Page:Wilhelm Liebknecht - Socialism; What It Is and What It Seeks to Accomplish - tr. Mary Wood Simons (1899).djvu/35

 sides were entirely the same. So gradually all were brought to the conviction that it was necessary to unite the two divided streams into one. Instead of wasting strength in this strife that murdered brothers, we must act together and he directed against the common enemy—this is what every one said.

And this thought stood out so strongly that on both sides, even if the leaders had put themselves in opposition to it, the body of men were not to be hindered from agreement.

A few days ago our oldest comrade, the senior of the party, Tolcke, spoke here. He recalled to mind the grievous times of the conflict. I would bring back to his memory a more pleasant event. As I sat in the editor's office one beautiful morning in Leipzig, not long after I came from imprisonment in the fortress of Hubertusburg, a man came in, who appeared not wholly unknown to me, though I could not immediately say who he was. I worked on, whereupon the man said to me: "Tolcke is here and wishes to speak to you." I arose immediately. Tolcke met me with his out-stretched hand, in which I at once placed mine. It required no previous conclusion of peace. We betook ourselves to an adjoining room. "We must have peace," said Tolcke, and I answered: "Yes; we must have peace."

From that moment, for me, peace was concluded, and as about this time similar steps were taken in the north, in Hamburg, in Altona and in other places, it became evident to all of my friends in Germany that now we must unite ourselves, let come what would. A Hotspur on one side or the other sought to hinder the work of peace, but the union had to be; it was necessary for the interests of the party.

We met in conference for the purpose of acquainting ourselves with a programme for union; on this side