The organization of a factory cell in a big enterprise in the
present conditions is a very difficult affair, demanding very
long and stubborn work by the Party members, both those working
in the enterprise as well as those who are employed elsewhere. It
is the business of the Party Committee to secure the essential
co-ordination of the work of the Communists who are working inside
the enterprise, with that of the Communists who are outside
the boundaries of the enterprise. And here a very important
question presents itself with regard to the form of organization
of Party members who are not workers in enterprises; artisans,
housewives, etc. According to the decisions of the International
Organizational Consultations, and according to the constitution
of the Communist Parties, such Party members are organized in
street cells. But how should these street cells be organized? The
practice of the Parties of the different countries shows that
the street cells are often organized without any plan. Street
cells are organized according to place of residence, those Party
members who live in the territory of a definite district or around
some street or other, being brought into the street cells. But
what should these street cells do? The practice of street cells
in many countries shows that as a rule they meet from time to
time, discuss various general questions, but do not carry on
any practical day to day work. Street cells as a rule come to
life only during big campaigns at the time of various elections,
etc., when they are called upon to distribute leaflets, collect
signatures, canvass flats, etc.
In future Party Committees must see to it that street cells
are constructed so that in their day to day work they should
help the Party Committee to strengthen its connection with the
workers in big enterprises, strengthen the work of factory cells
and so on. This should be the fundamental practical rule for
the organization and work of street cells. At the same time it
must be firmly borne in mind that along with the development of
the class struggle Party Committees must not fail to carry out
changes in the composition and structure of the street cells
which may become necessary, make a re-grouping of the forces of
the members of street cells, in order at a given moment to have
a concentration of forces on the most important sectors of the
front of the class struggle. For example, if some unrest should
arise in a textile factory, the Party Committee must at once
consider the possibility of developing that unrest into a strike
inside the factory. But a strike can only be organized provided
good preparatory work has been carried out. Who must carry it
out? In the first place Party members and sympathizers working in
the textile factory, but on the other hand, the Party Committee
must organize the maximum assistance for these comrades, drawing
on Party members working in other factories, and also members
of street cells. There can be all kinds of combinations here.
For example, it might be advisable and practicable that a Party
member working as a fitter in a metal factory, a member of the
factory cell of the metal factory should apply for a job in the
textile factory where a fitter may be needed. Everything must be
done in order by such means to strengthen the cell of the textile
factory from within. Further, let us suppose that near the textile
factory a street cell is working and that in this street cell
there are, let us say, five more or less weak comrades living
in the district. It is essential to strengthen this street cell
by including in it a number of other comrades who live nearby,
or even at the other end of the town, in order with the help of
this street cell to strengthen the agitation among the workers of
the textile factory on their way to and from work, to strengthen
through this street cell the distribution among the workers of a
textile factory paper, leaflets, and other literature which may
be issued by the Party with the aim of preparing and organizing
a strike, in this textile factory. Let us suppose that after the
strike is finished a movement begins in another factory; the Party
Committee must at once regroup its forces in order to concentrate
them again on another fighting sector of the Party work. And so
all the time. It is impossible to regard the Party structure or
any local organization as something unshakably firm and not liable
to undergo changes. The Party Committee must systematically check
the distribution of members between different cells, check the
expediency of the organization of the cell, carry out regrouping
of the members of the cell in order in each separate case and
at each concrete moment, to concentrate the best forces of the
Party round the most important sectors of the front of the class
struggle. In this lies the fundamental art of the Party organizer.
His general task consists in seeing that every Party member as
well as sympathizer should be constantly drawn into day to day
work, attention being concentrated upon the most important sectors
of the class struggle.