212 THE UTOPIAN COMMUNIST
it lacked in quantity. In his "New Year's Reflections," an editorial
of January, 1853, he compared himself and his loyal followers with
Leonidas and the 300 Spartans who had held the pass at Ther
mopylae. Though he had great faith in his work, Weitling was
extremely sensitive to the criticism of his enemies, and he pleaded
again and again for more understanding and sympathy. Like a
great father in the conservative tradition, he lectured the young
men and women on sex and marriage, temperance, continence, and
the preservation of a "sacred sense of shame"; as a liberal, however,
he was concurrently advocating greater rights for women, and
appealing for "strong bodies, enlightened minds and noble hearts"
for the "sacred cause." The symbolism of the martyr and of the
Messiah traveling a thorny road to save the working classes ap
peared more and more frequently in his pleas to the faithful, which
were always a curious mixture of paternalism, preaching, Bible
quotations, and lectures by a loving father who knows what is
best for his children. Yet Weitling insisted that he had not the least
desire to become a dictator and referred constantly to himself as
the first servant of the people.
The Arbeiterbund already had entered upon a serious decline
when "New Year's Reflections" was written in 1853. Letters from
Cleveland and Philadelphia reported that interest was rapidly wan
ing. In Cincinnati, a hundred seceders had formed a new organiza
tion late in 1852, and a group in Louisville had followed their
example. Unfortunately, the factional strife of the Cincinnatians
was thoroughly aired in the Cincinnati Volksblatt. The charges
centered on the founder's "stubborness and grandfatherly man
ner," and he was accused of substituting his dictatorial "will" for
"principle." In December, the Cincinnati group actually adver
tised a debate on the subject "Is dictatorship necessary in order
to carry out our reform program?" Weitling pointed out that
some of his most violent critics had paid the least into the treasury.
The storm blew over and in the end some rebels rejoined the Bund,
but similar complaints continued to come from other cities. One
reason for the trouble, apparently, was that many members had