vol. 11, no. 9

AMERICAN

CIVIL LIBERTIES

UNION - NEWS

; ain ee :

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.'

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Vol. XI.

SAN FRANCISCO, SEPTEMBER, 1946

No. 9

$1000 Reward To Be Paid To

_ Alameda County Hotel Prop.

The national office of the ACLU has turned

over to the Union's San Francisco office a check

for one thousand dollars as a reward for informa-

tion leading to the conviction of a terrorist, who

fired into the homes of two Japanese families,

for payment to Magior Marchisio, proprietor of

a hotel in Centerville, Calif. Marchisio earned the

reward, posted by the ACLU to combat anti-

Japanese terrorism on the west coast, by furnish-

ing the sheriff of Alameda county with informa-

tion which led -to the identity of the criminal.

In making the payment, Roger N. Baldwin,

director of the ACLU announced, "It gives me

great satisfaction to send this check of one thou-

-sands dollars for Mr. Marchisio. Anti-Japanese

_ terrorism on the west coast is today practically

non-existent, and we believe that the ACLU re-

ward, which was widely publicized, was in a large

measure responsible for eliminating the pernici-

ous aspects of this prejudice."

The incident, for which the reward had been

offered, occurred in September, 1945 when the

residences of Motonosuke G. Motozaki and Tos-

hiaki Idota, Japanese-American citizens who had

been recently released from a relocation center,

were fired on by the occupant of a passing auto-

mobile from the road in front of their homes

near Centerville. :

A California farm worker, Robert F. Hailey,

was promptly arrested and charged with the

shooting. This spring he was convicted of the |

crime of assault with a deadly weapon, and he

is now serving a one year jail sentence in the

Alameda County Jail. :

_ According to H. P. Gleason, Sheriff of Alameda

County, the conviction "was made possible by the

information given to my office by Marchisio on

the day of the shooting."

Officials of the ACLU were told by the sheriff

that, `There was considerable tension in this

county at the time of the occurence, but the

prompt arrest and conviction of Hailey was an

oe means of stopping further acts of vio-

ence, : ;

S. F. Book Store Manager Arrested For

Selling "Memoirs Of Hecate County"

In an obvious move to gain votes, District

Attorney Edmund G. Brown of San Francisco,

who is running for the job of Attorney General,

joined forces with the Hearst press last month

to prosecute Stuart F. Cunningham, manager of

Lieberman's book store, in San Francisco, on a

charge of selling obscene literature. The book in

question is Edmund Wilson's "Memoirs of Hecate

County.

The Hearst papers throughout the country

have been engaged in a campaign against "filthy

literature." Strangely enough, `The Memoirs of

Hecate County" is the only book that has been

specifically mentioned. Its author is presently

literary critic of `The New Yorker," and was at

one time literary critic of "The New Republic." -

It has been suggested that Mr. Wilson is the

target of the present attack because he once

wrote a critical review of the performance of a

motion picture actress friend of Hearst's.

As we go to press, the prosecution against Mr.

Cunningham is pending, and the Union has asked

District Attorney Brown for a statement on his

attitude towards the case for consideration by the

Executive Committee.

_ MINERSVILLE CASE DROPPED

Prosecution of the Minersville "objectors," whe

refused to remove the blanket partitions between

their cots, has been dropped by the Justice De-

partment. In the meantime, Selective Service has

listed the men as deserters, but once again the

Justice Department refuses to prosecute.

Seek Clarificai

Citizen To Mexico

Without the benefit of any hearing whatso-

ever, and with the assistance of the FBI, Juan

Lopez Concholo, an American citizen, was turned

over to a Mexican federal secret service agent by

Stockton and San Francisco police last May and

removed to Mexico where he was alleged to have

murdered two Mexican detectives during a prison

escape in 1942. On August 19 word was received

from Mexico that Concholo had been shot and

killed in an attempted escape.

Concholo was arrested by Stockton police on

May 3. At this time it is not known who signed

the complaint, if any, and how he was booked. In

any event, he was brought to San Francisco on

May 15 and booked at the City Prison by G. Lewis

of the FBI and Merchor Cardenas of the Mexi-

can federal secret service, as ``en route to Mexico

City." The following day he was released into

Cardenas' custody, the record shows, and flown

to Mexico. . :

Federal law provides that before a person

may be extradited to another country, he must

be brought before a U.S. commissioner or a

judge for a hearing. In this case, however, there

is no record that Concholo received a hearing of

any kind either in Stockton or in San Francisco.

Moreover, the law provides that final approval

in extradition cases rests with the Secretary of

State. The State Department, however, has no

"Yellow Dog Contracts" For Federal

Employees To Be Tested In S. F. Case

Recent Congressional riders to departmental

appropriations bills requiring federal employees

to sign statements that they will never belong

to a labor organization asserting the right to

strike will be opposed in a court test by the

American Civil Liberties Union as "yellow dog

contracts." The Union has received numerous

inquiries from federal employees as to their

rights when asked to sign statements in line with

the riders, and is preparing a test case.

Victor Rotnem, Washington attorney and

former chief of the Civil Rights Section, Depart-

ment of Justice, will act as counsel for Mrs.

Laura Barton of San Francisco, who was

suspended by the Department of Agriculture for

refusing to sign the statement. The issue will

be whether or not the constitutional right to

strike applies to government employees, aside

from those in vital positions like firemen and

policemen, The ACLU points out that "the right

to strike is a cornestone of democracy and must

certainly apply to the employees of a democratic

- government." It is understood that test cases are

also being considered by the Workers Defense

League, and trade unions. ~

Annual Membership Meeting

The annual membership meeting of the

American Civil Liberties Union of Northern

California will be held at the California Club,

1750 Clay St., San Francisco (between Van

Ness Ave. and Polk St.), on Friday evening,

October 18, at 8 o'clock.

_ Full details of the program for the meet-*

ing will be carried in the October issue of

the "News". The Executive Committee of the

Union feels that it would be well to have the

membership consider two or three of the

current issues. Among the suggested topics

are the folowing: "Striking Against The

Government", and "Free Speech For Totali-

tarians"'.

There will be no admission charge. Please

plan on bringing your friends.

f EB

ithout Extradition Hearing

'S Role In Spiriting

record in the case. Neither is there any record 2

of the case in the office of U.S. Attorney Frank

J. Hennessy in San Francisco. a8

When the case was called to the Union's atten-

tion last month, Mr. Howard Fletcher, Special

Agent in Charge of the FBI office in San Francis-

co was asked to explain the FBI's relation to the

case and why it was that Concholo was not given

an extradition hearing, At first,Mr. Fletcher took

the position that Concholo was not their prisoner;

that he was originally a prisoner of the Stockton

police department and subsequently of Cardenas,

the Mexican detective. The Union reminded him,

however, that Cardenas has no authority in the

United States and that the prisoner was booked

in San Francisco by Agent Lewis. At that point,

Mr. Fletcher stated, "I have no comment to

make," and that has been his response to all

inquiries from the public press as well. Mr.

Fletcher was asked whether his refusal to make

any comment came on instructions from. Wash-

ington, but again his answer was, "T have no com-

ment to make."

The Union has written to Attorney General

Tom Clark and to J. Edger Hoover, Director of (c)

the FBI. "On the surface," the letters declare,

"Gt would appear that an American citizen had ~4

been shipped to Mexico without due process of

law by an agency of this country. We do not think

that agency should be allowed to dismiss an

apparent failure of its public trust with a decla-

ration that is tantamount to saying, `It's none

of your business.' It is the business of every

American citizen to see that the law is upheld,

and I trust we may have a full explanation as to

the handling of the Concholo case."

Concholo was born at the Chase Ranch, Cor-

ona, Calif., on May 13, 1921. His parents were

itinerant fruit pickers. Their present whereabouts

are unknown, -----_

Record of Developments in

Four Japanese Test Cases

Further hearings in the Nisei citizenship re-

nunciation court cases will be held before Federal

Judge A. F. St. Sure in San Francisco on Sep-

tember 9. Thomas Cooley II, director of the Alien

Enemy Control Unit of the Department of Justice

will be on hand to argue the cases for the govern-

ment, while Wayne M. Collins of San Francisco

will appear for the renunciants.

On August 14, one hundred and ten of the

Peruvian Japanese held at the Crystal City,

Texas, Interment Camp, departed for the Sea-

brook Farms in New Jersey. They were released.

on parole pending an effort by the government

to secure their return to Peru. Among the 110

persons released were 69 adult males, 12 adult

females and 37 children. Hight additional families

are scehduled to leave for Colorado or California.

The large family groups will remain in detention

at Crystal City.

The Japanese deportation test suits involving

treaty traders and hardship cases, which were

filed in the U. S. District Court in San Francisco

on May 29, are presently scheduled for hearings

on September 26, but the hearings will be post-

_ poned for another month or two.

The Tarao Takahashi case will be heard by the

California Supreme Court. This case tests the

1945 law barring aliens ineligible to citizenshiy

from securing commercial or sports fishing and

hunting licenses. Superior Judge Willis held the

law to be unconstitutional, but the Fish anc

Game Commission appealed to the District Court

of Appeal. That court will not pass on the matter

since the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the

case. Pending a final decision, the Supreme Court

set aside an order of Judge Willis permittin=

Takahashi to fish while the case was bein=

determined.

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

a

Civilian Wins Suit for

Damages Against General

In an unprecedented decision upholding the

rights of civilians to sue military officers for

damages resulting from illegal exclusion orders,

Federal Judge Pierson M. Hall of the Los

Angeles District Court on July 29 sustained the

suit of Homer G. Wilcox who had been removed

from his San Diego home in 1943 on orders from

Lt. General J. L. DeWitt, then commanding gen-

eral of the Western Defense Command.

In the court's opinion, the illegal order caused

Wilcox to lose more than $3,000, but granted

him a much lesser sum because he waived all

damages over $100, A. L. Wirin, counsel for the.

Union's Southern California branch but acting

privately in this case, revealed that Wilcox, a

member of a religious group known as "Christ

Church of the Golden Rule", was solely inter-

ested in the principle involved.

Although an appeal is expected to go to the

U. S. Supreme Court, the American Civil Liber-

ties Union which has been. supporting the case

hailed the decision as "the first one during this

war to award damages against a military officer

for illegal action and therefore a noteworthy

victory". The Union also announced that the

implications of the decision will be studied _re-

garding similar orders issued by General DeWitt

for the wartime evacuation of Japanese from the

Pacific coast.

' In his testimony, General DeWitt admitted

that the Attorney General had advised the War

Department that individual military exclusion

orders would not be sustained by the courts

since the excluded person had no opportunity to

confront the witnesses or reply to the evidence

against him. Touching on this in his decision,

Judge Hall went on to say that a military offi-

' cial, even though acting in good faith, is liable

for damages when he exceeds his legal authority.

In a somewhat similar case supported by the

ACLU a year ago, Judge Hall ruled that in the

absence of martial law, the Army had no right

to enforce exclusion orders by military power

and that disobedience merely created a criminal

offense punishable under the law in civil courts.

Congress Passes Law Admitting

__.Chinese Wives to U.S. __

Passage in the closing hours of Congress on

August 2 of a bill admitting Chinese wives of

American citizens to this country as non-quota

immigrants on an equal basis with other national-

ities was viewed by the American Civil Liberties

Union as "necessary to fulfil the spirit and

intent of repeal of the Chinese exclusion act'.

The prsent law, passed largely as a result of

the Union's support, is required because the re-

pealing act of 1948 contained no provision for

the admission of Chinese wives except on a quota

basis.

The measure, originally approved by the De-

partment of Justice, was passed last February

by the House but remained buried in the Senate

Immigration Committee. Through the efforts of

the ACLU's Washington representative, Mrs.

Mary Baldinger, Senator James O, Eastland

(D., Miss.) chairman of the subcommittee to

which the bill was referred became convinced

that the proposal was non-controversial and

merited his support. With the help of Senator

Robert Knowland (R., Cal.) whose active inter-

vention was likewise enlisted, the bill was finally

endorsed by the full committee and voted by the

Senate.

- ACLU officials point out that comparatively

few wives are likely to be involved even under

the new ruling. Between 1931 and 1942, when

further immigration was prohibited, fewer than

800 Chinese wives came to the United States.

ATTORNEY GENERAL STUDIES RELEASE

PLANS FOR JEHOVAHR'S WITNESSES

While indicating little chance for a general

amnesty for conscientious objectors imprisoned

for violation of Selective Service rules, Attorney

General Thomas C. Clark stated that he was

"vitally interested in seeing that sincere young

_ Jehovah's Witnesses be released from prison at

an early date." Disclosure of Department of

Justice arrangements whereby "a substantial

number are already scheduled for conditional

release in the early future" came in the Attorney

General's reply to communications from A. J.

Muste, chairman of the Committee for Amnesty.

Approximately 1,250 Jehovah's Witnesses are

now in federal prisons.

Although Mr. Clark conferred last July with

a delegation on the possibility of a general am-

nesty for all conscientious objectors, he indicated

that he would support no amnesty program so

long as induction of men into the armed forces

is continued.

An Analysis Of, and Argument Against, Prop.

No. 15, Relating to the Alien Land Law

At the November `election, California's elec-

torate is asked to vote on Proposition No. 15,

relating to the Alien Land Law, which the

A. C. L. U. is opposing. What the measure is all

about, and why the Union opposes it, is set forth

in the following statement:

For any clear understanding of what Proposi-

tion No. 15 does, it is necessary to look at the

Alien Land Law. That law was enacted as an

initiative measure in 1920. It provides that

aliens ineligible to citizenship `may acquire,

possess, enjoy, use, cultivate, occupy and trans-

fer real property, or any interest therein" only

to the extent prescribed by any treaty "now

existing' between the U. S. and the nation of

which such alien is a citizen or subject. In prac-

tice, it meant originally that alien Orientals

(Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, East Indians,

Koreans and others) were barred from holding, -

using and enjoying agricultural land, because

existing treaties allowed such aliens to, hold resi-

dential and commercial property.

Since Chinese, East Indians and Koreans are

now eligible for citizenship, Japanese aliens are

presently the principal group affected by the

Alien Land Law, although Koreans, Formosans,

Burmese and the citizens of a few other small

countries still come under the prohibitions of the

. law.

The State Constitution provides that initiative

measures may be amended only by a vote of the

people unless otherwise provided in the initiative

measure. The Alien Land Law provides that `The

Legislature may amend this act in furtherance of

its purposes and to facilitate its operation,"

The Legislature did amend the Alien Land Law

in 1923 and again in 1943. Ordinarily, the courts

would determine whether these amendments are

- "in furtherance of its purposes and to facilitate

its operation." In submitting Proposition No. 15,

however, the Legislature is mindful that the

courts may hold that some of the changes are

not in furtherance of the purposes of the Alien

Land Law, so the 1923 and 1943 amendments

would be "confirmed, ratified and declared to be

- fully and completely effective' by the people

themselves through a constitutional amendment.

At this point, it may be mentioned that some

persons believe that Proposition No, 15 will freeze

the 1923 and 1943 amendments into the State

Constitution because the proposal takes the form

of a constitutional amendment. Such an inter-

pretation, however, ignores the purpose of the

proposal as stated in the proposition itself, that

is, to have the people ratify the amendments in.

question as being in furtherance of the purposes

of the Alien Land Law.

The 1923 and 1943 amendments were intended,

by and large, to strengthen the law so that aliens

ineligible to citizenship could not indirectly

secure the benefits of agricultural land. But when

alien-baiting Senator Jack B. Tenney introduced

what is now Proposition No. 15, it would have

had the people ratify amendments to the Alien

Land Law proposed at the 1945 session of the

Legislature in Senate Bill No. 1293.

The principal feature of that bill would have

made the law applicable to watercraft as well as

agricultural land, and would have extended its

prohibitions to so-called dual citizens or Nisei as

well as aliens ineligible to citizenship. But the

reference to this bill was stricken from Proposi-.

tion No. 15, and no action was taken by the Legis-

lature on S.B. 1293.

Obviously, the attempt to extend the Alien

DEFENSE OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM URGED

ON OREGON TEACHERS GROUP

Strong exception was taken by the Union to

the conclusion of the Committee on Ethics of the

Oregon Teachers Association that no violation

of academic freedom occurred when an Oregon

high school principal was ordered by the local

school board to remove "Grapes of Wrath"

and "Strange Fruit'? from the school's library.

In a letter made public recently, Dr. V. T. Thayer,

vice-chairman of the ACLU Committee on Aca-

demic Freedom urged the Oregon group to

reconsider its position.

Terming Colin McEwen's action in resigning

rather than yielding to the demands of the

Nehalem Valley school board `a courageous

stand to preserve academic freedom in Oregon,"

the ACLU warned that "if educators are sub-

jected to the whims, caprices and prejudices of

every pressure group in the community, teachers

will then be reduced to mere instruments for

executing the prevailing prejudices of the mo-

_ ment."

Land Law to watercraft and Nisei raised a seri-

ous question as to whether the amendments were

in furtherance of the purposes of the Law, since

the law deals with the question of agricultural

land holding by aliens ineligible to citizenship.

That may explain why Senator Tenney sought to

have the people declare that such changes were

in furtherance of the purposes of the Law, be-

cause the chances are any court would have

ruled otherwise.

Among the opponents of Proposition No, 15

are Chester H. Rowell, Monroe E. Deutsch, Ray

Lyman Wilbur, Alfred L. Lundberg, Lynn Town-

send White, Jr., Frederick J. Koster, James K.

Moffitt, Rt. Rev. Edward L. Parsons, Richard R.

`Perkins and Galen Fisher.

The argument against Proposition No. 15 may

be summarized as follows:

No voter can tell exactly what this proposal is

all about by reading it. That is because the voters

are asked to ratify something that is not before

them, and which they can find out about only by

referring to our statutes where the proposals

take up ten pages of printed matter. Instead of

asking the people to ratify amendments to the

Alien Land Law blindly, the Legislature should

have submitted these amendments directly to the

people so they would know what they were voting

about. This proposal cannot be explained in the

short space allotted in a voters pamphlet. And,

whenever the voters don't know what they are

voting about, the best course is to vote `"`No."'.

In the next place, there is no necessity for this

legislation. Voters are asked to ratify legislation

whose language is not before them, and thereby

to decide that the amendments to the Alien Land

Law enacted by the Legislature in 1923 and 1943

are `in furtherance of its purpose and to facili-

tate its operation.'"' That's not a job for the

voters; it is something for the skilled lawyers

who sit on our courts to decide. In fact, if this

proposal is defeated, as it should be, no terrible

consequences will follow; it will not kill the Legis-

lature's amendments to the Alien Land Law; it

will merely allow the courts to perform the job

which we have given them under our State Con-

stitution. and which the Legislature by this pro-

posal is trying to take away from them.

Finally, this proposal should not be supported

by liberty loving people who are opposed to the

Nazi doctrine of pitting race against race and

religion against religion. Of the millions of people

in this State, only about 10,000 alien Japanese

could be affected by it, together with a handful

of Koreans and other Asiatics. These people are

steadily decreasing in numbers, because this part

of our alien population is middle-aged, and no

alien Japanese, or other persons ineligible to citi-

zenship are permitted to enter our country as

immigrants. At the same time, the alien Japanese

ine this State are some of the parents of the

26,000 citizens of Japanese ancestry who served

with great distinction in our armed forces during

. the war. The 442nd Japanese Regimental Combat

Team, for example, not only received the Presi-

dential Distinguished Unit Citation seven times,

but was`the most decorated outfit in the Army.

We evacuated the Japanese from the Pacific

Coast during the war as a military necessity and

kept them in relocation centers for over three

years, while their sons were fighting nobly in our

armies. The voters should not show their grati-

tude to the veterans by ratifying legislation which

is calculated to place additional hardships upon

their aged parents.

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Page 3

Radio Standards Backed

in ACLU Leaflet |

FCC's controversial proposals for improving

radio program service get all-out support from

the American Civil Liberties Union in a six page

leaflet, "Radio Programs in the Public Interest,"

sent on July 20 to some three thousand inter-

ested persons including radio station-owners and

executives, editorial writers and radio editors of

newspapers, and to every delegate to the Ohio

State Institute for Education by Radio held last

spring. The leaflet covers industry objections to

the proposals in FCC's "Bluebook" report of last

March and sets forth the Union's answers.

_ Statements of industry viewpoint were sub-

mitted for revision to leading critics of the FCC

proposals. Answers are based on an evaluation

of the FCC proposals adopted by the Radio Com-

mittee of the ACLU which includes commenta-

tors Quincy Howe and H. V. Kaltenborn; radio

consultant Morris S. Novik; and I. Keith Tyler,

chairman of the Ohio Conference, Chairman of

the Committee is Thomas R. Carskadon, chief,

Education Division, Twentieth Century Funds.

Main industry opposition stems from the

charge that the new standards for judging sta-

tion performance preposed by the FCC constitute

censorship by the government. The ACLU holds

that censorship is no more involved in the FCC

standards than in the Post Office Department's

regulation of the amount of advertising in maga-

zines enjoying second-class mailing rates. Indus-

try objections that the coming of unlimited FM

channels obviates the necessity for any govern-

ment control at all, the ACLU calls "academic",

since radio is "a long way from having unlimited

FM wave-lengths, and may never. have them."

The controversial FCC report proposes that

four factors be taken into consideration in issu-

ing or renewing station licenses to broadcast;

(a) the carrying of sustaining programs as part

of a well-balanced program structure; (b) the

carrying of local live programs; (c) the carrying

of programs devoted to the discussion of public

issues; and (d) the elimination of advertising

excesses.

It is understood that the FCC is already apply-

ing the standards in considering radio license |

`applications and renewals. Copies of the leaflet

are available on request to the A. C. L. U. of

Northern California. oe oe a

Naturalization Service States

Policy In Accepting Declarations

Of Intention From Alien Japanese

In the hope that Congress will soon .extend

them the same right to naturalization that has

recently been given to Chinese, Filipinos and

East Indians, or that a pending court case will

uphold their right to become naturalized citi-

zens, a considerable number of alien Japanese

throughout the country have recently filed de-

clarations of intention to become citizens of the

United States.

Unfortunately, many alien Japanese are suf-

fering under the belief that the bars against

their naturalization have been lifted. This is not

so. Nevertheless, it is the policy of the Naturali-

zation Service to accept declarations of inten-

tion from persons racially ineligible to citizen-

ship. The following letter from the Immigration

and Naturalization Service sets forth the gov-

ernment's policy on the subject:

You are informed that where a person ra-

cially ineligible to naturalization under Section

303 of the Nationality Act of 1940, as amended,

applies to file a declaration of intention, it is

the policy of this Service to call to the attention

of such person the provisions of that Section,

and further that in his declaration of intention

he is required to state under oath that it is his

intention in good faith to become a citizen of the

United States and that it is a felony knowingly

to make a false statement under oath in a na-

turalization proceeding. If upon receiving such

information such alien insists upon filing his

application for a declaration of intention, the

application is accepted and is processed in the

regular way. :

It is the administrative view that a person in-

eligible to citizenship is nevertheless entitled to

his day in court and may not be prevented from

filing a declaration of intention, assuming that

his lawful admission for permanent residence is

established.

It should be borne in mind however that Sec-

tion 303 of the Nationality Act of 1940 must be

complied with by a petitioner for naturalization.

Where a person of the Japanese race files a

petition for naturalization it is incumbent upon

this Service to file an objection to his naturaliza-

tion as he is not racially eligible under that

Section of the Nationality Act of 1940..

Federal Communications Commission Upholds

Right Of Atheists To

The Federal Communications Commission has

ruled, in effect, that radio stations may not deny

time for the presentation of talks on the subject

of atheism. The decision was handed down July

19, 1946, in the case of Robert Harold Scott, of

Palo Alto, who had filed a petition requesting

the Commission to revoke the licenses of radio

stations KQW of San Jose and KPO and KFRC

of San Francisco. While not granting the petition

because the larger question of what merits time

as a "public controversy" applies to all stations

and not just the three against whom the petition

was filed, the FCC rejected the licensees' plea that

atheism is a special type of controversy to be

barred as "objectionable to a large majority of

the listening audience."

In consequence of the ruling, Mr. Scott again

applied to the three stations for radio time, but

thus far the station managers have not com-

mitted themselves. If, in spite of the FCC's clear

statement that atheists are entitled to radio time,

the station managers decline to give Mr. Scott

an opportunity to broadcast, the issue will again

be presented to the FCC for a decision.

Pointing out that the FCC's statement is in

striking agreement with its own policy regarding

controversial matters on the radio, the A.C.L.U.

declared that the decision serves notice that radio

licensees must allot adequate time for the airing

of public issues. The Union has always main-

tained that time should not be sold in such in-

stances, but that stations and networks "should

give free time at good hours for a full and fair

discussion of all sides of major public questions."'

In his petition, Mr. Scott pointed out that

while stations have refused time for the broad-

casting of talks on the subject of atheism, they

have permitted the use of their facilities for

direct statements and arguments against atheism

as well as for indirect arguments, such as church

services, prayers, Bible readings, and other kinds

of religious programs. It was Mr. Scott's con-

tention `"`that the question of the existence or non-

existence of a Divine Being is, in itself, a con-

troversial issue, and that in refusing to make

time available for arguments in support of the

Broadcast Their Views

atheistic point of view, the stations complained of

are not presenting all sides of the issue and,

therefore, are not operating in the public inter-

est."

Mr. Scott was not seeking an opportunity for

-a blasphemous attack upon the Deity, or abusive

or intemperate attacks upon .any religious belief

or organization, but only such criticism as would

necessarily be implied in the logical development

of arguments supporting atheism. "I do not

throw stones at church windows," said Mr. Scott.

"I do not mock at people kneeling in prayer. I

respect every man's right to have and to express

any religious belief whatsoever. But I abhor and

denounce those who, while asserting this right,

seek, in one way or another, to prevent others

from expressing contrary views."

"Freedom of religious belief,' said the Com-

mission, `necessarily carries with it freedom to

disbelieve, and freedom of speech means freedom

to express disbeliefs as well as beliefs. If free-

dom of speech is to have meaning, it cannot be

predicated on the mere popularity or public ac-

ceptance of the ideas sought to be advanced. It

must be extended as readily to ideas which we

disapprove or abhor as to ideas which we ap-

prove. Moreover, freedom of speech can be as

effectively denied by denying access to the public

means of making expression effective-whether

public streets, parks, meeting halls, or the radio-

as by legal restraints or punishment of the

speaker. ...

"Underlying the conception of freedom of

speech is not only the recognition of the impor-

tance of the free flow of ideas and information to

the effective functioning of democratic forms of

government and ways of life, but also belief that

immunity from criticism is dangerous-danger-

ous to the institution or belief to which the im-

munity is granted as well as to the freedom of

the people generally. Sound and vital ideas and ~

institutions become strong and develop with

criticism so long as they themselves have full op-

portunity for expression; it is dangerous that the

unsound be permitted to flourish for want of

criticism."

Jury Selection Under Way in

Columbia, Tenn., Case :

As we go to press, a jury is still being selected

in the trial of 25 Columbia, Tennessee, Negroes

charged with attempted murder in connection

with an attack made upon the Negro commun-

ity by whites last February 25. After several

days of questioning, only two jurors had been

accepted out of 46 who were examined, all of

whom admitted, in one bigoted statement or

another, that they could not give a Negro a

fair trial.

One juror, W. S. Staggs, a 64-year-old white

farmer, told the court he wouldn't give the same

credit to testimony offered by a Negro as he

would to that of a white man. He told Maurice

Weaver, NAACP attorney for the defense, that

he believed in separate types of justice for Ne-

groes and whites and added that he thought

some of the principles of the Ku Klux Klan

were "very good'. After unsuccessfully moving

for Staggs' rejection for cause, lawyers for the

defense surprised the court by accepting this

biased man as the first juror. Possibly Staggs'

presence on the jury can serve later, in the

event of any or all the defendants' conviction, as

a major reversible error and cause for a retrial.

It is also clear that the state does not intend

to permit a Negro to serve on.the jury. Two

have been questioned-the first in the county in

00 years-but both were excused. One, who

knew a defendant, had a fixed opinion and

didn't want to serve. The other was released be-

cause he was ill.

It is reported that there is a chance that the

entire panel of 312 jurors will be exhausted be-

fore the jury is completed.

LIMITATION ON NEGRO ENLISTMENTS

IN THE ARMY DENOUNCED BY A.C.L.U.

The ACLU challenged the basic doctrine of

the Army Gillem report that Negro recruitment

should be in direct relation to the percentage of

Negro populatoin in the United States. Dr. John

Haynes Holmes, chairman, in a letter of. August

12 to President Truman and Major General E. F.

Witsell of the Adjutant General's Department,

charged the War Department, in banning future

Negro enlistments, "established a racial quota

for a minority group, a policy not to be con-

doned in this country, where we hold fast to the

belief that all men are equals regardless of race,

color or creed."

Boston Free Speech Case May

Go to U. S. Supreme Court

Conviction of three Socialist Party members

and two Socialist Labor Party members for

speaking on Boston Common without a permit

will be appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court if

necessary, the Massachusetts Civil Liberties

Union announced following a verdict by Judge

Charles L. Carr of the municipal court on July

24, In fining each of the defendants one dollar

Judge Carr said he believed the law requiring

a permit to speak on the Common was uncon-

stitutional interference with freedom of speech,

but that he was obliged to follow the precedent |

of an earlier case in which the Massachusetts

Supreme Court was upheld by the U. S. Supreme

Court in holding the licensing law constitutional.

According to the judge, the decision of the

Massachusetts Supreme Court written by the late

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes "seems to be

based on some peculiar control which the Massa-

chusetts Legislature is supposed to exercise over

Boston Common". According to counsel, it ap-

pears that later decisions are in conflict and

may over-rule the earlier `Boston Common"

case. If so, it will mean that wherever public

parks are used for public meetings no permits

may be required. -

Motion for Probation in Poston Draft

Cases Will Be Heard September 30

Judge Dave Ling of Phoenix, Arizona, has set

September 30th for a hearing on applications

for probation made in behalf of approximately

one hundred Nisei formerly at the Poston Re-

location Center, who refused to comply with the

draft. Their refusal was grounded upon their

belief that they were not subject to the draft

because their civil liberties had been taken away

from them by the military evacuation and de-

tention orders.

"Because our skins are white and our origin is '

European, js no ground for a distinction between

our youth and that of these appellants," said

Judge W. Denman in urging "executive cle-

mency."'

United States Attorney Frank Flynn, repre-

senting the government, on the occasion of the

hearing of the appeal in San Francisco, an-

nounced that he would not object to clemency.

/

Page 4

@

AMEDICAN CiVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

American Civil Liberties Union-News

Published monthly at 461. Market St., San Francisco, 5

Calif., by the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California...

Phone: EXbrook 1816

ERNEST BESIG ...... .. Editor

Entered as second-class matter, July 31, 1941, at the

Post Office at San Francisco, California, `

under the Act of March 3, 1879.

Subscription Rates-One Dollar a Year.

Ten Cents per Copy. .

A.C.L.U. Policy in Regard te

Loyalty in Gov't cmployment

The Civil Liberties Union has long taken the

' position that a test of loyalty to the United States

may properly be required of persons seeking em-

ployment in the Federal service. It is of the view

that persons found to be disloyal to this govern-

ment or holding a superior loyalty to a foreign

government may properly be denied employment

or dismissed from it.

'The Union has held, however, that no blanket

prohibition should be laid down in law against

the employment of persons belonging to particu-

lar organizations or holding particular political

beliefs alleged to confict with loyalty to the

United States. Thus it has opposed the designa-

tion in law of Communists and Fascists as un-

fitted for public employment. The reasons for

taking a stand against Such prohibitions are

(1) that the identification of such persons is

vague and difficult and (2) that even when iden-

tified such affiliations do not disqualify an appli-

cant for every post in the public service, since

political views are no factor in many types of

governmental operations.

The Union recognizes that the discretion of

appointing officials must largely determine the

fitness of particular applicants for particular

posts. A person about whose loyalty there might

be some question in the light of suspected political

views might properly occupy a technical or cus-

todial position wholly unrelated to political views

of any sort. In positions where access to impor-

tant confidential information is involved on the

other hand, unusual precautions are obviously

justified to insure that no persons should he

| employed about whom there is a reasonable

suspicion of a loyalty in conflict with that to the

United States. A

The question further arises as to identifying

i the beliefs or affiliations which compromise loy-

~ alty. The difficulty of determining such beliefs and

' _ associations is very considerable. It is notorious

that suspicions are frequently misdirected and

that rumors are unreliable guides to truth. In

order to safeguard both the government and the

employee, present or prospective, careful pro-

cedural protections therefore should be provided.

_ (1) Charges of unfitness should be sufficiently

precise to permit the making of adequate reply.

(2) Informal hearings on these charges should

be held, with a stenographic record to be supplied

_ the person involved, if the affected individual

denies the assertions against him.

(3)If the matters in dispute have not been set-

tled by this informal proceeding, a formal hearing

should be given with the right of representation

by counsel and the right to produce witnesses on

the issue of the individual's loyalty to the United

States. ;

(4) In the case of civil service employees, the

Commission should review the hearings upon re-

quest. In all cases of dismissal, including those

outside the civil service, departmental review by

a, responsible higher official should be provided.

(5) In positions designated by the President as

involving access to confidential information, mili-

tary or otherwise, a government employee may,

at the discretion of his department head, be

removed from access to such information or

transferred or temporarily suspended if the latter

is satisfied as to the employee's disloyalty, but

the employee shall not lose his civil service status

or salary until the above suggested procedure has

been followed.-Adopted by the Board of Direc-

tor, August 5, 1946.

SPEECH BY PHILIP MURRAY RULED

OFF THE AIR BY STATION KGO

An hour and a half before broadcasting time,

and in spite of a signed contract, a speech by

CIO President Philip Murray was ruled off the

air on August 13 by Station KGO of San Fran- |

_ cisco, on the ground that the speech "was not

of sufficient interest to the listening public to

warrant the broadcast." The speech `was ad-

dressed to cannery workers who were scheduled

to vote in an NLRB election the latter part of

August.

The Federal Communications Commission is

considering a complaint from the CIO, which hav

also filed a $100,000 damage suit against the

station.

Annual Report Of Nationa

| A.C.L.U. Sees

impressive Gains In Civil Liberty

Conversion from war to peace in the last year

added "impressive advances to the gains of recent

years in Ameiican liberties" according to the

annual report of tne ACLU up to July, published

July 29 in an 80 page pamphlet entitled, "From

War to Peace." The report covers every phase of

the liberties of the majority and the minorities

and concludes that "however discouraging other

aspects of our democracy may appear or however

confused and uncertain the international scene,

the plain facts of the record mark substantial

gains."

Cited in a balance sheet of the year are 34

favorable items against 22 unfavorable and "of

less significance.' Chief among the favorable

items were Supreme Court decisions enlarging

freedom of press in the "Esquire" magazine and

the "Miami Herald" cases; asserting the suprem-

acy of civil over military authority in the Hawai-

ian martial law cases; admitting alien pacifists

to citizenship; and outlawing racial segregation

in interstate bus travel.

Chief failure to register advances is charged

to Congress which adopted `only one progressive

measure backed by the Union," that admitting

Filipinos and East Indians to citizenship. Con-

gressional filibusters against the Fair Employ-

ment Practice Committee bill and the bill to

abolish the poll tax in federal elections were

scored, _

Of the many-sided problems of civil liberties

confronting the nation, those which took prece-

dence over all others, the report says, concerned

the rights of minority races. Responses from 94

ACLU correspondents in 38 states in the spring

of 1946 showed race relations to be the major

local concern. Almost all correspondents noted

race tensions had decreased save in.a few centers.

But the returns showed a spotty condition due to

"the transitional state of race relations." :

Among the important issues pending, the re-

port cities: (1) court test cases involving hun-

dreds of Americans of Japanese ancestry who.

renounced their citizenship under pressure; (2)

a Supreme Court case involving the use of public

monies to transport children to private schools;

.(3) the suspended seditious conspiracy case in

the District of Columbia; (4) the Fair Employ-

ment Practice Cormittee bill and the anti-poll

tax bill pending in Congress; (5) civil or military

adminstration of the Pacific Islands; (6) the

future status of Puerto Rico; (7) the satisfaction

of claims by Japanese who iost their property in

the Pacific Coast evacuation.

Stressing the importance of domestic issues,

the report holds that they will be cast `primarily

on the international stage,' and asserts that

liberties at home will be secure only if they are

insured by a democratic international order.

Democractic practices in our national life, says

the Union, will alone qualify Americans to speak

with moral authority in contributing to the de-

velopment of democractic internationalism.

Thousand Dollar Reward Offered

For Georgia Lynch Mob Members

Murder of two Negroes and their wives by an

armed mob near Monroe, Georgia, on the after-

noon of July 25 brought a $1,000 reward offer

from the American Civil Liberties Union for

information leading to the "arrest, conviction,

and imprisonment of persons responsible for or

who participated in the outrage."

' ACLU officers termed the killing of Roger

and Dorothy Malcolm and George and May

Dorsey a "shocking assassination of law abiding

citizens which was calculated to install fear and

terror into the Negro residents of Georgia, and

would appear to be a direct result of the election

of white supremacy demagogue Eugene Tal-

madge as the next governor of the state.'' The

four Negroes were dragged from a car in which

they were riding with a white farmer near Mon-

roe, tied up and riddled with repeated volleys.

The farmer had just bailed Malcolm out of jail

where he was being held on an assault charge

against a former white employer. Dorsey recently

returned from five years service in the army,

part of it overseas.

"Forever Amber" Obscenity Ban

To Be Tested in Massachusetts Court

Kathleen Winsor's best-seller, "Forever

Amber'"' will become the first case to come up

under the Massachusetts obscenity statute passed

in May 1945, under which the book itself is the

defendant against the charge of being "obscene,

indecent, or impure.' The case will be heard

before the Superior Court at Springfield early in

the fall, with defense in the hands of Morris

Ernst, counsel for the American Civil Liberties

Union, but acting privately for the MacMillan

Publishing Company.

When "Forever Amber" was first challenged

by the Watch and Ward Society the ACLU termed

the action of MacMillan in withdrawing the book

from circulation as "censorship by timidity".

Commenting on the present test, the Union said,

`Whatever the outcome of the proceeding, it is

at least preferable as a test of local morality

concepts than private censorship exercised by a

few publishers end large booksellers."

When the 1945 obscenity law was passed, the

Massachusetts branch of the ACLU declined to

support the bill on the grounds that it added

"a, civil obscenity action against books to the

already existing criminal obscenity action against

booksellers." The statute provides that any ques-

tionable book may be brought into court by a

district attorney and banned from sale by a tem-

porary erder, based on the old obscenity law.

"BUILDING AMERICA" NOT "SUBVERSIVE"

The State Board of Education last month re-

jected the charges of the Sons of the American

Revolution that a series of three 7th and 8th

grade textbooks titled "Building America" are.

"subversive." The books are sponsored by the

National Education Association.

ACLU INVESTIGATES USE OF STATE

GUARD PLANES AGAINST PICKETS |

Charges of a violation of civil liberties through

the improper use of Indiana State guardsmen and

airplanes in connection with the strike last month

at the Rex Manufacturing Company of Connors-

ville, Indiana, will be investigated by John H.

Daily Jr., Indianapolis counsel for the American

Civil Liberties Union.

ACLU intervention is prompted by CIO

charges that Governor Ralph F. Gates illegally

ordered the militia into action and that state

airplanes "buzzed" pickets parading before the

company's gates. Objection had been previously

taken by the Union in a letter to the governor on

August 8, which declared that the employment of

airplanes could be construed only as an attempt (c)

to "intimidate and terrorize striking employees."'

The letter went on to warn that "this action will

create a most unfortunate precedent which may

be used in the future to destroy an otherwise

legal use of the right of freedom of assembly."

The Union further noted that while it has

always condemned mass picketing as a tactic

denying access to struck plants, press reports

that some three hundred employees were inside

the factory when the planes were used indicated

that non-striking personnel were not refused

entry by the pickets.

Executive Committee

American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

Sara Bard Field

Honorary Member

Rt. Rev. Edw. L. Parsons

Chairman

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn

Helen Salz

Vice-Chairman

Joseph S. Thompson

Secretary-Treasurer

Ernest Besig

Director

Philip Adams

John H. Brill

H, C. Carrasco

Wayne M. Collins

James J. Cronin, Jr.

Rev. Oscar F. Green

Margaret C. Hayes

Prof. Ernest R. Hilgard

Ruth Kingman

Ralph N. Kleps

Dr, Edgar A. Lowther

Mrs. Bruce 2orter

Clarence E. Rust

- Rabhi Irvine F. Reichert

Dr. Howard Thurman

Kathleen Drew Tolman