The International Workingmen's Association

To the editor of the Berliner Reform


From No. 68 of the Reform and No. 37 of
the Social-Demokrat forwarded to me here, I see that Herr v. Schweitzer
is making embarrassed and mendacious attempts to extricate himself from
the "fair impediments" he has prepared for himself. Habeat sibi!
[I don't care!] However, I will not permit him to distort my statement
of March 15, in which I simply let him describe himself, into a statement
on Lassalle. The correspondence between myself and Lassalle in my possession,
spanning about fifteen years, totally deprives the Schweitzers and company
of the power to misrepresent our personal relationship or to cast suspicion
on the motives for my neutral attitude to Lassalle's agitation. The relationship
of Lassalle's theoretical works to mine, on the other hand, is a matter
for scientific criticism. An occasion may perhaps arise later for discussing
individual points. But under any circumstances, reverence prohibits me
from making such matters the object of a polemic in the press with sycophants.

alt-Bommel,

March 28, 1865