Letter to Friedrich Adolph Sorge, August 23, 1892

ENGELS TO FRIEDRICH ADOLPH SORGE

IN HOBOKEN

Ryde, Isle of Wight, 23 August 1892

Dear Sorge,

If I have not yet begun negotiations with Dietz regarding your book, it is because I was prevented by the following circumstances:

I had arranged with L. Kautsky, who is in Vienna, and with Bebel, who is staying with his son-in-law in St Gallen, that at the end of this month Bebel and I should go to Stuttgart together and thence to Berlin via Vienna, where we were to collect Louise Kautsky and take her with us. While in Stuttgart I had intended to settle the matter verbally with Dietz.

Now during my stay here in Ryde with Pumps, the old trouble in my groin, which had ceased to bother me for five years past, has suddenly made itself felt again and to such good purpose that for the past twelve days or so I have been crippled and unable to move. This put paid to my journey and now, although I am visibly better, I don't know whether I shall be in good enough shape to undertake a shorter tour. In any case I should not take in Stuttgart and hence shall shortly begin negotiations with Dietz by letter — as soon, that is, as I know that he hasn't gone off on a lightning tour with Bebel. The matter as such is already settled; all we are concerned with are the details, so you can go ahead with your addenda and the more comprehensive you make them the better. Notably, should you propose to do a more detailed account of the post-1870 period, you might well include the vicissitudes of the professedly socialist (German) party and the blunders it has made. For you should remember that you are writing for a public that knows nothing whatever about transatlantic matters and has got to be told what's what. And even if this elicits a snarl from the worthy leaders in New York and Cincinnati, it needn't worry you, for after all you have long been used to that sort of thing.

Here is a piece of news which you must keep secret, above all from the gentlemen of the press, until I write and tell you more. Guesde and Lafargue have signed a contract with some capitalists whereby they are to bring out a daily in the grand manner and be its directeurs politiques. 500 000 fr. are to be expended on it and it is to appear on 1 October. But being always somewhat sceptical in such matters and not having heard from Paris lately, I feel that something may yet intervene and that's why nothing whatever must get into the papers.

As you will have seen from the municipal elections in May and the departmental elections in July, the French are increasingly following in the footsteps of the Germans and learning to make use of universal suffrage instead of inveighing against it. And the cause is proving a great draw. At the Marseilles Congress the 'Marxists' will acquire a standing such as they have never had before.

Add to which the splendid progress made here in England. The elections were a great success. You will have noticed how different the tone of the Workman's Times has been since the beginning of July, and how Mr Burgess (Autolycus) is already attempting to found a separate INDEPENDENT LABOUR PARTY under his own leadership, alongside the one which the SOCIALIST DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION claims to lead. You will have gleaned the essentials from Louise Kautsky's and Tussy's articles in the Vienna Arbeiter-Leitung and the Neue Zeit and will find a certain amount more in the preface to the new edition (1892) of The Condition of the Working Class in England^[1] which I shall be sending you as soon as I get back to London. The TRADES UNION Congress to be held in Glasgow in a fortnight's time will mark a great step forward: 1. because of the impact of the elections which has been all the greater in that the PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE elected last year in Newcastle, and consisting oddly enough entirely of former OLD UNIONISTS, has treated with disdain all the political resolutions of the self-same Congress, and has implemented none of them; and 2. because of the conversion of the textile workers who, last year, went to make up the bulk of the opposition to the 8-hour day but have now, because of the poor state of trade, suddenly and en masse declared themselves in favour of 8 hours. Last week the whole of Lancashire voted in all districts for 8 hours instead of 10, usually by a very big majority. In short, here too the cause is going ahead quite famously and next year, not only Austria and France, but also England, will be marching behind Germany, which in turn cannot fail to have the desired effect on your Anglo-Americans, particularly if your militia does a bit more shooting, by finally purging the chaps of some of their republican and GREAT COUNTRY arrogance.

In Germany everything is going splendidly; if you follow the party news in the Vorwärts you will see that we are making tremendous headway amongst the rural population — even in the east where it is most necessary.

And now you want me to tell you whether I shall be coming over next year. It's not out of the question, though it certainly won't be in the heat of July and August — one August in New York was quite enough for me. Bebel is thinking of visiting America after the Zurich Congress,^[2] i.e. in September or October. If he does, I might accompany him. But these are castles in the air. For, as you can see, even the plan I made for this year fell through a fortnight after it had been definitely decided upon, so how can I be expected to make plans a whole year in advance?

I realised long ago that some time you'd find it necessary to break with that madman Hepner. The man's got a mass of bees in his bonnet and either learns nothing or else gets it all wrong.

Cordial regards to your wife.^[3]

My regards to Schlüter also.

Your

F.E.