Dear Comrades! We have received both your letters about the beginning split in the "school". These—the first comradely letters from like-minded people to reach us from Capri—have delighted all of us immensely. We wholeheartedly welcome the clear demarcation in the school.

Of course, time was needed for the true nature of the school to reveal itself, as a new centre of a new faction. We never doubted for a moment that the most class-conscious Social-Democratic workers would sooner or later understand the state of affairs and take the correct path. We are being written to from Moscow that letters have been received there from ardent "Bogdanovites" among the students of the school, openly agitating for the Capri centre and helping all Social-Democratic workers enormously to understand the true significance of the Capri school.

Now to the matter at hand. You, comrades, must give thorough thought to the new situation that has arisen, so that we can discuss it together with you and take the right steps, choose the right time for them. You understand, of course, that a split in the school is now inevitable: you yourselves write that you cannot get along in such a school. You, of course, do not count on united action with the ardent "Bogdanovites" yourselves. And since the matter has come to the point that a split in the school is inevitable, it is necessary to clearly understand the significance of this split, to clearly imagine what struggle stems from the split, how the Bogdanovites will try to "neutralize" all of you (i.e., deprive you of the opportunity to exert your influence and tell the truth about the school), to compromise all of you (the nickname: "agent of the Bolshevik Centre", launched, according to your words, by Alexinsky, is only the beginning; these are just the first flowers, the berries are yet to come) and so on, and so on.

You must think all this over carefully and act firmly, decisively, deliberately, as in battle: you yourselves write that "battles" are going on in the school "over the platform". This is the beginning of battles against you everywhere and in all places where the Bogdanovites penetrate.

You must begin by accurately determining your number. How many resolute opponents are there of the "Bogdanovite" platform? Can this number be increased or not? If so, how and at what time. If not, what is the behaviour of the "neutrals"? It is necessary to consider what your behaviour should be in the event of an inevitable split in the school, in order to win over these neutrals as much as possible, or at least not to give them entirely into the clutches of the Bogdanovites.

Furthermore. How do you intend to arrange your departure from the school? As a simple departure or as a departure due to a struggle over platforms? Of course, if your struggle developed as quickly as one might have thought from your first two letters, then the split may already be there, i.e., you may already have been kicked out by the Bogdanovites, simply kicked out, then there is nothing to talk about. If this is not yet the case, then consider carefully how to arrange your departure. You must give an answer to all Russian organizations. You will have to refute precisely and clearly, with facts in hand, all those attacks that will now rain down on you in thousands from the "Bogdanovites". You must prepare to defend your views both on the school and on the "platform" of the Bogdanovites.

If the question of your departure arises, you must secure the issuance to all of you of funds to travel to Russia. This is the duty of the school, just as before the split the duty of the *beks* of the Bolshevik Centre was to give money for departure to Russia (after the December Party Conference of 1908) to Lyadov and Vsevolod and Stanislav. They then demanded funds from us and received them.

Of course, we will help you with passports and with our meeting (in Paris or in some small town, so that it is more conspiratorial and so that you have less time to lose, so that it is cheaper). We will discuss the place of our meeting separately and choose it later. Our finances are not brilliant, and we can only provide modest assistance.

I am writing all this to you to clarify the matter and to exchange opinions. Upon receiving more accurate answers from you, upon clarifying all questions by our correspondence, we will convene the Executive Commission of the enlarged editorial board of *Proletary*, and then the amount of assistance, the time and place of our meeting, and so on will be decided.

Answer in more detail. Can you give us a direct address to you?

Greetings. Secretary of *Proletary*