BY SARA LOBMAN

Socialist workers who are members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) in Toronto report that consistent political work on the job leads to sales of Pathfinder books and pamphlets.

"Over the past five weeks four co-workers at the Ford Electronics plant and at Arvin Industries have purchased Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War by Ernesto Che Guevara, three have become members of the Pathfinder Readers Club, and three got copies of the theses being discussed by Cuban trade unionists in preparation for their convention," said John Steele, a Ford Electronics worker.

The discussions around Episodes then led to sales of other titles, including Understanding History, The Eastern Airlines Strike, Cuba for Beginners, Sexism and Science, Trade Unions in the Epoch of Imperialist Decay, and The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State. Members of the IAM in Toronto sold three Pathfinder titles in all of March, but in April they averaged that many each week.

Winning working people and youth to the communist movement is what the campaign to increase sales of Pathfinder books and pamphlets is all about. That's why it goes hand in hand with convincing co-workers and other young people to participate in the Youth Exchange to Cuba this summer, protesting the U.S.-supported Israeli bombing of Lebanon, and signing up young people who want to hit the streets to campaign for James Harris and Laura Garza- the socialist candidates for U.S. president and vice president.

Drive to sell `Militant' subscriptions
To advance these long-term aims, supporters of the socialist press will carry out a five-week drive to sell new subscriptions to the Militant and the Spanish-language monthly Perspectiva Mundial, along with copies of the Marxist magazine New International. Many workers who have started to read Pathfinder books will want to get this kind of coverage, and those who become regular readers of the socialist press will in turn be drawn to read a broader range of Pathfinder books and issues of New International.

Militant supporters in various cities and unions are discussing goals for the subscription drive, which will run from May 11 to June 16. Next week's issue will carry a chart of the targets for the drive.

Pathfinder supporters in Ohio have found that working together with others to organize activities in support of the Cuban revolution provides a good opportunity to sell Pathfinder titles. Participants at an April 28 meeting at the University of Cincinnati to hear José Ponce, first secretary at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C., bought several titles, including How Far We Slaves Have Come by Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela and The Revolution Betrayed by Leon Trotsky.

"We sold 16 copies of the Militant, three books - U.S. Hands Off the Mideast!, Malcolm X Talks to Young People, and Israel: A Colonial-Settler State? - and four pamphlets at a demonstration of 300 in Canberra to protest the Israeli bombing of Lebanon," Joanne Kuniansky reports from Australia.

"Our table was swamped, a real part of the protest," she added. "Three young people signed up for more information on the socialist movement, including two young Muslim women who attend the university in Canberra. They wanted to know if we considered Hezbollah a terrorist organization. They really liked what Malcolm X had to say in the Militant article `Rebellions don't explode politely.' " Hezbollah is a group in Lebanon fighting the Israeli occupation.

A young worker of Lebanese background attended a Militant Labor Forum in Brooklyn after buying the Militant at a socialist campaign table earlier in the week. He spoke in the discussion to answer another forum participant who argued that the Israeli government was doing its share to establish peace. "They are occupying our country," he said. After the forum he bought Epi- sodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War.

Pathfinder supporters everywhere should keep their eyes and ears open for news of book fairs and festivals. In Los Angeles they sold 100 titles during the Festival of Books. Some 50,000 people attended the April 20-21 event. Sales included 8 copies of Episodes and 21 other titles on the Cuban revolution. Participants also bought 4 copies of The Politics of Chicano Liberation, 7 copies of New International, and 13 titles on the fight for women's liberation. In addition, 20 people got copies of the Militant and two bought subscriptions.

With this week's Militant, we welcome Pathfinder supporters in Australia and New Zealand to the scoreboard.

The next issue will carry final sales figures for April sales, as well as totals on the effort to sell 1,550 copies of Episodes and win 1,200 members of the Pathfinder Readers Club.  
 
 
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