Marx-Engels Correspondence 1866
Source: MECW Volume 42, p 218;
First published: in Marx and Engels, Works, Moscow, 1946.
Dear Library,
Happy New Year!
You must excuse my silence, ditto the brevity of these lines of mine. You will not believe how bothered I am for time. Indisposition, forever recurring periodically, all manner of unfortunate mischances demands made on me by the International Association, etc., have confiscated every free moment I have for writing out the fair copy of my manuscript. [Capital] I hope to be able to take Volume I of it to the publisher for printing myself in March. (The whole thing, the two volumes, will, however, appear simultaneously This is good.)
So, this very much by way of summary.
Today I am sending you by post the 2 latest issues of The Workman’s Advocate, of which Eccarius is now editor. If, as I hope, you send any articles for it, please do so to me (political, social, as you will).
I also enclose cards of membership for you. I have paid for them. You can therefore give them to whomever you like, and have only to inscribe the name and after the £, put 0, but after the Os., 1d.
The conditions, generally, are these: a society as such that wishes to join has an Association collective membership Card, for which 5s. per year is to be paid. But, if all the members join individually, they have to take out cards of the kind I am sending you. This is advantageous for workers. The cards serve as a passport abroad, and their confréres in London, Paris, Brussels, Lyons, Geneva, etc., will get jobs for them.
The Association has made great progress. It already has 1 official English paper, The Workman’s Advocate, a Brussels one, La Tribune du Peuple, a French one in Geneva, Journal de 1'Association Internationale des Travailleurs, Section de la Suisse Romande, and a German one in Geneva, Der Vorbote, which will be appearing in a few days. Address: 6 rue du Môle, Genf, J. P. Becker, in case you want to write to the old man occasionally (as I hope you will).
I am now hoping you will soon make it possible for me to announce the foundation of a Leipzig section and enable me to present correspondence. (In English. It can then be used in The Workman’s Advocate as well.) The number is not important, although the more, the better.
If people want to join en masse, as a society, you will see that the total price of 5s., which they have to pay annually, is nothing.
J. P. Becker writes to me:
‘Sections are going to be formed in Leipzig, Gotha, Stuttgart and Nuremberg; shall we register them here for the time being, until there is a large number and a Central Committee has been formed in Germany?’
I have replied in the affirmative. However, since there can be several branches in one town, you and your people can establish links direct with us.
I have had a second letter from the Berliners. I am at last writing to them today. Ditto to Dr Kugelmann.
Salut.
Your
K. M.
I will let you know next time what questions are to be dealt with at the Geneva Congress at the end of May.