From Socialist Appeal, Vol. III No. 66, 6 September 1939, pp. 1 & 2.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.
The total receipts on the Anti-War Fund drive now stand at $1,000.
That used to be considered a good bit of money. Now it is a drop in the bucket.
We set the goal of $5,000 by September 15. That was modest to begin with. While the non-financial aspects of the War Referendum Campaign have shown good results for all the sections of the Party which seriously went into campaign work, THE BRANCHES HAVE NOT COME THROUGH ON THE FUND QUOTAS.
Funds Are Vital Our meetings are larger than ever; the regular press run of the Socialist Appeal is now at the highest point in its history; the petition drive will easily go over the top by the date set; new thousands of workers, who have never listened to us before, have been attracted by our drive to take the war-making power away from Congress and to let the people vote on war —
But the anti-war chest of the Party is empty.
We know that many branches have planned to concentrate their money-raising efforts during the two weeks before September 15. But if even this is going to pull us through, the comrades in the branches have to realize what the fund drive means to the Party at this moment.
Make up your list of pamphlets and leaflets which you want to see us put out; reckon up the sections of the country where organizers are urgently needed; think of what a permanent three-a-week or four-a-week Appeal means to our mass work at’this moment; consider all the special steps which are necessary when the world is at war and the war-makers in the United States are tugging at the leash – and that the burden of the struggle against war by America falls on us, the anti-war party of the Fourth International.
Sacrifice now for the movement and for the anti-war struggle, before the rulers call upon you to sacrifice for them. Rush every available dollar to the National Office!
The public rallies against the war and on the Stalin-Hitler deal continue across the country. Reading from east to west, here is a partial summary. (Branches should send announcements of public meetings into the Appeal for notice in our columns.)
BOSTON ... Max Shachtman on September 8.
GARDNER, Mass. ... outdoor meeting on August 27, with a large attendance of Stalinist Finnish workers, who engaged in an earnest discussion with our comrades after the meeting.
NEW YORK CITY ... the series of public meetings to cover the whole city is reported elsewhere in this issue. Some of the branches will be holding two outdoor meetings an evening in preparation for their indoor rally.
WASHINGTON, D.C. ... a combination meeting and social on August 26 at which Comrade J.R. Johnson was the speaker. Several Negro contacts were gained. Two new members have been recruited by the Washington branch and more are expected soon.
READING, PA. ... Outdoor meeting on August 28. “We sold out on Appeals,” reports the branch, “and we could have sold more but did not have them.” Another outdoor meeting on August 31.
YOUNGSTOWN ... B.J. Widick, national labor secretary of the Party, at a public meeting on September 5.
AKRON ... Widick on September 1.
CLEVELAND ... Widick on September 8.
TORONTO ... Shachtman on September 6.
TOLEDO ... Widick on September 9.
FLINT, MICH. ... Mass meetings on September 6 with Genora Johnson and George Clarke as speakers.
DETROIT ... Shachtman on September 5.
CHICAGO ... An attentive audience of 400, including many disillusioned members and sympathizers of the Communist Party, heard Comrade Shachtman on the Stalinazi Pact on August 31. Comrade Shachtman returned to Chicago on September 3 for a second mass meeting.
MINNEAPOLIS ... Shachtman on September 1.
Last updated on 11 March 2016