vol. 17, no. 7

American

Civil Liberties

Union-News

Free Press

Free Assemblage

Free Speech

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

VOLUME XVII

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, JULY, 1952

No. 7

Almost 900 New Members

Secured In Special Campaign

The hard and thorough work previously done

by campaign workers in the Union's special mem-

bership drive continued to bear fruit last month

as more memberships poured into the office to

raise the total of new memberships to 879, or 179

above the campaign goal of 700. At the same time,

almost a thousand dollars was received to bring

the campaign within $653 of its financial goal of

$7000.

San Francisco, Berkeley, the Peninsula, Marin

county and Richmond all exceeded their member-

ship goals. Of the remaining campaign areas, the

Orinda, Lafayette, Walnut Creek area raised 80%

of its membership goal, while Oakland and Miscel-

laneoug communities brought up the rear, each

with 47%.

Rev. F. Danford Lion's small but hard working

Peninsula campaign crew topped all the groups by

securing 161% of its membership goal. In runner-

up position is Mrs. Philip Adams' San Francisco

band of workers with 148% of their goal.

Dr: Harvey Powelson's Richmond committee

not only was in third position in the membership

totals with 127% of its goal, but led the financial

race with 133% of its quota. San Francisco and

the Peninsula likewise surpassed their monetary

goals,-both with 117%.

Berkeley, under Mrs. George Stewart's leader-

ship, spurted nobly during the past month to at-

tain 110% of itssmembership goal. Someone has

remarked that Berkeley's 800 present ACLU

membership must give that community the larg-

est per capita ACLU membership of any commu-

nity in the country. Out of every 140 persons in

Berkeley, one is an ACLU member. Moreover, in

Northern California, Berkeley is second in mem-

bership only to San Francisco, which leads with

about 900 paid-up members.

Harry L. Evans' Marin county team jumped

from 68% to 108% of its membership goal last

month, and it was only 15% short of its financial

goal.

The Orinda, Lafayette, Walnut Creek team,

under Mrs. Frank Newman's leadership, ended

the month with 80% of its membership goal and

74% of its financial goal-

The only disappointment has been in Oakland

where only 47% of the membership and 33% of

the financial goals were achieved. We know Stan-

ley Erle Brown and his workers gave the job a

good try, so there must be something wrong with

the community.

On May 31 the total membership stood at

(2693. While the June 30 figures are not as yet

available, they should be well over the 2800 mark,

or more than a 50% increase over the 1855 figure

with which the Union ended the fiscal year last

October 31.

A few memberships are still coming in as a

result of the campaign, so it is quite possible that

the final campaign figures will bring the new-

members over the 900 mark.

ACLU Participated in 20 Federal Employees

Loyalty Cases in Past Six Months _

The ACLU of Northern California scored nine

victories in federal employees' loyalty and security

cases during the first six months of 1952 as

against only one defeat. This is only the third

unfavorable decision in a loyalty case handled by

the local branch of the Union in almost five years.

In addition to the foregoing cases, the Union

has participated in ten other loyalty cases during

the past six months, thus raising to twenty the

total number of active loyalty cases in the Union's

files for the six-month period.

immig. Service Claims They

May Hold Park Another 6 Mos.

Sang Ryup Park, anti-Rhee Korean whose de-

portation to South Korea was enjoined by Fed-

eral Judge Louis Goodman on May 9 on the

ground that he would suffer physical persecution

if sent to that country, continues to be detained

by the Immigration Service in its San Francisco

office building. Park has been detained ever since

November 29, or more than seven months.

The Union asked the Immigration Service what

they intended to do with Park only to be informed

that they didn't know what to do with him. W hile

conceding he could not be deported at this time,

they insisted they could continue to hold him for

six months dating from Judge Goodman's order,

or until November 9.

What good would ke accomplished by such de-

tention is not clear. Moreover, the taxpayers pay

the costs of such foolishness.

Also, there does not seem to be any legal au-

thority for any continued detention. The Internal

Security Act of 1950 empowers the Immigration

Service to detain an alien for six months after

the warrant of deportation is issued. In this case,

the deportation warrant was issued a year ago

last April 6, but, at that time, as the law also per-

mits, the Service elected to allow Park his liberty

on $500 bail. He was free on such bail for 74

months before he surrendered for deportation to

South Korea.

In the meantime, the ACLU has sought relief

from the Central Office of the Immigration Serv-

ice. A wire and two telephone calls brought the

response that the matter was under consideration

and a decision would be forthcoming the week of

June 16. Thus far, however, no word has been re-

ceived from Washington.

Standing Membership Comm.

The Executive Committee of the ACLU of

Northern California on June 5 approved a rec-

ommendation to establish a standing membership

committeee to be composed of three representa-

tives from each of the organized areas that par-

ticipated in the recent membership drive. The

Committee will be organized after the summer

holidays.

Latest Results of Membership Drive

(TO JUNE 25, 1952)

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_1949.MODS ACLUN_1949.batch ACLUN_1950 ACLUN_1950.MODS ACLUN_1950.batch ACLUN_1951 ACLUN_1951.MODS ACLUN_1951.batch ACLUN_1952 ACLUN_1952.MODS ACLUN_1952.batch ACLUN_1953 ACLUN_1953.MODS ACLUN_1954 ACLUN_1954.MODS ACLUN_1955 ACLUN_1955.MODS ACLUN_1956 ACLUN_1956.MODS ACLUN_1957 ACLUN_1957.MODS ACLUN_1958 ACLUN_1958.MODS ACLUN_1959 ACLUN_1959.MODS ACLUN_1960 ACLUN_1960.MODS ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1962 ACLUN_1962.MODS ACLUN_1963 ACLUN_1963.MODS ACLUN_1964 ACLUN_1964.MODS ACLUN_1965 ACLUN_1965.MODS ACLUN_1966 ACLUN_1966.MODS ACLUN_1967 ACLUN_1967.MODS ACLUN_1968 ACLUN_1968.MODS ACLUN_1969 ACLUN_1969.MODS ACLUN_1970 ACLUN_1970.MODS ACLUN_1971 ACLUN_1971.MODS ACLUN_1972 ACLUN_1972.MODS ACLUN_1973 ACLUN_1973.MODS ACLUN_1974 ACLUN_1974.MODS ACLUN_1975 ACLUN_1975.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS ACLUN_ladd.bags ACLUN_ladd.batch add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log Financial

Goal

$2050

2000

575

475

330

125

125

500

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_1949.MODS ACLUN_1949.batch ACLUN_1950 ACLUN_1950.MODS ACLUN_1950.batch ACLUN_1951 ACLUN_1951.MODS ACLUN_1951.batch ACLUN_1952 ACLUN_1952.MODS ACLUN_1952.batch ACLUN_1953 ACLUN_1953.MODS ACLUN_1954 ACLUN_1954.MODS ACLUN_1955 ACLUN_1955.MODS ACLUN_1956 ACLUN_1956.MODS ACLUN_1957 ACLUN_1957.MODS ACLUN_1958 ACLUN_1958.MODS ACLUN_1959 ACLUN_1959.MODS ACLUN_1960 ACLUN_1960.MODS ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1962 ACLUN_1962.MODS ACLUN_1963 ACLUN_1963.MODS ACLUN_1964 ACLUN_1964.MODS ACLUN_1965 ACLUN_1965.MODS ACLUN_1966 ACLUN_1966.MODS ACLUN_1967 ACLUN_1967.MODS ACLUN_1968 ACLUN_1968.MODS ACLUN_1969 ACLUN_1969.MODS ACLUN_1970 ACLUN_1970.MODS ACLUN_1971 ACLUN_1971.MODS ACLUN_1972 ACLUN_1972.MODS ACLUN_1973 ACLUN_1973.MODS ACLUN_1974 ACLUN_1974.MODS ACLUN_1975 ACLUN_1975.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS ACLUN_ladd.bags ACLUN_ladd.batch add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log

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_1949.MODS ACLUN_1949.batch ACLUN_1950 ACLUN_1950.MODS ACLUN_1950.batch ACLUN_1951 ACLUN_1951.MODS ACLUN_1951.batch ACLUN_1952 ACLUN_1952.MODS ACLUN_1952.batch ACLUN_1953 ACLUN_1953.MODS ACLUN_1954 ACLUN_1954.MODS ACLUN_1955 ACLUN_1955.MODS ACLUN_1956 ACLUN_1956.MODS ACLUN_1957 ACLUN_1957.MODS ACLUN_1958 ACLUN_1958.MODS ACLUN_1959 ACLUN_1959.MODS ACLUN_1960 ACLUN_1960.MODS ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1962 ACLUN_1962.MODS ACLUN_1963 ACLUN_1963.MODS ACLUN_1964 ACLUN_1964.MODS ACLUN_1965 ACLUN_1965.MODS ACLUN_1966 ACLUN_1966.MODS ACLUN_1967 ACLUN_1967.MODS ACLUN_1968 ACLUN_1968.MODS ACLUN_1969 ACLUN_1969.MODS ACLUN_1970 ACLUN_1970.MODS ACLUN_1971 ACLUN_1971.MODS ACLUN_1972 ACLUN_1972.MODS ACLUN_1973 ACLUN_1973.MODS ACLUN_1974 ACLUN_1974.MODS ACLUN_1975 ACLUN_1975.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS ACLUN_ladd.bags ACLUN_ladd.batch add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log Membership

Goal

249

243

70

57

40

15

San Francisco .........

Berkeley

Peninsula... 7-22... -

Oakland. 2.62.2

Marin County .........

Richmond

Orinda, Laf., Wal. Cr. ..

Miscellaneous

Paid-Up

New

Members

369

268

113

27

43

19

12

28

Percent

of Goal

117%

70%

117%

33%

85%

133%

74%

33%

89%

Percent

of Goal

148%

110%

161%

47 %

108%

127 %

80%

47%

126%

Money

Received

$2394.00

1416.00

673.50

158.00

279.50

166.00

93.00

167.00

$5347.00

saerhaesermaoes

879

*The announced goals were 700 new members and $7000, including $1000 already available in the

budget for additional office help.

Two Employees Resign

Two of the'foregoing cases were closed follow-

ing resignations of the employees. In each case,

however, the employee answered charges received

from the Regional Loyalty Board of the Civil

Service Commission, but before any final action

was taken in his case, he quit in order to accept

other employment. The Loyalty Board refuses to

pass on issues after an employee quits the federal

service.

It is our guess that the Regional Loyalty Board

would have taken favorable action in each of these

cases without requiring a hearing because the

charges were very flimsy. In the first case, the

employee was charged with having subscribed

to the "New International" in 1939 and with

association with some person he could not recall

knowing. He was also charged with having been

a sponsor of the San Francisco Youth Section,

American League Against War and Fascism, and

with opposing the Tenney loyalty oath bills in

1949.

In the second case, the employee was charged

with being "an active member of the Washington

Bookshop Association" in 1946 and 1947 (a group

that provided books and phonograph records at a.

discount) and with close association with two

alleged Communists. The one associate happened

to be a neighbor in the same building where she

resided and with whom she had only casual con-

tact, while the second "associate" she met on only

a half dozen occasions at her landlord's home.

One Case Dropped

One case was dropped by the Union because the

employee did not seem to be able to tell a truthful

story. In fact, he admitted lying and a hearing was

reopened to allow him to correct his story. His

corrected story, however, was just as inconsistent

as the original story. Consequently, the Union's

Executive Committee authorized the director to

withdraw from the case.

Three cases are pending following written

answers to interrogatories. The first case arose

about five months ago. The employee was asked

by a departmental loyalty board whether he had

ever been a member of "`a Communist front organ-

ization, or any club or organization that is or was

dominated, controlled or infiltrated by Com-

munists." He was also asked whether he had been

connected with the American Youth Congress or

the American League for Peace and Democracy.

As a matter of fact, his only association was with

the Student Lawyers Guild at Hastings College .

of Law: :

The second case raises questions of alleged as-

sociation, prior to 1941, in the Washington Book-

shop Association (the cut-rate book and record

shop) as well as the Washington Committee for

Democratic Action. Now, it so happens that the

employee's deceased husband was a nominal mem-

ber of the former, but never got around to buying

any books or records or having anything else to

do with the group. The employee, however, was

never a member of the group. And, as for the

second organization, she never had any connection

with the group either. Interestingly enough, the

employee was previously interrogated `on these

matters by the FBI, but there doesn't seem to be

any way of laying them to rest. There is one

additional charge, however, that has to do with an

article in a Communist publication in 1938 dealing

with Soviet education. As luck would have it, the

author of the article has the same name as the

employee, but the latter knows nothing about

Soviet education, and was residing in this country

at a time when the author of the article was in the

Soviet Union. One would think that the FBI would

have found out exactly who the person was and .

that there would be no heed of querying the

employee.

(Continued on Page 4, Col. 2)

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES-NEWS

Proposition 5 on:

Next November's Ballot

... that the Constitution of the State be

amended by adding to Article XX thereof a

new section to be numbered 19, to read as

follows:

Sec. 19. Notwithstanding any other provi-

sion of this Constitution, no person or organ-

ization which advocates the overthrow of the

Government of the United States or the State

by force or violence or other unlawful means

or who advocates the support of a foreign

government against the United States in the

event of hostilities shall:

(a) Hold any office or employment under

this State, including but not limited to the

University of California, or with any county,

city or county, city, district, political sub-

division, authority, board, bureau, commis-

sion or other public agency of this State; or

(b) Receive any exemption from any tax

imposed by this State or any county, city or

county, city, district, political subdivision,

authority, board, bureau, commission or other

public agency of this State.

The Legislature shall enact such laws as

may be necessary to enforce the provisions

of this section.

ACLU Assails TV Code,

Asks FCC Hearing

ACLU last month asked for an official hearing

to find out whether the television industry's new

code of ethics violates the Federal Communica-

tions Act. The Union called the code "stultifying

and illegal censorship."

In a letter to Paul A. Walker, chairman of the

Federal Communications Commission, ACLU

pointed out that radio and TV station licensees

always have had final responsibility for program

content, and that the communications act pro-

hibits prior censorship. It added that the code,

adopted by the National Association of Radio and

Television Broadcasters, `provides for an extreme

form of censorship which, in effect, rules out

material which would be offensive to many groups

or parts thereof, in any community in the country,

however reasonable or unreasonable the particular

potential objectors might be.

"Tt seems to us," ACLU said, ``that this abnega-

tion of responsibility for licensee self-restraint,

and the substitution thereof of a code of industry-

wide censorship, is improper and fraught with

great dangers both to the free operation of radio

and TV and the public at large."

"Rather than becoming a medium for the trans-

mission of ideas, on which democracy thrives,

and the expression of opinion which a healthy

society and culture must have, television, under

the iron fist of the Code, will be a diluted force in

our national life. . . . It would create conformity

and reduce TV to dull mediocrity."

The letter also contended that the code "is a

combination in restraint of trade in ideas which

may well constitute a violation of the anti-trust

laws, in which case all stations abiding by the code

might ke held to lack the requisite qualifications

for the holding of licenses. For this reason, a pub-

lic hearing is even more essential to clearly estab-

lish this point."

Stations failing to conform to the Code's re-

quirements for program selection and content

face loss of the NARTB seal of approval.

Kit Congress' Probe of

Video Programs as Censorship

ACLU has attacked as a threat to censorship

two new congressional inquiries into the moral

effects of radio and TV programs and "current

literature."

The investigations were voted by the House of

Representatives in two resolutions-with 35 mem-

bers present. One resolution called for committee

hearings to determine ``the extent to which radio

and television programs . . . contain immoral or

otherwise offensive matter.' The second directed

a similar probe into "current literature."

Patrick Murphy Malin, ACLU executive direc-

tor, said the investigations `would have extensive

and repressive effects on the press and broad-

casting and probably could not result in any

new legislative proposals which would be con-

stitutional.

"The resolutions are so vague," he said, ``as to

be almost completely meaningless and to give the

committees power to investigate almost anything

they dislike because of its content.'' Malin said

that existing federal and state laws are adequate

to deal with the problem of obscenity. ACLU will

testify when hearings are held on the resolution.

Argument Against Proposition 5, Permitting

Loyalty Check Program for Siate Employees

In addition to a proposal to place the Levering

Act, requiring conformity oaths of State em-

ployees, in the State Constitution (Proposition

6), next November's ballot will also carry a pro-

posal, Proposition 5, to permit the Legislature to

subject employees of the State, and any political

subdivision thereof, to a loyalty check program

similar to the program established in Federal em-

ployment under the President's Loyalty Order.

(See text of the proposal in adjacent column.)

The following 500-word argument against the

proposition, written by Ernest Besig, will appear

in the voter's handbook distributed to each voter:

The chief purpose of this proposal is to permit

the Legislature to adopt a scheme to eliminate

subversives from local and State governments.

That is a laudable purpose, but what subversives

are there to eliminate, and how will it be done?

We have tens of thousands of State and local

employees. They are your neighbors. Do you know

any of them to be disloyal? Of course, not! Our

public employees are singularly loyal, and there is

no necessity for this kind of legislation.

But, think of the price YOU as a taxpayer

would have to pay if an agency to hunt subversives

were set up! Think of the cost of investigating

not just the few public employees in your com-

munity but the tens of thousands throughout the

State and, it is hoped, giving them some kind of a

hearing! Why, such an investigatory and hearing

system could not be operated without the annual

expenditure of millions of dollars which would

come out of YOUR pockets. If you want to prevent

waste in government, don't allow such an un-

necessary and costly agency to get started.

And, pity the poor public employee if secret

police start snooping and prying into his private

life. Think, too, what a fine target he would make

for malicious and misguided people. If someone

fancies he has a grievance against a public em-

ployee and wants to get even, all he has to do is

to accuse him of having said or done something

that is subversive. Informers can get away with

false charges, because such reports are always

kept confidential and the accuser never has to

confront the accused:

That isn't the way we do things in this country.

In fact, that's the sort of thing the Communists

and Fascists do to take away freedom from their

public servants. If they get out of line; if they

fail to conform, they may sacrifice their jobs.

"Consequently, if this proposition is adopted, gov-

ernment employees will have to be extremely

cautious about what they say and with whom they

associate.

Moreover, this proposal is an entering wedge

for the politicians to tamper with the operation of

the University of California. The Constitution has

wisely placed its control out of the reach of the

politicians and in the hands of the Regents. That's

the place to leave it. If you want to maintain the

high teaching standards of the University of

California, don't let the politicians have a hand in

deciding who may teach there.

Finally, a lesser purpose of this proposal is to

deny tax exemption to subversive individuals and

groups. For example, YOU might suddenly be de-

nied your veteran's exemption of $1000. Think

how difficult it: would be to defend yourself against

secret and malicious charges. If any serious effort

were made to enforce this section of the proposal,

by setting up an expensive investigatory system,

it would cost many times what would be saved in

cancelled tax exemptions.

Vote NO on Proposition 5.

Court Rules Movies Entitled

To Free Press Guarantees

In a historic decision, the U. S. Supreme Court

on May 26 ruled unanimously that motion pictures

are entitled to the constitutional guarantees of

free speech and free press.

The court did not outlaw all movie censorship.

But it clearly opened the way for major restric-

tions on the operations of local censors.

The ruling came in a case involving the Italian

film, `"`The Miracle," which was banned by New

York State as "sacrilegious.'"' On the narrow issue

in the case-whether the standard "sacrilegious"

was precise enough to be constitutionally permis-

sable-the court found that the censor trying to

interpret it would be "set adrift upon a boundless

sea ..- with no charts but those provided by the

most vocal and powerful orthodoxies." New York,

it said, cannot vest "such unlimited restraining

control over motion pictures in a censor."

Then the court went on, "We conclude," it said,

"that expression by means of motion pictures is

included within the free speech and free press

guarantees of the First and Fourteenth Amend-

ments." The freedom is not absolute. But the basic

principles apply.

This was the major victory-both for civil

libertarians and for the motion picture industry.

It meant that the justices had finally overturned

the court's 1915 Mutual Film edict-which held

that movies are `"`spectacles" and a business `"`pure

and simple," and not entitled to free speech.

The court took pains, however, not to slam

the door completely on movie censorship. It

specifically did not rule on whether a state could

censor a movie in advance of public showing under

a "clearly-drawn"' obscenity statute.

Thus it left this situation: Censorship boards

are still very much in business. But with movies

under the mantle of free speech and free press,

their operations are much more restricted since

vague standards cannot be used to ban films.

The exact extent of these restrictions will have

to be decided by further test cases. One has al-

ready been ruled on; the court more recently

struck down the Marshall (Tex.) ordinance used

to ban showings of the film, "Pinky." The censors

there had outlawed the movie on the grounds

that it was "of such character as to be prejudicial

to the best interests of the people of this city."

ACLU supported the test case on "The Miracle"

from the start and filed several friend-of-the-

court briefs.

Annual Meeting Oct. 17

The Executive Committee of the ACLU of

Northern California has scheduled the annual

membership meeting for Friday evening, October

17, at Marines' Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter St.,

San Francisco. The program for the meeting will

be announced at a later date.

`Forced Listening' Upheld -

in Public Conveyances

The U. S. Supreme Court has found that radio

broadcasting in public conveyances is not in vio-

lation of the passengers' constitutional rights.

In the "captive audience" case involving the

Capitol Transit Co. of Washington, the high court

reversed the decision of a lower court which had

declared that the broadcasts deprived objecting

"passengers of liberty without due process of

law." In delivering the 7 to 1 decision of the court,

Justice Harold H. Burton made this comment on

the Court of Appeals' decision:

"This position wrongly assumes that the Fifth

Amendment secures to each passenger on a public

vehicle regulated by the Federal Government a

right of privacy substantially equal to the privacy

to which he is entitled in his own home."

In this case the programs generally consisted

of 90% music, 5% news, weather reports and

matters of civic interest and 5% commercial ad-

vertising.

Justice William O. Douglas, in dissenting, said:

"The street car audience is a captive audience.

It is there as a matter of necessity, not of choice.

`If liberty is to flourish, government should

never be allowed to force people to listen to any

radio program. The right of privacy should include

the right to pick and choose from competing en-

tertainments, competing propaganda, competing

political philosophies. If people are let alone in

those choices, the right of privacy will pay divi-

dends in character and integrity. The strength of

our system is in the dignity, the resourcefulness,

and the independence of our people: Our confi-

dence is in their ability as individuals to make

the wisest choice. That system cannot flourish if

regimentation takes hold. The right of privacy,

today violated, is a powerful deterrent to any one

who would control men's minds."

Justice Felix Frankfurter refrained from par-

ticipating in the case because his feelings as a

passenger were "so strongly engaged" that he felt

he should not sit in judgment on the issue.

Conviction Record for Contempt

Of Congress Released by Justice Dept.

A short while ago, the Justice Department

released a breakdown of just how many people

cited for contempt of Congress wind up in jail.

The record so far is pretty spotty.

Since 1947, the House or Senate has cited 155

persons for contempt. Of these, only 43 have been

convicted; 80 have been acquitted in the courts,

The remaining 32 cases-most of them started

by. the Senate Crime Investigating Committee-

are still pending.

The House Un-American Activities Committee,

with an even 100 of its witnesses cited, led all

other congressional committees. Its score: 35 con-

victions, 63 acquittals, one pending.

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it suddenly be de-

of $1000. Think

d yourself against

any serious effort

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sstigatory system,

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Jpheld

ces

; found that radio

aces is not in vio-

itutional rights.

ase involving the

on, the high court

r court which had

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aes that the Fifth

senger on a public

ral Government a

jual to the privacy

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enerally consisted

ther reports and

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captive audience.

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overnment should

le to listen to any

acy should include

om competing en-

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are let alone in

racy will pay divi-

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ie resourcefulness,

people: Our confi-

lividuals to make

cannot flourish if

right of privacy,

terrent to any one

frained from par-

his feelings as a

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n the issue.

ntempt

y Justice Dept.

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how many people

s wind up in jail.

.

nate has cited 155

only 43 have been

`ted in the courts.

t of them started

ting Committee-

ivities Committee,

`sses cited, led all

. Its score: 35 con-

ng.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES-NEWS

Page 3

Federal Court invalidates

Coast Guard Screening

Federal Judge John C. Bowen of Seattle on

June 11 dismissed indictments against three sea-

men accused of violating the Coast Guard's secu-

rity screening regulations authorized under the

Magnuson Act. In an oral opinion, the judge de-

clared, "The loyalty screening proceedings ...

violate the due process of law requirements be-

cause the defendants are not advised of the na-

ture of the disloyalty charges against them and

given a hearing on those charges before the ad-

verse findings are made.

"There is no question in my mind," the judge

continued, "but that all loyal Americans would

approve the lawful disloyalty screening of persons

engaged in the service of the United States or

who have anything to do with the performance of

work relating to the security of the U.S.

"But so long as we have the Constitution of the

United States, which guarantees the application

of due process of law to proceedings in all cases

relating to the civil, personal rights or property

of citizens, such proceedings will have to be

brought within the purview of the principle of the

due process of law as guaranteed by the Consti-

tution-"

It is expected that Judge Bowen's decision will

ke appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

in San Francisco. In the meantime, the decision

has had no effect on the screening program.

In San Francisco, the program.is conducted by

an indepedent hearing officer, assigned to the

Coast Guard under the.Administrative Procedure

Act to handle cases of licensed merchant marine

personnel who are charged with violating regula-

tions. As an additional duty, and, as time allows,

he is also chairman of the local Coast Guard

screening Appeal Board. He is so overwhelmed

with work, however, that there are long delays

before hearings are held and recommendations

are made to the Commandant of the Coast Guard.

For some unknown reason, the Coast Guard

last month took away all of the hearing officer's

clerical help except one man. As a result, no tran-

scripts are being prepared to enable appeals to be

taken to the National Appeal Board in Washing-

ton.

Of course, the whole procedure is grossly un-

fair, as the court suggested, because the accused

security risk is never provided with a specifica-

tion of charges to allow him to prepare a defense.

He may appear at his hearing accompanied by

counsel and must be prepared for anything. As a

result of questioning by the present hearing offic-

er, the accused gets some notion as to the charges

contained in the secret file. Some hearing officers

who previously served in this area, however, gave

very little indication of the contents of the secret

files by their questions.

In all, the ACLU of Northern California has

intervened in 52 screening cases since the pro-

gram started about 17 months ago-

An application for an injunction to prohibit

enforcement of the present screening program

will be tried in the Federal District Court in San

Francisco during July.

Political Beliefs No Basis for

Denying Child to its Mother

New York's highest court, the Court of Ap-

peals, has unanimously reversed lower-court rul-

ings that would have given custody of a six-year-

old child to her grandmother.

The mother involved, Mrs. Ann Strasser De-

Carava, had been charged with neglect and unfit-

ness. Among other things, she was accused of

Communist activity, of failing to rear her daugh-

ter in the Jewish faith, and of bringing her up in

an "undesirable" neighborhood - an interracial

area where she lives with her second husband, a

Negro.

The court noted that Mrs. DeCarava had denied

membership in Communist front groups in "a

period long before the trial,' and that anyway

"there was nothing to show that such association

continued or that they were such as to make the

mother unfit to rear her own infant."

Further, the court said, religious training is

"within the parents' sole control."

"We conclude," it summed up, "that there is

here no such proof of neglect as would authorize

any court to take an infant from its mother."

The New York Civil Liberties Union and the

National Association for the Advancement of Col-

ored People filed friend-of-the-court briefs sup-

porting Mrs: DeCarava.

Moving?

Summer months bring many changes of

address, especially among those engaged in

academic pursuits. If you are planning to

move, the Union would appreciate prompt

notice of any change of address.

ACLU Issues New Statement on Academic

Freedom and Responsibility

In a new statement on academic freedom and

responsibility, the American Civil Liberties Un-

ion recently called upon schools, colleges, and

local communities to preserve "the American tra-

ditions of a free market-place for ideas and of

cultural diversity."

"A time of crisis puts pressure on the schools

to accept and inculcate current official interpreta-

tions of human behavior," said the introduction

to a new ACLU pamphlet intended to serve as a

guide in dealing with cases involving freedom and

responsibility.

"Yet it is precisely in time of crisis that it is

valuable democratic strategy to encourage the

presentation of contrasting viewpoints and to

cause students to realize that they are free to

draw such conclusions as they think wise. As a

member of an academic community and parti-

cularly as a teacher, the faculty member is free to

present in the field of his professional competence

his own opinions or convictions and with them the

premises from which they are derived. It is his

duty, on the other hand, not to advocate any opin-

ions or convictions derived from a source other

than his own free and unbiased pursuit of truth

and understanding. Commitments of any kind

which interfere with such pursuit are incompatible

with the objectives of academic freedom."

In appraising teacher fitness, the pamphlet re-

affirmed the ACLU policy that "the central issue

(is the teacher's) performance in his subject and

his relationship with his students."

The ACLU opposes as contrary to democratic

liberties any ban or regulation which would pro-

hibit the employment as a teacher of any person

solely because of his views or associations, such

as Communist or Fascist," the statement de-

clared. ""The ACLU does not oppose the ouster or

rejection of any teacher found lacking in pro-

fessional integrity."

In answer to persons who contend that teach-

ers with anti-democratic beliefs or associations

cannot be tolerated in public schools, the Union

pointed out that there is no common agreement on

definition of the terms "democratic" and "anti-

democratic."

"Tf we accept the views of dominant forces

current at any one time or place there will be no

end to the tests imposed on the fitness of teach-

ers,' the pamphlet said. `""What we do today to

outlaw from teaching members of presently de-

tested organizations creates the precedents by

which all freedom of teaching can be destroyed.

The ACLU stands on the principle that it is far

better for our democracy to run the calculated

risks of `establishing freedom than to suffer the

already proved dangers of repression . . . The

harm done by a few teachers who might be un-

detected in misusing their teaching positions for

political or religious ends is far less than the harm

that is done by making teachers everywhere...

less courageous and less independent in the pur-

suit of truth, more cautious and more sub-

servient."'

The pamphlet also declared that "when not en-

gaged in specifically professional activities, the

What Legal Remedy for

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

ACLU has asked the U. S. Supreme Court to

clear up once and for all a controversy over habeas

corpus: The issue is this: Is habeas corpus the

remedy to protect a prisoner from cruel punish-

ment by prison officials?

Two circuit courts of appeal have previously

held that it is; the one in the present case before

the high court has said it isn't.

The ACLU's attempt to get a final say on the

conflict involves a petition by Willard Williams,

a prisoner at the U. 8. Medical Center at Spring-

field, Ill. Williams, in May, 1951, asked a federal

district court for a writ of hakeas corpus, alleging

that prison officials were subjecting him to cruel

and unusual punishment. The court, however,

turned down his petition-without a hearing or a

finding of fact. Its reason was that it had no

jurisdiction to interfere as long as Williams was

being held by proper authority. This stand was

upheld by the Highth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Williams has now appealed to the U. S. Supreme

Court.-with the sponsorship of ACLU. He main-

tains that: (1) He was entitled to a hearing on

his petition for habeas corpus; and (2) the court

does have the right to intervene in his case.

Basis for much of Williams' argument is a pair

of rulings by two other circuit courts in cases

handled by ACLU attorneys in Pittsburgh and

Washington, D. C. In essence, they say that a

prisoner is entitled to a writ of habeas corpus-

even though he is lawfully in custody-whenever

he is subjected to brutality by prison officials.

teacher should be able to function with the free-

dom of any other citizen," joining lawful organiza-

tions of his choice and exercising freedom of ex-

pression.

Prepared by the Union's Academic Freedom

Committee-composed of eminent educators-the

booklet also set down criteria for students and

school administrators.

Students, it said, should be encouraged to

discuss divergent ideas freely, and outside the

classroom should have the right of petition for

changes in curriculum, faculty, and school regula-

tions; should help regulate extracurricular activi-

ties; be free to organize groups for political, so-

cial, athletic and "other proper and lawful pur-

poses;" be permitted to talk freely, hear speakers

of their choice, and publish newspapers and

magazines, subject to clearly-defined democratic

regulations governing their responsibility; and be

free of school control in their off-campus political,

social, and economic activities. (R)

"The democratic way of life depends for its

very existence upon the free contest of ideas, This

is as true on the campus as in the community

at large. If our students are to grow to political

and social maturity, no step should be neglected

which will habituate them to the free interchange

of ideas-unpopular and strange ideas as well as

those which are favored and familiar.

"These primary considerations demonstrate the

need for maintaining in extra-curricular activities

a system analogous, so far as practicable, to the

rights of free speech and assembly enjoyed by the

community at large. This system should begin to

operate in the early grades in matters consonant

with the intellectual and general maturity level of

the students and gradually broaden as high school

years are reached. Failure of an educational insti-

tution to maintain this principle not only thwarts

student development but causes positive loss to

the community in other ways."

The pamphlet urged school administrators to

"provide the atmosphere in which academic free-

dom will flourish," to serve rather than dominate

school systems or colleges.

Teachers and students who consider their aca-

demic freedom is being damaged were invited to

communicate with the ACLU. The pamphlet is now

are at the Union's local office at a price

of 10c.

Businessman Urges Freedom of

Speech for `Ideas We Detest'

In a speech before the Rotary Club of Dallas,

John S. Coleman, president of Burroughs Adding

Machine Co., called upon businessmen to support

"freedom of utterance" even in cases where it is

employed to spread "ideas we detest."

"In our strong attachment to one or other of

these views, we may well lose patience with those

in the*opposite camp," said Coleman. `Yet as we

catch our tempers, we know that without this

open discussion there is no democracy and no

freedom. Democracy is: in fact a great com-

promise."

Coleman told his listeners that "our interest in

freedom is slight if we defend it only when our

own. business or professional interests are threat-

ened." He warned that "hate and suspicion are

corrupting public debate" and that `argument

frequently degenerates into charges of heresy and

conspiracy." This situation, said the speaker,

"recurs in every time of stress."

"Our interest in freedom," said Coleman, "is

slight-if we defend it only in times of social

peace."

Ballot Recommendations

The Union's Executive Committee has

taken the following action with reference to

propositions affecting civil liberties which

will be on next November's ballot:

No: 3-Exempting parochial schools

from taxation. Vote "No."

No. 5-Permitting the establishment of a

loyalty check program for U.C.,

State and municipal employees,

and denying tax exemption to -al-

leged subversives. Vote "No."

(See argument against this prop-

osition in this issue of the

"News."

No. 6-Placing the Levering Act con-

formity oath for public employees

in the State Constitution.

Vote "No."

No. 14-Repealing Article XIX of the Cali-

fornia Constitution, an anti-Chi-

nese section. Vote "Yes."

Page 4

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES-NEWS

American Civil Liberties Union-News

Published monthly at 503 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 -l151 "

DDD RRR RFRA Eee

"The Judges and the Judged'

The Union still has available copies of

Merle Miller's book, "The Judges and the

Judged"-a study of blacklisting in the radio

and television industry made especially for

ACLU. By special arrangement with Double-

day and Company, this book, which ordinarily

sells for $2.50, is available to ACLU members

at $1.81, including sales tax. Orders should

be sent to the American Civil Liberties Union,

503 Market St-, San Francisco, together with

a check.

Civil Liberties Pamphlets

The following pamphlets may be secured by

writing to the ACLU office, 503 Market St., San

Francisco 5. Please accompany order by re-

mittance.

Academic Freedom and Academic Responsibil-

ity. Price, 10c.

Democracy in Labor Unions. Price, 26c.

The Black Silence of Fear, By William O. Doug-

las. Reprinted from The. New York Times

Magazine. Price 5c.

Are U. S. Teenagers Rejecting Freedom?, a

Look reprint on the findings of Purdue poll-

takers who queried 15,000 young people on

Te thoughts regarding civil liberties. Price,

10e.

Loyalty in a Democracy, a Public Affairs Com-

mittee roundtable report by leaders in the

liberties field. Price, 26c.

What to Do About "Dangerous" Textbooks, by

Edward N. Saveth, Reprinted from Com-

mentary. Price, 10c.

Are We Losing Our Civil Liberties in Our Search

for Security? Reprint of Town Meeting of the

Air with Patrick Murphy Malin and Repre-

sentative Harold H: Velde. Price, 10c.

The Smith Act and the Supreme Court. The

ACLU's analysis, opinion and statement of

policy. Price, 26c.

Security and Freedom: the Great Challenge.

30th Annual Report by the national office of

the ACLU. Price, 36c.

Union's Aid Sought Just Before

Scheduled Loyalty Hearing

Less than two hours before a scheduled hearing

before the Regional Loyalty Board of the Civil

Service Commission in San Francisco on June 25,

a federal employee residing in Sacramento turned

to the ACLU in San Francisco for representation.

The Union's director appeared before the board

and secured a continuance until sometime after

August 1.

The man had previously sought counsel in Sac-

ramento but was unable to pay the requested fee

of $150. He is married and has three children. A

fourth child is on the way.

The employee is accused of writing letters to

Eastern newspapers supporting the Soviet Union,

of agreeing with ideas expressed in "Soviet Pow-

er," written by the Dean of Canterbury, and with

subscribing to "In Fact," which is described as a

Communist publication. He is also accused of close

association with a person alleged to be a Commun-

ist whom he does not know.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

American Civil Liberties Union of No. Calif.,

503 Market St.

San Francisco 5, Calif.

1. Please enroll me as a member at dues of

Se for the current year. (Types of mem-

bership: Associate Member, $3; Annual Member,

$5; Business and Professional Member, $10;

Family Membership, $25; Contributing Member,

$50; Patron, $100 and over. Membership includes

subscription to the "American Civil Liberties

Union-News" at $1 a year.)

I pledge $............ per month........ OW be per yr.

Please enter my subscription to the NEWS ($1

TCT: VCO)

Enclosed please find $..............:....2------. Please bill

WiC

Street

City and ZOme .2.. eeeeeeee ceececeseeceeceeeeeeeceecenceeeetenteceneeneenee

@ccupation =... =.

ACLU Participated in 20 Federal Employees

Loyalty Cases in Past Six Months

(Continued from Page 1, Col. 3)

The third case involves a U.C. student who once

belonged to American Youth for Democracy but

is now quite anti-Communist: It is also charged he

once told someone he had been a Communist.

Supporter of Spanish Loyalists Charged

Also awaiting a decision is a case that went to

a hearing before a departmental loyalty board last

April. The decision will undoubtedly be favorable,

but it has to go to Washington first to be audited,

and that seems to take an endless amount of time.

Aside from a charge of subscribing to the People's

World in 1938 and 1939, the employee was accused

of following "the Communist Party line in con-

nection with your activities on behalf of the Span-

ish Loyalist cause and you evidenced sympathy

for the Spanish Loyalist Government." He was

also charged with advocating the lifting of the

embargo on Loyalist Spain, of contributing "to a

fund for the purchase of an ambulance to be sent

to Spain for the Loyalist cause," sponsorship of

"an American Youth Congress meeting held at

Oakland," in 1935, and association with outstand-

ing leaders in his field, who are charged with some

Communist front tie-ups.

Two Navy cases are on appeal after unfavor-

able decisions. Both cases involve Negroes, and

both charge past membership in the Communist

Party which they vehemently deny. Since the

Government makes no effort to sustain the charge,

and, indeed, does little more than make the allega-

tion, it is rather difficult to meet. In each case, the

employee is forced to prove the negative.

One Adverse Decision

The one loyalty case in which a final adverse

decision was handed down by the Loyalty Review

Board also involves a Negro, and she is likewise

charged with membership in the Communist Party.

Tt was claimed that this woman, a postal clerk at

the Rincon Annex Post Office in San Francisco,

was recruited into the Communist Party, Oakland,

in 1946, and that she was a member of the West

Oakland Club of the Communist Party in 1948

and 1949: She denied these charges and explained

that she had been a member of the West Oakland

FEPC Club in 1946, and she volunteered the in-

formation that she had been a part-time employee

of the National Negro Congress in Oakland for a

few months. The remaining charge against her is

that she had been a subscriber to the Daily People's

World for several years. She admitted subscribing

on one occasion while she was marching on a

picket line set up to secure the employment of

Negro clerks in a Safeway store. She claimed the

publication had been represented to her as a labor

`paper and that she did not renew her subscription.

One case is presently scheduled for a hearing

before the Regional Loyalty Board of the Civil

Service Commission sometime during July. It

apparently arose as a result of an office argument

about the U.C. loyalty oath. The employee had

cited her own subscription to the People's World

during her college days as not making her a

Communist, but it ig now claimed she admitted

membership in the Communist Party as well as

the subscription to the People's World. Her de-

ceased uncle, with whom she had little association,

is also alleged to have been a Communist, as is her

father, although he belongs to such organizations

as the Lions, Elks, Masons and Shrine. The final

charge is that at one time she expressed opinions

which followed the Communist Party line:

3 Favorable Decisions Without Hearings

Of the nine favorable decisions, three were

handed down simply on the basis of answers to

interrogatories, while the remaining six cases

went to hearings. The former, as might be ex-

pected, presented only flimsy charges.

In the first of these cases, the only allegation

was "that in conversations with associates in

Seattle, Washington, in 1949, you stated that you

are `an American Communist,' expressing your-

self as favoring the Russian form of government

over that of the United States and defending the

Communist Party." The employee denied the

charge and claimed she had merely objected to

some of the Canwell (un-American Activities)

Committee's procedures.

The second case involved merely a subscription

to the Daily People's World, which had, once

again, keen represented as a labor paper. Other-

wise, the charges were against the employee's

wife for activities she engaged in prior to their

marriage.

The'third case was unusual in that the employee

was accused of associating with Porto Rican

revolutionists and with having attended a Com-

munist peace conference in Poland.

Of the remaining six cases which were decided

only after hearings, at least one of them could

certainly have been disposed of without such a

hearing. The only charge before a department

board was that the employee, on September 16,

1940, had signed a petition to place the Com-

munist Party on the ballot. The employee had no

recollection of the matter, but it is quite likely that

the petition had been disguised and circulated as a

roster at a meeting where Langston Hughes was

reading poetry.

A Study in Confusion

A second case, decided favorably after a hear-

ing, involved a Negro who had belonged to Amer-

ican Youth for Democracy, while at the same time

being Vice President of a Young Republican Club.

He was also accused of attending "a function at

the Whitcomb Hotel in San Francisco, held for

the purpose of raising funds for the California

Labor School," and of having his name on a mail-

ing list of the Labor Youth League.

A third case involved an employee at the San

Francisco Naval Shipyard, who was suspended

from his job upon the filing of charges. He was

charged with membership in a Communist dom-

inated Union-the American Communications

Association, and with close association with a num-

ber "of known members of the Communist Party

in the affairs of said Association." The testimony

at the hearing; however, disclosed that he opposed

the Communist group in the Union. His parents

were accused of having been Communists, al-

though they have been very active in the Lutheran

Church and were staunchly defended by a couple

of Lutheran ministers. The employee was also

charged with having participated in a ship mutiny

in 1941, although the operators of the vessel

furnished statements that there was no such

mutiny and that he had an excellent record with

them. It was also claimed that he had been refused

a security clearance to handle classified material

"in 1942" while employed on an Army project,

although the evidence presented at the hearing

was that the employee held the same clearances

as other employees on the project. Two days after

the hearing, the employee was ordered reinstated

to his job.

Old Charges Renewed

A fourth case involved a Negro who had been

cleared in June of 1950 after an appeal to the

Secretary of the Navy. Last February 5 he was

charged again and cleared under the President's

amended loyalty order as well as Public Law 733,

after a hearing before a departmental board. Six

charges had been filed against him. It was claimed

his name appeared on a list maintained by the

Communist Party and that in May, 1949, he was

reliably reported to hold membership in the Com-

munist Party; that in 1947 he was a subscriber

to the People's World; that his wife joined the

Communist Party in 1944, although he did not

meet her until 1947, and since the original loyalty

proceedings they have separated. His wife was

also alleged to have held two left-wing benefit

meetings in her home.

The fifth case involved an employee who was

"reported in 1941" to be a member of the Com-

munist Party. She was also charged with member-

ship in the American Peace Mobilization, the

Washington Committee for Democratic Action,

the United American Spanish Aid Committee and

the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee. In

addition, she and her husband were charged with

associating with three alleged Communists.

The sixth case was fully covered in last month's

News. Revised charges, which have been prom-

ised in the case, have not yet been received by the

employee.

Two security risk issues are also worthy of note.

In the fall of 1949, an employee at the San Fran-

cisco Naval Shipyard, after a hearing, was cleared

on loyalty charges. In the fall of 1951 essentially

the same charges formed the basis of a security

proceeding under Public Law 733. The only addi-

tional charge was that the employee was suffering

from a neurological disorder: Now, effective June

30, the Secretary of the Navy has made a ruling

against him. The political aspects of the case re-

lated to the employee's membership in the Social-

ist Workers Party for a brief time six years ago,

during a period when he was recovering from a

nervous breakdown. He disagreed with the Trot-

skyites because of their support of the Soviet

Union and dropped out. Since then he has had

nothing to do with politics.

The second case also involves the San Francisco

Naval Shipyard. An employee of the Regional

Civil Service Commission was denied access to the

Shipyard as a security risk, without benefit of a

hearing. He had previously been cleared by his

own agency's loyalty and security board without

having to go through a hearing: As a result of the

Shipyard's action the employee was demoted but.

more recently secured employment in the same de-

partment equivalent to that which he had held

originally.