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Special pages :
To the International Metalworkers' Society
| Author(s) | First International Karl Marx |
|---|---|
| Written | 18 April 1870 |
Printed according to the newspaper
Published in English for the first time
Source: Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 21
Marx wrote this letter in reply to a request of January 12, 1870, from the International Metalworkers Society in Hanover for help in establishing contacts with the English trade unions. The General Council appointed a delegation headed by Jung to conduct the talks. On April 12 Jung reported on a meeting on April 7 with the Council of the London Amalgamated Engineers. The latter was ready to establish contact with the engineers of Germany and France and handed over a list of questions which interested English workers. The questionnaire in Marx's letter slightly differs in wording from the English text preserved in Jung's letter to Marx of April 13, 1870 (see The General Council of the Tirst International. 1868-1870, Moscow, 1966, pp. 470-71).
Marx's letter, with a short editorial and conclusion was published in German in Die Tagwacht, No. 16, May 5, 1870, and in French in L'Internationale, No. 76, June 26, 1870. The author's name was mentioned in the editorial.
London, April 18, 1870
Dear Friends,
About a fortnight ago[1] the Executive Committee of the AMALGAMATED ENGINEERS finally invited the General Council of the International Working Men’s Association to send delegates to discuss the establishment of direct links with the metalworkers in Germany and the engineers in Paris. They now request you to answer the following questions before they come to a decision about you:
1) The number of hours of work per day?
2) How many working days a week? Is Sunday a working day?
3) The amount of wages?
4) Is overtime paid and at what rates?
5) The number of members?
6) How much is their contribution per week?
7) Has the trade union anything to do with funds for sick relief, etc.?
8) Which trades are covered by the union?
With fraternal greetings
Karl Marx
- ↑ On April 7.— Ed.