vol. 21, no. 3
Primary tabs
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
Free Press
Free Assemblage
Free Speech
VOLUME XxXI
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, MARCH, 1956
NUMBER 3
Membership Campaign Set
For Last Two Weeks in April
Mr. Morse Erskine, Senior, partner in the San
Francisco law firm of Erskine, Erskine, and Tul-
ley, will direct the spring membership drive for
the American Civil Liberties Union, it was an-
nounced February 24, by the ACLU office.
With a goal of $6000 and 715 members, Mr. Er-
-skine will direct the campaign energies of 22 com-
munity chairmen, a lawyers' committee who will
solicit members in their profession, and a special
gifts' chairman, who will head a newly created
division for solicitation of donor gifts of $100 or
more. The campaign is scheduled for the last two
weeks in April.
The bulk of the $6000 goal which is sought, is
slated for an educational program. With additional
educational facilities, a year-round program of
guest speaker, round tables, participation in con-
ferences, and work with high school and college-
age young people is scheduled for the coming
year. In describing such an educational program,
Mr. Besig, executive director, concluded, `Civil
liberties derive their sanction from the consent
of the society in which they exist. We of ACLU
can perform no better function than to educate
that society at its broadest base, to the vital role
civil liberties play in the personal lives of each."
- Chairmen who will serve under Mr. Erskine in
the forthcoming drive are: Mr. William Roth,
chairman of Special Gifts division; Residential
chairmen: Lee Watkins, Davis; Ted Baer, Los
- Altos and Mountain View; Gordon McWhirter,
Sacramento; Mr. Joseph Fortier, Fresno; Dr.
Marvin Naman, Santa Cruz; and Louise Quinn,
Marin County. Other chairmen will be announced
in the April issue of the NEWS.
By March 9, all ACLU members will receive a
letter from Mr. Erskine, requesting the names of
friends and associates who will make up a pros-
_ pective membership list. These lists will form
the basis of solicitation by the residential area
committees.
In urging members to comply, Mr. Besig re-
iterated the need for such names, ``We now have
326 members. With ten names from each member,
we reach a challenging potential 32,600!"
High School Civil Liberties
Canter sacs March 23-25
The American Friends Service Committee will
hold a High School Conference on "Our American
Heritage: Freedom for All" at Asilomar the week-
end of March 23-25, 1956.
_ The principal speakers will be Paul Hoffman,
Chairman of the Board, Fund for the Republic, and
Ralph Bunche of the United Nations.
The registration fee for the conference is $14.50
per person. Registration blanks may be secured
from the American Friends Service Committee,
1830 Sutter St., San Francisco.
Incidentally, the Marin Chapter has voted to
' provide conference scholarships for three high
school students.
New Pamphlets
A supply of the 35th annual report of the
national office of the American Civil Liberties
Union, entitled "Clearing the Main Channels,"
is now available at the ACLU office. The price
of the 144-page pamphlet is 50c.
Also available at the Union's local office is a
pamphlet entitled `The People's Right to Know,"
a report on Gevernment news suppression, by
Allen Raymond. This 48-page pamphlet was
prepared for the ACLU and sells at 35c per copy.
Please send orders, together with remittance,
to the ACLU, 503 Market St., San Francisco 5,
Calif.
Sharp Differences Between Affiliates and
National Office at ACLU's Biennial Conference
The biennial conference of the corporation mem-
bers of the American Civil Liberties Union began
at the Dodge Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Feb-
ruary 29 with sharp differences indicated between
the affiliates and the national office on questions
Army Asks Return of Hon.
Discharge in Security Case
Five days after receiving an honorable discharge
from the Army, an inductee at Fort Ord who had
a security hearing last October 31 was advised that
an administrative mistake had been made and
that he should return the honorable discharge by
return mail. He was furnished with a copy of an
order indicating that the character of his discharge
was "to be determined," and that he was not to
receive his mustering out pay until the character
of his discharge was determined.
The ACLU, which represented the young man at
his security hearing, has again been turned to for
advise. He has been advised to take no action
until his rights in the matter can be determined.
The charges in the security proceeding were
not, very substantial. First of all, it was claimed
that in 1951 he had been "on the mailing list of
the Socialist Workers Party, .. ." Next, it was
claimed that "On 18 February 1954, you stated
that you would like to go to Russia for a year or
so to see how things are run over there; and,
further that they have a `pretty good deal for the
working man' there."
The third charge was that he had "maintained
a close association with R.A.C., who since 1946
was active in Communist activities; and, E. J., a
member of the Communist Party since 1938." The
fourth charge was that he had ``maintained a close,
continuing association with your brother, who,
during 1951, was on the mailing list of the Social-
ist Workers Party, aoe
The final charge was that "In 1950 and 1951,
you were a member of the Young Progressives of
America, an organization which steadily and en-
thusiastically supported the Communist Party
line."
As usual, the Government relied on a secret file
in support of its charges. The inductee did not tes-
tify, but a number of his associates testified that
he had given satisfactory service to the Army.
Ernest Besig, local ACLU Executive Director, who
appeared in his behalf, contended that the inductee |
should be given the kind of a discharge that re-
flected the character of his service.
ACLU Invented Civil Rights
"Tt is almost true to say that the American Civil
Liberties Union invented civil rights, for before
this organization came on the scene after World
War I, there was little articulated interest in or
concern for the problem except among the op-
pressed. Much the ACLU did directly, but above
all, it supplied a formula-a public relations `pack-
age'-a body of civil rights doctrine, around which
could be mobilized the teachers, trade unionists,
ministers, editors, and others who had previously
lived in atomistic impotence. Roger Baldwin, a
Madison Avenue advertising genius who somehow
located on the wrong street, supplied the organi-
zation an impetus and a direction that gave the
Union a nationwide reputation in an incredibly
short space of time. For every dues-paying mem-
-ber, there were probably a hundred non-members,
_ frequently in key opinion-forming positions in
their communities, who followed the Union's lead-
ership, rallied to its campaigns, and passed on its
position to their opinion-constituents."-From an
article by John P. Roche, in the June 23, 1955 issue
of The New Republic, entitled "We've `Never Had
More Freedom."
of By-Law changes, national office operations, and
division of the Union's income. _
Attendance at the conference is restricted to
members of the corporation, who, under the pre- -
sent By-Laws, are defined as `"`(i) the members of (c)
the national board of directors, (ii) the members
of the National Committee, and (iii) the boards-
considered corporately-of the local affiliates."
Membership Control
Several affiliates have proposed changes in the
national By-Laws that would lead sooner or later
to the vesting of control and management of the
corporation in the general membership, Indeed,
under a plan proposed by the Ohio Civil Liberties
Union, management of the Union's business would
be ``vested in its National Convention, and. between
meetings of its National Convention in its Board
of Directors," which would be elected by the con-
_ vention. The Colorado branch has made similar
proposals.
The State of Washington Chapter would also
like to see control and management of the cor-
poration vested in the membership. Nevertheless,
it proposes' ``an intermediate stage vesting the
control in the National Board and in the Affiliate
Boards." Under this plan, national committeemen
would be reduced to sponsors of the organization,
Malin's Proposals
On the other hand, Patrick Malin, the ACLU's
executive director, has offered a new set of By-
Laws which he claims will enlarge the role of the
affiliates whose members send their dues to New
York, but places affiliates like Northern California
in a second class position in the organization.
Mr. Malin's proposal would eliminate the affili-
ates and national committeemen as members of the
corporation and place virtually complete control
of the Union's business in the present 35-member
Board of Directors. The `enlarged role" of certain
affiliates apparently refers to a proposed "Interim
_Committee"' of six persons which would meet once
a year and make mere "recommendations" to the
Board, besides serving as a nominating commit-
tee to nominate persons for the national board and
the emasculated national committee.
Interim Committee
Boards of affiliates whose members send their
dues to New York would elect two persons to the
Interim Committee. The chairmen of the national
board and the national committee would each ap-
(Continued on Page 4, Col. 2)
Expansion Program Results
In Staff of 55 Paid Persons
The expansion program of the ACLU of North-
ern California has not only resulted in the hiring
of Priscilla Ginsberg as Public Relations Director,
but the return of Florence Dobashi, who resigned
last year after five years of service, on a part-time
basis. As a result, the office now has 51% paid
employees.
Of course, the 114 additional employees made it
"necessary to acquire more office space. For a time
it looked as though the branch would have to move
from its present address because of lack of suit- 0x00B0
able space and particularly because of a proposed
increase in the rent. In the end, however, the ACLU
acquired a fourth room and the rent was kept at
the old rate of 30c a square foot. A three-year
lease has been signed, beginning March 1.
In order to get a proper start under the new
lease, the lessor agreed to paint the 825 square
feet of office space, so the four rooms are now
bright and fresh.
Unfortunately, because it was necessary to ac-
quire a fourth telephone line, the ACLU's tele-
phone number will be changed next month from
EXbrook 2-3255 to EXbrook 2-4692. A further
announcement cn this subject will ze made in the
next issue of the ``News."'
Ss
Page 2
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS
March, 1956
ACLU Wins Court Decision
In Right to Counsel Case
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous deci-
sion, has ruled that Stephen A. Herman had im-
properly been denied a hearing by the Pennsylva-
nia courts on his charge that his guilty plea to
charges of forgery and burglary and subsequent
sentence were the result of coercion and threats
and he did not have knowledge of his right to
court-appointed counsel. The American Civil Lib-
erties Union had taken the case to the high court,
where its former staff counsel, Herbert Monte
Levy, and cooperating attorney, Marjorie Hanson
Matson, argued the case. ~ oo
Herman had pleaded guilty in 1945 in a Penn-
sylvania state court on 30 charges of burglary,
larceny, forgery and false pretense, and was sen-
tenced to 1714 to 35 years in the penitentiary.
Hight years later, in 1953, he filed a petition for
habeas corpus, asking the sentencing court to set
aside his conviction. Herman claimed that he had
been held incommunicado for three days after his
arrest, during which a state trooper threatened
to choke him if he did not confess, and that
threats were also made against his family. After
72 hours of intermittent questioning, he confessed,
allegedly agreeing to plead guilty to three charges
only, but signed a plea of guilty to the 30 offenses
when the assistant prosecuting attorney allegedly
said, "Sign your name and forget it.' Herman,
who had been to school only six years, was 21
years old when convicted, and his only prior crim-
inal experience was in 1943 when he had received
a six months jail sentence on a guilty plea, also
made without counsel. The District Attorney de-.
nied violence and coercion, admitted charges of
three days detention before Herman was taken
before a judge, but claimed that the confession
was voluntary and that everything else was im-
material. The Pennsylvania courts denied Her-
-man's petition without a hearing.
The District Attorney argued before the high
court that it would be a waste of time and expense
for a hearing to have been granted, in that there
is no need for such a proceeding because the Dis-
trict Attorney had denied most of the allegations.
The ACLU attorneys contended that the only way
to establish truth when denial of allegations had
been made is to have a hearing. The court, in an
opinion by Justice Black, accepted the ACLU con-
tentions, stating that all the allegations as to
Herman's treatment prior to conviction and his
understanding of the nature and consequences of (c)
the guilty plea, "present the very kind of dispute
which should be decided only after hearing." The
court also said that "the number and complexity
of the charges against petitioner, as well as their
seriousness create a strong conviction that no
layman could have understood the accusations,
and that petitioner should, therefore, have been
advised of his right to be represented by counsel."
In justification of the ruling, Justice Black said
that a conviction based on a confession extracted
by violence or mental coercion is invalid. Mrs.
Matson is now moving in the Pennsylvania Sup-
reme Court to have Herman freed.
Book Note
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACADEMIC FREE-
DOM IN THE UNITED STATES, By Richard
Hofstadter and Walter P. Metzger, Columbia Uni-
versity Press, New York, 1955, 527 pp., $5.50.
ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN OUR TIME, By
Robert M. Maclver, Columbia University Press,
New York, 1955, 329 pp., $4.00.
ACADEMIC FREEDOM; AN ESSAY IN DEF-
INITION, By Russell Kirk, Henry Regnery, Chi-
cago, 1955, 210 pp., $3.75. ;
COLLECTIVISM ON THE CAMPUS, By E.
Merrill Root; Devin-Adair Co., New York, 1955,
- 403 pp., $5.00. :
The Hofstadter-Metzger book is the most com-
prehensive study in the area of academic freedom
yet produced; it demonstrates with authority and
clarity the manner in which a European heritage
interacted with our Colonial experience and the
nineteenth-century growth of this country to pro-
duce a distinctively American idea and practice.
The Maclver book brings to an interpretation of
the current scene the author's expert sociological
judgment and personal wisdom. These volumes
- were made possible by a grant from Louis M.
Rabinowitz to the American Academic Freedom
Project at Columbia University.
Russell Kirk's work is a sober essay from a
point of view which frankly repudiates "liberal-_
ism," progressive education and pragmatism, and
recommends a return to the values of the medieval
university. E. Merrill Root reviews a number of
major recent academic freedom cases and comes
to the conclusion that this principle is used only
- to protect the liberal-Marxist-collectivist-Commu-
nist teacher, while the unorthodox-conservative- _
free enterpriser suffers unnoticed.
'Unknown' Informants
Aid Passport Decisions
The State Department has informed the U.S.
Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. that its
decision to deny a passport to New York attorney
Leonard B. Boudin was based, in part, on deroga-
tory information supplied by informants who
were not known to the Department.
In this latest test of the Department's power
to deny passports, the Department added that the
derogatory information relating to alleged Com-
munist affiliations also came from "public. . . in-
formation and newspapers," and "informants
whose identity is known to the Department and
whose credibility has been evaluated by the De-
partment." It said that the informants that were
unknown to it had been judged credible by the
government agency which supplied the informa-
tion.
The Court of Appeals had requested the State
Department to supply the information after Fed-
eral District Judge Luther Youngdahl had ruled
that the Department had denied the passport on
the basis of evidence by secret informers and
should grant Boudin a hearing on his application.
The government appealed the decison.
Boudin's request for a standard passport was
turned down in February, 1955. Boudin earlier
had held a limited passport for travel in specific
countries of Europe and had filed a required af-
fidavit that he was not then a member of the
Communist Party. He had refused, however, to
make a similar statement covering past member-
ship.
In turning down Boudin's bid for a standard
passport, the State Dept. told him that `evidence
has been obtained that you are a member of the
Communist Party, and... that if your member-
ship was terminated it was under such circum-
stances aS warrant the conclusion ... that you
continue to act in the furtherance and under the
discipline of the Communist Party."
Youngdahl found that in arriving at this con-
clusion, and in subsequent hearings by the Pass-
port Board of Appeals, that "confidential informa-
tion was employed; that files were not revealed;
and that evidence contained therein could not be,
and was not, subjected to cross-examination."
How then, he asked, could an applicant refute
charges which arise from sources, or are based
upon evidence, which is closed to him? `What
good does it do him to be apprised that a pass-
port is denied him due to associations or activities
disclosed or inferred from State Dept. files even
if he is told of the associations and activities in
a general way. What files? What evidence? .
From what materials were these inferences
made?"
In concluding that the Passport Office had not
conformed with the requirements of due process,
. Youngdahl said flatly that the right to a quasi-
judicial hearing must "include the right to know
that the decision will be reached upon evidence of
which (an applicant) is aware and can refute di-
rectly .. . When the basis of action by any branch
of the Government remain hidden from scrutiny
and beyond practical review, the seeds of arbi-
trary and irresponsible government are sown."
Weekly Civil Liberties TV
Program Sundays on KRON-4
Under a grant from the Fund for the Republic,
the TV' program "Barrier" had its first appear-
ance on KRON-TV, Channel 4, Sunday the 26th
of February from 2:30-3:00.
The new weekly public service television pro-
gram covers events and issues that affect civil
liberties. It is sponsored by the Council for Civic
Unity of San Francisco. -
"Barrier" will run an initial 13 weeks, but may
be extended for as long as a year under the terms
of the grant. Main focus will be on events in the
Bay Area, which will be covered primarily through
documentary and news filming. Issues such as the
- Marin "battle of the books," the Sing Sheng case,
or a church contesting the State loyalty oath will
be brought to the Bay Area television audience. A
five-minute roundup of the week's news in civil
_ liberties and intergroup relations, plus brief "ac-
tion notes," wind up the half-hour show.
The new program is edited and narrated by Ed-
ward Howden, Executive Director of the Council
for Civic Unity for the past ten years.
The Council announced that it "is not entering
the civil liberties field-which in the Council's
view is served ably by the American Civil Liberties
Union-but is sponsoring this one TV project,
embracing both minority and civil liberty ques-
tions, because of the unprecedented opportunity
it affords to advance public appreciation of the
great human rights issues of our day." 7
A number of Bay Area community organiza-
March 14.
Separate By-laws Adopted
By Marin Chapter ACLU
At a general membership meeting February 7,
the Marin Chapter of the American Civil Liberties
Union formally adopted its own set of by-laws,
approved by the branch Board of Directors. These
original by-laws were the result of a year's work
by H. Putnam Livermore, and after some ques-
tions by the general membership, were unani-
mously approved.
The meeting, held at the Jewish Community
Center in San Rafael, also heard Ernest Besig,
Executive Director of the Northern California
`branch, speak on the work and direction of his
office, and the recently appointed public relations
director for the ACLU of Northern California,
Priscilla Ginsberg, address the group on the scope
of her office.
Chairmen of the Marin chapter gave brief re-
sumes of their work during the past year, and the
new hoard of directors was elected as follows:
Henry Arian, James Chestnut, Anne Coolidge,
` Milen Dempster, Harry. Evans, Warren Ewing,'
Betty Hemingway, Helen Kerr, Patricia Lamardin,
Ruth Lederman, Michael Lewton, Sali Lieberman,
Clem Miller, Louise Quinn, Nancy Swadesh.
The new board, by resolution, invites all mem-
bers of the ACLU living in Marin County to at-
tend board meetings as visitors with a chance to
be heard. .Those interested in attending these
meetings may get further information by calling
Nancy Swadesh, DU 8-0408.
cent
February 14 the new board of directors met at
the home of Harry Evans, Kent Woodlands, and
elected the following officers and committee
heads:
Milen C. Dempster, Mill Valley, Chairman; Ruth
Lederman, Kent, Treasurer; Anne Coolidge, Kent,
Recording Secretary; Nancy Swadesh, Mill Val-
ley, Corresponding Secretary; James. Chestnut,
Larkspur, Librarian; Sali Lieberman, Mill Valley,
Fund Raising; Louise Quinn, Mill Valley, Member- (c)
ship; Clem Miller, Corte Madera, Education, and -
Helen Kerr, Sausalito, Publicity.
Additional committees were formed that elected .
Michael Lewton, Sausalito, in charge of a Civil
Rights Committee, and Patricia Lamardin, Tibu-
ron, to head a Telephone Committee.
The board will meet the second Tuesday and
second Wednesday of each month, alternately, the
next meeting to be held at the home of Henry
Arian, 250 Cleveland Avenue, Mill Valley, on
ACLU Asks Contempt Action
In Univ. of Alabama Case
The American Civil Liberties Union last month
called on Attorney General Brownell to press for
criminal contempt of court action against those
persons responsible for mob violence in defiance
of a federal court ruling ordering the University
of Alabama to admit Negro student Miss Auther-
ine J. Lucy to classes. :
_"We do not believe that the federal government
can stand by and see federal court rulings defied
by mob violence," the ACLU told Brownell.
"The stories reported in the newspapers con-
cerning the mob action against Negro student
Miss Autherine J. Lucy at the University of Ala-
bama are a shocking example of lawlessness and
blind prejudice," the ACLU said. "In defiance of |
a local Federal court order directing Miss Lucy's
admission to the university, a mob has chosen the
course of violence to thwart judicial rulings. This
is direct contempt of court and should be treated
as such. The reprehensible outbreak ig even more
serious because it undoubtedly stems from opposi-
tion to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that seg-
regation and discrimination have no place in pub-
lic education.
"We do not believe that the federal government
can stand by and see federal court rulings defied
by mob violence. The Alabama incident involves
the vital civil liberties principle of equality for all,
which must be upheld. It also involves with equal
strength the principle of respect for law, the
cornerstone of democratic government. Unless
firm action is taken in the Alabama situation, both
of these principles may be further violated in
other areas. We urge the Department of Justice
initiate an immediate investigation into the mat- |
ter for the purpose of bringing criminal contempt
of court action under U.S. Criminal Code, Section
401, against those responsible for the outbreak
having knowledge of the court order. Such action
can help to erase this blot on America's record of
continuing progress in the fight against racial
discrimination."
tions, including the ACLU, will serve as consul-
tants for particular "Barrier" programs within
their respective fields.
March, 1956
Fermer War Prisoner
Awarded $1090 in Benefits
Robert L. Simpson of Sacramento, Korean war
veteran, was notified by the Foreign Claims Settle-
ment Commission on February 6 that he was elig-
ible for prisoner of war benefits and that his claim
had been allowed in the sum of $1090. Two weeks
later he received a check in that amount.
Simpson's claim had been rejected last Decem-
ber 2nd on the ground that during his.captivity he
had collaborated with the Chinese Communists.
At a hearing in San Francisco on December 19,
the hearing officer explained that the claim had
been denied on the basis of information received
from the Army which could not be revealed.
Simpson denied the charges of collaboration, but
no verbatim record of the hearing was kept. Simp-
son is an honorably discharged war veteran.
A second hearing was held in San Francisco.
before Commissioner Pear] Carter Pace, last Janu-
ary 16. This time a stenotypist took a verbatim
record of the hearing. Following the first hearing,
Sen. Thomas C. Hennings, Jr., chairman of the
Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, after re-
ceiving complaints from the ACLU and Congress-
man Moss of Sacramento, protested to the Com-
mission against denial of reasonable notice of the
hearing and the absence of a stenographer. In his
letter to the Commission, Sen. Hennings stated,
_"We would partictlarly like to know whether the
Commission or claimant has to sustain the burden
of proof with regard to the issue of collaboration,
Under the law, Korean war prisoners are eligible
for benefits of $1. per day for each day the hostile
force failed to furnish them the quantity or quality
of food provided by the Geneva Convention of 1929,
and $1.50 for each day they were subjected to in-
humane treatment. No payment of an award can
be made to an individual who voluntarily, know-
ingly, and without duress, gave aid to or col-
laborated with or in any manner served any"
force hostile to the United States.
On the basis of 83 months of captivity, Simpson
should have received an award of almost $2500.
The Commission failed to state why the full claim
was not granted, and, thus far, no response has
been received to a request for the Commission's
findings.
Simpson has been represented by Ernest Besig,
Executive Director of the ACLU of Northern
California.
High Court to Rule on Federal
Personnel Security Program
The U. S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear.
the appeal of Kendrick M. Cole, who was fired
from his position as an inspector in the Food and
Drug Administration of the U. 8S. Department of;
Welfare. This is the first case in which the Sup-
reme Court has agreed to pass upon any question
arising out of President ,Hisenhower's Personnel
Security Order, which terminated the old loyalty
program and set up a new security program. Cole
appealed from a 2-1 decision of the U. S. Court
of Appeals in Washington, D. C. upholding his
dismissal.
The major issue before the Supreme Court is
whether a government employee, whose loyalty
to the country is conceded by the government, can
be dismissed from a non-sensitive position under
the federal security program. Cole was employed
as a food and drug inspector and as such had no
access to any government secrets and was not in
any position to influence policy. Since he would
not have any greater opportunities to commit
espionage or sabotage than the average man in the
street, his attorneys contend with the full back-
ing of the ACLU, that there was no reason to dis-
miss him under the security order since he could
not have been a security risk.
Cole had been charged with having an "asso-
ciaticn `with individuals reliably reported to be
Communists," and the Nature Friends of America,
an organization which is listed on the Attorney
General's so-called "subversive list.'"" When Cole
was asked to explain the membership, he refused
on the basis that this was an invasion of his pri-
vate associations. His dismissal immediately fol-
lowed. He then retained attorneys who attempted
to reopen the case with the Department of Wel-
fare and to show that his membership was inno-
cent, but this was refused even though uncontro-
verted evidence was offered that Cole had been
emotionally disturbed when he refused to answer
the inquiries because of an operation he had just
undergone.
The case is being handled by ACLU cooperating
attorneys.
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES: UNION-NEWS
FCC Upheld in Asking $64
Question of Radio Operator
A Federal Communications Commission Hear-
ing Officer last month recommended that the Com-
mission deny an application for renewal of a radio
operator's license to Travis Lafferty because of his
refusal to answer questions with respect to past
or present membership in the Communist Party or
"Communist organizations."
Lafferty had completely filled out the usual
application in July 1954, but was then requested
to furnish "additional information." :
A hearing was held in San Francisco last May 2,
at which Lafferty was represented by ACLU Staff
Counsel Lawrence Speiser. At that hearing, coun-
sel for the Commission admitted that the questions
asked of Lafferty were not-being asked of all ap-
plicants for licenses, but refused to divulge why
they were asked of Lafferty. The Commission's
counsel, Richard A. Solomon, also stated that the
Commission felt it had the right to ask these
questions "for the most serious or frivolous of
reasons."
There are no regulations specifically authorizing
these questions, and a proposed regulation which
would add them to the regular application forms
has never been adopted although pending for over
a year. It appears, therefore, that the Commis-
sion's action against Lafferty is premature.
Counsel Solomon also stipulated that nothing
exists in the files of the F.C.C. which indicates
that Lafferty has ever violated any rule or regula-
tion of the F.C.C. as a licensed radio operator, and
that no complaints against him on that score had
ever been received since he was first licensed in
1949.
The hearing officer's decision was based on the
~alleged danger from Communist radio operators.
However, it was pointed out in the brief previous-
ly filed by Speiser on Lafferty's behalf, that dur-
ing World War II known Communists were per--
mitted as ship's radio operators:and Lafferty has
had his license in effect for almost two years since
the inquiries were first put to him. In addition, he
has an amateur "ham" license, and there has been
no meve to suspend that license.
Hearing Officer Bond concludes that "the ap-
plicant's conduct (in refusing to answer the ques-
tions) amounts to a defiance of the Commission's
authority, a challenge of the lawfulness of its
proceedings, and a test of its courage to act deci-
sively. This does not denounce as abhorrent the
applicant's choice, because the essence of our
system of government under law is that its pro-
cedures as subject always to lawful assaults by
`zealots, patriotic or fanatic."
' An appeal to the full Commission will be taken
by the ACLU, and, if necessary, to the courts.
Passport Granted
in `Security' Case
After first denying a passport, the Passport
Division of the State Department early last month
reversed itself in a political case and issued the
passport. In all, it took slightly more than a year
before the matter was disposed of. The applicant
was represented by the ACLU of Northern Cali-
fornia.
When the passport was first denied, Mrs. Ship-
ley, who was then director of the Passport Divi-
sion, claimed the applicant had been "connected
with the following organizations which have been
subversive: American Russian Institute, Califor-
nia Labor School, Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Com-
- mittee.
- "Tt is also alleged that you have associated with
known Communists and have subscribed to `Daily
People's World.' "
After answering these charges, the applicant
was suddenly informed that "There is one allega-
tion concerning you in the Department's file which
you failed to take up in your affidavit. It is in
effect that you were the educational and literature
director of the Beach Combers Branch of Golden
Gate Section of San Francisco Communist Party
in 1942. It is requested that you furnish the De-
partment with a sworn statement explaining the
above allegation and the method and circum-
stances of your termination with this branch of (c)
the Communist Party. Do you recall the names
of the members of this organization ? Any informa-
tion that you have in this connection is desired
by the Department."
The applicant denied the new charge and pointed
out that "In or about February of 1953 two agents
of the Federal! Bureau of Investigation came to
see me in San Francisco regarding the same allega-
tion. I told them then that I was enrolled at school
in Los Angeles from May 1941 through July of
1942 and that I was subsequently employed in Los
Angeles from August of 1942 to December of 1942.
I returned to San Francisco only occasionally on
holidays during that time and my total time in
San Francisco during 1942 could not have exceeded
Page 3
aie
Alleged Homosexuals Victims -
Of Lawless Mass Arrests |
Seventy-five alleged homosexuals were arrested
by 35 peace officers last month in a raid on Hazel's
Inn, Sharp Park, San Mateo county, on February
19 and charged with vagrancy. After being finger-
printed and "mugged," the men were released on
on March 1, although it is expected that many of
$50 bail each.
Those arrested are scheduled to appear in court
them will forfeit bail. Precisely what their crimes.
are, except being alleged homosexuals, is obscure.
As far as can be ascertained, none of the pat-
rons of the tavern were misbehaving or breaking
any laws when the arrests occurred. The complaint
seems to be that these men were making the tavern
a "hang-out." Of course, there is no law against
that, so long as their activity was lawful.
Newspaper reports declare that the raid was led
by Sheriff Earl Whitmore. He shouldered his way
through some 200 persons in the one large room,
jumped up on the bar and shouted:
"This is a raid!"
Participating in the raid were Sheriff's deputies,
Army military police, Aleoholic Beverage Control
agents and Highway Patrolmen.
Patrons of the tavern, according to newspaper
accounts, were ordered to lind up in single file
and pass before a group of officers at the rear
door.
`The report goes on to say that "Those recognized
by undercover agents as having shown homosexual
behavior were ordered to step to one side and they
were loaded into a van parked outside." The others
were released.
The Sheriff is quoted as saying, "The purpose
of the raid was to make it very clear to these peo-
le that we won't put up with this sort of thing." -
Whitmore said an attempt would be made to
prosecute those operating the establishment for
permitting dancing without a license and dancing
on Sunday without a license (two separate of-
fenses) and for possible violations of the liquor
laws. On the other hand, it is difficult to under-
stand what reasonable cause there was for arrest-
ing the patrons.
The raid is similar to one in North Richmond a
couple of years ago. Only, in that case, the victims |
were a minority race-Negroes.
The ACLU is investigating the matter and the _
local staff counsel will appear on behalf of some -
of the alleged homosexuals at the court hearing.
Army Changes Security
Policies for Inductees
_ Senator Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. (D., Mo.),
chairman of the Subcommittee on Constitutional
Rights, last month released the text of a letter
from Mansfield D. Sprague clarifying the new
Defense Department policy in connection .with
"security cases."
Mr. Sprague declared that "Selective Service
registrants who refuse to accomplish satisfactor-
ily the Loyalty Certificate in its entirety or who
disclose significant derogatory information on this
form will no longer be inducted and then investi-
gated, as in the past. Instead they will be investi-
gated prior to induction and will not be accepted
ve | _if the investigation, reveals that induction would
cited by the Attorney General as Communistic or -
be inconsistent with the interests of national se-
curity."
Where a board of officers rules a member of the
Armed Forces is a security risk, "the character of
the service performed shall be considered as a fac-
tor, in addition to the substantiated derogatory in-
formation, when determining the character of
separation to be awarded."
Under the new policy, those who have previous-
ly received General or Undesirable discharges on
security grounds will have their cases reviewed.
Those who are presently in the Army who com-
plete their terms of active duty will be awarded
separations based on the character of their service,
while persons discharged prior to the termination
of their tour of active duty will receive a separation
based on the character of their service (and here's
the rub) as well as relevant substantiated deroga- -
tory information. :
In other words, security business is going on as
usual for those inductees who are presently in the
Army. In fact, the ACLU of Northern California
has two new cases at Fort Ord based on alleged
associations prior to induction.
two weeks. The F.B.I. agents apologized for accept-
ing the allegation when their informant was so
obviously in error and assured me that this false
allegation would be stricken from the record im-
mediately. I am surprised that it should turn up
two years later in your files and that your office
should not yet have been notified of its inaccu-
racy."
Page 4
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS
March, 1956
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
BRNEIST BHSIG) 3) 8 Editor
Entered as Second-class matter, July 31, 1941, at the
Post Office at San Francisco, California, -
under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription Rates-One Dollar and Fifty Cents a Year.
Fifteen Cents per Copy as
OPEN FORUM
`I Disapprove'
Editor: Enclosed is my usual $3.00 for the sup-
port of your work. I believe in maintaining our
American civil liberties but I disapprove very
strongly of the majority of cases in which you.
engage. It seems you accomplish nothing of real
worth and bring disrepute on your organization.
_ Specifically, I do not believe we should waste
effort and money on those who do not believe in
our system of government and its civil rights but
who try to overthrow or undermine it and substi-
tute a system under which neither they nor any-
one else would have any rights, civil or otherwise.
The usual argument that we must protect the
rights of others in order to maintain our own is
`silly when applied to communists and subversives
in general. Communists don't believe that but use
it because silly Americans let them get away with
it. How long shall we prove we are as silly as the
communists think.
Another class on which effort and money is
wasted is the conscientious objector. What use
have we or any other country for persons who will
not do anything either to establish or maintain a
fair and just government. If an attitude or belief
by the majority would destroy our government,
' then why encourage it in an individual. A person
who will not fight to establish or maintain a just
government is not entitled to its protection be-
cause if all were like him, there would be no just
governments.
More and more people are charging the Ameri-
can Civil Liberties Union with being communistic
and un-American. I doubt that, but I do believe
that you occupy too much of your time on un-
`worthy cases with probable neglect of worthy
- eases. Why concentrate on communists, conscien- .
tious objectors, questionable persons trying to get
into or hold on to security jobs, or negroes trying
to force themselves into white communities either
to try to prove racial equality or to foment trouble
and turmoil.
It may be that the lack of support of which you
complain is caused by opinions similar to mine.
My suggestion is to take more care to give assist-
ance in worthy cases. Let the communists, con-
scientious objectors, questionable security risks,
and negroes trying to disrupt white communities
find and pay their own attorneys.-L.B.
U. S. Supreme Court Outlaws
Kansas Film Censorship
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck another
blow at the power of state motion picture censor-
ship boards with its decision that the Kansas film
censorship law is unconstitutional.
The court upheld a lower court decision that the
law is unconstitutional because it gives the cen-
sors too much power and fails to define clearly the
meanings of "obscene," "indecent," and "im-
moral." `
The high court, in reaching its decision, held no
oral discussion nor did it write a memorandum
opinion. The decision was in the form of a court
order.
The case arose from an action by the Kansas
board banning `"`The Moon Is Blue"' in 1953. Holm-
by Productions, Inc., and United Artists took the
case to a district court, where they received a
favorable decision. But the state Supreme Court
reversed the decision on the ground that the ac-
tions of the censors are not subject to judicial
review. :
The state censorship board has been under at-
tack for some months. Earlier last year, Gov. Fred
Hall signed an act putting an end to motion pic-
ture censorship and the board itself. But State
Attorney General Harold R. Fatzer sought and
obtained a court injunction against the repealer
on technical grounds involving the way the legis-
_ lature had written the law.
.Fatzer sought in the U.S. Supreme Court a re-
hearing of its decision, but was turned down.
With this latest decision, and Ohio abandoning
its censorship boards, state censor boards now
function in only New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia
and Maryland. A number of cities have censorship
bodies, but even in this area, pressure is develop-
ing for their elimination.
Sharp Differences
(Continued `from Page 1, Col. 3)
point two members from their groups. Additional
nominations for the board and national committee
could be made on petition of five board members.
It would take ten of the widely scattered: national
committeemen to make additional nominations,
and three boards of "integrated" affiliates. Boards
such as the one in Northern California would be
excluded from representation on the Interim Com-
mittee and in making additional nominations.
Mr. Malin's proposal would deal a final blow
to the policy making powers of affiliates and na-
tional committeemen. Two years ago, in an un-
noticed fashion, the By-Laws were changed to
reduce the actions of the biennial convention to
mere "recommendations" that are not binding on
the national board and eliminate the requirement
that policy changes be referred for approval to the
members of the corporation. Now, Mr. Malin pro-
poses to eliminate a mail referendum to the cor-
poration members "`on any action of the national
Board of Directors" which must be held `"`on the
request of any ten corporation members."
Amendments More Difficult ,
Under Mr. Malin's proposal, future changes in
the By-Laws would also become more difficult.
Presently, "three corporation members may pro-
pose an amendment," but if his plan is adopted,
changes would be proposed "by petition of any
five members of the national Board of Directors,
or any ten members of the National Committee, or
the board of any three' affiliates whose members
send their dues to New York. Proposed changes
would then be submitted to the members of the
national board and committee and the affiliates
for a vote, but the board could reject any changes
that were approved.
In submitting his proposals, this is what Mr.
Malin had to say: `We in the office, like other men,
are fallible; but we are in a unique position from
which to survey the ACLU and its needs. So, on
the eve of a highly important conference, I want
to say to all of you a few things which seem to me
vital.
Go Approximately No Farther!
"Federalism will produce the net minimum of
desired results, at this stage, only: (a) if we are
willing to go approximately as far in distribution
of power and action' as the office's constitutional
draft goes and (b) if we are willing to go approxi-
mately no farther! Anything which seems to me
a substantial departure from that line, in either
direction, will compel me to recommend-with the
greatest regret, but with the greatest urgency-
the abandonment of our federal experiment, for
the sake of the greatest possible net amount of
external effect for civil liberties over the whole
country.
"This is not merely a matter of the conditions
which a particular man feels to be necessary for
continuing to invest his life in a particular enter-
prise. This is much more a matter of my respon-
sibility to our 35,000 members-mostly of modest
means-that the time and energy represented by
their money should be sufficiently invested in (for
example) direly-needed work in the South, and not
dissipated by constitutional (or financial and ma-
nagerial) argument, from whatever side.
"Most of you have more than once kindly and
hearteningly indicated to me your recognition of
the fact that I try not to throw my weight about
anywhere in the ACLU family. I therefore confi-
dently rely on your forgiveness if, in connection
with this year's conference, I quietly remind you
that I am one of those few of us who have had long
and varied administrative and executive experience
(even more than some management consultants),
and that the national office has occasionally helped
in the Union's progress over the last six rather try-
ing years!"
Committee Stalled
Two years ago, at the last biennial conference,
a committee was authorized to consider proposals
"regarding the organization, structure and policy-
making procedures of the ACLU with instructions
to prepare a comprehensive report for considera-
tion by a constitutional conference, convening if
possible before March 1, 1955, and not later than
March 1, 1956." The Committee was finally ap-
pointed in December 1955, but, despite numerous
inquiries, it was not furnished with any materials
by Mr. Malin until the middle of last month, and
it was not called together for a meeting until two
days before the biennial conference opened. At
this writing, it is not known what kind of report,
if any, the Committee will be prepared to make.
In any case, the New York Civil Liberties Union,
feeling that there has been insufficient preparation
on the constitutional problems, intends to move
against discussion of such problems at the biennial
conference and in favor of a special constitutional
conference. ,
Between Atti
National Office at ACLU
lates and
s Biennial Conference
Possibly the sharpest controversy of the con-
ference will arise over the division of the ACLU's
income, something the members rarely hear about.
Since 1953, the members of all of the affiliates -
except Northern California have sent their mem-
bership dues to the national office, and then the
affiliates have negotiated with that office each
year for some of the money to be returned to their
areas. `Jf course, since the national office holds the
money, it has occupied a favorable position in these
negotiations. "He who pays the piper calls the (c)
tune!"
Nevertheless, dissatisfactions have piled up
until at a Finance Conference in Chicago last year
a Finance Commission was established which was
charged with working out a standard formula for
the division of funds within a three-year period, to
provide a scheme for approval of each year's bud-
gets, and to devise a plan whereby the affiliates
would assume a greater degree of responsibility
for raising and handling funds. The Committee's
recommendations will be revealed at the Confer-
ence.
609%, Maximum for Affiliates
' In the meantime, the national office has offered
- several proposals which would result in distribut-
ing to affiliates anywhere from a maximum of
60% to a minimum of 10% of membership income
derived from their areas. While last year it took
51% of the income from "integrated" areas, this
year it wants 53% of the estimated income. In
other words, the national office would receive
$166,660 as against $150.990 for 21 affiliates. In
addition, the national office expects to receive (c)
$72,800 membership income from areas without
affiliates and Northern California, giving it a total
membership income of $239,460 as against only
$150,990 for 21 affiliates. Incidentally, these af-
filiates have 25.000 of the Union's 35,000 members.
Since each affiliate is concerned principally with
its own income, there has been little or no unity
among the affiliates in dealing with the national
office. f
All along, the Northern California branch has |
suggested there must be local responsibility for
raising and handling income, and that the national
operations should be financed principally by a per
capita tax or by a payment of a percentage of |
local income. Almost a year ago, Mr. Malin, in
talking to the local board, recognized that the
per capita tax scheme was the ideal way of han-
dling the problem and indicated that alternative
plans would be submitted to the local board. That
was the last the branch heard about the matter
despite repeated inquiries.
Competition for Money In No. Calif.
In the meantime, raising of money by the ACLU
in Northern California continues on a competitive
basis. In its fiscal year beginning February 1, the
national office expects to raise $12,900 in North-
ern California, none of which will be spent here.
During the current fiscal year, the branch must
raise a budget of $41,000.
A third issue that is apt to arouse considerable
discussion at the conference is the promised report
of a special committee composed of representatives
of affiliates to study national office operations, to
examine the 28% national cost of membership
maintenance and promotion, to consider the ques-
tion of moving the national headquarters to Wash-
ington, D.C., to clarify the relationships and res-
ponsibilities between the national office and the
branches for membership recruiting, fund raising, .
legal work, research, education and publication,
etc. ,
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 |.
$e Sees for current year. (Types of mem-
bership: Annual Member, $5; Business and Profes-
sional Member, $10; Family Membership, $25; Con-
tributing Member, $50; Patron, $100 and over.
Membership includes subscription to the "American
Civil Liberties Union--News"' at $1.50 a year.)
2, 1 pledge $25 per month........ OR S$. per yr.
3. Please enter my subscription to the NEWS ($1.50
per Veal) ea ee
Enclosed please find $...................: eee Please bill
Streets) iss ee
City, and Zone ==: Pe es eh ees
a ee @ccupation = =