London, 4 August 1872 

Dear Hepner, 

I was about to write a brief article for you on the latest 
Bakuninist affairs, when it developed that the General Council 
would have to make a statement on the matter itself. Thus the 

article has turned into an address, the German translation of 
which you will receive on Wednesday.* 

The latest Spanish documents may well serve as a supplement 
shortly.%* Bakunin retained the Alliance de la démocratie socialiste,’° 
which you know of from the Scissions,>** as a secret society in 
order to obtain control of the International. But we learned of 
this, and now we have the proof. Thus, the charge will now be 
made publicly, as otherwise the elections to the Congress in Spain *”° 
would be run by the Alliance and their outcome would be in its 
favour. Bakunin will break his neck in this affair. 

You will have received the reply to the Concordia‘*” So that is 
what the armchair socialists amount to! I had not thought that they 
could be as stupid as that, I had thought that the paper must be 
edited by someone like Beta-Bettziech. 

The factum of Verdy was something I knew from the Kélnische 
Zeitung, but I did not know that the man was also a trickster. 
Very fine. That wretched Sonnemann, incidentally, regards every 
great historical event merely as an opportunity to change his lousy 
Frankfurt back into a free city of the Empire. And for this reason 
the Prussians must always serve as whipping-boy. According to our 
information, the preparations are being made on such a colossal 
scale that the Prussians can be defeated only if they are opposed 
by Austria, as well as France and Russia. But Austria will be on 
Prussia’s side, unless some sudden change occurs, which is not to be 
expected in the circumstances. Moreover, we shall soon witness the 
diverting spectacle of William‘ issuing an appeal to the Poles and 
re-establishing some sort of Poland. And with this he, and the 
whole Prussian regime, will break their necks. The Prusso-German 
Empire is far from having reached its culminating point; this war 
(if it ends well, which is to be expected) will swiftly raise it to its 
climax, and then it will come tumbling down from the dizzy 
heights of Napoleonic glory. It is quite possible that this time the 
movement will start in Berlin; the contradictions are growing very 
acute there, and all that is required to bring things to a head is a 
change in the political situation. A Berlin revolution of that kind 
will certainly be pretty rough, but still it is better for it to come 
from within than after a Sedan, which only brings harm 
everywhere.” 

Hirsch must send to Switzerland for the following writings of 
Bakunin: 

a7 August -> K. Marx and F. Engels, Fictitious Splits in the International. - 
© K. Marx, ‘Reply to Brentano’s Second Article’. - 4 William I 

15* 

Lettres 4 un francais (anonymous), Geneva 1871. 

L’Empire knouto-germanique by M. Bakounine, Geneva 1871. 
This is not obtainable from booksellers, I have tried it, but 
Boruttau will certainly get it for him since he is in raptures about 
it. ; 

Pass on my greetings to Liebknecht and Bebel when you next 
visit them. 

Best regards. 

Yours, 
F. E.