vol. 15, no. 6

"Fternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

, VOLUME XV

Pat

SAN FRANCISCO, JUNE, 1950

Berkeley Meeting Set for Tuesday Evening .

June 20; San Francisco Gathering June 21

Patrick Murphy Malin, who on January 1 suc-

ceeded Roger N. Baldwin as National Director of

the American Civil Liberties Union, will make

his first official visit to the bay area from June 19

to June 23. Mr. Malin, who is on a visit to Pacific

- Coast branches of the Union will arrive from Los

Angeles Monday evening, June 19. He leaves for

Portland Friday morning, June 23.

_ Mr. Malin will appear at two public meetings

to be held under the auspices of the American

Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. The

first meeting will be held Tuesday evening, June

20, at 8 o'clock, at Unity Hall, Unitarian Parish

House, corner of Bancroft Way and Dana Streets -

in Berkeley. Prof. Laurence Sears, former mem-

ber of the Union's local Executive Committee,

will serve as chairman of the meeting.

Mr. Malin's second public appearance will be at

__the Friends' Center, 1830 Sutter Street. San Fran-

cisco (between Buchanan and Webster Streets).

The meeting will- begin at 8 o'clock. Rt. Rev. Ed-

ward L. Parsons, Chairman of the local Commit-

tee and a national vice-chairman of the Unidn,

will preside.

_ Mr. Malin will also attend a special meeting of

the Union's Executive Committee Thursday noon,

June 22, in order to discuss organizational prob-

lems.

The new A.C.L.U. director served as a member

of the Economics Department at Swarthmore

College in Pennsylvania from 1930 to 1950. Dur-

ing the war he served for four years as vice-

director of the Intergovernmental Committee. on

Refugees, with headquarters in London. He also

was American Director of the International Mi-

gration Service, Price Executive of the O.P.A.

Chemical and Drug Branch in Washington, and

Deputy Chief of the Division of Program and

_ Requirements in the State Department's Office

PATRICK MURPHY MALIN

~

- Teachers College and Columbie. University in _.

of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations.

His work has taken him to Great Britain and con-

tinental Europe, including the Soviet Union, the

Near East, Canada, the West Indies and South

America.

Mr. Malin served as Vice-Chairman of the

American Friends Service Committee from 1936

to 1938. He is also a member of the board of the

National Council of Religion in Higher Education

and served as the president of that group from

1939 to 1943.

He is a member of the Society of Friends

(Quakers) and an independent in politics. Born

in Joplin, Missouri, he is 46 years old, married

and has three sons.

Mr. Malin is a graduate of the University of

Pennsylvania, class of 1924. He did graduate

study at the Union Theological Seminary and

New York City.

The meetings are open to the general public.

There is no admission charge. It is hoped that

the members of the Civil Liberties Union will take

this opportunity to become acquainted with the

Union's new national director.

S.F. Jury Acquits Seller

Of Nudist Magazines

Stanley M. Spencer, a clerk in D. and T. Cigar

Store, 300 Kearny Street, San Francisco, last

month was acquitted by a Municipal Court jury of

nine women and three men on charges of selling

obscene literature. He was arrested last Decem-

ber 6, after selling copies of the nudist magazines,

"Sunshine and Health" and "Natural Herald' to

a police officer.

Troy Gillespie, San Francisco magazine dice

tributor, was acquitted on the same charges last

September after an earlier jury trial had resulted

in a hung jury. Before Gillespie was acquitted,

the police made another arrest, but that case was

dropped after Gillespie's acquittal.

The only complaint against the magazines is

that they contain pictures of unclothed men,

women and children. No fault has been found

with the text of these magazines.

District Attorney Edmund G. Brown claimed

he was proceeding with the prosecution at the

insistence of the police. He assured the Union

that if an acquittal were secured in the Spencer

case, he would not bring further prosecutions

against the distributors of nudist magazines.

`In spite of the fact that at earlier trials the

District Attorney has rightly contended that un-

der California decisions expert testimony is not

admissible in obscenity cases, the prosecution

called as expert witnesses two Catholic priests,

the Superintendent of Schools, who is a Roman

Catholic, the head of the P.T.A., the leader of

the Boy Scouts and a Rabbi. Only the Superin-

tendent qualified as an expert, and he merely

took the position that the magazines were in bad

taste. In discussing the matter with the Union,

however, the Superintendent went further and

declared that pictures of undressed men and

women are obscene, at least in certain hands.

The jury returned its verdict after deliberating

for only half an hour. The defendant was repre-

sented by Nicholas Alaga of the firm of Hallinan,

MacInnis and Zamloch.

Suggestions, Please!

The terms of five members of the Executive

Committee of the American Civil Liberties

Union of Northern California expire October

31. They are Herbert C. Carrasco, Wayne M.

Collins, Ralph N. Kleps, Seaton W. Manning

and Rabbi Irving F. Reichert. In addition, there

are three vacancies on the Committee at the

present time. Membership on the Committee

is limited to 25 persons. A nominating com-

mittee of five persons will be appointed by

Bishop Parsons at the June meeting of the

Executive Committee. The sub- committee is

required to report its recommendations to the

Executive Committee at the September mect-

in

"The By-Laws provide that "The June issue

of the A.C.L.U.-NEWS shall carry an invita-

tion to the Union's membership to suggest

names to the nominating committee, and such

names must reach the Union's office not later

than June 30 in order to receive consideration."

Please send your suggestions to the Ameri-

~ can Civil Liberties Union, 461 Market Sire'. |

San Francisco 5, California, giving as much

biographical information about your candidate

as possible. Please remember that Committee

members are expected to attend noon meetiings

in San Francisco once a month and to serve on

sub-committees.

D. A. Dismisses Picketing

Prosecution at Union's Urging

At the urging of the Civil Liberties Union, Dis-

trict Attorney Edmund G. Brown of San Fran-

cisco on May 10 dismissed, disturbance of the

peace charges against Alta Harpole, arising from

a picketing incident.

On March 2, bearing her four-months-old baby

in one arm and a sign in her free hand, Miss Har-

pole marched up and down in front of a residence

for about ten minutes. The place was the last

known address of one George Malekos, whom

she claims is the father of her child, and who has

allegedly been evading a summons and complaint

in a paternity suit. Mr. Malekos' parents and his

sister and brother reside at the picketed home.

The sign declared that "George Malekos will not -

support his baby." |

Before bringing the prosecution, the District

Attorney issued a citation for Miss Harpole's

appearance at his office. At that time the com-

plainant, Helen Malekos, her attorney and several

members of the District Attorney's staff. to-

gether with Miss Harpole, discussed the incident.

It was agreed that the picketing was nerfectly

peaceful, but the District Attorney felt there was

an attempt to intimidate and that the subject of

the sign was offensive.

The Union suggested to Mr. Brown that Miss

Harpole was merely exercising her right of free

speech in much the same fashion as the onnonents

of partition have picketed Northern Ireland's

Prime Minister at his residence at the Waldorf-

Astoria hotel in New York.

Moving?

Around this time of the year and again in the

fall, we have difficulty keeping track of many

of our members, especially students and teach-

ers. If you are changing your residence for the

summer, won't you please let us have your

change of address without delay?

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

`LET FREEDOM RING -

San Francisco Leaflet Case

On'May 25 three members of the Labor Youth

League, a left-wing group, were found guilty of

violating a section of the San Francisco Park

Code prohibiting the distribution of advertising

leaflets without a permit. The three had been

arrested on May 21 for distributing leaflets in

Golden Gate Park condemning the Mundt-Nixon

bills. Before finding them guilty, Municipal Judge

Eustice Cullinan overruled a demurrer challeng-

ing the constitutionality of the ordinance. Judge

Cullinan sentenced each defendant to pay a fine

_of five dollars or serve one day in the County

Jail. Counsel entered oral notice of appeal.

The ordinance has apparently been on the local

`Statute books for many years without being ap- -

plied. Over ten years ago the U. S. Supreme

Court decided that leaflets and handbills are en-

titled to the constitutional protection afforded

freedom of the press under the First Amendment

states or subdivisions of states).

ferred to the Union's national office to

ciple.

to the U. S. Constitution (as against federal ac-

tion) and under the due process clause of the

Fourteenth Amendment (as against action by

Licenses oyen

permits may not be required as a condition of

such distribution, whether on public streets, pub-

lic places or from house to house. _

Target for Communist Infiltration

According to the local F.B.1., the A.C.L.U. is

a target for Communist infiltration. A student

at the University of California seeking draft

classification as a conscientious objector, ~ap-

peared before Hugh K. McKevitt, a hearing offi-

cer, and was informed that the only adverse

information contained in his file was a record

of his association with the Civil Liberties Union-

a target for Communist infiltration. The A.C.L.U.

wrote to Mr. McKevitt, but the latter is on an

extended vacation, so the matter has been re-

be taken

up with J. Edgar Hoover. ae

eee Baia dimen

The Gardner Case

Valentina Ivanova Gardner, GI bride, who was

detained by the Immigration Service in San Fran-

cisco for 13 months, on the ground that her entry

would be prejudicial to the interests of the

United States, is still awaiting a final decision

in her case from the Justice Department. Last

January, Mrs. Gardner was finally released on

administrative bail furnished by the Civil Liber-

ties Union. Her case has now been pending for

18 months.

Seaman Denied Entry

The Union is concerned with the case of an

Australian seaman, who has been denied the

usual shore leave of 29 days given to sailors.

Whenever his boat comes to port, he is required

to stay on board the ship. The Union was `in-

formed by the Immigration Service that the man

was denied entry because his entry would be

prejudicial to the interests of the United States.

No hearing was ever accorded to him. He is a

member of the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union

and his difficulty apparently springs from the

fact that the crew of his vessel elected him to

attend a meeting of the left-wing Civil Rights

Congress. He claims he never attended the meet.

ing, but, ever since, he has been denied the cus-

tomary shore leave.

U.S. Supreme Court

Will Review C. O. Case

The Supreme Court has granted a review of

the conscientious objector case of Larry Gara,

dean of men at an Ohio Mennonite College, who

is seeking a reversal of his conviction for advising

divinity student Charles Rickert to stand by his

principles in refusing to register for the draft.

The Union has been participating in the case as

friend of the court.

Gara, who was sentenced to an 18-month jail

term, has been paroled by the government, but

is fighting the case in court as a matter of prin-

he government charged he "aided and

abetted" Rickert's violation on the theory that

registration is a continuing obligation. The con-

viction has been attacked on the grounds that

Rickert had already indicated his decision to re-

_ fuse to register three months before he met Gara.

U. Ss: Supreme Court

Loyalty Oath; Justice

After more than a year of deliberation, the

United States Supreme Court in a 5-1 decision,

handed down May 8, held that the non-Communist

affidavit provision of the Taft-Hartley Act was

constitutional. The Court split 3-3, however, thus

affirming the lower court decision on the consti-

tutionality of that part of the oath declaring

that one "does not believe in, and is not a mem-

ber of or supports any organization that believes

in... the overthrow of the United States govern-

ment . by any illegal or unconstitutional

methods."

Justice Black was the sole dissenter. Following

is a substantial excerpt from his eloquent dissent:

"The Court assures us that today's encroach-

ment on liberty is just a small one, that this par-

ticular statutory provision `touches only a hand-

ful of persons, leaving the great majority of per-

sons of the identified affiliations and beliefs com-

pletely free from restraint.' But not the least

of the virtues of the First Amendment is its pro-

tection of each member of the smallest and most

unorthodox minority. Centuries of experience

testify that laws aimed at one political or religious

group, however rational these laws may be in

their beginnings, generate hatreds and prejudices

which rapidly spread beyond control. Too often

it is fear which inspires such passions, and noth-

ing is more reckless or contagious. In the result-

ing hysteria, popular indignation tars with the

same brush all those who have ever been associ-

ated with any member of the group under attack

or who hold a view which though supported by

revered Americans as essential to democracy,

has been adopted by that group for its own pur-

poses.

"Under such circumstances, restrictions im-

posed on proscribed groups are seldom static,

even though the rate of expansion may not move

in geometric progression from discrimination to

-arm-band to ghetto and worse. Thus I cannot

regard the Court's holding as one which `merely

bars Communists from holding union office and

nothing more. For its reasoning would apply just

as forcibly to statutes barring Communists, and

political office, mere membership in unions, and

in fact from getting or holding any jobs whereby

they could earn a living.

"The Court finds comfort in its assurance that

we need not fear too much legislative restriction

of political belief or association `while this court

sits.' That expression, while felicitous, has no

validity in this particular constitutional field. For

it springs from the assumption that individual

mental freedom can be constitutionally abridged

whenever any majority of this Court finds a

satisfactory legislative reason. Never before has

this Court held that the Government could for

Ten Commandments

A young lady over 21 years of age has been

denied a U. S. passport by Mrs. R. B. Shipley,

Chief of the Passport Division of the State De-

partment, on the basis of information supplied

by her father, because she misbehaved herself in

Kurope on a previous visit. There was no public

issue involved in the matter, but Mrs. Shipley

is reported as saying, "I won't give her a pass-

port, not for political reasons, but simply because

she is not a proper American to send abroad as

shown by her disregard for the Ten Command-

ments.'"' Mrs. Shipley has not indicated whether

`the Department will lift the passports of Ingrid

Bergman and Rita Hayworth.

REPEAT ED TCD EE PT NE I TTR ie

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

American Civil Liberties Union of No. Calif.,

461 Market St., :

San Francisco 5, Calif.

1. Please enroll me as a member at dues. of

Soe for the current year. (Types of mem-

bership: Associate Member, $3; Annual Mem-

ber, $5; Business and Professional Member,

$10; Family Membership, $25; Contributing

Member, $50; Patron, $100 and over. Mem-

bership includes subscription to the "American

Civil Liberties Union-News" at $1 a year.)

2. I pledge $............ per month........ or $..... per yr.

3. Please enter my subscription to the NEWS, $1

per year).

Enclosed please find: $02 Please bill

Mel

Street...

City and Zone

q a

any reason attaint persons for their political be-

liefs or affiliations. It does so today.

"Today the `political affiliation' happens to be

the Communist Party: testimony of an ex-Com-

munist that some Communist union officers had

called `political strikes' is held sufficient to up-

hold a law coercing union members not to elect

any Communist as an officer. Under this reason-

ing, affiliations with other political parties could

be proscribed just as validly. Of course there is

no practical possibility that either major political

party would turn this weapon on the other, even

though members of one party were accused of

`political lockouts' a few years ago and members

of the other are now charged with fostering a

`welfare state' alien to our system. But with

minor parties the possibility is not wholly fanci-

ful. One, for instance, advocates socialism; an-

other allegedly follows the Communist `line'; still

another is repeatedly charged with a desire and

purpose to deprive Negroes of equal job oppor-

tunities. Under today's opinion Congress could

validly bar all members of these parties from

officership in unions or industrial corporations;

the only showing required would be testimony

ithat some members of such positions, had, by

attempts to further their party's purpose, un-

justifiably fostered industrial strife which ham

pered interstate commerce.

"It is indicated, although the opinion is not

thus limited and is based on threats to commerce

rather than to national security, that members -

of the Communist Party or its `affiliates' can be

individually .attainted without danger to others

because there is some evidence that as a group

they act in obedience to the commands of a for- -

eign power. This was the precise reason given in

Sixteenth-Century England for attainting all

Catholics unless they subscribed to test oaths

wholly incompatible with their religion. Yet in

the hour of crisis, an overwhelming majority of

the English Catholics thus persecuted rallied loy-

ally to defend their homeland against Spain and

its Catholic troops.

cused of subversive allegiance to France. At the

time, imposition of civil disability on all members

of his political party must have seemed at least

aS desirable as does 9(h) today. For at stake, so

many believed, was the survival of a newly-

founded nation, not merely a few~potential inter-

ruptions of commerce by. strikes `political' rather

than economic in origin.

"These experiences underline the wisdom of

the basic constitutional precept that penalties

, Should be imposed only for a person's own con- -

duct, not for his beliefs or for the conduct of |

others with whom he may associate. Guilt should

not be imputed solely from association or affili-

ation with political parties or any other organiza- ~

tion, however much we abhor the ideas whick

they advocate. Schneiderman v. United States,

320 U. S. 118, 136-139. Like anyone else, indi-

vidual Communists who commit overt acts in vio-

lation of valid laws can be and should be pun-

ished. But the postulate of the First Amendment

is that our free institutions can be maintained

without proscribing or penalizing political belief,

speech, press, assembly, or party affiliation. This

is a far bolder philosophy than despotic rulers

can afford to follow. It is the heart of the system

on which our freedom depends.

"Fears of alien ideologies have frequently agi-

tated the nation and inspired legislation aimed

at suppressing advocacy of those ideologies. At

such times the fog of public excitement obscures

the ancient landmarks set up in our Bill of Rights.

Yet then, of all times, should this Court adhere

most closely to the course they mark. This was

done in DeJonge v. Oregon, 299 U.S. 353, 365,

where the Court struck down a state statute

making it'a crime to participate in a meeting

conducted by. Communists. It had been stipu-

lated that the Communist Party advocated over-

throw of the Government. Speaking through

Chief Justice Hughes, a unanimous Court calmly

f announced time-honored principles that should

govern this Court today: `The greater the impor-

tance of safeguarding the community from in-

citements to the overthrow of our institutions

by force and violence, the more imperative is the

need to preserve inviolate the constitutional

rights of free speech, free press and free assem-

bly in order to maintain the opportunity for free

political discussion, to the end that government

may be responsive to the will of the people and

that changes, if desired, may be obtained by

peaceful means. Therein lies the security of the

Republic, the very foundation of constitutional

government.' "

And in our own country -

ae and his followers were earnestly ac-

_ their suspected sympathizers from election to eee and Tie follows y

Page 3

Partial Retraction by Oakland

Tribune in Irving Fox Case

The Oakland Tribune last month carried a par-

tial retraction of a statement in its editorial col-

umns of April 18, 1950, describing Irving David

Fox, ousted teaching assistant at the University

of California, as "an acknowledged Communist."

The correction quoted from Fox's testimony

before the Board of Regents on December 16,

last, in which he declared that he had never

signed a membership card, but "to all intents

and purposes I might have been considered a

member."

"By this testimony," says the Oakland Tribune,

"Fox acknowledged that he was a Communist,

but not a card carrying Communist.

"We do amend our statement, however, insofar

as it might be interpreted to mean that Fox is

now a Communist. Fox states that he is not now

a Communist and we have no reason to doubt

this assertion.

"Accordingly, we correct our statement insofar

as it infers that Fox is now.a Communist."

Following is a copy of the letter which Fox

sent to the Oakland Tribune, requesting a cor-

rection of their characterization of him as an

"acknowledged Communist"':

"In the April 18, 1950 issue of your paper there

appeared an editorial containing the following

statement: `Among this group are those who had

insisted on the re-instatement of Teaching Assis-

tant Fox, an acknowledged Communist.'

"I request a retraction of this statement. Call-

ing me a Communist is in itself libelous. The

addition of the word `acknowledged' increases

the damaging effect of the statement, since it

implies that there is no doubt about the charge.

"I have stated publicly, and I now state again,

that I have never been a member of the Com-

munist Party and that I am not a Communist

sympathizer. At the meeting of the Board of

Regents of the University of California, held on

December 16, 1949, I said that although I had

participated in Communist Party meetings dur-

ing the early '40s, I had never joined the organi-

zation because as time went on I found myself

more and more in disagreement with it. To my

knowledge, even the Board of Regents has never

accused me of being a Communist. They stated

that I was fired because I did not meet `minimum

requirements for membership on the faculty.' In

_ Spite of repeated attempts to have these minimurm

requirements defined, they have never been made

public, so I still do not know which requirements

. I failed to meet.

"Shortly after the Regents' meeting, I issued

a press release containing the following state-

ments: `In good faith, I signed the loyalty oath.

... Although I did not finally adopt the views of

the Communist Party, I see no reason to apolo-

gize for having exercised my right to freely ex-

amine political ideas.' This release was certainly

available to your staff, since it appeared in the

home edition of the Oakland Tribune on Decem-

ber 19, 1949.

"These are days when people all over the world

are being encouraged to make such irresponsible

damaging statements. It is certainly the duty

of a newspaper to fight that tendency rather

than to contribute to it." /

Executive Committee

American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

Sara Bard Field Ce

Honorary Member

Rt. Rev. Edw. L. Parsons

Chairman

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn

Helen Salz

Vice-Chairmen

Joseph S. Thompson

Secretary-Treasurer

Ernest Besig

Director

Philip Adams

John H. Brill

Prof. James R. Caldwell

H. C. Carrasco

Wayne M. Collins

Rev. Oscar F. Green

Margaret C. Hayes

Ruth Kingman

Ralph N. Kleps

Seaton W. Manning

Mrs. Bruce Porter

Rabbi Irving F. Reichert

Clarence M. Rust

Prof. Wallace E. Stegner

Beatrice Mark Stern

Dr. Howard Thurman

Kathleen Drew Tolman

y Sel

leeting:

Finding its authority in a section of the Civic

Center Act held unconstitutional by the California

Supreme Court in 1946, the Berkeley Board of

Education last month announced the adoption of

rules aimed at excluding left-wing groups from

the use of schools as meeting places. Among

other things, the new rules prohibit the sale of

all literature and the advocacy of `any disloyal

or unpatriotic activity."' The Board would with-

hold a permit if it determined that a meeting

"will result in picketing."

: The new regulations would deny use of a meet-

ing place to an organization if the Board deter-

mines ``that such use or occupancy will... re-

sult in picketing, rioting, or other disturbances

of the peace, or in damage to the property, which

will render it unfit for or will interfere with its

proper use for school purposes.' And, groups

advocating the violent overthrow of the govern-

ment would be banned from the use of the civic

centers.

Applicants for the use of civic centers are re-

quired to ``promise and agree" (a) That no per-

son attending a meeting "shall be permitted or

allowed to utter remarks, sing songs, or distribute

pamphlets or literature of a seditious nature or

tending to incite unlawful resistance to or the

overthrow of the United State government .. ."

(b) That no person attending such meeting "shall

be permitted or allowed to advocate revolution

by force, violence, or by any other unlawful

means." (c) That no person attending such meet-

ing "shall be permitted or allowed to advocate

sedition, treason, or any disloyal or unpatriotic

activity." (d) That `the sale of books or other

literature for a price on any school property .. .

is prohibited."

Under the California Civic Center Act public

schools have been dedicated for free speech pur-

poses. Citizens `may meet and discuss from time

to time, as they may desire, any subjects and

questions which in their judgment appertain to

the educational, political, economic, artistic and

moral interests of the citizens of the communities

in which they reside." Such use "shall be granted

free."

At the 1945 session of the State Legislature,

under a bill introduced by Senator Jack B. Ten--

ney, who was then Chairman of the Senate Com-

mittee on Un-American Activities, the Civic Cen-

ter Act was amended to exclude "subversive ele-

ments" from the use of schools. In order to

determine whether appellants were `subversive

elements," the amendment allowed school boards

to require affidavits "showing whether or not

such person or organization is a subversive ele-

ment."

On June 26, 1946, the California Supreme Court,

in a 5 to 2 decision handed down in the case of

Danskin v. San Diego Unified School District,

ruled that the Tenney amendment was unconsti-

tutional.

Said the Court in an opinion by Justice Tray--

nor, "The convictions or affiliations of one who

requests the use of a school as a forum is of no

more concern to the school administrator than to

a superintendent of parks and streets if the forum

is the green or the market place. The ancient

right to free speech in public parks and sites can-.

not be made conditional upon the permission of

a public official, if that permission is used as an

instrument of `arbitrary suppression of free ex- ,

pression.' It is true that the state need not onen (c)

the doors of a school building as a forum and

may at any time choose to close them. Once it

opens the doors, however, it cannot demand tick-

ets of admission in the form of convictions and

affiliations that it deems acceptable. Censorshin

of those who would use the school buildine as a:

forum cannot be rationalized by reference to its

setting. School desks and blackboards, like trees

and street lights, are but the trappings of the

forum; what imports is the meeting of minds

and not the meeting place.

The issue is being submitted to the June meet-

ing of the A.C.L.U's Executive Committee.

Seek Action on Bill Barring

War Bride's Deportation

The ACLU last month urged the U.S. Senate

to complete action on legislation designed to safe-

guard Mrs. Ellen Knauff, German-born wife of a

former American soldier, from deportation.

Letters to all Senators, signed by Patrick Mur-

phy Malin, ACLU director, and Arthur Garfield

Hays, general counsel, urged them to vote favor-

ably on a House-approved measure which would

permit Mrs. Knauff to remain in the United

States.

Prompt passage of the bill, the letters declared,

"would constitute further impressive evidence

that our Congress stands ready to redress the

grievances of even the most obscure persons-

including aliens"'.

Since Mrs. Knauff's areval at New York har- .

bor in 1948, the Department of Justice has at-

tempted to deport her as a "hazard to internal

security'. It has consistently refused to reveal

its charges against her, however, or to grant her

a hearing-an action which ACLU contended

should be accorded "in the name of elementary

fairness". The only hearing on her case at which

Mrs. Knauff has been allowed to testify was held

-by a House Judiciary subcommittee. That body

"apparently cleared her of whatever charges or

suspicions were directed against her," ACLU said,

thus clearing the way for passage of the House

bill in her behalf.

Justice Department officials had scheduled

Mrs. Knauff's deportation most recently on May

17 after a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled

that such action could be taken even while Con-

gressional legislation in her behalf was pending.

The move was halted, however, when Justice

Robert H. Jackson of the U. S. Supreme Court

granted her a last-minute stay, so that the high

tribunal could hear an appeal from the Circuit

Court decision. The U. S. Supreme Court had

previously upheld the Attorney General's right to

bar Mrs. Knauff without a hearing and on the

basis of its findings.

In their letters to Senators, the two ACLU

officials commented that "the ever-present possi-

bility of injustice" in cases of this kind "can be

avoided for the future only if legislation is en-

acted to provide for administrative hearing as a

matter of course."

Supreme Court Refuses to |

Rule on Movie Censorship

The long fight against the censorship of the

motion picture "Curley" in Memphis, Tenn., be-

cause it showed white and Negro children playing

together culminated in defeat May 8 when the

Supreme Court declined to rule on the case. The

plaintiffs, United Artists Corp. and Hal Roach

Studios Inc. had asked the tribunal to declare all

city and state censorship in violation of the Con-

stitution's free speech guarantee.

The censorship imposed by the Memphis Board

of Censors was upheld first by the Shelby County

(Tenn.) circuit court on ground that neither a

local theater nor the plaintiffs had attempted to

show the picture. There was no ruling on the -

soundness of the reasons for the censorship. That

decision was then upheld by the Tennessee Su-

preme Court and appealed to the higher tribunal,

which refused to review the matter.

Another test of movie censorship has heen .

started by Louis De Rochemont, producer of

"Lost Boundaries", which ACLU is supporting.

After being turned down in the Atlanta Federal

District Court, an appeal has been taken to the

U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal is

expected to be argued on June 5.

Queries As to Race and Relicion

To Be Deleted From U.C. Ferm

The Bureau of Occupations at the University

of California at Berkeley advised the Civil Liber-

ties Union last month that it will delete questions

concerning race and religion from its application -

forms. "The order for new application forms,"

said Miss Vera Christie, the Bureau's manager,

"will be placed this month and the new forms will

be put into use just as soon as the present sunnlv

is exhausted. We do not, however, feel justified

in wasting State funds by discarding the present

application forms." /

`Miss Christie also pointed out that the ques-

tionnaire is used exclusively by her interviewers -

and is not sent to employers for review.

The Union wrote to Miss Christie about the

matter after receiving a complaint from a stu-

dent. The Bureau is maintained for students.

former students and graduates of the University

of California, and those seeking employment on

the University campus.

Page 4

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 Union

of Northern California.

Phone: EXbrook 2-3255

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

Court Denies Writ, Rebukes

Army for Prosecuting J. W.

While rebuking the Army for its prosecution of

Jehovah's Witness, Milton H. Cox, 32, of San Jose,

Federal Judge Herbert Erskine of San Francisco

on April 27, nevertheless, denied him a writ of

habeas corpus. Pending an appeal, the Court

allowed Cox to remain at liberty on. $500 bail

furnished by the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California.

Cox was arrested by the FBI in May, 1949,

almost seven years after he had walked out of

Camp Rucker in Alabama, and was turned over

to the Army to face desertion charges. He was

subsequently convicted and sentenced to five

years at hard labor. This conviction was set aside

and a retrial ordered. Pending the retrial by the

Army, the present legal proceedings were brought

in his behalf.

Cox claimed exemption from the draft as a

Minister and also filed the form required of con-

- scientious objectors. The Chairman of the local

draft board thereafter placed a memorandum in

Cox's file to the effect that he had personally

investigated the claims, found them to be sin-

cere and recommended classification as a con-

scientious objector. Despite the memorandum,

- Cox was ordered to report for induction into the

Army. His appeal, based solely on his claims as

a eo was lost and he reported to the Army

in :

Cox claims he refused to take the oath of in-

duction and that he departed for his home at the

first opportunity. He continued to reside in San

Jose and never sought to conceal himself.

Judge Erskine denied Cox's application for a

writ "with regret, however, because I feel that in

_ view of the fact petitioner was a sincere con-

scientious objector according to the finding of

the Chairman of his own local board, he should

have been classified as such. I believe also that

as he"has been a law-abiding industrious citizen

since he left the Army in August, 1942, that it is

deplorable that he should be taken from his home

and work and prosecuted for his desertion at this

late date, particularly as he made no effort at

any time to conceal his existence or whereabouts.

I also feel that in view of all the circumstances of

this case the original sentence meted out to him

Was excessive, unreasonable and inhuman, and

that his case should be treated with the utmost

leniency. If it were the province of this Court to

mete out the punishment, if any, in this case, the

sentence imposed would be the slightest legally

possible.

"Having no further jurisdiction over this mat-

ter, however, I can only express the hope that

any military tribunal or executive official exer-

cising jurisdiction over the petitioner in the future

will give consideration to the views expressed

herein."'

Judge Erskine rejected three contentions made

by Cox. 1. While agreeing that the draft board

erred in not classifying Cox as a conscientious

objector, the court held that Cox had abandoned

this point by limiting his appeal to the failure of

the draft board to classify him as a minister. 2.

The court felt that Cox had not sustained the

burden of proving that he had not taken the oath

of induction and, in any case, "his conduct after

leaving the induction center amounted to a waiver

of any irregularity in his induction." 3. "There

is no statute of limitations applicable to desertion

in time of war."

School Discipline

The A.C.L.U. received a report last month that

John P. Burnside, Principal of Marina Junior

High School, became exasperated with a trouble-

some colored student of 15 and punched him in

the nose and belly. On May 12, the Union asked

Dr. Herbert C. Clish, Superintendent of Schools,

for a report about the incident. 0x00B0

According to the Union's information, the inci-

dent took place the latter part of April. Never-

theless, in a letter received from Dr. Clish on

May 25, the Union was informed that "the mat-

ter is now under investigation. As soon as I have

Mr. Burnside's report, I shall be happy to com-

municate with you further." The wheels of jus-

tice grind slowly!

Union Active in |

Cases During the |

On the federal loyalty front in Northern Cali-

fornia, the Union has been active in nine cases

during the past two months.

In April the Union was advised of a favorable

decision by the Loyalty Review Board in a case

involving a nurse employed by the Veterans' Ad-

ministration. This girl was a member of the

Communist Party for a short time.

During the past month, a panel of the Loyalty

Review Board heard the appeal of a Negro at-

tendant at the Marine Hospital in San Francisco,

who is paid $160 a month. This man attended

some eight Communist meetings and finally lost

interest in the group because they weren't doing

him any good. As far as he was concerned, Com-

munism stood for opposition to race discrimina-

tion, better jobs and better housing. On the

other hand, he testified he had never seen them

doing anything that was bad, nor had they ever

done any overthrowing in his presence. On the

basis of his experience, he concluded that the

anti-Communist programs he heard on the radio

were just propaganda, and he didn't see why a

Communist couldn't work for the government.

Seth W. Richardson, former Attorney General,

and Chairman of the Loyalty Review Board, him-

self came out from Washington to serve as chair-

-man of the three-man panel that heard the case.

Mr. Richardson proved to be a brusque individual,

who frightened the witness by his browbeating

manner. Mr. Richardson was confused about the

facts in the case and rebuffed efforts at having

them clarified. His own confusion caused him to

confuse the witness. The other members of the

panel, however, were courteous gentlemen, who

apparently, bowed to Mr. RicHardson's superior

position. The case was taken under submission.

In another case involving a Negro packer at

the Naval Supply Center in Oakland, the depart-

mental loyalty board reached an unfavorable de-

cision and an appeal was taken to the Navy De-

partment Loyalty Appeal Board in Washington.

It was charged that the employee's name ap-

peared "on a list maintained by the Communist

Party and that of the 32 names on this list, 20

have been identified as members of the Com-

munist Party." He was also charged with sub-

scribing to the "Daily People's World,"' member-

ship in the Communist Party and holding a meet-

ing at his home for a Communist. Otherwise, the

accusation affected his wife's activities prior to

their marriage in 1947: She was accused of hold-

ing benefit dinners for left wing groups in her

home, of subscribing to the `Daily People's'

World" and being a member of the Communist

Party.

The evidence in the case disclosed, however,

that the employee is an ardent-baseball fan, a

lover of horse racing and a person who is con-

cerned with the problems of his race. He sup-

ported Byron Rumford for the State Assembly,

who was opposed by the Communists. Officials

of the N.A.A.C.P. indicated that the employee

was not a supporter of the Communist Party line.

He never subscribed to the "Daily People's

World," although during the F.E.P.C. campaign

he received free copies for several months. As

far as his wife is concerned, she appears to be

interested in racial issues, which have at time

brought her into contact with Communists.

Two issues have arisen involving students at

the University of California. The first case con-

cerned a part-time psychiatric social worker, who

admits past membership in American Youth for

Democracy and Independent Students Political

Action Committee at U. C., as well as. circulating

petitions to place the Independent Progressive.

Party on the California ballot. The Veterans Ad-

ministration sent her an interrogatory, which she

answered and since then nothing has happened.

Early in May, however, she completed her stu-

dent training and, therefore, had to sever her

connection with the Veterans Hospital, where

she was employed.

The second case involves a "Clinical Psycholo-

gist Trainee" at Fort Miley Hospital. The Vet-

erans Administration sent him interrogatories,

which he answered and since then nothing has

happened. The interrogatories queried him about

his membership in the Independent Students Po-

litical Action Committee, membership in the Pro-

gressive Citizens of America, circulating a peti-

tion to place the I.P.P. on the California ballot and

knowing two students at Cal. who were alleged

to be Communists.

The Union is still awaiting a decision by the

Regional Loyalty Board in the case of an engineer,

who is accused of having been a member of the

Russian-American Institute and the Washington

Book Shop Association, as well as having a bro-

ther and sister-in-law who are alleged to be Com-

Nine Fed

| Loyalty

onths

munists. While this man was in the Army he was

assigned to work on Russian Lend-Lease and,

consequently, had contacts with Soviet citizens.

He studied the Russian language and at one time

was unsuccessful in getting a visa to visit the

Soviet Union. He is also alleged to have "ex-

pressed and exhibited Communist sympathies and

un-American tendencies." .

A hearing has just been held before the Loy-

alty Review Board in the:case of a Negro civil .

engineer, an employee of the Reclamation Bureau.

This man is accused of signing a couple of peti-

tions in 1940 to place Communist candidates on

the ballot. He is also accused of subscribing to

the "Daily Worker" and circulating literature of

the "American Peace Mobilization," which ex-

isted prior to the war.

A hearing was also held recently by the Veter-

ans Administration Loyalty Board in the case of

a psychiatrist, who belonged to the Communist

Party for a short time during the Earl Browder

period. This employee, after a short period,

dropped out of the organization when she found

herself in disagreement with its policies.

The Union also assisted a statistician who was

required to answer questions as to his loyalty.

He was accused of permitting the "Daily Worker"'

to be distributed in the State Relief Administra-

tion Departments in California as well as associ-

ation with three alleged Communists, who worked

on the same job as he did and who have gained -

notoriety during the past few years. Apparently,

the case has been disposed of on the basis of his

answers, because nothing further has been heard

apout the matter.

Object to Discriminatory

Provisions in DP Bill

The joint Senate-House Conference Committee,

ironing out differences in the recently-passed DP

legislation, was urged by the ACLU last month

to remove provisions barring DPs who hold un-

orthodox political and economic views. The ACLU

also assailed a section of the bill that it said per-

mits the government to aid private employers

hiring DPs in keeping them at their jobs by

threats of deportation, a provision it termed as

"involuntary servitude." 7

The memorandum was submitted by, ACLU

Director Patrick Murphy Malin, Board Chairman.

John Haynes Holmes and Edward J. Ennis, Chair-

man of the Union's Alien Civil Rights Committee.

It centered its attack on the section forbidding

issuance of visas to persons who are or have been _

Communist Party members, or oppose or have

opposed the free competitive enterprise system or

are or have been members of any organization on

the Attorney General's "subversive'' list.

Analyzing the effects of the provision barring

former Communists, the ACLU officials said,

"this would have the inevitable effect of exclud-

ing many anti-Communists. The bill adopts the

theory that once a person has adhered to Com-

munism, he can never recant, can never be re-

formed, can never change his mind. . . . Perhaps

the most convincing arguments against Commu-

nism have been and are being made by those who

once embraced its doctrines and have since seen

their futility and evils." .

The ACLU officials asserted that the bill was

vague in stating whether beliefs contrary to free

competitive enterprise were enough to disqualify

a DP for admission, or whether there must also

be a past or present belief in "revolutionary over- '

throw of representative government." If the

former is correct, they said, then all Socialists,

be they active or theoretical Socialists. might be

excluded. `Certainly it would be ludicrous for

the U. S. to exclude men of the type of Clement

Atlee and members of the Socialist Cabinet in

Britain because of their belief in Socialism rather

than free competitive enterprise. . . . It is the

essence of our democracy that within our demo-

cratic structure which guarantees free speech,

there can be room for differences of opinion on

political and economic theories and public issues.

To deny this would be a denial of our American

heritage, the thing which makes us infinitely

stronger than the totalitarianism we oppose: in-

deed, our greatest weapon against it is this ability

to respect and permit the holding of any belief on

anv subject. That is freedom and Americanism."

The memorandum pointed out that under this

section many members of the House and Senate

could be excluded if they were applying for entry.

"There is hardly a Senator or Representative who

has not at some time voted for a bill which was

denounced by its opponents as being socialistic or

directed toward the destruction of the free enter-

prise system." oe