Dear NACLA: My hands and feet are numb as I write this because my in- come forces me to live in a house with no heat. As a kid growing up in northern New Jersey, I started wage-slavery at the age of five-hawking newspapers on the street. In the winters I used to cry a lot because I'd get so damned cold. Believe me, I hate being cold! But more than that, I hate the system that forces so many of us to be cold ... or without medical care ... or illiterate ... or hungry. I'm sorry I can't send you more money-but this is what I can afford. Surely by now you folks must realize that the quality of your work is excellent and very much ap- preciated by many of us. K.D., Washington, DC As most of you know, in Dec- ember 1979 we sent an appeal for funds to all our subscribers. That letter described how two of our most dangerous enemies-infla- tion and 1980-style McCar- thyism-were ganging up on us in order to silence our voice. Since that time, we have re- ceived literally hundreds of letters of support-in fact, so many that we haven't been able to acknowl- edge all of them in the personal way we would have liked. No doubt about it-the letters and donations have been extremely encouraging. To bring you up to date on our Sustainers' appeal: we have re- ceived about 40% of our goal of $30,000. The reality of the current economic situation is clearly--- painfully-reflected in many of your letters, like the one we printed above. People are having a hard time making ends meet. A lot of people are unemployed and feeling the squeeze of inflation and the greed of large corporations. On the political front, at least one of our detractors is still at it. D.J. Kirchhoff, President of Castle 44 & Cooke, wrote yet another ex- tended attack on NACLA in the December 1979-January 1980 issue of The Presbyterian Layman, a mass circulation publication of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, Inc. Kirchoff again took issue with those in the church who have sup- ported our work over the years. The basis of his attack, however, was quite significant. Although he is obviously upset by our political conclusions, he is more disturbed by the fact that we are examining his corporation in the first place. To prove his point, he cited a paragraph from our Research Methodology Guide which he found both subversive and abhor- ent. Of all our publications, it's highly revealing that he picked this excerpt: What if the machinery were reversed? What if the habits, prob- lems, secrets and unconscious motivations of the wealthy and powerful were daily scrutinized by a thousand systematic research- ers, were hourly pried into, anal- yzed and cross-referenced, tabulated and published in a hun- dred inexpensive mass circulation journals and written so that even the fifteen-year old high school dropout could understand it . . ? It is necessary, in other words, to take the information available about power in this society and turn it against that power in ways which weaken its strangle-hold upon us. Seen in this light, research is an in- strument of our liberation. This still remains an important goal for NACLA, and we are pleased that we have made signifi- cant progress towards opening the corporate books. Our own Re- search Methodology Guide has sold more than 75,000 copies. And literally millions of people now know more about how corpora- tions function, and how the power- ful rule, by reading the dozens of newsletters and journals pubished by many organizations similar to NACLA which have emerged. It is clear to us that Kirchoff will fight us-and others-to keep his corporate activities in the dark. And, from your response to our ap- peal, it is also clear that you're not going to let him win! We sincerely thank you for this. Your feedback is extremely im- portant to us, both in evaluating how our work is used and in plan- ning future issues of the Report. We will soon be preparing a ques- tionnaire in the Report so we can get your response in a more sys- tematic way. We are reprinting a few of the many letters we have received. They were so encouraging that we wanted to share them with you. If you have not yet contributed to the NACLA Sustainer campaign-and even if you have-we need your help. We still must raise the remaining 60% of our goal if we are to continue publishing. For those who have contributed already, thank you very, very much! NACLA Reportupdate * update * update . update "KEEP STRUGGLING" "Continue our sub as long as possible with this (donation). Of course, if you weren't doing so well, you would not be attacked." H.S., San Diego, CA "Enclosed is my check for $100, which I am certain that you will put to good use. I occasionally teach a survey course in Latin American History and find NACLA Report to be a vital information source for my work. I'd certainly hate to see you all go under. Information on the nefarious activities of capitalism in Latin America is hard to obtain without access to non-capitalist research & so I'm quite pleased to help in what small way I can. Keep up your good work. I'd like to see NACLA around for a long time!" F.K., Menomonie, WI "The integrity, maturity and depth of your work should continue. Here is my check for $50 to help out. Keep struggling." S.O., Ann Arbor, MI "Hereby I send you a fotocopy of an article I wrote for De Groene Amsterdammer, a Dutch indepen- dent, left-wing weekly. I suppose you cannot read the Dutch but at least it gives you an idea there is something like Dutch solidarity with NACLA. The article is a sum- mary of the letter you wrote to the subscribers and the things that have been written about it in the Reports. In the end, I ask for moral and financial solidarity." P.B., Amsterdam, Netherlands "Please accept this small check as a gift. Keep up the excellent research and analysis on events in the Western Hemisphere." R.M., San Pedro, CA JanlFeb 1980 "We enclose a $10 contribution to help support NACLA's activities and Reports which we consider highly valuable and important, mostly taking into account the serious present condition within the U.S. and the international situation." C.T. and A.M., Mexico City, Mexico "I'd like to give more, but I can't afford it. I'm a public school teacher! Imagine! " B.R., Everett, MA "I have heard that your organiza- tion has been subjected to strong political pressure and suppression. What can the Finnish Peace Com- mittee and its new Latin America Solidarity Committee do for your support?" L.H., Helsinki, Finland "Please include my sub renewal in this. Deeply sorry I can't afford more. Congratulations on your enemies." C.B., Cuernavaca, Mexico "We were terribly distressed by your recent letter and furious at the same time. Enclosed is a little bit of money via gift subscriptions. But we'd like to give you more help if possible. We will gladly print an ad for you free and will certainly make mention of what is happen- ing to you in our next editorial." R.B., Cine Tracts, Montreal, Canada "Estimados Companeros de NACLA: I was and am extremely concerned by the attacks on NACLA. I am enclosing a $25 check for two gift subscriptions and a $5 donation. I would be hap- py to help in any way I could to support NACLA against the reac- tionary forces that are attempting to silence you." V.O., Oakland, CA "Keep it up, brothers and sisters!" P.M., Burlington, VT
