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 year’s 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 
classes— feudal aristocracy and bourgeoisie alike—are 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 _ persever- 
ance, the unanimity and discipline with which they have already 
won so many fine 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 

handlungen des vierten Osterreichischen sozial- 

demokratischen Parteitages, Vienna, 1894 Published in English for the first 

time