ENGELS TO WILHELM ELLENBOGEN” 

London, 28 January 1895 
41 Regent’s Park Road, N. W. 

Esteemed Comrade, 

Unfortunately for somewhat over a year I have been forced to make it my 
duty politely but firmly to decline all invitations to contribute to festive 
messages, etc., in particular periodically recurring ones, or to send messages 
of greetings on holidays (18 March, May Day, etc.), the only deviation from 
this rule being certain exceptional occasions, which promise an immediate 
specific effect. When you were bringing out the first issue of the daily in 
Vienna, I believed congratulations to be indicated." If I sent you two lines for 
the May Day address, I would be compelled to do the same for the Czechs, 
Hungarians, Italians, Germans, Romanians and who knows what other 
nations and, moreover, probably send in addresses for the various May Day 
meetings, leave alone anniversaries like the 13th and 18" of March. 

“ F, Engels, ‘Message of Greetings to the Austrian Workers on the Daily Publication of the 
Arbeiter-Zeitung’. - » Probably a slip of the pen. Should be 14 March, the day of Karl Marx’s 
death. 

If I am to have time for work, I am obliged to leave the demonstrating to 
younger forces. 

Much as I would like to do a favour precisely to the Austrian comrades, I 
trust the above will help them realise that this time I must refuse. 

Yours faithfully, 
F. Engels