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From New International, Vol.4 No.4, April 1938, p.98.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.
THE OUTSTANDING merits of The New International are receiving wider recognition and support. First subscriptions and orders come in from Buenos Aires, Argentina. In Great Britain The New International is acclaimed and the circulation grows. London comrades and bookshops dispose of more magazines than any other city except New York. A Glasgow, Scotland, bookshop places its first order; E.F. of Battersea, England, writes: “The NI’s sold easily. I can sell more of the March issue. Increase order to fifty copies.” (In three issues from 10 to 50 copies by a single comrade. Catch up, American comrades! A new order comes from comrade M.K., London: “The reappearance of The New International is greeted with great enthusiasm by us all. Please send 25 to begin with.” An Aberdeen, Scotland, comrade says: “I enjoy The New International very much. I think it has no equal for enlightenment socialistically in the English language.” A subscriber from Copenhagen, Denmark, voices like sentiments. Margaret Johns, London, of THE MILITANT group, which disposed of 160 copies of the March issue, repeatedly increases orders.
The Johannesburg, South Africa, agent proceeds to increase his order to 30 copies.
In fact, though the American comrades in most instances are doing a good job, the agents in other countries are doing even better. However, the improvement in the US, with one important exception, is steady, and the Manager declines to grumble, but confidently expects even better results.
Yes, the March issue is all sold out. Only a copy here and there is to be found. Prospects for a print run over 4,000 next time are growing. The bundle circulation grows and is becoming stabilized – without wind, so to speak. Since the last issue, new bundle orders have been placed by the literature agents in Baltimore, Maryland, Quakertown, Pa., Reading, Pa., Salem, Ohio, the YPSL in Rochester, N.Y., and Pittsburgh, Pa. But many Branches also increased their former orders: Akron, Ohio, to 50 copies – “The NI sells like hot-cakes here. C.M.” A splendid job. Cleveland (Gerry Arnold, agent): 25 to 40 copies. “Comrades feel that NI is coming pretty close to being the type of magazine we desire. J.M.C.” Detroit, Mich., has increased its order to 25 and sent a reorder. Salt Lake City, Utah, increased its previous order, plus a re-order. Berkeley, Calif., YPSL started with ten, now sells 30 copies. Nice work. Quakertown, Pa., Howard Stump – “I can get new readers, because the NI was well liked by those who read it,” Increases order. Hartford, Conn., ordered extra copies. Boston likewise ordered extra copies of February issue; now handles 75.
Comrade Leonard, agent, doing very good work. C.V.H., for Rochester SWP, doubles order from 10 to 20 copies. Doris Cooper, Toledo, says: “Comrades believe The New International is a swell magazine ... The last edition was a ‘beaut’. How about an article stressing the defense of the Soviet Union? ... More and more Stalinists are reading the NI now.” In Philadelphia, Sol Thomas works splendidly on behalf of the magazine, and has sent in a number of subscriptions. Phila. is now getting under way; disposes of 60 copies. St. Paul, Minn., B. Neff, agent, doubles order from 10 to 20. Minneapolis, Minn., SWP handles 75 copies and has sent in additional subscriptions. The live-wire agent there is Chester Johnson. Comrade McClelland, St. Louis, Mo., Branch sends in a batch of subscriptions, besides which D.T.B., literature agent, receives a bundle of 25 for general sales. Saint Louis is doing a good job. They write: “We consider the NI an extremely effective and important journal ... will do all we can to help, of course.” John Boulds, Plentywood, Mont., where it’s plenty cold these days, writes, “The roads are blocked now; will try to get new subscriptions in a short time.” Karolyn Kerry, and Elizabeth Ryan, both of Oakland, placed extra orders for the January and February issues. Oakland order stands at 40, but extra orders have been placed with previous issues. Keep up the good work, Oakland. Youngstown, Ohio, placed an extra order last month and is pushing the NI. Likewise is Columbus, Ohio, Morris Slavin, agent, doing well. Salem, Ohio: “The NI was well received ... I will try to get subscriptions.” And so on from other places.
A new literature agent, Abe Miller, has taken over the NI job in New York, and the improvement has been marked in many respects. Comrade Miller is proceeding to organize magazine distribution and sales to Party Branches and outside meetings with efficiency. As a result the Party order increased to 425 for the March issue. Morris Miller covers the newsstands on 14th Street and 42nd Street systematically. Party Branches are beginning to push the NI sales with greater determination. The LABOR BOOK SHOP sells 150 copies. The New York YPSL? The exception referred to before. While the YPSL in all parts of the country is the back-bone of the circulation end of The New International, as well as its intellectual devotees, in New York the YPSL has so far been a failure, no less. With a few exceptions, the YPSL. Circles have paid little or no attention to The New International, a publication of special value for the ideological development of the youth. However, some changes are being effected, and improvement is hoped for. The New York YPSL will, we feel sure, soon do its share with the NI as it does with other work.
A last word: Circulation is steadily on the increase. Subscriptions, however, are still too few and coming in all too slowly. Branches, consider a subscription campaign. And, may we suggest, some entertainments for the benefit of The New International? The magazine warrants such support.
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