vol. 18, no. 3

American

Civil Liberties

Union-News

'

Legislative Number ==

Free Press

Free Assemblage

Free Speech

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

VOLUME XVIII

Chairmen Selected In

Drive for 450 New Members

As the News goes to press, the ACLU is rapidly

assembling a campaign committee for its April

membership drive for 450 new members and $3000

to balance the $27,600 budget for '53.

Albert Brundage, San Francisco attorney, has

agreed to serve as Chairman of the Campaign

Committee. Under him will be chairmen of sixteen

areas, ten of whom have already been selected.

Community Chairmen

The chairmen (to date) and the membership and |

financial goals of the various areas are as fol-

lows:

Berkeley - 7? ........%.. 115 $75

Carniel ---0x00A7 2 oo ee 10 745

Davis - Lee H. Watkins ...... 5 40

Fresno =) 9)... 10 75 .

Hayward, San Leandro -

. Kmil E. Sekerak ........... 5 40

Marin County - Jean Holmer .. 25 175

Modesto - Acting Chairman,

Jack Bile 225 aes 10 45

Oakland - Elizabeth Hiner .... 25 1%5

Orinda, etc. - Mrs. Robert :

S. Suezek ......... ek 10 15

Peninsula - Ralph Evans,

assisted by Jane Cahn ....... 40 2715

Richmond- ? ........... 10 75

Sacramento -

Mrs. F. A. Kirchner ......... 5) 175

San Francisco- ? ....... 125 850

San Jose- - ;

Rev. Harold K. Shelley ...... 10 15

Santa Cruz- Norman Lezin... 5 40

Stockton - Benjamin O. Russell 10 15

Miscellaneous -_..............--.------------ 10 15

In the larger communities, the chairmen will

now proceed to secure captains (from the Union's

membership), and the captains, in turn, will se-

cure their workers. It is expected that no worker

will canvass more than ten prospects. If YOU are

willing to help in the Union's membership drive,

please get in touch with your area campaign

chairman, or, if one has not yet been appointed,

call the ACLU office.

2000 Prospects Needed

In order to secure 450 new members, it will be

necessary to have the names of about 2000 pro-

spects for membership, especially those with

whom a member's name may be used, Requests

for the names of such prospects were mailed to

the California membership in the middle of Feb-

ruary. Please send the Union the name of at least

one good prospect. Certainly, since YOU last sent

the Union a list of prospects, you've met at least

one new person who ought to belong to the ACLU.

All names will be checked against our present

membership rolls before they are solicited. Your

help is earnestly solicited. -

John H. Edwards of Berkeley, who wrote last

year's campaign brochure, is hard at work on

another (with his wife's help). On April 6, the

prospects will be sent the brochure, auto-typed

letters bearing the names of the members who

recommended them, as well ag membership ap-

plications. Personal canvassing is scheduled to

begin on April 16 and to last no longer than April

30

In 1952 the Union sought 700 new members and

secured about 950 in a highly successful drive.

This year we need 450 new members in order to

put the Union on a safe financial footing. Won't

you please help to put the membership drive over

the top!

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, MARCH, 1953

"America Plus0x2122 and Lo

No.3

yalty Bills Leading

Anti-Civil Liberties Issues Before Solons

Following is a survey of civil liberties legisla-

tion, both pro and con, now pending before the

California Legislature, as prepared by Sue Lilien-

thal.

| The suppressive legislation once again is marked

Meiklejohn ChargesHigh C't.

With Destroying Bill of Rts.

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn, noted educator and

vice-chairman of the ACLU of Northern Cali-

fornia, in a recent speech in New York City,

charged the U.S. Supreme Court with the destruc-

tion of the very principles which the court is re-

quired to defend. Said Dr. Meiklejohn:

`"Our legislature has no authority to exercise

control over our political freedom. The intent of

the Constitution is that, politically, we shall be

governed by no one but ourselves. ~

"A legislative committee which asks the ques-

tion, `Are you a Republican?' or `Are you a Com-

munist?' accompanying the question with the

threat of harm or disrepute if the answer is this

rather than that, stands in contempt of the sover-

eign people to whom it owes submission.

"In the field of political opinion or expression

or affiliation, we cannot commit a punishable

crime for the reason that, in that field, the law-

makers have no authority to legislate a crime into

existence.

"I know that the law today is what today the

Supreme Court says it is. But I am hoping that

tomorrow the members of the court will read again

from Madison and Hamilton and Harlan. Per-

haps tomorrow they will change their minds.

"But today the Supreme Court, more than any

other agency or person in our society, must be

held responsible for the destruction of those Con-

stitutional principles which that court is com-

missioned to interpret and to defend."

2 Favorable, 1 Unfavorable

Decision In Loyalty Cases

Two favorable and one unfavorable loyalty

decisions were handed down during the past

month,

The first favorable decision was handed down

by the Regional Loyalty Board. It cleared a fed-

eral employee who had belonged to the Commun-.

ist Party in 1939 and 1940. His sister was also

alleged to have been for many years an active

member of the Communist Party. The employee

had terminated his membership in September 1940

because of disagreement with the Communist

campaign against "the imperialist war" and the

slogan, "The Yanks are not coming!"

The second favorable decision came from the

- Veterans Administration Loyalty Board. In this

case the charges arose on November 28, 1951, and

_ the hearing was held on April 7, 1952. It took

exactly ten months for a decision to be handed

down. The charges related to support of the

Spanish Loyalist cause, especially through alleged

Communist front groups, a subscription to the

People's World and association with persons al-

leged to have Communist front affiliations.

An unfavorable decision was handed down last

month on both loyalty and security grounds by the

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Loyalty-Security Board. The case is now on ap-

peal to the head of the department. The charges

are numerous, including alleged membership in

the Communist Party and the A.Y.D., association

with alleged Communists and a subscription to

the People's World.

by its preoccupation with the loyalty issue. If the

various pending measures of this type were all

adopted, we would not only register subversives

but impose heavier tax burdens upon them than

upon other citizens, exclude them from public jobs

and teaching positions in particular, make it law-

ful to fire them from all jobs in private industry

and also prohibit them from engaging in the in-

surance business. In other words, because we don't

like their opinions, we are going to reduce them to

starvation.

Talk Or Go to Jail

And, if hungry men won't talk to investigating

committees, they'll be compelled to talk or go to

jail. Just to make sure they stick to their subver-

sive ways, they would not be permitted to partici-

pate in primary elections, and they would be dis-

couraged from meeting out in the open by being

denied a place to meet in our schools, which have

been dedicated for free speech purposes.

The other outstanding anti-civil liberties issue is

the effort of Sen. Jack B. Tenney to impose his

"America Plus" program of racial and religious

intolerance upon the citizens of California. Other-

wise, the anti-civil liberties bills cover Bible read-

ing in the schools, exclusion from jobs of aliens

subject to deportation, and registration for sex

offenders upon their release from jails and mental

institutions.

Many bills are pending in the California Legisla-

ture in support of civil liberties, mostly in the field

of equal right for minorities. The outstanding bill

by reason of its wide support.is A.B. 900, the

FEPC measure, which is sponsored by the

NAACP. The chances of any of these bills being

adopted are not good. On the other hand, it is al-

ane impossible to stop a number of the loyalty

1s.

_ Loyalty Oath for Taxpayers

The bill requiring loyalty oaths of all persons

recelving tax exemptions is certain to pass, be-

cause the legislature has a mandate from the peo-

ple. Likewise, our statutory law will be made to

conform with the "Levering oath" placed in the

Constitution at last November's election. It is

quite likely, too, that the Civic Center Act will be

amended and that some legislation will be adopted -

to compel witnesses to testify before legislative

committees. The picture is not good, but a lot de-

pends upon whether the voters are prepared to tell

their legislators they have had enough of loyalty

legislation.

The Union earnestly urges you to examine this

lengthy survey. It may be tough reading, but some

of it will be a lot tougher reading if it is written

into the laws of this State. Incidentally, copies of

these bills may be received without charge by

writing to the Legislative Bill Room, State Capitol,

Sacramento, Calif.

Anti- Civil Liberties Bills

LOYALTY

Registering Subversives

A.B. 26, Shaw (referred to Assembly Govern-

mental Efficiency and Economy Comm.)

This bill establishes an Anti-Subversive Com-

mission whose function would be to discover and

register members of totalitarian organizations.

While an "accused" would be accorded due process

of law, including an appeal to the courts, the evi-

dence adduced could form the basis for a federal

prosecution. Since the registrants are accused of

no offense, they would, in effect, be required to

register solely because of their political opinions,

(Contiriued on Page 2, Col. 1)

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

e

Survey of

(Continued from Page 1, Col. 3)

thus denying them freedom of speech and equal

protection of the laws.

Loyalty and Taxes

A.B. 923, Levering (referred to Assembly Rev-

enue and Taxation Comm.)

This bill implements Proposition 5 adopted last

November. Applicants for local and state tax ex-

emptions must declare they do not advocate over-

throw of the government or support of a foreign

power. No exemption will be granted in the ab-

sence of such a statement, and false statements

are punishable as a felony. This proposal sets up a

test of opinion as a basis for tax exemptions.

Loyalty and Public Officials

A.B. 1796, Levering (referred to the Assembly

Judiciary Comm.)

This bill would make the Government Code con-

form with the "Levering oath" for public officials

written into the State Constitution at the last elec-

tion. False swearing or joining a subversive or-

ganization after taking the oath would be punish-

able by 1-14 years in prison. ,

Loyalty and Civic Centers

A.B. 2677, Levering (referred to the Assembly

Education Comm)

- This bill provides that an applicant for a school

auditorium "shall'' furnish an affidavit declaring

that he is not now and has not during the past five

years been a member of an organization listed as

subversive by the Federal Subversive Activities

Control Board, and where the application is on

behalf of an organization, that that group has not

been so listed by the same Board during the past

five years.

A.B. 2975, Levering (referred to the Assembly

Education Comm.) :

This bill likewise seeks to bar "subversive ele-

ments" from the use of civic centers by prohibiting

such use to persons or groups advocating the vio-

lent overthrow of the government. School boards

may require an affidavit from any person or mem-

bers of an organization applying for such use set-

ting forth facts as to whether or not they are

"subversive elements." :

S.B. 1763, Burns (referred to the Senate Educa-

tion Comm.) :

This bill provides that in applying for use of a

civic center an individual must furnish an affidavit

declaring he is not knowingly a member of the

Communist Party, and, if he files on behalf of an

organization, he must also furnish the names and

addresses of all officers and board members to-

gether with their affidavits declaring they are not

knowingly members of the Communist Party.

Loyalty and Teachers

A.B. 2196, Chapel (referred to the Assembly

Education Comm.)

This bill provides for the dismissal of a teacher

in any state-supported educational institution be-_

cause of membership in or persistent active par-

ticipation in public meetings conducted by any

organization defined as a "communist front" or a

"eommuinist action" group by the Federal In-

ternal Security Act of 1950. Teachers would be

subject to suspension pending a hearing.

S.B. 1425, Kraft (referred to the Senate Educa-

tion Comm.)

This bill revives a measure vetoed by Gov. War-

- ren in 1951. It extends the definition of "unprofes-

sional conduct" for employees of state colleges to

include the two things covered by the previous bill

(A.B. 2196) as well as "willful advocacy of com-

munism." Dismissal proceedings could be initiated

`pon the filing, by any person, of a complaint."

Loyalty and Private Employees

A.B. 3051, Smith (referred to the Assembly

Industrial Relations Comm.) /

This bill permits an employer, despite any exist-

ing contract, to dismiss an employee where there

is reasonable ground to believe that he is a mem-

ber of the Communist Party, or is or has been en-

gaged in any activity involving advocacy of the

overthrow of the government by force and vio-

lence, or who has knowingly been affiliated with a

group which has that as one of its objects.

Loyalty and Insurance

- A.B. 729, Dilworth (referred to the Senate Fi-

nancial Institutions Comm.)

Prevents any subversive organization, as that

term is defined in the Corporations Code, from

transacting insurance business in California.

Loyalty and the Ballot

_ A.B. 52, Chapel (referred to the Assembly Elec-

tions Comm.) |

Disqualifies from a primary election any party

advocating or indirectly abetting overthrow of the

government by force and violence. Determination

of disqualification is by the Secretary of State

with the advice of the Attorney General, after a

The

hearing by an independent hearing officer and a

possible appeal to the courts.

Loyalty and the 5th Amendment

A.B. 974, Brown (referred to Assembly Judici-

ary Comm.) ;

Provides that a person who refuses to testify,

claiming possible self-incrimination, can be forced

to testify in a criminal case, grand jury hearing

and legislative or administrative hearing, by order

of the Superior Court on the recommendation of

the District Attorney or the Attorney General, and

if he complies with the order he cannot be prose-

cuted for any fact or act so revealed. Failure to

comply with the Court's order is punishable. The

bill gives no protection against prosecution in Fed-

eral Court, nor does it prevent law enforcement

agencies from using the facts revealed to discover

other facts and_use those as the basis for a prose

CuUnIOn.

A.B. 3312, Levering (referred to the Assembly -

Municipal and County Govt. Comm.)

This bill provides for summary dismissal of any

state employee who fails to appear or to answer

any material questions when summoned to testify

before a state or federal court, or a state or federal

legislative committee.

S.B. 737, Burns( referred to Senate Govt. Effi-

ciency Comm.)

Extends to local public employees a law which

requires discharge and permanent disbarment

from public employment of any person who com-

mits a contempt before a legislative committee.

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Bible Reading

A.B. 682, Morris, et al (referred to Assembly

Comm. on Education) :

S.B. 572, Dilworth, et al ( referred to the Senate

Comm. on Education)

These bills would permit Bible reading, from

both the Old and New Testaments, in the public

schools. The Department of Education would make

available an approved Syllabus of Graded Bible

Readings, and there would be provision for excus-

ing students.

RACIAL MATTERS

America Plus :

S.C.A. 21, Tenney (referred to the Senate Judi-

ciary Comm.)

_ This is the "`America Plus" proposal. It adds to

`the inalienable rights of man in the State Constitu-

tion "choice of associates, customers, tenants, and

employees, and disposing of property." Conse-

quently, it would legalize racial discrimination and

segregation in public places and in employment, it

attempts to legalize racial restrictive covenants

and it would outlaw the closed shop.

' ALIENS

Employment of Aliens

A.B. 291, Chapel (referred to the Assembly Ju-

diciary Comm.) :

This bill makes it unlawful to employ an alien

known to be subject to deportation. It has the

broad effect of forcing every foreigner to present

evidence of his lawful presence, and puts the bur-

den of evaluating such evidence on the employer.

Certain aliens subject to deportation, those unable

to secure travel documents as well as those at-

- tempting to legalize their status, would be de-

prived of a livelihood.

DUE PROCESS

Registration of Sex Offenders

A.B. 3344, Lyon (referred to the Assembly Judi-

ciary Comm.) :

This bill requires the registration of all so-called

sex offenders upon release from a penal or mental

institution. In effect, it adds another penalty for a

crime for which they have already been punished.

Bills In Support Of Freedom

EQUAL RIGHTS FOR MINORITIES |

Discrimination in Employment

A.B. 960, Hawkins, et al

A.B. 917, Collins et al

A.B. 1526, Elliott et al.

- All three bills have been referred to the Assem-

bly Govt. Efficiency and Economy Committee.

The three bills are nearly identical. They create

a State Fair Employment Practices Commission of

five full-time members, whose purpose would be to

seek the prevention and elimination of discrimina-

tion in employment by reason of race, creed, color

or national origin by employers, labor unions and

employment agencies. Orders of the Commission

would be enforceable in the courts, and violations

of any orders would be a misdemeanor. - :

These bills are patterned after the New York

law. The NAACP is supporting A.B.900.

A.B. 2812, Hawkins (referred to Assembly In-

dustrial Relations Comm.)

Amends the Labor Code by declaring discrimi-

nation in employment on account of race, creed,

ffecting Civil Liberties

`color, national origin, or ancestry, to be against

public policy.

Discrimination in Education

A.B. 1831, Rumford (referred to Assembly Edu-

cation Committee) ' :

This bill prohibits discrimination, segregation

and quota systems in any school accepting applica-

tions from the general public, except religious and

denominational schools, who may grant prefer-

ence on a religious basis. It sets up an Office of

Fair Educational Practices to investigate viola-

tions, and hold hearings, and its findings are en-

forceable in the courts.

Enjoyment of Real Property

A.B. 332, Elliott and Collins (referred to Assem-

bly Judiciary Comm.) S

This bill prohibits discrimination on account of

race, color or religion in the sale of real property.

It also outlaws restrictive covenants based on such

distinctions and permits a civil suit for at least

$100 damages where there is such discrimination.

Discrimination in Selling Insurance

A.B. 965, Rumford referred to Assembly Fi-

nance and Insurance Comm.)

This bill makes it illegal for any insurer to re-

fuse applications for liability policies or to issue

insurance under less favorable conditions because

of race or color. Where such discrimination occurs,

it permits civil suits for at least $100 damages and

attorney's fees.

General `

A.B. 3258, Elliott (referred to Assembly Gov-

ernmental Efficiency and Economy Comm.)

Adds a section to the Government Code which

forbids State officers and employees from dis-

criminating against any person on the basis of

race, religion, color or national origin.

A.B. 2708, Kilpatrick (referred to the Assembly

Comm. on Government Organization)

This bill provides for a fund to be handled by

the State Department of Education in providing

financial and other assistance to. cities and coun-

ties in setting up programs to foster harmonious

relations between citizens of different races, re-

ligions and national origins. Particular emphasis

is placed on a training program for police officers

aH the prevention and control of intergroup con-

iets,

A.B. 1452, Shaw (referred to Assembly Govern-

mental Efficiency and Economy Comm.)

This bill provides for the creation of a 16-man

Civil Rights Commission to report to the Governor

on March 1, 1955, regarding the need for legisla-

tion in the fields of civil rignts and internal

security.

A.B. 2189, Hawkins (referred to Assembly Judi-

ciary Comm.) :

Sets up five-man commissions in cities and coun-

ties with populations over 500,000 to investigate

`and act on complaints regarding misconduct of

police officers. This bill is designed to prevent dis-

crimination and mistreatment of members of mi-

nority groups.

DUE PROCESS OF LAW

f

Right to Counsel

A.B. 3125, Morris (referred to the Assembly

Judiciary Comm.)

This bill provides that an attorney may have a

private interview with any witness held in a penal

institution. ;

A.B. 3130, Morris (referred to the Assembly

Judiciary Comm.)

This bill would permit an attorney to interview

witnesses privately in any state institution.

Illegally Procured Evidence

A.B. 3126, Morris (referred to the Assembly

Judiciary Comm.)

This bill provides that no evidence obtained in

violation of any law of the United States or of

California shall be admitted at any trial.

Police Brutality

A.B. 654, Elliott (referred to Assembly Judici-

ary Comm.) `

Would require the dismissal of a police officer

guilty of mistreating a person in jail or under ar-

rest, and forbids his re-employment for five years.

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Sabbath

A.B. 1497, Morris (referred to Assembly Civil

Service and State Personnel Comm.)

This bill permits an applicant to take civil serv-

ice examinations on another day if his religious

beliefs prohibit doing so on Saturday.

ALIENS

Ownership of Property

A.C.A. 10, Elliott (referred to Assembly Con-

stitutional Amendments Comm.)

This proposal amends Article I of the State Con-

stitution to allow all foreigners to own and freely

transfer and inherit property other than real

estate.

-Sue Lilienthal.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Page 3

Little Red Rider Headed for

A Fall In California

The Richmond, Calif., Housing Authority seems

destined for the dubious distinction of being the

first authority to be hauled into court in Northern

California to defend its enforcement of the "Gwinn

rider' to the Independent Offices Appropriation

Act. That "little red rider" provides, in effect, that

no low rent housing "shall be occupied by a per-

son who is a member of an organization designat-

ed as subversive by the Attorney General." -

The Richmond Housing `Authority is gradually

calling in all of its tenants and requesting them

to sign statements of non-membership in organiza-

tions on the Attorney General's list. But the ten-

ants have been given no dead-line by which to

sign or get out. Until that is done, it is probable

that any suit filed against the Richmond Housing

Authority would be regarded as premature. Thus

far, the Union has the names of four tenants who

have refused to sign the statements. If they are

confronted with eviction for failing to sign such

statements, proper legal action will be brought in

_ their behalf. The same action will be taken in

behalf of any other non-signers faced with

eviction.

A letter was sent by the ACLU to the mem-

bers of the Richmond Housing Authority, as well

as its executive staff, requesting a copy of any

resolution authorizing enforcement of the "Gwinn

rider," and protesting the attempts at intimida-

tion and insults of tenants who have expressed

reluctance to sign the so-called loyalty oath. As

yet, no reply has been received to this communica- .

tion.

"Loyalty" Window Displays

A front-page news story carried in a Richmond

newspaper states that the Housing Authority

plans to crack down on subversives and relief chis-

elers, and declares that tenants will be given a

"reasonable time" to sign their loyalty oaths.

Moreover, tenants who do sign the oath may be

given a white card attesting to their action, which

may be displayed in their windows for the world

to behold.

The director of the Contra Costa Housing

Authority recently announced that no difficulty

has been experienced by him in obtaining loyalty

oaths from the 500 tenants in its low income

rental units. Sigmund Maller, the director, sug-

gested that the type of tenant who would object to

the oath probably would have been undesirable

and has already been removed for some other

cause. As yet, no tenant in a Contra Costa County

housing project has sought help from the ACLU.

As noted in the February "News," the first ten-

ants to be affected by the "Gwinn rider in San

Francisco will be those moving into the Hunters

Point project when the first 44 apartments are

opened on March 15. The chances are that the

applicants will be ready to sign anything to secure

the new apartments.

Head Start in Los Angeles

As usual, the witch-hunt has a head start in

Southern California. The ACLU in that area last

- month filed a suit in the Superior Court, to enjoin

the threatened eviction of 36 tenants in 13 Los

Angeles projects, who have refused to sign a

"loyalty oath." Howard Holtzendorff, the housing

_ director, has announced the suspension of the

oath program pending the outcome of the hear-

ings on the suit. . :

The suit argues that the rights to freedom of

speech, association and assembly are violated in

the absence of a clear and present danger. Also, as

in the Oklahoma loyalty case, it is pointed out that

a standard of conclusive guilt is based on mere

membership in an organization.

Legal Ban On Controversial .

Meetings In N. Y. Schools

It is all right for a school board to bar any |

extra-curricular activities from school property

when those activities are "of a controversial

nature liable to arouse ill-feeling, jealousy or dis-

sension, or to lead to misunderstanding."

This is the argument used by Justice Frank H.

Coyne of the New York Supreme Court in up-

holding an order by the Yonkers Board of Educa-

tion, preventing the Yonkers Committee for Peace

from holding forums in the auditorium of a local

school.

The action to compel the school board to allow

the use of the school facilities was brought by

James R. Ellis, president of the peace group and

co-owner of a New York carpet cleaning company.

He was assisted by the New York Civil Liberties

Union which supplied legal counsel.

Judge Coyne stated that the granting or refusal

of the use of school property is a discretionary

power belonging to the school board. He pro-

pounded a theory that schools are supported by all

people for the use of all, and that "nothing that

will tend to foster intolerance, bigotry, animosity,

or dissension should be allowed to inject itself into

the public school system."

ACLU Files Leg

Three residents of a Newark, N.J., public hous-

ing project on February 2 challenged the constitu-

tionality of a loyalty oath for persons living in

federally-assisted housing accommodations in a

test case brought through the American Civil

Liberties Union.

Emil Oxfeld, New Jersey ACLU attorney, filed

suit in behalf of Harry L. Lawrence, 104 Seth

Boyden Terrace, and Hyman and James Kutcher,

135 Seth Boyden Terrace, Newark, in the New

Jersey Superior Court seeking to enjoin the New-

ark City Housing Authority from "requiring the

plaintiffs to sign the... oath... as a condition

of occupying their present housing accommoda-

tions" and restraining the Authority "temporarily

and permanently from evicting or threatening to

evict the plaintiffs unless they sign such oaths."

The complaint also asked the court to declare the

Gwinn amendment to the Independent Offices Ap-

propriation Act, the law passed in 1952 which

necessitated the oath, unconstitutional.

Under the law, all tenants.and members of their

family must sign an oath that they are not mem-

bers of any organization on the U.S. Attorney

General's "subversive" list. Lawrence and Hyman

Kutcher are not members of any of the listed or-

ganizations, but Kutcher's son, James, a legless

war veteran, is a member of the proscribed Social-

ist Workers Party.

The Kutchers and Lawrence charge, in their

complaint, that the Gwinn amendment violates

their rights of free speech and association and due

`process of law.

Free speech and association is imperiled by the

amendment in the absence of a "`substantive'' and

"clear and present danger' which the Congress

has a right to prevent, the complaint says.

Due process is violated on six grounds:

(1) the amendment "lays down a rule of conclu-

sive guilt established by mere association, without

even any requirement that the member of the or-

ganization have knowledge of the alleged subver-

sive purpose of the organization, which is an arbi-

trary rule."

(2) the listing of the organization as "subver-

sive' was made without adequate standards and

hearings.

(3) the plaintiffs are threatened with commis-

sion of a crime because the amendment does not

define "clearly and precisely the conduct which

constitutes the crime." :

_. (4) the amendment constitutes an improper

delegation of legislative powers to administrative

agencies-the U.S. Attorney General and the

housing authorities-without setting forth ade-

quate standards.

(5) the amendment is a "bill of attainder,"'

penalizing the plaintiffs without a trial.

(6) the amendment "bears no reasonable rela-

tion to the public welfare."

The complaint further charges that unless evic-

U.N. Status of Pacific Islands

And Puerto Rico Changed

An executive order by President Truman short-

ly before he left office transferred the Pacific

Islands of the U.S. trust territory from the In-

terior Department to the Navy as a security mea-

sure. The Islands have been under civilian gov-

ernment, with former U.S. Senator Elbert Thomas

of Utah as governor, and no conflict with the

Navy has arisen. The ACLU has campaigned for

civil government for the trust territory, as it had

for Guam and Samoa, which was transferred to

Interior from Navy only two years ago.

It is assumed that the Navy urged that the

strategic area of the far-flung groups of islands,

which the U.S. holds in trust for the Security

Council of the U.N., demanded exclusive Navy

responsibility. What the effect will be on the pro-

grams of education of the native people and on

local government and civil rights is speculative.

The ACLU will urge no change in the broad civil-

ian program instituted for the native peoples.

With respect to other U.S. colonial possessions,

Puerto Rico has made such an advance toward

self-government under its new constitution, that

the U.S. has notified the U.N. that it will no longer

report on it annually, as all governments do on

non-self-governing territories. The decision not to

report is contested by the opposition parties in

Puerto Rico, who claim that the island is still far

from self-government, citing among other facts

the power of Congress to draft Puerto Rico youth

for military service without the island's assent.

The United Nations has debated without con-

clusion, as yet, the right of a government itself to

decide when a dependency becomes self-govern-

ing, rather than to leave the decision to the U.N.

al Test of "Gwinn Rider" In

`Newark; Three Other Eastern C

ases Pending

tion proceedings are stopped by a restraining

order, there will be "substantial and irreparable

injury to the plaintiffs' property."

All three of the defendants are challenging the

oath in defense of civil liberties principles. Law-

rence, a disabled veteran of World War II, has

signed a N.J. teacher's loyalty oath, but has balked

at the housing oath "because it infringes on my

personal and civil liberty." James Kutcher was

dismissed from his job as a clerk in the Veterans

Administration, under the federal loyalty pro-

gram, solely because of his membership in the

Socialist Workers Party, listed by the Attorney

General as "subversive.'' On October 16, 1952; a

US. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.,

ruled that mere membership in the SWP was in-

sufficient cause to justify Kutcher's dismissal. It

reversed the discharge, but left Kutcher's status

as that of a suspended employee, pending further

action by the Veterans Administration.

Three other legal tests of the "Gwinn rider"

have been filed in Eastern courts. The first is a

suit filed in the U.S. District Court in New York by

the International Workers Order seeking a tempo-

Yary injunction against the enforcement of the

law and a three-judge court to pass on the con-

stitutional issues. Judge Ryan dismissed the suit

on the ground that it should have been filed in a

State court. The procedural question was then

appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where the

matter now rests.0x00B0

The second suit was also brought in New York,

this time in the State court, which questions its

authority to issue an injunction because the con- :

stitutionality of a federal statute is at stake. The

question is still undecided.

The fourth case was filed in Chicago and is just

in its opening stages.

ACLU Hits Univ. of Colorado

in Academic Freedom Case

In a long and searching report, the Colorado

Branch of ACLU has condemned the administra-

tion of the University of Colorado for violating

academic freedom in dropping a member of the

faculty. The action, the branch said, puts "a blot

upon the long and fine record" of the school.

ACLU began an investigation at the university

_ after Morris Judd, an instructor in the Department

of Philosophy, charged that his contract had not

been renewed because he refused to answer ques-

tions about his past political affiliations, He con-

tended his dismissal was based on a political test,

' which constituted a violation of academic freedom.

Early in 1951, Judd was questioned by two

former FBI employees who had been retained by

the university's Board of Regents to look into the

beliefs and associations of faculty members. He

refused to answer the questions put to him, point-

ing out that he had taken a required loyalty oath

and that he considered it discriminatory to be

singled out for further proof of loyalty.

Judd later was questioned by President Stearns,

the head of the school, and again refused to answer

any political questions. However, he did say that

he was not a member of the Communist Party.

Following that, Judd's contract was renewed for

1951-52, but the administration later told him that

he would not be retained beyond the end of the

school year.

_ Judd then appealed to the Committee on Priv-

ilege and Tenure, but lost out on a four-to-two

vote which upheld the administration. During the

testimony, school officials refused to cite the rea-

sons for dismissing Judd, although it seemed the

main basis was his silence about past beliefs and

associations.

In its report, ACLU's Colorado Branch stressed

the fact that Judd, in effect, was faced with an

impossible task. He had to disprove present

evidence which would disprove charges of whose

nature he had no knowledge. He had no real op-

portunity to effectively defend himself, and so was

denied a fair hearing. The main conclusions of

the report, however, go far beyond this. They

`state: (1) "The -investigation conducted by the

Regents into the present and past political beliefs

and affiliations of members of the faculty . . . by

private detectives constituted an infringement of

academic freedom (2) The Administration .. .

failed adequately to protect its faculty (3) "The

members of the Administration were not only

guilty of a violation of academic freedom of faculty

members through their actual participation in the

actions .. . but, also, in a negative way, in their

failure strenuously and publicly to resist such

actions against the faculty" (4) The faculty while

acting in the Judd case was "derelict" in its duty

to prevent infringements of academic freedom.

Page 4

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

American Civil Liberties Union-News

Published monthly at 503 Market Street., San Francisco 5,

Calif., by the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California.

Phone: EXbrook 2-3255

HRN SD BESIGi eS Editor

Entered as second-class matter, July 31, 1941, at the

Post Office at San Francisco, California,

under the Act of March 8, 1879.

Subscription Rates-One Dollar and Fifty Cents a Year.

Fifteen Cents per Copy -151 eg:

"Automatic Dismissal" of

Rutgers Teachers Scored

The Academic Freedom Committee of the Amer-

ican Civil Liberties Union has scored the policy

adopted by the Rutgers University Board of

Trustees calling for the "automatic dismissal" of

any faculty or staff member refusing, on the

ground of the privilege against self-incrimina-

tion, to answer questions relating to membership

in the Communist Party.

- In a letter to Rutgers President Lewis W. Jones,

in which he was asked to use his ``best efforts to

persuade the Trustees to re-examine their action,"'

Prof. Arthur C. Cole of Brooklyn College, Chair-

man of the ACLU committee, stated that "auto-

matic dismissal is generally reserved, in Ameri-

can educational institutions, for cases involving

violations of law or personal immorality. The cri-

terion set forth by the Trustees clearly does not

relate to these causes."

While taking no position, at this time, on the

basic question of a teacher's right to refuse to

answer questions pertaining to Communist Party

membership, the ACLU committee said the

Trustees' ees automatic dismissal "is gravely

in error.'

"A refusal to answer, possibly raising doubts

of a teacher's candour and sense of responsibility,

- should be judged in light of all the attending cir-

cumstances. The President (of Rutgers) correctly

presented this problem for judgment in the Heim-

lich-Finley cases, to an appropriate review com-

mittee. But the Trustees have gone further and

laid down an automatic rule which excludes centcon-

sideration of a teacher's declared principles and

reasons, his teaching record, and other relevant

evidence. We consider this an invasion of academic

freedom and academic due process."

Prof. Cole continued that the ACLU was inter-

ested in two other issues in the Heimlich-Finley

_ case, "the considering of the findings of the Com-

mittee of Review by the Trustees without the cus-

tomary attached advisory opinion by the Presi-

dent, and the reversal of a unanimous opinion by

a faculty committee of review, without pro-

tracted study of that opinion by a committee of

the Trustees.

"The disposition of this case, and the promulga-

tion of a severe rule of automatic dismissal deriv- .

ing from the case, constitutes in the opinion of the

ACLU a major reversal of the democratic tradi-

tion in American education."

The Rutgers Trustees passed a resolution De-

cember 12, 1952, that automatic dismissal must

follow the refusal of a faculty or staff members to

answer questions relating to past or present Com-

munist Party membership asked by ``any duly con-

stituted investigatory body or in any judicial pro-

ceedings." Professors Simon W. Heimlich and

Moses I. Finley were dismissed after refusing to

answer such questions when asked by a sub-

committee of the Senate Internal Security Com-

mittee probing Communist influence in education.

ACLU In Chicago Files

4 Suits Against Policemen

The Chicago division of ACLU has filed suits

against twelve Chicago policemen charging false

arrest, negligence, and mistreatment of prisoners.

These suits were brought on behalf of:

Angelo Passini, 25 year-old sewing machine

salesman, who is suing policemen Tony Bongiorno

and Frank Kalivoda on a charge of false arrest. He

claimed that he was held for 24 hours after the

policemen searched his car. He was later freed in

court, he says.

Tommie Melson, who is suing policeman Walter

Green on the charge that Green shot him and

booked him for resisting arrest.

The estate of William Lewis, 32, who died when

police were summoned to his home after he al-

legedly went bersek. Policemen Francis Regan,

Wilson Lamont, Walter Johnson, John Thielges,

and William Geipel are being sued for $40,000 on

charges of using tear gas and clubbing Lewis

with a bat.

Joseph Murray, a 29 year-old railroad porter,

who is suing policemen John Nelligan, Edward J.

Gross, Donald Lyons, and Joseph Wiest for $100,-

000 on charges that they beat him after a traffic

accident and falsely accused him of drunken driv-

ing, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

Berkeley's Discriminatory

Permit Policy Challenged

An 18-year-old U.C. student, Reuel S. Amdur,

has challenged the constitutionality of the applica-

tion of Berkeley's ordinance requiring permits for

the use of sidewalk tables. Amdur contends that

the Council's permit policy is discriminatory, so

when he was denied a permit to set up a sidewalk

table at Sather Gate to collect signatures and to

distribute literature protesting the death penalty

in the Rosenberg case, he proceeded without a

permit and suffered arrest on February 7th. His

case was scheduled to be heard by Municipal

Judge Redmond C. Staats on February 27, too

late to be reported in this issue of the News.

Amdur had filed two requests with the Berkeley

City Council for permits to set up a sidewalk table

at Sather Gate. The first permit was denied, while

the second time the matter was simply "Filed"

after a recommendation of denial by the City

Manager, John Phillips, who did not feel the ap-

plication was made in good faith. In fact, Amdur

is alleged to have stated to City Clerk Ruth Kemp

and to Mayor Laurance Cross that he hoped the

permit would be refused by the Council. Mayor

Cross and Councilman Arthur Harris, who had

voted in favor of Amdur's first application, as

well as previous Rosenberg applications, voted

with the majority in favor of filing Amdur's sec-

ond application.

Prior to the time that the Rosenberg clemency

issue arose, the Berkeley City Council has granted

similar petitions for sidewalk tables to some 35

organizations and individuals, and denied the re-

quest of only one organization-Students for

Wallace, in October 1948. Since December 3, 1952,

however, six requests in a row for sidewalk table

permits to collect signatures protesting the death

sentence to the Rosenbergs have been denied.

On February 6, Amdur set up his table without

the necessary permit. Several Berkeley policemen

asked him to remove the table, but he refused.

The next morning he was arrested at his home by

two Berkeley police officers. He was released on

$100 bail furnished by the ACLU. At his arraign-

ment hearing, the bail was reduced on motion of

ACLU staff counsel Lawrence Speiser, who is

defending Amdur.

In the first place, of course, the Berkeley City

Police Department had approved Amdur's request,

as it had all other requests, indicating that it had

no objection from a traffic standpoint in having

the table at the particular location. In his applica-

tion to the City Council, Amdur stated that he

wished "to set up a table to distribute literature

maintaining that the death penalty given the'

Rosenbergs shows the basically evil nature of the

State, and to obtain signatures on a petition op-

posing murder by any individual whether under

their own responsibility or in the name of the

state."

The petition on which Amdur was collecting

signatures was addressed to the President of the

United States, and stated `We oppose murder by

anyone, whether in the name of the state or in the

name of the murderer. This principle is inclusive

of the Rosenbergs, but not exclusive of others."

A mimeographed sheet handed out by Amdur

said: "I do not know if the Rosenbergs are guilty,

but guilty or not, they should not die ... The

Stalinists will tell you that the problem is not one

of the state, per se, but of capitalism; they say

the `people's democracies' do not have an evil

nature. What then about the Prague trials, execu-

tion, .. .. The problem of murder in the name of

the state is not restricted to any one type of

government.

"T am against murder of murderers, rapists, city

councilmen who vote against civil liberties, trai-

tors, and the Rosenbergs. ..."

The ACLU takes the position that the City may

regulate the use of its sidewalks, but that ap-

plicants for sidewalk permits are entitled to equal

treatment. A petitioner should not be denied a

permit because of his opinions.

State Dept. Rescinds Request

For Minister's Passport

The State Department has rescinded its request

that Dr. James H. Robinson, a Presbyterian min-

ister who has traveled outside the country on

religious work, return to the Passport Division his

passport. The Division had originally charged Dr.

Robinson with having been connected with various

allegedly subversive organizations.

In a statement to the press, Oliver Fitchett,

clerk of The Church of the Master on Morningside

Avenue, New York City, said:

"A number of individuals and organizations,

who were greatly shocked at the original request,

interceded on his behalf. The letter clearing Dr.

Robinson stated that the Department's final ac-

tion was based on material which Rev. Robinson

himself submitted, plus the action of others who

submitted material in his support. The Depart-

ment now considers the matter closed."

Registration of Communists

Opposed In ACLU Brief

The American Civil Liberties Union last month

filed a `friend of the court brief'' with the United

States Supreme Court asserting that a Michigan

law requiring the public registration of Commu-

nists was "`so indefinite, broad and general" that

it violated the free speech and association guaran-

tees of the First and Fourteenth amendments to

the U.S. Constitution.

Argument on the case, involving the refusal of

William Albertson, secretary of the Michigan

Communist Party, to-register was heard by the

Supreme Court last month.

The registration provision of the Michigan law

"is so indefinite, broad, and general that it may

require registration merely on the basis of associa-

tion with an. organization with a non-conformist

point of view.on any of a large variety of social,

economic, or political questions," the ACLU said.

"Since freedom to engage in such innocent asso-

ciations without the burden of registration must

be deemed within the guarantee of the Fourteenth

amendment, the registration provision establishes

an excessive restraint and provides for punish-

ment of acts within the amendment's protection.

"The requirement to register imposes an oner-

ous burden-with the only alternative a jail sen-

tence or fine-as the price for engaging in associa-

tions or expressions that bring the requirement

into play," the ACLU continued. Quoting from a

Supreme Court decision, upholding the constitu-

tionality of non-Communist oaths for union offi-

cials, that registration may undoubtedly have the

same coercive effect upon free speech and associa-

tion as imprisonment, fines, injunctions, or taxes,

the brief said that the high court must consider in

determining the constitutionality of the registra-

tion provision of the Michigan law its probable

effect on the free exercise of First amendment

rights.

In attacking the vagueness of the law and up-

holding the principle of free association, the ACLU

brief stressed that individuals would risk criminal

penalty by associating with any group `which

could be thought favorable to Russia or to the gen-

eral economic or political principle" of Commu-

nism. Not only does the law threaten close affilia-

tion with such groups, but it `would deter any

type of contact with them. For one can be deemed

a `member' of an organization termed `Communist'

under the Act, and subject to the burden of regis- -

tration or criminal penalty, though he neither pays -

dues or holds a card in the organization; there is

no telling what type of contact would be taken as

an indication of membership in the indefinite and

undefined sense it is here used." -

Noting that even if the registration provision

referred only to the Communist Party and its

members, the brief said, `no sufficient justifica-

tion for such a provision has been demonstrated.

While the lower court posited the necessity for

evaluating the means the State employed to meet

the danger from the Communist Party, it failed to

make such an appraisal." The lower court relied

extensively on the Supreme Court decision in the

case of the eleven Communist leaders convicted

under the Smith Act, but the ACLU brief pointed

out, the high court, in that case, `indicated that

the danger deemed `to arise from the activities of

the Party leaders could not be equally attributable

to those of individual members. Furthermore, the

conviction there upheld rested on conspiratorial

activity aimed at overthrow of the government,

whereas the instant registration provision, with

disclosure of membership, is directed at impeding

and suppressing the peaceful political and public

propaganda activities of the Communist Party."

The ACLU brief was prepared by Attorneys Os-

mond K. Fraenkel and Nanette Dembitz of New

York and Walter M. Nelson of Detroit.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

American Civil Liberties Union of No. Cailif.,

503 Market St.

San Francisco 5, Calif.

1. Please enroll me as a member at dues of

Gene S 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.)

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

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

Deb year)

Enclosed please find $...4..........:cccc0-. Please bill

MC

Name ...... BUS eae ee ee Oe

Street. 22 a

City and Zone .... ..........

pee Re ee Gecupation- ee ee

ao