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LENIN ON ORGANIZATION

assistance, we have already referred in a previous chapter to the tremendous change which has taken place in this respect during the last five years. But in order to unite all these small fractions into a single unit, in order not to disintegrate the movement itself by disintegrating its functions, and in order to inspire the executor of the small functions with that faith in the necessity and importance of his work without which he will never be got to work at all^[1], we must have a strong organization of experienced revolutionaries. Given such an organization, the more conspiratorial it is the

↑ I remember a comrade telling me of a factory inspector who was prepared to help, and in fact had helped, the Social Democrats, but who bitterly complained that he never knew whether his "information" got to the real revolutionary centre, whether his assistance was really required, and whether his small and modest services could be utilized. Every active worker of course is familiar with several such instances where our amateurishness has alienated our allies. Indeed such services, "petty" in themselves but invaluable in the mass, could be given us, and would be given us, not only by factory officials, but by officials in the post-office, the railways, the customs, in the nobles', clerial and other institutions, and even in the police department and at the court! If we had a real Party, a real fighting organization of revolutionaries, we should not treat these "assistants" so drastically, we should not always insist on precipitately dragging them into the very heart of "illegality"; on the contrary, we should be extremely sparing of them, and even specially train persons for such functions, remembering that many students could be of more use to the Party as "assistants" in official capacities than as "short-term" revolutionaries, But—I once more repeat—only a strong and stable organization experiencing no lack of active forces would be entitled to adopt such tactics.

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[1] I remember a comrade telling me of a factory inspector who was prepared to help, and in fact had helped, the Social Democrats, but who bitterly complained that he never knew whether his "information" got to the real revolutionary centre, whether his assistance was really required, and whether his small and modest services could be utilized. Every active worker of course is familiar with several such instances where our amateurishness has alienated our allies. Indeed such services, "petty" in themselves but invaluable in the mass, could be given us, and would be given us, not only by factory officials, but by officials in the post-office, the railways, the customs, in the nobles', clerial and other institutions, and even in the police department and at the court! If we had a real Party, a real fighting organization of revolutionaries, we should not treat these "assistants" so drastically, we should not always insist on precipitately dragging them into the very heart of "illegality"; on the contrary, we should be extremely sparing of them, and even specially train persons for such functions, remembering that many students could be of more use to the Party as "assistants" in official capacities than as "short-term" revolutionaries, But—I once more repeat—only a strong and stable organization experiencing no lack of active forces would be entitled to adopt such tactics.

[1]