Fiscal Limits of Iconoclasm

The March issue of Ramparts was only part way out last week. Newsstand copies went on sale two weeks ago, but 145,000 subscription copies of the magazine were still piled up at the printers in Denver. Reason: Ramparts had run out of money. The post office wouldn't accept its checks, and its subscription-service company wouldn't produce the necessary address labels until a start was made toward clearing up debts of between $20,000 and $25,000. In desperation, Ramparts sent out telegrams and letters to selected subscribers, asking them to chip in at least $10 apiece. The response was enough so that at week's end the magazines were being labeled and stuffed into mailbags.

Still, Ramparts is far from rescued. Its overall deficit stands at about $250,000; its editors put the blame on timid advertisers frightened off by the magazine's iconoclasm. This is true in part; its contents encourage people to imagine a CIA operative behind every bush--or a Kennedy assassin. But Ramparts has had plenty of other troubles. After a furious intramural spat, it ousted Founder-Publisher Edward Keating. Total adulation of the Black Power movement, plus an article blaming the Middle East war on Israel, caused two other wealthy backers of the magazine to withdraw support.

Trying to recoup, Ramparts is announcing its determination to shake off the yoke of advertising. From now on, it says, readers will have to assume cost of publication. Newsstand price will increase from 750 to $1, a year's subscription from $8.50 to $15.

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