572 THE CLASS STRUGGLE 573 Letter to the Polish Socialists By KARL MARX, FRIEDRICH ENGELS, Paul LAFARGUE, LESSNER Translated from the Polish by Dr. John Kallen Most of them have died, rotted, vanished, dropped out of sight, but Tisza survives. We wish to state this emphatically, even if Count Burian should ever come to think of speaking to the parliament delegations some day. We are ashamed, when we come to a foreign country and hear people say that there is not a country on earth where the representatives of the people have not spoken in recent months. We wish the Austrian house of representatives to maintain the dignity of the peoples of Austria, and to deliberate on the destiny of these peoples, and, above all else on the way to get peace. That will not be easy. earnestly implore all the delegates, even those who find it hard to join in consultation with their political and national opponents, not to relegate this subject to a passive role in their programme. They owe this to the masses whom they represent. They must do everything that offers even the slightest possibility to come nearer to peace. And there is a possibility: if Austria will give evidence that it is a country with whom peace can be concluded.
If the peoples of Austria shall be constituted on the basis of national sovereign independence and the autonomy of each nationality is established, then the time will come when it will become clear to everyone, that the claim to freedom and independence includes the duty of solidarity with other nations.
That will furnish a foundation on which to erect a new structure.
The motion of Social Democrats aims to open up the way to peace. Help us and vote for it!
As an historical document indicating the views of Marx and Engels towards a nation with a glorious past, the letter sent to the Polish Socialists, November 27, 1880, is interesting in the light of present conditions.
The letter was read at a meeting of a radical organization in Geneva in commemoration of the Polish Revolution. It represents an answer by Marx and his co signers to an invitation extended the International to send a delegation for the occasion. Under the title Rebuilding of Poland, the Polish Socialists published in 1910 the views of Marx, Engels, Liebknecht. Among the newspaper articles and speeches of these leaders is the letter we offer. It should set some comrades straight about the charge of Nationalism in the Polish movement. In another issue shall present Engels view on this charge of nationalism from the same Odbudowanie Polski.
Although both were translated into Polish and now from Polish into English, the thoughts received no harm from the roundabout procedure made necessary by the impossibility of getting the original manuscripts.
Comrades. Poles, thrown out of the fatherland after the first partition of their country, cross the Atlantic, coming to the defense of the American Commonwealth arising at that time. Kosciuszko fights alongside of Washington. In 1794, when the French Revolution with difficulty fought the powers of the Coalition, full of glory, the Polish Uprising liberates it. Poland lost her independence but the Revolution was rescued. The conquered Poles volunteered for the ranks of the sansculotte army and helped them to destroy feudal Europe. Finally in 1830 Czar Nicholas and the King of Prussia were to execute their plot of another invasion of France, with the aim of returning the rightful monarchy; but the Polish Revolution whose memory you celebrate today, arose as a barrier. Order was restored in Warsaw. The cry, Long