First Published: The Call, Vol. 5, No. 34, December 27, 1976.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: 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.
1977 promises to be a year of powerful revolutionary struggle which will see the historic founding of a new communist party! To meet the needs and demands of the surging revolutionary movement and the formation of the new party, The Call is expanding from 12 to 16 pages (11 in English, 5 in Spanish). Several trial-runs at publishing a 16-page paper over the last month were enthusiastically received by our readers. After next week’s holiday break, The Call will regularly have 16 pages.
The expansion of the paper will enable us to print more articles and correspondence by activists in the front lines of the fight against capitalism.
We want to use this occasion to thank all those correspondents who have written for The Call over the last year, even though space has not allowed us to print all of their articles, With the expanded paper, we urge the factory discussion groups, The Call committees, and individual worker correspondents to take up the pen regularly, as a weapon to spread the news and lessons of your struggles locally to workers all over the country.
In this period of building the party, we encourage our readers to do special study of the comprehensive propaganda articles which appear in the paper, and to join factory and community groups as a part of the newspaper’s network of readers, writers and distributors.
In studying propaganda articles (such as the recent ones on such subjects as “the direction of the main blow” and the international situation, the study of Lenin’s One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, the trade union series, etc.) we encourage correspondents to write up their own views for publication in the paper. In this way, more systematic study of these important articles can be done and the line of the OL, reflected in The Call, will be deepened through mass discussion.
To expand the paper, we began a fund raising campaign several months ago. Our goal of raising $10,000 during the paper’s anniversary celebrations in October was fulfilled and actually doubled.
This shows the tremendous support and enthusiasm which our readers and comrades have for the development and improvement of the paper. We warmly extend our thanks and appreciation to all those who have helped The Call financially and in every other way.
At the same time, we recognize the tremendous costs that lie ahead in building the expanded paper. We are trying to purchase new typesetting equipment, for example, which will make our work faster and more efficient, and thus get the news into print more quickly. But the purchase of such equipment requires thousands more dollars. In addition, the weekly printing of the l6-page paper will cost 25 more than the 12-page paper, but we want to keep the price of the paper at the same 25 cents.
To help us meet these added costs, we are once again appealing to our readers for their support, and especially urging you to join our sustainer program, making a monthly contribution to the paper. People who make such regular donations receive a complimentary subscription to the paper as well as all new OL literature as it comes off the press.
Another urgent task in strengthening The Call find the network around it is to enlarge its circulation and make sure it gets to more people every week. For this reason, subscriptions are especially important. After much difficulty with the post office bureaucracy, The Call has finally succeeded in obtaining “newspaper handling” status. This means that readers in all parts of the country should receive the paper no later than a week after it is mailed, instead of the three to four weeks it has been taking. This new speed in delivery should be an added encouragement to new subscribers.
To build the readership of the expanded Call, we will hold a Subscription Week January 17-24. Call distributors in every city will sign up new subscribers at reduced rates, with the goal of enlisting hundreds of new subscribers that week. More details on Subscription Week will be in the next issue.
Every step in the advancement of The Call over the last four years has only been possible with the collective effort of thousands of our supporters. In building the newspaper that speaks for the working class, we must rely on the masses of workers themselves. We know we can count on your support as we build the expanded Call into the type of newspaper that can serve as the scaffolding for the new party.
BUILD AND EXPAND THE CALL!
READ, WRITE, AND SELL THE WEEKLY CALL!
ON TO THE PARTY!