vol. 23, no. 11

American

Civil Liberties

Union

Volume XXIII

on Francisco, California, November, 1958

Number |

Army Security Decision

Clear Veteran

Serving in

Army Reserves

The. Army last month dismissed security proceedings

brought against a young Chinese veteran who holds an honor-

able separation from the Army after serving a draftee's two-

year tour of duty. The case was unique because it was the first

of several in northern California in which the Army filed

security charges against a man

who was "serving" in the inac-

tive reserve. Men in the inactive

reserve are not again subject to

active duty except by call of the

President in an emergency. In

effect, the filing of charges

against inactive reservists means

that for six years after serving in

the Army a draftee's associations

are subject to approval of the

Army.

Another Unusual Aspect

The particular case was also

unusual because the veteran was

accused of associating with a

group NOT on the Attorney Gen-

eral's list of subversive organiza-

tions. The charges alleged mem-

bership in the San Francisco Chi-

nese American Democratic Youth

League (actually the Chinese-

American Youth Club) for eleven

months before entering the Army

and for seven months after being

separated on June 3, 1955. The

Army claimed that the group `is

an organization which supports

and serves the interests of the

People's Republic of China and

the Union of Soviet Socialist Re-

publics in preference to the in-

terests of the United States."

It was also alleged that the

veteran had falsified Army loyal-

ty and personal history forms in

failing to disclose membership

in the Club.

The 3%-day hearing. in the

case held last January was

marked by the appearance of

Government witnesses. While the

Army also relied on a secret file,

it did `present a number of wit-

nesses in an effort to prove that

the Chinese American Youth

Club is subversive. Ordinarily,

the burden rests entirely upon

the respondent to prove his inno-

cence.

The main witness was William

R. Moore, Immigration Service

Investigator, who, without the au-

thority of ia warrant lead a "raid"

on the club's headquarters in

search of deserting Chinese sea-

man. No alien seamen were

found but the agents did discover

two magazines, . "Soviet Union"

and "People's China," among a

large number of magazines on a

table, and they also discovered a

Chinese songbook among a large

number `on top of a piano, which

"LAWRENCE SPEISER

contained songs attacking Na-

tionalist China. Also, from a dis-

tance of about 22 feet, one of the

raiders saw a picture of Mao

Tseitung on the cover of `a maga-

zine (possibly an issue of "Time

Magazine'). :

Undelivered Magazines Seized

A second witness was Armand

Gradwohl, Superintendent of

Classifications of the San Fran-

cisco Post Office, who testified

that the Post Office had seized

22 lots of magazines addressed

to the "Chinese Youth League"

which the Post Office had ruled

were non-mailable because they

contained "foreign propaganda."

However, the magazines had

never been delivered, and `he

`didn't know whether the

"League" ordered or subscribed

to the magazines, or whether they

had come unsolicited. Moreover,

the "League" was never informed

of the seizure.

Finally, copies of) the Club's

news bulletin, printed in Chinese,

and translations of 5 or 6 articles

were offered by two translators

who were brought from the Army

Language School at Monterey.

What was lacking, however, was

a witness to point out what if

anything was "subversive" about

the articles. By and large, they

seemed quite harmless.

Club Official Testifies

During the hearing, the respon-

dent introduced sworn testimony

of the Chairman of the Club's

board, denying that the group

was "subversive," or that it in

any way supported and served

the interests of the People's Re-

public of China and of the Soviet

Union. He admitted that they had

had some problems about articles

which were published in their

paper that had some political

content, but he contended that

the problem had been solved. In

any case, he insisted that no

person could speak for the entire .

club without being authorized to

do so. The veteran claimed he

had belonged to the club for so-

cial reasons and knew nothing

about politics.

The veteran was represented

by Ernest Besig, local director of

the ACLU.

JOHN HENRY MERRYMAN

"Lolita' Has

Trouble on

The Peninsula

The San Mateo city library

purchased Vladimir Nabokov's

best-selling novel "Lolita" after

reports appeared in the press

that the book had been banned

because of its subject matter.

Richard Gould, an ACLU mem-

ber, discovered the absence of

the book and gave the story to

the ACLU and the press.

Alice E. Haughton, Assistant

City Librarian, advised the

ACLU, in response to a letter of

inquiry, that "it was not felt that

there was sufficient demand to

justify spending our money for

this (book) when so many won-

derful books of more_ lasting

value are being published each

month. With the recent news-

paper articles we expected. there

would be an immediate surge of

interest, and we have ordered the

book. However, up to the present

time the expected demand has

not resulted although we have

four requests on file."

Nevertheless there was a great

demand for the book in Burlin-

game, a much smaller commun-

ity. At one time the public li-

brary had 700 "holds" on the,

-book,

San Bruno also has the book

on its shelves. In Redwood City,

however, the book has been or-

dered, but "We don't know if we

can keep it," the librarian is

quoted as saying. "It's so ques-

tionable we can't put it on the

open shelves, of course. We will

have it read by some of the staff,

and decide whether to keep it or

send it back."

The San Mateo county library

while having many requests for

the book has not yet decided to

purchase it. A selection commit-

tee is presently reading the book.

The Cincinnati, Ohio, public

library recently banned the book.

In This Issue...

Annual Budget Appeal

Seeks $40,779.30 0... p.3

Court Upholds Ban on

Passport for Reporter p.3

Discussion Group Meet-

ings Start Nov. 12......

Existence of Un-Ameri-

can Committee Chal-

lenged in High Court p.4

Is `Obscene' Reading

Harmful to Society?....

No Deportation for

Mother of Four .......... p.2

Radio Station Bans

Scholarly Sex Speech p.4

`Vag Law' Is Not Needed

MARIN CONFERENCE

POSTPONED

The civil liberties conference

planned by the Marin Chapter

of the ACLU for November 21,

and 22 has been postponed to an

indefinite date. The Chapter is

still planning to hold the confer-

ence, possibly sometime in the

spring

ERNEST BESIG

24th Anniversary Meeting

Alan Barth

- Main Speaker

On November 7

With Alan Barth as main speaker, ACLU of Northern

California is expecting a capacity audience for its 24th anni-

versary meeting at 8 p.m. Friday, November 7, in the Empire

Room of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco.

"This is the high point of the year for our branch, and we

ALAN BARTH

Rehearing

Denied in Tax

Oath Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court last 0x00B0

month denied a rehearing of its

7 to 1 decision in the Speiser-

Prince tax exemption non-disloy-

alty oath cases. As a result, the

decision is now final and `a decla-

ration of non-disloyalty may no

longer be required of veterans,

churches and other organizations

in order to receive property tax

_ exemption. Indeed, any persons

or organizations who refused to

sign the declaration required by

Sec. 32 of the Revenue and Taxa- .

tion Code and paid their taxes

under protest may now recover

them.

But Sec. 23705 of the Code also

requires a declaration of non-dis-

loyalty for groups claiming ex-

emption from franchise taxes.

The Franchise Tax Board has

continued to require the declara-

tion but now that the Supreme

Court has refused a rehearing in

the Speiser-Prince cases it has

asked the Attorney General for

an opinion as to whether the high

court decision is broad engugh to

invalidate the requirement of a

loyalty declaration for franchise

tax purposes ias well as for prop-

erty tax purposes.

The Board is eager for a

prompt opinion from the Attor-

"ney General because tax exemp-

tion forms must be printed and

they must know whether to in-."

clude the declaration of non-dis-

loyalty. It is hoped to have an

opinion by the middle of the

month.

If the ruling is favorable, or-

ganizations which refused to sign

the declaration and paid their

taxes under protest will be able

- to recover them.

Recently, the Franchise Tax

Board has demanded payment of -

franchise taxes from the ACLU

of Northern California for

$290.02 because it refused to sign

the loyalty declaration. If the

Attorney General's opinion up-

holds the loyalty declaration for

franchise tax purposes, the

ACLU will have to pay the

$290.02 under protest `and sue to

recover the money.

_the past year,

want to make it a rewarding oc-

easion for all ACLU members

and friends. Therefore, we are

planning a stimulating program

and a gala evening," says Mrs.

Alec Skolnick, arrangements

chairman. The program and _ so-

cial hour following are open,

without charge, and members

are urged to bring guests, she

added.

Distinguished Speaker

"Liberty in a Cold Climate"

will be the guest speaker's topic.

A distinguished author and jour-

nalist and an eloquent speaker,

he is a member of the ACLU -

National Committee. For the

past 15 years he has been an edi-

torial writer for the Washington

(D.C.) Post and Times Herald

and is now on leave as a visiting

research professor at the Univer-

sity of California in Berkeley.

Barth, who has won numerous

awards for distinguished journal-

ism, recently was awarded a

Ford rotating professorship in

Governmental Affairs and is the

second man to hold such a post

at U.C. He is the author of "The

Loyalty of Free Men," "Govern-

ment by Investigation" and num-

erous magazine articles.

Other Speakers

As reported in last month's

"News," Prof. John Henry Merry-

man, ACLU chairman, will pre-

side and introduce two other

speakers: Ernest Besig, ACLU

director since 1935, who will re-

port on branch achievements. of

and Lawrence

Speiser, former staff counsel,

who will tell briefly of the tax

exemption loyalty oath suits he

won in the U. S. Supreme Court.

About 20 leaders of the 1958 (c)

membership campaign have been

invited to represent their com-

munities as hosts. They will greet

the expected gathering of about

500 and otherwise assist the

committee,

Program Committee

Fellow board members work-

ing with Mrs. Skolnick are The-

odore F. Baer, Lloyd Morain,

Mrs. Paul Holmer, Mrs. Helen

Salz and Mrs. George R. Stewart.

They and other officers will help

promote closer board-member-

ship relations by "circulating"

during the-social hour.

Mrs. Zora Cheever Gross, who

directed the last membership

drive, will preside iat a literature

table, and Fred H. Smith IV will

invite interested persons to join.

Fast-Paced Program

For the convenience of mem-

bers and guests coming from a

distance, the committee has

planned a short, fast-paced pro-

gram, which is scheduled to end |

at 9:30. However, everyone will

_be welcome ito stay for the re-

freshments and social hour fol-

lowing. :

The hotel will serve refresh-

ments, and contributions will be

welcome to help defray the ca-

tering charge of 75 cents per

person served.

Marin Chapter Helps

Decorations are the responsi-

bility of Mrs. Thomas W. Stone

and two other Marin Chapter

members, Mrs. Frederic S. Cool-

idge and Mrs. Herman Schwartz.

The Empire Room is on the

second floor of the Sir Francis

Drake, at the corner of Sutter

and Powell Streets in San Fran-

cisco. Parking is readily available

-at the 450 Sutter and Union

Square garages.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION NEWS

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern Catifornia,

503 Market Street, San Francisco 5, California, EXbrook 2-4692.

Second Class mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, Calit..

ERNEST BESIG.. . Editor

Subscription Rates-Two Dollars a Year -

Twenty Cents Per Copy

Helen Salz

Philip Adams

Theodore Baer

Prof. James R. Caldwell

William K. Coblentz

Richard De Lancie

Rabbi Alvin |. Fine

John M. Fowle

Howard Friedman

Rev. Oscar F. Green

Zora Cheever Gross

Alice G. Heyneman

Mrs. Paul Holmer

J. Richard Johnston' (c)

Prof. Van D. Kennedy

Prof. Theodore J. Kreps

Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

CHAIRMAN: Prof. John Henry Merryman

VICE-CHAIRMEN: Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn

SECRETARY-TREASURER: William M. Roth

HONORARY TREASURER: Joseph M. Thompson

HONORARY MEMBER: Sara Bard Field

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ernest Besig

Rev. F. Danford Lion

Seaton W. Manning

Rev. Robert W. Moon

Lloyd L. Morain

Rt. Rev. Edward L. Parsons

Clarence E. Rust

Mrs. Alec Skolnick

Fred H: Smith, IV

Theodosia B. Stewart

Stephen Thiermann

Franklin H. Williams

GENERAL COUNSEL

Wayne M. Collins

STAFF COUNSEL

Albert M. Bendich

"Vag Law'

Is Not Needed

_ The Police Department has abandoned the `$1000-vag"'

arrest under which it held at its convenience any person con-

sidered suspicious or undesirable. Good riddance. The pro-

cedure was strictly beyond the law, and has long weighed on

the conscience of thoughtful enforcement officers.

In theory it was intended to give more time for investiga-

tion. In practice it jammed courts and contributed to paper

work while leading to few or no solutions of crime. It was

a dangerous weapon in the hands of some policemen.

Defenders of civil liberties attacked it vigorously and the

courts lately have battered it into further disrepute. Some

diehard policemen have protested elsewhere but we like the

succinct appraisal of Chief Thomas Cahill: "We can do with-

out it."

From now on suspects here will be specifically charged

when they are booked, and the inspector or patrolman who

makes the arrest is expected to fortify himself with enough

information to make a case. It will require more pbservation

and diligence by the arresting officer.

In the past, more than 70 per cent of these cases were

dismissed upon reaching court, indicating that no evidence

~ had been obtained against the prisoner.

Perhaps the Legislature will produce a new set of vag-

rancy laws, if they are needed. Certainly no man or woman

should be hauled to the station, questioned, photographed,

fingerprinted, and his name become part of the files unless

there is a reasonable suspicion that law has been violated and

prosecution is in order.-Editorial, San Francisco News, Oc-

tober 4, 1958.

Pamphlets

Available at

ACLU Office

The following pamphlets are

available at the ACLU office, 503

Market St. San Francisco 5,

Calif., at the prices indicated:

Academic Freedom and Aca-

demic Responsibility-A _ state-

ment of principles concerning

the civil liberties and obligations

of students and teachers in pub-

lic and private schools, colleges

and universities, published by

the ACLU. 16 pages. Price 10c.

A Labor Union "Bill of

Rights," Democracy in Labor

Unions and The Kennedy-Ives

Bill-Statements by the Ameri-

ean Civil Liberties Union. 31

pages. Price, 35c.

Loyalty and Security in a

Democracy-A Roundtable Re-

port. Public Affairs pamphlet.

28 pages. Price 25c.

Religion and the Free Society.

Articles by William Lee Miller,

William Clancy, Arthur Cohen,

Mark DeWolfe Howe and Maxi-

milian W. Kempner. Published

by The Fund for the Republic.

107 pages. Price 50c.

Religion and the Public

Schools, by Marvin Braiterman.

Published by the Commission on

Social Action of Reform Judaism.

73 pages. Price 35c.

The FBI, by Fred J. Cook, spe-

cial issue of The Nation. 79 pages.

Price 50c.

When Congress Investigates,

by Alan Barth. Publie Affairs

pamphlet. 28 pages. Price 25c.

Page y) ACLU NEWS

November, 1958

and

Ohio Supreme Court

' OK's Home Inspection

Without Warrant

The Ohio Supreme Court re-

cently upheld the constitutional-

ity of a Dayton city ordinance

which authorized the Dayton

Housing Inspector to enter all

private dwellings at reasonable

hours for the purpose of inspect-

ing the premises to determine

whether they met health and

safety standards. The Ohio Civil

Liberties Union, which entered

the case as a friend of the court,

argued that the ordinance al-

lowed the municipality to require

its citizens to open the doors of

their private homes to a general

inspection without a warrant or

other judicial authority. The

ACLU claimed that the inspec-

tion authorized by the ordinance

violated Art. 1, Sec. 14 of the

Ohio Constitution and the United

States Constitution, both of which

prohibit searches without a War-

rant.

The state high court, rejecting

the constitutional argument,

stated that "the right of a home

owner to the inviolability of his

`castle' should be subordinate to

the general health and safety of -

the community wherein he lives."

In 1949, in District of Columbia

v. Little, the United States Court

of Appeals for the District of

Columbia struck down a similar

ordinance in the District. which

purported to allow Health De-

partment Inspectors to inspect

private dwellings without a war-

rant. The U. S. Supreme Court

affirmed the decision on other

grounds.

No Deportation

For Mother

Of Four

Deportation proceedings were

dismissed last month against the

mother of four small children

who had belonged to the Com-

munist Party for a period of

about two years from 1946 to

1948. The Special Inquiry Officer

agreed with the ACLU that the

alien's association with the party

had not been meaningful. The

hearing officer's decision is now

final because the Immigration

Service failed to take an appeal

to the Board of Immigration Ap-

peals.

Held Deportable in 1957

On May 15, 1957, however, the

same hearing officer had held

the alien to be deportable. At

that time he relied upon a deci-

sion of the U. S. Supreme Court

which declared, "It is enough

that the alien joined the party

aware that he was joining an or-

ganization known as the Com-

munist Party which operates as a

distinct and active political or-

ganization, and that he did so of

of his own free will." On October

2, 1957 the Board of Immigration

Appeals upheld the hearing offi-

cer's order of deportation.

Shortly thereafter, on Decem-

ber 9, 1957, the U.S. Supreme

Court handed down its noted

opinion in the Rowoldt case,

which declares that there must

be "meaningful association" in

order for an alien to be deported

because of membership in the

Communist Party. On August 14,

1958 the Board, on the ACLU's

motion, withdrew the order of

deportation and ordered the

hearings reopened to determine

whether the evidence in the case

met the standards of the Rowoldt

decision.

No "Meaningful Association"

No further testimony was in-

troduced by either side and on

October 7 Chester Sipkin, Special -

Inquiry Officer, handed down his

decision. That decision said, in

part, "...the evidence discloses

that the respondent joined the

party because it supported so-

cialized medicine and because

she wanted ito have something in

common with her husband. She

was only a member for two years.

At the ttime of joining and when

she left the party she did not

know what it was about. While

a member, outside of attending

meetings, she attended a forum

for the newspaper `People's

World', which she did not know

was an organ of the party, soli-

cited subscriptions for and de-

livered week-end editions of the

paper, and distributed Henry

Wallace election material. In my

opinion the evidence is not suf-

ficient to show a `meaningful as-

sociation' with the Communist

party of the kind referred to in

the Rowoldt case, and to estab-

lish that the appellant joined the

party aware that she was joining

an organization known as the

Communist party which operated

as a distinct and active political

organization. I now find that the

charge in the Order to Show

`(Cause is not supported by the evi-

dence and consequently I will en-

ter an order terminating the pro:

ceedings."

Alien Is Australian

Deportation proceedings

against the alien were com-

menced April 1, 1957. The alien

came to this country from Aus-

tralia in 1945 where she had

never heard of the Communist

Party. She marfied her GI hus-

band in Australia and her first

child was born in that country.

The alien was represented by

Ernest Besig, local director of

the ACLU.

Increase in

Membership Dues

Effective November 1, in order

to meet increased costs of doing

business during the new fiscal

year, the local Board of Direc-

tors of the ACLU has increased

annual membership dues from $5

to $6 per year and family dues

from $10 to $12 per year, while

subscriptions to the "News" have

increased from $1.50 to $2 per

year,

_ against

"Freedom to Know"

Discussion

Group

Aeetings

Start Nov. 12

A new experiment for the ACLU will be a discussion

course of six meetings beginning November 12 in San Fran-

cisco. The Education Committee, which planned the project,

limited enrollment to San Francisco members and closed the

registration at 30.

"The demand has been greater

than we anticipated, and if

enough members are interested,

we shall expand our program,"

says Mrs. Alice G. Heyneman of

Berkeley, an ACLU board mem-

ber and chairman of the Educa-

tion Committee.

Six Areas

The course, entitled "Freedom

to Know," is based on six differ-

ent areas of civil liberties, and

specified background reading is

required for each session. The

committee is ordering the liter-

ature, and registrants were re-

quired to pay the $1.50 cost in ad-

vance.

Authorities in each field will

serve as "resource" persons, and

committee members will take

turns presiding.

The Sandor G. Burstein home

at 2651 Baker Street, near Union,

will be the scene of the first

several meetings. Originally, all

meetings were to be held there.

But plans have changed, and all

registrants will be notified.

The Schedule

Hours are the same for all

meetings-8 to 10 `p.m. The

schedule follows:

November 12-Subject: "Free-

dom: Individual Liberties and the

Constitution" (Where Our Free-

doms Come From);

dividual Liberties' by T. V.

Smith and "Where Constitutional

Liberty Came From" by Alfred

H. Kelly (both Carrie Chapman

Catt Memorial Fund publica-

tions); Resource Person: . Dr.

John Henry Merryman, ACLU

board chairman, associate pro-

fessor of law and law. librarian,

Stanford University; Chairman:

Mrs. Alice G. Heyneman, Educa-

tion Committee Chairman.

December 3-Subject: "Free-

dom to Speak and Read"; Read-

ing: "Freedom of Speech and

Press" by Zechariah Chafee, Jr.,

CCCMF publication; Resource

Person: Lawrence Speiser, for-

mer ACLU staff counsel; Chair-

man: Mrs. Zora Cheever Gross.

Cahill Ends

"$1000 Vag'

Bookings

Last month, the `$1,000 Vag."

bookings of arrested persons by

San Francisco police came to an

end on the order of Police Chief

Thomas Cahill. The charge was

used as a means of holding a per-

son for investigation. `$1000

Vags" were mugged and finger-

printed. The booking was recent-

ly assailed as illegal at a legisla-

tive hearing. In recent months,

it has been used particularly

Negroes and_ so-called

Beatniks,

The booking had the effect of

keeping a person in jail because a

bondsman's bail fee is $100,

which few could provide, while

on an ordinary vagrancy booking

in San Francisco, the bail is

fixed at $100 and the bondsman's

fee is $10.

Although: the "$1,000 Vag"

charge has been used for many

years, its legality was never ruled

upon by the courts. Whenever

the charge was challenged by an

attorney, police quickly changed

the booking or released the ar-

rested man.

Cahill also ordered stricter

investigation in ordinary vag-

rancy cases. The ACLU has some

evidence that police officers on

the beat are still misapplying the

vagrancy law.

Reading:

"The Bill of Rights and Our In-

January 7-Subject "Freedom

to Worship"; Reading: "Religion

and the Free Society", a Fund for

the Republic publication, and

"Religion and the Public Schools"

by Marvin Braiterman; Resource

Person: The Rev. F. Danford

Lion, ACLU board member, min-

ister of the. Palo Alto Unitarian

Church; Chairman: William K.

Coblentz.

January 21 - Subject: "Free-

dom to Be Secure in One's Per-

son, House, Papers and Effects";

Reading: "The Fourteenth

Amendment and Civil Liberty"

by Richard A. Edwards, CCCMF

publication; Resource Person:

Hartly Fleischmann, San Fran-

cisco attorney; Chairman: Ste-

phen Thiermann.

February 4- Subject: "Free-

dom of Movement'; Reading:

_ U.S. Supreme Court decision in

`the Kent and Briehl passport

eases and "The Constitutional

Right to Travel" by Leonard S.

Boudin (Reprinted from ithe Co-

lumbia Law Review, January,

1956; Resource Person: Albert

M. Bendich, ACLU staff counsel;

Chairman: Ernest Besig, ACLU

director. :

February 18-Subject: "Free-

dom to Teach" (Academic Free-

dom); Reading: Statements on

academic freedom by the nation-

al ACLU and American Associa-

tion of University Professors;

Resource Person: Stanley Wei-

gel, San Francisco attorney who

represented University. of Cali-

fornia professors contesting the

"Regents' oath" outlawed by ithe

State Supreme Court; Chairman:

VanDusen Kennedy, professor of

Industrial Relations, University

of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn,

whose name does not appear

above, also serves on the Educa-

tion Committee and is ACLU

vice-chairman.

The names of all persons ap-

plying for this course will be

kept on file. Other members in-

terested in programs of this type

may contact Mrs. McQuarrie at

the office (EX 2-4692).

Letters to

the editor

PROPOSITION 18

Editor: Does Fred D. Fellow

think it right that an employee

should enjoy all the benefits of

a contract secured by collective

bargaining, without bothering to

join and support the union that

has done the bargaining for him?

That is all the union shop means

-a ban on free loaders. Without

it (human nature being what it

is) enough something-for-nothing

workers refusing to join the (c)

union might well mean weaken-

ing it to the point where it

could no longer negotiate con-

tract improvements.

I hope the day will never come

when the ACLU will follow Mr.

Fellow's recommendations. And

1 hope every"ACLU member in

California will vote No on Propo-

sition 18-Miriam Allen deFord

Editor: In Volume XIII, No. 10,

page 2, you print a letter by

Fred D. Fellow. I too would like

to see you take a stand.-Rolf

Hissler, M.D.

. Editor's Note: The ACLU of

Northern (California has taken

no public position with respect

to Prop. 18. Nationally, the

ACLU has taken the position

that such proposals generally do

not raise civil liberties issues.

pee

NEA

Worthy Case

Court Upholds

ies

jan on Passport

For Reporter

Newsman William Worthy has lost the first round of his

court battle to require Secretary of State Dulles to give him

a passport without geographic travel restrictions.

On October 1 Federal District Judge Edward M. Curran

turned down Worthy's argument that the Secretary of State

lacked the legal authority to ban

his travel to Communist China

and other restricted areas. The

American Civil Liberties Union,

which has backed. Worthy's case

since 1957, announced that a

prompt appeal would be pressed

in the U. S. Court of Appeals.

Worthy's Contentions

`In his motion requesting a

summary judgment to require

the Secretary of State to renew

his passport, Worthy declared

that he had a constitutional right

to travel, that freedom of the

press was infringed `and the Sec-

retary lacked statutory power to

withhold the passport. In the

court hearing, Worthy's ACLU-

appointed lawyers, William M.

Kunstler and Walter E. Dillon,

Jr., advanced four basic points: -

(1) The Supreme Court's deci-

sion last June ruling that the

Secretary of State had no author-

ity to question an applicant's po-

litical associations recognized the

constitutional right to travel and

that such a right may be abro-

gated: only by the showing of

"the gravest imminent danger to

the public safety"; (2) Congress

has adopted only two require-

`ments for the issuance of a pass-

port, allegiance and no evidence

of criminal conduct, standards

under which Worthy easily is

entitled to the passport; (3) The

Secretary's power to conduct for-

eign relations must be construed

narrowly when this power cur-

tails the right to travel; (4) Geo-

graphic limitations constitute a

violation .of the Constitution's

freedom of press guarantees.

Court's Standards

Emphasizing the Supreme

Court's point that passports can

be denied only when {there is the

"sravest imminent danger to the

national safety," the ACLU at-

torneys noted that the State De-

partment's basis for geographic

limitations is that they .are in

furtherance of "known and exist-

ing foreign policy" and yiolations

are "prejudicial to the interests

of the United States." These

grounds did not meet the stand-

dard imposed by the high court.

Morever, there is no showing

that Worthy's travel threatened

danger to the public safety, the

ACLU attorneys said, and "in

every case researched ... where

`constitutional liberties were cur-

tailed, the nation was at war, a

condition that does not exist

here."

Press Freedom

The ACLU argument hit hard

at the point that the public was

denied information when report-

ers are denied {the right to travel

abroad. "Plaintiff is a recognized

newspaperman. ... By prevent-

ing him and other correspondents

from traveling to certain coun-

tries, defendant has effectively

curtailed the freedom of the

press as guaranteed by the Con-

stitution. If the news cannot be

reported at its source, if the news

media must depend upon second-

hand accounts, then a basic free-

dom has been abridged and the

defendant can, by foreign policy

fluctuations, prevent newsmen

from gathering and Americans

from absorbing information vital

for our survival in today's

world."

Administrative Delay

The hearing was the first sig-

nificant court action following

more than a year and a half of

administrative delay by the State

Department before it finally de-

nied Worthy's application. The

foreign correspondent for the

Baltimore "Afro-American" and

special correspondent for the

New York "Post" and the Colum-

bia Broadcasting System visited

Hungary and China in 1957 des-

pite the State Department's ban

on travel to those countries. He

applied for renewal of his pass-

port in March, 1957 but was

turned down at lower adminis-

trative levels and finally by the

Board of Passport Appeals in

March, 1958. Secretary Dulles

later confirmed this decision, and

the ACLU commenced court ac-

tion in April, 1958. Since that

time, the State Department has

delayed the hearing further by a

series of postponements and pre-

trial examinations on factual

questions which were not in dis-

pute.

Support Suit to

Enjoin Erection

of Creche |

The New York Civil Liberties

Union last month supported resi-

dents who have brought a suit in

opposition to erection of a Na-

tivity scene on the Ossining, N.Y.,

High School grounds during the

Christmas season.

A suit for a permanent injunc-

tion against the Ossining School

Board was tried September 25 in

Supreme Court, White Plains.

The NYCLU, through counsel

Nanette Demitz, stated:

"This suit for a permanent

injunction against the use of

such symbols on public property

will permit deliberation on the

issue before it again becomes a

divisive force in the community

and will settle the question per-

manently. :

"Our position with regard to

this particular case is that a re-

ligious symbol is an eloquent,

though mute, method of teaching

religious doctrine. We feel that

its use on public property is

therefore unconstitutional. Al-

thought the Government may reg-

ulate in the the interest of the

majority in `temporal matters,

spiritual belief or non-belief is

wholly outside its domain. Re-

ligion is a personal and individ-

ual matter, The Government may

not, either directly or indirectly,

apply influence or give support

to it.

"Tax -supported property,

which is to be used for the bene-

fit of all, may not be used to aid

one religious viewpoint."

Return Passport 10, -.

Northern Calif. Teacher

One of the forty-two Americans

whose passport was picked up by

the government following his un-

authorized trip to Communist

China has it again. In return he

has promised to abide by pass-

port regulations.

The man is Earl Richard Wil-

liamson, northern `California high

school teacher. He was:-one of the

group of Americans who decided

to visit China after attending the

Sixth World Youth Festival at

Moscow in 1957. They did so

despite restrictions on: each pass-

port which stated it was not valid

for travel to Albania, Bulgaria,

and the portions of China, Korea,

and Viet-Nam under Communist

control, and also despite a spe-

cial letter addressed to them by

Acting Secretary of State Chris-

tian A. Herter urging: them not

to go to China. |

Answers Questions

The passport was returned

after Williamson had answered

a series of questions put to him (c)

by the Department of State. He

promised not to violate "the geo-

graphical restrictions of general

applicability which are, or may

be, placed in your passport or

which are or may be restricted

by proclamation of the United

States government." He also

promised not to "travel to and

in those geographical areas in

which travel by American citi-

zens is or may be restricted in

the passport or by proclamation

with or without using your pass-

port."

In another question Williamson

was asked whether, on the basis

of his attendance at the meeting

in Moscow and his tour of Red

China, he is now or ever was a

member of the Communist Party.

He answered in sthe negative.

Political Questions Dropped

Questions such as this have

been dropped by the State De-

partment following decisions by

the U. S. Supreme Court on three

passport cases. Because of con-

tinued

eants, Frances G. Knight, direc-

tor of the Passport Office, dis-

patched a reminder to all mem-

bers of her agency. It said, in

part:

"All Passport Office and Agen-

cy employees shall ignore the

questions regarding Communist

Party membership and shall not

discuss these questions with ap-

plicants or endeavor in any man-

ner to have applicants answer

complaints from appli-.

these questions. ...The questions

are to be completely ignored,

whether they are answered or

/ not,"

4

The notice added that if asked,

- Passport Office employees should

tell applicants that the questions

about Communist affiliation

"have no bearing on the process-

ing of the application or the is-

suance of the passport. Applica-

tions which do not have the ques-

tions concerning Communist

Party membership answered are

not `incomplete' nor should they

be tagged for special handling by

the Legal Division,' Miss Knight |

cautioned.

Misunderstanding

Although this notice was dated

July 7, after the government de-

cided not to petition for rehear-

ing of the passport cases which

it lost in the Supreme Court,

some applicants for passports

continued to protest that they

still were being asked to answer

questions relating to Communist

affiliation. This apparently was

due to misunderstanding on the

part of Passport Office em-

ployees, Miss Knight indicated to

the American Civil Liberties

Union when it wrote her after re-

ceiving `a dozen complaints. The

Union will continue to investi-

gate cases where local Passport

Office employees use the political

questions.

CS

0x00B040,779.30

On October 24, the ACLU of Northern California mailed

to its supporters, except those who contributed during the

past couple of months, letters soliciting contributions toward

the Union's $40,779.30 budget for the fiscal year beginning

November 1.

This is the biggest budget in

the ACLU's history. It is almost

8% greater than last year's

budget. Most of the added ex-

pense of $2,761.40 is accounted

for by salary increases, but other

costs have also risen.

Raising the Money

The Board of Directors expects

to raise $35,000 of this $40,779.30

budget from the ACLU's 4,027

members in good standing, and

$3,500 in the 1959 Spring Mem-

bership Campaign. It is also

hoped to raise $1,000 in special

contributions, $400 in interest,

$50 in Memorial Funds and $100

in miscellaneous income, Finally,

it is hoped to bring in an addi-

tional $1,000 by holding a theater

party. The contemplated revenue

for the year is estimated at

$41,050.

The ACLU receives no sup-

port from any foundation, the

United Crusade, financial angels

or the Union's national office.

Money that is sent.to the ACLU

in New York is not returned here

to meet local needs.

In other words,

AFSC Holds

Prison Institute

November 15

"Civil Liberties and Law En-

forcement" will be the topic of

the 8th annual Prison Institute

sponsored by the American

Friends Service Committee, 49

p.m., Saturday, November 15, at

the First Unitarian Church,

Franklin and Geary Streets, San

Francisco. Edward L. Barrett, Jr.,

Professor of Law at the Univer-

sity of California, and Ernest

Besig, Executive Director of the

American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California, will parti-

cipate in a 4:00 p.m. panel on

"Civil Liberties, the Policeman,

and Police Station." Other panel-

ists will be Cecil Poole, Assistant

District Attorney of San Fran-

sico, and Ruth Cessna, Deputy

Public Defender of San Francis-

co, often called "the nightingale

of the city jail" for her aid to

prisoners. 0x00B0

' Following the institute dinner,

Judge Orla St. Clair will speak

at 7:30 p.m. on "Civil Liberties

Within Prison Walls and -on

Parole." Roy Nichols, Pastor of

Downs Methodist Church and

NAACP leader, will close the in-

stitute with an address: "Your

Stake in the Civil Liberties of

Criminals."

Registration at $2.00 per per-

son may be made by contacting

the American Friends Service

Committee, 1830 Sutter Street,

San Francisco (WEst 1-1825).

all of the

Fed. Employees May Express

Their Political Opinions

The Civil Service Commission

has advised the ACLU of North-

ern California that after a delay

of more than two years it will

finally have both its regulations

and practice conform with a Fed-

eral court decision which held

that a Federal employee has the

right to express his views pub-

licly on political issues and can-

didates. :

Under its old regulations,

"Writing for publication or pub-

lishing any letter or article,

signed or unsigned, in favor of

or against any politica] party or

candidate," was forbidden by the

Commission. In other words, the

mere expression of an opinion

about a political candidate was

forbidden. In the case of Curtis

Wilson, a Houston postoffice

worker, the Federal court said

that wasn't the purpose of the

Hatch Act. And, two years ago

the Commission told the ACLU

it would add the words "solicit-

ing votes" to the regulation.

Despite revising its regula-

tions in June 1957 to conform

with the court decision, the Com-

mission continued to use the ob-

`solete form which required em-

ployees to agree to abide by a reg-

ulation forbidding them from ex-

pressing themselves publicly with

respect to any political party or.

candidate. A new form (Standard

Form 61, revised June 1957) will

finally be put into use on De-

cember 1, 1958.

money that is used by the ACLU

of Northern California in meet-

ing its operating costs is raised

by this branch from its local

members and friends. On the

basis of its present membership,

the ACLU needs an average con-

tribution of about $9 to. raise the

$35,000 hoped for from the pres-

ent membership. Of course, some

members cannot afford to give

more than the minimum dues, so

many larger gifts are necessary

in order to balance the smaller

contributions,

Respond Now

The ACLU urges its support-

ers to respond NOW to the

budget appeal. In doing so, they

will enable the ACLU to concen-

trate its fund-raising activities,

thereby causing a minimum of

interference with its handling. of

civil liberties issues.

Last year, 1283 of the Union's

supporters made their contribu-

tions in November, and every

year the November response

grows larger. So even if your

membership does not expire just

_ how, the ACLU hopes you will be

willing to make your PRESENT

and FUTURE contributions in

November. Your co-operation is

earnestly solicited.

The Budget

Here is the way your money

will be spent:

Salaries:

Executive Director $ 9,300.00

Staff Counse] ._- .. 6,450.00

Membership Dir. |

Gp time) =. 2,796.00

ieecalStengs 22 4,290.00

Bookkeeper-Clerk _.. 3,960.00

Extra Helps 20 200.00

Retirement =... 741.30

Printing and Stationery 4,485.00

Rent.) oe 3,400.00

Postase 1,750.00

Bel Solel ae 7 1,200.00

;-laxes and Ings 857.00

Travel and Transp. ...."..... 700.00

Fur and Equip 2 = 100.00

Rublicdtions = 9. | 100.00

Education Comm. .......... 100.00

Miscellaneous ................ 50.00

Audit of Books 300.00

$40,779.30

. e@ @

Text of Decision

In Worthy

Passport Case

"The conduct and exercise of

foreign relations of the United

States resides in the Executive

Branch of the Government. With-

in the reasonable and _proper

exercise of foreign relations, the

President of the United States

may properly restrict the travel

of certain citizens to certain de-

signated geographical areas of

the world when necessitated by

foreign policy considerations.

"Now, a passport renewal may

validly be denied to a person

who, after a hearing, the Secre-

tary of State has concluded would

engage in activities in foreign

countries prejudicial to the or-

derly conduct of foreign relations

because the Secretary has reason

to believe on the basis of his past

conduct and evidence of his fu-

ture conduct that he would, if his

passport was renewed, violate the

restricting endorsements con-

tained therein."

"Under the circumstances of

this case, the refusal of the Sec-

retary of State to issue a passport

to the paintiff does not violate

his rights under the First

Amendment."

(The foregoing decision was

written by Federal Judge Ed

ward M. Curran.) :

ACLU NEWS

November, 1958

Page 3

Is Obscene'

Reading

Harmful

To Society?

Well, the Bluenoses have won another round in their

long fight to suppress freedom of speech as regards sex. In

the closing hours of Congress last month, with very little-if

any-floor debate, they got the anti-"obscenity" postal

statutes strengthened.

The new law reduces the moral

standards of the entire nation to

Ahose of the most sex-fearing and

guilt-ridden geographic commun-

ity.

Here's how the new law works:

Up to now, a person could be

indicted and tried for mailing

"obscenity" only in the court dis-

trict where he mailed an alleged-

ly "obscene" book or letter. Un-

der the new law, however, the

sender may be indicted sin the

locality where the book or letter

was received.

This means that if I were to

mail certain passages from the

"Bible," for example, to a vice-

suppressor in Boston, he could

have me indicted and tried up

there in the land of literary

darkness instead of down here

in. the land of literary liberalism

and sophistication.

(My choice of the "Bible" as

an "obscene" book is not a pre-

posterous one. Twice in the his-

tory of our country, men have

been jailed for mailing excerpts

from it, to say nothing of the.

jailings that have resulted from

mailing "Leaves of Grass," "The

Decameron" or hundreds of other

worthwhile books.)

It's Unconstitutional

"But they can't get away with

that. That's unconstitutional!"

you say. And of course, you're

right. It is unconstitutional. Ar-

ticle Six of the Bill of Rights

says a man is entitled to a trial

by his peers.

But the whole concept of out-

lawing "obscenity" is quite un-

constitutional, too, and the Post

Office has been getting away with

it now for about 100 years.

Anti-obscenity laws are uncon-

stitutional for the following rea-

sons: When the Post Office was

first.employered to exclude mat-

ter from `the mails it was empow-

ered to keep out only those ma-

terials which could physically

damage the mail, material such

as acids, matches, firearms. The

Constitution never provided that

the Post Office could snoop into

and decide the morality of the

mail it carried.

"Freedom of the Mails

Yet our nation and our literary

figures and our birth control

champions and you and I, Mr.

Citizen, have been deprived of

this basic right so long now that

we have even forgotten that we

lost our "Freedom of the Mails."

It was quite an issue back in the

late 1800's, and I'm writing a

new book about it. We Jost our

Freedom of the Mails because

we have not wanted to appear to

be in favor of freedom of speech

for "pornographers." :

Is Pornography Harmful

Which brings up another im-

portant question: "Is `pornogra-

phy' really harmful?"

at Brown University say "no."

They say it can actually be bene-

ficial. Dr. Benjamin Karpman,

chief psychotherapist at St. Eli-

zabeth's Hospital in Washington,

has said substantially the same

thing.

A district attorney out in

Queens, on the other hand,

blames the country's shortage of

teachers, engineers and scientists

on pornography and a New Jer-

sey Congressman thinks the

whole thing. is part of a "Com-

munist plot."

I, for one, don't profess to

know whether or not pornogra-

phy is harmful. No conclusive

study of the subject has ever

been made. But I do subscribe

ACLU NEWS

November, 1958

Page 4

to the homely old belief that a

man is innocent until proven

guilty. So I say that no one

should be jailed for mailing

books which may offend some

person's sensibilities but which

may never really have perma-

nently damaged anyone.

And there is another interest-

ing question: How do you deter-

mine when a thing is "pornogra-

phic'? Is "Lady `Chatterley's

Lover" in the unexpurgated ver-

sion pornographic or not?" Is

Frank Harris' "My Life and

Loves" pornographic? Are the

pulsating rhythms of the U. S.

Marine Band pornographic? Are

the holdings of the Library of

Congress" Delta Collection por-

nographic? And was King Fa-

rouk's private library really por-

nographic?

Suspend Legislation

I've given my answers to these

' questions in "An Unhurried View

of Erotica". But more important-

ly, I hope my fellow members of

ACLU will extend their outrage

at this `abridgement of' free

speech to a sufficient number of

fellow citizens so that anti-"ob-

scenity" legislation will be sus-

pended until such time as "ob-

scene" reading will be proved

scientifically to be a definite

source of harm to society.

(The foregoing article is re-

printed from the September

1958 issue of "Civil Liberties in

New York", the publication of

the New York Civil Liberties

Union. Ralph Ginzburg is ia mem-

ber of ACLU and author of the

recent book, "An Unhurried View

of Erotica." Mr. Ginzburg was

until recently articles editor of

"Hisquire," and is now iat work

on a new civil liberties book, as

mentioned above.)

Radio Station

Bans Scholarly

Sex Speech

Radio Station KLX, Oakland,

last month cancelled the broad-

cast of a scholarly speech made

by Dr. Karl Bowman, professor

emeritus of U. C. and retired

head of Langley Porter Clinic,

made before the Commonwealth

Club on the subject of `"Repres-

sive Sex Laws."

In cancelling the broadcast,

the station announced that it

wanted to protect any children

who might be in its audience.

Bud Foster, station manager, was

quoted as saying. "It was an ex-

cellent speech, but some of those

words shouldn't go on radio."

Among other things, Dr. Bow-

man discussed laws punishing

homosexual acts. He called atten-

tion to the report of the Lambeth

Conference of the Church of Eng-

Well, a team of psychologists 49d, the Wolfenden report and

the recommendations of the Brit-

ish Medical Society which all ad-

vocate that homosexual practices

between two willing adults and

carried out in private should not

be a criminal offense.

Dr. Bowman's speech was tape

recorded and distributed to a

number of radio stations. The

Club wired all stations as fol-

lows: "In view of varying indi-

vidual station policies, suggest

check tape Dr. Bowman's Com-

monwealth Club talk `Repressive

Sex Laws..'" The wire was un-

signed.

Commenting on the censorship

by Station KLX, Dr. Bowman is

quoted as saying, "This simply

proves one of the most important

points I made. The public and

those in authority are not willing

to have a free discussion on sex

legislation."

Wirin Suffers

Heart Attack

A. L. Wirin, 59, counsel for

the Southern California

branch of the ACLU, suffered

a heart attack on October 11th

while resting at Palm Springs

on his doctor's orders. He is

reported to be recovering.

Besides being retained by

the ACLU, Wirin is also en-

gaged in the private practice

of law. In that capacity, he is

a principal attorney in the so-

called Powell case, which is

presently scheduled to go to

trial in San Francisco next

January 19th.

John W. Powell, his wife

Sylvia and Julian W. Schul-

man were indicted on "sedi-

tion" charges by the Federal

Grand Jury on April 25, 1956.

the much-postponed trial will

undoubtedly result from Wi-

rin's illness.

Kistler Gets

90 Days in Jail;

Appeal Taken

Donald D. Kistler Jr., convicted

September 19th by a San Ra-

phael Municipal Court jury of

keeping obscene movies `and pho-

tographs for sale- (see Oct.

NEWS), appeared before Judge

Harold Haley for sentencing on

October 27th. District Attorney

William Weissich announced to

the court that he expected the

sentence to be severe; he em-

phasized that the crime of pur-

"veying obscenity was serious in

the extreme, and he asked the

court to exert its efforts to make _

it clear that such offenses would

be punished harshly.

Weissich quoted from articles

on the subject by J. Edgar Hoo-

ver which he said supported his

position. Judge Haley thereupon

sentenced Kistler to 90 days in

the county jail as a condition to

placing him on probation for the

maximum period under law,

three years. Although Kistler is

indigent the Court indicated that

if a fine of $375 were paid the

jail sentence would be cut in

half to 45 days.

ACLU staff counsel, Albert M.

Bendich immediately filed notice

of appeal thereby entitling Kist-

ler to bail pending appellate re-

view. Judge Haley set the bail

at $1,000.

Bendich `then navel for a

court order providing Kistler

with a transcript of the trial at

public expense since he is with-

out funds. The motion was made

on the authority of a 1956 US.

Supreme Court decision (Griffin

v. Illinois) which established

that although a state is not con-

stitutionally compelled to pro-

vide appellate machinery to con-

victed persons, it cannot condi-

tion the right to appeal on finan-

cial ability once such machinery

is provided without violating the

due process and equal protection

clauses of the Fourteenth Amend-

ment. Judge Haley granted the

motion.

Aliens Sign Loyalty

Oath to Secure Extra

Unemployment Benefit

Aliens applying for supple-

mentary unemployment insur-

ance are required to subscribe to

the following loyalty oath:

"T certify that since the begin-

ning of the base period for the

claim upon which my entitle-

ment to Temporary Unemploy-

ment Compensation is based, I

have not at any time been em-

ployed by a foreign government

which since the beginning of

such base period was Communist

or under Communist control or

any agency or instrumentality of

such government, nor by an or-

ganization which was registered

or is under final order to register

under Section 7 of the Subversive

_ Activities Control Act of 1950 or

for which there was in effect a

final order determining that it is

a Communist infiltrated organiza-

tion."

No case has come to the atten-

tion of the Union in which the

alien has refused to sign the oath.

A further postponement of |

Existence of Un-American

Comm. Challenged in High Court

The right of the House Com-

mittee on Un-American Activities

to remain in existence is under a

new challenge in tthe United

States Supreme Court. (c)

The American Civil Liberties -

Union released on October 26 a

brief in behalf of a former wit-

ness who was convicted of con-

tempt after refusing to `answer

the Committee's questions. The

brief asserts that the Committee

lacks authority to conduct any

investigation or to compel testi-

mony. Moreover, it declares, that

body violates due process and

unconstitutionally tries to re-

strain freedom of belief, expres-

sion, and association protected by

the First Amendment. ,

Vague Powers

"The purported grant of au-

thority to the Committee to con-

duct investigations by compul-

sory process is unconstitutional

because of its breadth and vague-

ness," the ACLU urges.

The brief was prepared by

cooperating attorneys of the

American Civil Liberties Union

-long opposed to the House

Committee's mandate and tac-

ties-on behalf of Lloyd Baren-

blatt, an instructor in psychology

at Vassar College for four years

prior to his appearance before

the Committee in June, 1954.

Barenblatt questioned the Com-

mittee's right ito inquire into his

political beliefs and `associations

by demanding if he had belonged

to the Communist Party, if he

had known a supposed colleague

as a Communist, and if the had

belonged to Communist - domi-

nated discussion groups while he

was a graduate student at the

University of Michigan from

1947 to 1950. Barenblatt's con-

tract at Vassar was not renewed

after his Committee appearance.

In Federal District Court, he was

convicted of contempt, fined

$250.00, and sentenced to six

months imprisonment. His con-

viction was upheld by the Fed-

eral Court of Appeals in tthe Dis-

trict of Columbia, and _ later,

when the Supreme Court re-

manded the case for reconsidera-

tion in the light of its opinion in

the Watkins case, the appeals tri-

bunal reaffirmed Barenblatt's

conviction by a vote of 5 to 4.

Mandate "Indefinable'"'

The mandate given the Com-

mittee in 1938 to investigate "un

American propaganda" is "in-

definable" and thus "was not suf-

ficiently definite and specific,"

the brief says. It added (this was

true "because the uncertainty as

to the `Congressional intent

means that the Committee has

not operative authorization to

conduct any -investigation, any

use by it of compulsory process

is ...a violation of due process.

ee, "The: pervasive threat in-

herent in the Committee's free-

wheeling power to compel testi-

mony (on matters of political be-

lief `and expression)

restraint over free expression on

all public issues and inhibits the

expression of all non-conformist

political thought. To guard essen-

tial freedoms from such a blan-

ket repression, other legislation

in the First Amendment field,

easts a.

must be narrowly drafted, speci-

fic and definite. Use of compul-

sory process by the Committee,

under this vague and sweeping

legislation, therefore violates the

First Amendment."

Rely On Watkins Decision

ACLU lawyers Edward J. En- |

nis, Nanette Dembitz, and Row-

land Watts - and Barenblatt's

own attorney, David Scribner-

relied heavily in their arguments

on the Supreme Court 1957 deci-

sions in the Wiatkins and Sweezy

cases, in which the resolution

creating the Committee on Un-

_American Activities was criti-

cized as vague and its infringe-

ment of First Amendment rights

held to be justified only if mo-

tivated by a compelling legisla-

tive objective.

The brief struck hard at the

House Committee's persistent

practice of damaging witnesses'

reputations merely because of

their beliefs, and for compelling

them to "purge" themselves by

naming others who may have

held unorthodox opinions.

"Through its power to force in-

dividuals to undergo a public

political inquisition, the `Commit-

tee coerces an acceptance centf its

standards of politically accept-

able thought," the argument as-

serted. "The overall threat in-

herent in the Committee's power

casts a restraint over the whole

field of peaceful political expres-

sion and association."

Naming Names

By insisting that witnesses

name other persons, the Commit-

_tee "tried to coerce acceptance

of a new standard of right con-

duct-that one should win one's

own exculpation and salvation by

shifting suspicion and stigma to

his fellows, though neither he nor

the interrogating official has

reason to think they have done

wrong.

"Expression must be free from

government control unless it con-

stitutes a clear and present dan-

ger of evil action," the brief

asserted in comment on First

Amendment guarantees. `"Con-

gress cannot legislate against ex-

pression unless, at the least, it

is advocacy and incitement of

concrete action ito overthrow the

government. Even if these limits

of congressional power over ad-

vocacy be viewed most liberally,

the expression of opinion here

involved and: a_ fortiori the

thoughts and beliefs here under

investigation are extremely re-

mote from such advocacy and

thus from ia subject of legitimate

Congressional concern under the

Constitution."

Education Excluded

In addition to the First

Amendment point, the brief fur-

ther declares that the high court,

even though it may decide not tto

reach the question of the Com-

mittee's mandate, must assert

that the mandate did not extend

to investigation of the field of

education. This view was sug-

gested by Justice Frankfurter in

the Supreme Court's opinion in-

validating a New Hampshire

legislative investigation of a uni-

versity lecture by a visiting lec-

turer, Paul Sweezy.

The first right of a citizen

Is the right

To be responsible.

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