Excerpt from The Harmonizer, March 1950, page 6:
by Society President, O.H. King Cole
"This year a very heavy toll is being exacted from the Society in the way of suspended charters. The mortality rate in Chapters is practically four times as high as it has ever been in the past, and we can charge a great deal of this to the fact that we have been unwilling to lend assistance necessary to keep these chapters going..."
Page 11, same issue:
by International Secretary, Carroll P. Adams
"When we in the headquarters office find out that a chapter is in trouble we naturally do our best to discover what's wrong and attempt to correct it. Sometimes this can be done. At other times we are too late or perhaps, distance nullifies our effectiveness. Through personal experience, through information relayed by District officials, through contacts with chapter members, we have been able to put together a very good picture of the fundamental reasons why some chapters die. In every case we find that some or all of the routines practiced by successful chapters have been ignored or neglected..."
So it seems clear that the health and vitality of our chapters has been important, is important, and will always BE important to our success of our Society as a whole. But what we can do to help our chapters who may be struggling? Perhaps we can take advice that's had 60 years to stay true and continue to build off of it! Read {this article} and {this article}, and when you have a chance, take a look through more Harmonizer back issues we are in the process of scanning for preservation and posterity.