Letter to Johann Philipp Becker, April 7, 1873

Author(s)	Karl Marx
Written	7 April 1873

First published in: Marx and Engels, Works, First Russian Edition, Vol. XXVI, Moscow, 1935. Printed according to the original. Published in English in full for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 44

MARX TO JOHANN PHILIPP BECKER^[1]

IN GENEVA

[London,] 7 April 1873

Dear Becker,

If I do not manage to write to you in detail, you must put the blame on my overwork. I shall have no spare time available until the French translation^[2] is finished and the last page has been printed.^[3] As for the 2nd German edition," I was glad to send off the last of the proof-sheets the day before yesterday, and have instructed Meissner to send you the whole-volume edition post-free, which is due out in about a week.^[4] You would oblige me by letting me know when it comes.

Engels asks you to forward the enclosed letter to Goegg^[5] as soon as possible. It is to do with some information about the Alliance (we are at present engaged in assembling documentary evidence with which to demolish them^[6] ). Might I also ask you to send us, if at all possible, the first programme of the public Alliance in Geneva? in which your name appeared among others.

We thought that the Égalité of Geneva must have folded up as we had not seen a copy since Outine's departure from Geneva. At his request I had induced some French friends to become correspondents for it, but our belief in its demise put a stop to everything. So if Perret wishes for reports from here, he must make sure that Engels (122 Regent's Park Road) and myself each receive a copy. We shall pay for it if he so desires.

The General Council will likely decide on Geneva as the venue for the next Congress.^[7] You must even now start working to ensure a large attendance. This is all the more indispensable as the Alliancist band of rogues is planning to turn up en masse. Of course, they must not be allowed in. The Hague Congress^[8] must have brought us at least the one advantage that the rabble will be removed from our midst. But for that it is essential for us to have completely reliable local representatives at our disposal.

With best wishes from the whole family.

Your

Karl Marx

↑ This letter is evidently an answer to Lavrov's inquiry concerning Hermann Lopatin's fate. From Lopatin's letter of 15 December 1870 Marx already knew that the latter was in Russia to make arrangements for Nikolai Chernyshevsky's escape from exile; however, probably for reasons of secrecy, he disclosed neither Lopatin's whereabouts nor the purpose of his trip.
↑ of Volume I of Capital
↑ The surviving manuscript copy of the letter does not bear the name of the addressee. However, its contents and Marx's correspondence on the subject indicate that it was addressed to the heads of the Lachâtre publishing house in Paris. On 13 February 1872 Marx received a reply from the manager Juste Vernouillet, who informed him about the despatch of copies of the agree ment on the publication of the French translation of Volume I of Capital. The agreement was signed on 15 February by Marx on one side, and Maurice Lachâtre and Juste Vernouillet on the other. It stipulated that the French edi tion was to be published in 44 instalments, and sold five instalments at a time.
The French authorised edition of Volume I of Capital was published between 17 September 1872 and November 1875. The translation was done by Joseph Roy, who began in February 1872 and completed work in late 1873. The quality of the translation largely failed to satisfy Marx; besides, he was convinced that the original needed to be revised to adapt it to French readers.
↑ A reference to the 'Circulaire à toutes les fédérations de l'Association Internationale des Travailleurs' adopted at Sonvillier on 12 November 1871 (see Note 374). It was printed in La Emancipation, the organ of the Spanish Federal Council, on 25 December 1871.
↑ This letter by Engels has not been found.
↑ This refers to work on the pamphlet The Alliance of Socialist Democracy and the International Working Men's Association.
↑ A reference to the next regular congress of the International scheduled for September 1873.
The 6th Congress of the International Working Men's Association was held in Geneva between 8 and 13 September 1873. Of the 31 delegates present at the Congress, 28 were representatives of the International's Swiss branches or its émigré sections in Switzerland. When considering the General Rules, the majority headed by Johann Philipp Becker endorsed the decisions of the Hague Congress of 1872 on extending the functions of the General Council (against opposition from Henri Perret and a number of other Swiss delegates). The Congress stressed the need for the working class to engage in political struggle. New York was left as the General Council's headquarters until the next Congress scheduled for 1875. The Geneva Congress of 1873 was the last congress of the International Working Men's Association.
↑ On 19 July 1872 at the meeting of the General Council Executive Committee (Sub-Committee; see Note 435), Engels was instructed to prepare the financial report for the Hague Congress covering the period since the London Conference in September 1871. The report was read out by Engels at the Hague Congress sitting of 7 September 1872, and unanimously approved.
Marx and Engels arrived at The Hague to take part in the Congress on 1 September 1872. On 8 September they travelled to Amsterdam, where they took part in the meeting marking the closure of the Congress. Engels returned to London on 12 September, and Marx around 17 September 1872.
The Fifth Congress of the International Working Men's Association was held on 2-7 September 1872 in The Hague and attended by 65 delegates from 15 national organisations. Its decision to include in the General Rules (as Article 7a) the major tenet on the conquest of political power by the proletariat, and its resolutions relating to Administrative Regulations signified a victory for Marxism. The Congress took stock of the struggle Marx, Engels and their followers had waged for years against petty-bourgeois sectarianism in the workers' movement, in whatever guise it appeared, most notably against Bakuninism; Mikhail Bakunin and James Guillaume, the anarchist leaders, were expelled from the International. The resolutions of the Hague Congress laid the groundwork for the future formation of independent political parties of the working class on a national level.

[1] This letter is evidently an answer to Lavrov's inquiry concerning Hermann Lopatin's fate. From Lopatin's letter of 15 December 1870 Marx already knew that the latter was in Russia to make arrangements for Nikolai Chernyshevsky's escape from exile; however, probably for reasons of secrecy, he disclosed neither Lopatin's whereabouts nor the purpose of his trip.

[2] Volume I of Capital

[3] The surviving manuscript copy of the letter does not bear the name of the addressee. However, its contents and Marx's correspondence on the subject indicate that it was addressed to the heads of the Lachâtre publishing house in Paris. On 13 February 1872 Marx received a reply from the manager Juste Vernouillet, who informed him about the despatch of copies of the agree ment on the publication of the French translation of Volume I of Capital. The agreement was signed on 15 February by Marx on one side, and Maurice Lachâtre and Juste Vernouillet on the other. It stipulated that the French edi tion was to be published in 44 instalments, and sold five instalments at a time.
The French authorised edition of Volume I of Capital was published between 17 September 1872 and November 1875. The translation was done by Joseph Roy, who began in February 1872 and completed work in late 1873. The quality of the translation largely failed to satisfy Marx; besides, he was convinced that the original needed to be revised to adapt it to French readers.

[4] A reference to the 'Circulaire à toutes les fédérations de l'Association Internationale des Travailleurs' adopted at Sonvillier on 12 November 1871 (see Note 374). It was printed in La Emancipation, the organ of the Spanish Federal Council, on 25 December 1871.

[5] This letter by Engels has not been found.

[6] This refers to work on the pamphlet The Alliance of Socialist Democracy and the International Working Men's Association.

[7] A reference to the next regular congress of the International scheduled for September 1873.
The 6th Congress of the International Working Men's Association was held in Geneva between 8 and 13 September 1873. Of the 31 delegates present at the Congress, 28 were representatives of the International's Swiss branches or its émigré sections in Switzerland. When considering the General Rules, the majority headed by Johann Philipp Becker endorsed the decisions of the Hague Congress of 1872 on extending the functions of the General Council (against opposition from Henri Perret and a number of other Swiss delegates). The Congress stressed the need for the working class to engage in political struggle. New York was left as the General Council's headquarters until the next Congress scheduled for 1875. The Geneva Congress of 1873 was the last congress of the International Working Men's Association.

[8] On 19 July 1872 at the meeting of the General Council Executive Committee (Sub-Committee; see Note 435), Engels was instructed to prepare the financial report for the Hague Congress covering the period since the London Conference in September 1871. The report was read out by Engels at the Hague Congress sitting of 7 September 1872, and unanimously approved.
Marx and Engels arrived at The Hague to take part in the Congress on 1 September 1872. On 8 September they travelled to Amsterdam, where they took part in the meeting marking the closure of the Congress. Engels returned to London on 12 September, and Marx around 17 September 1872.
The Fifth Congress of the International Working Men's Association was held on 2-7 September 1872 in The Hague and attended by 65 delegates from 15 national organisations. Its decision to include in the General Rules (as Article 7a) the major tenet on the conquest of political power by the proletariat, and its resolutions relating to Administrative Regulations signified a victory for Marxism. The Congress took stock of the struggle Marx, Engels and their followers had waged for years against petty-bourgeois sectarianism in the workers' movement, in whatever guise it appeared, most notably against Bakuninism; Mikhail Bakunin and James Guillaume, the anarchist leaders, were expelled from the International. The resolutions of the Hague Congress laid the groundwork for the future formation of independent political parties of the working class on a national level.

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