vol. 11, no. 9
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CIVIL LIBERTIES
UNION - NEWS
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"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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AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTTES UNION-NEWS
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
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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