LENIN ON ORGANIZATION 
he added: “In Lenin’s draft, par. 1, is a contradic- 
tion in principles of the very essence (!!) and tasks 
of the Social Democratic Party of the proletariat.” 
This simply means that to make greater demands 
of the Party than of the class is to contradict in 
principle the very essence of the tasks of the pro- 
letariat. It is not surprising that this theory was 
energetically defended by Akimov. 
Fairness demands it to be said that Comrade 
Axelrod, who is now anxious to pass off this 
erroneus formula—which shows obvious tenden- 
cies towards opportunism—as the germ of new 
ideas, at the congress, on the contrary, expressed 
his readiness “to bargain.” He said: “I see that I 
am hammering at an open door” (and I see that 
the new “Iskra” is also hammering at an open 
door)” since Comrade Lenin is ready to meet my 
demands by his peripheral circles, which are re- 
garded as sections of the Party organizations... 
(and not only the peripheral circles, but every other 
kind of workers’ union. (Cf., p. 242 of the protocol, 
the speech of Comrade Strakhov and the quotations 
given above from “What is to be Done?” and “A 
Letter to a Comrade”). ...“There still remain the 
individual persons, but on that score there is room 
for bargaining.” I replied to Comrade Axelrod that 
I was by no means adverse to bargaining: and I 
must now explain in what sense I meant it. With 
regard to individual persons—professors, students, 
ete.—I should be least of all inclined to compromise; 
but if any doubt arose as to workers’ organizations, 
166