vol. 22, no. 11

- tion of the

American

Civil Liberties

Union

Volume XXII

San Francisco, California, December, 1957 _

Number 11

The new term of the United

States Supreme Court, which be-

gan some weeks ago, will bring

before the high court a broad

range of constitutional questions.

The American Civil Liberties Un-

ion has acted or plans to inter-

vene in many of the cases.

Already decided by the Su-

preme Court are the convictions

of Communist leaders Junius Irv-

ing Scales and Claude Mack Light-

foot under the membership clause

of the Smith Act. The high court

reversed the convictions after the

government filed a memorandum

admitting that the prosecution

had not conformed to the court's

decision in the Jencks case. In

this decision last spring the Su-

preme Court ruled that the gov-

ernment must make available to

defense counsel the reports of

any government witness who tes-

tifies at the trial. The court's ac-

tion prevents a determination of

the constitutionality of the sec-

_ makes mere membership in any

organization advocating violent

overthrow of the government a

crime. The ACLU had filed a

brief with the high court in the

Seales-Lightfoot cases arguing

that the section was a violation of

freedom of association.

Three Citizenship Cases _.

- Argument has also been held (c)

on three cases challenging the

loss of citizenship by native-born

Americans. The Trop case, which

has the support of the national

ACLU, concerns the expatriation

of an American soldier who was

dishonorably discharged from the

Army after a court-martial con-

viction for desertion in World

War II. The Nishikawa case con-

cerns involuntary expatriation

based on induction into the Japa-

nese Army and the Perez case

involves loss of citizenship for

voting in a Mexican election with-

out Perez knowing that he was an

American citizen. Both of these

eases have the support of the

Southern California branch of the

ACLU, j

The Supreme Court thas also

scheduled `for argument these

cases: (1) Staub v. Baxley, test-

ing a local Georgia municipal or-

dinance requiring the licensing

of labor organizers and other or-

ganizatienal solicitors, in which

the national ACLU has filed a

brief; (2) Harman v. Brucker,

presenting the issue of an unde-

`sirable discharge from the Army

based on pre-induction political

activities and family associations,

_ which has the ACLU's support;

(3) NAACP v. Alabama, challeng-

ing a state law requiring regis-

tration and disclosure of member-

ship lists by organizations advo-

cating integration. The motion

filed by the ACLU and thirteen

Adlai Speaks at

lilinois ACLU Bill of.

Rights Day Celebration

Adlai E. Stevenson, former

governor of Illinois and `twice

candidate for the presidency of

`the United States, will speak at

a Bill of Rights Day luncheon

sponsored by the ACLU's Illinois

Division on December 16 at the

Sherman Hotel, Chicago.

The occasion marks the 166th

anniversary of the final ratifica-

tion of the Bill of Rights. The

anniversary date, actually De-

cember 15, has become in recent

years a day of assessment of the

state of our constitutional liber-

ties and of ee to their

ideals.

Smith Act which,

other national organizations to

file a friend of the court brief op-

posing the law as an interference

with freedom of association was

turned down by the high court.

' Blacklisting Cases

The ACLU has also filed briefs

in Wilson v. Loews, a Hollywood

"blacklisting" case, and is seek-

ing consent to submit briefs in

the Nowak v. U. S. and Maisen-

berg v. U. S. cases concerning de-

naturalization for fraud based on

alleged Communist party mem-

bership. It has also asked the

court toreview the Sunshine and

Health v. Summerfield case,

which: involves the question of

the Post Office's administrative

determination of obscenity to bar

nudist publications from the

mails. Consent sought by the

ACLU to file briefs in the Lam-

bert v. California case, concern-

ing a conviction under a criminal

registration ordinance, and

Youngdahl v. Rainfair, involving

an injunction against an Amalga-

mated Clothing Workers Union

local union for peaceful picketing

during a strike, have been denied.

High Court To

Rule on Veterans

Oath Cases :

On November 25, the United

States Supreme Court agreed to

rule on the denial of tax exemp-

tion to two California veterans

who refused to sign loyalty oaths.

The cases are being handled by

the ACLU of Northern Califor-

,nia and involve Daniel Prince, (c)

of San Francisco, and Lawrence

Speiser of San Mateo, the a Ss

former Staff Counsel.

Prince and Speiser both re-

fused to sign oaths that they do

not advocate the violent over-

throw of the government and

that they will not support a for-

eign government in the event of

hostilities. Both men contended

that the oath violated their rights

under the First Amendment to

the Constitution, The California -

Supreme Court upheld the loy-

alty oath requirement by a vote

of 4 to 3.

Late in October, the court ac-

cepted jurisdiction of two chal-

lenges of the law brought by

churches. One case involves the

People's Church of San Fernando

Valley and the other the First

Unitarian Church of Los Angeles.

Both cases are being handled by

the Southern California branch

of the ACLU.

Still pending before the court

for action are appeals filed by

the San Leandro Methodist

Church and the First Unitarian

Church of Berkeley. It is antici-

_pated that the Supreme Court

will grant review in these cases

when it meets again early in

December.

Chief Justice Earl Warren, who

as governor opposed the law, dis- |

qualified himself from sitting on

`the cases.

In commenting on the law, a

lower court said: "In effect the

provisions involved here require

those who advocate doctrines un-

acceptable to the rest of us to pay

a larger tax than those who re-

frain from expressing such doc-

trines. We do not feel that this

reasonably tends to avert a clear

and present danger." The Su-

preme Court has held that free-

dom of speech under the First

Amendment may be restricted

only if there is a clear and proba-

ble danger to the government.

others

How YOU Can

Help The ACLU

. Early in January, in order to

build up a reservoir of names

for its Spring Membership Cam-

paign, the ACLU will be asking

YOU for the names of persons

who might wish to join and

with whom we may use YOUR

NAME.

Think it over! Who do you

know that ought to belong to the

ACLU? Do you have some

friends who have recently moved

into the area? Have you recent-

ly got acquainted with a believer

in freedom? Do you have an old

friend who should be,a member?

Since we have only 3764 mem-

bers in good standing in North-

ern California (not counting

several hundred persons whose

memberships expired during re-

cent months), the chances are

that you know some likely candi-

dates for membership.

500 New Members |

The ACLU is counting on rais-

ing $3000 from 500 new members

in its Spring campaign. Experi-

ence has shown that about one

person in five who is solicited on

the recommendation of members

actually joins. So, we'll need the

names of more than 2500 likely

prospects. The office will check

these names against our mem-

bership rolls in order to weed

out present members.

- More than 10% of the Union's

membership drop out each year

for one reason or another. Many

people move out of the area,

just disappear (move

without leaving a forwarding ad-

dress), some lose interest or dis-

agree with something we've

done, still others cannot afford

to continue their membership, -

while a few are lost to us by

death. -

400 Replacements -

About 400 of the goal of 500

new members will replace those

who drop out during the year.

In addition, each year, about 250

persons join outside of the mem-

bership campaign. By the end of

the fiscal year on October 31, if

everything goes well, the Union's

local membership should be

well over the 4000 mark. Cer-

tainly, in this growing area, it

should be possible within a few

years to raise the membership

to at least 5000 without water-

ing down the Union's program.

`So, please think it over! What

names of likely prospects can

you supply us with in January.

Make a list now! Your help will

be appreciated.

U.C. Regents

Study Optional

ROTC Plan

The University of California

Regents last month took under |

advisement a proposal of stu-

dents that compulsory ROTC be

dropped at Berkeley.

Roger Samuelson, ASWC pre-

sident, told the regents at a

meeting in Berkeley on Novem- |

ber 15 that in a referendum stu-

dents voted!2 to 1 for option'

ROTC training.

At tthe present time, the U ve

versity of Minnesota appears |

be the only land grant oe

in which ROTC training is op-

tional. Under the law, such

training must be offered in land

grant colleges.

Chairman Edwin S. Pauley or-

dered that the matter be referred

to the regents' educational com-

mittee for study.

The ACLU has opposed com-

pulsory ROTC in State colleges

and universities. Before the war,

however, in the Hamilton case,

the U. S. Supreme Court upheld

the compulsory ROTC program.

The ACLU supported that test

suit.

. erty or Freedom,"

The twenty-taird anniversary aoe of the ACLU of

Northern California, honoring Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn, was

attended by an enthusiastic audience of about 650 persons

that crowded the Rose Room of. the Sheraton Palace Hotel

in San Francisco on October 29.

The audience gave Dr. Meikle-

john a standing ovation when he

completed his address on "Lib-

which he

termed "A Confession of Faith."

The task he set for himself was

"to draw a clear and usable dis-

tinction between "Freedom" and

`Liberty',' which in common us-

age are practically interchange-

able. "I am," said Dr. Meiklejohn,

"advocating semantic reform.

That reform is needed in order

that we may avoid confusions

which seem to me constantly to

beset such discussions as those

of the Civil Liberties Union, or,

Bonnie Bortin

Appointed to

ACLU Staff

_ Bonnie Bortin was appointed |

to the ACLU staff on a half-time

basis on October 15 to direct the

membership campaign, handle

special events such as the annual'

membership meeting and _ the-

atre parties and help in the pub-

lication of the NEWS.

Bonnie Bortin is the wife of

attorney David N. Bortin, who

has served on the ACLU Legal

Committee. She did undergradu-

ate work at Barnard College, Co-'

lumbia University and the Uni-

versity of California where she

received her degree in 1946.

While at U. C. she was a feature

`writer on the Daily Californian.

She has dovie graduate work at

U.C. and Vassar College. In 1953 .

she received a fellowship to Vas-

sar Summer Institute.

Mrs. Bortin is currently. presi-

- dent of the Contra Costa Demo-

cratic Women, Secretary of the

Diablo Valley Unitarian Church,

Vice President in charge of pub-

lic relations of the Concord Li-

brary League, and Secretary of

the Coneord Civic League.

She has had `articles published

in Parents Magazine, edited -pub-

lications for Eastbay Council of

Cooperative Nursery Schools and

the American Association of Uni-

versity Women of which she is a

member.

Mrs. Bortin has two children

and resides in Concord, Califor-

nia.

Excellent

Response To

Budget Appeal

As this article is being written,

on November 25th, there were

exactly 1184 responses to the

Budget Appeal, or an increase of

17% in the number of returns

over last year. Receipts thus far

amount to $11,300, or 23% above

last year's receipts. As a matter

of fact, in the entire month of

November, 1956, the number and

amount of the contributions were

less than what has thus far been

received, or $10,363.25 from 1126

persons.

This excellent response, for

which the ACLU is most grateful,

comes in answer to the Union's

appeal to concentrate the fund-

raising activities, thereby causing

a minimum of interference with

the handling of civil liberties

issues.

If you have not yet sent in your

contribution towards the budget,

won't you please do so as soon as

possible. ACLU hopes you will be

willing to make your PRESENT

and FUTURE contributions at

the beginning of the fiscal year.

Your cooperation is earnestly

solicited.

Remember, the budget for the

fiscal year ending October 31,

1958 is exactly $38,017.90,

`American _ political

it may be, even those of the Su-

preme Court of the United

States."

Liberty Subject to Regulation

The Constitution, said he, "so-

berly provides that the govern-

ment may, for good reason and by

proper procedure, take from us

our liberties, wholly or in part.

Whenever the public need seems

to justify such action, free citi-

zens may be required to go into

battle, to take other men's lives,

to lose their own; their business

activities may be regulated, their -

incomes subjected to unequal tax-

ation; they may be told when and

where and how they are allowed

to speak, and when and. where

and how they are forbidden to do |

so. And this implies that speech,

press, assembly, and petition, in-

sofar as they are used for pur-

poses other than the governing

of the nation are, in fact, subject

to regulation in exactly the same

sense as in walking, or lighting a

fire, or shooting a gun."

Freedom is Absolute

But, the Freedoms, insisted Dr.

Meiklejohn, "are forever beyond

the reach of Congressional con-

trol." The "working principle" of

Freedom which he has formulat-

ed, reads as follows:

"Tf then, on any occasion in

the United States, it is allowable

to say that the Constitution is a

`good document, it is equally al-

iowabie, in that situation, to say

that the Constitution is a bad

document. If a public building

may be used in which to say, in

time of war, that the war is justi-

fied, then the same building may

be used in which to say that

it is not justified. If it be publicly

argued that conscription for arm-

ed service is moral and necessary,

it may be likewise publicly ar-

gued that it is immoral and un-

necessary. df it may be said that

institutions

are superior to those of England

or Russia or Germany, it may,

with equal freedom, be said that

those of England or Russia or

_Germany are superior to ours.

These conflicting views may be

expressed, must be expressed,

not because they are valid, but

because they are relevant. If they

are responsibly entertained by

anyone, we the voters need to

hear them. Where a question of

policy is `before the house,' free

men choose to meet it, not with

their eyes shut, but with their

' eyes open. To be afraid of ideas,

of any idea, is to be unfit for self

government, Any such suppres-

sion of ideas about the common

good, the First Amendment con-

demns with its absolute disap-

proval. The freedom of ideas

shall not be abridged,"

Dr. Meiklejohn's speech is be-

ing printed and is expected to be

available in a couple of weeks. .

Dr. Meiklejohn was introduced

by Prof. James R. Caldwell. His

tribute, for which there were also

many requests, appears elsewhere

(Continued on Page 4) -

in This Issue...

Admit Illegal Detention

of S. F. Lawyer ....... p. 3

Picture `Taking at

Sather Gate Meeting

Prayers Recited in

San Mateo Public Schools p 4

Prof. Caldwell's Tribute to

=p. 3

Dr. Meiklejohn ....... p. 2

Protest Religious Symbols

at Public Schools ...... p. 4

"Smug Smog of Secrecy" ..p. 2

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

Hollywood B

`Smug Smog of Secrecy'

A unit of Congress that is doing one of the most necessary

_jobs in Washington is the House Subcommittee on Govern-

ment Information, headed by California Representative John

E. Moss Jr. of Sacramento. The subcommittee is effectively

exposing the withholding of information by Government agen-

cies from the public, which to be fully self-governing must

have due access to the facts; it is also finding an uncomfort-

able amount of withholding of information by one agency

from another. Representative Moss has called this the "smug

smog of secrecy." Five ways in which it works against reason

and common sense, he says, are these:

1. Scientists are cleared for secret work on an agency-

by-agency basis, so that one of them working on a Navy mis-

sile project can't discuss his problems freely with another

doing similar work for the Army. `

2. Different standards are used, so that a scientist cleared

by ohe agency may be rejected by another.

3. Even when cleared by another agency, a scientist can't

get information from it until it has been established that he

has a "need to know."

4. Not only are direct military applications of scientific

principles being stamped secret, but also the principles them-

selves-"the laws of nature, open to discovery by any scient-

ist in the Nation."

5. An adequate system is lacking for taking the secrecy

tags from scientific information after they no longer are

needed, so that scientists constantly are wasting time re-

discovering principles learned long ago but concealed by

classification.

A Government, an Administration, a Legislature which (c)

allows such procedures to defeat its own scientific experts in

`their race against time and competitors is entitled to little

sympathy when they come in second.-San Francisco Chron-

iele, Nov. 21, 1957.

The dismissal of a damage suit

totaling $51,750,000 against lead-

_ ing Hollywood motion picture

studios and distributors and

members of the House Un-Amer-

ican Activities Committee charg-

ing "blacklisting" because of re-

fusal to cooperate with the Com-

mittee should be reversed, the

American Civil Liberties Union

said recently.

- Invoked Fifth Amendment

The Union made public a

friend of the court brief sub-

mitted to the United States Su-

preme Court in the case of twen-

ty-three' Hollywood writers, _ac-

tors and technicians against nine-

teen major film companies. The

: e

ment of the Constitutional guar-

antee in consequence, because

invocation of the privilege is

treated as an absolute and un- -

escapable bar to employment in

the motion `picture industry."

According to the complaint, the

ACLU states, no consideration .

is given to the subject matter of

the Committee's questioning, the

~ remoteness of the period of time

twenty-three claim they were -

denied employment because they

invoked the Fifth Amendment in

testifying - at `the `Committee's

hearings into alleged' Communist

influence in Hollywood or re-

fused to appear after being

named as Communists. Each of

the twenty-three sought $2,250,-

000 in damages in the California

state courts, but the California

Supreme Court upheld the dis-

missal of the suits on.the ground

- that no specific contractual re-

lationship had been injured. AS

the ease before the United States

Supreme Court concerns a mo-

tion to dismiss the original com-

plaint, no trial on the merits of

the factual allegations has yet

been held and their accuracy de-

termined. 2

The case is of major impor-

tance because this is the first

time the United States Supreme

Court is being asked to consider.

the possible personal liability of

the House Committee members

and staff for their action against

people.

Powerful Coercion

Based on the allegations in the

complaint that the Committee

members and the studios and

distributors arranged to bar em-

ployment to persons using the

privilege against self-incrimina-

tion, the ACLU brief says this

arrangement was certainly a

threat constituting "a powerful

coercion against the free exer-

cise of the Constitutional privi-

lege....The coercion against

exercise of the privilege is par-

ticularly severe, with impair-

ACLU NEWS

December, 1957

Page 2

covered, or the witnesses' justi-

fication for using the Fifth (c)

Amendment.

Outside Its Authority

Pointing out that the only

punishment the Committee can

legally mete out is for contempt,

the ACLU says that according to

the complaint the Committee

was functioning outside its au-

o

thority and this underscored "`the

unjustifiable and arbitrary na-

ture of the inteference with the

free exercise' 'of the Fifth

Amendment.

While the complaint alleges

that the Committee members

made the "blacklisting" agree-

ment both in their official capa-

city and as private persons, the

ACLU argues that constitutional

limits apply to them because in

their investigating role they

were acting as government offi-

cials. "To preserve a Govern-

ment based on law, the Constitu-.

tion must apply to officials

`whether they hew to the line of

their authority or overstep it.'

(Serews v. U.S.)."

Humanist Group

Wins Tax Exemption

As A Church

The California Supreme Court

last month voted 4 to 3 to sus-

tain the decision of the State

District Court of Appeal that re-

ligious worship is not necessarily

dependent on recognition of a

deity. :

Oakland and Alameda county

had contended that the Fellow-

ship of Humanity was not quali- .

fied for tax exemption as: a-

church because it did not engage

in religious worship.

Taxes were paid under protest

for 1952 and 1953 and the suc-

cessful action was then brought

to have the payments refunded.

The ACLU of Northern Cali-

fornia filed an amicus curiae

brief in the case.

fo Dr.

Editor's Note: Because of the

numerous requests for copies of

Prof. James R. Caldwell's intro-

duction of Dr. Alexander Meikle-

john at the ACLU's annual meet-

ing last October 29, we are print-

ing his charming, witty and bril-

liant remarks for all of our mem-

bers and subscribers to read.

Prof. Caldwell teaches English at

the University of California. He

has been a member of the Union's

local board since 1946, and is also

a member of the ACLU's Nation-

al Committee.

At first glance a program

wherein Mr. Meiklejohn was to

speak on Civil Liberties and I

was to speak on Mr. Meiklejohn

seemed a rather curious arrange-

ment, and so I spoke to the Direc-

tor, Mr. Besig, about it. I must

say he made it all seem perfectly

simple. He said, "Look, in the

ACLU we talk about the things

we know about. Mr. Meiklejohn

knows a lot about Civil Liberties,

doesn't he?" I said, "Yes, he

does." He said, `"Certainly-that's

why he is on the Board. And as

for you-well, you know Mr.

Meiklejohn-or don't you?" -

Slow Conversion

I said I thought I did after a

fashion. I said I had known him

in fact for 31 years-almost to

the day-since that October after-

noon of 1926 when I first saw

him watching football practice at

the University of Wisconsin. And

I said that I had been a devoted

student and disciple of his for all

- except the first thirty: minutes of

those years. (I believe, incident-

ally, that my conversion was one

of the slower ones in his record.)

I said that I knew him for one

of the great men .of our genera-

tion, an educator who has done

more than any contemporary to

rescue education from aimless-

ness, mechanicalism and vocation-

alism and continues to do so; a

philosopher and essayist of beau-

tiful distinction; and a bold and

brilliant champion of Civil Lib-

erties. I said that I was not, in

making these statements, claim-

ing to be an exhaustive author-

ity on this subject of Alexander

Meiklejorn, but I had in my head

at least these self-evident facts

about him. I said that I believed,

moreover, that he was probably

the most widely loved man in the

Western - hemisphere - and that

taking him all in all I thought

him magnificent, and slightly out-

rageous. Mr. Besig seemed to

feel, on the basis of these re-

marks, that I had a grasp at least

of the elements of my topic. And

so, here I am, and more touched

and honored to be here, to be

saying a few words about this old

and dear and honored friend than

I ean easily tell you.

Usual Course

I_ know that you have come to

hear him, and that I am to get

out of the way as soon as possi-

ble. And for that reason and

only for that reason, I am going

to ask your permission to depart

from the usual course on occa-

sions of this kind. I believe the

_ usual course is for the introduc-

tory speaker to dwell upon the

virtues, the splendid qualities, of

the man he is introducing. But

I don't see how I can possibly do

justice to these in the few min-

utes allotted me-nor for that

matter, in the rest of the evening.

I shall then, with your permis-

sion, speak not of Mr. Meikle-

john's virtues, but of his faults,

simply on the assumption that

they will take a little less time.

This impartial, this judicial ap-

proach to the problem is, as you

would guess, a method that I

have learned from Mr. Meikle-

john himself-or rather that I

have been slowly trying to learn

in all the years of my devotion

to him. :

Jumps Generations

I shall cite first among these

faults what I must call a stub-

_ born and willful disinclination on

rof. Caldwel

+

his part to stay within his genera-

tion. This manifests itself most

cruelly to one who attempts to

_keep up with him on a walk,

among the Berkeley hills. Again

-and again I have found it impos-

_Sible to keep him down to a dig-

nified and reasonable and aca-

demic pace. (My own feeling is

that a.man may perhaps pant a

little in thinking, but he really

-ean't think while panting.) The

same tendency to jump genera-

tions appears, I am obliged to

say, in respect to his sympathies

and his interests. They too are

swift and supple. They go quick-

ly and warmly to youth, and draw

from youth a response equally

swift and warm. They include in

this area, to my personal knowl-

edge, everything from heart break

to prize fighting. Now, I am not

prepared to question the facts

that have been given as to Mr.

Meiklejohn's rich store of years.

I am willing to concede that he

"may have been born in Lanca-

shire of those Scottish Presby-.

terian parents as early as he says

he was, that he may have begun

teaching at Brown University in

1897, where incidentally he re-,

built the morale of the Academic

Community, and there he fought

a desperate fight to keep sports

in the hands of the students and

out of the hands of the alumni,

and where he began teaching phil-

osophy in such a way as to make

it actually mold the minds and

lives of his students. I am not,

as I say, prepared to deny that

he is as old as he says he is, but

I utterly deny that he acts as if

he were.

Irreverence Toward Precedents

A second charge that I must.

lay to him is a general irrever-

ence toward forms and prece-

`dents-especially academic ones.

Here again, I can speak from dis-

' tressing first hand experience. I

_was at the University of Wiscon-

sin-as quiet, pastoral and com-

placent a little spot as you could

wish, until he got there; and I

saw the suffering, indeed, the

panic on the faces of the faculty

when he proposed a new idea, the

idea of his famous Experimental

College, the forerunner and or-

igin of so much that is valuable

in contemporary education. I saw

the young men of the faculty re-

spond to his gentle and incendi-

ary spirit and, while I was not

there to see it, I knew the thrill

of that high venture, of its pro-

found success, of the melancholy

failure of nerve on the part of

the politicians and the powers

who brought it to an-end and re-

turned dear old Madison for a

time to its placid and bucolic self.

I was not there, but I heard of

how at Amherst, where he was

recently honored by a fairly con-

trite convocation of alumni and

`trustees-of how the trustees, in

order to attend the convocation,

had to hold their annual meeting

at 8 o'clock, or some such ungod-

ly hour, and how Mr. Meiklejohn

welcomed them to the platform

with the observation that he was

always glad to be the cause of

arousing trustees from their

slumber.

Alarming Words

I ask you now to listen to these

alarming words:

Twenty courses do not make

-a college education any more

than twenty legs make a man,

nor twenty heads, nor even ten

hearts, two legs and eight fin-

gers. And in the same way

three courses do not make an

intellectual interest, an experi-

ence of the actual process of -

the working mind. Something

is wrong with the terms; some-

thing is radically wrong with'

the process of combining them.

If they do not produce a shud-

der in the hearer, I should sus-

pect that he was not an academic

person at all. -

I would allege of him an incor-

rigible tendency to unsettle the

minds of students, and for that

l's Tribute

matter of professors and schol-

ars, tending to destroy their most

comfortable prejudices and illu-

sions. I remember seeing him, by

some kind of magic, black I

should think, turn an audience of

about a hundred normal, comfort-

able, undergraduates blithely

self-assured in the cliches and

fallacies which they had brought

into the room, into an excitedly

arguing lot of young thinkers, de-

termined to sift to the bottom of

_the problem of whether or not

Ulysses' ship (as it underwent a

succession of replacements of

parts) became eventually another

ship. I don't pretend to know

how he did this, but feel intui-

tively that there was something

illicit about it. This' was,. of

course, the merest sample of a

teaching power that has literally

changed the minds and lives of

generations of his students.

Illumined Group.

Alas, I was not one of them,

but I knew some of that illumined

group of Amherst seniors, who |

declined to accept their diplo-

mas at the time he was (to use

the academic euphemism) "dis-

continued" at Amherst. Those

men are now among the ablest

and the most prominent in edu-

cation, in government, and some

of them are now members of the

Board of Trustees of Amherst

College.

Dear Alec, I know you must ap-

prove of the unimpassioned, phil-

osophical and forthright analysis

of your defects, and I know that

in order to live up to your stand-

ards of thorough research and

profound analysis I should go on

to explore all of them. But they

are mounting up, aren't they, to

more than either of us quite real-

ized. So I must pass over a num-

ber of woeful propensities of

yours. I shall say nothing, for

example, of the kindness, the dis-

arming sympathy and interest in

which you follow one to the end

of his fallacious line of argument

before you puncture it with one

question, or one neglected fact.

I shall say nothing of `the hetero-

dox way in which you bring the

critical mind to bear on areas

wherein we all prefer simply to

feel, the area, even, of Civil Lib-

`erties. I must simply conclude

with one more allegation.

Heinous Offense

This one is considered, in the

circles in which I move, a par-

ticularly heinous one. I put it

` bluntly. You do not-stay in your

field. The restless disposition al-

ready noted, to take philosophy

out of the class room and apply

it to life is one aspect of this dis-

turbing addiction. It is, I believe,

particularly distressing to a larg-

er school of contemporary philos-

ophers who find in symbolic logic

and in semantics the Alpha and

Omega of philosophy. With them

I have great sympathy. They are

as shaken, no doubt by Mr. Meik-

lejohn's determination that phil-

osophy shall apply to life-by the

application of it on the part of

his students to life-as I should

be if my students and certain col-

leagues abruptly began speaking

English.

This is bad enough in all con-

science, but it is not the worst.

This restive and undocile man, .

after a long, and one would think

exhausting, career as philosopher

and educator, plunged in 1938

into constitutional law, into the

study of the First Amendment.

IT have his own words to indict

-him on this point, and I shall re-

lentlessly quote him:

Study of First Amendment

On retirement (1938) I

plunged into a study of the

First Amendment, as an at-

tempt to give a political basis

for the educational process. It

has seemed to me that the di-

rection in which American phil-

osophizing about our common

life (a lack of philosephizing)

(Continued on Page 3)

Frank Fullenwider, Area Administrator of the State De- |

partment of Alcoholic Beverage Control, has admitted that

his agents unlawfully detained George Olshausen, San Fran-

cisco attorney, when he sought to leave a Grant Avenue bar

last October 16, and expressed his sincere regrets.

Olshausen had complained that

he "was stopped at the door by

a man who showed a badge of the

Department of Alcoholic Bever-

age Control, but without any

identifying number. In answer to

questions, he said that his num-

ber was `85' and his name `Agent

Podretti.' He stood with-his back

against the door, so that it was

impossible to leave without using

physical force. This continued

for five minutes. I told him I

wanted to get home by midnight;

he answered: `You'll have to

wait, or words to that effect. He

said he was checking for minors.

I am 52 years old; have been

practicing law for 31 years."

Technique Not Countenanced

"The technique of barring the

entrance to a premises and not

permitting law-abiding patrons

to leave pending an investigation

of possible violations of law by

other persons is not counten-

anced by this department," said

Mr. Fullenwider. "On the night

in question," he continued, "the

agents involved used this tech-

nique without the knowledge of

their supervisor and without the

approval of their superiors. They

had had a recent experience

where, when they started to

check minors a number of per-

sons who appeared to be under

twenty-one bolted the premises

and they desired to prevent a re-

petition of this. This is the first

time the use of this technique

has come to my attention and in

my conferences with the agents,

it was made amply clear to them

that it was never to be. used

again in this type of a situation."

Sincere Regrets

Mr. Fullenwider declared that

he "`sincerely regretted" that the

`incident had occurred. "As a par-

tial explanation, although not a

justification of it, it can be stated

that recruitment and training in

our San Francisco District office

have constituted quite a problem

for us. The agent named by you

had only been employed by us

within the last three months. All

of them had come to us with a

number of years of police depart-

ment experience and we felt that

we could safely entrust them

with the type of assignment

_Wwhich was given to them.

Green Agents

"Our problem can perhaps be

better appreciated if I point out

to you that of our staff in San

Francisco at the agent level (33

agents), a third have had three

and one-half months' experience

or less and another one-third

have had between three and one-

half months and one and one-half

years. This leaves only one-third

of our staff which can'be con-

`sidered as seasoned and a num-

ber of these are incapable of

handling an enforcement assign-

ment. We have endeavored to

remedy this matter by holding

training sessions as a regular

matter on general problems and

on specific problems if the need

is indicated."

Special Training Session

As a result of this incident, a

special training session :was

ealled for all night enforcement

agents in San Francisco and Mr.

Olshausen was invited to talk

for ten or fifteen minutes on "a

citizen's reaction to unjustified

restraint."

Olshausen, according to a let-

ter from Fullenwider to the

ACLU, was "well received."

After he left, "the Training Ses-

sion was continued along the

lines of emphasizing the neces-

sity for all of our investigation

work being conducted in strict

accordance with the constitution-

al and statutory rights of all per-

sons."

The ACLU intervened in the

case when it received a copy of

Mr. Olshausen's complaint to the

Department of Alcoholic Bever-

age Control. The ACLU's Board

of Directors adopted a resolu-

tion expressing satisfaction "at

the refreshing candor' with

which Fullenwider had handled

the complaint. "Too often," said a

detter to Mr. Fullenwider, "the

attitude of police officials to a

complaint against the conduct of

their officers is a defensive one

rather than an objective consid-

eration of the matter.

"We appreciate the problems

you have in securing and retain-

ing competent personnel iand we

are happy to know that an effort

is being made to instruct your

agents concerning the rights of

citizens."

Georgia Licensing

Ordinance Threatens

Freedom of Assoc.

A Baxley, Georgia licensing

ordinance being challenged in

the United States Supreme Court

by a labor union organizer also

seriously threatens the freedom

- of association of all organizations

and should-be declared invalid,

.the American Civil Liberties

Union said recently.

The civil liberties group sub-

mitted a friend of the court brief ..

in the case of Rose Staub, an or-

ganizer for the International La-

dies' Garment Workers' Union,

AFL-CIO, who was convicted of

violating the ordinance in 1954.

The ordinance requires salaried

employees who solicit member-

-ship in organizations which re-

ceive membership fees or dues

and can make assessments to se-

cure a permit. If the license is

granted, an annual $2,000.00 fee

as well as $500.00 for each mem-

ber obtained must be paid to the

city. The same kind of ordinance

has been adopted by several

Southern cities.

The ACLU brief argued that

while the case before the high

court concerned a labor union,

the ordinance covers solicitation

of membership "for any organi- ~

tion, union or society of any sort.

... If the ordinance is upheld,

the ACLU continued, "we can

see no constitutional basis for

denying its. extension to the or-

ganizer of any religious, charit-

able, humanitarian, cultural, so-

cial or political organization."

Under the ordinance, the brief

said, organizers "ranging from

the American Civil Liberties"

Union to the American Automo-

bile Association, from the Boy |

Scouts of America to the Demo-

cratic Party, from Alcoholics

Anonymous to the American Me-

dical Association, and from the

National Association for the Ad-

vancement of Colored People to

the Ku Klux Klan," must first

obtain the approval and license_

of the Mayor and the City Coun-

cil.

Striking hard at the $2,000.00

annual license fee and the

$500.00 fee for each member re-

eruited, the ACLU brief said few

organizations could sustain this

"twin burden. If this ordinance

is enforced according to its

terms, the City of Baxley will

have legislated itself into social

and political extinction. We be-

lieve that the First Amendment

as incorporated into the Four-

teenth Amendment forbids such

total regulation, if not suppres-

sion, of the associational activ-

ities which lie at the heart of the

effective freedom of expression

... guaranteed by the First

Amendment." :

Tribute to 3

Dr. Meiklejohn

(Continued from Page 2)

has gone wrong is most clearly

_ revealed in the interpretation

which Supreme Court Justices

(beginning with Holmes) have

given of the meaning of the

Amendment. Our basic pur-

pose is there clearly indicated

by the Constitution, and our

basic failure to see clearly what

that purpose is comes out in

the opinions, which tell the

world and ourselves that in the

face of danger or necessity, we

do not mean what we say. In

. that dramatic struggle Imman-

uel Kant and Jean Jacques Rou-

sseau are the heroes, and John

Locke and Justice Holmes are

the villains.

Brilliant constitutional insights

such as this whereby he has at-

tacked the doctrine of clear and

present danger, insights such as

that in which he drew a distinc-

tion between the properly limit-

ed freedom of speech for private

ends, and the properly unlimited

freedom of speech for public ends

have made his voice one to which

legislators and Supreme Court

Justices and law associations

listen with respect.

Speaks Beyond His Generation ~

I think perhaps that in activi-

ties such as these we can find

most clearly compounded and

concentrated all of those disturb-

ing traits of which I have been

speaking. In these he speaks be-

yond his generation, in the bold

disregard of vested authority

/ with an unsettling penetration.

And in all, obviously he is ex-

ceeding by far the usual limita-

tions of the field of philosophy

and the field of education. I sup-

pose this kind of. thing must be

fraught with the most serious

consequences for the stability and

comfort of the academic world.

Ladies and -gentlemen, Mr.

Meiklejohn, you have Tistened

with at least outward patience to

this somewhat bantering report

on the great and brave and love-

able man in whose honor we are

meeting. I have kept hitherto a

little this side of complete seri-

ousness for several reasons. For

one thing, I scarcely trust myself

to speak directly and in sober

sooth of my love and admiration

for him. It could easily become an

embarrassingly spontaneous over-

flow of powerful feelings.

Above All Human Love

But you will not wish me to

leave without telling him in your

name what pride and what deep

sense of privilege we feel in

working with him, under his wise

counsel in the endless struggle .

for Civil Liberties. Courage,

principle, intellect, and above all

human love. For these, in both

senses of the words, Alexander

Meiklejohn stands. We offer him

tonight our homage.-James R.

Caldwell.

' Mmagazine's

Red China

Picture Taking

Passport Issued At Sather Gate

In Powell Case

An unrestricted passport for

travel in Communist China was

granted by the State Department

last month to A. L. Wirin, a de-

fense attorney in the sedition

`prosecution against John W.

Powell, his wife Sylvia and Ju-

lian Schuman.

From 1950-1953, Powell was

editor and publisher of the

China Monthly Review, an Eng-

lish language monthly news ma-

gazine published in Shanghai.

_ The Government charges, under

an indictment returned in San

Francisco on April 25, 1956, that

in publishing reports and com-

ments about the Korean War,

Powell published false state-

ments of germ warfare, etc.

Judge Issues Ultimatum

On November 1, Federal Judge

Louis E. Goodman declared he

would dismiss the charges unless

the passport was issued within

30 days. "The defendants," said

he, "have the constitutional right

to present evidence" that their

alleged statements

"were not false 4nd not publish-

ed ... with criminal intent. This

evidence lies abroad in Red China

_and North Korea."

Wirin `hopes not only to inter-

view more than 100 persons and

take depositions from some, but

also to arrange to have some

come to the U: S. to testify in

person. Of course, there is no

assurance that the Red China

courts will cooperate in the tak-

ing of depositions or that the

government will allow any of its

citizens to travel to the United

States. :

Fair Trial Issue

In opposing prosecution of the

Powell's, the ACLU of Northern

California contended that Pow-

ell's case cannot be presented

without voluminous evidence in

foreign countries beyond the

reach of subpoena power, nor

can Powell rebut the govern-

ment's case without access to sec-

ret military files. -

The Union's principal conten-

tion is that "Under the circum-

stances, we cannot regard this

prosecution as consistent with

our constitutional guarantee of

freedom of the press. If the sedi-

tion statute may be applied to

the Powell statements, it may by

the same token be applied to any

statement which might have an

adverse effect on the morale of

the general public in war time.

... Editors cannot be expected to

publish anything which differs

from the official view, if they

can do so only by risking 20

years imprisonment if a jury,

possibly swayed by passion and

intolerance of war-time, should

make an adverse finding as to

the editor's `intent.' "

The ACLU of Northern Califor-

nia filed its closing brief last

month challenging the constitu-

tionality of the furthest extension

_ of loyalty oaths yet attempted in

this state. The ACLU seeks to

prevent the State Department of

Employment from denying un-

employment insurance benefits

to persons who are unemployed

because they will not sign a loy-

alty oath.

Marion Syrek was drawing

benefits when the Department re-

ferred him to work wit Alameda ~

County, He declined the referral

on the ground that such employ-

ment infringed on his constitu-

tional rights because of the re-

quired loyalty oath. Thereupon,

he was disqualified from receiv-

ing benefits for a 10-week period

for refusing suitable work with-

out good cause.

By his own efforts, Syrek there-

after secured a job as a multilith

operator. Three days later, he

_Wwas told the company required

all its employees to sign an ex-

purgatory non-disloyalty oath.

Syrek refused and was discharg-

ed. When he atempted to file for

unemployment benefits, he was

Loyalty Oath Brief Filed

told he was ineligible on the

ground that the combination: of

his refusal of public and private

employment requiring loyalty

oaths made him unavailable for

work.

The ACLU brief, written by

Staff Counsel Albert M. Bendich,

argues that public employment is

so different in character from

private employment (there is no

right to, strike, no right to en-

gage in political campaigns, etc.),

that persons who refuse to avail

themselves of it ought not to be

penalized by being deprived of

unemployment benefits.

As to the private loyalty oath,

the brief argues that unless there

is some reason for the Govern-

ment to require a loyalty oath, as,

for example, where the job re-

quires handling of classified ma-

terial, in which case the work is

more similar to public than

private employment, the denial

of benefits is an unconstitutional

infringement upon freedom of

speech and assembly and a de-

privation of due process and

equal protection. -

The decision is scheduled for

announcement December 20.

| ge

Meeting

Is a Government agency taking

pictures of Univ. of California

students who have the courage to

attend street meetings at Sather

Gate? Is the purpose of this activ-

ity to scare students from attend-

ing these meetings? o o

Such questions arose recently -

when a representative of the

Socialist-Workers Party, Bogden

Denitch, spoke at Sather Gate. A

man was observed carrying a

brief case which had a hole in it.

As a result of playing.around in

the brief case he attracted a good

deal of attention. This caused

him to walk to a Ford car, where

he removed a camera from the

brief case and returned to the

meeting. At this point he started

taking pictures of the crowd.

According to The Daily Cali-

fornian, a reporter asked why he

was taking pictures. "I like to

take pictures," said the man, "it's

my hobby."

"Why doesn't your car have

any registration, and how come

you have a police radio?" the

reporter asked. "I didn't come in

a car, I came by street car," the

man responded. ;

"But we saw you' put your

brief case in a car - it was a

federal car, wasn't it? - and we

saw you take ,.. ," said the re-

porter. ! ;

"Did you touch that car?" the

man replied.

"Why," asked the reporter, "Is

it your car? We thought you came

by street car."

The conversation went along in

this vein and ended with the man

refusing to give an interview to

the reporter. Instead of returning

to his car, the man took a bus. (c)

After a while, however, he was -

observed returning to his car,

which reportedly bore California

license No. JBC 820, and Radio

Call No. KO88 in the ear.

Release J.W.

Convert in AF

`A Jehovah's Witness convert

who was imprisoned for refusing

to salute an Air Force officer

has been released from custody

and given an honorable dis-

charge - but without veteran's

benefits.

The airman, Orville Cupp, 20,

of Denver, was imprisoned last

Fail iat Fort Leavenworth, Kan-

sas. A review board changed his

discharge from dishonorable to

honorable in releasing him re-

cently, but denied him veterans'

rights.

The young serviceman was

sentenced to five years in jail

because he refused to salute an

officer and declined to carry out

this duties as ia gunnery officer.

He said this conflicted with the

teachings of. Jehovah's Witness-

/es, a religious group into which

he was baptized after entering

service. The review board later -

reduced the sentence to nine

months. ,

The American Civil Liberties

Union took part in a hearing at

Washington into the case. The

Union argued that Cupp's court-

martial violated his freedom of

religion as guaranteed by the

First Amendment. It said also

that the order demanding Cupp

train gunnery recruits was a trap

since his commander knew the

youth would not obey.

_ Cupp, who spent several hours

a day pressing clothes while in

prison, said he would "rather go

back' to prison tomorrow than

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 violate the `teachings of the

Bible."

The review board conceded

that Cupp was "sincere in his

religious beliefs" and that he was

not being malicious in commit-

ting the offenses. At `tthe same

time, it ruled that his First

Amendment rights had not been

violated and that his punishment

was not: excessive.

ACLU NEWS

December, 1957

Page 3

The problem of recitation of prayers in the public schools

has again cropped up, this time in the San Mateo City School

District. In at least two kindergarten classes at the Buena

Vista School, of which Miss Patricia Keating is principal, just

before milk time, the following verse is recited by the chil-

dren, some of whom put their

hands together:

God is great,

God is good,

Let us thank Him

For our food. ,

Attorney General's Opinion

The ACLU wrote to. Walter A.

Jack, Superintendent of Schools,

ealling attention to an opinion of

the California Attorney General,

handed down June 10, 1955,

which states as follows: "We be-

lieve that the former rulings of

this office are correct in holding

that classroom prayers, like class-

room Bible readings, would be

unconstitutional. It is true that

the great majority of our people

are Christians or Jews, so that

simple prayers to a Supreme Be-

ing would not be incompatible

with the views of most students

in the public schools. Neverthe-

less, even atheists and agnostics

are protected in their beliefs by

, the constitution ...

"For Atheist or agnostic child-

ren, daily prayers would be a con-

stant reminder of the conflict be-

tween home and school, and

might well be a disruptive ele-

ment which would weaken the

moral influence of parent and

teacher alike. In the last analysis,

it is one of the fundamentals of

American government that the

: home and church have total res-

_ ponsibility for the religious train-

ing of each child; the state may

not constitutionally intrude upon

that responsibility." ae

Change Agreed To

Supt. Jack responded by

telephoning the ACLU. In a con-

-versation with the Union's direc-

tor, he agreed to substitute two

poems for the prayers that were

being used. One of the prayers

that is in use give thanks to the

"Lord" (Mr. Jacks wouldn't com- -

mit himself on whether this

meant Jesus Christ), another re-

fers to "Dear Heavenly Father,"

while a third expresses thanks to

"Father."

Mr, Jack did send the ACLU

copies of two "Before Milk

Poems," one of which was a beau-

tiful poem called "Some Lovely

Things," which were substituted

for prayers which had been ob-

jected to. It developed, however,

that the ACLU had been misled.

and that the change was only for

a week. This was discovered when

`one of the complaining parents

visited the classroom and dis-

covered that a prayer was again

being recited. Mr. Jack now ad-

mits that the change was made

to show the ACLU that they used

a variety of "poems" in the kin-

dergarten and did not stress the

ones that referred to a Supreme

Being. Apparently the same pray-

ers are being used in other San

Mateo schools. :

The first right of a citizen

Is the right

To.be responsible. _ :

AMERICAN CIVIL

Miss Keating and Mr. Jack both

contended that the verses in'`ques-

tion do not fall in the category of

prayers, while the former sug-

gested that, in any case, the

verses Were non-denominational.

"Obviously," said the ACLU in

its complaint to Mr. Jack, "even

a non-denominational prayer

would offend the parents who

have no church affiliation and

who might be classed as agnostics

or atheists. Also, it is difficult for

me to accept the view that this

verse is not a prayer since it gives

thanks to a Supreme Being for

food that is about to be partaken.

Certainly

sense this would be regarded as a

prayer."

In the one instance, too, the

prayer is hardly non-denomina-

tional since it refers to the "Lord"

and thus is related merely to the

Christian faith.

What Is Prayer?

If Mr. Jack did not regard `the

particular verses as prayers, the

ACLU wanted to find out how

he defined the term. Did he con-

tend that you couldn't call some-

thing a prayer if it was written

in verse? But the superintendent

refused to commit himself. Also,

he said no one was going to tell

him what he should do. :

Mr. Jack promised to make a

written response to the ACLU's

complaint, dated October 1, af-

ter which an appeal will be taken

to the local Board of Education.

Move to End

Berkeley's Released

School Time Plan

The question of discontinuing

Berkeley's released school time

plan for religious instruction has

been under discussion `by PTA

groups during tthe past year.

Only 35% of the children in the

Sth and 6th grades have been given

consent by their parents to be

released one hour a week to at-

tend the religious classes.

`Parents have argued that such

small participation does not

warrant disruption of the school

program, and that, in any case,

religious training should be in-

dependent of the schools.

Under California law, which

has been upheld by the courts,

" Jocal boards may release children'

for religious education one hour

a week. In Oakland, Sacramento

and San Diego such programs

have been discontinued in recent

years. The movement to aban-

don Berkeley's program appears

to be gaining strength.

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503 Market Street

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in the conventional |

Meeting Honors

Dr. Meiklejohn

(Continued from Page 1)

in this issue of the "News."

Prof. Caldwell read the follow-

ing message from the former

Chairman of the Board, the Rt:

Rev. Edward L. Parsons: "I great-

ly regret that I am not. well

enough to be at the Annual Meet-

ing, but I am sure you will give

me the privilege of sending this

message of greeting, and adding

to it my word of warm congratu-

lation to Dr. Meiklejohn.

"We have rejoiced that he has.

been one of us; we Have been

proud to carry his name as one

of our officers. We have been

prouder of his leadership, of the

great service he has rendered the

cause of Civil Liberties. At a time

when most men are surrendering

active service, he is still fighting

in the vanguard. His vision is

clear, his words warm with the

fervor of youth. In honoring him

tonight we all join in the hope

that we may have many more

years of his leadership."

Check for $500 Presented

Prot. Caldwell presented to

Dr. Meiklejohn a check for $500

representing money contributed

by members of the Board of Di-

rectors for the `Alexander Mei-

klejohn Award for Academic

Freedom." The "Award" was es-

tablished last spring through a

gift to the American Association

of University Professors by alum-

ni and former faculty members

of the Experimental College at

Wisconsin University, which Dr.

Meiklejohn founded and directed.

The award willbe bestowed each

February to a resident or other

administrative officer, a member

of a board of trustees or a board

group, of an American college or

university.

Merryman Presides

The meeting was presided over

by Prof. John Henry Merryman,

Chairman of the ACLU's Board

of Directors. Mr. Merryman an-

alyzed the Supreme Court's de-

cision `in the Watkins case in

which Watkins rested upon the

First Amendment in refusing to

testify before the House Un-Am-

erican Activities Committee.

Ernest Besig, the ACLU'S local

director, reported on the state of

civil liberties in Northern Cali-

fornia. "The three principal civil

liberties issues in Northern Cali-

fornia during the past year," said

he, "have been McCarthyism, cen-

sorship and lawless police action,

while a fourth issue, that of rac-

ial segregation in the schools, is

looming in importance."

A very successful "coffee hour"

followed the meeting. -

Program Committee

The Program Committee for

the successful evening was com-

posed of Alice Heyneman, Chair-

man; Zora Cheever Gross, Theo-

dore Baer and Stephen Thier-

mann. .

Legislative

Inquiry on

Civil Liberties

A sub-committee of the Assem-

bly Judiciary Committee has.

been appointed "to inquire into

the field of constitutional

rights." : .

The following three San Fran-

cisco assemblymen were named

to the sub-committee by Bruce

F. Allen (Rep., Los Gatos),

- Chairman of the Judiciary Com-

mittee; John A. O'Connell

(Dem.), Chairman; Phillip Bur-

ton (Dem.), and. John a Buste-

rud (Rep.) :

The sub-committee will open

hearings in Los Angeles this

month on the question of modi-

fying the State's loyalty oath for

public employees. During the

1957 session of the State Legisla-

ture, O'Connell proposed a con-

stitutional amendment to repeal

the Levering Act oath. Burton is

also an outspoken opponent of

loyalty oaths. -

The O'Connell sub-committee

is also scheduled to inquire into .

the problem of illegally pro-'

cured evidence in court proceed-

ings.

Further hearings of the sub-

committee are expected to be

- held in San Francisco early in

the new year.

Fired Marin

reaches a decision on dismissal

a @

"Ui lic acn

`The ACLU Illinois Division last month protested to Chi-

cago school officials against the erection by the Lakeview

High Schcol of Chicago of a large Creche and a large Meno-

rah on its grounds during the holiday season. The ACLU con-

tended that such a sectarian display violated constitutional

provisions of separation of

Church and State.

Letter to Superintendent

For the ACLU, Byron Miller,

ACLU Consultant on Separation

of Church and State, sent the

following letter to Superinten-

dent of Schools Willis:

" "Last year at this time we

wrote to your staff with respect _

to the display of a large Creche

iat the Lakeview High School?

suggesting that the display seem-

ed to infringe constitutional pro-

visions requiring the .exclusion

of sectarian religious matter

from public schools.

"At that time certain of your

assistants responded that the -dis-

play of the Creche and of Meno-

rah merely evidence `a desire to

join with many groups .. . in ob-

servance that has no particular

religion or sect in mind.'

Schools Must Refrain

ficult to give any weight to the

suggestion by your staff that the

Nativity Scene is not an obser-

vance with particular and exclu-

sive meaning to Christians or

that the Menorah is not an ob-

servance of particular and ex-

clusive meaning to the Jews. Any

inference, that giving equal at-

tention to more than one reli-

gion is all that is required has

been flatly rejected by the

United States Supreme Court.

"The presence of the Creche

and the Menorah on _ public

grounds tends to involve the pub-

lic school in the meaning of sec-

tarian religious symbols which it

is not equipped to teach and to

promote and emphasize religious

differences with strong emotion-

al attachments which result in

unnecessary divisiveness among

the children and interfere with

the principal educational objec-

tive. This is unwise educational

policy, an infringement of the

right of the churcltt and the

home to deal exclusively with

these matters and a violation of

constitutional prohibitions em-

bodying the wiser principle of

separation of church and state.

"Our Board has just reviewed

this correspondence and _ has

asked me to point out that as a

result of the constitutional pro-

visions on separation of church

and state the public schools are

required to refrain from activ-

ities of, a sectarian religious na-

ture despite the popularity of

such activities in a wide range

of private, non-governmental

_groups. Furthermore, it is dif-

Controversy Flares

"The federal and state consti-

tutional requirements of separa-

tion were born of bitter contro-

versy sparked by government

action in the area of private re-

ligious belief; when public

schools depart from these re-

quirements such controversy

flares anew. (c)

"We trust that you will be able

to prevent such difficulties by

enforcing compliance with legal

requirements and discontinuing

these sectarian displays at Lake-

view High School this year."

Object to Cross

In State Emblem

The Minnesota branch of the

American Civil Liberties Union

has expressed "serious question"

as to the constitutionality of in-

eluding a cross in the state's

centennial emblem.

In a letter to Governor Orville -

Freeman, the Minnesota ACLU

has requested the attorney-gen-

eral's ruling on the matter. The

group said it would determine

its "proper course of action"

after the ruling. A state legisla-

tive committee also held hear-

ings on the matter, and the Min-

nesota ACLU is awaiting its re-

port. :

Opposition to the cross' in-

clusion on grounds that it vio- -

lates the separation of church

and state was voiced by represen- .

tatives of several organizations-

including Minnesota ACLU-at a

hearing before the emblem com-

mission subcommittee.

The emblem celebrates 100

years of Minnesota statehood,

from 1858 to 1958, and will be

used commercially on car stick-

ers, signs and other displays

throughout the coming year.

In another action involving the

question of church and state

separation, the Minnesota ACLU

sent letters to the State Commis-

sioner of Education and to the

Superintendent of Schools at St.

Paul, inquiring about the distri-.

bution of Gideon Bibles in public

schools. . :

The Union pointed out that a ~

New Jersey Supreme Court de-

cision in 1954 banned such dis-

tribution by the Gideon Society

and that the U.S. Supreme Court

has refused to review the issue.

Teacher Put

To Work

Edward L. Hanchett, 45-year-

old Marin county school teacher,

who was fired on October 22 for

refusing to answer questions of (c)

the House Committee on Un-

American Activities at its San

Francisco hearings last June, has

been returned to the payroll to

help plan the Dixie School Dis-

trict's science program. He will

remain on the job until the Ma-

rin County Superior Court

proceedings filed in that court..

Dennie B. Willis, Superinten-

dent of Schools for the district,

said he had been given a peti-

tion supporting Hanchett signed

by 573 residents, besides receiv-

ing 30 letters urging Hanchett's.

retention. (c) :

Under the State's Dilworth

Act, teachers who refuse to an-

swer questions about their poli-

tieal associations since October

3, 1945 are subject to dismissal

for insubordination. In the John

`Mass case, still pending in the

courts, the State Supreme Court

held that the teacher must be

permitted to explain why he re-

fused to answer questions. The

legal sufficiency `of such an ex-

planation, the Dixie School Dis-

trict trustees felt, was a matter

for the courts to determine.

Hanchett has been teaching

the seventh grade at the Mary

E. Silveira School in Marinwood

under a one-year contract. Even

if the court decides the case in

his favor, the school trustees

would have to decide next May

whether to rehire him for an-

other year.

The Marin Chapter of the

ACLU has urged the trustees not

to dismiss Hanchett and to judge

him on the basis of his teaching.

At last June's Un-American

Activities hearings, Hanchett tes-

tified that he had not"been a

member of the Communist Party

since 1951, but he refused to an-

swer other questions. Hanchett

.said he refused to answer be-

cause he didn't want to "name

persons I believed to be inno-

cent."

cent

ACLU NEWS

December, 1957

Page 4