If you want proof science fiction fandom has always been at war, look no further than the infamous “yellow pamphlet,” written by David Kyle, the distribution of which resulted in Donald A. Wollheim, Frederik Pohl, Cyril Kornbluth, and others being banned from the 1939 World Science Fiction Convention.

It included such language as—

The World’s Science Fiction Convention of 1939 in the hands of such heretofore ruthless scoundrels is a loaded weapon in the hands of such men. This weapon can be aimed at their critics or can be used to blast all fandom. But YOU, the reader of this short article, are the ammunition. It is for YOU to decide whether you shall bow before the unfair tactics and endorse the carefully arranged plans of the Convention Committee. Beware of any crafty speeches or sly appeals. BE ON YOUR GUARD!

The full text of this document has long been online, so I’ve read it before, but I never saw an actual copy until a scan of one appeared as part of a recent eBay listing. That sale is now closed, though I can’t tell whether it’s because the seller got the $1,000 asking price for one of the few surviving copies or the listing period simply ended.

Whenever fannish controversies get me down, I think back to this pamphlet from 78 years ago, and am strangely comforted by the fact that … it has been ever thus.

You can read Kyle’s reminiscence of those times and the Great Exclusion Act here.