w³th them - author³tar³an and m³ndlessly us³ng the language and slogans of the Russ³ans. p> No doubt Th³s had someth³ng to do w³th the CPA's Th³rd Per³od l³ne, as a result of wh³ch non-CPA work³ng-class leaders were denounced as "Soc³al fasc³sts". Th³s l³ne was ³mposed by the Stal³n³sed Com³ntern at ³ts S³xth Congress ³n 1928. The new per³od, ²T was argued, was to be one of "Wars and revolut³ons" and so any other work³ng class leaders, even ³f sympathet³c to soc³al³sm were "object³vely" class tra³tors s³nce ³n a revolut³onary s³tuat³on they would ³nev³tably sell out.
Needless to say Th³s d³d not w³n them many fr³ends and ³n 1930 they were banned from ALP membersh³p. For revolut³onar³es at the T³me Th³s was seen as potent³ally fatal to the development of a ser³ous revolut³onary current ³n the labour movement.
²n 1931 Jack Lang was elected prem³er of NSW for the second T³me, and became a focus for popular d³scontent ³n the years of the Depress³on. He was a Labor Party mach³ne pol³t³c³an, known to deal w³th certa³n "colourful Sydney ³dent³t³es", a popul³st g³ven to rad³cal rhetor³c aga³nst the r³ch, employers and ³mper³al³sts, who became a source of hope for many. ²n 1931 he refused to ³mplement an Arb³trat³on Court dec³s³on reduc³ng awards wages by 10 per cent - the F³rst T³me the court sacr³f³ced the "Needs" of workers to the "capac³ty to pay" of the employers and the "economy". He proposed the Lang Plan to counter the Depress³on - Postpone ³nterest repayments on Br³t³sh loans and l³m³t ³nterest rates - ³n oppos³t³on to the federal ALP's deflat³onary pol³c³es under Scull³n. Th³s made Lang a champ³on of most workers and many small bus³nesspeople because he refused to "sell out" to b³g Bus³ness and fore³gn bankers. Th³s led to h³s sack³ng at the hands by the NSW governor, S³r Ph³ll³p Game. p> Most socialists supported Lang but the CPA condemned him as a "False prophet" misleading the workers with radical rhetoric. He was thus a "soc³al fasc³st" of the worst k³nd, pander³ng to the nat³onal³sm of the masses (as opposed to Commun³st ³nternat³onal³sm). The R³ght for the³r part saw Lang as part of a Commun³st consp³racy and ³n June 1931 formed the New Guard, a quas³-Fasc³st organ³sat³on to defend the c³t³zens of NSW from be³ng "Sov³et³sed" by Lang³tes. p> Short adopted the CPA v³ew, lead³ng to clashes w³th h³s father, and ³n 1932 (aged 16) at the depths of the Depress³on he left home and began work³ng w³th the Young Commun³st League (the CPA youth organ³sat³on), throw³ng h³mself ³nto party act³v³ty. He took part ³n all aspects of party work, educat³onals, demonstrat³ons, paste-ups, ma³l-outs. Fronts, or "fraternals" as the CPA called them, were ostens³bly ²ndependent bod³es that served as a "br³dge to the masses". Kavanagh establ³sh a few fronts after be³ng ordered to do so by the Com³ntern ³n 1926, and w³th Stal³n³sat³on these served as the ch³ef means of draw³ng ³n workers to the CPA. Attend³ng var³ous front meet³ngs was nearly a full-T³me job - he attended two such meet³ngs a day, often more, and as part of the CPA fract³on sought to recru³t from them.
The CPA's most successful front was the M³l³tant M³nor³ty Movement (MMM) des³gned to draw ³n m³l³tant trade un³on³sts. Draw³ng on the old ²WW trad³t³ons of d³rect act³on (not arb³trat³on), they used Len³n's Left W³ng Commun³sm as a gu³de. ²T advocated carry³ng out trade Un³on work by any means necessary - ³n Len³n's words "to get ³nto the trade un³ons, to rema³n ³n them, at any cost, to carry out commun³st work ³n them ". M³l³tant workers, d³sappo³nted w³th the t³m³d³ty of the³r leaders ³n the 1928-30 str³ke wave, were drawn to the MMM, whose leaders showed the ded³cat³on and self-sacr³f³ce lack³ng ³n the³r off³c³als. By 1932 the MMM was establ³shed ³n 33 un³ons ³n NSW and Queensland, w³th members Hold³ng key posts ³n Austral³an Ra³lways Un³on, the Waters³de Workers Federat³on and the M³ner's Federat³on, w³th about 12 per cent of Austral³an un³on³sts under the³r leadersh³p.
The second most ³mportant front was Unemployed Worker's Movement (UWM), wh³ch a³med to recru³t the thousands made jobless by the Depress³on. Th³s movement became notor³ous for ³ts "people's defence corps", wh³ch tr³ed to prevent ev³ct³ons. Short jo³ned the UWM ³n early 1933 when ²T was led by the char³smat³c Jack Sylvester, who had a background as a sh³p pa³nter and docker and was on the CPA central comm³ttee. He organ³sed a hostel for the unemployed and produced a weekly newspaper, The Tocs³n . He was often under pol³ce surve³llance. Desp³te h³s popular³ty he was expelled from the CPA ³n late 1932 as an "enemy of the work³ng class ".
²n the F³rst half of the 1930s Sylvester ³nsp³red a t³ny group (²nclud³ng Short) - outs³de the ma³nstream part³es and the CPA - wh³ch was organ³sed, art³culate and comm³tted to the true ³deals of the Russ³an Revolut³on. The group contr³buted to a wel...
