Producing agitational and theoretical lit is one thing, getting it into the hands of readers is another. An internal report on the work of the Communist Party’s New York District.

‘How New York District Got $500 in Profit in Literature Sales’ from Robert Franklin from Party Organizer. Vol. 6 No. 10. October, 1933.

MANY comrades think that the successful organization of a literature department depends only on the amount of literature sold; the more literature sold, the better the department. This is only part of the battle-front on the literature field. There cannot be successful sales if there is not enough of the widest assortment of theoretical, propaganda and cheaply priced agitational literature. There cannot be a sufficient amount of literature it there is not a good literature fund or sound credit.

Realizing that the above was true, we did the following to guarantee the organization of the financial end of our literature department: We took up the question with the Workers Library Publishers, explaining how we wanted to spread the sale of literature in the New York District. We convinced them that we would not allow any of the money that came in from the sale of literature to be used for anything else but the payment of the bills. We also realized that we could not expect the Workers Library Publishers to give us our entire literature on a credit basis. We, therefore, managed to raise $100.00 on which we placed a $200.00 order.

We Raise Literature Funds in the Sections

The New York District started a campaign throughout the sections and the units for the immediate raising of literature funds in every unit and section. At first we worked strictly on a cash basis. We found, however, that this was quite a handicap in the proper sale and distribution of literature. We took up the question with each section literature agent. Where the comrade showed a definite understanding and personal responsibility and where we also saw that the section committee would give him full leeway and cooperation, we began to extend credit beyond the immediate cash payment. We also introduced the policy of taking back pamphlets that could not be immediately sold (that is, everything except the Ic, 2c and 3c pamphlets which can always be sold). In this manner the sections did not tie up whatever profits they had in a stock of slow-moving literature. The literature was changed on an average of once a month.

At first a few of the sections used up the literature money for their rent, leaflets or for some other important immediate purpose. Every time this came up we immediately brought this to the attention of the section, raised a protest and showed them that it is contrary to the Party policy to use literature money in this manner.

We found that by giving credit to the section that showed its responsibility to the literature, the sales went up immediately, a wider assortment of agitational and theoretical pamphlets were sold.

Following this policy we started to open up accounts with the various branches of mass organizations. Where the payment was slow, we tightened down immediately and would not give any mote literature and saw to it that the old balance was cleaned up by visiting the branch, or by impressing the literature agent with the political importance of not tying up our money in dead accounts and thus stopping us from getting more literature.

District Cooperates in Extending Literature Sales

The district financial department co-operated to a great extent to make it possible for the literature department to build up its own fund by not demanding any of the profits of the sale of literature.

They were willing to wait for us to establish a credit with the sections and many of the mass organizations (about $3,000.00), this credit being turned over in a period of between six and eight weeks. If the district financial department would have been short-sighted enough to demand money in advance, it would have stopped the correct functioning of the literature department.

The result of this policy was that about $700.00 was given to the district up to the month of March; $500.00 was given the latter part of September, leaving quite a substantial literature fund in the form of current stock, amounting to about $3,000.00 on hand.

This can be done in varying degrees by each district and by each section, with the fundamental principle that literature money is not to be used for any other purposes; that all literature taken from the district literature department, whether for section purposes of agit-prop work, is to be paid for; a close and consistent check-up of accounts, not to allow them to become overdue; personal attention to each literature agent in the financial as well as organizational problems in his section.

Planned Work—Checkup—Only Formula Now

Comrades, in commenting upon the progress that was made in District 2 in the building of a literature department, ask, “How were you able to build this department? How is it possible for you to sell so much literature? What formula do you use?”

The answer is a constant check-up.

No formula, no matter how well put, will ever replace the above. Understanding the necessity of planned work, we called a meeting of all section literature agents. Each section literature agent gave a report on the conditions in his section. First, as to the literature apparatus they had; secondly, the political development of the leadership insofar as recognizing the organizational value of literature in the Party work. Each section gave its suggestions and after a full discussion, we found that, in the main, the poor sale of the literature was a result of:

No appreciation as to the organizational role that literature plays in the building of the Communist Party.

The agitprops of the sections never connected up literature with their agitational work.

Very little, if any, mention of literature by the chairman or the speakers at meetings.

Very few individual comrades carried literature with them all the time for distribution in the places where they work, or in their mass organizations.

No attempts made to place literature in the hands of the unemployed Party comrades through a unit fund.

No check-up in house to house canvassing as to whether and how literature was sold.

Utilize Daily Worker to Promote Sales

These and quite a few other reasons were brought forth as to the poor circulation of literature. Understanding these problems and realizing that a good portion of them could be overcome by the education of the Party leaders and the membership, we started a campaign in the Daily Worker and in the Party Organizer. We issued a monthly bulletin on ways and means of selling literature, with personal experiences.

Although great progress has been made in comparison with the number of pieces of literature sold two years ago, we still find the following is true:

Only one section has a literature committee.

Practically no tie-up with the section agitprop and the section literature department.

Only 50 per cent of the units buy literature regularly.

Very little theoretical literature sold.

Still a great lack of understanding as to the role that the literature plays in a revolutionary movement.

We hope to further increase and improve our distribution apparatus by trying to overcome the above defects. In a district like New York, there is no question but that the literature department should be able to pay most of the wages of the district staff and this is the goal that we set ourselves to achieve. This will mean not only making it easier for the district office to function, but will also have the result of a tremendous distribution of literature in the hands of workers and the attending organizational results gotten from them.

—ROBERT FRANKLIN

The Party Organizer was the internal bulletin of the Communist Party published by its Central Committee beginning in 1927. First published irregularly, than bi-monthly, and then monthly, the Organizer was primarily meant for the Party’s unit, district, and shop organizers. The Organizer offers a much different view of the CP than the Daily Worker, including a much higher proportion of women writers than almost any other CP publication. Its pages are often full of the mundane problems of Party organizing, complaints about resources, debates over policy and personalities, as well as official numbers and information on Party campaigns, locals, organizations, and periodicals making the Party Organizer an important resource for the study and understanding of the Party in its most important years.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/party-organizer/v06n10-oct-1933-Party%20Organizer.pdf