vol. 13, no. 8

American

Civil Liberties

Union-News

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

- Vol. XO

San Francisco Police 'Road

Blocks' Protested as Lawless

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern

California last month charged that periodic "road

blocks" established by police in San Francisco for

the purpose of checking motor vehicles for compli-

ance with requirements of the Vehicle Code con-

stitute lawless enforcement of the law. In letters

directed to the Police Commission and Chief of

Police Michael Mitchell, the Union requested that

the practice of "road blocks" be ended.

The Union declared it did not question the good

`motives of the Traffic Bureau, and that the State

- had the undoubted power to require periodic

examinations of motor vehicles. In the absence

of proper laws, however, the Union claimed the

police have no authority to detain citizens in their

motor vehicles on the public streets while their

cars are being examined.

_ The Union cited the fact that similar "road

blocks" in Los Angeles were outlawed by the Dis-

trict Court of Appeal only two months ago. In

that decision, a unanimous court declared, ``Per-

sons lawfully within the United States of America

are entitled to use the public highways and have

a right to free passage thereon without interrup-

tion or search, unless a public officer authorized_

to search knows of probable cause for believing

that the vehicle is carrying contraband or that the

occupants thereof have violated the law."

No official response has as yet been received

to the Union's protests, but Captain Michael E. |

Fitzpatrick, police department secretary, told

newsmen the San Francisco procedure is different

from that in Los Angeles. |

"They used the shakedown method," (in Los

Angeles) said Capt. Fitzpatrick. "They blocked

off an area of the city and searched all motor

cars. What we have is simply a light check. We

only stop people when we see faulty lights or

something wrong with their cars. In the process

of examination, we sometimes find other things

wrong."'

The Union does not contend that the police are

without authority to stop motorists when they

have probable cause for believing there has been

some violation of law, but it insists that the record

shows that the San Francisco police have in fact

been following the Los Angeles catch-all method

of stopping cars and then hunting for violations

of the law.

The San Francisco "road blocks'? have been

maintained since last fall as one way of keeping

the auxiliary police busy. "Cars will be stopped

for inspection of brakes, lights, steering appa-

ratus, as well as for a check on the drivers them-

selves,' says a recent Police Department an-

nouncement, Such an announcement is hardly con-

sistent with the present claim of police officials

that they stop only cars with obvious defects. As

a matter of fact, a large percentage of the cita-

tions that have been issued in the past to motor-

(Continued on Page 4, Col. 3)

FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE

The first national conference of American

Civil Liberties Union representatives will be

held in Chicago between December 28 and 30.

The Union's conference coincides with Chicago

meetings of the American Political Science

Association and the American Sociological So-

to the meeting.

Although no program has been formulated,

the object of the meetings, according to the

Union's national office, would be (1) to discuss

the position of the Union in relation to certain

debatable public issues and (2) the internal

relationships of the Union's governing bodies,

affiliates and members. The actual program for

the conference will be worked out by a commit-

ciety. The Union's Chicago Division will be host |

tee of three still to be appointed.

SAN FRANCISCO, AUGUST, 1948

Free

Free Speech

Free Assemblage

No. 8

American Civil Liberties Union Condemns.

Communists' Indictment as Flagrant Abuse

Reaffirming its position as a strictly non-

partisan organization, but condemning the in-

dictment, on July 20th, of the twelve high-rank-

ing Communist Party members under the Smith

Act, as "a flagrant attack on freedom of speech

and press," the American Civil Liberties Union

avowed its intention to aid the group in a letter

to Attorney General Tom Clark last month. The

indictment charged simply "conspiracy to over-

throw the U. S. Government."

Signed by Dr. John Haynes Holmes, as chair- | i

whole, that our intervention in these cases 1s

man; Roger Baldwin, director, and board mem-

bers Arthur Garfield Hays, Raymond L. Wise

and John F. Finerty, the letter declared in part:

"We oppose these proceedings against the Com-

munist Party and its members because it seems

apparent that the government is intending to

prosecute and make criminal mere publications

Nuns Wear Secular Clothes,

Thwarting No. Dakota Law

Clothed in civilian dress, Catholic nuns _may

teach in North Dakota public schools next fall,

in spite of the so-called "Anti-Garb Act'', passed

recently to prevent them. Sponsored by local

Protestant groups, the law prohibits public

school teachers from wearing clothes connoting

membership in a religious order. The act was

approved at the June 29th primary election by

a majority of some 10,000 votes. Two ranking

members of the Catholic Church in North

Dakota, in announcements at regular services,

July 11th, advised the nuns that the church has

no objection to their donning "respectable secu-

lar dress". About 75 Catholic sisters teach in

`the state's schools, chiefly in Catholic communi-

ties. The Catholic leaders, in a joint statement,

asserted that the "withdrawal of the sisters

would close a number of North Dakota's primary

schools."

The ACLU took no part in this affair, which

was the most controversial issue in North Da-

kota politics in many years. The Union's stand

on separation of church and state, however, is

the subject of a forthcoming pamphlet, which

surveys the defense of secular education against

intrusion by religious agencies as well as defense

of religious liberty.

Fresno Police Interfere With The

Distribution Of Union Literature

Fresno police prevented the street distribution

of leaflets by a labor union last month, but

changed their minds after they faced a legal

showdown.

The leaflets were being distributed by repre-

sentatives of the Association of Communication

Equipment Workers, CIO, who have been con-

ducting lengthy bargaining negotiations with

Western Electric, an A. T. and T. Co. subsidiary.

The leaflets were titled, "How Would You. Like

It?"', and urged telephone subscribers to protest.

against the low wages assertedly being paid by

Western Electric.

The police threatened the leaflet distributors

with arrest if they did not quit handing out the

leaflets. As authority for their action, the police

relied upon the kind of a leaflet ordinance that

has been repeatedly found unconstitutional by

the U. S. Supreme Court. - :

The ACLU advised the union that the ordi-

nance was unconstitutional and suggested that

the distribution of literature be renewed in order

to invite an arrest. When the Chief learned that

a legal test would be made, he suddenly discov-

ered an outstanding injunction prohibiting him

from enforcing the ordinance. .

and associations, without showing a clear and (c)

present danger." .

The statement pointed out that the ACLU has'

consistently opposed the Smith Act as unconsti-

tutional: "The Union opposed the original bill ia

Congress . . . and we attacked its constituticn-

ality in the 1941 proceedings against the Trets-

kyist party, whose prosecution, ironically enough,

was supported by the Communist Party." And

in closing: "We wish to make clear both to the

government and to the American people as a

motivated only by our concern for our Civil lib-

erties, and will be limited solely to an attack on

the constitutionality of the Smith Act and the

indictment which, in our judgment, on its face

violates every principle of the freedom of speech

and press."' ;

Statement of ACLU Policy on

Post Office Censorship

"On June 21, 1948, the Union's national Board

of Directors adopted the following statement of

policy on the subject of Post Office censorship:

"T. That the free speech and free press guar-

antees of the First Amendment apply with equal

force to all forms of verbal and graphic expres-

sion, irrespective of subject matter.

`TT, That the Board rejects as a violation of

constitutional rights any attempt to censor, sup-

press, or bar from the mails, by the application

of arbitrary standards of propriety, decency,

morality, and the like, material involving ques-

tions of moral or sexual behavior. :

"III. That in combating censorship by admin-

istrative officials, it shall be the policy and prac-

tice of the ACLU and of its representatives: __

(a) To challenge by every means available,

including test suits, the right of administra-

tive officials to censorial power, and the con-

stitutionality of the statutes which grant it to

them.

"(b) To demand, without compromise, that

the charges of alleged indecency, obscenity, or

immorality be substantiated by objective proof

that the publication under review clearly vio--

lates existing laws, such proof to be of the

same nature as that required in a court pro- (c)

ceeding. Les ne

"(c) To refuse to accept as a valid test of

the right of a publication to free circulation

- any use of criteria of fitness that are inca-

pable of exact definition, and of specific appli-

cation to the material under review.

"TV. A copy of this resolution shall be sent to

all branches and offices of the ACLU, with the

request that the foregoing policies and practices ~

shall be adhered to in the handling of cases com-

ing within the jurisdiction of any of the branches

or local offices."

Attorney General AgreesTo

Reconsider Loyalty Check Methods

Reporting on `a conversation held in Washing-

ton last month with Attorney General Tom Clark,

James Lawrence Fly informed Union officers on

July 12th that with reference to procedures em-

ployed in loyalty investigations by the Justice

Department, Clark has agreed to consider: (1)

confrontation of persons under investigation with

substantial legal evidence instead of FBI reports;

(2) that investigators confine their inquiries to

factors of loyalty rather than hear-say and ran-

dom gossip; (3) that when completed, reports of

investigations be rendered promptly to depart-

ment heads concerned, so as to protect the indi-

ous personal integrity and right to his posi-

ion.

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Fight to Enfranchise Arizona Can the Communists Be Outlawed by the

Mundt-Nixon Bill's Method of `Disclosure'?

By ROGER N. BALDWIN

The Mundt-Nixon bill is not dead! Mr. Nixon has promised publicly to press for its adoption at the "Turnip

Day" session of Congress, while other Congressmen are planning to reintroduce the bill in revised form in the

_ Indians Ends in Victory

Based largely on premises embodied in the

Union's brief in the case, the Arizona Supreme

Court on July 15th granted the right to vote

to reservation Indians who meet the educational .

qualifications established by the state constitu-

tion. The decision, written by Justice Levi S.

Udall, reversed a 1928 ruling by the same court.

The ACLU's brief, filed June 9th, held invalid

the claim that Indians are ineligible to vote be-

cause of provisions in the Arizona constitution

denying the franchise to persons "under guard-

ianship of the Federal Government." It pointed

out that Indians since 1924 have been citizens,

and as such entitled to the rights and subject

to all the obligations of citizenship, including

compulsory military service in time of war.

The court disallowed the contention that In-

dians are wards of the Government within the

purview of the case, and held that "the term

`persons under guardianship' as used in the

Constitution of Arizona was intended to mean

a judicially established guardianship,'"' and hence

"has no application to the plaintiffs or to the

Federal status. of Indians as a class'. This con- -

clusion made it "unnecessary to consider whether

such denial. of the franchise violates' the

Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the

Constitution."

- Noting that the report of the President's

Committee on Civil Rights had branded the de-

nial of the vote to Arizona and New Mexico

Indians as discriminatory, the court took occa-

sion in the decision to declare that "in a demo-

-eracy suffrage is the most basic civil right, since

its exercise is the chief means whereby other

rights are safeguarded." 2 :

The case grew out of a suit instituted by Rep.

Richard F, Harless (Dem., Ariz.) on behalf of

two Arizona Indians who had been prevented

from voting in their home state. Another Indian

suffrage case is now pending in the New `Mexico

Supreme Court. Federal court tests have also

been filed by the Union in both of these states.

Union to File Brief :

Aiding Churchill Pickets

Intervening on. behalf of the defendants in

view of the July 16th decision of the Court of

Appeals in Albany, which upheld their conviction

under the New York City regulation requiring

permits for meetings, speeches or the display. of

signs in its parks, the ACLU will file a brief

on the appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The New York court's ruling will be attacked

in part on the grounds that for the purposes

defined by this case there is no difference be-

tween a park and a street, and that the regula-

tion therefore constitutes a breach of the right

of freedom of speech. : oe

The Albany ruling upheld the Magistrate's

Court conviction of Benjamin Nahman and

twelve `others arrested in March 1946 in New

York City Hall park, during a ceremonial wel-

come to Britain's Prime Minister. They carried

signs reading "No American shall die for

. Churchill's empire," etc. The ACLU through its

_N.Y.C, Committee upheld their right in its brief

in the case, noting that they were not charged

with disorderly conduct, but instead, with failure

to obtain the required license. The brief argued

that the regulation as to permits is invalid, since

no standards have been set up to guide the Park

Commissioner in his issuance of the licenses.

The precedent established in the recent ruling

of the Supreme Court, holding unconstitutional

a Lockport (N.Y.) city ordinance forbidding use

of sound trucks unless licensed by the chief of

police, will be among the points argued as ap-

plicable in the light of the opinion in that case,

which stated that: "laws permitting municipal -

or state authorities any discretion in the issuance

of permits for use of sound trucks are clearly

unconstitutional." . Be

ACLU To Reestablish Committee For

Cooperation With C. O. Agencies

__Formation of an ACLU committee to function

along the same lines as were followed by the

National Committee for Conscientious Objectors

during the war, and with Ernest Angell again

as chairman, has been announced by the Union's

Board of Directors. The committee will cooper-

ate actively with church-sponsored and other

agencies interested in protecting freedom of con-

science in connection with application of the new

draft law. Acceptance of a Supreme Being is

made the test of conscience under the provisions

of the act, and no alternative civilian service is

provided. All recognized objectors will be de-

ferred. In addition to the work of the commit-

tee, the ACLU will make its legal services avail-

able to individuals and C.O. agencies wherever

needed. ae,

8ist Congress next January.

: In the following article, which originally appeared in the July 3, 1948, issue of THE NEW LEADER, Roger

~ N. Baldwin, national director of the American Civil Liberties Union, tells what he thinks of the Mundt-Nixon

No IN all the years of anti-Communist agita-

tion has the country engaged in so excited a

`debate as that aroused by the Mundt-Nixon bill.

This is not surprising in the light of the thick-

and-thin loyalty of Communists to Soviet policy,

whatever it may be, and the anti-Soviet foreign

policy of the United States. How come, ask the

advocates of exceptional action against Commu-

nists, that we follow an anti-Communist foreign

policy and then let the Communists agitate free-

ly at home?

The question seems to make sense. But it

raises at once another question-how bhest to

combat Communism. Not even abroad does our

foreign policy encourage the suppression of the

Communists. We combat them by material aid,

diplomacy, and such pressures as we put on the

Italians-not all to be defended in the name of

other people's liberties. But not even in occupied

areas under military control do American gen-

erals counsel the outlawry of Communists.

The reasons for according them the same lib-.

erties as other parties-while expressing a justi-

fied hostility to what they stand for-are practi-

cally sound as well as democratically defensible.

Outlawry has failed wherever it has been tried.

It results only in underground movements more

difficult to combat. Unlawful activities should of

course be prosecuted-whether done by Commu-

nists or others. But it has not been held in

- carrying out our anti-Communist foreign policy

anywhere that opinions, associations, Soviet con-

nections or ultimate anti-democratic purposes

justify suppression. Nor do our diplomatic pres-

sures on other governments encourage any such

action.

If this is the method of our foreign policy,

why should we adopt at home a policy at vari-

ance with it? The advocates of outlawry and the

Mundt-Nixon bill-which would have that effect

-have only the weak argument that we are re-

sponsible at home and we can't be responsible

`abroad among alien people. It is our duty, they

say, to stop the undermining of our own govern-

ment by a party serving a foreign dictatorship.

But they cannot answer the objection that Com-

munism underground would be far more difficult

to fight than Communism above ground, except

by asserting that it is underground already-one.

of those half-truths that distorts the case. They

cannot answer the objection that once a move-

`ment is outlawed and a search is on for subver-

sive radicals, a lot more than Communists will

be hounded. The whole non-Communist left

would be suspect because the right does not dis-

criminate among those left of center.

But more dangerous to American prestige than

practical effects on the left would be the confes-

sion inherent in outlawry that the United States

is not a strong enough democracy to tolerate

the open advocacy of Communism. We would

advertise Communism to the world as a formid-

able menace in the U. S., to be met only by

force. We would have abdicated our democratic

professions and taken a leaf from the book of

the police state.

But we need not worry over the prospects. The

preposterous Mundt-Nixon bill will not become

law. If the 81st Congress should pass it, and it

should become law, the courts would make short

work of it. Not a constitutional authority in the

country would presume to give it his blessing.

Prof. Zachariah Chafee, Jr., of Harvard thinks

so little of it as law that he dismisses the con-

stitutional points to score its policy," urging the

Senate Committee to discard this "unheard-of

bill."

The sound legal case against it has been com-

`promised by the exaggerated and unnecessary

propaganda of the Communists, who have put

on a campaign unprecedented for ineptitude. I

`do not share the view of those who think the

Party wants the bill passed so as to pose as mar-

tyrs and to show the world what a fake Ameri-

can democracy is. Their antics may look as if

that were their motive because they risk that

result. They are not so calculating. Rather they

act for self-preservation, and for good measure

pose as the champions of American civil liber-

ties. Nobody familiar with Communist tactics

will be fooled by their protestations of love for

democracy; they embrace only to control. A

"Fascist police state measure," they cry. Yes,

ACLUN_1946 ACLUN_1946.MODS ACLUN_1946.batch ACLUN_1947 ACLUN_1947.MODS ACLUN_1947.batch ACLUN_1948 ACLUN_1948.MODS ACLUN_1948.batch ACLUN_1949 ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS ACLUN_ladd.bags ACLUN_ladd.batch ACLUN_test_batch ACLUN_testyear ACLUN_testyear.MODS ACLUN_testyear.bags ACLUN_testyear.batch add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log bill's method of "disclosure" in outlawing the Communist Party.

and we add, "a Communist police state measure"

as well.

But it is not the Communist opposition that

has built up the case against the bill. It is that

of anti-Communist and the non-Communist na-

tional agencies. They are practically unanimous

against it, including the AFL, the CIO, the Lib-

eral Party, the Americans for Democratic Ac-

tion, the Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP. It is

not only this particular bill they are against,

but, like some of the: politicians and even the

FBI, the general notion of outlawry of a par-

ticular party for opinions, associations and ob-

jectives. They would be against any similar

measure. They have confidence that the Ameri-

can people can combat Communism without call-

ing on police and prosecutors to help them. Only

when Communists step over the line of propa-

ganda to action, it is time to call the cops.

But such a tolerant policy does not satisfy a

lot of people who have come to look on Commu-

nism as something to be treated in law as a

special evil. Communists have acted in other

countries unlawfully to seize governments on dic-

tation from Moscow. They might try it here.

So define them as an international unlawful con-

spiracy. But how distinguish it in law from

Catholicism? After all, the Pope is the head of

a not wholly democratic foreign government;

and Catholics in other lands have been known

to seize governments-witness Franco and the

Latin American dictators. No, the international

conspiracy idea is dangerous doctrine by which

to attack Communists: it can be stretched to so

many others.

I have not yet heard of a legal principle by

which we could successfully curb Communist

propaganda. No form of outlawry could meet

the constitutional tests. We have tried the "force

and violence" doctrine. It has not worked. No

Communist has been jailed for advocating it,

because it can't be proved in court. Even in the

deportation cases where aliens have few rights,

the Supreme Court has yet to speak as to its

relevance to them. We have tried the foreign

agents registration law, with the idea of catch-

ing Communists. It has not worked. Agency of

the Soviet Government cannot be proved in law,

though everybody knows it in fact. Federal em-

ployee tests have gotten rid of some Commu-

nists, but that is a narrow field where almost

any test the U. S. Government sets up can be

used without challenge. It means nothing in

general law..

Failing to deprive Communists by law of their

freedom to operate or figuring it would be

against democracy, a lot of earnest advocates of

action now embrace disclosure as the right anti-

dote. This. is the bright thought advanced by

the. House Committee on Un-American Activi-

ties to support the Mundt-Nixon bill. It is on its

face a criminal statute which makes advocacy of

Communist doctrines a crime and then proceeds

to make Communists register. All who. register

thereby confess a crime. But they are "dis-

closed." This fine double edge gives both advo-

cates of outlawry and of disclosure a weapon.

They can have it both ways.

Disclosure is an attractive idea. But why

should only Communists disclose their opera-

tions? Why not the Klan and the America

Firsters and the professional anti-Semites and all

the rest? Any reasonable man would be for dis-

closure of all pertinent facts about any organi-

zation in any public relationship. Disclosure is

already required in a dozen such relationships-

for licenses, second-class mailing privileges, lob-

bying, political campaigning, foreign agency. I

have no doubt, more could be disclosed about

public activities with legitimate reason.

But I would question the value of any such

remedy, especially in relation to Communists.

Who does not know already all the essentials

about the Communists and their fronts? What

good would it do to have what is known gener-

ally registered officially? Is the Wallace cam- ~

paign measurably weaker because it has been

proved that the Communists inspired it? Would

disclosing it officially make the fact clearer? Is _

a Communist-inspired front organization weaker

because that fact is proved, or the Attorney Gen-

eral lists it as "subversive"? He has over a

hundred on the list; and who remembers what

they are? Who reads the voluminous list of reg-

(Continued on Page 4, Col. 2)

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Page 3

Japanese Evacuation Claims

The Japanese Evacuation Claims Bill became

law on July 2nd. It authorizes the Attorney Gen-

eral to settle claims up to $2,500 for losses suf-

fered by persons of Japanese ancestry evacu-

ated from the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii

during the war. Such claims are limited to "dam-

age to or loss of reat or personal property" re-

sulting from the evacuation. Losses of antici-

pated earnings and profits, and for physical

hardship and mental suffering may not be re-

covered, 2 5 ee ae He

No. provision was made in the law to pay the

claims of several hundred non-Japanese who were

also excluded from the Pacific Coast by order

of General DeWitt and who also suffered heavy

losses.. On the other hand, persons of Japanese

ancestry. who departed voluntarily in anticipa-

tion of exclusion orders may file claims.

All claims must be filed with the Attorney

General by January 2, 1950. While the Attorney

General may not make payment of any award

in excess of $2,500, awards may be in excess of

that amount, but the excess must be collected

by an Act of Congress.

To protect the claimants from avaricious at-

torneys, the new law provides that the Attorney

General "may asa part of the award determine

and allow reasonable attorneys' fees, which shall -

not exceed 10 per centum of the amount allowed,

to be paid out of, but not in addition to, the

amount of such award." Attorneys collecting

fees beyond the amount fixed by the Attorney

General may be prosecuted.

The procedure for filing claims has not yet

been worked out by the Attorney General's of-

fice. The law does provide, however, that the

Attorney General may "assist needy claimants

in the preparation and filing of claims."

The Union will be happy to advise claimants

of their rights under the law and to assist them

as far as possible in filing their claims. It may

be another month or so, however, before the

necessary forms and procedures are worked out.

N.Y. Superintendents Reaffirm

Ban en 'Nation' Magazine

"The New York Board of School Superintend-

ents on July 20 reaffirmed a previous ruling

banning the Nation magazine from New. York

city's public school libraries. The decision follow-

ed a hearing on July 13th, in which R. Lawrence

Siegel appeared in behalf of the ACLU's Com-

mittee on Academic Freedom to demand that .

the Board rescind its secret order of June 8th.

- The ban was based on a series of articles by

Paul Blanshard on the role of the Roman

Catholic Church in medicine, sexual problems,

education, censorship, science, Fascism and

American democracy. The magazine has also

been banned in Newark and Trenton, N.J:; North

Adams, Mass.; and Newhall in Southern Cali-

fornia.

The ACLU's position is implicit in the follow-

ing digest of Mr. Siegel's presentation at the

hearing: -

The, Committee on Academic Freedom is

gravely disturbed.by the Board's failure to re-

subscribe to the "Nation", because of that action

itself and because it may well serve as a break-

through for groups determined to ban other

publications, whatever the reasons. The Ameri-

ean Civil Liberties Union, and our Committee,

raises its voice in protest whenever and wher-

ever freedom is challenged or breached, not only

because of the immediate situation and issue in-

volved, but because when the freedom of one

person or group is threatened, the freedom of

all is in jeopardy.

It has been publicly explained that the ban

was adopted because the "Nation" published

articles deemed offensive to a substantial reli-

gious group. The Committee makes no comment

on the merits of the Blanshard series, neither

approving nor disapproving them. Its concern is

with the basic issues posed by the failure to

renew the subscription to the magazine. We

recognize and concede that educational authori-

ties alone should determine the reading matter

of school libraries and classrooms, but with the

obvious qualification that the test of what is to

be read and circulated is not and cannot be the -

sensibility of, or sensitivity for, particular per-

sons or organizations under discussion. The

censorship involved here is arbitrary and most

dangerous. If the Board sticks to its action, it

may deeply regret it. The idea that school li-

braries must contain only reading matter to

Which no substantial group objects, if the

"Nation" ban is to stay, might well become a

precedent in our community. One dreads to

consider what a school library would become

under such circumstances.

Bill Adopted by Congress

aqnese

To Ap;

Congress has adopted legislation under which

some 125 Japanese hardship, treaty trader and

single men's deportation cases being handled by

the A.C.L.U. of Northern California may finally

be settled. The new law amends the Immigra-

tion Act of 1917 by allowing the government. to

suspend deportation in hardship cases even when

the deportee is racially ineligible to citizenship,

as is the case with Japanese, Indonesians, Kore-

ans and certain other nationals. It also makes

seven years residence sufficient reason for the

exercise of clemency without requiring proof that

deportation would be a detriment to a spouse or

child.

The new law eliminates a long-standing piece

of racial discrimination in our immigration laws.

All aliens are now placed on an equal basis for

receiving benefits provided by law.

Under the old law, however, if the Attorney

General recommended suspension of deportation .

in a case, the suspension would be granted un-

less Congress adopted a resolution against it.

Now, Congress must take affirmative action on

the Attorney General's recommendation. `"What-

ever drawbacks this change may have," said the

Union, "they do not outweigh the advantages

gained by the other sections. We are reluctant

to believe that Congress would be less fair than

the Attorney General in exercising suspension

powers."

Deportations in the 125 Japanese cases the

local Union is handling have been stayed as a

result of three test suits filed in the U. S. Dis-

Union Interprets Supreme

Court Ruling on Sound Trucks

Addressed to the June 7th ruling of the U.S.

Supreme Court, which held unconstitutional by

a 9-4 decision a Lockport, N.Y. ordinance for-

bidding use of sound trucks or other amplifying

devices unless licensed by the Chief of Police, a

memorandum was issued last month by the na-

tional office of the ACLU interpreting the

court's majority opinion in terms of the legal

precedents it has established.

The majority ruled amplification devices to

be within the province of freedom of speech. In

view of this, according to the memorandum,

"the criteria used in ordinary free speech cages

are. applicable.' The Court specifically held un-

constitutional that section of the ordinance giv-

ing the Chief of Police discretionary powers to

issue such licenses: "It is therefore clear that

laws permitting municipal or state authorities

any discretion in the issuance of permits for

use of sound trucks are unconstitutional." The

Court indicated that the police power of states

and municipalities extends only to regulation of

the amount of noise, and of the hours and places

of public discussion: "Whereby it is seen that

although in all likelihood complete prohibition of

the use of amplification devices is unconstitu-

tional, the police may exercise some control over

sound. trucks by limiting decibels, times and

places."

The memorandum further comments, as fol-

lows: "(1) The majority opinion apparently

makes no distinction between sound trucks and

stationary amplification devices such as loud-

speakers in radio stores, nor as to whether

mounted in a vehicle other than a truck, such

as an aircraft. (2) In view of previous rulings

by the Supreme Court that commercial literature

is not entitled to the protection of the First

Amendment, regulations instituting complete abo-

lition of the use of sound devices for commer-

cial purposes may be effective." Ss

While the ACLU took no part in the Lockport

case, it is'concerned in a similar sound truck

case originating in Trenton, N. J., now on ap-

peal to the U. 8. Supreme Court. Trenton banned

all sound trucks by law.

Deportees Become Eligible |

y for Suspension of Deportation

trict Court by attorney Wayne M. Collins of San

ORDERS ACCEPTED NOW FOR.

DR. MEIKLEJOHN'S NEW BOOK.

. Dr. Alexander M. Meiklejohn's stimulat-

ing and controversial new book, "Free

Speech" (Harper and Bros., New York, $2.00), .

will be reviewed by Prof. Laurence Sears,

Professor of American History and Politi-

cal Theory at Mills College, in the Septem-

ber issue of the "News."

The book will go on sale September 1.

You may order your copy NOW by writing

to the American Civil Liberties Union, 461

Market St., San Francisco 5, Calif. Please

enclose a remittance of $2.00. og

Francisco on May 29, 1946. Thereafter, an agree-

ment was reached with the Attorney General

that pending the final determination of the suits,

no Japanese hardship or treaty trader cases

would be deported. The suits challenged the con-

stitutionality of the suspension provisions of the

law because of their racial discrimination. How-

ever, the cases were never litigated because the

Attorney General's office sponsored remedial leg-

islation. The new law, in effect, nullifies the pend-

`ing test suits.

"Until new regulations are issued, the local

"Immigration Service has advised the Union that

it has been instructed to follow its old procedure

-in handling suspension cases. In each case, there-

fore, the alien must fill out an application form

(I-55). An investigation is then made into the

-applicant's good moral character, after which a

formal hearing is held.

In a second piece of legislation, fifteen thou-

-sand aliens who entered the United States as

visitors or students, will now be permitted to

remain here permanently under the Displaced

Persons Act, if their deportation would result in

racial or religious persecution. . ae

A third piece of legislation will allow aliens

ineligible to citizenship to become naturalized if

they served honorably in World War I or any

time up to December 31, 1946, in World War II.

The Union is presently handling the deportation

cases of four Indonesians who served in World

War II. They will now not only be able to: legal-

ize their entries, but become citizens as well.

New York Court Upholds

Non-Communist Affidavit

Filing of non-Communist affidavits by labor

union officers as required under the Taft-Hart-

ley Act was recently held constitutional by a 2-1

decision of a New York Federal statutory court.

The law makes availability of NLRB machinery

contingent upon the filing of such affidavits.

Circuit Court Judge Thomas' W. Swan, ruling

for the majority, declared that Congress has the

-right to condition the privilege given a union to

be a sole bargaining agent and that in putting

the query, "Are you a Communist?", the NLRB

-does nothing more than seek factual information

-as'a guide to making the condition effective. In

`the dissenting opinion, District Judge Simon H.

Rifkind held that this controversial section of

the Taft-Hartley Act is incompatible with the

`First Amendment in that it "abridges the free-

dom of speech and the right of assembly with-

out showing a clear and present danger. . . ."

Raising the question of constitutionality were

Local 65 of the Wholesale and Warehouse Work-

ers' Union and the American Communications

Association which had been barred from NLRB

elections and hearings because their officers had

refused to file the required affidavits. An attor-

ney for the two CIO unions involved said. he

would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Since the constitutionality of the disputed Sec-

tion 9(h) was the only issue raised, a final

Supreme Court judgment is believed certain. The

same question was posed in a CIO National Mar-

itime Union suit, but last month the Supreme

Court declined on other grounds to review a

lower court's decision in the NMU case uphold-

ing the non-Communist affidavit requirement.

__ When the New York case reaches the Supreme

Court the ACLU will file a brief contending that

Pe oy oath prerequisite is unconsti-

utional.

`Mom and Dad' Shows In San Francisco

Despite Disapproval Of Police

_ The motion picture, "Mom and Dad," which

former Chief of Police Charles Dullea told the

distributors he would not allow to be shown in

San Francisco, finally made its appearance in

San Francisco at the Tivoli Theatre last month.

The picture deals with the subject of venereal

disease and is sensationalized by separate show-

ings for men and women.

_ The distributors finally took a chance in show-

ing the picture after the unsuccessful prosecu-

tion of the exhibitor of "Furia," which made a

second appearance in San Francisco last month.

BOOK NOTE

- "Washington Witch Hunt," by Bert Andrews,

Random House, New York, 218 pages, $2.50. A

Washington correspondent for the New York

Herald-Tribune tells in journalistic style, embel-

lished with documents, a tale of the loyalty

purges in Washington and the battle for fair

procedures.

:

z

Page 4

eos

i

af

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

American Civil Liberties Union-News

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

Calif., by the American Civil Liberties Unio

of Northern California. :

Phone: EXbrook 2-3255

ERNEST BESIG ....

Eintered

" -Editor

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

Text of New Draft Law As

It Affects 'Objectors'

"Nothing contained in this title shall be

construed to require any person to be subject to

combatant training and service in the armed

forces of the United States who, by reason of

religious training and belief, is conscientiously

opposed to participation in war in any form.

Religious training and belief in this connection

means an individual's belief in a relation to a

Supreme Being involving duties superior to those

arising from any human relation, but does not

include essentially political, sociological, or philo-

sophical views or a merely personal code. Any

-person claiming exemption from combatant

_ training and service because of such conscien-

tious objections whose claim is sustained by the

local board shall, if he is inducted into the armed

forces under this title, be assigned to noncom-

batant service as defined by the President, or

shall, if he is found to be conscientiously opposed

to participation in such noncombatant service, be

deferred. Any person claiming exemption from

combatant training and service because of such

conscientious objections shall, if such claim is

not sustained by the local board, be entitled to

an appeal to the appropriate appeal board. Upon

the filing of such appeal, the appeal board shall

refer any such claim to the Department of

Justice for inquiry and hearing. The Depart-

ment of Justice, after appropriate inquiry, shall

hold a hearing with respect to the character and

good faith of the objections of the person con-

cerned, and such person shall be notified of the

time and place of such hearing. The Department

of Justice shall, after such hearing, if the ob-

jections are found to be sustained, recommend

to the appeal board that (1) if the objector is

inducted into the armed services under this title,

he shall be assigned to non-combatant service

as defined by the President, or (2) if the ob-

jector is found to be conscientiously opposed to

_ participation in such non-combatant service, he

_ shall be deferred. If after such hearing the De-

partment of Justice finds that his objections are

not sustained, it shall recommend to the appeal.

board that such objections be not sustained. The

appeal board shall, in making its decision, give

consideration to, but shall not be bound to follow

the recommendation of the Department of

Justice together with the record on appeal from

the local board. Each person whose claim for

exemption from combatant training and service

because of conscientious objections is sustained

shall be listed by the local board on a register

of conscientious objectors." .

Special Session of Congress

Poses Problems for ACLU

Watchful of its objectives in terms of mea-

sures affecting civil liberties on the agenda of

the special session of Congress, officials of the

ACLU have mapped out the organization's stra-

tegy along the following general lines: opposi-

tion to any attempt to reintroduce the Mundt-

Nixon Bill; support of proposals under the

President's civil rights program which have as

yet not been converted into law; advocacy of

such measures embodying objectives contained

in the Union's twelve plank proposals presented

to the platform framers of the major political

parties, as are not contained in the Truman

5 program,

The same twelve civil rights. planks which the

ACLU had presented to the resolution commit-

tees of the Republican and Democratic Conven-

tions a few weeks ago, were submitted on July

22 to the platform committee of the New Party

Convention. As before, William J. Woolston,

Philadelphia attorney, represented the Union. In

| brief, the. recommendations covered: (1) Poll

_ tax abolition; (2) Political freedom for labor

ERE

ae

unions; (3) No special discrimination against

Communists; (4) Abolition of segregation in

federal services; (5) National fair employment

practices law; (6) Federal anti-lynching law;

(7) Removal of discriminaton against orientals;

(8) Political self-determinism for Puerto Ricans:

(9) Citizenship and civil government in US. oc-

cupied Pacific islands; (10) Fairer procedures

in federal disloyalty investigations; (11) Ad-

mission to U.S. of all UN-associated persons;

(12) U.S. adherence to UN conventions for free-

dom of international communications and exten-

sion of human rights. ae

An Analysis of the Rights of "Objectors'

Under the "Selective Service Act of 1948" con-

scientious objectors may receive either defer-

ments or assignments to non-combatant service in

the armed forces. The nature of the noncomba-

tant service that will be provided has not been

announced, but it is assumed it will be in the

Medical Corps.

Granting deferments to "objectors" is some-

thing new under a United States draft law. Dur-

ing World War II, Britain showed us how intelli-

gently the problem of "objectors" could be han-

dled, and the U. S. has now gone a small part of

the way in copying the British system of defer-

ments.

- But, unlike the British law, a "conscientious

objector" is even more narrowly defined now

than under the 1940 act. The law declares a

C.0O. is a person who "by reason of religious

training and belief, is conscientiously opposed to

participation in war in any form." But it goes

on to qualify that declaration with the require-

ment that such "religious training and belief"

must be based on a belief in "a Supreme Being."

Those holding "political, sociological or philo-

sophical views or a merely personal moral code,'

are specifically excluded from consideration as

"objectors."

The new law fortunately eliminates the war-

time Civilian Public Service camps for "objec-

tors" which failed to provide the work of na-

tional importance under civilian direction that

the 1940 draft act prescribed for the "objectors"

who refused to accept noncombatant service.

Registration for all males between the ages of

18 and 26 is scheduled to start on August 16.

No provision is made in the law or regulations

for "objectors" to announce their objections at

that time. Thereafter, however, the registrants

Under the `Selective Service Act of 1948'

will be furnished questionnaires, and Series XI

of the questionnaire reads: :

"By reason of religious training and belief I

am conscientiously opposed to participation in

war in any form and for this reason request that

the local board furnish me a Special Form for

Conscientious Objectors (S.S.S. Form No. 150)

which I am to complete and return to the local

board for its consideration."'

_ (Signature.)

A C.O. must sign this request for Form 150,

but the regulations impose the duty on the reg-

istrant to obtain and file the form. Form 150

may be supported by documents and affidavits.

If the local board rejects the claim, an appeal

may be taken by sending notice to the local

board in due time. On such appeal, the regis-

trant is entitled to a hearing of which he will

receive due notice. The hearing apparently fol-

lows an FBI investigation. A further appeal is

allowed to the President.

The law does not specifically exempt conscien- -

tious objectors who served in Civilian Public

Service camps under the 1940 law. It would ap-

pear, however, that the previous recognition of

their claims would afford strong evidence to sup-

port present claims for deferment.

Draft evasion, refusal to register, counseling

refusal to serve, and other violations of the law

are all punishable by imprisonment for not more

than five years or a fine of not more than $10,-

- 000, or both such fine and imprisonment.

_ Jehovah's Witnesses face the same troubles

under the present law as they did under the 1940

act. The Witnesses all claim to be ministers en-

titled to deferment as such, but the new law

specifically excludes from the ministerial classi-

fication one "who irregularly or incidentally

preaches and teaches,"' and who does not engage

in such work as a vocation.

Outlawing The Communists

Via The Mundt-Nixon Bill

(Continued from Page 2, Col. 3)

istered foreign agents? Hardly a dozen in-

quiries a year are made of the futile little regis-

tration bureau in the Department of Justice.

The Taft-Hartley Act requirement of non-

Communist oaths has not exposed or ousted

Communists; but it has aroused the almost uni-

versal indignation of organized labor and stif-

fened the already stiff back of John L. Lewis.

The lobbying act has revealed some pretty fancy

lobbyists; it has disclosed the wealthy support-

ers of Communist-front organizations. But it has

had no apparent effect on their operations or

income. Nobody seems-to have been discredited

or shut up shop as a result of any of the dis-

closure measures.

But publicity and exposure are another mat-

ter. That job is best handled by the press and

private agencies. They keep it up-to-date, rele-

vant, alive, as no official registration will. And

the agencies act as well. The unions are doing

a capable housecleaning of Communists; no gov-

ernment agency could deal more effectively than

the unions with their Communists and fellow-

travelers.

I am not opposed to the disclosure of anything

affecting public business. I just don't think the

principle means as much as its proponents fore-

see, especially in combating Communism. Where

the facts are likely to be embarrassing, ways

will be found under any law to conceal them.

The corporations have managed pretty well to

conceal their campaign contributions. The Com-

munists would find ways of hiding their control

of fronts and the inside operations of the Party.

They, too, have. lawyers.

All these proposals add up to fears of the chi-

canery and fanaticism of the Communists. Anti-

Communism, like fear, is in itself a poor coun-

selor. Preoccupation with it gets over into reac-

tion or is at best a defense of the status quo.

Anti-Communism, too, often becomes anti-demo-

cratic. That is the basic trouble with the Mundt-

Nixon bill and all similar notions of combating

Communism. It is trite by now to say that only

a vigorous and virile democratic program will

lick Communism. Even Truman has said it. So

has Dewey. But it means more than a slogan

to some of us. It means not merely political

democracy with rights fairly granted to every-

body. It means the extension of democracy on

fronts where entrenched power and privilege re-

sist. It is racial equality, anti-monopoly, public

ownership, less for the big boys, more for the

little fellows. It's what every progressive wants

and must fight for if a free democracy is to be

the instrument of advancing power against re-

action and Communism alike.

San Francisco Police 'Road

Blocks' Protested As Lawless

(Continued from Page 1, Col. 1)

ists caught in the "road blocks" cover matters

that could be discovered only after cars were

stopped and inspections made.

"I have checked figures on road blocks con-

ducted last fall,' says Mr. Fixit in the July 26

issue of the San Francisco News, "and they appar-

ently bear out Mr. Besig's complaint.

"Far more cars were stopped than had actual

visible violations, according to the Police Depart-

ment's own figures. :

"In the first road block after their revival (they

were eliminated during the war because of the

manpower shortage), held the night of October

22, 1947 at Columbus Avenue and Bay Street,

375 cars were stopped. But only 92 showed `proba-

ble cause,' and received citations for those causes

-unlighted license plates, 51; no tail light, 27, and

faulty headlights, 14.

_ "The rest weren't so obvious-defective muffler,

bad brakes, driver's license violation, broken wind-

- shield wiper.

"On October 23 at 10th and Harrison Streets,

177 cars were stopped, but only 76 of those showed

`probable cause.'

"And so it went. The 11 traffic blocks held dur-

ing last November turned up 2870 defective cars.

But only 1869 of them were defective because of

`visible' law violations."

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