Page:Wilhelm Liebknecht - Socialism; What It Is and What It Seeks to Accomplish - tr. Mary Wood Simons (1899).djvu/34

 draft of the board of directors has been made public. The letter from Marx of March 5, 1875, published by Engels, in an essential manner gave a stimulation and lent an important contribution to this critique. I presume the contents of the letter to be known to you all; it is to be found in the Neuen Zeit and in the remaining party papers, as well as being discussed by the opposition press, and it has been debated in the most thorough manner and considered with all due regard since the draft of the new programme has been perfected.

Concerning this letter I have personally one observation to make—not in reference to its contents. The reproach has been raised by those of the opposition that the few to whom the letter was directed have conducted themselves dishonorably, in a measure, toward the party comrades, since they did not communicate the contents of the letter to the congress in 1875. Had we done so the object of that congress would have been put in danger. And the letter was a strictly confidential one, not intended for publicity.

We have already in the Vorwarts expressed ourselves concerning our position in regard to the letter of Marx relating to the platforms—in an explanation which, coming from the faction, clearly sets forth our opinion of the contents after mature consideration. At the time of the letter affairs were in this condition: The two factions of the social democracy, the Eisenacher and the Lassallian, had for years been involved in a struggle with each other. In the beginning, indeed, we believed on each side that the ends were different, that fundamental questions divided us. In the course of the fight, however, we arrived at the conclusion that for the mass of the members of both factions such questions did not exist; that even if the watchword were different, still the object, the demands and the efforts on both