Karl Marx 
Letter to the Editor 
of the "Pall Mall Gazette", 


Frederick Greenwood 


The Pall Mall Gazette. 
Nr. 1992, 3.Juli 1871 


Haverstock-hill, N. W., 
June 30, 1871. 


Sir, —I have declared in the Daily News—and you have reprinted in the Pall 
Mall—that I hold myself alone responsible for the charges brought forward 
against Jules "Favre and Co." 

In your yesterday's publication you declare these charges to be "libels." 
I declare you to be a libeller. It is no fault of mine that you are as ignorant 
as arrogant. If we lived on the Continent, I should call you to account in 
another way.—Obediently, 


KARL MARX. 


243 


Friedrich Engels 
Aufzeichnungen von einer Unterredung zwischen 
Karl Marx und Robert Reid 


IRobert Reid 
Ex-Correspondent Daily Telegraph. 
1.Juli 1871 


Bower Correspondent Morning Advertiser im Restaurant Peters bei dem 
Arrest, wurde mit dem anderen Times-Correspondenten Dallas und einem 
Russischen Attaché freigelassen, ging aber wieder hinein um seine 
(englische) Dame zu holen, die aber grade mit einem anderen Herrn schön 
that he pitched into him assaulted him was taken in custody and locked up 
for that. 

Diese 3 publient einen Brief in der Vérité der falsch war. 1) es seien 
Mitglieder der Commune im Cafe gewesen mit rothen und goldenen Schär- 
pen und auch Huren im Cafe die ihre Karten vorgezeigt, und 2) daß der 
Bower verhaftet ohne Grund (es waren nur die Polizei-Commissare die 
mit rothen Schärpen aber ohne Goldfransen). 

Im Telegraph Reid's Reports often altered. A very important letter was 
suppressed by them. 

On 20" May hatte Wright] die Zeitung. Telegraph 17 or 18" May Ver- 
sailles Correspondent stated that Courbet had with a hammer destroyed 
objects of art in Louvre. Reid zeigte am 20. dies Telegramm dem Courbet. 
Folgender Brief von Courbet an den Editor des Telegraph: 

Sir Not only have I not destroyed any works of art in the Louvre, but on 
the contrary it was under my care that all those which had been dispersed 
by various ministers in different buildings throughout the capital were 
collected, and restored to their proper places in the Museum. In like manner 
the Luxemburg was benefited. It was I who preserved and arranged all the 
works of art removed from the house of M. Thiers. I am accused of having 
destroyed the Column Vendöme when the fact is on record that the decree 
for its destruction was passed 14” April and I was elected to the Commune 


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Aufzeichnungen von einer Unterredung zwischen Karl Marx und Robert Reid 


on the 20, six days afterwards. I warmly urged the preservation of the 
bas-reliefs and proposed to form a Museum of them in the Court of the 
Invalides. Knowing the purity of the motives by [| which I have been 
actuated, I also know the difficulties one inherits in coming after a régime 
such as the Empire. 
Salut et fraternite 
G. Courbet. 

Hötel de Ville 20 May 71. 


Dieser Brief durch Reid an den Telegraph geschickt aber unterdrückt. 


Gegen 10./12. April s. Papers. 


Tolain Correspondent der Times wünschte zu wissen was der General-Rath 
dazu sagen würde — Times unterdrückt] unseren Beschluß. 


Reid war für den Telegraph engagiert Telegramme zu schicken und ist bereit 
zu schwören daß sie zu Ungunsten der Commune abgeändert worden im 
Abdruck. 


Adolphus Smith Ex-Correspondent Daily News Vorlesung über Commune 
Charing Cross Theatre 3/7/71. 

Bei der Demonstration Rue de la Paix zugegen. Die Gewehre der Natio- 
nal-Garde in Place Vendöme waren in Pyramiden zusammengestellt und 
ein Engländer den er nannte (Leatham?) und der in erster Reihe des Zugs 
war, sprang auf sie los um sich einer Pyramide zu bemächtigen. 

Jourde war im brennenden Finanzministerium bis zuletzt, rettete Bücher 
und Gelder. Und der soll's angesteckt haben! Ein gegenüber wohnender 
Engländer den er nennen kann, sah 2 Bomben durchs Dach einschlagen, 
platzen und bald drauf Rauch, dann Flamme, dann das ganze Gebäude 


allmählich in Flammen. | 


245 


Karl Marx 
Mr. Washburne, 


the American Ambassador in Paris 


ImlMr.  Washburne, 
The American Ambassador, in Paris. 


To the New York Central Committee 
for the United States' Sections 
of the International Working Men's Association. 


Citizens,—The General Council of the Association consider it their duty to 
communicate publicly to you evidence on the conduct, during the French 
Civil War, of Mr. Washburne, the American Ambassador. 

I. The following statement is made by Mr. Robert Reid, a Scotchman who 
has lived for seventeen years in Paris, and acted during the Civil War as a 
correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph and the New York Herald. 
Let us remark, in passing, that the Daily Telegraph, in the interests of the 
Versailles Government, falsified even the short telegraphic despatches 
transmitted to it by Mr. Reid. 

Mr. Reid, now in England, is ready to confirm his statement by affidavit. 

"The sounding of the general alarm, mingled with the roar of the cannon, 
continued all night. To sleep was impossible. Where, I thought, are the 
representatives of Europe and America? Can it be possible that in the midst 
of this effusion of innocent blood they should make no effort at conciliation? 
I could bear the thought no longer; and knowing that Mr. Washburne was in 
town, I resolved at once to go and see him. This was, I think, on the 17th of 
April; the exact date may, however, be ascertained from my letter to Lord 
Lyons, to whom I wrote on the same day. Crossing the Champs Elysées, on 
my wayto Mr. Washburne's residence, Imetnumerous ambulance-waggons 
filled with fhe wounded and dying. Shells were bursting around the Arc de 


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sTo Maas Wis N 

spresentatives ob Baroy 
at.in the midst: of. this effüsi 
: ' ould niäke no effort: at con 
T1 could bear the thought no. longer; and knowing that M 
a borne.” wäs An. $ :Liresolved..at: ende togo. and, see. 
a ‘Gin Z pril ÿ xaët 
be ds tained : tour my let: r tô Lord. Lyons, to. whom T wro 
then same addy.” ee ie 2 eae um 
| Washibara "Sd wel 


Karl Marx: Mr. Washburne, the American Ambassador in Paris. 


Erste Seite des Flugblatts 


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Mr. Washburne, the American Ambassador in Paris 


Triomphe, and many innocent people were added to the long list of 
M. Thiers's victims. 

"Arriving at No. 95, Rue de Chaillot, I inquired at the Concierge's for the 
United States’ Ambassador, and was directed to the second floor. The 
particular flight or flat you dwellin is, in Paris, an almost unerringindication 
of your wealth and position,—a sort of social barometer. We find here a 
marquis on the first front floor, and an humble mechanic on the fifth back 
floor,—the stairs that divide them represent the social gulf between them. 
As I climbed up the stairs, meeting no stout flunkeys in red breeches and 
silk stockings, I thought, ‘Ah! the Americans lay their money out to the best 
advantage,—we throw ours away." 

"Entering the secretary's room, I inquired for Mr. Washburne.—Do you 
wish to see him personally?—I do.—My name having ||2| been sent in, 
I was ushered into his presence. He was lounging in an easy-chair, reading 
a newspaper. I expected he would rise; but he remained sitting with the 
paper still before him, an act of gross rudeness in a country where the 
people are generally so polite. 

"I told Mr. Washburne that we were betraying the cause of humanity, if 
we did not endeavour to bring about a conciliation. Whether we succeeded 
or not, it was at all events our dutytotry; and the moment seemed the more 
favourable, as the Prussians were just then pressing Versailles for a defi- 
nitive settlement. The united influence of America and England would turn 
the balance in favour of peace. 

"Mr. Washburne said, ‘The men in Paris are rebels. Let them lay down 
their arms. 'I replied that the National guards had a legal right to their arms; 
but that was not the question. When humanity is outraged, the civilized 
world has aright to interfere, and I ask you to co-operate with Lord Lyons 
to that effect.—Mr. Washburne: ‘These men at Versailles will listen to 
nothing.'—'If they refuse, the moral responsibility will rest with them.'— 
Mr. Washburne: ‘I don't see that. I can't do anything in the matter. You 
had better see Lord Lyons.’ 

"So ended our interview. I left Mr. Washburne sadly disappointed. I found 
a man rude and haughty, with none of those feelings of fraternity you 
might expect to find in the representative of a democratic republic. On two 
occasions I had had the honour of an interview with Lord Cowley, when 
he was our representative in France. His frank, courteous manner formed 
a striking contrast to the cold, pretentious, and would-be-aristocratic style 
of the American Ambassador. 

"I also urged upon Lord Lyons that, in the defence of humanity, England 
was bound to make an earnest effort at reconciliation, feeling convinced 
that the British Government could not look coldly on such atrocities as 


249 


Karl Marx 


the massacres of the Clamart station and Moulin Saquet, not to speak of the 
horrors of Neuilly, without incurring the malediction of every lover of 
humanity. Lord Lyons answered me verbally through Mr. Edward Malet, 
his secretary, that he had forwarded my letter to the Government, and 
would willingly forward any other communication I might have to make on 
that subject. At one moment matters were most favourable for reconcilia- 
tion, and had our Government thrown their weight in the balance, the world 
would have been spared the carnage of Paris. At all events, it is not the fault 
of Lord Lyons if the British Government failed in their duty. 

"But, to return to Mr. Washburne. On Wednesday forenoon, the 24th of 
May, I was passing along the Boulevard des Capucines, ||3| when I heard 
my name called, and, turning round, saw Dr. Hossart standing beside 
Mr. Washburne, who was in an open carriage amidst a great number of 
Americans. After the usual salutations, I entered into a conversation with 
Dr. Hossart. Presently the conversation became general on the horrid 
scenes around; when Mr. Washburne, addressing me with the air of a man 
who knows the truth of what he is saying,—All who belong to the Commune, 
and those that sympathize with them, will be shot, ' Alas! I knew that they 
were killing old and young for the crime of sympathy, but I did not expect 
to hear it semi-officially from Mr. Washburne; yet, while he was repeating 
this sanguinary phrase, there was still time for him to save the Archbishop." 

II. "On the 24th of May, Mr. Washburne's secretary came to offer to the 
Commune, then assembled at the Mairie of the 11th Arrondissement, on the 
part of the Prussians, an intervention between the Versaillese and the 
Federals on the following terms:— 

'"Suspension of hostilities. 

""Re-election of the Commune on the one side, and of the National 
Assembly on the other. 

"'The Versailles troops to leave Paris, and to take up their quarters in 
and around the fortifications. 

"'The National Guard to continue to guard Paris. 

"'No punishment to be inflicted upon the men serving or having served 
in the Federal Army.' 

"The Commune in an extraordinary sitting, accepted the propositions, 
with the proviso that two months should be given to France in order to 
prepare for the general elections of a Constituent Assembly. 

"A second interview with the Secretary of the American Embassy took 
place. At its morning sitting of the 25th May, the Commune resolved to send 
five citizens—amongst them Vermorel, Delescluze, and Arnold—as pleni- 
potentiaries to Vincennes, where, according to the information given by 
Mr. Washburne's secretary, a Prussian delegate would then be found. That 


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Mr. Washburne, the American Ambassador in Paris 


deputation was, however, prevented from passing by the National Guards 
on duty at the gate of Vincennes. Consequent upon another and final inter- 
view with the same American Secretary, Citizen Arnold, to whom he had 
delivered a safe conduct, on the 26th May, went to St. Denis, where he 
was—not admitted by the Prussians. 

"The result of this American intervention (which produced a belief in the 
renewed neutrality of, and the intended intercession between the belli- 
gerents, by the Prussians) was, at the most critical juncture, to paralyze 
the defence for two days. Despite the precautions taken to keep the nego- 
tiations secret, they became ||4| soon known to the National Guards, who 
then, full of confidence in Prussian neutrality, fled to the Prussian lines, 
there to surrender as prisoners. It is known how this confidence was abused 
by the Prussians, shooting by their sentries part of the fugitives, and handing 
over to the Versailles Government those who had surrendered. 

"During the whole course of the civil war, Mr. Washburne, through his 
secretary, never tired of informing the Commune of his ardent sympathies, 
which only his diplomatic position prevented him from publicly manifesting, 
and of his decided reprobation of the Versailles Government." 

This statement, No. II., is made by a member of the Paris Commune, who, 
like Mr. Reid, will in case of need, confirm it by affidavit. 

To fully appreciate Mr.Washburne's conduct, the statements of 
Mr. Robert Reid and that of the member of the Paris Commune must be 
read as a whole, as part and counterpart of the same scheme. While Mr. 
Washburne declares to Mr. Reid that the Communals are "rebels" who 
deserve their fate, he declares to the Commune his sympathies with its 
cause and his contempt of the Versailles Government. On the same 24th of 
May, while, in presence of Dr. Hossart and many Americans, informing 
Mr. Reid that not only the Communals but even their mere sympathizers 
were irrevocably doomed to death, he informed, through his secretary, the 
Commune that not only its members were to be saved, but every man in the 
Federal army. 

We now request you, dear Citizens, to lay these facts before the Working 
Class of the United States, and to call upon them to decide whether 
Mr. Washburne is a proper representative of the American Republic. 


THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE 
INTERNATIONAL WORKING MEN'S ASSOCIATION:— 
M.J.Boon, Fred. Bradnick, G.H.Buttery, Caihil, William Hales, Kolb, 
F. Lessner, George Milner, Thos. Mottershead, Chas. Murray, P. MacDon- 
nell, Pfander, John Roach, Rühl, Sadler, Cowell Stepney, Alfred Taylor, 
W. Townshend. 


251 


Karl Marx 


CORRESPONDING SECRETARIES:— 
Eugéne Dupont, for France; Karl Marx, for Germany and Holland; 
F. Engels, for Belgium and Spain; H. Jung, for Switzerland; P. Giovacchini, 
for Italy; Zévy Maurice, for Hungary; Anton Zabicki, for Poland; James 
Cohen, for Denmark; J. G. Eccarius, for the United States. 


HERMANN JUNG, Chairman. GEORGE HARRIS, Financial Sec. 
JOHN WESTON, Treasurer. JOHN HALES, General Secretary. 


Office-256, High Holborn, London, W. C, 
July llth, 1871.1