ENGELS TO MARX” 

Manchester, 7 February 1865 

Dear Moor, 

Statement* enclosed. They will take exception to the fact that we 
refer to Moses by name, which, when published, could be 
regarded as a breach of editorial secrecy. Do not forget to give 
Liebknecht instructions about this, so that a justifiable technical 
objection of this kind does not delay the matter again. 

Liebknecht is becoming more and more stupid. He calls it a 
compromise that we should not merely sanction in silence every 
stupid thing that appears in the paper‘ but also tolerate the paper 
casting aspersions on our own affairs and actions, in defiance of 
every convention. But we always have a fine tor of agents to act 
for us and will certainly not be such jackasses as Lassalle and 
‘bequeath’ anything to them, s’il y avait de quoi“ If things go wrong 
in Berlin, Liebknecht would do best to come over, leaving his 
family behind, we will then see what can be done, he will be able 
to make acquaintances soon enough at the Schiller Institute ** 
here, and whatever else can be done, will be; I think he might 
very well manage to settle down here like that, and if not, nothing 
is lost, and if it works out all right, he can bring his family over 
later. If he brings his family along straightaway, he will certainly go 
to the dogs here, because the cost will then be so much greater 
that the attempt cannot possibly last long. It will not be easy to 
obtain work teaching children, as Lupus did; but he can, of 
course, explore the possibilities. 

Bender has sent me a bill for 5s. per quarter for my 
subscription to the Social-Demokratchen, which seems exorbitant to 
me. 

The devil knows how one’s work here is subject to all kinds of 
interruptions. Another committee meeting of the Schiller Institute 
yesterday, so this evening is the first time since Friday that I have 
managed to get down to the military question.‘ 

 K. Marx and F. Engels, ‘To the Editor of the Social-Demokrat’. - ’ Moses 
Hess - © Der Social-Demokrat - 4 if there were anything to bequeath - ¢ F. Engels, 
The Prussian Military Question and the German Workers’ Party. 

The attempt by Hatzfeldt and Klings to throw out Bernhard 
Becker has been a complete fiasco, and Klings has been thrown 
out. Whatever happens we must avoid soiling our hands in oe 
dirty business; it is just as the worker said in the Gtrzenich* i 
1848: they may fall as they will, a rogue will always come out on 
top. 

What mad German Schweitzer writes ‘as who’! This second 
LEADER On Bismarck’s ministry is once again as _pretentiously 
abstruse as it could possibly be, even though there is no longer any 
direct flirtation with Bismarck, and it is good that he openly calls 
Prussia’s policy anti-German.” But how naive of Liebknecht that he 
demands that we ought to make clear to them what their attitude 
to the government should be, whereas what he should do is to ask 
above all for a categorical statement from Mr Schweitzer as to what 
attitude he intends to adopt towards the government. 

It looks to me as if a compromise ts at hand in Prussia now, with 
the Prussian Chamber rescuing its prerogative regarding the 
budget, but giving way on everything else. Bismarck will certainly not 
think of seriously disputing the budget-prerogative in the long 
run, since, if he did so, he would get neither money nor credit 
and he is badly in need of both. Meanwhile, the affair can still 
founder on any number of trivial details.'°° 

In America, the start of the Richmond campaign in March or 
April will probably be decisive for the whole year.*’ If Grant 
succeeds in driving Lee out, the Conreperacy is played out, their 
armies will break up, and only bandit-warfare, like that already 
rife in West Tennessee now and in general nearly everywhere, will 
remain to be overcome. In reality, the only army the SourHerners 
now have is Lee’s; everything depends on its destruction. Now we 
can already assume that the area from which Lee procures his 
supplies is confined to South Virginia, the Carolinas and at most 
part of Georgia. 

Salut. 
Your 
F. E.