vol. 19, no. 4

American

~ Civil Liberties

Union-News

FE

Free Press

Free Assemblage

Free Speech

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

VOLUME XIX

_ SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, APRIL, 1954

Number 4

Loyalty Oath Test Suits

Have you signed some kind of a tax exemp-

tion loyalty oath? If so, did you resent hav-

`ing to do so?

While it may not have been possible for

you personally to challenge the constitution-

ality of the law, you may wish to support

the test: suits which are being filed in the

California Supreme Court by the ACLU.

Money is needed to finance these suits. Make

your check payable to the ACLU, 503 Market

St., San Francisco 5, Calif., and earmark it

"For the Tax Exemption Loyalty Oath Test

Suits."

Wrong Neighbors

' Lead to Security Charges

A 49-year-old rigger at the Alameda U.S. Naval

Air Station, earning $2.18 per hour, was suspend-

- ed from his job on security grounds on March 19,

because he once had a neighbor who is alleged to

have been a Communist. `From 1942 to approxi-

mately September 1951," say the charges, "you

were a neighbor and social acquaintance of Mr.

and, Mrg. Wo. Do Bean Mr; Be ie: is

known to have been a member of the Communist

HeaTuy, (c) 2.

The rigger and his wife are acquainted with

the B's only as neighbors. They never went out

with them and have never had dinner i

other's homes. On occasion, however, there has

been borrowing of a potato, flour or even a dollar

until next pay day. Also, the children of the two

families went to the same school and played to-

gether since they lived within two doors of each

other.

_ It is noteworthy that Mr. B. is alleged to be a

former member of the Communist Party. The

rigger, however, claims he knows nothing about

Mr. B's politics; and that the latter never dis-

cussed the subject with him or gave any indica-

tion of being a Communist.

The only other charge in the case is that while -

residing in Los Angeles in 1932 the employee

signed a petition to put the Communist Party on

the ballot. He has no recollection of signing such -

a petition 22 years ago. In any case, it would not

seem to be such a terrible offense. Tens of thou-

sands of people who were NOT Communists sign-

ed such petitions. Many of them believed it was

desirable to encourage Communists to rely upon

democratic methods and thereby to keep them

above ground where they could be watched rather

than to drive them underground where their

activities are harder to discover. Even J. Edgar

_Hoover has voiced such sentiments.

"In 1951 the employee was the subject of pro-

ceedings under the President's Loyalty Order. He

received interrogatories from the Ninth Regional

_ Loyalty Board of the Civil Service Commission

which raised precisely the same questions as are

being raised in the present security proceeding. _

In that case, however, the employee was not

suspended from his job. He submitted a written

answer to the interrogatories under oath and, on

January 23, 1952, he received a notice that he was

rated eligible for Federal employment on grounds

relating to loyalty. Thus, the matter was disposed

of without the necessity of a hearing. It is pos-

sible, of course, that the present matter can be

favorably disposed of without the necessity of a

hearing, although the Union's experience under

the President's Security Order, which went into

effect last May 28, is that hearings are held in all

cases in which employees are suspended.

Obviously, it is rather difficult for a laboring

man earning $2.18 an hour to defend himself on

charges once he is suspended from his job and his

earnings are stopped. In this case, the employee

went to a private attorney who quoted a fee of

$750 to handle the case. At that point, the em-

ployee asked the NAACP for help and that or-

ganization sent him to the ACLU.

each 0x00A7

Mass Arrests Of Negroes In Lawless Raid:

Union Secures Freedom For 7 Victims

Seven persons who were picked up in a fantastic

police "raid" in unincorporated North Richmond,

a Negro section, last February 26-27, owe their

freedom to the intervention of the ACLU. Staff

Counsel Lawrence Speiser last month secured an

acquittal for one person who was charged with

vagrancy and dismissals in six other cases.

_ 106 Officers Round Up 400 Negroes

Inspector Ray Stoeffels of the Contra Costa

Sheriff's office headed a ``task force" of 106 law

enforcement officers in the raid. They were drawn

from Contra Costa deputy sheriff's reserves,

State Board of Equalization and State Narcotics

Bureau agents, Pittsburg and Richmond police as

well as the Armed Services police. At a given time

this task force swooped down on every single

business establishment that was open in North

Richmond and rounded up 400 persons.

The raid was later described in the press as

being directed against the "hoodlum element." The

purpose of the raid, according to the sworn testi-

mony of Inspector Ray Stoeffels, was to find

gamblers, prostitutes, dope peddlers and addicts.

Not a single person in any of these categories was

found, and, although seventy persons were taken

into custody, only 46 were finally booked-43 on

ACLU Membership Drive

Begins After Easter

The ACLU's special membership drive for 400

new members and $2750 is scheduled to open on

April 19, after Easter, when about two hundred

campaign workers follow-up with personal calls

on prospects who have not responded to an appeal

by mail.

On April 5 about two thousand auto-typed let-

ters will be sent to these prospects together with

an attractive leaflet describing the Union's work

and a membership envelope. The name of the per-

son who recommended the prospect will appear in

the body of each letter where such use has been

authorized.

The drive is under the chairmanship of Arthur

P, Allen. :

Area chairmen for the drive have not yet been

secured in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Stockton, Car-

mel and Santa Cruz, but the prospects appear to

be good of lining up someone in the last two com-

munities. If anyone is willing to take on the re-

sponsibility in the first three communities, please

get in touch with the ACLU.

lows:

Berkeley-Thomas Winnett ..... 80 $540

Carmel oo ae, ee 10 68

Davis-Lee H. Watkins ........ 100x00B0 68

Diablo Valley-Vera Hopkins ... 10 68

Fresno-Dr. Hubert Phillips .... 5 34

Hayward-Edward F.Newman.. 5 34

Los Altos-(3-member comm.) 5 34

Marin County-Mrs. Russell

170

a Meret: 2.22 es 25

Menlo Park 5.000% oe 5 34

Oakland-Wayne Loretz ....... 25 170

Palo Alto . 3500.25 20 136

Redwood City-Arnold E. True.. 5 34

Richmond-wWinifred Snedden .. 15 101

Sacramento-Gordon McWhirter 25 170

San Francisco-Mrs. B. '

Abbott Goldberg ............ 100 675

San Jose-Claude Settles ....... 10 +~=368

San Mateo-

Mrs. Richard Coblentz ....... 5 34

matita: Cruz 3 5 34

Santa Rosa-Mignon Bowen .... 5 34

stockton - = 2) 2073 ee 10 68

Miseellaneous - 2... 2.50.00 20 136

vagrancy charges and three others for investiga-

tion because of possession of concealed weapons.

Clearance Cards Issued

When the raiders entered the various establish-

ments they required the patrons to stand with

their hands on their heads and to remain in that

position until they were searched. There were no

matrons present to search the women patrons so

they were searched by the male officers. Anyone

who protested against any of the procedures was

threatened with jail. After they were checked,

those who were not taken into custody were re-

quired to leave and were given blue cards bearing -

the word "Released" so they could get by the

street blockade that had been set up around the

area.

_ In addition to the raids on the business estab-

lishments, one private apartment was invaded by

having its doors broken down. The occupants

were forced to dress and to accompany police to a

central assembling point. They were later re-

leased without charges. Also, automobiles were

halted and cheeked by a street blockade and

pedestrians were likewise stopped.

Apparently, nine of the hapless victims of the

raid pleaded guilty to vagrancy charges. As far

as can be learned, they were not represented by .

counsel. On March 10, however, Lawrence Speiser

appeared in court on behalf of one defendant and,

after a trial, secured an acquittal from San Pablo

Judicial District Judge Wilson Locke. -

Further Trials March 31

Six other cases were dismissed by Judge Locke

on March 12 on the motion of Speiser after In-

spector Stoeffels admitted he could not identify

any of the defendants and did not know the offi-

cers who made the arrests. The trials of 16 others -

are set for March 31. Mr. Speiser will be on hand.

at that time.

All of the persons rounded up and arrested in

the raid were Negroes. The police acted without

benefit of warrants of any kind and showed utter

disregard for the rights of citizens and the re-

quirements of the law in making arrests. They

acted without probable cause and invaded the

privacy of persons by unlawful searches and,

seizures.

The ACLU intends to take appropriate action to

see that enforcement of the law by drag net

methods is not repeated in North Richmond. The

various law enforcement agencies are being asked

for an explanation of their part in the raid and a

federal suit under the Civil Rights Act ig being

considered.

The area chairmen and their goals are as fol-

As Long as They Last!

__ The Union will sell the remaining copies of

its supply of J. Campbell Bruce's, The Golden

Door,-the shocking story of the applica-

tion of the McCarran-Walter Act, at the bar-

gain price of $2.25, or a saving of $1.50 over

the regular price of $3.75. :

"You'd better read the book," says Joseph

Henry Jackson in his review in the February

28 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle. "Mr.

Bruce, moved by the incredible injustices that

can and do take place under the Act, is out

to strike a blow against tyranny-and tyran-

ny is exactly what becomes possible, what-

ever anybody's good intentions may be, un-

der the present act. What it comes down to,

actually, is what Mr. Bruce himself says, and

his publisher repeats, evidently feeling that

it gets at the heart of the whole matter: :

""We sorely need an immigration law that

is not written in fear nor rooted in racial dis-

crimination.' "

Orders should be sent to the American

Civil Liberties Union, 503 Market St., San

Francisco 5, Calif., together with a check.

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Palo Alto Movie

Censorship Ends

In the face of legal action to test the constitu-

tionality of the Palo Alto censorship board, the

Palo Alto City Council voted unanimously to strip

the censorship powers of the city's 33-year-old

Board on Commercial Amusements. The action

does not eliminate the board, but removes its pow-

ers to order special previews of movies and issue

orders banning showings or limiting them to adult

audiences.

A suit had been filed py Alfred Laurice, owner

of the local Cardinal Theatre, through Robert Tn.

Winslow, a Willits attorney, on the basis of recent

Supreme Court rulings which knocked out similar

censorship laws.

The ACLU had been studying the local ordi-

nance and had planned to file an amicus curiae

brief in the case. It had also sent material on

censorship to Attorney Winslow to aid in his'

preparation of the case.

The original ordinance allowed the Board' to

prohibit the exhibition of motion pictures which

were "of an obscene, indecent or immoral nature"

or which "present any grueSome, revolting or

disgusting scenes or subject or tend to disturb the

public peace, or tend to corrupt the public morais."

ft also empowered the board to prohibit the

sale of children's tickets to "essentially adult

entertainment."

The board apparently will continue to view

pictures and advise which ones shall be shown

to children, but has no powers to enforce its ad-

vice. It will no longer have the power to require

the theatre owners to present scheduled films for

previews. It was this practice that caused Laurice

to file suit, since the expense of bringing films to

Palo Alto for previews with the possibility that

they would be banned caused him and other the-

atre operators to forego the scheduling of films

where they thought approval might not be forth-

coming.

The Peninsula Cinema Guild had contacted the

ACLU and was willing to act as a client in the

event any of its films were censored. One other

issue that was raised with regard to the Cinema

Guild was the discrimination in requiring it to pay

a daily license fee rather than the much cheaper

quarterly one granted to local theatres. However,

after a protest to the City Council, the regular

license was issued.

The only remaining moving picture censorship

ordinance in California, as far as is known, is

found in Pasadena.

Pacifist Wins

Naturalization Case

Naturalization rights under the Constitution for

conscientious objectors have been reaffirmed by

the U.S. Supreme Court in a unanimous precedent-

making decision ordering the granting of citizen-

ship to Arthur Jost, Reedley, Calif., Mennonite.

Representing Jost in the Supreme Court were

Dean Acheson, former Secretary of State in his

first petition to the court since his retirement from

the government, and A. L, Wirin, ACLU counsel

in Southern California. Acheson `joined Wirin in

the case last summer in a Supreme Court appeal

for certiorari from a California Superior pau

order denying citizenship to Jost.

In an unusual last-minute procedure, the gov-

ernment filed a written ``confession of error," ad-

mitting that Jost was improperly denied naturali-

zation.

Jost had refused to take the standard oath for

citizenship which requires him to swear that he

_ will bear arms. He was denied the privilege of

_ taking an alternate oath provided by statute for

conscientious objectors on the ground that there

was insufficient proof that the Mennonite creed

required him to object to military service.

In the Supreme Court brief filed in behalf of

Jost, it was pointed out that the Mennonite

Church, an historic peace church, leaves the ap-

plication of its teaching to the individual con-

science of its memhers. It also pointed out that

the legislative history of the law showed that "`in

making the test of conscientious objection that of

the individual's own `religious training and belief,'

Congress intended . . . to eliminate any require-

ment of membership i in an organized religious sect

or group having such objection as one of its

tenets."

'

Two similar cases are pending in the San Fran-

cisco office of the Naturalization Service which

are being handled by the ACLU. Despite the

Supreme `Court's decision, the examiner's have

recommended against naturalization, but the de-

partment head has referred the cases to the

Central Office because of the apparent conflict

with new department policy.

ACLU National Board Adopts Controversial

Interim Policy Statement on Communism

The national board of the American Civil Liber-

ties Union on March 15 adopted and later pub-

lished an interim statement of policy denouncing:

the American Communist movement as ``an inter-

national conspiracy to seize power." The action

was taken by a vote of 18 to 8. Attorney Osmond

K. Fraenkel, former Municipal Court Justice Dor-

othy Kenyon and Dorothy Dunbar Bromley,

writer, were the only dissenters.

The minority opposed issuance of the statement

because the biennial conference of the corporation

held in February had referred the issue to a special

committee and the national board had concurred

in this action on February 15. Indeed, attempts

had been made at that meeting to adopt a similar

interim policy statement og communism but they

had ali been turned down by close votes,

In the meantime, the national board was threat-

ened with mass resignations unless a resolution

opposing Communism was immediately adopted.

Apparently, to appease this vociferous group, and

to hold the badly split board together, the resolu- :

tion was adopted.

In doing so, the national board has not only

- broken faith with the biennial conference but has

demonstrated once again that it regards itself

as being the sole repository of aus in the

ACLU.

Previously, on a referendum He the national

board was defeated on three controversial state-

ments of policy, but the board over-rode the cor-

poration's decision under an extraordinary provi-

sion of the 1951 By-Laws (which were never le-

gally adopted) empowering the national board to

act in accordance with the majority recommenda-

tions on a referendum "except where it believes

there are vitally important reasons for not doing

so which it shall explain to the corporation mem-

bers." The board never explained why it had exer-

cised its veto power.

At the request of the corporation`s biennial con-

ference, however, it agreed to "withdraw" the

three controversial policy statements and refer

the issues to a special committee composed of two

representatives each of the national board, the

national committee and the affiliates.

Of course, there is a serious question as to

whether there is any point in the special commit-

tee carrying on its duties since it has already been

undercut by the national board, That board, under

threats of a group within it, will apparently nullify

any recommendations it does not approve and it

has, in effect, given such notice to the special com-

mittee. It would, therefore, seem to this writer

that it is a waste of time and effort for the sub-

committee to do anything so long as the paloeal

board clings to its veto power.

To be sure, the biennial conference recom-

mended that the board give up its veto power,

but the board has not seen fit to act on the

recommendation. The chances are good that even

when this issue is considered legal reasons will

be found to retain this undemocratic power. On

the other hand, numerous lawyers throughout the

country have argued that the New York law does

not require the board to hold its veto power but

the national board and the staff still speak

vaguely about the veto power being a requirement

of the New York law.

On the substantive issue, the Executive Com-

mittee of this branch has unanimously taken the

position that it is outside the Union's purpose to

characterize any movement. It is not the business

of the ACLU to pass judgment on the Commu-

nists, the Chamber of Commerce, Labor, Wall

Street, Socialists, the FBI, the Republican and

Democratic parties or any other groups. The

ACLU has the limited, non-partisan purpose of

intervening when and only at the point where

there is a violation of civil liberties. If any per-

sons within the ACLU wish to fight the foregoing

Sees other groups they should do so outside the

LU

Although the issues in question have been under

debate in the national board for over 16 months,

very little information about the controversy has

been allowed to leak out to the general public

or the membership. The official board minutes

rarely if ever show how the members of the

board voted on a given motion and the lineup on

the current resolfition was found only i in the New

York Times.

The Times credits Norman Thomas, Morris L.

Ernst and James Lawrence Fly with leading the

fight for the resolution. Members of the same

group include H. William Fitelson, Varian Fry,

James Kerney, Jr., Herbert S. N: orthrup and Wil-

liam L, White. In fact, it is readily admitted that

the board breaks down into three groups and that

the middle group holds the balance of power.

8

There are no left-wingers, only a few old-fashioned

liberals.

In contrast with the national board, which is

badly split and apparently suffering from harden-

ing of the arteries, the 19 local affiliates, judging

from their representatives at the conference, give

one the impression of being a vigorous and active

lot which are reasonably free from the fears and

timidity of the national board. And yet, these local

affiliates combined operate on half the amount

of money that is being spent annually by the na-

tional office. Unfortunately, much of the national

income during the past year has been spent on

fruitless controversy.

The text of the national board's statement of

policy of March 15 follows:

"On February 15, 1954, the Board of the ACLU

unanimously adopted a statement asserting its

intention `to defend the civil liberties of any per-

son, however unpopular that person or his views

may be, and regardless of any political party,

organization, denomination, race, or nationality

to which that person may belong.' At the same

time, the ACLU reasserted its policy to have no

Board or committee of staff member, national or

local, `who does not believe in civil liberties or

who `accepts the discipline and control of any po-

litical party or organization which is under the

control or direction of any totalitarian govern-

ment, whether Communist or Fascist; which itself

does `not believe in civil liberties or, in practice,

crushes civil liberties.'

"The Board recognizes the dual nature of the

operations of the Communist movement in the

United States at the- present time. While that

movement seeks to give the appearance of being

primarily a political instrument of agitation and

propaganda, it is actually an international con-

spiracy to seize power-political, social, economic (c)

-wherever it can.

"At the meeting of February 15 the Board di-

rected the appointment of a special committee to

study and report its recommendations regarding

policies of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Now, until such committee report is available, and

for the information of the public as well as for

the continuing guidance of its staff, the Board

reiterates its considered opinion that the facts

- regarding the American Communist movement

are well established. The American Communist

movement, in sharp contradistinction to other

American political parties, is subject to the domi-

nance of the rulers of a foreign nation. In theory

it rejects all the concepts of civil liberty which

the ACLU exists to defend and in practice it

crushes every assertion of individual dignity and

freedom which may conflict with the party's com-

mands. In thus reasserting its considered judg-

ment on Communism, the Board of the ACLU is

following its established practice in assessing re-

sponsibly the character of organizations like the

Ku Klux Klan and the pro-Nazi Bund.

"Like all patriotic citizens the Board of Direc-

tors of the ACLU expects the government dili-

gently to seek out and punish law-breakers, es-

pecially those guilty of treasonable acts against

our country; and to provide for the integrity of

federal employment. But we hold it to be an

ominous violation of our own heritage and _ prin-

ciples to condemn or punish, politically, socially

or economically, any person, Communist or other,

without due process of law and procedure. The

ACLU's defense has everywhere and always been,

not of organizations or ideologies, but of the civil

rights to which all persons under the jurisdiction

of the Government of the United States are en-

titled by the Constitution."

Fine Elected to Exec. Comm.

Alvin J. Fine, Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, San

Francisco, has been elected to the Union's `local

Executive Committee to fill a term expiring Octo-

ber 31, 1955.

John W. Mass Appeal

The appeal of John W. Mass, San Francisco

City College teacher, who was dismissed from

his job after failing to answer the questions

of the Velde Committee last December, is

scheduled for a hearing in the San Francisco

Superior Court on April 12. Mr. Mass will be

represented by Lawrence Speiser, ACLU

Staff Counsel.

_. .Thus far, 74 persons have contributed ex-

_actly $565 to help pay the expenses of the

appeal. Further contributions. will be wel-

_ comed, Make all checks payable to the ACLU,

503 Market St., San Francisco 5, Calif., and

earmark them `for the "John W. Mass Ap-

peal. 2 :

~

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Page 3

Tax Loyalty Oath Suits to

Be Filed for Two Churches

The ACLU will shortly file suits on behalf of

`two Bay Area churches which have refused to sign

the loyalty oath in order to secure tax exemption

from county property taxes. The two churches, the

First Methodist Church of San Leandro and the

First Unitarian-Universalist Church of San Jose

have voted to challenge the constitutionality of the

law which has caused a furor among churches and

_other organizations in the state.

The suits for writs of mandate will be filed in

the State Supreme Court and will request that

Court to order the county tax assessors to grant

the churches the tax exemption to which they have

been entitled in the past.

Both churches have filed formal applications for

exemptions, but have crossed out the loyalty dec-

laration which states that they do not advocate

the forceful overthrow of the government, nor ad-

vocate the support of a foreign government

against the United States in the event of hostil-

ities. yo

Both churches accompanied the application with

letters setting forth their objections to the loyalty

declaration even though they are faced with the

possibility of property taxes amounting to sev-

eral thousand dollars in the event the constitu-

tionality of the law is upheld.

Among the reasons cited by the First Methodist

Church were that these ``declarations were ineffec- |

tive for protecting the country," the law probably

"violates the First Amendment guarantees of

freedom of speech and press," ``the law makes the

presumption that the United States will always be

right and any enemy always wrong" and since this

may not always be true a "Christian should not

support any group if it is wrong even if it is his

own country," the signing of the declaration takes

away from the church the "right to make moral

judgments," and the law is vague and indefinite.

The San Jose church's letter, drafted by the

Reverend Harold Shelley, stated that they did "not

-feel the matters of belief are a valid basis for tax

exemption" and that the law violates the Four-

teenth Amendment in discriminating in granting

privileges to some and not to others similarly sit-

uated. It was also felt that the loyalty oath places

their church, `which encourages divergence of

opinion as a proper method of testing the truth, in

the position of being responsible for possible ad-

vocacy by members," thus violating the belief that

"any guilt assumed by advocacy is personal."

The Reverend Robert Moon, minister of the San

Leandro First Methodist Church, is also the chair-

man of the Commission on Legislation and Public

Morals of the Northern California-Nevada Coun-

cil of Churches, which represents 24 Protestant

churches, and which also has come out in opposi-

tion to the oath. f

- So far, seven churches in Northern California

have voted not to sign the oath. In addition to the

ones filing suit, these include the Vine Street

Quaker group in Berkeley, the Mills Terrace Chris-

tian Church in Oakland, the Palo Alto Unitarian

Church, the First Methodist Church in Campbell,

and the Trinity Lutheran Church in Alameda.

An equal number of churches have decided to

sign the oath under protest. The loyalty oath for

continued tax exemption is required of all organi-

zations and corporations by reason of legislation

passed last year to implement a state constitu-

tional amendment approved by the voters in No-

vember 1952 as Proposition 5.

Rev. Harry C. Meserve

Will Move to Boston

The ACLU and the entire community will suffer

a great loss next September 30 when the Rev.

Harry C. Meserve leaves his ministry at the First

Unitarian Church in San Francisco to become

minister of famed King's Chapel in Boston, Mass.,

which was founded in 1686.

Mr. Meserve has given generously of his time (c)

and energy as a loyal and devoted member of the

Union's local Executive Committee during the

past several years. He has earned a large follow-

ing by whom he is loved and admired, because of

his ability, his warm personality and sense of

humor and because he has the courage of his con-

victions. The community hates to lose such a per-

son but the ACLU joins in wishing him good luck

in Boston.

S.F. Velde Hearings Off

- A recent Washington dispatch from Scripps

Howard writer Ruth Finney declares that the

Velde Committee will not hold its promised hear-

ings in San Francisco during April. Instead, wit-

nesses will be required to appear in Washington.

ACLU Answers Charges M

With Edward

In His Debs

The following statement was issued by the

American Civil Liberties Union on March 12 in

connection with the accuracy of the statement by

Senator McCarthy that the ACLU has been listed

as a "Communist front" organization, a point

raised in the Senator McCarthy-Edward R. Mur-

row dispute.

"The controversy between Senator McCarthy

and Edward R. Murrow has dealt, in part, with

the accuracy of Senator McCarthy's statement

that the American Civil Liberties Union has been

listed as a `Communist front' organization. The

Senator's statement was made on March 38, 1954,

in his questioning of Reed Harris, Deputy Admin-

istrator of the International Information Admin-

istration, during the investigation of the Voice

of America by the Senate Permanent Subcommit-

tee on Investigations.

"As Mr. Murrow stated last night, the ACLU

is not cited on the Attorney General's subversive

list, by the FBI or any other Government agency.

It was cited by the California Un-American Ac-

tivities :Committee in 1943, 1948 and 1949 as a

Communist-front organization, a charge which the

Union regards as totally false and despicable in

light of the ACLU's 34-year record of non-partisan

defense of American civil liberties, which has been

lauded by such eminent Americans as President

Eisenhower, former President Truman, and Gen-

eral Douglas MacArthur. All of these facts were

presented to Senator McCarthy after the Harris

hearing, and the record of the testimony, pub-

lished on January 24, 1954, contains the following

footnote correction:

"20. Testimony at Page 333, Part 5 of instant

hearings discloses that Harris, when suspended

from Columbia University in 1932, was supplied

with an attorney by the American Civil Liberties

Union which had been listed as a front for the

Communist Party. It is noted that this organiza-

tion has not been so cited by the HCUA or so

listed by the Attorney General. It was so cited by

the California Committee on Un-American Activi-

ties.'

"As the citation of the ACLU by the California

Un-American Activities Committee known then as

the Tenney Committee because of its chairman,

state senator Jack Tenney, has now again been

used to attack the ACLU, the following facts

about the Tenney Committee listing should be

considered:

"1, Both in 1943 and 1948, when the Tenney

Committee reported that the Union was a Commu-

nist-front organization, our Northern and South-

ern California branches made repeated requests

for a hearing to deny the charges and present

contrary evidence. These requests were denied.

Under our American system, a hearing to present

information is fundamental to a proper evaluation

of any charge. It is only through hearings that

the full truth can be established.

"2. Our Northern California Branch, in 1948, |

challenged Senator Tenney to repeat his statement

off the floor of the state senate, where he was

protected by immunity, so that the Union could

institute a libel suit against him. This challenge -

was not accepted by Senator Tenney.

"3. Each of the bills suggested by the Tenney

Committee were never adopted by the state legis-

lature mainly because of opposition to Senator

Tenney's outrageous attacks on individuals and

organizations; because of his rejection by the pub-

lic, he was forced to resign as chairman of the

Committee, a

"4, In informed circles, the findings of the Ten-

ney Committee are regarded as almost worthless

because of the failure to grant hearings and be-

cause of the loose and dragnet nature of the

listings. The Committee's disregard for fair pro-

cedure was so outrageous that it was severely

reprimanded by such leading California news-

papers as The San Francisco Chronicle, The San

Francisco News, and The Los Angeles News.

"5. The most convincing evidence of the inac-

curacy of the Tenney Committee citations of the

Union comes from the House Un-American Activi-

ties Committee. In its March 3, 1951, `Guide to

Subversive Organizations and Publications,' in

which, in a preface, it states that the Tenney Com-

mittee is-one of the sources on which it based

its report, the House Committee does not include

the Tenney Committee's reference to the Union.

Evidently, the House Committee agreed with the

California Press and public that the Tenney Com-

mittee reference was not true.

"6, The Tenney Committee did not consult Con-

~ gressman Martin Dies, who, on October 23, 1939,

when he was chairman of the House Un-American

Activities Committee, cleared the ACLU of any

_Communist sympathies, stating, `This Committee

found .. . there was not any evidence that the

ACLU was a Communist organization.'

ade By McCarthy

VviIUrrow

"On February 15, 1954, the ACLU's Board of

Directors reaffirmed the principles which guide

ACLU's work, and from which it will not depart,

despite efforts to characterize the ACLU as `sub-

versive.' "We stand against guilt by association,

judgment by accusation, the invasion of the priv-

acy of personal opinions and beliefs, and the con-

fusion of dissent with disloyalty-all of which are

characteristic of the totalitarian tyrants we abhor.

The abuse of wrongful un-American methods of

the rightful national aim to safeguard the security

of the country not only betrays the noblest tradi-

tions of our history but also impairs the capacity

for leadership of free peoples at this crucial time

for freedom in the world...

"In war and peace, the ACLU has defended

and championed and pledges itself to continue to

defend and champion the rightful civil liberties of

any person or organization, the essentials of aca-

demic freedom, fair hearings, and due process,

Whatever be the issues of the hour, the temper of

the times, the alarms of crises, and the pressures

of groups.' "

Unfavorable Appeal Board

Decision in Barrow Case

The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled on

March 15 that Ruben Barrow, the Honduran

stowaway, was entitled to a hearing before he

could be excluded from the country, but never-

theless ordered his exclusion. At the same time

the board granted him permission to reapply for

admission after being sent back to his native Hon-

duras.

`Barrow had run afoul of the McCarran-Walter

Act when he left his vessel in Japan after a fight

with a fellow crewman. There were threats against

his life by other crewmen, and when negotiations

fer a mutual consent payoff appeared unsuccess-

ful he stowed away on board the President Wilson

to return to this country and his pregnant wife.

He was ordered excluded without a hearing,

under the present immigration law, but interven-

tion by the ACLU in Federal Court caused the Im-

migration Service to give Barrow a hearing to de-

termine if he was entitled to a hearing. Special

Inquiry Officer, L. E. Gowen, after a complete

hearing, ruled that Barrow was not entitled to a

hearing. It was this decision that was appealed to

. the Board of Immigration Appeals, which ruled

that Gowen did have jurisdiction to hear the mat-

ter. The Board, however, went on to draw its own

conclusions as to the evidence and on that basis

ordered Barrow's exclusion.

A motion for reopening and reconsideration has

been filed by the ACLU challenging the Board's

authority to draw conclusions on the evidence

when there was no decision on the evidence af

the lower level.

Use of Nuns as Public School

Teachers Fought In 3 States

. The issue of whether or not state funds should

be withheld from public schools employing garbed

Roman Catholic nuns as teachers has now become

the center of controversy in Colorado, Idaho and

Kentucky, the newsletter of Protestants United

For Separation of Church and State reports.

Colorado's State Board of Education reversed

an earlier decision cutting off state funds from

schools employing nuns on the plea that dismissal

of the sisters would force a closing of the schools.

_ But the board has ordered local officials to specify

in their annual reports whether or not religious

insignia and periodicals are present in the class-

rooms so that the board may decide whether the

schools have remained sufficiently public to allow

them to continue to receive state support. The

board holds that the wearing of religious garb

by the public school teachers is not in itself

grounds for withholding aid.

Following a 3-2 vote by the Idaho County school

district trustees, Idaho public schools in the area

(larger than the state of Massachusetts) will dis-

miss nuns from their teaching staff. The decision

immediately affects nine nuns teaching in the

communities of Greencreek and Keuterville, where

nuns have taught for almost forty years.

-In Kentucky, the Free Public Schools Commit-

tee called on State's Attorney General J. D. Buck-

man to bar use of state funds in school districts.

where nuns are employed, and specifically pointed

out four types of violations. The Attorney Gen-

eral turned down the request on the grounds that

no charges had been brought by school officials

and that the Committee's evidence was not suffi-

cient. On the other hand, the head of the State

Bureau of Instruction stated that there are also

certain schools with some Protestant church con-

nections receiving public aid.

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

ERNEST BESIG

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 and Fifty Cents a Year.

Fifteen Cents per Copy -151 Ges

Union Opposes Contempt

Citation for Corliss Lamont

The American Civil Liberties Union.urged the

Senate Committee on Government Operations late

last month not to cite author Corliss Lamont for

contempt of Congress for refusing to answer

questions before Senator McCarthy's Permanent

Subcommittee on Investigations, asserting the

_ questions "infringed upon his rights as an author

under the First Amendment and/or were irrele-

vant to the scope of the committee's inquiry."

__ The subcommittee voted to cite Lamont for con-

tempt on March 17 and the full committee must

pass on the citation before the issue is presented

to the Senate. Two other witnesses before the

McCarthy subcommittee, Albert Shadowitz, a civi-

lian engineer, and Abraham Unger, a New York

attorney, were also cited for contempt, but the

ACLU said it had been unable to fully review the

record of their cases, and since "We have not yet

thoroughly studied them, we are therefore in no

' position to comment upon them."

Lamont refused, on First Amendment grounds,

to answer questions involving alleged Communist

sympathies and associations at a hearing on Sep-

`tember 28, 1953, concerning his connection with

books used by the Army. He denied under oath,

at the hearing that he was a present or a past

member of the Communist Party.

In arguing against the contempt citation, the

ACLU said: "The naked question in this case is

whether the government can investigate any au-

thor of any book. We say that this broad question

is involved for the reason that every book pub-

lished in the United States occupies a place in the

Library of Congress; almost every newspaper is

purchased by one or another government agency.

All these are used by government personnel at

some time or other for some purpose. Therefore,

if inquiries into associations of those who write

books is possible in Mr. Lamont's case, it is possi--

ble in the case of every author, of the editor of

every newspaper.

"The obvious impact upon freedom of speech

is clear. Being subpoenaed before a Congressional

committee is hardly the most pleasant experience,

Those who have or ever had had any associations

which might be suspect or which they consider

might later be suspect, those who take any un-

popular or radical approach in their books, would

inevitably be compelled to go cautiously ... to

refrain from associations ... and not to speak

freely upon the most vital subject matters of the

day. They would not, if Mr. Lamont were to be

convicted, dare to make an unpopular association

... or to take unpopular views on the most mo-

mentous issues of our day. To subject the writer

of every book to the risk of subpoena, if he be

suspect in the eyes of a Congressional committee,

is to put the price of freedom of expression too

high."

The ACLU also said the charter of the Mc-

Carthy committee, to investigate the "economy

and efficiency" of government operations "did not

authorize it to undertake an investigation into the

authors of books purchased by the government.'

The subcommittee's inquiry was based on the fact

that books or parts of books written by Mr. La-

mont were purchased by the government and used

by the Army.

"Whether the Communist Party or Communists

aided or instructed the author in writing the book

is obviously not relevant to the efficiency of the

Army in using the books. The efficiency of the

Army in using a book must doubtless be based

upon the' content of the book itself.

"A book must be judged by its contents; at

least where the question is the efficiency of the

Army in using the book for indoctrination; the

reader of the book cannot be in the least influenced

by any secret maneuverings that may or may not

have gone on in the writing of the book of which

he is totally unaware and which do not appear in

the book. The efficiency of the Army or its econ-

omy are therefore nowhere at stake."

The ACLU also expressed the opinion that the

Supreme Court would hold that the McCarthy

subcommitte charter gave it no jurisdiction to

probe Lamont's beliefs, in order to "avoid raising

the question of the constitutionality of the in-

quiry."

Editor

hearing has been granted to him.

Arbitrary Security Decisions

By Local Army Agencies

Decisions in three recent cases involving civilian

employees of the United States Army would seem

to indicate that the Army has surrendered to Sen-

ator McCarthy and is leaning over backwards to

eliminate any possibilities of giving the Senator

grounds for attack.

~The most flagrant case involved a fork lift

operator who has been an employee of the Army

for ten years and was accused of being a member

_of the Socialist Workers Party, a Trotskyite group,

and of subscribing to its newspaper during 1950-

1952. He was also accused of being a member of

the Communist Party for 28 years in the Hast and

of "soliciting members, reading Communist books

and holding and attending Communist Party meet-

ings."

At the hearing in which the employee was rep-

resented by the ACLU, it was shown that the

charge concerning the Socialist Workers Party in-

volved another man by the same name who lived

at a completely different address, and that the

charge with regard to Communist Party member-

ship meant such membership would have started

three years before the start of the Communist

Party. The employee denied ever belonging to any

organization and is illiterate except for the ability

to write his name, so the charge about subscribing

to a newspaper and reading Communist books

seemed improbable to say the least. It is possible

that this second charge is also a case of mistaken

identity.

Nevertheless, the employee was screened as a

security risk. An appeal. was denied, and the Sec-

retary of the Army approved the decision. To add

insult to injury, the Army is refusing to pay him

almost $1900 that he had accrued in annual leave

and retirement pay on the grounds that he pres-

ently belongs to an organization advocating the

forceful overthrow of the government, or so ad-

vocates himself. Possible legal action is being

studied by the ACLU Legal Committee.

The second case involves an organizational and |

methods examiner at the Presidio, as previously

reported in the "News," who had his clearance for

handling classified materials "withdrawn tempo-

rarily, pending investigation."' Four months later

his job was abolished under a reduction in force.

As a permanent Civil Service employee he was en-

titled to be retained in any available equivalent

job, but was prevented from doing so because he

lacked the clearance, even though he had a higher

retention status than the person who got the job.

He was informed that all investigation ceases

when he was separated under a reduction in force

and, in any case, the backlog was so great that it

would take two or three years to clear up his case,

if he were kept.

Nevertheless, he was informed one month ago

that a final determination had been made "`on fully

adequate information." A request for a hearing

and a statement of charges has been denied. He

has never been informed of the reasons why his

security clearance was revoked in the first place.

Prior to his employment at the Army he had

worked for the U. 8. Navy and had clearance to:

handle classified matters up to "secret" as well

as Atomic Energy Commission material. Court

action is also being contemplated in this case.

The third case involves a longshoreman who

was cleared by a Coast Guard Screening Board so

that he could work on the waterfront. Yet the

Army's Port of Embarkation refuses to let him

work on their docks. No statement of charges or

Four Bay Area Residents |

Elected to ACLU Nat'l Comm.

`All twenty-one incumbent National Committee-

men of the ACLU, whose terms had expired in

1953, were re-elected to three-year terms by the

general membership in the election conducted dur-

ing February. Included in the group were three

Bay Area residents: Prof. James R. Caldwell of

U.C., Rt. Rev. Edward L. Parsons and Prof.

George R. Stewart of U.C. :

The following new members were also elected

to three-year terms: Robert K. Carr, professor

of law and political science, Dartmouth College;

Albert Sprague Coolidge, professor of Chemistry,

Harvard University; Gerald Johnson, editor and

journalist, Maryland; Donald Murphy, editor,

Wallace's Farmer and Iowa Homestead, Iowa.

-By reason of the very narrow margin of votes

between the 25 elected and the next three nomi-

nees, the national board, on the recommendation

of the national director, unanimously elected the

following to one-year terms: E. Boyd MacNaugh-

ton, Oregonian Publishing Company, Portland; -

Robert Mathews, professor of law, Ohio State

University; and Edward C. Tolman, professor of

psychology, University of California.

Nebraska Professor's Right to

Publish Defended by Regents

Professor C. Clyde Mitchell, chairman of the

Department of Agricultural Economics at the

University of Nebraska, has been the center of a

heated academic freedom controversy growing out

of an article he wrote for Capper's Farmer, titled

"Let's Not Go Back to 1920." In the article, Pro-

fessor Mitchell expressed the view that "during

the '30's, farm leaders and Congress forged the

realistic laws that help agriculture maintain its

place in our economy-an economy that is both

free and not free. Despite all the talk about free

enterprise, much of the non-agricultural economy

is not free. For that reason, agriculture demands

and. receives help from government so that it can

compete with industry and labor."

The article and Professor Mitchell came under -

the immediate fire of the Hall County Farm Bu-

reau Federation, which adopted a resolution ask-

ing that a committee be named to call upon the

University Board of Regents and "take any fur-

ther action they deem advisable."

At the same time, Regents-member J. Leroy

Welsh was quoted as saying: "I have no brief for

anyone in a tax-supported institution who favors

the destruction of the free enterprise system. No

member at the University has any right or au-

ee to advocate the destruction of this sys-

en

In a closed session, the University Regents de-

cided that Mitchell had not violated the propriety

of his office and issued a statement of principle

to eliminate further misunderstandings. This

statement was unanimously approved by the

Board and hailed in the local press as "a fine

document, and as straight-forward a declaration

of the principles of free thought and expression

as has come from any campus."

The statement made the following points:

"Rights and responsibilities (of University fac-

ulty) include: .

"1. The full right to speak as a citizen.

"2. The responsibilities of citizenship.

"3. The right, as a professional person, to free-

dom of research and to the publication of the re-

sults thereof, limited only by the precepts of

scholarship and the faithful performance of other

academic responsibilities."

"4, The right, as a professional person, to free

and thorough expression in the classroom.

"The right to uphold, to discuss and dissent are

the moral fiber of America's greatness. They are _

likewise the strength of a great University."

Berkeley Sidewalk Table |

Permits Granted

_ The Berkeley City Council has granted two side-

walk table permits to groups after City Manager

John Phillips told the Council that permission

should be granted because of the recent judicial

upset in the case of Reuel S. Amdur.

One of the permits was granted to a group of

University of California students called "Students

to Combat McCarthyism." The second permit was

granted to the Student Civil Liberties Union to

publicize the recent state-wide conference on civil

liberties.

.The Appellate Department of the Alameda Su-

perior Court last month reversed Amdur's convic-

tion for putting up a table after his request for a

leaflet table had been twice denied by the City

Council. He was represented by the ACLU which

contended that the City Council may not grant

the privilege to some and not to others. The Ap-

pellate Department ordered a new trial to admit

all barred evidence which was offered on Amdur's

behalf showing there was an unconstitutional dis-

crimination. A new trial date has been set for -

April 15.

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