From the Minutes of the General Meeting of the Cologne Workers' Association on October 22, 1848

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 29 October 1848


First published in the newspaper Freiheit‚ Brüderlichkeit‚ Arbeit No. 2, October 29, 1848
Printed according to the newspaper
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 7
Collection(s): Freiheit‚ Brüderlichkeit‚ Arbeit

The President, Dr. Marx, opened the meeting with some remarks about the system of indirect election.

Citizen Röser: We have received a request to send a delegate to the Democratic Congress to be held in Berlin on the 26th of this month.[1] In this connection, however, the question arises whether the Workers' Association should send someone separately or together with the Democratic Association. At the last committee meeting of your Association decision was taken in favour of the former alternative, namely to act independently, but it remains for the general meeting to give its approval and in connection with such acceptance it is essential that the question of cost should be taken into account. Therefore I move:

That we elect a delegate to represent us alone, and that we levy a voluntary contribution to cover the expenses.

The motion was adopted and the contributions fixed at a minimum of one silver groschen.…

* Citizen Beust was proposed and elected delegate to the Congress in Berlin.

The President, Dr. Marx, and the Vice-President, Citizen Röser, were confirmed in their official positions by the meeting....

  1. ↑ See Appeal of the Democratic Congress to the German People— Ed.