The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-09-13
BY WILLIAM z. FOSTER.

The development of the Workers
Party into a mass Communist
Party is tremendous task, one that
calls for the exercise of the utmost
intelligence, militancy and courage of
the whole membership. The work
of party building must be carried on
much more painfully, continuously,
and determinedly than is now the
case. There is far too much sluggish
ness, too many lackadaisical methods
in existence at present. The sooner
our party gets rid Of these evidences
OF youthfulness the sooner 1t will lay
the basis for a real organization.
In the program of action, recent
ly adopted by the Central Executive
Committee and then laid before the
membership as a whole, there is Of
fered the means to develop our party
along the way it must go if it is to
take on the theology, structure, and
functions of real Communist mass
party. The party units, high and
low, should study this program care
fully and put its provisions diligently
into effect.
Three principles of the program of
action deserve especially to be called
to the attention of the membership
These are, (a) the concept of a bal
anced program of work; (b) the crea-
ton of the machinery necessary to
get this work accomplished; (c) the
means to make this machinery actual
ly work. The first deals with the ide
ology, the second with the structure
and the third with the functioning OF
the party. Let US consider these prin
ciples one at time:
A Balanced Program Of Work.
Because of the complexities Of mod.
ern social organization, the Commun
list Party perforce must carry on ac-
tivities simultaneously in many
spheres. This necessity is seen best
expressed, of course, where the party
is in power. Then it has to super
wise and direct every living institu.
ton, including the government, the in
dusties, agriculture, the army, the
trade unions, the schools, the cooper
atives, ETC., etc. The party must have
the breadth of vision not only to de-
velop proper policies for all these in
stitutions, but also to put them into
effect simultaneously and continuous
ly. Great injury, if not actual disas-
ter, results if any of these urgent
tasks are neglected.
Even under capitalism the need for
highly diversified activity exists, al
tho naturally upon minor scale than
in proletarian society. Our party is
confronted with a multitude of tasks,
all imperatively demanding attention.
1t must, of course, wage a militant
struggle against capitalism at all
points. including the carrying on of
vigorous election campaigns, creation
of united fronts around burning poll
teal issues, leading Of strikes, war
ring against the reactionary union
bureaucracy, organizing the morgan
lied, establishing shop committees,
defending class war prisoners, etc.,
etc. But while the party is waging
this struggle, which is its reason for
being, 1t must not forget the vital
tasks Of educating its membership, Of
utilizing every possible opportunity
to attract sympathetic working class
elements into the party, of re-organ-
izing itself upon the basis of shop
nuclei, of building the party press,
ETC., etc. In short, we must not only
use the party continuously in the
class war, but we must also carry
on continuously the process Of
strengthening it numerically and ide-
ologically.
Unfortunately our party member
ship has not yet reached the point
where it realizes the necessity for
such continuous work on all the
fronts of party activity. A most de-
cided tendency is for the members to
concentrate upon certain issues,