First Published: The Forge Vol 7, No 36, October 22, 1982
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Malcolm and Paul Saba
Copyright: 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 Anti-Revisionism On-Line as your source, include the url to this work, and note any of the transcribers, editors & proofreaders above.
The very survival of The Forge is at stake, this is why we are making this urgent appeal for financial help. If we are not able to resolve our present financial difficulties, the size, frequency, even the very existence of The Forge are put into question.
As you have undoubtedly noticed, The Forge fund-raising drive is not going very well overall. In spite of the many contributions and the hard work of readers and party members, as of October 14, we reached only $23,000 out of an objective of $150,000. This amounts to roughly 15 per cent after some six weeks of campaigning.
This means we have only some two-and-a-half months left to attempt to reach our goal. As well Forge sales and particularly subscriptions, which are a crucial part of the campaign, have dropped considerably during the last period. As of October 14, subscriptions amounted to only 1/3 of the total reached last year at the same time.
The economic crisis has had its effects on The Forge as well as on many progressive publications across Canada, which have had serious problems making ends meet.
The campaign and The Forge sales and subscriptions are our only source of revenue. All the money so far raised in the campaign has already been spent just to keep The Forge going from week to week. But if we want to guarantee the survival of The Forge through 1983 and keep other aspects of the WCP’s work going, we need much more stable financial support.
The Forge is clearly the top priority for the WCP, but even cutting back elsewhere will not resolve our problems unless our revenues increase.
If we cannot bring about a real turn-around in the financial campaign, very soon we will have no alternative but to examine such drastic measures as going bi-weekly or cutting back even further on the number of pages each week. These are last-resort measures which we want to avoid if at all possible. This is why we are appealing directly to you, the reader, for help. In the past few months we have been trying to build a much better Forge, a Forge which has the type of articles, lay-out and content for which you the reader has asked us for a long time.
That is why we would like to know your response to our poll published in the last issue. Bringing about these improvements means making important changes in the way we have looked upon The Forge until now. It means more articles like the dossier on the crisis and micro technology, more and better articles on the workers movement, the women’s movement and the Quebec national question and on many other subjects.
At this time The Forge is also a vital means to reflect the debates in the communist movement in Quebec and Canada and the preparations for the WCP’s 2nd Congress. But to build a better Forge, a better revolutionary press, a better newspaper for socialism and against oppression The Forge must survive as a weekly. If you think The Forge is on the right track now, if you think over the years, whatever its weaknesses, The Forge has helped to build up the movement for socialism or if you think The Forge gives you a point of view on events which you cannot find elsewhere then now is the time when we desperately need your help.
In its seven years of existence, The Forge has never made this type of appeal to our readers. But now the situation is extremely critical. Absolutely anything you can give from $1, $10, $25 or more, from taking out a subscription yourself, to giving a gift subscription to a friend can help tremendously.
Please send all donations and subscriptions directly to The Forge C.P. 364, Place d’Armes, Montreal, H2Y 3H1 or leave your donation at the Norman Bethune Bookstores or with a Forge distributor. Do not hesitate to call us at 514-521-9004 if you need any further information.