154 THE UTOPIAN COMMUNISThis treatise on a universal language soon as a token of his apprecia
tion for their co-operation. He explained that his duties at Bund
headquarters and in the colony in Iowa made it impossible for
him to continue his newspaper. He pointed to his accomplish
ments in the American labor movement and, for the benefit of his
hostile critics, reiterated that his own compensation had amounted
to $7.00 a week plus a small allowance to meet his frugal expenses
for room and board. In due time, Struve took over the printing
plant of Die Republik der Arbeiter for his Soziale Republik,
Organ der freien Arbeiter.
It is clear that Weitling derived no substantial financial rewards
for his efforts on behalf of labor. His satisfactions had to come
from quite a different source. Perhaps in that unhappy summer of
1855 when he was depressed by the many failures that were bring
ing his public career in America to a close, he recalled letters such
as the one from a worker in Saginaw City, Michigan, to whom
Die Republik der Arbeiter had brought "a ray of hope" that
"pierced his soul"; or the letter from Watertown, Wisconsin,
which reported "the spread of socialism like wildfire," thanks to
four copies of Weitling's paper which were delivered regularly
to the Germans in that community; or the letter from another
frontier community, where the settlers "now feel the breath of
this blessed spirit... even in the densest forests"; or similar notes
of appreciation from correspondents in larger cities. Perhaps also
he may have found pleasure in recalling a letter written by Hein¬
rich Huhn of St. Louis upon returning to the United States after
sixteen months abroad. Greeted on his arrival in New York by
the familiar labor paper, he compared it with "the beautiful snow
drop that delights and refreshes the friend of nature, as it raises
its head above the icy plain." "Carry on, restless warrior," he con
cluded, "even though the road be rough and full of thorns; at its
end you will find the most beautiful palm which a victor has ever
received—you will live on in the grateful hearts of millions of
workers."
Die Republik der Arbeiter was a vehicle for the dissemination