You are probably cursing me for the delay. There were some legitimate reasons.

I shall recount things in order. First of all, I was in Vilna*. I had discussions with people about the collection6. The majority agree with the idea of the necessity of such a publication and promise support and provision of material. Their mood is generally one of distrust (I recalled your expression about the pal.** provinces): they say, let's see whether it will correspond to agitational tactics, to the tactics of economic struggle. I pressed most of all on the point that it depends on us.

Further. I was in Moscow. I saw no one, since there is no trace or sign of the "teacher of life." Is he alive? If you know anything about him and have an address, then write to him asking him to send us his address, otherwise we cannot find contacts there. There were enormous pogroms7 there, but it seems some people remained, and work has not stopped. We have material from there—descriptions of several strikes. If you have not received it, then write, and we shall send it.

Then I was in Orekhovо-Zuevo. These places are extraordinarily original, frequently encountered in the central industrial district: a purely factory town, with tens of thousands of inhabitants, living only by the factory. The factory administration is the sole authority. The factory office "governs" the town.

* The key is the same one that we used5.

** The word "pal." is not deciphered. Ed.