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Special pages :
To the Fourth Austrian Party Congress
| Author(s) | Frederick Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 22 March 1894 |
Printed according to the pamphlet
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 27
The fourth Congress of the Social-Democratic Party of Austria was held in Vienna on March 25-31, 1894. The congress passed a resolution stating that the Austrian workers intended to campaign for universal suffrage using all available means, including a general strike. The congress also adopted new Party Rules and resolved to continue with the annual May Day celebrations by holding demonstrations demanding an 8-hour day, universal suffrage and in support of international brotherhood among all working people.
London, March 22, 1894
I sincerely thank the Austrian Party Congress for the invitation card most kindly sent to me, which I am sadly prevented from using in person. Nevertheless I convey to the assembled delegates of the Party my ardent and cordial wishes for success in their work.
This yearâs Party Congress has particularly important tasks to fulfil. What matters most in Austria is the campaign for universal suffrage, that weapon which, in the hands of class-conscious workers, has a longer range and a surer aim than a small-calibre magazine rifle in the hands of a trained soldier. The ruling classesâfeudal aristocracy and bourgeoisie alikeâare doing their utmost to prevent the delivery of this weapon into the hands of the workers. The struggle will be long and fierce. But if the workers show the political judgment, the patience and perseverance, the unanimity and discipline with which they have already won so many fin victories, then the ultimate victory will surely be theirs. The whole of historical necessity, both economic and political, is on their side. And although full and equal suffrage may not be achieved at the first blow, we can even today give three cheers for the future representatives of the proletariat in the Austrian Reichs Council.
F. Engels