BY PETER THIERJUNG
NEW YORK - Supporters of Pathfinder's campaign to raise $125,000 got off to a good start in Auckland, New Zealand, by winning pledges of $1,911 surpassing an initial goal of $1,600, reports Felicity Coggan, a member of the Engineers Union there. The pledges were made by participants in a September 6 Militant Labor Forum held for three local delegates who attended the World Festival of Youth and Students in Cuba last July.

What the Cubans do is the "pinnacle of protest," Matt Howell told the audience. Howell, who attended the festival as a delegate of the Students' Union at the Unitec technical college, said that until recently all he had known about Cuba was that they had good boxers. He explained how reading Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War, 1956 - 58 by Ernesto Che Guevara had inspired him to find out more about the Cuban revolution. Howell is now reading Pombo: A Man of Che's `Guerrilla,' which he bought at the festival. Two other festival delegates, Eugene Lepou of the Communist League and Young Socialist member Nathan Simms, described the response to Pathfinder books at the festival. Some 88 titles were sold there by Pathfinder supporters from Australia and New Zealand.

Pittsburgh jumped to the top third of the fund chart following a September 13 public meeting. The program to kick off the fund locally featured a discussion on the shifts in U.S. and world politics today and the value of reading The Changing Face of U.S. Politics: Working-Class Politics and the Trade Unions by Jack Barnes. Along with new pledges won, a few participants raised their pledges and several made initial payments bringing Pittsburgh up to $1,195.

With the halfway point near, fund supporters in Pittsburgh are mapping out plans for the remaining weeks of their drive to raise $5,000. "We're planning to hold a second fund event focusing on Pathfinder's new title Pombo: A Man of Che's `Guerrilla,'" Chris Remple reports. "The event will be held around October 9, the 30th anniversary of Che Guevara's fall in combat. We're planning to put together a broad panel of people who have read the book and want to comment on it."

A St. Louis supporter recently sent in a check for $100 with a note that sets an example for the spirit and planning that will bring the fund in on time and in full. "I plan to send in two more checks of $100 at the beginning of October and after the 15th," he wrote. "Keep up the vital work!"

The campaign to raise $125,000 now approaches the half- way point. Careful planning, organizing outreach to potential contributors, and regular payments on pledges through the next five weeks will be key ingredients in this leg of the drive. Total contributions received in New York each week need to average more than $13,700 to achieve the fund goal of $125,000.

Contributions should be made to the Pathfinder Fund and mailed to 410 West Street, New York, NY 10014, or contact the Pathfinder Bookstore nearest you listed in the directory on page 12.  
 
 
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