Boyish and diminutive-looking Bowditch (left) with close friend, Federated Clerks' Union official, Harry Krantz, both strong ALP supporters. Bowditch challenged "pseudo Labor Party" members, later stood as an ALP candidate in Darwin .
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IN 1950 Bowditch became involved in the bitter national union and political struggle during which ASIO kept a close watch on him. He went from being a clerk hailed as a war hero to a person openly branded a “ Commie” and spat at during a rowdy meeting in an Adelaide theatre.
(By Peter Simon )
The union drama was due to the right wing campaign to “ cleanse ’’ Australian unions of left wingers and Communists . Catholic Action took a key part in the battle and “Industrial Groupers” manoeuvred to seize control of unions . The ensuing brawl led to a split in the ALP and the formation of the Democratic Labour Party . One of the major targets was the Federated Clerks’ Union ; a scalp obtained by the right wingers was Jack Hughes of the NSW branch who had inspired Bowditch with his powerful oratory.
In the fiercely fought election for the SA branch of the FCU , which included Jim’s position as secretary of the Alice section , he supported Krantz as SA state secretary. Bowditch found himself in the strange position of being supported by both sides in the election. Without consulting him , the Groupers claimed him as one of theirs, probably because they felt a war hero was against anyone branded a Communist. Bowditch received a telephone call from an Adelaide journalist pointing out that he was being supported by both sides . Bowditch said he was in Harry Krantz’s group , which resulted in a newspaper story saying that he had refused to back the right wingers , implying that he was , in Jim’s words , “a red hot Commo”.
Bowditch went to Adelaide for meetings with Krantz and saw the journalist who had written the report to put him right. However, he said the reporter seemed to have swallowed the “Establishment’s bullshit ”. Bowditch commented that he should have sued the paper . In Adelaide a FCU how to vote pamphlet, containing A Message from Jim Bowditch D.C.M., M.I.D., was issued repudiating the “ insulting inference ” that he was in anyway associated with the anti-union body seeking to “ capture” the union ; under the sub heading Jim Bowditch says- it showed how to vote in the union election.
A copy went into the ASIO files along with a Tribune item in which Bowditch was quoted as having said that if what the clerks’ union executive was doing amounted to Communism , then he “would be in favour of Communism ”. An Advertiser report saying that Bowditch had denied membership of the Industrial Groupers was also included in the ASIO report.
Bowditch attended a noisy clerks’ meeting in the Tivoli Theatre, Adelaide , to consider a call by the Groupers to remove the entire executive of the SA union . It was said to be the biggest union meeting held in Adelaide, possibly Australia , with more than 600 people present. Both sides were in force , and very vocal . A report said about 350 people were lined up outside the theatre at 7.30 and each person’s name was checked to see if they were on the union membership roll. Some people shouted : “Krantz, why don’t you lift the iron curtain ? ” The last person was admitted at 8.30.
Up on the stage , Krantz introduced Bowditch as a war hero and Jim rose to speak. He hardly got a few words out before heckling and booing began . Despite the uproar , he carried on . During his speech he said he could not understand why the Catholic church was backing moves which were designed to split the ranks of the working class, a statement which caused an explosion of jeering from right wingers. Some people ran down the aisle shouting, one spitting at Bowditch across the orchestra pit . Fights and scuffles broke out . The bid to oust the executive failed 375 votes to 272 .
An oddly worded newspaper account of the meeting said it had been orderly , “with the exception of two bursts of uproar”, one lasting for five minutes before heckling of Krantz subsided.
Soon after the wild Tivoli meeting, Bowditch felt compelled to write a letter to the Adelaide Advertiser to answer various claims being made by the Groupers. However, the paper cut out 200 words , which angered him . After reading what the paper did to his letter, he wrote to the FCU : “ I have decided it is much better to leave the daily Press alone as one does not get very far with them , and I now hope that the matter fades out. ”
In the letter Bowditch said, among other things, that he had referred to the right wingers as pseudo-Labor because no genuine Labor follower would attempt to disrupt a union which had made the progress like the SA branch of the FCU had made in the last eight years. Furthermore, no genuine Labor follower would employ the tactic used by Groupers in state and branch elections of inferring anyone opposing them was either a “Red ” or dominated by a “Red” .
Bowditch said the SA branch executive followed the non-political, non-sectarian rules of the union and were not “ stooges ” to any political party . It wished to further the interests of all clerks -whether a large portion of its members voted Liberal, Labor, independent or informal.
He went on to say : “ It is my personal belief that a Labor government is preferable to a Liberal for wage earners, and I vote and work for the ALP accordingly . However, I am totally opposed to union affiliation with the ALP or any other political party for many reasons, some I have given, and certainly oppose the Industrial Group’s intrusion into our union and the resulting disruption . ”
Bowditch called at the offices of interstate newspapers trying to explain the FCU’s case to journalists. At the Sydney Telegraph , he stated that the editor, David McNicoll , called him a “ Red Ragger ” and ordered security staff to show him off the premises.
In a postscript to a letter he wrote Krantz, Bowditch made a Wodehousian remark : “Give those Groupers whato !” Bowditch and Krantz went to Darwin for the first FCU conference in the NT where Jim mixed with unionists and visited the Northern Standard newspaper. In the bitterly fought FCU elections which followed Bowditch and Krantz survived the Groupers’ onslaught.
During the election campaign a Catholic priest speaking from the pulpit told clerks in his Alice flock not to to vote for Bowditch . On being informed of this, Jim went round and debated the issue with the man. It was a typical act for Bowditch - he liked to hear what the opposition had to say on every issue and would debate the matter . Even during the vicious meeting in Adelaide and the conference in Nowra , he had surprised many on “ his side” by wanting to engage the opposition in face to face debate , and let them have their say .
While this bitter battle raged , Bowditch continued his work as a clerk in Alice. Once he was sent to Tennant Creek to report on a strange situation where the key to a safe was supposedly lost. When it was opened by an engineer the 700 pound ($1400) which should have been inside was missing. The man responsible for looking after the money admitted having spent it on drink and gambling. During his travels in the Centre Bowditch met surveyor Len Beadell who built extensive access roads in the outback for the Woomera rocket range tests. NEXT: Aboriginal advancement moves in the NT.
