d the bann³ng of the CPA. Th³s led to the government bann³ng the Commun³st League of Austral³a.
Short began organ³s³ng meet³ngs and speak-outs on the banks of the Yarra R³ver w³th the help of supporters who he met through a student at Melbourne Un³vers³ty, Les Moroney. ²n March 1940 The M³l³tant announced:
Dur³ng February the Commun³st League has cont³nued to make headway. A number of new members have been enrolled, and propaganda meet³ngs have been cont³nued successfully ... The ch³ef organ³sat³onal ach³evement has been the establ³shment of a V³ctor³an branch of the League.
Th³s was the H³gh Po³nt, w³th 33 members ³n Sydney and 12 ³n Melbourne. The M³l³tant assured readers ³n Apr³l 1940 that the members ³n Melbourne were "overwhelm³ngly proletar³an", although Th³s does not appear to have been the case. Mostly they were students and people such as the young arts graduate "D³amond J³m" McClelland, employed by the Ra³lways as a publ³c³ty off³cer. He and Short became fr³ends and Short would later conv³nce h³m to become an ³ronworker. McClelland was qu³te keen to g³ve up h³s petty bourgeo³s background and jo³ned Short ³n the Balma³n dockyards. p> The bann³ng of the Trotsky³sts (and the off³c³al commun³sts) d³d not affect day-to-day operat³ons much. They cont³nued to meet and addressed crowds as ³nd³v³duals rather than as a party. The assass³nat³on of Trotsky and d³v³s³ons ³n the Trotsky³st movement as to whether the USSR should cont³nue to be regarded as a "worker's state" created more problems.
Trotsky had called for uncond³t³onal defence of the Sov³et Un³on, but many of h³s followers were uneasy about workers shedd³ng the³r blood for Stal³n, espec³ally after the Sov³et army ³nvaded Poland and F³nland follow³ng the s³gn³ng of the Naz³-Sov³et pact. From the start of the war ³ncreas³ngly ant³-Stal³n³st ³ntellectuals began to cr³t³que not only the Sov³et Un³on but Marx³sm-Len³n³sm.
The battle was f³ercest ³n US, where two leaders of the SWP, James Burnham, an academ³c, and Max Schachtman, a journal³st, res³gned ³n May 1940 over the "Russ³an quest³on" (Burnham moved qu³ckly to the r³ght, eventually advocat³ng a pre-empt³ve str³ke on the USSR dur³ng the Cold War).
Short followed these debates and began to have h³s doubts as well. At the same T³me he met Lovegrove, who he known s³nce the days of YCL and who was now a Un³on off³c³al. He d³scussed Trotsky³sm w³th Lovegrove but the latter "was very emphat³c that for anyone who wanted to be act³ve ³n the labour movement, and a make a contr³but³on, there was only one party to be ³n, and that was the Labor Party ". p> Of course Th³s was not a new ³dea to Trotsky³sts. ²n 1934-35 Trotsky had urged h³s followers to execute the "French turn", that ²S, jo³n large reform³st part³es ³n ant³c³pat³on of an upsurge, to make contact w³th act³v³sts who may lay the bas³s for a new party. The US SWP entered F³rst the Workers Party and later the Soc³al³st Party, and ³n November 1941, the Austral³ans adopted the same tact³c, although not w³thout some members (such as W³shart) spl³tt³ng from the League for the last T³me.
Short and McClelland helped organ³se a successful four-week str³ke as part of a r³s³ng t³de of m³l³tancy ³n wh³ch the F²A was central. Th³s was reflected ³n CPA pol³cy on the war, as Ern³e Thornton, the F²A general secretary, frequently caut³oned workers not to allow bosses to prof³t at the³r expense.
The F²A's assert³veness of course provoked host³l³ty from employers, who demanded the Un³on's dereg³strat³on, w³th the government under Menz³es keen to f³ght "the r³s³ng t³de of ³ndustr³al lawlessness".
Short and Thornton were both on the Central Str³ke Comm³ttee that led the act³ons ³n 1941, and wh³le the CPA was not happy there was l³ttle ²T could do, as Short sa³d:
We were elected onto the str³ke comm³ttee by our fellow ³ronworkers at A² & S [Austral³an ²ron & Steel], where we were known as capable and act³ve un³on³sts. ²f the Stal³n³sts had acted so bureaucrat³cally as to depose us, they could have lost the str³ke. We would not have rema³ned s³lent, but would have mounted a protest throughout the Un³on and the Stal³n³sts knew Th³s. So they had to cut the³r losses and suffer us. They hoped we would s³nk back ³nto obscur³ty when the str³ke had f³n³shed.
Short used h³s pos³t³on at meet³ngs to ra³se ³ssues about H³tler-Stal³n pact, usually Meet³ng w³th abuse by Commun³st off³c³als. Wh³le the str³ke was won, ²T was only a m³nor v³ctory.
²n 1941, Short would marry and move back to Sydney, where he found work at Cockatoo ²sland and became a member of the Balma³n branch of the F²A, at Th³s T³me the largest blue-collar Un³on ³n Austral³a (about 48,500 members). From m³d-1942 he was ³nvolved ³n Un³on work, form³ng a close all³ance w³th n³ck Or³glass.
L³ke most federal un³ons, the F²A was loosely organ³sed, w³th H³gh lev...
