Letter to Friedrich Adolph Sorge, May 29, 1872

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 29 May 1872


First published in Briefe und Auszüge aus Briefen von Joh. Phil. Becker, Jos. Dietzgen, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx u. A. an F. A. Sorge und Andere, Stuttgart, 1906
Printed according to the original
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 44


MARX TO FRIEDRICH ADOLPH SORGE

IN HOBOKEN

[London,] 29 May 1872

Dear Friend,

En toute hâte[1] In yesterday's meeting of the General Council, at which almost all the members of the Commune were present, Hales read out Praitsching's letter.[2]

I followed this up by relating the aventures of the Contre COUNCIL, basing myself partly on your letter,[3] and partly on the issue of the World you sent me, and I emphasised how these facts confirmed the necessity of the RESOLUTIONS adopted at my sugges- tion.[4] Eccarius WAS THUNDERSTRUCK.

This was followed by a useful INCIDENT which I instantly exploited.

Eccarius had received a letter from St Louis in which a German section which had formed there inquired which of the two FEDERAL COUNCILS to go by. I said, naturally, they should acknowledge the COUNCIL that agreed with us, the old one. Hales and Eccarius (although mortal enemies) spoke against this. I replied and the motion was carried in the very well-attended meeting with only 3 votes against (Hales, Eccarius and Delahaye—who counts for nothing with the other members of the Commune).

Le Moussu will inform you of this officially tomorrow, and you would then do well to make it known (naturally as something self-evident and not on instructions from London) that, on the occasion of this application from that German section, the General Council resolved that your COUNCIL is the only one with which it is en règle[5] and hence which is recognised.

Tout à vous,[6]

Karl Marx

  1. ↑ In all haste.
  2. ↑ At the General Council meeting of 28 May 1872 John Hales read out a report on the work of the Provisional Federal Council (Committee No. I) of the North American sections for April 1872, which had been signed by the Council Secretary Charles Praitsching on 5 May. The report dealt with the unsuccessful attempts to reach an agreement with the separatist council on the basis of the General Council resolutions of 5 and 12 March 1872 (see present edition, Vol. 23, pp. 124-26).
  3. ↑ Sorge's letter to Marx of 7 May 1872.
  4. ↑ Under the resolution passed by the General Council on 28 May 1872 the Provisional Federal Council of the North American sections of the Internation al was recognised as the only lawful one.
  5. ↑ in agreement
  6. ↑ Yours sincerely