Party’s policy-making organs (1) _National Committee_; (2) _National
Executive Committee_; and (3) _National Administrative Committee_.
With ruthless hand this echelon rules the Communist Party, USA. The
designation given here is the current arrangement, which is always
subject to change. The Party never hesitates to reshuffle its top
administrative bodies, changing their names and sizes. For many years,
for example, it had national officers: National Chairman, William Z.
Foster, and General Secretary, Earl Browder and, later, Eugene Dennis.
The power remains, however, in the hands of a small minority.
2. The second or middle level contains the many administrative organs
that implement the decisions of the inner hierarchy: (1) _various
commissions and departments_; (2) _special organizers_; and (3) _front
groups_.
3. The bottom or third level is broad and extensive and contains all the
subordinate regional and local units in the Party: that is, _district
organizations_, and, in turn, various _state_, _county_, _city_,
_section_, and _club_ setups. This level encompasses the entire nation.
National headquarters is located in a three-story, twenty-foot-wide,
brownstone building at 23 West 26th Street, New York City, just off
Broadway. A pygmy amid Manhattan’s towering skyscrapers, with iron bars
shielding the bottom-floor windows, this American Kremlin is the symbol
of communist power in our country. Here meetings are held and important
decisions made. The national office occupies the third floor and
penthouse; the New York State Communist Party is on the first and second
floors. However, the 1957 Party convention authorized shifting national
offices to Chicago.
Level 1: The High Command
The real power of the Party rests in the _National Committee_. This
committee, “elected” by the national and state conventions, is
responsible for running the Party between conventions as provided by the
constitution:
Between National Conventions, the National Committee is the
highest authority of the Party, representing the Party as a
whole, and as such has the authority to make decisions and take
actions necessary and incidental to the good and welfare of the
entire Party, and to act upon all problems and developments
occurring between Conventions. (Article V, Section 9)
This provision covers a multitude of possibilities and forms the basis
for the dictatorship of a few leaders, in typical communist style. The
National Committee is America’s Politburo, a small group of some sixty
individuals directing war against noncommunist institutions.
Minority control is strengthened still more by clever manipulation. The
current National Committee elected a twenty-member National Executive
Committee, which in turn selected administrative officials. In actual
practice, the latter group is the dominant power, making day-to-day
decisions. There is no free election of the membership. With members of
the National Committee spread throughout the country, “on-the-spot” New
York comrades tend to monopolize control of Party affairs.
This atmosphere of almost unlimited authority often produces a repugnant
type of person. Many of the top leaders are haughty, swaggering,
overbearing. They feel that they are better than “little” comrades. They
are the “experts” in Marxism-Leninism. Their job is to teach the “less
informed.”
William Z. Foster went to Seattle, Washington, a few years ago to make a
speech. “We’re glad you’ve come,” the welcoming local official commented.
“Many of our comrades are looking forward to meeting you.”
“Not so fast,” warned Foster. “I’m not going to see any of them. I’m too
busy. These little Party people just sit down and pour out their personal
problems. It wears me out and you can’t get rid of them.”
“But,” protested the local organizer, “they’ve been busy for weeks,
working to make the meeting a success. They want....”
“Nonsense,” snapped Foster. “You decide which ones are worth my time and
I’ll see them. Make appointments. I can’t solve everybody’s problems.”
Later the local leader told Foster that the comrades wanted to give him a
present, perhaps a traveling bag.
“Oh, no,” Foster interrupted. “I’ve already looked at traveling bags, and
I didn’t find any costing less than seventy-five dollars which would be
suitable. I don’t think the members want to spend that much.”
Right he was. The organizer had probably browbeaten all “volunteers” to
collect twenty to thirty dollars.
“What about a watch?” inquired the local leader, intent on pleasing the
high-ranking visitor.
“I already have one,” replied Foster. “It cost a hundred and twenty-five
dollars. I don’t think it’s advisable to buy a more expensive one, and I
wouldn’t wear a cheaper one.”
That settled it. This “proletarian” leader, the “champion of the poor and
downtrodden,” acting like a miniature Hitler, was indeed difficult to
please.
Level 2: The Special Units
The attack weapons of the Communist Party are contained in the middle
layer, the _commissions_ and _departments_ to carry out the decisions of
the inner clique.
Communist leaders view American life not as a vast, uniform whole
but as a series of different segments, each, in its own way, open to
the appeal of communism. There are, for instance, farmers with their
special problems, trade-union members, and groups with special interests
related to nationality, youth, and race. Communists realize that a
single program, slanted to appeal to all groups at once, will not work.
To be effective, communist propaganda must be tailored to fit specific
problems. What are a group’s dissatisfactions, desires, and aims? How can
communism most effectively appeal to this group? The fact that programs
designed for different groups are often mutually contradictory makes no
difference to communists. The main point is to attract followers and stir
up discontent in as many areas as possible.
This is the task of various commissions and departments, each headed by a
national Party leader. Merely to list some of them will give an idea of
the scope of the Communist Party’s appeal: Veterans’ Commission, Women’s
Commission, Education Department, Cultural Commission, Negro Commission,
Labor Department, Nationality Groups Commission, Youth Commission.
In addition, there are related organs dealing with the internal
administration of the Party. The National Organization Department, for
example, handles the placement of Party officials throughout the nation,
while the National Review (Control) Commission (also known as the Appeals
Commission) is in charge of security and disciplinary matters.
These commissions and departments are little dynamos attempting to spark
enthusiasm for the communist cause in their special fields. They prepare
literature, arrange speaking tours, organize fronts. Their job is to work
out the practical details of implementing the Party line.
This task is accomplished largely through the employment of “experts,”
men and women trained in special fields. There are experts of all kinds,
on both local and national levels: waterfront organizers specializing in
seamen’s groups; labor organizers interested in penetrating labor unions;
organizers in virtually every other field, such as aircraft, mining,
steel, agriculture, youth, nationality groups. Then there are fund
raisers, recruiters, Marxist teachers, organizational experts.
If a Party district is planning, let us say, a special organizing drive,
an expert from national headquarters or another district may arrive to
assume charge. He may deal with top officials or descend to club levels.
He may stay a few hours, a week, or even months. John Williamson for many
years was considered one of the Party’s top labor experts. Henry Winston
was an authority on organizational problems. Both Williamson and Winston
were convicted under the Smith Act; Williamson later accepted voluntary
deportation to Great Britain and has since been reported to have served
as liaison between the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the United
States Party.
If the visitor is a high national officer, special arrangements are
usually made to receive him with “extreme cordiality.” If his schedule is
crowded, a rank-and-filer may be assigned as a chauffeur. Never must the
Party be regarded as a “desk-type” organization, operating only through
letters, telegrams, and phone calls. It is a fast, hard-hitting, mobile
organization, based primarily on personal contacts, with its officials
traveling thousands of miles a year by auto, train, and air to pursue
subversive activities.
Level 3: Regional and Local Units
This layer provides the broad base for the pyramid and includes the
remainder of the Party structure. The United States is divided into
Communist Party districts, some of which have jurisdiction over more than
one state. The Ohio State Communist Party, directed principally from
Cleveland, Ohio, for example, includes the states of Ohio and Kentucky
and West Virginia’s four northern “panhandle” counties.
Communist membership is strongest in the Northeast section of the United
States. The greatest concentration of Communist Party members is in the
area of New York City. Other states having large numbers of communists
are California, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington,
Connecticut, Michigan, and Massachusetts. Few members, relatively
speaking, reside in Southern and Rocky Mountain states.
District (or state) organizations, patterned on the national structure,
hold periodic conventions, “elect” state committees, and have officers.
Hence there is a Chairman, New York State Communist Party, or Secretary,
Ohio State Communist Party. Sometimes state conventions are held in
“split sessions”: the first, before the National Convention when selected
topics, such as those proposed in the “draft program,” are “discussed”;
the second, after the national meeting when the state convention
reassembles to ratify the decisions of the national body. State leaders
take no chances, they stay on the Party line.
Many states and districts have open headquarters. In recent years
most were closed, but the Party realizes that an open headquarters is
essential in carrying out its day-to-day agitational work. These Party
offices are usually located downtown in a dingy room or suite in an old
building. Battered desks, with typewriter, Mimeograph machine (the good
right arm of the Party), and perhaps a literature rack are standard
equipment. Here are the offices of the state chairman, state secretary,
and other officers. An old-time communist, usually a woman, will “triple”
as receptionist, stenographer, and Mimeograph operator. Knowing all the
members, she’s a good “lookout” and can answer most questions: Has Oscar
come back from vacation? Where does Joyce work? Is Ruth a club chairman?
Normally, headquarters is a busy place, with people going in and out all
day long. Here special state, county, and city meetings are held as well
as personal conferences. The busiest items in the place are chairs; they
seldom have a rest until after midnight.
The local organizational structure, under state (or district)
headquarters, varies from area to area. The city (or county) sections
in turn are subdivided. Intracity sections may encompass several wards,
each, like the county, having its own set of officers. Each section, of
course, is rigidly controlled from the top.
The basic unit, at the bottom of the whole structure, is the _club_,
formerly known as the cell, like the one described at the beginning of
this chapter. Clubs are of various types: _community clubs_, comprising
members who live in a certain geographical area; _shop clubs_, composed
of members who work at a certain company; _industrial clubs_, which
include members employed in the same basic industry, such as steel,
automobile, aluminum, though working for different industrial firms; and
_specialized clubs_, appealing to professions or other natural groupings.
In the latter category, for example, there may be a professional section
(often called white-collar), comprising clubs of teachers, doctors, or
lawyers. A few members, especially the deeply concealed communists, do
not belong to any club but are considered as _members-at-large_, subject
to control only from headquarters.
Determining which club a member should join is simple: where can he do
the most good for the Party? If he is employed in the aluminum industry,
for instance, he would probably be instructed to join an aluminum club
(made up of members employed in the aluminum industry). If he is a union
officer, he might join a shop or industrial club. Or, again, if his
membership should be carefully concealed, he would be a member-at-large.
The organizational structure is always in a state of flux, members being
frequently shifted from club to club, while headquarters organizes and
reorganizes sections and clubs, tearing down one, establishing another,
always hoping to gain greater efficiency.
Each club is required to have a chairman, a financial secretary, and an
educational director. A well-run club has many more officers: literature
director, press chairman, dues secretary, membership chairman, and so
on. The same is true of county, city, and section groups; the communists
have plenty of officers. Moreover, a definite chain of command is always
in effect. Everybody knows his relative position: who are his Party
“inferior” and Party “boss.” Instructions are quickly carried out, and in
the event of an emergency a commanding officer is always available.
Communist clubs are often named after famous American historical figures
such as Tom Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman. Other
clubs bear the names of communist “heroes” such as John Reed.
The Principle of “Democratic Centralism”
This is a complicated structure, you might say. How does it work? The
point is: _it does work_, efficiently, effectively, and all too often to
the detriment of this nation. The whole Party organization, regardless of
its structural shape, is based on strict discipline, a rigid hierarchy,
and a unified structure.
The cement that holds it together is a principle called _democratic
centralism_. That sounds like a contradiction in terms; it is. But
communists like fancy words to fool their opponents and, perhaps, to
satisfy themselves. Democratic centralism is the basic principle of
communist organizational structure—a term meaning, in actual practice,
simple, naked, and unadulterated dictatorship.
According to communists, Party members have a right to participate in
formulating policy and electing officers. That is, to them, democracy in
action.
An issue has arisen. The city is planning to close a play-ground.
What stand will the Party take? All members are encouraged to express
opinions. There may be different points of view.
Then a decision is made—the communists say by an “election,” but actually
it is by the leader clique. The city’s action will be opposed. From that
moment, “centralism” takes over and “democratic” falls away. All members,
regardless of their previous opinions, are required to support the
Party’s stand. No minority can exist.
Democratic centralism, communist leaders claim, combines the “strictest
discipline with the widest initiative and independent activity of the
Party membership.” It is “democratic” because of the preliminary “free
discussion of issues” and “right of election”; it is “centralism” because
once a decision is made, the discipline of the Party enforces the
decision. This is the ideal type of organizational structure, say the
communists.
The tyranny and dictatorship that are part and parcel of the Communist
Party are laid down by the rule: all lower Party organizations are
subordinated to the higher bodies, and the highest of all are the
Congresses of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which are run by
the Kremlin.
A practical demonstration of democratic centralism at work recently
occurred in New York City. As we have mentioned, a campaign was launched
to circulate a petition to put Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a member of the
National Committee, on the ballot as candidate for the New York City
Council. Although the 1957 National Convention of the Party emphasized
that Party members could dissent from official Party policy, William
Weinstone, another member of the National Committee, issued the order
that “Those members who may not agree with this campaign should
nevertheless understand that it is their duty to participate in signature
getting.”
We in the FBI, through confidential sources of information, know what
goes on in hundreds of these meetings. We know who the speakers are,
what they say (and don’t say), what decisions are made. These “free
discussions” would be amusing but for the deadly malady they highlight: a
ruthless thought control.
Communist members learn what to think, how to vote, what to say by a
process of “automatic osmosis”—the seeping of predigested thoughts along
the Party line into all subordinate minds, disciplined to accept. The
members become ideological sleepwalkers, drugged into complete obedience
by an unconscious discipline.
Sometimes, absurd as it may seem, secret ballots are used. Members go
through all the motions of argument, taking a vote, nominating and
electing officers. They become excited, waving their arms, pounding
desks, shaking their fists. You would think there was open opposition.
But that is merely part of the show. Communist thought control,
operating through Party ranks, is a terrifying spectacle, freezing into
fixed rigidity the mental processes of thousands.
Seen in its true light, democratic centralism is a deceptive cloak
dropped over a ruthless dictatorship.
Sometimes a member, somehow or other, does not fathom the Party line. He
says something out of step. He is simply “ill-informed” and needs more
“education.” A Party school or a conference will probably bring him back
to his “right senses.”
Occasionally a stubborn member will persist in criticism. That takes
courage. He is made of metal the communist thought-control machine has
not yet melted. He carries the fight to higher Party bodies. But he can’t
win and out he goes.
In one instance a member was accused of falling down on the job. The
section organizer recommended that he be removed from both his Party
office and the county executive committee.
“He’s irresponsible,” stormed one old-time comrade, “and in the Soviet
Union irresponsibles are not voted out of office—they are shot!”
That’s democratic centralism, the organizational principle that has
welded the Communist Party, USA, into a terrible instrument poised and
eager to destroy this country if given the opportunity.
11.
_This Is the Party!_
What about life in the Party, how members live, who they are, how they
earn their money, what they do with their time, and how they get their
orders? The following are accounts of day-to-day activities of Party life.
Eleanor is washing the dishes. Her husband, Henry, has just gone to work.
The two children are scurrying around the house, ready to leave for
school.
Suddenly there is a knock on the door. It is Ruth, who lives across the
street. Ruth is chairman of the East Side Communist Club. Her husband,
Robert, is state secretary of the Communist Party and a full-time paid
functionary.
“Starting the day out just right,” smiles Ruth. “The kitchen is all
cleaned up. You can come and help us.”
Ruth outlines her plans. The state office needs some typing done this
morning. Eleanor was a stenographer before she married and often helps
on a part-time basis at headquarters. She is a trusted member. But that
is not all. In the afternoon Eleanor is to make “some calls”; that is,
visit some comrades. She must pass out word that the next meeting of the
county executive committee will be held on Friday evening. This message
cannot be given over the telephone. Then tonight will be the regular
meeting of the East Side Club. Eleanor probably won’t get home in time to
fix supper. If she doesn’t, Henry and the kids can make some cold meat
sandwiches. Besides, Henry is scheduled to meet with the state education
secretary tonight and he won’t have time to eat supper anyway.
Life in the Party! For good members nothing is left for life outside the
Party. The housewife is doing typing, running errands, Mimeographing,
arranging meetings, collecting dues; her husband, even while working at
the grocery store, in the shoe factory, or at the service station, is
thinking of his Party assignment that night, distributing literature,
soliciting money, serving as a courier. The Party is the most important
force in their lives.
If anybody joins the Communist Party expecting to lead an easy life,
perhaps read Marx and Engels, buy some literature, and not exert much
effort, he is completely misguided. Party work is hard, tough work, and
the Party is a ruthless task-master. The member is always on the run,
doing this and doing that. He has no spare time, energy, or money for
himself. His whole life becomes dominated. The Party is his school,
source of friends, and recreation, his substitute for God. Communism
wants the _total_ man, hence it is _total_itarian. That is part of its
indoctrination policy: by concentrating everything on the Party, all
other interests are squeezed out.
Day and night the Party structure is buzzing with action: fund drives,
registration of members, collection of dues, sale of literature.
Leaflets must be passed out on Olive Street, a picket line formed at
city hall, a meeting attended. Workers, not playboys, are wanted; or as
one Party spokesman expressed it, we must rid ourselves of the member
who “makes noises like an eager beaver but accomplishes little.” A major
characteristic of the Communist Party is perpetual motion.
The man who keeps this subversive beehive of activity going is the paid
Party functionary. He is the key to the whole apparatus. Working on
national, state, and local levels, he pumps in energy, gives orders,
coaxes, cajoles, threatens, smiles, scowls, pleads, anything to keep the
Party bustling.
Most communist functionaries are old-timers with ten, fifteen, or twenty
years of service. Some have been trained abroad, possibly in the Lenin
School in Moscow. They are transferred at frequent intervals, depending
on the needs of the Party. One may serve as an organizer in California,
as a section secretary in Rhode Island, or as a fund-raiser in Florida.
Their full-time job is to advance the communist cause. The Party employs
women functionaries, especially on the lower levels. During World War II,
when many male comrades were drafted, a number of Party offices were run
by women.
Salaries vary, depending on the size and location of assignment, but they
average fifty to seventy dollars weekly. As a general rule, officials are
paid by the local organization, although the national office, in case
of a deficit, may step in with cash. Some functionaries operate on an
expense account, especially if they travel.
The communist official will probably live in a modest neighborhood. His
wife will patronize the corner grocery store, his children attend the
local school. If a shoe store or a butcher shop is operated by a Party
member, the official will probably get a discount on his purchases.