ENGELS TO FLORENCE KELLY-WISCHNEWETZKY”? 
London, 11 April 1888 

Dear Mrs Wischnewetzky, 

Your call for the ms.* comes upon me very suddenly and I am afraid 
I shall not be able to oblige you. I am allowed to write two hours a day, 
no more; have a large correspondence to attend to; find that at the end 
of the two hours, am only just getting warm in harness, and then, just 
then, must stop. Under these circumstances I am quite unable to do arti- 
cles de saison to order, especially for a distant market, and do not see my 
way to having the pamphlet ready in ms. by 15th May, much less have it 
ready printed in New York by that time. Still I will set about it at once, 
after clearing off urgent letters, and do my best. I interrupt an important 
piece of business? on purpose, to clear this matter off. 

Still in my opinion you need not fear of losing your opportunity. The 
Free Trade question will not disappear from the American horizon until 
settled. I am sure that Protection has done its duty for the United States 
and is now an obstacle, and whatever may be the fate of the Mills bill,? 
the struggle will not end until either Free Trade enables the United States 
manufacturers to take the leading part in the world market to which they 
are entitled in many branches of trade, or until both Protectionists and 
Free Traders are shoved aside by those behind them. Economic facts are 
stronger than politics, especially if the politics are so much mixed up 
with corruption as in America. I should not wonder if during the next 
few years one set of American manufacturers after the other passed over 
to the Free Traders—if they understand their interests they must. 

Thanks for the official publications*—I think they will be just what I 
want. 

I am glad of your success against the Executive as far as it goes—from 
Volkszeitung weekly 31 March4 I see they won’t give in yet—there you 

4 F Engels, ‘Protection and Free Trade. Preface to the Pamphlet: Karl Marx, 
Speech on the Question of Free Trade’ —» work on Vol. III of Capital —¢ See this 
volume, p...v ~ 4 The item referred to appeared in the column ‘Socialistische 
Arbeiter-Partei National-Executiv-Komite’, Wochenblatt der N. Y. Volkszeitung, 
No. 13, 31 March 1888 

see what an advantage it is to be on the spot. The non-resisting weakness 
which went straight against the Avelings because they were absent’— 
that weakness you could work round to your favour because you were 
not absent; and thus the hostility to you is reduced to mere local Klatsch* 
which with perseverance you are sure to overcome and to live down.?° 

I was very much rejoiced to read that the Sorges feel happier again in 
their old quarters,?!8 I hope they will continue so. Old Sorge could no 
more live in a hole like Rochester than I could in Kréhwinkel or its 
Lancashire equivalents, Chowbent or Bullocksmithy. 

I return herewith the letters of the Board of Supervision. 

In haste 

Yours faithfully, 
F. Engels