Letter to Philippe Coenen, August 4, 1871

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 4 August 1871


First published, in Dutch, in De socialistische Gids, No. 8/9, Amsterdam, 1928
Printed according to a handwritten copy
Translated from the French
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 44


ENGELS TO PHILIPPE COENEN[1]

IN ANTWERP

[London,] 4 August 1871

Dear Citizen Coenen,

I duly received your two letters of 1 May and of the 1st inst., from which I learn that the cigar-workers of Antwerp have not been, and even now are still not, affiliated to the International. I cannot but be greatly surprised at your failure to tell us as much the moment the strike began,[2] since everything we have done for them here—no mere trifle, considering the assistance we procured for them amounted to 15,000 francs and more—was done in the belief that we were working for Internationals; and now we hear that not only were they not of our ilk, but that, after all we have done for them, they are still not affiliated! It is really too much and, as for myself, I am determined to do nothing more whatsoever for such ingrates. Is that what these gentry call solidarity—taking the money of English working men and others, procured for them by the International, and, having pocketed it, failing to join our association, thus providing immediate proof that they are prepared to do as much for others? That is not how we understand the matter here, and it is not for such people that the International ought to work. Those who wish to draw on the assistance of our Association must also be prepared to carry their share of the burden, and the least proof they could give of their willingness to do so is to become affiliated. People who scream their heads off for the Internationals' money and yet refuse to belong to us deserve to be exploited good and proper by the bourgeoisie, for they reject the only possible way of escaping bourgeois exploitation: the association and organisation of all the workers of Europe. No such case has occurred since the International came into existence; it is to the Antwerp cigar-workers that the honour has been reserved of begging for assistance from the International and, having obtained that assistance, of telling us: Thank you, gentlemen, you may withdraw, we have no further use for you, there is the door!

I hope that I have judged them too harshly and that they have affiliated themselves by now, but if they do not do so at once, you must, I think, agree that their conduct is disgraceful beyond measure, and as long as I have heard no news of their affiliation I shall object to the despatch of so much as another centime to them. We can put our money to far better use by giving it to people who are on our side.

You ask me if the London cigar-workers are affiliated? But of course they are, and have been since the founding of the International. Their president, Citizen Cohn, represents them on the General Council. I spoke to him about the letter you wish him to write to the Antwerp people regarding affiliation, but what effect would a letter have where 15,000 francs has had none?

The Werker continues to arrive very irregularly, and only one copy at that. Since there are very few working men here who understand Flemish, it would be very difficult to find subscribers; however, I have asked the members of the Council to cry up the merits of your sheet.

It will not be possible to hold a Congress this year, it being wholly precluded by government persecution in France, Spain, Germany, Austria and Hungary. Instead, a private conference will be held to consolidate our organisation,[3] but this is a subject upon which the General Council can correspond only with the various central councils. Besides we doubt whether the Dutch government would be liberal enough to give full liberty to our Congress at which, after the events in Paris, some very delicate questions would certainly be raised.

At the last meeting of the General Council[4] the secretariats were reallocated; I was given Spain and Italy, and handed over Belgium to Citizen Alfred Herman of Liège, who had been recommended for the position by the last Belgian Congress. So it will be he who will henceforward correspond with you.

Fraternal greetings,

Frederick Engels

  1. ↑ See this volume, p. 125.
  2. ↑ Marx and Engels learned about the strike of the cigar-workers in Antwerp from a letter written by Philippe Coenen, an organiser of the International's sections in Belgium and the Netherlands, on 29 March 1871. They immediately took steps to organise international aid for the strikers. At the General Council meeting of 4 April 1871 Engels spoke about the strike and proposed that the Council send letters and delegations to the British trade unions to organise support.
    In response to the General Council's appeal, money to the Antwerp cigar-workers was sent by a number of British trades unions and by the workers of Brussels, where the cigar-workers walked out in solidarity.
    The support by the General Council of the Antwerp cigar-workers defending their trade union enabled them to hold out till September 1871 and to push through their demands.
  3. ↑ This refers to the London Conference of the International Working Men's Association held between 17 and 23 September 1871 (see Note 254).
  4. ↑ held on 1 August 1871