| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 9 February 1893 |
ENGELS TO AUGUST BEBEL
IN BERLIN
London, 9 February 1893
Dear August,
First of all my congratulations on your magnificent speech of 3 February which had already given us enormous pleasure in the Vorwärts[1] excerpt but came out even better in the stenographic report. It is a masterpiece, in no way impaired by one or two minor theoretical inaccuracies, these being inevitable in verbal delivery. You are quite right to arrange for copies of the speech to be distributed in their hundreds of thousands,[2] notwithstanding and in addition to the distribution of the whole debate in pamphlet form.[3]
This debate, in which the worthy bourgeois sought to dispel the tedium of sittings that had grown arid—thanks to their intrigues behind the scenes—and also, whenever chance offered, to lead us nicely up the garden path, has turned out to be a truly colossal victory for us. And that they themselves sense this is borne out by the fact that after Liebknecht's speech they had had enough and indicated as much—through Stoecker! 143 So now at last the gentlemen have realised that if a parliament devotes itself for five days on end to social reorganisation in our own sense of the term and if, on top of that, the said parliament is the German Reichstag, this is a milestone symbolising yet another victory for the workers' party. This latter circumstance has given proof to the whole world, friend and foe alike, of the triumphant position won by the German party. If things go on like this, we shall soon be able to exist at no cost of effort to ourselves, on the stupidity of our opponents alone.
It was obvious that you would have to bear the brunt of the debate. So far as I can judge, Frohme's speech did indeed provide some pretext for the victorious hullabaloo from Richter and Bachern and Hitze, and the business of Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle ought to be carefully investigated. If what Hitze asserted is correct, Frohme lacked the competence to quote from them, but if not, he ought to have made a personal statement in self-vindication. 144 Otherwise everything went off beautifully and Liebknecht's concluding speech, though indifferent in content, was nevertheless 'trenchant' and good polemically. In short, it has been a triumph. The Witch[4] was so overjoyed that yesterday she called me Agnes Pinchpenny, whereupon I drew her attention to the fact that she was a proper Fidgety Ann, as anyone who knows her will confirm. She is even worse than the latter, for its not so much her legs that are fidgety but her brain. 145
There is much to be said for your suggestions as to what the best plan for the Russians would be in case of war. 146 But don't forget that if the overthrow of France would be intolerable to Russia, the suppression of Germany would be no less so to Italy and England. Every localised war is more or less subject to control by the neutrals. The next war, if it comes at all, will not permit of being localised in any way. They—the Continentals at any rate—would all be drawn in during the first months, it would automatically begin in the Balkans and England at most might be able to remain neutral for a time. Your Russian plan, however, presupposes a localised war and that, given the enormous armies of today and the appalling consequences for the vanquished, I no longer regard as possible.
In Egypt it is simply a case of the Russians (the French are mere puppets on strings) making things difficult for the English, and thereby tying up their troops and fleet as much as possible. If war broke out, Russia would then have something to offer the English in return for an alliance or at least their neutrality and at such a juncture the French would be delighted to exchange Egypt for Alsace. Meanwhile the Russians are up to the same game in Central Asia on the Indian border where it will be years before they are strong enough to mount serious attacks and where the ground is very far from being prepared for this purpose. Incidentally, in connection with Egypt, Turkey should also fall to Russia.
(Have just had another Russian visitor who has held me up for over an hour, the result being that it is now 4 o'clock and in consequence this will have to be a shorter letter.)
I see that on your Military Committee you also have a Major Wachs. If he is the same man as a cousin of Dr Gumpert's of Manchester, I met him there some 25 years ago, At that time he had joined the Prussians as a former lieutenant in the service of Hesse-Cassel and was much disappointed to find amongst his victors of 1866 the same preoccupation with spit and polish as had, or so he thought, been the cause of Hesse-Cassel's defeat. 147 I gave him some encouragement, saying that if he would only go ahead and stick it out with the Prussians, he would probably discover that the army also had its good sides. Later on, at Spichern, 148 when in command of a company, he greatly distinguished himself by occupying on his own initiative a railway tunnel in defiance of his major. In the General Staff's history[5] he is mentioned in most glowing terms—one of the very few lieutenants of whom it makes any mention at all. Since then I have read various strategic-political essays of his—most of them on the East—in which there are some very good things along with others (political) with which I don't agree. At all events he is an efficient officer—if it's the same man.
By the way, a compromise seems more probable than ever. Even the Free Thinkers 149 and the Centre 71 are prepared to supply 28,000 men, while Bennigsen is offering 40,000. No doubt so many will fall by the wayside that the government will get 50,000 rather than the 60,000 it wanted (perhaps also just a few more, provided it doesn't waver) 76 and the bourgeois fatherland will once again be saved from dissolution and conflict.
The 'ball' was thought up by our charming Witch's fidgety brain. The 'Society' 62 gave a concert which was followed by a ball. At 11 o'clock the first part of the concert ended, whereupon I obediently took my leave, so the dancing cannot have started before 1 o'clock. She herself always speaks of dancing with a condescension more appropriate to someone many years her senior, and if she is to dance a waltz you yourself will doubtless have to lead her onto the floor. In which case I'm by no means so certain that her Viennese blood might not reassert its rights.
In the next (February) No., now at the printers, the Polish Przedswit, which comes out here, will contain the following item: 150 At Grajewo, on the East Prussian border, there is a junior Russian official by the name of Spatzek, a Bohemian by birth, who is employed on translating way-bills. Despite his wretched wage he makes long journeys, some of them as far as Constantinople, leads a fast life, frequently enters Prussian territory on the pretext of hunting and is very friendly with Landrat von der Gröbben of Lyck who provides him with a vast quantity of hunting and other travel permits. When the frontier was closed on account of cholera, nobody was allowed across, but Mr Spatzek along with his wife and H-n, another Russian official suspected of spying, were able to travel to Königsberg without hindrance. In the opinion of people on the far side of the border this gadding about on German territory is purely and simply for the purpose of spying out the outer forts sited between the East Prussian lakes, on which occasions our overwise Prussian Landrat is only too pleased to be made use of by his Russo-Bohemian friend. The arrogant Prussian bureaucrats are everywhere easily taken in.
Moreover the Russian troops on the border were not long ago the recipients of a whole load of literature, to wit numerous copies of a pamphlet by Alexandrov, a lieutenant in the artillery in Tashkent, On the causes and necessity of the impending war.[6] One copy has been issued to each company in order that the officers may duly enlighten their men.
Perhaps you might be able to make use of this information in your private conversations with the people on the Military Committee.
Over here Keir Hardie has moved an amendment on the subject of unemployment 151 to the Address (Reply to the Speech from the Throne[7] ) in Parliament. In itself this was quite a good thing. But Keir Hardie committed two colossal blunders. 1. The amendment was formulated quite unnecessarily as a direct vote of censure on the government, so that its acceptance would have forced the government to resign and thus the whole thing was tantamount to a Tory manoeuvre, 2. he chose to be seconded by the Tory Howard Vincent, a Protectionist, rather than by a Labour member, thereby completing the picture of a Tory manoeuvre and of himself as a Tory puppet. Moreover 102 Tories voted in his favour and only 2 Liberal-Radicals, 152 not one Labour member. Burns was agitating in Yorkshire. As I have already written you,[8] his manoeuvrings and pronouncements since Bradford 153 have more than once been suggestive of Champion's influence; this has now become more than a suspicion. The source of his means of subsistence is unknown, and over the past two years he has spent a great deal of money on travelling. Where does it come from? The English working man demands of his parliamentary representatives and other leaders that they devote all their time to the movement. But if he won't pay them, he himself is to blame if they accept money from other parties as a means of support and for electoral purposes. So long as this goes on, there will always be Panamites 154 amongst the labour leaders over here.
Incidentally, if Mr Keir Hardie continues to be allowed to behave in this way, he will soon be laid low. The working men of Lancashire and Yorkshire are not the sort of people to attach themselves to conservative leading-strings or to pluck the Tories' chestnuts out of the fire for them. Just give K. Hardie enough time and the consequences of his policy will rebound on him personally and become evident to all.
Burns has gone to Halifax to agitate in connection with the elections and consequently did not vote on Keir Hardie's motion.
For it is by-election time in Huddersfield and Halifax, two manufacturing towns in Yorkshire, each of more than 100,000 inhabitants. The Independent Labour Party has put up a candidate[9] in Halifax, as have the other two parties. Then it made the following offer to the Liberals: If you withdraw your candidate in Halifax[10] so that we only have the Tory[11] to contend with, we'll vote for you in Huddersfield. The Liberals refused. Whereupon the LIBERAL WAS DEFEATED LAST TUESDAY IN HUDDERSFIELD[12] by the Tory[13] —as a result of the Independent Labour Party's abstention, Again, at another by-election in Burnley, Lancashire, not far from Halifax, the Liberals polled 750 fewer votes than in the previous election—also as a result of our abstention. The poll in Halifax is being held today and the Tory will probably be elected. That would bring Gladstone's majority, now 36, down to 34. Events such as these are making things hotter each day for the Liberals. Up till now progress has been splendid and Gladstone will have to capitulate to the workers. Most important of all are the political measures, namely the extension of the franchise for working men by implementing what is presently on paper and which would increase the Labour vote by 50 per cent, the curtailment of the duration of Parliament (now seven years!) and the payment of electoral expenses and M.P.'s salaries out of public funds.
Meanwhile these fresh successes scored by an independent policy are bound to increase the working man's self-esteem and tell him that virtually everywhere the fate of the elections, and hence of each government, lies in his hands. That is the most important part: self-confidence and self-reliance on the part of the class. It will also tide them over all the miserable little intrigues which are simply the result of the masses' lack of confidence in themselves. Once we have a body of working men that really moves en masse, the crafty manoeuvrings of those worthies the leaders will cease, for they will do them more harm than good.
Louise's letter went off at 5.30 p.m. by the night boat. This is going off at 9 p.m., i.e. by the first day boat. Perhaps you would tell us at what time each of them arrives so that we know which post is the best.
Once again warm regards to your wife and yourself from Louise and
Your F.E.