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Fourth International, October 1941

 

Manager’s Column

 

From Fourth International, Vol.2 No.8, October 1941, p.226.
Transcribed, edited & formatted by Ted Crawford & David Walters in 2008 for ETOL.

 

The editorial staff of Fourth International had its plans for the September issue upset by the class struggle itself. At the very moment when the September issue was ready to, go to press, the paper workers and truckmen connected with the paper industry of New York struck for better conditions and made impossible the procurement of the kind of paper we use in time for the regular September issue.

Because of this circumstance, Fourth International has been obliged to, omit the issue which would normally have been dated September 1941. The bulk of the material for that issue is printed, instead, in this, the October 1941, issue.

We regretted the interference with our publication date, but wished the striking paper workers every success in their struggle. It would have been too bad if they allowed all of the financial benefit coming from skyrocketing paper prices to go into’ the pockets of the bosses.

* * *

The business office has a special reason for being glad to see the approach of fall. It means the end of the well-known “summer slump.” It means that activity no longer has to be carried on in the face of debilitating heat.

We have no doubt that it was the summer heat which knocked some of our branches back into the mire of debt. For the moment we are willing to believe the best about such places as Akron, Cleveland, Flint, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New Haven, San Diego, San Francisco, and our cities in Texas. But we are highly skeptical about Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, especially since they come from a part of the country which makes a principle of not admitting that weather can have an adverse effect on anybody.

Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Paul stand apart as ideals for other parts of the country to emulate. They have so regularized and stabilized their payments that the business office can almost tell when they put their checks in the mail at home.

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have devoted themselves conscientiously to the liquidation of old debts and have gone far toward clearing up their accounts. There are a few other places which would do well to adopt the attitude of steady devotion which the comrades in these cities show.

* * *

The persistence with which our publications continue to find their way into every remote part of the world is proven constantly by written and verbal communications coming to our offices.

From one of the important ‘cities of South Africa this month came a letter of inquiry from a worker who complained that he had not been getting his copies of the magazine with regularity. He was sure the [one line of text missing] interfere with FI circulation!

The generous cooperation of Pioneer Publishers with the Militant and the Fourth International allows us to make an excellent offer to those of our readers who realize the importance of becoming regular subscribers to the newspaper and magazine.

The subscription offer advertised on this page gives the reader interested in the best literature of the Trotskyist movement an opportunity to add to his library. Included in the list of premiums are works which have become standard in revolutionary literature.

Some of the works offered with the higher-priced subscriptions are available now in limited quantities and we sincerely urge those who recognize their value to, take advantage of this chance at once. The offer will be valid only until November 7, which in the Trotskyist movement is doubly celebrated: as the anniversary of the great Russian Revolution of October and as the birthday of one of its great figures, Leon Trotsky.

 
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Last updated on 13.9.2008