Karl Marx: A biography by David McLellan

2 54 KARL MARX: A BIOGRAPHY

had a circulation of 200,00 0 throughout America. The policies advocated

by the paper and inspired by Greeley were surprisingly radical: it gave

much space to Fourierist ideas, favoured prohibition and protection (at

least as a short-time measure) and opposed the death penalty and slavery.

This rather curious mixture of causes often aroused Marx's contempt:

The Tribune is of course trumpeting Carey's book with all its might.

Both indeed have this in common, that under the guise of Sismondian

philanthropic socialistic anti-industrialism they represent the Protec-

tionists, i.e., the industrial bourgeoisie of America. This also explains

the secret of why the Tribune in spite of all its 'isms' and socialistic

humbug can be the 'leading journal' in the United States.^195

Dana had met Marx in Cologne in 1848 and been very impressed. In
August 1851 he asked Marx to become one of the Tribune's eighteen
foreign correspondents and write a series of articles on contemporary
events in Germany. Marx, who was still thinking of finishing his 'Eco-
nomics' and could not yet write good English, wrote to Engels in the
same letter that told him of the Tribune's offer: 'If you can manage to let
me have an article on the German situation written in English by Friday
morning, that would be a great beginning.'^196 A week later he wrote: 'In
the matter of the New York Tribune, you must help me now as I have my
hands full with my "Economics". Write a series of articles on Germany,
from 1848 onwards. Witty and straightforward. The gentlemen in the
foreign department are very outspoken.'^197 Engels complied and the first
article appeared in the Tribune in October. In all, eighteen articles (all by
Engels) were published and were a great success. 'It may perhaps give
you pleasure to know that [your articles] are read with satisfaction by a
considerable number of persons, and are widely reproduced.'^198 The secret
of the authorship was very well kept and for years the articles were
reprinted, under the title Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Germany,
with Marx as their author.^199

In April 1852 Dana asked Marx to write regularly for the Tribune on
English affairs. Marx wrote in German and sent the manuscript to Engels
to be translated. In January 1853 , however, he wrote to Engels: 'For the
first time I've risked writing an article for Dana in English.'^200 During
the same year, as relations with Russia became tense, Marx enlarged his
subject-matter and was soon writing about all aspects of world politics.
His articles were highly appreciated and in January 1853 his fee was
increased to £ 2 per article. A contemporary writer described Dana as
regularly 'plunged in the reading of "Karl Marx" or "An American in
Paris" '. At the beginning of 1854 Marx received through Dana an offer
from an American magazine for articles on the history of German philo-