44 THE UTOPIAN COMMUNIST
criticism. He read Simon Schmidt, one of his most faithful co
workers, out of the movement. He believed that by 1844 he would
have 40,000 members—enough to start the revolution. He devised
a plan to liberate professional murderers and thieves and to turn
the "thieving proletariat" loose on society, to hasten the revolution
for equality by "one violent push." For a brief moment, his mind
also played with the idea of favoring the community of women.
Correspondents in Paris, such as Dr. Ewerbeck, were horrified by
such proposals and said so in no uncertain terms. Their reactions to
such attempts "to found the kingdom of heaven by unleashing the
furies of hell"^22 were violent indeed. The exchanges between
Weitling and Ewerbeck became more and more acrimonious until
his friend Becker felt called upon to remind the impatient revolu
tionist that the world could not be conquered with iron; that ideas
were stronger than cannon; that all men shared the responsibility
for the existing state of society; and that a true communist's re
venge is forgiveness, and moral and spiritual conquest his chief
weapon. Others, such as Bakunin and Johann Most, later advo
cated the use of the thieving proletariat for a similar purpose. Be
it said to Weitling's credit that he quickly recovered his balance.
Essentially he was a religious and moral man, and therefore the
whole unfortunate episode may be dismissed as a temporary aber
ration of a highly overworked and unusually excitable individual.
Incredible as it may seem, Weitling had time left from these
propaganda activities to publish a journal and to compose his most
systematic treatise on social reorganization. In September, the first
number of Der Hülferuf der deutschen Jugend ("The Cry of Ger
man Youth for Help") appeared in Geneva. Its editor invited
contributions from members of all classes, whether workers or in
tellectuals, on the status of the workingman, suggestions for its
improvement, and reports from physicians on the effect of various
occupations on public health.
The new monthly was sold for three French francs a copy, and
subscriptions were solicited in Paris by Bauer, the shoemaker, in(^22) See Bluntschli-Bericht, 106-11.