Main FI Index | Main Newspaper Index
Encyclopedia of Trotskyism | Marxists’ Internet Archive
From Fourth International, March 1946, Vol.7 No.3, p.66.
Transcribed, edited & formatted by Ted Crawford & David Walters in 2008 for ETOL.
From readers abroad:
“I received this very morning the December 15th Militant and the December issue of Fourth International,” writes L.B., from Paris. “Many thanks. Your editorial on the French Elections is quite good but for a minor mistake. You wrote on ‘Elections are Contradictory,’ page 356: ‘The Radical-Socialist Party was the main force calling for a yes vote on the first question, that is, a return to the Third Republic.’
“That’s quite wrong.The Radical-Socialist Party called for a no answer to the two questions of the referendum. But, as the quoted sentence is in contradiction with another where you stated, page 356: ‘The first part of the referendum asked – Do you want the assembly to be a Constituent Assembly? That is, do you want a new constitution as against a return to the old Third Republic?’, I hope your readers corrected by themselves.
“Your publications The Militant and Fourth International seem to be very well informed. Particularly your Militant with 8 pages is a rich source of information. Wonderful!
“Long live the Fourth International!”
An increase in newsstand sales is reported all over the country. Wherever an agent makes the initial effort of introducing the magazine to a new stand, Fourth International is able to sell itself.
Louise Leslie, San Diego agent writes:
“For several months we have noticed a growing interest in the FI Please increase our bundle order from 15 to 25 copies per month. Just think! Eight of the ten FI’s put on the newsstand for January sold out the first week! How’s that?”
* * * *
Los Angeles reports record sales of the December issue. Ruth Daniels says
“Newsstand sales of the FI improved this past month and I hope this encouraging trend keeps up. About 50 copies of the December issue were sold on the stands.”
Now that Fourth International goes to press on the 15th of the month, newsstands are assured of having it on display the first day of the month. This should encourage our agents to push the magazine, as the stands are e undoubtedly the best way of increasing sales. How about starting with the March issue?
In Pittsburgh, Eloise Gordon writes that a methodical effort is being made to place the FI in new places – libraries and book stores especially.
Maggie McGowan, Toledo agent, always has some live-wire action to report.
“The FI is now on three new newsstands in Toledo: Hirsch News, 319 St. Clair St., Orchard Drug Store, 3059 West Bancroft and St. John’s News Co., 408 Jefferson. The two newsstands are in down town Toledo and both of them have a large volume of sales. The drug store is in the University district and the FI should attract the students. The December issue of the FI did very well on all three stands.”
We would like to hear from other cities on what plan is used in placing Fourth International on the stands. New York has added about 10 stands recently and are collecting 15c from the dealer for each copy sold. Once the magazine is established and is selling, it would seem reasonable to collect the usual 20 cents from the dealer. However, the experience of our agents over a period of time would be most helpful in regularizing the newsstand price. Write in and tell us bow you have resolved the problem in your city.
* * * *
Scott Nearing’s review of T. Cliff’s series of articles on the Jewish question has prompted many readers of his newssheet to order copies of the December, January and February Fourth International. Several of these readers have become subscribers, through this sampling of our magazine. M.D.M., Boston, Mass., suggests that the articles should be published in pamphlet form, because of the wide interest in Zionism, the Arab question, etc.
* * * *
Letters from subscribers: from Madison, Wisconsin, S.T. writes:
“Enclosed find $2.00 for a year’s subscription to Fourth International. I find the FIs high literary and theoretical standard an effective antidote to the confusion and outright untruth in the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois liberal press. The Nation and New Republic ought to fuse, and then negotiate with The New Masses for ‘organic unity’. Increasingly it appears that so-called liberalism displays a miserable lack of ‘intellectual integrity.’”
* * * *
P.K., Oakland, Cal.:
“I am enclosing a check for $4.00.Will you please send me Fourth International for one year and also The Militant.
“I happen to have an almost continuous file of New International and the FI from January 1938 to March 1943 in my possession. If you want it or part of it, I will send it to you.”
We certainly do want back issues of the NI and FI We have so many demands for issues published during the war years that often we cannot fill them. Any readers who, like P.K., wish to contribute their extra copies can be assured that very good use will be made of them. Often we need odd magazines to fill out a set for binding, and as this is the time of year that we arrange for binding, we would appreciate receiving them as soon as possible.
Main FI Index | Main Newspaper Index
Encyclopedia of Trotskyism | Marxists’ Internet Archive
This work is in the Public Domain under the Creative Commons Common Deed. You can freely copy, distribute and display this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit the Encyclopedia of Trotskism On-Line as your source, include the url to this work, and note any of the transcribers, editors & proofreaders above.
Last updated on 9.2.2009