Cold Light (67 page)

The report showed what so many, including Ambrose and her, had come to realise over the years – that the whole history of the Soviet Union had been a barbarous lie and a disaster. The alliance of the Soviet Union with the West during the war had masked this.

As she read through the report, she came across a notation by the stenographer, who had observed that after Khrushchev had delivered the report there had been ‘commotion in the hall’.

Richard didn’t take much interest in the report. It was pretty much what he had always believed about the communists. No surprises for him. He didn’t even wish to see it.

She arrived at the position that the document was one of the most significant political speeches of the century, which could be the beginning of the end for communist systems of government, if not for the ideal itself.

She did not know what it would mean to Janice’s and Frederick’s lives.

A
couple of months later, an agitated Janice called and said that the
New York Times
had published the so-called secret speech in full in its international edition. Since the café discussion, Janice and Frederick had not wanted to have a copy of the report in their possession and had pretty much dismissed it.

Until now there had been only scrappy news items about it.

‘I saw that,’ Edith said.

‘Turner has read it and has been on the phone. He seems to be leaning towards believing that it’s accurate. By the way, he asked after you.’

‘I wish your communist friends wouldn’t ask after me on the telephone,’ she said, feeling flattered. ‘I thought that you people never used names on the telephone.’

Janice laughed in a hysterical way. ‘There’s been much telephoning – without caution. No one is thinking of the ASIO now; everyone’s looking for ways to handle the report within the Party.’

‘I can imagine.’

‘Turner and Murray-Smith are inclined to think it’s true, and so are some of the intellectual comrades in Sydney, although some of it may be mistranslated, with intentional distortions introduced during translation, and some might be a fabrication. But true in essence. It’s sending shockwaves through the national parties – Italy, France, the UK, Australia.’

‘How’s Frederick taking it?’

‘He accepts the Political Committee position – and so do I – that until we have it confirmed from Moscow, we cannot verify it, and until it’s verified, it’s dangerous to discuss it. I want to look again at the copy the Major sent. If you wouldn’t mind. I want to compare it with what the
New York Times
published. That might tell us something.’

‘What about Ted Hill? He was at the Congress in Moscow. Doesn’t he say how correct the
New York Times
is?’

‘Hill still isn’t back. He’s been ill – having treatment for his eyes. Had a problem with his eyes at the Congress.’

Edith laughed. ‘Political blindness. Ambrose said in a letter that the leader of the British Party – Pollitt – has also had a haemorrhage behind his eyes and impaired his vision.’ She laughed some more.

‘Pollitt?’

‘Yes, Pollitt.’

‘Don’t be such a Freudian, Edith,’ Janice said, coolly. ‘But there are stories about Hill’s nerves and that was why he’s stayed overseas so long. He didn’t say anything in the piece he wrote for the
Guardian
and
Trib
. There’s another development: Jimmy Staples – a young Sydney lawyer at the NSW Attorney-General’s Department and a Party member – has roneoed copies of this so-called secret speech. He’s been circulating copies to Party members, especially at the universities. There’s uproar about it. Someone told Frederick that a member of the Liberal Party – a person named Barton – paid for it to be printed, which makes it all rather suspicious. Staples is for the chop.’

‘How is it really possible to stop discussion in the Party? The whole world is talking about it. Or does the CP membership close itself off from the outside world, like the Amish?’

There was silence and then Janice said, ‘No.’ Another silence, and then she said in her Party voice, ‘Edith, you understand that in the Party we do not trust the Western press – it is manipulated and owned by people opposed to communism. We all know from personal experience that they purposefully distort reports about strikes about the Soviet Union and about the labour movement generally. Look at their misreporting of the Lowe Royal Commission and the Petrov Royal Commission. So why believe them on this? Sharkey described it as “hell’s brew from the sewers of the gutter press”.’

‘He could improve on his imagery.’

‘Grow up, Edith. We’re not in English 1 now. You’ve seen the cartoonists drawing the communists as rats.’

Janice was right about the misreporting of the Royal Commissions – the newspapers were shockingly biased. If she were a communist she wouldn’t believe the newspapers.

While they spoke, Edith had second thoughts about Janice coming to her office in Parliament House. ‘Given the nature of the times, Janice, it might be best if you and I met somewhere and I gave you a copy of the report. Just to be safe.’ Then, humorously, she added, ‘Would not do for you to be traipsing in and out of Parliament House.’

‘I understand. But it is the People’s House and I’m a citizen.’

Edith had to also face that she was ashamed of her office and did not want Janice to see how small it was. There had been promises that she might soon get a larger place to work.

They met at the Blue Moon in Civic, and she handed Janice Ambrose’s copy of the secret speech, but without the cover sheet indicating where it had come from. Janice had more news. Turner, Staples, Murray-Smith and other intellectuals were demanding open analysis of the secret speech within the Party. ‘There are unauthorised membership meetings breaking out all over the place. We’re having a discussion at the university here next month. Turner, Palmer and some of the other Melbourne people might come to Canberra.’

‘You sound as if you’re not happy about this meeting?’

‘It doesn’t make sense to waste time discussing something that might be bogus. I’ve tried to get Fred to head off premature discussion. But the Canberra comrades – especially the university comrades – are undisciplined and want to barge off and discuss it. They want to discuss everything.’

‘That’s what university people do – they discuss.’

‘Their discussion isn’t always politically useful. There’s a big difference between questioning, suggesting – legitimate criticism – and the forming of factions and gangs within the Party. It’s reformism. There’s no point in these people being in the Party, wasting its time. They belong in another party. I think that these admissions by Khrushchev mean that the Party has returned to the correct line.’

‘What’s wrong with reformism?’

Tiredly, Janice said, ‘In the Party, it means re-forming the Party. It’s counter-revolutionary. It would be admitting that there’s something fundamentally wrong with the historical Party and that the revolution was a mistake. And to listen to those who want to abandon internationalism and accept national differences would be to accept that communist theory differs from country to country. The Party is not about fixing up things in capitalism here and there, trying to conform to whatever is happening in the Labor Party. I would’ve thought you’d have realised by now that we are not just a competing political movement within the so-called democratic system – communism is an entirely different way of seeing the world and working politically. How many times do I have to tell you?’

There was a new strength in Janice’s way of speaking to her, which she found queerly attractive. It wasn’t a strength coming from desperation at all. ‘Frederick and I are going to a cadre meeting in Sydney to discuss the correct handling of this. We should not be arguing about what the
New York Times
and the State Department of the US thinks we should be talking about.’

‘I’d like to come to the meeting at the university.’

‘Why would you?’

Edith made a face. ‘To hear how you handle it all.’

‘It’s out of the question. It’ll be for Party members only. And the meeting hasn’t been approved by the Party, which worries me. Worries me a lot. We’re describing it as a birthday party for Bob Gollan.’

‘Please,’ she said. ‘I want to come.’

Janice looked at her and shook her head. ‘This is not an entertainment, Edith. And it will probably be watched by the ASIO – you could get into trouble.’

Edith doubted that.

‘I did look after some of the Party records for you during the referendum. And Ambrose sent you the secret speech.’

Edith hid her blushing as she remembered that Ambrose had been through the records in the tackroom. And so had she.

She went on, ‘I did go to the meeting at the Causeway. And to Melbourne to celebrate the High Court victory.’

Janice stirred her coffee, and weakened. ‘Because it’s disguised as a birthday party, it might not be watched. Hope the ASIO doesn’t check his birth date. And because it’s not an approved meeting, perhaps you could come and sit quietly at the back. And it is true that some non-Party members could turn up. There’ll be some drink and eats.’

‘Party hats?’

Janice ignored the joke.

Edith felt a great curiosity to see how the Party people would handle this catastrophe – a catastrophe that they were still trying to deny. She wanted to see how her brother would handle it.

Janice said she would clear it with Frederick.

The so-called party was held in an accommodation suite at University House. There were about twenty or more crammed into the two bedrooms, the balcony and the main room of the suite – the usual bearded academics drinking from beer bottles, and a sprinkling of women, some also drinking from bottles of beer, but most drinking wine from paper cups. The men wore jackets and some wore ties, but she thought that their beards were fancier this year. Less like Marx or Lenin beards. She knew some of them from the social life of Canberra.

Frederick tried to delay the drinking until after the Party business, but no one took notice of him.

Cubes of cheese and onions and some salami and biscuits were piled on plates.

She knew from Janice that there were to be two parties: one for the local Communist Party members to discuss seriously the secret speech – called for 6 pm – and the cover party called for 8 pm. Janice admitted that the cover party was not really to fool the ASIO but to fool the Central Committee in Sydney, because it was not a sanctioned meeting.