I have a allis chalmers 1950 wd,can the points short out on the distributer

Yes
the short can be from the insulator in the pivot point allowing that point to touch the fixed point base
other problems are that the wear block on the moving point wears right down allowing the metal tab to touch on the cam block
the small copper pig tail for the points base plate breaks and there is no ground for the point action and the condenser tag touches the stud on which the coil wire is attached to the base of the points
a simple test of points is to turn on the ignition , turn the engine slowly over until the points close, then use an object ( flat bladed screw driver and push on the moving point to break the circuit
you should get a spark at the points or a zap noise each time you break the points circuit
as it is a common distributor and you check around , it is very possible that you could replace the points with an electronic system or pointless ignition