Karl Marx; his life and work
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252 KARL MARX ganic bond or a pledge of support. It is curiously significant of the manner in which the devotees of a special propaganda lose their sehse of perspective that the very men who would denounce any attempt to introduce religious tests into the unions, upon the ground that it would weaken the solidarity of the members and divide them and weaken their powers, fail to see that the same argument applies to divisions created by the introduction of political differences. Yet, let it be repeated, Marx did not believe that the unions could or should remain neutral upon political questions. He knew that in a constantly increasing degree the workers must depend for betterment of their conditions upon legislation. To such matters as factory legislation, accident insurance, employ ers’ liability, old age pensions, the legal eight hour day, child labor laws, the protection of trades union funds, security of the right of combination, freedom from the crippling restraints of judicial usurpation, and many others, the trades unions cannot be indifferent. Neutrality upon such political questions is im possible for the unions, for they are too vitally concerned. Approval by the unions in their own interests of any or all the measures above enumerated —■ even though they might be found only in the programme of the Socialist party — would be very different from the endorsement of a political party, as such. To sum up: Marx would have the unions freely discuss, not I party politics bounded by the interests of parties of any kind, but the politics of their own immediate interests. He ap proved heartily of the resolution adopted by the trades union leaders at Gotha in 1875, immediately after the union of the Socialist factions, declaring that politics should be kept out of ( the trades unions, but that individual members were advised to join the Social Democratic Party, by which name the united Socialist party was known. There was, it must be admitted, something of a compromise in that resolution, for if the union advised its members as individuals to join the Social Demo cratic Party it was practically giving that party its endorse-“DAS KAPITAL” 253 ment. Bebel, with his usual fine sagacity and candour, has recognized this fact, and at the convention of the German lithog raphers, engravers and allied trades, held in Berlin on the thirty-first of May, 1900, he bravely and frankly disavowed it. He declared upon that occasion that it was not the business of the union so to advise its members, who must be left free to find their way into the Socialist ranks as citizens rather than as unionists. Bebel expressed the belief that the Socialist party is abun dantly able to rely upon the power of Socialist ideas to attract the trades unionists. When the unions discuss freely at their meetings and in their press their political and social interests, the members of the unions can be relied upon to find out for themselves that the Socialist party is the only party which con sistently promotes those interests. Slowly in many cases, per haps, but very surely, they will find their way into the Socialist ranks. In that sense, he, like Marx, regards the trades unions as “ schools for Socialism.” While we may not say with cer tainty what attitude Marx would adopt were he alive to-day, it is very certain that the logic of his life and his profoundest thought lead us to Bebel’s position. No single event of the year 1 86q gave Marx so much pleas- 1 ure as the organization of the Social Democratic Working men’s Party aTTKe*”Eisenach congress, which took place early in August. The congress was arranged by Liebknecht and Bebel for the purpose of forming a definitely Marxian party out of some disgruntled elements of the Lassalleanorganizatiom and the members of unions affiliated with the International J In spite of bitter opposition from Schweitzer, Lassalle’s suc cessor, the congress was a great success and the aims of its promoters were fully realized. The founding of the new party atoned in some degree for the serious troubles which beset the International in that year, mainly owing to the pernicious ac tivity of Marx’s old antagonist, Michael Bakunin. The year 1869 ended badly for Marx. Toward the end of | 254 KARL MARX the year an unusually severe illness laid him low, and it was not until February of the following year that he was able to get out of doors. Even then it was several months before he could do any work upon the second volume of Capital, though Meisz- ner, the publisher, kept urging him to send the manuscript for winter publication. It is probable that he had been disap pointed in the sale of the first volume and that this feeling tended to discourage work upon the second. He wrote to Ku gelmann on the 27th of June, 1870: “Between ourselves, I should like to hear that a second edition was required of Vol ume I. This would make me hasten to write Volume II.” He did not dream then that he would never finish Volume II; that another hand than his own would have to complete it. XI THE INTERNATIONAL WORKINGMEN’S ASSOCIATION 'At the corner of Endell Street and Long Acre, London, stands St. Martin’s Hall. Devoted nowadays to commercial purposes, it was originally erected as a concert hall and later became the Queen’s Theatre. For many years it was a favour ite meeting place for conferences of various kinds, and many an important reform movement was initiated within its walls. It is probably not too much to say that the most important of all such gatherings ever held there was the meeting which took place on the 28th of September. 1864.. at which the Interna tional Workingmen’s Association was founded. The actual foundation of the movement dates from the St. Martin’s Hall meeting, but its roots go further back than that. In a way, it was a resurrection of the Communist League with a new declaration of principles in place of the old Manifesto of 1848. The old shibboleth, “Workingmen of all countries, Unite! ” was retained in the new declaration as the slogan of the movement, and as one reads the Inaugural Address which Marx wrote for the association it is impossible to escape the conviction that he looked upon the new organization as a re vival of the old one upon a vaster scale. The events which led to the new effort to unite the European proletariat in one great organization must be taken into account if we would understand the history of the International. In 1862 the second Universal Exhibition was held in London. It brought together large numbers of business men from all parts of Europe, and as a result of their fraternizing at receptions and banquets and other gatherings there was developed a strong sentiment in favour of closer and more harmonious interna-
England was then the unrivalled “ workshop of the world,” and the British mechanic was, in the minds of the capitalists of France and Germany, a pattern to be copied as closely as pos sible. It was natural, therefore, that sentiment should develop among the French capitalists in favour of inducing large num bers of French artisans to visit the English capital. It would be a splendid educational agency. The French workers would return to their homes with quickened ambitions, new ideas, and, above all, a respect for skilful workmanship which would prove of great economic advantage to France. On the 29th of September, i860, the Progres de Lyon editorially urged the workingmen of Lyons to tax themselves to send delegates to the great industrial exhibition then being prepared in London. The idea “ caught on,” being taken up by the Parisian press with great enthusiasm. L’Opinion Na- tionale urged that the plan proposed in Lyons ought to be adopted in all the great industrial and commercial centres of France. This journal urged that, in addition to giving the French workers an opportunity to “ observe for themselves the great artistic and industrial works to be seen in London,” the result of such a mission would be to do away with international discord and rival jealousies. The matter was brought to the attention of Napoleon III and he hastened to give the scheme his approval. It was de clared that “ the Imperial Commission would neglect nothing in order to obtain from the railroad companies the greatest facilities and exceedingly low prices ” for delegations of work men desirous of visiting England. Commercial organizations promoted the scheme, and Le Temps opened a national sub scription for paying the travelling expenses of large delegations. No wonder that a Lyonese labourer should suspect a trap and THE “INTERNATIONAL” 257. write to the Progres de Lyon denouncing the scheme, speak ing as one who feared the gift-bearing Greeks. The French agitation was taken up in a half-hearted man ner by the Germans. A few leading German manufacturers arranged to send delegations of their employes to the great ex hibition “ to gather as much useful knowledge as possible.” Neither the French nor the German employers, apparently, thought of the possibility that the delegations of mechanics might learn other things from the British workingmen than mechanical skill and efficiency. Had the employers even dreamed that the workers they were sending to London would return inoculated with the virus of English trades unionism, they would not have been so ready to send them. Strange results were to come from the plan developed by the French bour geoisie. A careful study of the history of the labour move ment in France and Germany reveals the enormous influence of the fraternizing of the workers of the three countries which the Universal Exhibition of 1862 made possible. Although Marx was at the time deeply engrossed in the dual struggle to make a living and to complete the first volume of Capital, he could not let the visit of these delegations of French and German artisans pass without making an attempt to promote among them a desire for an international organiza tion of the proletariat, especially as he knew that among the visiting French workers were some who had formerly been connected with the Communist League. He set to work, there fore, to induce the leaders of the English trades union movement to arrange receptions and banquets for the visiting mechanics; to take a leaf from the book of the employers and use the occasion for the promotion of international goodwill among the workers. English trades unionism was in a flourishing condition in the decade, 1860-1870, despite serious legal disabilities. At no pe riod in its history has the trades union movement in England had so many capable leaders as during that decade. Among them 17 258 KARL MARX were Robert Applegarth, the keen and philosophical leader of the carpenters, who had built into one great structure the scores of petty local unions of that trade; William Allan, the shrewd, cautious, and methodical General Secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers; and George Odger, the Cornish shoemaker, who was the most brilliant orator of London radicalism and secretary of the London Trades Coun cil. These three men, so splendidly harmonious in their gifts, dominated the trades union movement of England in the six ties. Marx did not always trust them fully, or agree with their policies, but he always recognized their abilities and, as far as possible, worked in harmony with them. All through his life in London he kept in close touch with the leaders of the actual working-class movement, and he was especially friendly to Odger, whose magnificent oratorical pow ers, always enlisted on the side of the poor and the oppressed, he greatly admired. Many a meeting did he secretly promote, many a speech did he inspire —■ sometimes furnishing the speaker with arguments and facts. It was not at all unusual for men like Odger to apply to Marx for materials to use in public addresses. Always remaining in the background and letting others enjoy all the credit, his relations with trades un ionists and radicals were most cordial. He possessed a most valuable aide in his friend and disciple, George Eccarius, the gifted tailor. Eccarius was a native of Thuringia, and had been closely as sociated with the movement in Germany. Coming to London, he retained his connection with the movement, being one of the founders of the Communistische Arbeiter Bildungsverein. Un like so many of his fellow countrymen, Eccarius quickly adapted himself to English conditions. He did this as a matter of principle, believing that he owed it to the cause to make himself an efficient part of the working-class movement in the country in which he resided. Entirely self-taught, he mastered the English language, and in his polemical encounters with John
THE “INTERNATIONAL” Stuart Mill he was by no means discredited. He took an active part in the trades union movement, and was a delegate to the London Trades Council. The trusted friend and ally of Marx and Engels, he naturally became a valuable connecting link be tween them and the English working-class movement. Applegarth, Allan and Odger represented in their persons the thought and temper of the progressive workers. Thor oughly imbued with the radicalism of their time, that strange mixture of individualistic and collectivistic theories which was the aftermath of Chartism, they were the pioneers of the “ New Unionism ” of that time. They were the prime movers in the formation of central trades councils, and the consolidation of weak, rival unions into powerful ones. They led trades union ism out into the open road, so to speak. When the “ fete of the international fraternity of the workers ” was held at the Freemasons’ Tavern, on the 5th of August, 1862, Odger read the address of welcome to the French and German workers. Although it has often been claimed either that Marx wrote or that he at least sketched this address, it is almost certain that he had nothing to do with it, for anything more unlike his views it would be impossible to imagine. It was a very moderate address, far less radical than Odger’s speeches generally were upon such occasions. After a felicitous welcome to the visitors, and some platitudinous moralising which must have seemed rather dull to the French men, the address continued: “ As long as there are employers and labourers, as there is competition between employers, and disputes concerning wages, union among workingmen will be their only means of safety. “ Concord between us and our employers is the sole means of diminishing the difficulties by which we are surrounded. ^ “ The improvement of machines, which we see increasing on all sides, and the gigantic production which is the result of the application of steam and electricity, change every day the con ditions of society. An immense problem is to be solved, that of the remuneration of labour. According as the power of the 260 KARL MARX machines increases, there must be less need of human labour. What will be done with those who are without work? Ought they to remain unproductive and as elements of competition? Should they be left to starve, or fed at the expense of those who work? “We do not pretend to solve these questions, but we say that they must be solved, and that for this task it is not too much to demand the concourse of all, of philosophers, of statesmen, of historians, of employers, and workingmen from all coun tries. “ Many systems have been proposed for the solution of this problem; most of them have been magnificent dreams; but the proof that the truth has not been found is that we are still seek ing it. < “ We think that by exchanging our thoughts and our ob servations with the workingmen of different nationalities we shall discover most quickly the economic secrets of societies. Let us hope that now as we have clasped hands, as we see that as men, as citizens, and as labourers, we have the same aspira tions and the same interests, we shall not permit our alliance to be broken by those who believe it for their interest to disunite us; let us hope that we shall find some international means of communication, and that every day will form a new link in the chain of love which shall unite the labourers of every country.” It will be seen from the foregoing extracts that the address was by no means a revolutionary one. Even the most conserv ative employers might have applauded its pious sentiments as vigorously as the delegates themselves. The workers had only followed the example of the business men in proclaiming their desire for amicable relations, and their avowal of concord be tween themselves and their employers gave no hint of storms to come. Marx and Eccarius kept the idea of internationalism promi nently before the minds of Odger and other English labour leaders, and when the great meeting to protest against the brutal suppression of the Polish insurrection was held in April, 1864, six French delegates were present. At this meeting a committee of English workmen was formed to send an “ ad THE “INTERNATIONAL” 261 dress of fraternity ” to their French brethren. The idea seems to have been that the French workers would send a deputation to make suitable reply to this address at a great mass meeting arranged for the purpose, and that the meeting would provide the occasion for the formal launching of an international union of workers, a sort of Anglo-French Labour Alliance. Eccarius was a member of the committee charged with the foregoing arrangements, and one sees his hand in the subsequent developments of the plan, and suspects the inspiration of Marx. At one of its meetings the committee decided to broaden the scope of the meeting they were instructed to arrange, by inviting to it the workers of other nationalities, particularly Germany and Italy. It was no longer a movement to create an Anglo- French alliance, but to create an alliance of the workers of all lands. For reasons which appear obvious enough in the light of what occurred at the meeting, the committee specially desired to get the cooperation of the Communistische Arbeiter Bil- dungsverein, and a special resolution was adopted inviting that organization to join in the international meeting. The resolu tion expressed the “ desire of the committee that Dr. Marx attend as a delegate.” The reason for singling out Marx in this manner was undoubtedly the fact that he would not attend upon any general invitation. Unlike most propagandists, Marx was very sensitive in such matters; he had an instinctive dread of appearing in any manner to intrude anywhere. He had been similarly cautious, it will be recalled, concerning attend ance at the Communist Congress in 1847. The members of the Communistische Arbeiter Bildungs- verein accepted the invitation and sent one of the most influen tial and honoured of their number, the faithful Lessner, to re quest Marx to attend, which he promised to do. Thus it was that the new International of the workers was from the first linked to the old International for which the Communist Manifesto was written. This was a most important factor262 KARL MARX in the new movement, the fulcrum upon which the lever of Marxian thought rested. It made possible the supremacy of Marx. The meeting was held on the 28 th of September, 1864. Professor E. S. Beesly, the doughty champion of trades union ism and Positivism, presided. Marx did not know Professor Beesly at that time, but became intimate with him in later years, paying him the compliment of taking him into his confi dence to the extent that was very uncommon. No better chair man for such a gathering could possibly have been found, nor was any man in England worthier. He made an address in which he recounted the events which had led up to the meeting, denounced militarism in all its forms, and made a noble and spir ited plea for an international union of the workers against mili tarism and jingoism. These sentiments were cheered with fine enthusiasm by the audience, which consisted of the leading radi cals of London, and of Frenchmen, Germans, Italians and Poles. Then a German choral society sang revolutionary songs, Odger read the address to the French workers ordered by the April meeting, and it was replied to by a French delegate, M. Tolain, an engraver. Then another Frenchman, M. Le Lubez, aroused the en thusiasm of the audience by sketching the outlines of a plan for an international organization of the workers, to have branches in every European capital and a central directing authority in London. The form of organization which M. Le Lubez out lined was substantially followed. A resolution approving the scheme was proposed by an English trades unionist, named Wheeler, supported by Eccarius for the Germans; by M. Bos quet for the French; by Major Wolff, who was Mazzini’s friend and secretary, for the Italians; and by an Irishman, named Forbes. The resolution was adopted with acclamation, and a jcommittee chosen, including George Odger; George Howell, • the historian of English labour movements; George Eccarius; J. Osborne, the Chartist; Benjamin Lucraft, a well-known THE “INTERNATIONAL” 263 working-class politician; Major Wolff, and “Dr. Marx,” whose name thus appears last in the report of the meeting. Thus was the International born. Within a week from the time of its appointment, the commit tee met to discuss plans of organization, to draft a constitution, and to organize a provisional governing body. At the first meeting little was done except to add several members to the committee, form an Executive Council and open a subscription list, upon which exactly three guineas, or slightly more than fif teen dollars, was subscribed. The committee as enlarged con stituted itself the General Council and consisted of fifty mem bers, ten Germans, nine Frenchmen, six Italians, two Poles, two Swiss, and the remainder, twenty-one, English. At first the excessive preponderance of English representatives upon the General Council seems strangely undemocratic, but there are several facts to be considered. From the first it had been intended that the central organization should be in London, partly on account of the greater freedom, and partly also be cause England was the only country which had a really well de veloped labour movement, with competent leaders. The Eng lish unions were from the beginning the backbone of the Inter national. At the second meeting, held a week after the first, the name of the organisation was agreed upon — The International Workingmen’s Association. A sub-committee was elected to* draw up an Address, or statement of principles, and Rules for the association. And here began the first struggle for the mas tery of the International. Giuseppe Mazzini, the famous Ital ian patriot, was exceedingly anxious to secure the adherence of the new organization to his principles. The Italian Working men’s Association, Mazzini’s organization, a secret conspiratory society, consisting of about four hundred members, was about to hold a congress at Naples, and it was Mazzini’s hope that the new movement would become allied with it. Major Wolff accordingly urged the adoption of the rules of the Italian Work
264 KARL MARX ingmen’s Association, and their translation into such lan guages as might be necessary. He was not without support, for there were several of Mazzini’s friends on the General Council. The majority, however, voted against Wolff’s proposal. The rules of the Mazzini organization were referred to the sub committee, of which Marx was a member, for consideration, and Mazzini was invited to draft an Address, or “ platform,” as we should say in America, and submit it to the General Coun cil for consideration in competition with that prepared by the \ sub-committee. Marx was the dominating force in the sub- f committee. It was he who wrote the Address presented by the sub-committee, and it was he who wrote the Preamble and Rules. But Marx effaced himself completely, as usual, and ^ Address, Preamble and Rules were all presented by others in the name of the sub-committee.Mazzini’s draft of an Address was not very well received by the majority, though it was not without admirers and sup porters. That of Marx was greeted with loud applause, and it was from the moment of its reading clearly the favourite.
The rejection of Mazzini’s draft occasioned much surprise and some bitter feeling. At Mazzini’s instigation, the mem bers of the Italian Workingmen’s Association in London, who had been the very first to enroll themselves in the International, \ immediately withdrew from membership, bitterly denouncing | the General Council for rejecting their leader’s draft of an Ad i dress. For the rest of his life Mazzini was a bitter opponent of ‘Marx. In 1871, addressing some Italian workmen, Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini
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