vol. 22, no. 7
Primary tabs
American
Civil Liberties
Union
Volume XXII
San Francisco, California, July, 1957
Number 7
Report on S. F.
Red Hearings
The House Committee on Un-
American Activities held hearings
in San Francisco for four days
-jast month (June 18-21). Thirty
of 50 subpoened witnesses were
questioned besides two "friendly
witnesses," Dr. Jack Patten, for-
mer teacher at San Francisco
State College, and Dorothy Jef-
fers.
Collins Represents Five
The ACLU represented five
persons through its General Coun-
sel, Wayne M. Collins of San
`Francisco. Only three of these
witnesses were questioned, while
one waited around without being
called, and the fifth one received
a telegram before the hearings
opened canceling his subpoena.
Mr. Collins appeared on behalf
of Rebecca L. Melner, a San
Francisco school teacher for over
30 years, and Dr. Jane Castella-
nos, a teacher of the Contra
Costa Junior College. He also ap-
peared on behalf of Jane Scrib-
mer, who once taught at San
Francisco State College.
Under the Dilworth Act, teach-
ers must answer questions about
their membership in subversive
organizations since October 3,
1945. Both Miss Melner and Dr.
Castellanos testified they had not
been members of the Communist
Party since October 2, 1945.
Teachers Answer
The Committee also asked
_ questions concerning their asso-_
ciations prior to October 3, 1945,
but in each instance the witness-
es objected to the questions. In
neither case was the witness di-
rected to answer the questions,
so the inference may be drawn
that the objections were sus-
tained. In other words, both
teachers answered the questions
they were required to answer and
neither one rested on the Fifth
Amendment.
in San Francisco, the Board of
Education was scheduled to con-
sider Miss Melner's case at its
meeting on June 25. They were
also scheduled to consider the
eases of two `teachers who were
subpoenaed but not called to tes-
tify.
The only question before the
Board would seem to be whether
it wishes to question Miss Melner |
and the unidentified teachers. In
_ Miss Melner's case, there would
seem to be no point in going over
the same ground covered by the
Committee, which Mr. Preyer ad-
mits shows no violation of the
Dilworth Act. With respect to
the unidentified teachers, unless
there is some showing that they
have had left-wing activities since
October 3, 1945,
Contra Costa Teacher
Insofar as Dr. Castellanos is
concerned, Supt. Drummond J.
McCunn said he will seek advice
from his legal counsel. However,
he was high in his praise of Dr.
Castellanos as a teacher. "We've
watched her work... there's no
evidence to indicate she has been `
anything but a good American
citizen."
Jane Scribner denied any mem-
-Continued on Page 2
S. F. Board Takes
No Action Against
Subpoened Teachers
The San Francisco Board of Ed-
ucation on June 25 heard a report
from its legal advisor, Irving G.
Breyer, that Miss. Rebecca Melner
and two unnamed teachers had
been subpoenaed to testify before
the House Committee on Un-
American Activities. After hear-
ing the report, no action was
taken.
Breyer expressed the opinion
that there was no basis for dis-
ciplinary: acticn agaist Miss Mei-
ner since she had answered the
Committee's questions for the pe-
riod since October 3, 1945, as re-
quired by the Dilworth Act.
He also expressed a doubt that
the Board could bring discipli-
nary proceedings against her if
she refused to answer their ques-
tions for the period prior to Oc-
tober 3, 1945, "because of the
fact that the Tenure Law has a
three-year statute of limitations.
Miss Melner has been teaching in
San Francisco since 1926.
"Although I have the names of
the other two teachers who were
subpoenaed by the Committee,"
Mr. Breyer went on to report,
"(one of whom was identified by
a witness at the hearing as having
been a member of the party), I
do not feel that it would serve
any good purpose to identify them
by name at this time, unless the
Board of Education desires to go
into the matter further."
there would |
`seem to be no point in the board
questioning them.
`than last year as a resul
Campaign Closes
With 468 New
Members
The 1957 Special Membership -
' Campaign has ended with about
80 per cent of its goals attained.
The ACLU sought 600 new mem-
bers, and on June 20 it had se-
cured 463. The financial goal was
$5000, while $4007 was received.
The results compare favorably
with the results of last year's
campaign when on October 31 ex-
actly 518 new members had been
signed up. The financial returns
this year are already ae ereater
pound-of $1050
in special gifts secured a ACLU
Treasurer William M. Roth. Ad-
ditional returns will trickle in
`during the next few months.
Outstanding Results
As reported last month, out-
standing results were secured in
San Mateo, San Jose and Rich-
mond. This month we add Santa
Cruz to that list.
Emily Skolnik's San Mateo
team secured 65 new members
and $367, as against goals of 10
new members and $75. That is a
tremendous record.
Henry Hammer, of San Jose,
almost single handedly secured
31 new members and $187.50,
while the goals of that area were
only 10 new members and $75.
Santa Cruz, under Robert Ben-
nett's leadership, secured 20 new
members and $150, or exactly
double its goals.
Under the leadership of Attor-
ney Joseph Landisman, the Rich-
mond - El Cerrito area secured 20
new members and $112.59, while
its goals were only 10 new mem-
bers and $75.
Hayward and Los Altos, under
- the leadership of Richard Elliott
and Theodore Baer, respectively,
both surpassed their membership
goals and almost reached their
financial goals.
Berkeley and Marin
Berkeley, under the leadership
of Mrs. Audre Ohman and Mrs.
Madge Payne, secured 70 new
members and $408. Marin county,
headed by Don- Kirschner, also
made a good showing by securing
56 memberships and $311.
The ACLU's thanks go to every
member who contributed his
services in making the campaign
a success. It not only paid off in
new memberships and money to
keep the ACLU on the firing line,
but also in valuable education
about the Union's program.
_ Results of Special Membership Campaign
(To June 20, 1957)
eon berslin ee New Per Cent. Money Per Cent
: Goal Members of Goal Received of Goal
Berkeley =. 100 0x00A7 750 70 10% $ 408.00 54%
Davis 2-25 15 112 pA = 27% (20.25 (c) 18%
`Diablo Valley _.............. / 15 1 3) 38 ~ 20%. 15.00 14%
Eresn0. 2 20 `150 5 25% 30.00 20%
Hayward 22... 10 75 12 120% 65.00 87%
Los Altos 2... 15 112 "3 19 127% 95.00 85%
-Marin County _........... 75 525 56 15% | 311.00 - 59%
. Menlo Park _......... of 20 150 15 15% 116.00 - -11To.
Modesto 2 "10 75 2 2070. 15.00. 20%
Monterey Peninsula oe 20 150 A 20%: 121.00 81%
Oakland: 80 221 10 33% 61.50 28%
Palo Alto = 8 30 225 Za 17%" 172.00 18%
Redwood City _.............. 10 TS 9 90% 50.00 67%
Richmond 2 3. 10 75 20 200% 112.50 150%
Sacramento ...........2.....- 2. 20 25 10 40%. 83.00 47%
San Francisco ................ 125 1000 q3 58% 447.25 45%
San JOS@ 22 ~ 10 75 31 . 310% - 187.50 250%
`San Mateo 2200200000000 10 TG 65 650% 367.00 489%
Santa Cruz. = 10 75 20 200% 150.00 200%
Santa Rosa .......... ae 35 - _ 10.00 29%
Slanford 2: 10 (ie 6 60% - 40.00 53%
Stockton 15 112 2 13% 15.00 13%
| Watsonville ...2..0002.0....... 10 225) - - - _-
| Miscellaneous _............... - - ay -_ 64.50. - .
Special Gifts ..........0000.... ~ 500 - -_, 1050.00 210%
600 $5000 468 18% $4007.00 - 80%
Cops Arrest 2
For Selling
`Obscene' Books
San Francisco police early last month arrested Lawrehce
Ferlinghetti, 38, proprietor of the City Lights Bookshop, 261
Columbus Ave., and his clerk, Shigeyoshi Murao, 31, 615
Broadway, and `accused them of violating the California ob-
scenity law. They were charged with selling "(Howl and Other
Poems," by Allen Ginsberg, and
an issue of "The Miscellaneous
Man," a literary magazine with a
small circulation that is pub-
lished in Berkeley.
Not for Children
Capt. William A. Hanrahan of
the juvenile bureau explained,
"We purchased one of each of
those books and found them
lewd. They are not fit for chil-
dren to read."
Thomas Speech
_A tape recording of Norman
Thomas' speech, "Tomorrow's
Freedom," given at the Kent
Estate in Kentfield on May 28
at a meeting of the Marin
County Chapter of the ACLU
of Northern California, will be
broadcast by FM Station KP-
FA of Berkeley, 94.1 on your
radio dial, at the following
times:
SUNDAY,
July 7, at 4:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY,
July 10, at 8:15 p.m.
On KPFA
Customs Loses
On "Howl Ban
Efforts of Chester R. McPhee,
San Francisco Collector of Cus-
toms, to seize and destroy what
he claimed were obscene publica-
tions failed on May 29. U.S. At-
torney Lloyd H. Burke refused to
bring "libel" proceedings to de-
stroy the publications, so Mr.
MacPhee had no choice but to
release them. ACLUN_1946 ACLUN_1946.MODS ACLUN_1946.batch ACLUN_1947 ACLUN_1947.MODS ACLUN_1947.batch ACLUN_1948 ACLUN_1948.MODS ACLUN_1948.batch ACLUN_1949 ACLUN_1949.MODS ACLUN_1949.batch ACLUN_1950 ACLUN_1950.MODS ACLUN_1950.batch ACLUN_1951 ACLUN_1951.MODS ACLUN_1951.batch ACLUN_1952 ACLUN_1952.MODS ACLUN_1952.batch ACLUN_1953 ACLUN_1953.MODS ACLUN_1953.batch ACLUN_1954 ACLUN_1954.MODS ACLUN_1954.batch ACLUN_1955 ACLUN_1955.MODS ACLUN_1955.batch ACLUN_1956 ACLUN_1956.MODS ACLUN_1956.batch ACLUN_1957 ACLUN_1957.MODS ACLUN_1957.batch ACLUN_1958 ACLUN_1958.MODS ACLUN_1959 ACLUN_1959.MODS ACLUN_1960 ACLUN_1960.MODS ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1962 ACLUN_1962.MODS ACLUN_1963 ACLUN_1963.MODS ACLUN_1964 ACLUN_1964.MODS ACLUN_1965 ACLUN_1965.MODS ACLUN_1966 ACLUN_1966.MODS ACLUN_1967 ACLUN_1967.MODS ACLUN_1968 ACLUN_1968.MODS ACLUN_1969 ACLUN_1969.MODS ACLUN_1970 ACLUN_1970.MODS ACLUN_1971 ACLUN_1971.MODS ACLUN_1972 ACLUN_1972.MODS ACLUN_1973 ACLUN_1973.MODS ACLUN_1974 ACLUN_1974.MODS ACLUN_1975 ACLUN_1975.MODS ACLUN_1976 ACLUN_1976.MODS ACLUN_1977 ACLUN_1977.MODS ACLUN_1978 ACLUN_1978.MODS ACLUN_1979 ACLUN_1979.MODS ACLUN_1980 ACLUN_1980.MODS ACLUN_1981 ACLUN_1981.MODS ACLUN_1982 ACLUN_1982.MODS ACLUN_1983 ACLUN_1983.MODS ACLUN_1984 ACLUN_1984.MODS ACLUN_1985 ACLUN_1985.MODS ACLUN_1986 ACLUN_1986.MODS ACLUN_1987 ACLUN_1987.MODS ACLUN_1988 ACLUN_1988.MODS ACLUN_1989 ACLUN_1989.MODS ACLUN_1990 ACLUN_1990.MODS ACLUN_1991 ACLUN_1991.MODS ACLUN_1992 ACLUN_1992.MODS ACLUN_1993 ACLUN_1993.MODS ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1997 ACLUN_1997.MODS ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_1999 ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS ACLUN_ladd.bags ACLUN_ladd.batch add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log
The first seizure by MacPhee
took place on February 21 when
he refused to release "The Mis-
cellaneous Man," a literary mag-
azine published in Berkeley but
printed in England. MacPhee ob-
jected to a:"dirty story told in
dirty words" by Safford Cham-
berlain. The story was one of
three which Chamberlain sub-
mitted as part of his thesis in
English at Cornell University and
for which he received his Mas-
ter's degree.
With that fine start, Mr. Mac-
Phee, on March 21, carried on by -
seizing 519 copies of "Howl and
Other Poems" destined for Law-
. rence Ferlinghetti, proprietor of
San Francisco's City Lights Book-
shop. Mr. MacPhee objected to
four or five dirty words that ap-
peared in the poem. :
MacPhee says that this is the
first time in four years that his
decision has not been accepted.
The answer is that this is the
first time in four years that any-
one has questioned his judgment.
MacPhee relies upon the advice
of four top men in his office. Un-
fortunately, these men know noth-
thing about cases on obscenity
decided in the courts and use
their own inadequate yereatick
ue what is obscene.
Richmond Obscenity |
Proposal Dropped
A proposed Richmond, Calif.,
obscenity ordinance' "which pun-
ished the mere possession `of ob-
scene books, pictures, etc., even
though they were not held for
distribution or sale,' has been
quietly dropped. The proposed
. ordinance would have allowed
police officers to seize what in
their judgment was obscene' mate-
rial.
The proposal was opposed by '
the local bar. association, the
ACLU and others.
Both men were released on
$500 bail supplied by the ACLU
of Northern California. They will
be represented by the Union's -
local staff counsel. |
Motions to dismiss the charges
were denied and the cases have
been set for a jury trial on Au-
gust 8. .
Capt. Hanrahan suggested that
the books were seized only after
a complaint had been made.'
"Somebody's got to make a com-
plaint against them," said he,
"then we look them over and try
to decide whether they're athy,
lewd or indecent.
"Too Broadminded"
"It's not me alone. I'm too
broadminded to pass on books,"
the Captain went on to say. "I let
others do that-and then we pass
`em along to the District Attor-
ney to decide."
Assistant District Attorney
Regis Swetmann said he agreed
that the publications violated the
law and authorized the arrests.
District Attorney Thomas C.
Lynch said he had not been con-
sulted.
Inspectors Russell Wood and
Thomas Page made the purchases
and arrests in the case, but 0x00B0
neither the written complaint
nor the police officers specified
exactly what was wrong with the
publications. The written com-
plaint merely charges a violation
of "Section 311.3 of the Penal
Cede of the State of California in
that said defendant did wilfully
and lewdly print, publish and
sell obscene and indecent writ-
ing, papers and books, to wit:
`Howl and Other Poems' and `Mis-
cellaneous Man,' Nos 11 and 12."
Dirty Word Test
As far as we can figure out, bas-
is for the arrest lies in the fact
that both publications contained
some vulgar words. But, is that
the test of obscenity? Shouldn't
a publication be judged as a
_whole? In neither instance are
we dealing with a publication
that prints dirt for dirt's sake.
And, of course, the test is not
whether these publications are
too rugged for children. They
weren't published for children
and children wouldn't be inter-
ested. in reading them.
The Booksellers Association of
Northern California protested
that HOWL "does have literary
merit and there is no doubt that
it is a sincere literary expression.
in which alleged `vulgarities' ap- .
pear only incidentally and in con-
text cannot be considered ~ob-
scene, nor would the alleged
`vulgarities' have any corrupting
influence-certainly not on any-
one with the mature intelligence
necessary to read and ade
- the poems." -
Many Protests -
The prosecution has aroused
many writers and persons inter-
ested in good literature. `Tne
"Letters to the Editor" column
of the San Francisco Chronicle
have been flooded with protests
against. the police action.
_ Editorial comment by the San
Francisco Chronicle, "Making a
Clown of San Francisco,' may
be found elsewhere in this issue
of the oe is
~ | ACLU Condemns
In This Issue...
Un-Americans ....:. Page 3
Legislature Adjourns- -
Civil Liberties Gains
- - Losses' Minor... .. Page 4.
| Making a Clown of S.F. . Page 2
f Un-Americans Curbed . oe
"by High Court ......Page 3 |'
Making a Clown
Of San Francisco.
As a city with some pretense to culture, enlightenment,
`liberality and sophistication,
San Francisco has been sent
sprawling into an unseemly and ludicrous posture.
The Police Department and the Public Library Commis-
sion, working independently but with equal witlessness, have
contrived to give the community an appearance of profound-
est imbecility.
The Police Department has not only set itself up as a cen-
sor of literature, but has enunciated a remarkable code for
the guidance of booksellers who are averse to jail. Police
arrested a clerk at the City Lights Bookshop (and obtained
a warrant for his employer) for having sold two books which
the U. S. Government lately released from confiscation by
an overzealous and notably prissy Customs Collector. Then
the Department solemnly proclaimed that henceforth the
legality of books will be measured with a kindergarten or
grammar-school yardstick. "We have purchased one of each of
those books," said Police Captain William A. Hanrahan in
reporting the arrest. "They are not fit for children to read.
Here is a new and startling doctrine and one which, if fol-
lowed to the letter, would clear many of the world's classics
from local bookstores, not excepting the Bible wherein is
many a chapter and verse not recommended for perusal by
tiny tots.
The Police Department's rampageous excursion into cen-
-sorship may be explained by ignorance-not only of litera-
ture, but also of the laws and court decisions pertaining to
censors. No such pleading can be advanced for the Library
Board, which is clearly guilty not only of a perversion of its
functions, but also'of an almost hysterical attempt to duck
responsibility.
For a year, the fearful board has kept under lock and key,
an assortment of Chinese books and pamphlets-ranging
from fairly tales through art folios to the political pronounce-
`ments of Mao Tse-tung-while frantically petitioning the
FBI, the U. S. Attorney General and the State Un-American
Activities Committee to tell it if this reading matter is "sub-
versive."'
We submit that this is a finding that any adult, reasonably
intelligent Library Board could and should make for itself.
We further submit that even if the publications were ``sub-
versive" to the Nth degree, a dutiful Library Board would be
in there fighting for its constitutional right to stock and cir-
culate them. For a library ought in all good conscience to be
a repository for all writings, a collection of all books wherein
the wisdom, and also the unwisdom, of all martkind can be
glimpsed for the formation of judgments that are informed
and intelligent.
If the Police Department and the Library Board prevail,
San Francisco's judgments are henceforth to be based en-
tirely on Mother Goose, The Sleeping Beauty, and Senator
Hugh Burns' official correspondence.-Kditorial from the
June 6, 1957 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Protest Security Plan
At Laguna Honda Home
The ACLU recently protested
to Mayor George Christopher of
San Francisco and Dr. Ellis D.
Sox, Director of Public Health,
against adoption of regulations
requiring employees of Laguna
Honda Home who use the Home's
parking lot to permit search of
their vehicles and persons.
' The new procedure springs from
the recent disclosure that an em-
ployee at the Home had for many
years carried off city property in
his car. As a remedy against this
situation it was proposed that all
employees be required to park
their cars at the parking lot on
the grounds. The City Attorney
advised the Manager of the Home
that employees couldn't be com- .
pelled to use the City's parking
facilities, but that the city could
prescribe the terms for the priv-
ilege of parking on the lot at the
Home.
Application Form
Accordingly, employees desir-
ing to use the parking lot were
required to fill out an application
form, which includes the follow-
ing condition:
"3. To cooperate with a secu-
rity plan of operating said park-
ing area. Under said plan the
Superintendent, his duly desig-
nated representative or repre-
sentatives, or any officer of the
San Francisco Police Department,
shall have the right to search my
automobile, my person, any pack-
ages, bundles, baggage, contain-
ers or other properties I may
have in my possession, or in said
automobile, whenever deemed
necessary as I am in the process
of entering the premises of La-
guna Honda Home in said auto-
mobile, or at or about the time I
am in the process of leaving said
home in said automobile, or to
search said automobile at any
time on said premises."
"There is no question," said
the Union's protest, "that the
city may make reasonable rules
and regulations for the use of the
parking facilities at Laguna Hon-
da Home by its employees. The
question raised by this `Applica-
tion' is whether the City is justi-
fied, as a condition for the exer-
cise of a privilege, to require that
employees waive their rights
against invasion of personal free-
dom by Home and police author-
ities. ...a drag-net method of law
enforcement will be resorted to
in which the liberties of the in-
nocent employees will be invaded
in order to catch possibly a few
law breakers.
"We are sure that reasonable
safeguards may be found in pro-
tecting the interests of the com-
munity without sacrificing indi-
vidual freedom."
Referred to Brooks
Mayor Christopher referred the
matter to his Chief Administra-
tive Officer, Mr. Thomas A.
Brooks, "with the request that
he conduct a full and thorough
investigation into the application
for parking permit procedure to
determine whether any injustice
or hardship is being done the em-
ployees of the Laguna Honda
, Home." That is where the mat-
ter stands at this writing.
Report on S.F.
Red Hearings
Continued from Page 1-
bership in the Communist Party
since 1948, and objected on va-
rious grounds, including the Fifth
Amendment, to answering ques-
`tions concerning her associations
before that time.
Other highlights of the hear-
ings were as follows:
1. The suicide of subpoenee
William K. Sherwood after learn-
ing that the Committee's hearings
were to be televised. (`In the
light of what has happened," said
Ernest Besig, the ACLU's local
director, "the subcommittee
ought to abandon the hearings
before they do further damage.'')
2. The intemperate attack of
Rep. Gordon H. Scherer on the
Board of Governors of the State
Bar of California for censuring
the Committee's December, 1956,
hearings in Los Angeles. By and
large, however, both the members
of the Committee and its counsel
and the witnesses behaved them-
selves with decorum.
Wouse Rules Violated
8. Televising and radio broad-
casting of the hearings in viola-'
tion of the rules of the House. _
4. Reliance of witnesses on the
June 17 decision of the U. S. Su-
preme Court in the Watkins case
and demanding to know the per-
tinence of various questions that
were asked. Frank Tavenner,
Committee counsel, claimed that
having to answer these questions
slowed down the hearings and
`prevented all of the witnesses
from being called. On the other
hand, there didn't seem to be any
filibustering on the part of wit-
nesses.
5. Refusal of KCBS radio broad-
caster Louis Earl Hartman
(known on the radio as Jim
Grady) to answer Committee
questions and relying not on the
self-incrimination sections of the
Fifth Amendment but on the
First, Sixth, Ninth, Tenth, and
due process clause of the Fifth
Amendment. Hartman has been
suspended from his job and faces
dismissal for refusal to answer
the Committee's questions.
Besides representing five sub-
poenaed witnesses through its
`General Counsel, the ACLU also
assisted other witnesses to se-
cure counsel.
Exposure
It is difficult to see what prop-
er legislative purpose was served
by the Committee's hearings in
San Francisco. It seems to the
ACLU that the Committee was
doing exactly what the Supreme
Court said it couldn't do-expos-
ing for the sake of exposure, and.
thereby invading the private
rights of individuals.
Besides Congressman Scherer,
the other members of the sub-
committee were Chairman Fran-
cis J. Walter of Pennsylvania,
who was absent on the last day
of the hearings, and Robert J.
- McIntosh of Pennsylvania.
High Court |
Curbs Union
Picketing
The Supreme Court on June 17
put a brake on union picketing
for organizing purposes.
A 5 to 3 decision upheld a Wis-
consin state court injunction for-
bidding a picket line that harmed
an employer with whom the un-
ion had no dispute. The Wiscon-
sin court had inferred that the
union's intent was to induce the
employer to urge his workers to
join the union. Such coercion is
a violation of state law.
The principals were the Inter-
national Brotherhood of Team-
sters, Local 695, and Vogt, Inc.,
which operates a gravel pit in
Oconcmowoc, Wis.
The dissenting opinion said,
"The court has now come full cir-
cle" and surrendered the free
speech protection enunciated in
the first of a long line of picket-
ing decisions. :
ACLU Comments
On Government
Security Plan
The American Civil Liberties
Union on June 23 offered a pre-
liminary comment that the Com-
mission on Government Security
report points the way toward cor-
rection of many abuses of civil
liberties in the Government secu-
rity program. The ACLU state-
ment was made public by Patrick
Murphy Malin, ACLU national
executive director.
The full text of the ACLU
statement follows:
The Commission on Govern-
ment Security report is a com-
prehensive study which points
the way toward correction of
many abuses of civil liberties in
the government's security pro-
grams.
- The length of the 800-page re-
port makes a complete analysis
impossible at this time. The Com-
mission's findings will be care-
fully scrutinized by the Union's
specialists in the security field
and our board of directors, and a
. full statement presented later,
Three Important Changes
However, our first examination
gives us reason to cheer three im-
portant proposed changes in the
federal employee security pro-
gram: (1) the granting of hear-
ings to all applicants whose loy-
alty is questioned; (2) improve-
ment in the key area of confron-
tation and cross examination by
revealing to the employee the
sources of information in the gov-
ernment files except for official
counter-intelligence agents; and
(3) giving to the hearing exam-
iner of the newly-created Central
Security Office, and to the em-
ployee or applicant, the right to
subpoena witnesses to testify at
loyalty hearings.
The proposed granting of hear-
ings for applicants will correct a
major defect of the present pro-
gram, the lack of opportunity to
challenge derogatory information
collected in the central index
file of the Civil Service Commis-
sion. Without an opportunity to
challenge such data, the appli-
cant is subject to "blacklisting"
in his future employment search.
Confrontation
Confrontation of all but coun-
ter intelligence agents should be
a big aid in eliminating idle
neighborhood gossip, which, un-
der the present system, the em-
ployee has never been able effec-
tively to rebut. Similarly, the
power to subpoena witnesses will
make clear to. persons who give
information to security officers
their responsibility to be exact in
their statements, and thus reduce
the danger of loose information
seeping into security files. GZ
The Commission's recommended
elimination of the "confidential"
category in the document-classifi- _
cation system can lead to more
public information on govern-
_ Ment operations. And its rejec-
tion of an extension of the indus-
trial security system to cover all
persons having access to defense
plants can help prevent investiga-
tion of millions of persons having
ACLU "Consulted" by
Brown on "Girly" Mags
Attorney General Edmund G.
Brown last month expressed his
concern about 50 "sexy maga-
zines" an assistant picked up on
San Francisco newsstands. He
said he was going to study them
to determine whether they vio-
late the State's obscenity statute,
and then consult with clergymen,
educators and the ACLU.
Barry Churton, a young man
from Mr. Brown's office, did drop
by with six of the magazines,
which the ACLU director thumbed'
through. The purpose of the in-
terview was unclear, except to
enable the ACLU director to ex-
press his personal views on ob-
scenity prosecutions about which
the young man was very unin-
formed.
no real contact with secret de-
fense information and materials.
Central Security Office
The major recommendation for
the creation of a Central Security
Office is much too involved for
any final judgment at this time.
Its stress on uniform regulations
and better trained security offi-
cers could ease pressure on civil
liberties. However, we want to
review more fully the question
whether such an office would be-
come a bureaucratic apparatus of
too much centralized power.
Not all of our preliminary com-
ments are favorable. The Com-
mission would have the Depart-
ment of State retain its power to
deny passports as a security meas-
ure, and prevent people from
traveling to places unauthorized
by the Department. We regard
this practice as a serious curb on
individual freedom. We had also
hoped the Commission would
urge an end to wire tapping by
the Department of Justice, and
we regret that the Commission
did not see fit to support this po- |
sition.
We emphasize that these com-
ments are only tentative and that
when our complete review is con-
cluded, a more comprehensive
statement will be made.
Restrict Use
Of San Rafael |
Anti-Leaflet Law
The City Attorney of San Ra-
fael, A. E. Bagshaw, after recon-
sidering the matter, has decided
that the city's 1928 anti-leaflet or-
dinance was improperly applied
`when police stopped Business
Representative Henry Romigu-
iere of the Cleaning and Dye
House Workers Local from hand-
ing out leaflets inviting employ-
ees of the Marin Drive-In Clean-
ers entering the establishment to
attend an informational meeting
at Painters Hall.
Not Applicable
Said Mr. Bagshaw: "...Char-
ter Ordinance No. 139 is not ap-
plicable to the distribution of
handbills by representatives of
Organized Labor, or religious
groups, or, in fact, by any individ-
`ual or group which has for its
purpose the distribution of infor-
mation or argument and is not
engaged primarily in a commer-
cialized activity."
Mr. Bagshaw also ruled that the
ordinance should be applied
"only against the distribution of
handbills and other advertising
matter for purely commercial
purposes." The Police Depart-
ment has been furnished a copy
of the opinion for its guidance.
Democrats Restricted ,
The Central Labor Council of
San Rafael and the ACLU both
protested against the recent' po-
lice action. The ACLU also com-
plained that it had received re
ports that police had "restricted
the distribution of leaflets by the
Democratic Party on some occa-
sions to the sidewalk in front of
its headquarters. If political leaf-
lets were distributed elsewhere
it was necessary to secure permis-
sion of the owner of the particu-
lar property in front of which the
particular distribution was made."
"Freedom to distribute infor-
mation to every citizen wherever
he desires to receive it," said the
U. S. Supreme Court some fif-
teen years ago, "is so clearly vital
to the preservation of a free so
ciety that, putting aside reason-
able police and health regula-
tions of time and manner of dis-
tribution, it. must be fully pre-
served."
ACLU NEWS
July, 1957
Page 2
Text of Statement:
ACLU Condemns
Un-Americans
June 18-The American Civil
Liberties Union of Northern Cali-
fornia declared today that no
proper legislative purpose will be
served by the San Francisco hear-
ings of the House Committee on
un-American ..Activities. - they
are not intended to secure infor-
mation," said the ACLU ina state-
ment released by Ernest Besig,
the ACLU's local director, `but
merely to publicize what the com-
mittee already knows about the
past activities of persons who are
allegedly present or former mem-
bers of the Communist Party.
Bent on Punishment
"AJl information available to
us," the statement went on to
say, "points to the fact that most
of the subpoenees, if they were
ever members of the Communist
Party, have long since left it.
That ought to satisfy most Ameri-
cans, but not the House Commit-
tee on un-American Activities.
That committee will smear them
as untouchables who are unfit for
any employment. They are bent
on punishing them, not because
they have any present association
with Communism, but solely be-
eause they refuse to serve as In-
formers.
"Such cruel and harsh treat-
ment," the statement continued,
"spells economic hardship or ruin
for many persons who have long
since abandoned their former be-
liefs. We trust that the subpoe-
nees will be judged by their em-
ployers on the basis of their com-
petence, performance and loyalty
and not on the basis of their re-
fusal to cooperate with the com-
mittee." :
Dignity Lacking
The statement also called at-
tention to the recent character-
ization of the committee's De
Reconsideration -
Denied by School
Board In Mass Case
On June 25 the San Francisco
Board of Education refused to re-
consider the dismissal of John W.
Mass, City College teacher, who
was fired in 1953 for refusing to
testify before the House Commit-
tee on Un-American Activities.
In 1953 the Board said the Dil-
worth Act gave it no discretion
but to bring dismissal proceed-
ings against Mass. Recently, the
California Supreme Court re-
versed the dismissal for the pur-.
pose of allowing Mass to explain
why he did not answer the Com-
mittee's questions. It declared
that the Board did have discre-
tion to bring dismissal proceed-
ings.
Superior Judge Milton D. Sa-
piro denied a motion to direct the
Board to reconsider its dismissal
action of 1953, but he did allow
such a request to be made direct-
ly to the Board, which it has now
turned down.
The case will,not be set for a
hearing before Judge Sapiro.
MacPhee's Aide Drums
Up Support For Him
Chester R. MacPhee, Collector
of Customs in San Francisco, re--
cently admonished his administra-
tive aide, Mary L. Campbell, for
sending a letter to the Second
District P-TA requesting resolu-
tions of commendation for Mr.
MacPhee's campaign against
books and magazines he regards -
as obscene. "
McPhee claimed Miss Camp-
bell had not kept a copy of the
letter, while the P-TA refused to
furnish a copy to the ACLU. Nev-
ertheless, on the basis of the let-
ter the P-TA wrote a letter to
MacPhee "commending and sup-
porting his action in opposing the
importation of pornographic mag-
azines and books," and urging its
units to do likewise.
ACLU NEWS
July, 1957
Page 3
cember, 1956, hearings in Los An- .
geles by the Board of Governors
of the State Bar as "improper and
lacking in the dignity of the Unit-
ed States." "We are hopeful,"
said the ACLU statement, "that
the committee will be at some
pains to conduct the present hear-
ings with dignity and a high de-
gree of fairness."
The ACLU also declared that
it is still of the opinion that the
committee should be abolished
because it violates freedom of ex-
pression, tries people by publicity
without affording them any legal
protections and is a senseless
waste of the taxpayers' money.
The ACLU said that six of the
subpoenees will be represented
by its General Counsel, attorney
Wayne M. Collins of San Fran-
cisco. It has also assisted other
subpoenees in security private
counsel.
Red Literature
Withheld by
S.F. Library
The ACLU has protested to the
San Francisco Library Commis-
sion against withholding from
use for more than a year certain
publications from the National
Library of Peiping. Library at- -
taches were fearful that the pub-
lications might be regarded as
subversive.
The ACLU suggested that a li-
brary is a repository for all kinds
_ Of books, containing all kinds of
ideas and including many that
people did not agree with.
The Library originally sought
guidance from Attorney General
Edmund G. Brown, who referred
them to the Senate Fact-Finding
Committee on Un-American Ac-
tivities. Recently, the Commit-
tee's counsel applauded the Li- -
brary for withholding the propa-
ganda from circulation.
Apparently not content with
Mr. Combs' judgment, the Com-
mission had also written to At-
torney General Herbert Brown-
ell, Jr., and FBI Director J. Ed-
gar Hoover. Neither one has re-
sponded.
The latest candidate as censor
is John Foster Dulles. If he does
not respond, then local Congress-
men will be asked to pressure J.
Edgar Hoover to express an opin-
ion.
Lamont Sues
For Passport
WASHINGTON, June 18.-Cor-
liss Lamont carried his fight to
obtain a passport to the United
States District Court for the Dis-
trict of Columbia today.
The author and teacher was re-
fused a passport in 1951 on the
ground that his travel abroad
"would be contrary to the best in-
terests of the United States." He
was refused again when he re-
applied on March 20, 1957.
A complaint was filed by Leon-
ard B. Boudin of New York and
Harry I. Rand of Washington, at-
torneys for the author and lec-
turer in philosophy. They based
the legal action on the conten-
tions that Dr. Lamont's right to
travel should not be conditioned
upon answering questions relat-
ing to the Communist party or
upon compliance with any other
political test. The complaint for
a declaratory judgment and in-
junction was filed against Secre-
tary of State Dulles. .
In a letter to Mr. Dulles made
public today, Dr. Lamont wrote:
"T feel compelled to institute this
lawsuit because the State Depart-
ment's passport office, which is
under your authority, has unfair-
ly and unconstitutionally denied
my request for a passport." He
added: "It seems to me. Mr. Sec-
retary, that you and the passport
office have set up a little dicta-
torship within the State Depart-
ment."
Nominal Member
Of C.P. Faces
Deportation
The ACLU last month appealed
to the Board of Immigration Ap-
peals from an order of a Special
Inquiry Officer ordering the de-
portation to Australia of a San
Francisco woman, the mother of
three children, because of mem-
bership in the Communist Party
for almost two years from 1946
to 1948.
The ACLU contends that the
woman's relationship to the party
was so nominal as not to make
her a member within the terms
of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act.
Common Interest
If she had ever heard of the
Communist Party at the time of
joining in 1946, it had never
made an impression upon her.
At the time she joined she was
under the impression that they
were working for socialized med-
icine. Also, she thought this
would give her a common in-
terest with her husband, who
joined at the same time.
She couldn't understand their
pamphlets, so she didn't bother
to finish them. And, she didn't
understand the discussions at
their meetings. At the time she
quit, she had no more knowledge
of what the Communist Party
-stood for than when she started.
She saw nothing wrong with
our form of Government at the
time she joined the party, nor |
does she at the present time. At
the time she joined, she just
thought the medical set-up could
be improved a little.
Shadowy Membership
"Consequently," said the ACLU
in its brief, "she had and even
now has `no real knowledge' of
the platform and purposes of the
party. Her membership was one
of appearance only. It was arti-
ficial and shadowy. The alien did
not change her political or econ-
omic thinking one whit when she
joined the party or during her
stay in it. At the time she joined,
she would have joined any other
group, irrespective of its name,
which stood for socialized med-
icine."
If the Board rules against the
alien, an appeal will be taken to
the courts.
Cal. Smith Act
Convictions
Reversed
The U. S. Supreme Court on
June 17 reversed the convictions
of the 14 California Smith Act de-
fendants. The court ruled that
the evidence against five of the
defendants "is so clearly insuffi-
cient that their acquittal should
be ordered." The nine others
were granted a new trial.
One of the charges against the
defendants, that of conspiring to
organize a group to advocate and
teach the violent overthrow of
the government, was held to be
barred by a three-year statute of
limitations. They decided that
the word "organize" refers "only
to acts entering into the creation
of a new organization, and not to
acts thereafter performed in car-
rying on its activities, even
though such acts may loosely be
termed `organizational'."
The court concluded that since
the Party "came into being in
1945, and the indictment was not
returned until 1951, the three-
year statute of limitations had
run on the `organizing' charge,
and required the withdrawal of
that part of the indictment from
the jury's consideration."
Otherwise, the main holding of
the court was that the Smith Act
does not prohibit advocacy "in
the sense of preaching abstractly
the forcible overthrow of the
Government." The trial court,
therefore, erred in not charging
the jury to this effect.
Only seven members of the
court participated in the decision.
Justice Clark dissented, while
Justices Black and Douglas dis-
sented in part. The latter were in
favor of reversing the conviction
against all of the defendants.
The American Civil Liberties
Union appeared as "friend of th
court" in the case.
courts in other cases.
Un-Americans
Curbed by
While the 6 to 1 decision of the
U. S. Supreme Court in the Wat-
kins case, handed down on June
17, has been interpreted as plac-
ing restraints on legislative in-
vestigating committees, most of
those restraints were not neces-
sary to the decision, and conse-
quently are not binding upon the
In the
words of Justice Frankfurter, the
only thing the court held was.
that "the actual scope of the in-
quiry that the committee was au-
thorized to conduct and the rele-
vance of the question to that in-
quiry must be shown to have been
luminous at the time when asked
and not left, at best, in cloudi-
ness."
Watkins was prosecuted under
a Federal statute which requires
witnesses before Congressional
committees "to answer any ques-
`tion pertinent to the question un-
der inquiry."
Identifying Names
When he appeared before the
House Committee on Un-Ameri-
ean Activities, Watkins took the
position that he would be willing
to "answer any questions which
this committee put to me about
myself. I wiil also answer ques-
tions about those persons whom
I knew to be members of the
Communist party and whom I be-
lieve still are. I will not, how-
ever, answer any question with
respect to others with whom I
associated in the past. I do not
believe that any law in this coun-
try requires me to testify about
persons who may in the past have
been Communist party members
or otherwise engaged in Commu-
nist party activity, but who to
the best of my knowledge and be-
lief have long since removed
themselves from the Communist
movement." Watkins did not rest
on the Fifth Amendment in re-
fusing to answer questions con-
cerning persons he believed had
left the party.
Watkins was never a member
of the party. But for about five
years he had "cooperated with
the Communist party and partici-
pated in Communist activities to
such a degree that some persons
may honestly believe that I was a
member of the party."
The Committee claimed it was
investigating communism in the
labor movement, but of the 30
names which Watkins was asked
to identify, "seven were com-
pletely unconnected with organ-
ized labor."
Pertinency of Questions
"Unless the subject matter has
been made to appear with undis-
putable clarity, said the Supreme
Court, "it is the duty of the in-
vestigative body, upon objection
of the witness on grounds of per-
tinency, to state for the record
the subject under inquiry at that
time and the manner in which
the propounded questions are
pertinent thereto. To be meaning-
ful, the explanation must describe
what the topic under inquiry is
and the connective reasoning
whereby the precise questions
asked relate to it.
"The statement of the commit-
tee chairman in this case," the
court went on to say, "in response
to petitioner's protest, was woe-
fully inadequate to convey suffi-
cient information as to the per-
tinency of the questions to the
subject under inquiry. Petitioner
ligh Court
was thus not accorded a fair op-
portunity to determine whether
he was within his rights in refus-
ing to answer, and his conviction
is necessarily invalid under the
due process clause of the Fifth
Amendment."
First Amendment
The court's opinion does not
hold that a witness may rest on
the First Amendment in refusing
to answer questions of the House
`Committee. Nevertheless, it does
say that "The first amendment
may be invoked against infringe-
ment of the protected freedoms
by law or by lawmaking.
"Abuses of the investigative
process may imperceptibly lead
to abridgment of protected free-
doms. The mere summoning of
a witness and compelling him to -
testify, against his will, about his
beliefs, expressions or associa-
tions is a measure of Govern-
mental interference. And when
those forced revelations concern
matters that are unorthodox, un-
popular, or even hateful to the
general public, the reaction in
the life of the witnesses may be
disastrous. This effect is even
more harsh when it is past be-
liefs, expressions or associations
that are disclosed and judged by
current standards rather than
those contemporary with the mat-
ters exposed. Nor does the wit-
ness alone suffer the consequenc-
es. Those who are identified by
witnesses and thereby placed in
the same glare of publicity are
equally subject to public stigma,
scorn and obloquy. Beyond that,
there is the more subtle and im-
measurable effect upon those who -
tend to adhere to the most ortho-_
dox and uncontroversial views
and associations in order to avoid
a similar fate at some future time.
That this impact is partly the re-
sult of non-Governmental activity
by private persons cannot relieve
the investigators of their respon-
Fone for initiating the reac-
ion."
No Exposure Power
The court also emphasized that
an investigating committee has
no power to expose people. "We
have no doubt," said the court,
that there is no Congressional
power to expose for the sake of
exposure. The public is, of course,
entitled to be informed concern-
ing the workings of its Govern-
ment. That cannot be inflated
into a general power to expose
where the predominant result can
only be invasion of the private
rights of individuals. ... (The mo-
tives of committee - members)
alone would not vitiate an inves-
tigation which had been institut-
ed by a house of Congress if that
assembly's legislative purpose is
being served." :
The court was very critical of
the mandate or instructions from
Congress under which the Com-
Mittee operates. The resolution
was originally adopted in 1938
and defines the Committee's pow-
ers as follows:
"The Committee on Un-Ameri-
can Activities, as a whole or by
subcommittee, is authorized to
make from time to time investiga-
tions of (I) the extent, character,
and objects of Un-American prop-
aganda activities in the United
States; (II) the diffusion within
the United States of subversive
and un-American propaganda that
is instigated from foreign coun-
` -Continued on Page 4
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION NEWS
Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California,
- 503 Market Street, San Francisco 5, California, EXbrook 2-4692.
Second Class mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, Calif.
ERNEST BESIG .. . Editor
Subscription Rates-One Dollar and Fifty Cents a Year =
Fifteen Cents Per Copy aoe
Legislature Adjourns
Civil Liberties
Gains And
Losses Minor
The 1957 California Legislature
ended its session last month with-
out substantial gains or losses be-
ing recorded in the field of civil
liberties.
On the affirmative side, for the
first time in history, an FEP
measure reached the floor of the
"Senate, where it was defeated by
a vote of 21-13.
Wire-Tapping
Also, three minor bills aimed
t controlling wire-tapping and
electronic eavesdropping were
`adopted.
One of these measures, S. B.
927, bans installation of eaves-
dropping equipment without con-
sent of the owner of the prem-
`ises where it is placed, and pro-
hibits use of such electronic de-
-viees on public or private prop-
erty unless notice is posted.
The second bill, S.B. 176, makes
it a misdemeanor for anyone to
"eavesdrop -on the confidential
conversation of a prisoner with a
lawyer, doctor or religious ad-
visor.
The third bill, S. B. 928, re-
quires telephone companies to
keep a record of instances where
wire-tapping has been detected.
"Easy Arrest Bill"
Only a couple of repressive
bills were adopted. A major sur-
gery job was performed in the
Senate on Attorney General Pat
Brown's "Easy Arrest Bill," and
as a result, the section allowing
police to detain persons for two
hours without making an arrest
was eliminated. There were other
changes in the bill, A. B. 1857,
which still allows cops to pick up
persons as drunks and release
them at their own discretion.
Brown says rightly that drunken-
ness should not be a public of-
fense, but if he wants to accom-
plish that end he shouldn't pro-
pose a means that is open to easy
abuse by the police. The ACLU
is still studying the measure to
determine whether it should urge
a veto by the Governor.
Also adopted was an amend-
ment to the Luckel Act, A. B. 229,
which requires public employees
other than school teachers (the
latter are covered by the Dil-
worth Act), to answer questions
as to their affiliations since Octo-
ber 3, 1945, instead of Septem-
ber 10, 1948.
_Red-Hunting
And, finally, the Senate Fact-
Finding Committee on Un-Ameri-
`ean Activities, headed by Senator
Burns of Fresno, was re-estab-
lished for another two years at
a cost of $50,000.
The anti-civil liberties bills
that were defeated included two
. bills to ban crime comics and
Senator Donnelly's fantastic meas-
ure to weed out of school libra-
ries books that teach idleness,
profanity and falsehood, and that
sree Cf a
The first right of a citizen
Is the right
To be responsible.
le
fail to teach the principles of
morality, truth, justice and pa-
triotism.
Assemblyman Levering's red-
hunting bill denying tax exemp-
tion to non-profit groups that per-
mit their premises to be used by
organizations on the Attorney
General's subversive list or by
persons belonging to such groups
again went down to defeat. It
was similar to a bill defeated two
years ago.
Church and State
A bill to establish an Interfaith
Advisory Board, A. B. 2130, to
. prepare and recommend teach-
ing materials designed to foster
"moral, ethical and spiritual val-
ues," died in committee, while
A. B. 109, to establish "In God
We Trust" as the State's motto,
was killed on the Senate floor.
A bill to allow radio broadcast-
ing and televising of court pro-
ceedings has been referred to an
interim committee for study.
The pro-civil liberties bills that
were defeated included measures
to repeal the Levering Act Oath
for public employees and one to
repeal the tax exemption non-
disloyalty oath law. An effort
`was made to change the State's
loyalty oath from the present I-
am-not-a-subversive approach to
an I-am-a-loyal- American ap-
proach after the Levering Act re-
peal failed. Introduced by As-
semblyman John O'Connell |
(Dem., San Francisco), it got by
the Assembly but died in the Sen-
ate Revenue and Taxation Com-
mittee. '
Also defeated at this session
were various bills to ban wire-
tapping and numerous bills aimed
at eliminating racial discrimina-
tion. One or two minor racial
bills affecting school teachers
and public housing made some
progress. Of course, the Gover-
nor still has the last word on most
of the legislation.
Brown Censors
`Whisper' Mag.
The.ACLU last month protest-
ed to Attorney General Edmund
G. Brown against his censorship
of "Whisper" magazine,
Brown's deputy, Clarence Linn,
sent a telegram to distributors of
the magazine in California threat-
ening to present the matter to the
Los Angeles Grand Jury if the
`June issue of "Whisper" were cir-
culated in this state.
The ACLU condemned this as
an act of censorship. If the June
issue of "Whisper" in any way
violates the law, the proper thing
is to make an arrest when the
magazine is sold and not to ex-
ercise a prior censorship, the
Union said. |
ODAY
Bo 151
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Oklahoma Sets Up
Book Censorship
Commission
On June 7, Raymond Gary,
Governor of the State of Okla-
homa, signed into law a fantastic
bill creating the Oklahoma Liter-
ature Commission, consisting of
the Attorney General, or a mem-
ber of his staff, the State Super- -
intendent of Public Instruction
or a member of the Department
of Education designated by him,
and the Commissioner of Chari-
ties and Corrections.
The Commission is empowered
to hold hearings and make find- .
ings on literature "it finds to be
obscene through its investiga-
tions or from evidence furnished
to it by any citizens of the State."
The Commission may make an
order prohibiting the sale of
what it regards as obscene litera-
ture "by first informing the of-
fending party or parties prior to -
prohibiting such distribution or
recommending prosecution ..."
Obscenity Defined
"Obscene literature" is defined
as "any literature offensive to
the chastity or modesty, express-
ing or presenting to the mind or
view something that purity and
`decency forbids to be exposed, or
so-called comic books which, in
the opinion of the Commission,
are not uplifting and beneficial
to the education, welfare, and
character building of the chil-
dren of Oklahoma."
The term "literature" is de-
fined to mean "any book, pam-
phlet, paper, drawing, lithograph,
engraving, photograph, or pic-
ture."
Responsibility for prosecutions.
on the recommendations of the
Commission rest with the County
Attorneys, but "the Attorney Gen-
eral shall have the ultimate re-
sponsibility for such prosecu-
tions." -
Exemptions From Law
The law exempts "all weekly
and daily newspapers, all Federal
and State matters, and all reading
matter used in recognized religi-
ous, scientific, or educational in-
stitutions."
Apparently, the bill attracted
little attention until it was signed
into law. Now, it is believed that
the State will move very slowly in
enforcing it.
The national office of the AC-
LU is studying the measure.
Un-Americans
Curbed by
High Court
Continued from Page 3-
tries or of a domestic origin and
attacks the principle of the form
of government as guaranteed by
our Constitution, and (III) all
other questions in relation there-
to that would aid Congress in any
necessary remedial legislation."
"Tt would be difficult to imagine
a less explicit authorizing resolu-
tion," declared the court. "Who
can define the meaning of `un-
American'? What is the single,
solitary `principle of the form of
government as guaranteed by our
_ Constitution'? ...
Grand Niew of Task
"The.members of the commit-
tee have clearly demonstrated
that they didnot feel themselves
restricted in any way to propa-
ganda in the narrow sense of the
word. Unquestionably the com-
mittee conceived of its task in the
grand view of its name. Un-Amer-
ican activities were its target, no
matter how or where manifested.
...No one could reasonably de-
duce. from the charter the kind
of investigation that the commit-
tee was directed to make."
The court declared that the
committee had no power to de-
fine its own authority. "Protect-
ed freedoms," said the court,
"should not be placed in danger (c)
in the absence of a clear. deter-
mination by the House or the Sen- (c)
ate that a particular inquiry is
justified by a specific legislative
need." :
Letters to The Editor
Sherwood Case
Editor: As a none-too-articulate
citizen, I share in the responsi-
bility and guilt of those who
senselessly, and from behind an
official screen, harass, intimidate,
defame and persecute law-abiding
citizens whose only crime is, as
Mrs. Sherwood says, their ideal-
ism. From here on I intend to
raise my voice against this sort
of thing wherever it may be
heard.
Would that all the many peo-
ple who deep down know the of-
ficial iniquity of the House Un-
American Activities Committee
stand up and let their consciences
speak! :
_ But brighter days for human
rights are ahead, and in the hearts
and minds of the people who
stand fast for the genuine Ameri-
can principles of equality and in-
dividual self-realization. William
Sherwood will live on as a land-
mark in the eternal struggle
against inhumanity of man to
man.-Louis W. Jones,
Norman Thomas
Talks Before 400
It is much easier to be eloquent
in the defense of some liberty
you want than to be consistent in
defending the liberty of others,
Norman Thomas told an audi-
ence of 400 people at the annual
pot luck dinner of the `Marin
County Chapter of the AC.LUL
Speaking by lantern flame at
the Roger Kent estate, Thomas
said: "One of the hardest things
to learn is to love a particular
cause-and at the same time to
love freedom."
_The veteran socialist leader,
six times candidate for President
of the United States on his par-
ty's ticket, cautioned that it is
human nature to pursue a par-
ticular right when one is in a mi-
nority position. "But when in a
position of power, we are likely
to forget rights and become con-
cerned with "truth." '
Thomas cited a number of areas
where he thought the battle for
liberty needs fighting:
1. "The single most dangerous
blow to civil liberties in' my life-
time was the Supreme Court de-
cision to authorize expulsion of
Japanese - Americans from this
coast during World War II"
Thomas' moral: Too much is done
to harm liberty in the name of
emergency." :
2. The Smith Act of 1949,
which prohibits "an alleged con-
spiracy to advocate something."
Thomas decried the jailing of
members of the Communist Party
under its terms.
3. Problems of loyalty and se-
curity: "The methods taken to
insure it are far greater risks to
liberty."
4. Arbitrary immigration laws
and the extraordinary power giv-
en to "bureaucrats and immigra-
tion officials."
5. Civil rights: `It is our job
to live up to the standards set by
a unanimous Supreme Court-to
live up to them in the practice of
life so we can hold up our heads
and say: "thank God we live in a
nation that guarantees equality
of rights and opportunities to all
men regardless of race or color."
Thomas was _ introduced by
Milen Dempster, chairman of the
Marin County Chapter. Demp-
`ster also conducted a question
session.-M. L.
Proposal to Erect
Cross Dropped
A proposal to erect a $9,000
cross on San Rafael Hill in San |
Rafael has been dropped. Mayor
John F. McInnis stated on May
28 that "we are unable to pro-
ceed with the project on public
property and there is no intent to
discuss the matter further with
the Council as of this date."
The ACLU objected to the proj-
ect on the ground that it violated
the constitutional provision es-
tablishing separation of Church
and State.
Freedom To Cavil
Editor: It seems te me that
while civil liberties must include
the freedom to cavil, doing so
cannot be considered construc-
tive to the purposes of the ACLU;
and while I, too, strongly deplore
the tenor and tactics of much of
the activity of the Congressional
investigating committee present-
ly in San Francisco, I must equal-
ly deplore the ACLU's statement
on the Sherwood .suicide, as re-
ported in this morning's Chron-
icle. Specious sentimentality only
cheapens and subverts; I like to
believe there is enough legiti-
mate material available in sup-
port of ACLU goals without re-
sort to such spurious martyrdcm
as has been, with such unseemly
haste, been thrust upon Mr.
Sherwood.
That a presumably "brilliant"
man might, within, as it were,
one breath, denounce an intru-
sion distracting from his produc-
tivity in important research and
mankind's progress, and then,
by suicide, completely deprive
his contemporaries and' all pos-
terity of a lifetime of productiv-
ity, without (so far as I can dis-
cern) recognizing the pathetic in-
congruence of word and action,
strikes me as completely unintel-
ligent, irresponsible and infan-
tile.
Mr. Sherwood's suicide-let us
face it-seems to have all the
characteristics of morbid ego-
centrism. To be sure, a man has
the right to cowardice; but let us
not, gentlemen, idealize it.-Mal-
colm W. Roemer.
Privacy, Invaded;
Questionnaire
Withdrawn
School authorities at Balboa
High School, San Francisco, re-
cently withdrew a questionnaire
used in the hygiene course for
the upper division girls follow-
ing a protest by the ACLU. The
ACLU suggested that the ques-
tionnaire violated the right of
privacy. - :
The students were apparently
studying the effect of heredity on
disease. One of the forms which
they were required to fill out
and return to the teacher in-
quired into the illnesses of the
students' parents and grandpar-
ents. Twelve "disorders" were
listed, and the students were re-
quired to indicate whether their
relatives had suffered from these
"disorders." Following are the
"disorders": Tuberculosis, dia-
betes, epilepsy, alcoholism, per-
nicious anemia, cancer, rheumat-
ic fever, high blood pressure, dif-
ficulties associated with children,
mental disorders, poor teeth and
poor eyesight.
On another sheet, the students
were required to list the causes
of death of the parents and
grandparents.
The third and last form the
students were required to fill
out and return listed "the ten
most important psychological
items which Dr. L. M. Terman
has shown to be statistically re-
lated to happiness in marriage."
Following are the ten questions:
1. Have your parents been hap-
py? 2. Have you had a' happy
childhood? 3. Have you gotten
along well with your mother? 4.
Has there been firm, but not
harsh discipline in your home?
5. Do you have a strong love for
your mother? 6. Do you have a
strong love for your father? 7.
Have you gotten along well with
your father? 8. Have your par-
ents been frank about sex? 9. As
a child, was your punishment
mild and infrequent? 10. Do you
have an attitude toward sex that
is free from disgust and aversion?
The matter was called to the
ACLU's attention by a_ parent.
There is no question that the
teacher's motives were good. She
just used an unfortunate teach-
ing method. (c): tee :
ACLU NEWS
July, 1957
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