London, 29 September 1892 

Dear Baron, 

Ede and Gine are the most surprising people I have ever met. This 
morning a postcard dated Berne 27.9.92 with a view of the Schanzli 
arrived from them and at 1.30 this afternoon they burst in on me in 
person; both looked very well, especially Gine, despite the fact that 
she is still receiving treatment for her throat and, most important of 
all, Ede gives the impression of having got over his neurasthenia. 
Considering that they have of late been so extraordinarily efficient in 
the matter of supplying addresses, I shall steal a march on them by 
informing you that for the time being they are living at 23 Compton 
Terrace, Highbury, N., quite close to Highbury and Islington Sta- 
tion, Nort Lonpon Railway. 

Mehring’s letter, which I return herewith, made it necessary for 
me to reply to him direct if I did not wish to give offence, which 
would, of course, never occur to me. I did so on the enclosed sheet, 
which kindly forward to him.’ 

I told Kovalevsky on Friday that he should send you the article.” 

We see the Centralblatt here at home and also at the Avelings. 
Evidently the Brauns of the male sex cannot help keeping one foot in 
the armchair socialist camp. Respectability! 

Since you have written to me about the article on the history of so- 
cialist organisations in England, I would commend Tussy to you, she 
being the only person capable of doing the thing with E. Aveling. 
The relevant literature is all very inadequate albeit voluminous, nor 
does it contain anything about what has actually happened and con- 
cerning which the public was supposed to be kept in ignorance. No 
one who was not a participant can express an opinion about it, i. e. be 
knowledgeable about individual events and record them objectively. 
Ede, for example, would have to go through all the numbers of Fus- 
tice, To-Day, Labour Elector, Commonweal, etc. which appeared before 
his arrival in London, and even so he would have to ask Tussy to ex- 

2 See this volume, pp. 549-51.- See this volume, p. 528.-° Sozialpolitisches Central- 
blatt 

plain to him the significance of what had happened and in that case 
the whole thing would, after all, be at second hand. However it will 
be a ticklish job explaining this to Ede who has only just got over his 
neurasthenia and, since the matter is not urgent, I shall let it rest for 
the time being. You have seen more of Ede than I have and if you be- 
lieve that the business would not upset him unduly, it might perhaps 
be best if the suggestion were to come from you. At all events I leave it 
in your hands. 

Bebel’s article,* on which I made the necessary comments in yester- 
day’s letter,” is very good. 

I fully agree that my article should not have appeared until now. 
I don’t even know whether the book has come out yet. Mendelson 
tells me he ordered it but received the reply that it was not yet avail- 
able. There was a curious Fasian review in the Daily Chronicle, 
mostly excerpts, running to 2+ columns. 

From what C. Schmidt tells me, he has not succeeded in solving 
the puzzle. Nevertheless I shall wait and see what he says in the arti- 
cle.* His article on the Menger-Jevonsiad* was very nice. Unfortu- 
nately there’s nobody one can place it with over here.’ 

Mehring’s contributions, both the leaders °** and the Lessing, 
strike me as quite excellent and I derive much enjoyment from them. 

Your 
F.E. 
Marxismus. Engels Briefwechsel mit Kautsky, . . ; 
Prag, 1935 Published in English for the first 

time 

* A. Bebel, ‘Ein internationaler Kongref für den Achtstundentag’, Die Neue ert, 11. 
Jg. 1892/93, 1. Bd., Nr. 2.-° See this volume, 542-43. -° ‘Introduction to the English 
Edition (1892) of Socialism: Utopian and Scientific .-* C. Schmidt, ‘Die Durchschnitts- 
profitrate und das Marx’sche Werthgesetz’, Die Neue Keit, 11. Jg. 1892/93, 1. Bd., Nr. 3, 
4.-° C. Schmidt, ‘Die psychologische Richtung in der neueren National - 
Ockonomie’, Die Neue Zeit, 10. Jg. 1891/92, 2. Bd., Nr. 40, 41.-' See this volume, 
p. 526. 

APPENDICES 

W. Thorne and Eleanor Marx-Aveling to Gompers. 25 Jan. 1891 557 

WILLIAM THORNE AND ELEANOR MARX-AVELING 
TO SAMUEL GOMPERS °°+ 

National-union of 
Gasworkers and General Labourers 
of Great Britain and Ireland. 

Registered Office—144, Barking Road, E. 

W. Watkinson, President 

W. Byford, Treasurer 

W. Thorne, General Secretary 
W. H. Ward, Assistant Secretary 

[London,] 25 January 1891 

Mr Samuel Gompers 
for the American Federation of Labour 5+ 

Dear Comrade, 

During the recent visit of Comrades Bebel, Liebknecht and Singer 
on the occasion of Frederick Engels’ 70th birthday, they met repre- 
sentatives of the Gas Workers and General Labourers Union '%* 
(comprising about 100,000 men and women belonging to over sev- 
enty trades) and of several other Unions and Organisations, besides 
John Burns, Cunninghame Graham, M. P., and others. At this meet- 
ing the feeling was very strong that the time had come to bring about 
a close and organised relation between the labour parties of the dif- 
ferent countries. The most immediate question is that of preventing the 
introduction from one country to another of unfair labour, i.e. of 
workers who not knowing the conditions of the labour-struggle in 
a particular country, are imported into that country by the Capi- 

558 W. Thorne and Eleanor Marx-Aveling to Gompers. 25 Jan. 189] 

talists, in order to reduce wages, or lengthen the hours of labour, or 
both. The most practical way of carrying this out appears to be the 
appointing in each country of an International Secretary, who shall 
be in communication with all the other International Secretaries. 
Thus, the moment any difficulty between capitalists and labourers 
occurs in any country, the International Labour Secretaries of all the 
other countries should be at once communicated with, and will make 
it their business to try to prevent the exportation from their particular 
country of any labourers to take the place on unfair terms, of those 
locked-out or on strike in the country where the difficulty has oc- 
cured. Whilst this is the most immediate and most obvious matter to 
be dealt with, it is hoped that an arrangement of the kind proposed, 
will in every way facilitate the interchange of ideas on ail questions 
between the workers of every nation that is becoming every day 
and every hour the most pressing necessity of the working-class 
movement. 

If your organisation °* agrees with the views of the Gasworkers and 
General Labourers Union, will you at once communicate with us, 
and give us the name of the Secretary appointed by it to take part in 
this important movement? 

Yours fraternally, 
W. Thorne 
(General Secretary) 
Eleanor Marx-Aveling 
(On the behalf of the Executive Committee)