Letter to Friedrich Engels, August 25, 1851

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TO ENGELS IN MANCHESTER

[London,] 25 August 1851

28 Dean Street, Soho

Dear Engels,

D'abord mes remerciments pour ton article. Despite all the bad things you say about it, it was splendid and has set sail unaltered for New York. You hit just the right note for the Tribune. As soon as we get the first number of it, I'll send it to you, and continue to do so regularly from then on.

Maintenant, I've got a whole load of emigre dung to forward to you and, should you know a farmer in the neighbourhood who requires the guano of these cleanly birds for manure, you can do a deal with him.

Well, then, as you already know, the first official meeting of the fraternising emigres took place on Friday, 8 August, the leading lights being: The 'Damm', who presided; Schurz, secretary, Goegg, two Sigels, Fickler, Tausenau, Franck (the Austrian worthy), Willich, Borkheim, Schimmelpfennig, Johannes Ronge, Meyen, Count Reichenbach, Oppenheim, Bauer (Stolpe), the intolerable Lüders, Haug, A. Ruge, Techow, Schmolze (Bavarian lieutenant), Petzler, Böhler, Gehrke, Scharttner, Göhringer, etc., not, of course, forgetting Kinkel and Strodtmann. Thus the main cliques:

1. Ruge-Fickler, 2. Kinkel, 3. Tausenau. Interspersed with other independent literary loafers and agreers. The real issue with which this great historical event was concerned was the following: Ruge-Fickler-Tausenau-Goegg-Sigel-Haug, etc., sought the election of an official committee, partly to denounce the misdeeds of the reactionaries, partly to represent the emigres, partly for 'Action'-agitation as regards Germany. A further snag about that idiot, Ruge, was that he had been recognised as plenipotentiary vis-a-vis Ledru-Mazzini and, in addition to his name, was now in fact able to place an army at their disposal in the shape of the German refugee corps. Mr Kinkel (and with him, besides his saviour Schurz and his biographer Furz, more esp. Willich, Techow, Schmolze, Schimmelpfenning), on the other hand, did not want a public institution of this kind, partly so as not to imperil his position vis-a-vis the bourgeoisie here in London—since it's the guineas that count—partly so as not to have to more or less recognise Ruge vis-a-vis Mazzini-Ledru.

From the start the Ruge-Fickler clique was furious to see that the meeting-room was full to overflowing. It had been agreed at a secret sitting that only notables were to be asked to attend. But the Kinkel clique had brought in le menu peuple so as to assure themselves of a majority.

The sitting opened with the reading of a piece of rubbish from the Lithographische Correspondenz by General Haug, who at the same time declared that there must be spies present, that the document might be abused, etc. Willich, his pathos as yet unimpaired, seconded this and called on the miscreants to declare themselves. Thereupon Bauer of Stolpe (whom, by the way, I hold to be a regular spy) rose to his feet and declared he was unable to understand Willich's virtuous horror since, at the first preparatory sitting, he had introduced Mr Scheidler without any opposition as editor of the Lithographische Correspondenz.

This incident settled, Tausenau, with much cosily emotional grunting and groaning, doubtless under the impression that he was before a Viennese audience, made his proposal for nominations to the committee. In reply, Mr Meyen said that what he wanted was not deeds but voluntary lectures. As prearranged, Kinkel at once undertook to deal with America and its future, Oppenheim England, Schurz France, and Meyen Prussia. Tausenau's proposal having met with a resounding defeat, he declared with emotion that, despite his failure, he would sacrifice his righteous anger on the altar of the fatherland and remain in the bosom of the fraternising.

But the Fickler-Ruge clique immediately assumed the menacing and injured air of beautiful souls who've been cheated.

At the end of the sitting Kinkel went up to Schabelitz (who was there purely in the capacity of our agent—and a very useful agent, too, since he enjoyed the confidence of all those worthies), declared him to be an honest democrat, declared the Basler National-Zeitung to be an excellent democratic paper and asked, among other things, about the state of its finances. Schabelitz: Poor. Kinkel: But aren't the working men doing anything? Schabelitz: Everything we ask of them; they read the paper. Kinkel: The workers should do more. They don't support us either as they ought to. And you know, we really do so much for the workers. We do everything we can to make them into 'respectable',—you understand me, of course,—'honourable citizens'. En voila une bonne!

The agreers' meeting on the 15th was not well attended and was, as the English say, INDIFFERENT.

Meanwhile great things were taking place—on the 17th—and the true course of the affair assumed, as our great A. Ruge would say, the following course:

Mr Kinkel summoned Willich, Techow, Goegg, Sigel and a few others, and revealed to them that he had received £160 through Fischer from New Orleans and had been charged with disposing of this money in consultation with the above-named and with Mr Fr. Engels. Instead of the latter, he had invited Fickler who, however, had declared that he had nothing to do with the 'scoundrels'. Mr Kinkel was forced to show the letter from which it transpired that, anonymous and incognito, this money had already been at his lodgings for three weeks, unable to decide whether or not it should generously unbosom itself to the profane world. Though Kinkel spake with the tongues of angels, it availed him nothing. The Fickler clique realised that the Kinkel clique was doing some considerable angling on the side and would merely exploit the storm in the emigres' communal tea-cup to lure the 'goldfish' away by stealth. And thus it was in vain that the great Heinzen had cast such lovelorn and plain-speaking glances at the £s collected in New Orleans! Goegg and Sigel left the conclave. A separate sitting of the Fickler-Ruge-Tausenau clique took place.

For the South Germans had privily discovered that A. Ruge was an imbecile. They need him because he provides a channel to Ledru-Mazzini, and this patronage is of great importance to the South Germans. Tausenau appears to have opened their eyes for them and is now their real LEADER alongside Fickler. Tausenau is, in general, very much a wiseacre and intriguer, dabbling in diplomacy and equipped with the petty Jew's flair for calculation; he believes in the imminence of the revolution. Hence his presence in this League.

Ruge, in a tremendous rage over the lost £160, now revealed to his friends that, more than 12 months previously, Willich-Kinkel had sent Schimmelpfennig to Mazzini, saying that he was an emissary and had come for money so that he could travel to Germany for the purpose of agitation. Mazzini gave him 1,000 fr. in cash and 5,000 fr. in his Italian notes on condition that in 12 months' time he would return the 1,000 fr. and 2/3 of the Italian notes provided. On these Schimmelpfennig travelled round France and Germany. The 12 months elapsed but nothing more was heard of either Kinkel-Schimmelpfennig, or the 1,000 fr., or the Italian notes. Now, when the money had arrived from New Orleans, Kinkel had once more sent his envoys to Mazzini, not to pay, but to blow their own trumpets and enter into an alliance with him. Mazzini had too much delicacy to remind them of their debt but told them that, since he had connections in Germany, he could not enter into any new ones. These gentlemen, A. Ruge went on, had also betaken themselves to Ledru-Rollin. But here Ruge had stolen a march on them: since Ledru-Rollin already considers himself President of the French Republic and has determined to wage war abroad forthwith, Ruge had presented Sigel to him as commander-in-chief of the German revolutionary army, whereupon Ledru-Rollin had embarked on a strategical discussion with Sigel. Another snub, then, for Kinkel-Willich.

After these revelations of Ruge's, therefore, the turpitude of the Kinkel-Willich clique was laid bare before the eyes of the bemused beautiful souls. Now was the time for action, but what action is Ruge capable of other than new combinations and permutations of his mouldy old Central Committee? Hence it was resolved to form an agitation club, not for debating, but essentially for working, productive not of WORDS but of WORKS, and above all for inducing like-minded comrades to make financial contributions. To be composed of: Fickler, Tausenau, Franck, Goegg, Sigel, Hertle, J. Ronge, Haug, Ruge. You will immediately note the reconstruction Ruge-Ronge-Haug. But closer inspection reveals that the main components of the club are 1. the western South German worthies, Fickler, Goegg, Sigel, Hertle, 2. the eastern South Germans, Tausenau, Haug, and Franck, and hence that the club has been formed mainly as a South German one in opposition to the Prussians, and Ruge is only the umbilical cord maintaining the connection with the European Central Committee. In fact, they now call the other societies simply the Prussians. This agitation club nominated Tausenau to its executive authority and simultaneously made him its Minister of the Exterior. This meant that the Central Ruge was completely ousted. But in order to sugar the pill for him, he was given a douceur in the shape of an acknowledgment that his position on the Central Committee was recognised, as also his previous activities and his representation of the German people in accordance with the wishes of the German people. You'll have seen this testimonium paupertatis in print since it appeared in a notice, published in almost every English newspaper, in which the agitation society most humbly announces its birth to the European public and solicits its custom. Even this douceur was soured for poor Ruge by the fact that Bauer-Fickler imposed the intolerable conditio sine qua non that Ruge should desist 'from writing and publishing his stupid stuff'.

Before I go on, I should observe that, all unbeknown to the others, we are represented in the united democratic club by a working man called Ulmer who has fled from Cologne to join our League; he's a man who, when he's with us, is very quiet and taciturn and of whom we would never have believed that he would hold the united democrats in check. But indignatio facit poetam, and the silent Ulmer, or so he told me, has a genius for flaring up easily, whereupon he shakes all over and lets fly like a Berserk. Despite his weedy tailor's build, he is the best gymnast in Mainz, and has a considerable awareness of his physical strength and agility. In addition a communist's pride in infallibility.

On 22 August, then, the 3rd sitting was held. Meeting very well attended in anticipation of great row over the highly treasonable agitation club. President: Meyen. Also present: R. Schramm and Bucher. The Kinkel clique proposed that a refugee committee be set up. For Mr Kinkel has no wish to make his exit from the public stage. Nor does he wish to compromise himself in the eyes of England's aesthetic-liberal bourgeoisie. A refugee committee, besides being politico-philanthropic, is a source of funds, and thus combines all the desirable prerequisites. On the other hand, Ulmer and a certain Hollinger put forward a proposal that the refugee committee be elected at a general meeting of refugees, whereat the Kinkel clique began to harp on the danger that people (namely we, the unnamed) would kick up a row behind the backs of the assembly. But they also had enemies before them. Goegg, Sigel and his brother were the only members of the agitation club present. Goegg was elected to the refugee committee. This provided an opportunity, 1) to announce Tausenau's resignation, 2) to reject the agitation club's statement, 3) finally, after the conclusion of the debate, to announce their resignation in a body. Uproar. Techow and Schramm gave A. Ruge a fearsome dressing down. Altogether a great deal of abuse was hurled. Goegg replied to the others with assurance, launched a bitter attack on the ambivalent Kinkel, who, replying only through his satellites, stroked his beard like the Great Mogul and dictated to Schurz, who was constantly dancing attendance on him, notes which he then, like the agreers in Berlin, caused to be circulated among his trusties and, after the circulation, recorded his final vote. Only when Goegg said that the agitation club would publish its declaration in the English papers, did Kinkel answer majestically that he already controlled the whole of the American press and that steps had been taken to bring the whole of the French press likewise under his control within a very short space of time.

Besides this scandal-laden theme, others were mooted which stirred up the most almighty turmoil in the bosom of the fraternising democrats. Fists were shaken and there was a great clamour and hullaballoo until, at 2 o'clock in the morning, the landlord put out the lamps, thus plunging the agreement-seekers into impenetrable darkness. The row pivoted on two people, Schramm and Ulmer. For in his diatribe against Ruge, Schramm simultaneously vented his wrath on the communists, which received much acclaim, launched a most virulent attack on Willich, and called the workers cowards. To this Ulmer replied; but, for his part and in company with Hollinger—Sigel's friend—demanded the convening of a general meeting of refugees to elect a relief committee. He accused Willich, etc., outright of dissipating and squandering refugee funds. Indescribable tumult. Up sprang Dietz, the cockroach, stated that he was the treasurer of the Great Windmill Street refugee committee and demanded that the allegation be withdrawn. Ulmer declared that, should the gentlemen so desire, he would provide proof. He would withdraw nothing. Willich, in his usual manner, tried to mollify him and invited him to his lodgings for a private discussion. But Cato Ulmer stood his ground and would say nothing without witnesses. By the by, during Goegg's speech Schimmelpfennig, who was sitting behind Ulmer, had kept on grunting and making noises until Ulmer, suddenly seized by his 'genius', turned round with clenched fist and roared at Schimmelpfennig: 'If you don't keep your mouth shut, you miserable penny-pincher, I'll chuck you out of the window.' Schimmelpfennig turned white as a sheet but, discretion getting the better of a Prussian officer's valour, he betook himself to the farthest corner of the room.

Time and again in the course of this memorable seance Willich was so savagely assailed from all sides—by Goegg, Schramm, Hollinger, Ulmer, etc.—that on 6 occasions he declared he would have to resign if they refused to leave his worthy person alone. But now a new element enters the row which was all our doing. For, the 'superior refugees' as these gentlemen call themselves, had left the 'inferior emigres' completely out of account. We had got Ulmer, Rumpf and Liebknecht to give these 'inferior emigres', who are faring very badly, a spicy account of the fact that the Great Windmill Street refugee committee had received 800 gulden from Württemberg, and that they were being well and truly diddled. So yesterday, there was a row at the sitting of the Windmill Street committee, praesidio Schapperi. The refugees demanded to see the letters, accounts, etc. Willich, who had made the same demands as these jackasses when he was opposing us, tells them curtly that he and co. are answerable only to the Workers' Society. When a refugee comes too close, he tells him to stand back and keep his lice to himself. In return the man calls him an 'empty-headed half-wit'. Schapper is asked to account for his hippopotamus's belly and addressed as 'Snapper'. Willich calls the landlord and asks him to eject one of the refugees. The latter says he will leave if they call a POLICEMAN. The gents, he states, are rascals, and there the matter rests. Willich and Schapper declare that in the circumstances they will resign.

These 'inferior emigres' have now been told by Rumpf and Ulmer that next Friday their interests will be placed before the general emigration society. They will proceed there en masse armed with clubs in order to assert their claims. I then let them know through Ulmer that Kinkel has received £160 on their behalf which he has secreted for weeks and is now proposing to share with Willich, and that in any case they are simply being used—et c'est vrai—as a trade-mark to bolster up the finances of these statesmen. Ulmer is to be the speaker and since Schramm, etc., are completely unaware of this surprise—the row should be edifying from every point of view.

You may write a—belated but necessary—letter to Kinkel as soon as I have informed you about Friday's sitting. What you must do forthwith, however, is write to Fischer in New Orleans, explaining the whole dirty business to him and letting him know that henceforward he should collect money only under the Freiligrath trade-mark, which is quite popular. Our party of course needs it. It is the only active one, the only one to be in direct confrontation with the Federal Diet, God and the devil, and we have no money whatever for agitation. Again, money must be raised for our people in prison who are, for the most part, quite penniless. These two aspects, it seems to me, should be easy to explain to the man. If possible, by the way, he should make the collections in secret, since our efficiency can only be impaired by newspaper gossip.

Vale faveque.

Your

K. Marx

25 August

I should further remark that Schapper, that orthodox ox, is by no means prepared to consort with 'unbelievers'; rather he has told Willich that he'd sooner have his skull split open than betake himself to 'the curs'.

If a few days sometimes elapse between letters, it is because I want to send you a fuller report.