Open forum, vol. 12, no. 45 (November, 1935)

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inf vol. XIL- LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, NOVEMBER 9, 1935 No. 45

ery ---

MOONEY'S ATTORNEYS MOBILIZE

20m BA LDWIN ANSWERS HEARST TELLING TESTIMONY AT HEARING

new A two-weeks' recess has been taken in

the We have already used considerable their conception of Americanism is the Mooney habeas corpus hearing at San

'Mf} gyace in previous issues to answer the vile disloyal to democratic processes. It Francisco. When Referee Shaw calls the

Novy charges put forth by the_ Hearst press smacks of the philosophy of the Fas- session to order again on Monday, Novem-

4} against the American Civil Liberties Union. cist state, which suppresses all opposi- ber 18th, it is expected that Deputy At-

tro! the following comments on this sort of tion. The American Civil Liberties coe G eenle cl 11 Feta li

"Olt propaganda by Roger N. Baldwin, founder Union has never failed to defend loy- Pate hae ae cal y Wi ee

fr'! and present national director of the A.-C.. ally the American tradition of freedom the witnesses for the other side.

L, U., will make oper ce ee eee ce of poe for ~ without discrim- Last week the hearing was resumed in

andy ism of our organization an e contemp- ination. e would even defend the ans ;

sin! tible tactics of Hearst and his satellites: right of the Hearst press to attack us, map. Bt neo ree a"week pens in. Oregon

ek "The Hearst press all over the coun- if that should conceivably be neces- and Wyoming quizzing Witheeees `who Pee

lev se try has been recently kicking up a sary. fused to appear at San Francisco. `Signifi-

cand | great to-do about the alleged Com- cant testimony was adduced during this

gt) munism of the American Civil Liber- LIBERTY LEAGUE ASKED TO seventh week's inquiry. For instance, Oli-

i ties Union, parading the evidence in HELP DEFEND CIVIL LIBERTY V0x00B0! O. Baisley of Durkee, Oregon, the home

My an editorial entitled `Unmasked. town of Oxman, whose testimony convicted

an "That editorial makes two pone: ae pl ae abies aa Mooney, told about a letter to District At-

stor ea ae We Pee . been submitted to the American Liberty poreay re Bee asking for $2500 to put him

ges | POT GU cluimene. whit 46 ade League with a request for assistance in leg- (c) te Sot eh nee a ae explo-

re en sd aeeond. that fie director al defense by the American Civil Liberties erate `la T "k We, ae th ae been

ting | eT Wiad fan Prot bene Bridie Union in a letter signed by Arthur Garfield Written by ae `3 "fh 8, et whom Ox-

i erandey, of free speboh tor all-is Hays, general counsel. The letter wassent 4" Was negouating tor a loan,

a" in fact a Communist, which is denied. 2 ute ei Beck, ee - By Pencuor jae H. Smith testified that Mrs.

s ; 2 eneral and new spokesman for the Liber- e ; ;

In regard to the first point, nothing -_-ty League, who last week had declared that Binns wore ae come ieee suitenge Me

the, need to be said except that the Amer- the National Lawyers' Committee was will- the corner of Market and Steuart Streets

rayp eam tradition of ce liberty es ing to defend the rights of any citizen with- July 22nd, 1916. He was positive on this

mee ta pepsin to all gruupe, whee queens. point and could not he shaken hy any

ents | bli ` fondest Pie ab "In a variety of cases," Mr. Hays de-- amount of cross-examination. However,

in' ct or `ipa , ec. Th, cA ee clared, "we find that wherever-the emo- he could not recall clearly a remark which

roll af ' fi "Y eee Ee Bar ieee tions of a community are aroused, the he is said to have made to the effect that

| a line shea oe Nate eat cece rights of the individual are violated. The Fickert once told him, "You would make a

ical ee canishing epee Riverine ae defendants are usually humble persons and damned good witness for the defense;

ot he Be acai: Faticuting Peoaments often dissenters from established Institu- don't say anything about this." W. J. Pet-

t in That i i ns chi ats : tions. It is rare that property questions erson, Chief of Police in Oakland at the

four av als: tnoroug aly un-samerican. arise. I have no doubt that you asalaw- time of the explosion, declared Mrs.

! "As to the. second point, I may yer and lover of the Constitution are quite Edeau's perjury was "common knowledge'"'

ay) be permitted to speak personally. as much exercised about violations of the to both the police department and the

vith lam not and never have been a mem- Bill of Rights, so far as they apply to per- district attorney's office.

~ | ber of the Communist Party. My goal sonal liberty, as by violations when they

and method, political and economic, concern property in general. I am, there- Mike McIntosh, the Southerner with a

Vil) is based wholly on reducing and fore, writing this letter of inquiry, as it elightful drawl, created considerable

Ut) ultimately abolishing all violence in would be very helpful in our work to be /aughter in the courtroom by his manner-

7 human relations. I am sympathetic able to call upon men of standing such as {Sms and the repeated use of the word,

/0x2122) with the economic system being work- you represent, to join us in defending the `"danged." He declared that Mike Burke,

| eurocentd out in Soviet Russia. I believe in most fundamental liberties of American 2 Policeman, Martin Swanson and John

a the economic goal of communism- citizens." ak E. oe for aS ve bees

metering. $ Sommais she Se yer Bins e and a motorcycle cop known.familiarly as

world's wealth. "To my mind. there is a cs ape . oe eae qbilly Bow-legs'' all offered him bribes-

no higher ethical principle than that (1) Questions arise of fair trial before $300 or a partnership in an auto business

att Which marks the ethics, not of politi- an impartial judge and an impartial JULY. -if he would testify as they desired. That

sich cal communism as it is understood to- Often these cases ae the South where is, they wanted him to identify a man he

`ost 2Y, but of communism in its early a Negro is the defendant and Negroes are had seen in June, 1915, at San Bruno near

vet? -CAtistian sense-`From each accord- barred from juries. a suitcase full of dynamite, as Mooney. He

will ,28 to his ability; to each according to "(2) Questions arise under the inter- Said, "They worked on me one at a time;

thet is needs.' pretation of the so-called criminal syndical- they kept on and on and on"'-but he wonld

fall," "The Hearst papers to prove me a ist, sedition and insurrection laws, where be danged" if he would identify a man he

30 Political Communist, quote from an such laws are misused in order to `get' knew he had never seen before.

| rticle written for a private Harvard people whose opinions are unpopular or Altogether, it would seem as though

: lass Book in which I stated, in ex- who belong to minority races or groups. Mooney's attorneys during the seven weeks

i plaining my economic philosophy, that "(3) Questions arise concerning the that the case has been in progress had pre-

B epee) is the goal.' It was used reading of the Bible in the public schools, sented a series of witnesses whose testi-

} te eee omc not political sense, and where, contrary to the Constitution as it mony has completely riddled any thread of

wie hit ollowed by a clear definition seems to us, either a Catholic or Protest- evidence that remained against the famous

a ` leh. the Hearst papers were careful ant Bible is the one used, thus establishing prisoner-but whether the Supreme Court

"|p ean: ee ee ee poe a religious preference. will look at the matter in this way is quite

oof eon unides vechick' we Hive. ""(4) We have cases of unreasonable eee ee:

`$ | and the substitution by the most of. seizures where the authorities, without

a FE Cctive non-violence possible of a sys- eee pnt aes "s Tipe tated ably St ae A. C. L. U. RALLIES AHEAD

2) pee fy Httve ownership end ude AM eo eeane _ Two more American Civil Liberties; Un-

. cr ae HESS aE aS te tek epithe adn GAEMG Ta haem athe rallies in Southern California have just

| Suppose anyone tempering his (5) MG Cc , Sp been arranged for-one at San Diego,Tues-

fl i aMguage to the winds of reaction where continually cases arise that involve day evening, November 26th, and the other

E eet he should never have used Siena: of peaceful assemblage and of a aoe eer Tuesday evening aa

a , Asm In any sense, even in a eels er 3rd. Full announcement o: e exac

a 0x2122 evate Harvard Class Book. But I "(6) The rights of free speech and as-_ places where these rallies will be held and

oo e os hot given to being canny. semblage are generally violated as applied the program to be run off at each will be

ae ee main point the American Civil to radicals or other unpopular groups made shortly. Friends of freedom in or

i.

a ki i

"a

0x2122 ee ts

alle les Union stresses in answer to

critics as the Hearst press is that

through discrimination in the denial of per-

mits for public meetings and parades."'

near these two cities will please note the

dates and plan to be present.

ae

a wee Ser

Se

' of Commerce to its members.

THE OPEN FORUM

Published every Saturday at 624 American Bank

Building, 129 West Second Street

Los Angeles, California, by the Southern California

Branch of The American Civil Liberties Union.

Phone: TUcker 6836

MUMRMIRRNO PIED i aot cs ee Editor

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Upton Sinclair Kate Crane Gartz

Doremus Scudder A. L. Wirin

Leo Gallagher Ethelwyn Mills Ernest Besig

John Packard Edwin P. Ryland

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Entered as second-class matter Dec. 13, 1924, at the

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LOS ANGELES, CALIF., NOV. 9, 1935

_ VIGILANTISM PSYCHOLOGY

The following `News Letter' was recent-

ly sent out by the San Francisco Chamber

Our read-

ers will get from it something of the psy-

chology that lies back of vigilantism in

California:

"California labor, speaking officially,

threatens to lose its patience if red-bait-

ing, vigilante attacks and tar-and-feather

parties continue. These activities, it says,

are un-American. There's no doubt of it,

they are. But are they more un-American

than the outrages that incited them?

"When California agriculturists, offering

the highest farm wages ever paid anywhere

in the world, saw their unharvested crops

rotting on the trees and in-the fields while

alien agitators resorted to violence to keep

- honest men and women from working,

they `lost their patience' and took intouwlmeir

own hands the iaw which should otherwise

have been enforced. -Of course they were

wrong.

"When an aroused neighboring com-

munity lost its patience and threatened:

San Franciso's number one destructionist

with a taste of his own violence if he kept

an announced speaking engagement there,

it was wrong. But the engagement was

quickly called off.

"When armed hoodlums cruised our

streets in stolen automobiles, hurled creo-

sote bombs into homes, capsized trucks and

spread lawless, bloody terror throughout

the city, the patience of ordinarily law-

abiding people was exhaused and the nests

of alien radicals were raided and destroy-

ed.

"We are in sympathy with the stand of

Jabor in deploring violence, and we hope

that, if and when it rises to suppress it, it

will go to the very root of it. We cheer its

avowed intention to purge its ranks, here

in California, of foreign trouble-makers

who are enemies of our country, our laws,

our peace and our traditions, and we be-

heve that the decent element of labor can

and will do it. If it does, it will remove

the cause of savage lawlessness that comes

when men and communities are aroused

to defend, by force, their property and

their rights."'

"THE PRESS-PROPAGANDA OR

PUBLIC INTEREST ?"'

A Lecture by

Bruce Bliven

Managing-Editor of "The New Republic'

at the

Figueroa Play House

938 South Figueroa Street

AUSPICES THE MODERN FORUM

427 West 5th Street Telephone MUtual 0048

Prices: 50cent - '%5e = and "+ $1.00

APPEALS FOR MISS TODD

To every reader of The Open Forum:

You are as much against having anyone

imprisoned for his beliefs as I am. Yet

a sentence of one to fourteen years at

Tehachapi faces a young, sick girl I know,

Louise Todd, because she happens to have

been active in getting the Communist

Party on the ballot. It was on the basis

of a minor technicality in connection with

the petitions that she was convicted; yet it

is quite obvious to all who know of the fre-

quency of such technical infringements of

the strict letter of the law and the rarity of

any arrests or convictions therefor that

young, sick Louise Todd is being savagely

punished for her beliefs only. If you be-

lieve in having the orderly, peaceful pro-

cesses of democracy open to all who choose

to use them, without fear of reprisals, and

if you believe as I do that the denying of

such rights tends to bring about the very

violence we all decry and deplore, then

you should sit down at once without delay

and write:

1. George McNulty, Adult Probation

Department, 333 Kearny Street, San Fran-

cisco, requesting probation for Miss Todd;

and

2. Write Judge Harris, City Hall, San

Francisco, complimenting him on granting

Miss Todd's motion for a hearing for pro-

bation.

Send copies of both letters to Miss

Todd's attorney, George B. Anderson, 580

Market St., San Franciso. The probation

hearing is to be held Wednesday, Novem-

ber 8th at ten A. M. before Judge Harris

in the court of Judge Robinson, San Fran-

cisco, at the City, Hall.-K.C.G.

BLIVEN LECTURE IN L. A.

Bruce Bliven, managing-editor of The

New Republic, will be the next decturer in

the Modremertm "course. Wednesday

nigshes, November 13th, he will speak at the

"Pigueroa Playhouse, 938 South Figueroa

Street, on the subject: "The Press-Pro-

paganda or Public Interest?"

Patrons of the course should note the

change of place, as this lecture was origin-

ally advertised to be held in the First Uni-

tarian Church.

Bliven is an important figure in the liter-

ary life of America and will doubtless be

heard by a large audience. He will discuss

such matters as ``Who Controls Public

Opinion," "How Newspapers should be

Read" and ``How to Keep the Sources of

Information Undefiled."'

`Urecmmaae,

Hard Times Offer

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are going to make you a veryspecial offer-THE

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. 7

CLOSING OF "TOBACCO ROAD"

SCORED BY NATIONAL Counc,

The closing of "Tobacco Road" in Chie

cago was scored as "`a shocking display of F

personal prejudice" in a telegram to Mayop |

Edward Kelly sent last week by the Nation, |

al Council of Freedom from Censgorshj, |

unit of the American Civil Liberties Un.

ion. Signing the telegram for the Counc} a

were Fannie Hurst, writer, Barrett Clark |.

playwright, Elmer Rice, playwright, and f

Arthur Garfield Hays, attorney. .

`The telegram follows:

Closing "Tobacco Road"' a shocking dig.

play of personal prejudice and _ ingultip

reflection on District Attorneys and Police

of New York and a dozen other cities wher, |

no interference has occurred. Is Chicago |

public so immature it cannot stand a reg).

istic social drama endorsed by clergymey

and critics? We are directing our Chicago

representatives to cooperate with pro.

ducers' attorneys in court test of your auto.

cratic censorship."'

The producers won the first round of

their fight against the censorship ban whey

Federal Judge William H. Holly issued |

temporary injunction restraining the city and

from molesting the show. An argument

on the granting of a permanent order will |

be held this week. It is understood that )

a similar fight will be undertaken in De.

troit. ; ;

fee

See et

Pe Ee ee

MORE TOLERANCE AT U. C. L. A,

The officials in control of the students |

organization at the University of Southem

California have completely banned the Na (R)

tional Students League from the campus 0x00A7

of U. 8S. C. An entirely different. policy 0x00A7

has been determined upon at the University 7

of California at Los Angeles. There the #

Student Council, after a five hours' session 7

discussing the matter, voted to hear mem- |)

bers of the National Students League in |

open forum assemblies to be held from time

to time. Such questions as the following F

will be debated: "Should R. O. T. C. Be @

Abolished?" "What are the Causes of 0x00A7

War?" and "Is There a Non-Violent Solu

tion: ?'2 4 and E

The student body president, Tom Lam- F

bert, who it will be remembered, was ous

ted from the university last fall for his so

called radicalism, has been instrumental 7

in bringing about a better opportunity for F

free discussion of vital topics on the cam-

pus. :

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