| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 14 December 1894 |
ENGELS TO VICTOR ADLER
IN VIENNA
London, 14 December 1894
41 Regent's Park Road, N. W.
Dear Victor,
Your letters of 12 and 26 safely received. So the K. Kautsky business has been settled. Best thanks for your good wishes for my birthday. I can assure you that it has been brought home to me and impressed upon my
mind that I can no longer, in my seventy-fifth year, permit myself those imprudences you reprehend. On the contrary, I am on the strictest of diets, treat my alimentary canal like a grumpy bureaucratic chief whose every whim must be obeyed and, to ward off coughs, bronchial catarrh and the like, submit to being wrapped up, kept warm and generally maltreated in every conceivable way, as is only meet and right for a decrepit old man. But enough of that.
I need hardly tell you how pleased I was about the resolute stand Bebel adopted after the feeble Party Conference. 425 I was also pleased to have been indirectly compelled by Vollmar to throw in a word or two on this account.[2] We have in fact been victorious all along the line. First, Vollmar's exit from the lists after Bebel's four articles 434 in itself an unequivocal retreat, then the rebuff administered by the Executive; then the repudiation by the par- liamentary group of the claim that it, rather than the Party Conference, should act as arbiter. I.e. Vollmar has suffered defeat after defeat in this, his third unsuccessful campaign. That should suffice even an erstwhile papal Zouave. 439 I have written Liebknecht two letters about this,[3] from which he will have derived little pleasure. The man is becoming ever more obstructive. He still claims to have the best nerves in the party—no great shakes, to go by his rotten speech in the Reichstag the day before yesterday. 440 Nor, it seems, has this gone unnoticed in government circles where an attempt is clearly being made to help him onto his legs again by accusing him of lese-majestie,
436 allegedly committed a posteriori.
That affair proves, by the way, either that William[4] and von Köller are completely crazy or that they are deliberately trying to engineer a coup d'état. Hohenlohe's speech has demonstrated that he is an utterly gormless,[5]
feeble-minded, weak-willed old gentleman, and nothing but Mr von Köllers man of straw. Köller himself is a typical Junker—vain, forceful and narrow- minded, and is capable of presenting himself to Little Willie as the man who will put paid to 'subversion' and carry out to the very letter His Majesty's intentions with regard to the restoration of the royal prerogative. And William is capable of saying in reply: 'You are a man after my own heart!' If that's how matters stand—and every day brings fresh indications that it is— then vogue la galere!'[6] We'll be in for a merry time.
But now for the most important thing. You express surprise at not having heard from Louise. In which case, might I suggest that you be so good as to answer the extremely urgent letters she has written to you, not only those about her acting as correspondent for you over here and whether you would also like articles from anyone else and, if so, who—but also and above all those about the offer of money.
Months ago, in September or early October, she wrote to you saying: 'There is now a group of people who, though not members of the party, nevertheless have confidence in you and in particular believe that you are the man to help the daily Arbeiter-Zeitung 377 along the road to financial success as well, always providing that you are given the leading position.' They are therefore prepared to assign to you a considerable sum for the daily Arbeiter- Zeitung—amounting, I understand, to some 5,000 fl., on condition that:
1. You accept the senior position on the paper. 2. The thing is treated purely as a business investment and interest is regularly paid.
3. All negotiations, payments, etc., are dealt with by you in Vienna and by Louise over here.
These, to the best of my recollection, were the conditions upon which the offer was made. 'Well, there has been no response of any kind from you, either to the above or to any of Louise's subsequent letters. Last week she wrote again, asking for an immediate reply which had to be here by Tuesday, the 11th, at the latest. In vain. Now this can only mean one of two things: Either you in your correspondence are so enmeshed in a web of postal and other kinds of intrigue that it is virtually impossible to get a letter to you, or your disinclination to answer letters is such that you would rather forego the money that has been offered you than write to Louise.
Either way we have got to know where we stand. The chaps are pressing for a decision for, if you refuse the money, they will invest it elsewhere. We have therefore been compelled to send this letter to Mrs Anna Pernerstorfer, with the request that she deliver it to you in person and to no one else. We would now ask you—-for the very last time—if you would kindly let us know whether or not you wish to negotiate with us and or Louise regarding the money. If you do, you must tell her how letters are to be addressed to you, whereupon we shall send a reply by 'registered' mail.
Louise and her baby are both very well. The baby grows, flourishes and screams; she is suckling it herself and has plenty and to spare. She and Ludwig send their love, likewise
Yours,
F.E.