first of its kind in the country.… By adhering strictly to the “Plan” hundreds have been brought into A.A. and because this group has kept accurate records and statistics, we can report that our success is better than the national average of 75%…—or to put it another way, our “slip” record is lower than the 25% expected and reported from other groups over the country.

It is not easy to become a member of this group. When a person has expressed a desire to achieve sobriety and has had a sponsor appointed for him, he must leave his work or position for at least two weeks. Usually the prospect is required to spend that entire time within the confines of the club rooms, studying, preparing a case history, meeting and filling assignments laid out by the sponsor.

If, after two weeks, he has discharged his assignments to the satisfaction of his sponsor, he is brought before the executive committee and there his request for membership is presented by his sponsor in his presence. In some instances, because of the peculiarity of the case, he may not be admitted for varying periods as high as six months in some cases [sic]. However, if he is deemed eligible by the committee, he is brought before the next meeting, receives a warm welcome, is handed a copy of the “Approach Program” and the 12 Steps.…

This is not all, however. We do not simply say, “Now here you are, you have had it all, go your way, and may God bless you.” No, we do not cut him off in mid-air, so to speak. We give him a small diary and ask that each day thereafter for 28 days, he record his impressions of the day, any event, whether a happy one or a sad one, and enter therein, “I have not taken a drink this day,” and sign his name.

At the end of this period he returns the diary to the club, is again welcomed and is admitted to full membership, the privilege of the ballot and an unrestricted part in the activities of the fellowship. He is then assigned to a squad, given some definite task, and encouraged to work, guided by some older member, with new prospects.

1948: The A.A. Grapevine was published in a “pocketbook size” of 5½″ × 7½″ with 32 pages for the first time [right: relative sizes of A.A. Grapevine issues through August 1948 (L) and from September 1948 on (R)].

This issue included a rare article by Dr. Bob S. titled “The Fundamentals—In Retrospect.” Among his statements were these:

It is fitting at this time to indulge in some retrospect regarding certain fundamentals. Much has been written, much has been said about the 12 Steps of A.A. These tenets of our faith and practice were not worked out overnight and then presented to our members as an opportunist creed. Born of our early trials and many tribulations, they were and are the result of humble and sincere desire, sought in personal prayer for Divine guidance.

As finally expressed and offered, they are simple in language, plain in meaning. They are also workable by any person having a sincere desire to obtain and keep sobriety. The results are the proof. Their simplicity and workability are such that no special interpretations, and certainly no reservations, have ever been necessary. And it has become increasingly clear that the degree of harmonious living which we achieve is in direct ratio to our earnest attempt to follow them literally under Divine guidance to the best of our ability.