Open forum, vol. 21, no. 39 (September, 1944)

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Free Speech : Free Press : Free Assemblage

"Eternal vigilance ia the price of liberty'-John Philpot Currea

ne

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, SEPT. 23, 1944

VOL. XXI.

ATTY. GEN. BIDDLE REPORTS ON

VIOLATIONS OF S.S.A.

Attorney General Francis Biddle recently

announced that convictions for violations of

the Selective Service Act totaled 4,756 dur-

ing the fiscal year ending June 30, 1944.

This was an increase of 554 over the pre-

ceding year and brought to 10,872 the

total number of convictions since the Act

became effective in October, 1940.

On the basis of a report by Assistant

Attorney General Tom C. Clark, in charge

of the Criminal Division, the Attorney Gen-

eral said that the principal offense was

failure to report for induction, for which

there were 2,159 convictions during the

year. Other important categories were fail-

ure to return questionnaire, filing of false

statements; failure to report for physical

examination and failure to report for work

of national importance. Forty-five persons

were convicted for counseling or aiding

evasion.

"The slight increase in the number of

convictions should not be interpreted as a

growing resistance on the part of our young

men to military service," the Attorney Gen-

eral said.

"Actually, the record is one of which

we can be proud. Those who have had

to be punished for violation of the Act

represent not more than one out of every

3,000 men eligible for service. I doubt

that that record can be surpassed by any

other country in the world."

The Attorney General added that the

number of convictions would have shown

a slight decrease during the year instead

of an increase had it not been for the re-

fusal of the members of a religious sect,

the Jehovah's Witnesses, to cooperate with

the administration of the Act. He said

that members of this group refuse to per-

form either military service or the alterna-

tive civilian work provided for conscien-

tious objectors, relying on the claim that

they are all entitled to the complete ex-

emption provided for ministers of religion.

"Persons claiming conscientious objec-

tion as their grounds for violations of the

Act account for approximately one-half of

those convicted during the year,'' Mr. Bid-

dle said. "Eighty percent of these are

Jehovah's Witnesses.

"Tt should be clearly understood that

conscientious objection to war is not a pun-

ishable offense. The law makes ample pro-

visions for those having bona fide religious

scruples against military service. They

have the privilege either of entering non-

combatant branches of the service or of

performing civilian work of national im-

portance. It is only when they persist,

in the face of these provisions, in violating

the law that they are punished."

The report states that of the total of

4,756 convictions during the year, 2,292

were of persons claiming to be conscien-

tious objectors. Of this number, 1,826, or

approximately 80 percent, were Jehovah's

Witnesses. There were in addition 17 Ne-

gro "Moslems," 240 representing various

other religious groups, 93 with no definite

(Continued on Page 2, Col. 3)

No, 3cent

MORE JAPANESE EVACUEES

RE-ENTER PROSCRIBED ZONE

Miss Takei Welcomed as Student at Pasadena Junior College; Four Poston Girls

Return for Methodist Conference.

More and more Japanese evacuees are

returning to the proscribed West Coast

as time passes. For instance, last week

Esther Takei from the War Relocation

Center at Granada, Colo., arrived in Pasa-

dena to resume her interrupted education

at the Pasadena Junior College. Maj. Gen.

Charles Bonesteel, in charge of the Western

Defense Command, granted her permission

to return.

Formerly Miss Takei lived in Venice,

Calif., and graduated with honor from the

high school of that city. She was given a

hearty welcome to Pasadena by representa-

tives of the Friends of the American Way,

an organization which has worked courage-

ously to break down prejudice against the

evacuees, and which obtained special per-

mission for Miss Takei's return. A dele-

gation from the college Student Christian

Association also was present to help make

her welcome more cordial. Dr. E. C. Farn-

ham, executive secretary of the Los Angeles

Church Federation received Miss Takei in-

to his home as a guest when she first ar-

rived. During her student days here she

will reside with Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Ander-

son of Altadena, the city adjoining Pasa-

dena on the north.

Dr. John W. Harbeson, head of the Pasa-

dena Junior College, when asked his opin-

ion of allowing Japanese evacuees to come

back to this area to reenter our educational

institutions, stated that his college is open

to all citizens who have the proper pre-

liminary qualifications for entry.

Other Japanese Entrants

Earlier this month four Japanese girls

from Poston, Ariz. W.R.A. Center were

granted military permits to come to Camp

Radford near San Bernardino to attend a

Methodist Youth Conference,

Besides the above-mentioned cases many

others could be cited-hundreds, in fact-

in which persons of Japanese ancestry have

been allowed to come into the coastal area

in recent weeks, proving that the Army

no longer considers that military necessity

demands evacuees who have been found

loyal should be excluded from this zone.

Taking into consideration these admis-

sions and all other facts bearing on the

situation, it would now appear that before

many weeks have passed all restrictions

will have been done away with and the

evacuees allowed the same freedom of

travel and residence that they enjoyed be-

fore they were herded into the various

centers in 1942. The ACLU, Southern Calif.

Branch, rejoices in this trend of events

as it marks the return to Constitutional

sanity and racial tolerance in this Pacific

Coast area.

Register Speaks Out Bravely

Most of the California newspapers are

still hostile to the return of the Japanese,

but occasionally a sheet speaks out on the

other side. In an editorial entitled, `"The

Sooner the Better," the `Santa Ana Regis-

ter,' leading newspaper of Orange County,

Calif., recently said:

``Attorney General Biddle said it is up

to the Army whether the American Japan-

ese are permitted to return to the west

coast. It seems stretching the case a good

ways to give the Army this authority.

Especially is this true since we are driving

the Japanese Navy to cover.

"As a matter of fact we should never

have moved the Japanese from their homes

and their work. It was un-American, un-

constitutional and un-Christian. Real de-

mocracy, Christianity and Americanism

means that people must live a dangerous

life. They must have faith in other people

and be willing to take risks. We should

have been willing to take the risk that

possibly a few Japanese might have caused

a disturbance.

"But since we have made a serious mis-

take, the sooner we correct it the better.

There is no excuse whatever now for keep-

ing the Japanese in detention camps. They

are entitled to the same protection by the

government as every other citizen no mat-

ter what race or color."

This editorial has the right ring, and if

the press were doing its duty in this crucial

hour there would be many more such ut-

terances in California, Oregon and Wash-

ington. J. Frank Burke, editor of the air

on KPAS, was formerly editor of the

(Continued on Page 2, Col. 1)

CASES AGAINST ALLEGED BRUTAL

COPS DISMISSED

Police Judge Frank H. Lowe of Glendale,

on motion of Deputy District Attorney

Charles V. Kearney, has dismissed the

cases against seven police officers charged

with brutality against prisoners. This fol-

lowed the recent acquitting of officers

Laas and Porier on similar charges.

Thus goes by the board the attempt to

mete out to lawless police suitable penal-

ties for taking the law into their own

hands by trying to force `"`confessions" from

prisoners who would not willingly talk.

While the trial of Laas and Porier was

on, Kearney had told the court that fellow

officers had perjured themselves in order

to protect their accused pals on the police

force. But nothing further came of this.

Perjury is a pretty serious crime. If Mr.

Kearney had evidence that substantiated

his statement, why did he not seek to get

the officers in question indicted and tried?

Alas, too many of our public officials

treat police brutality and allied crimes too

lightly. And by so doing lawless cops are

encouraged to continue their devilish prac-

tices and law enforcement is reproached,

connate ipaaletheetias anatase

THE OPEN FORUM

Published every Saturday at 501 Douglas Building,

257 South Spring Street, Los Angeles 12, California by

Civil Liberties Union. Phone: Michigan 9708

Editor

Clinton J. Taft

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Upton Sinclair Kate Crane Gartz

A. A. Heist A. L. Wirin

John Packard

Subscription Rates-One Dollar a Year. Five Cents

per Copy. In bundles of ten or more to one address,

Two Cents Each, if ordered in advance.

Advertising Rateg on Request

Entered as second-class matter Dec. 13,

1924, at the port office of Los Angeles,

California, under the Act of March 3, 1879.

a 58

LOS ANGELES, CALIF., SEPT. 23, 1944

ACLU URGES ADOPTION OF

PERMANENT FEPC BILL

In an effort to bring about the perman-

ent establishment of the Fair Employment

Practice Committee, the A.C.L.U. last week

addressed telegrams to members of the

House and Senate urging them to complete

hearings on the FERC bill which had been

postponed until after election, reading thus:

"`Lhis important legislation is of such vital

concern to all minority groups it should

not be held up for political expediency.

The nobility of our war aims should be

equalled by the democratic concepts of

our domestic post-war legislation. Certain-

ly the abolition of racial discrimination

envisaged by the Fair Kkmployment Frac-

tice Committee bill is one ot the ideals to

which this country is committed. Failure

to enact the bill may lead only to racial

tensions and break taith with our minor-

ities."'

(Continued trom Page 1, Col. 3)

"Santa Ana Kegister' and while serving

in this capacity he ran the paper in the

interest oi tair play and progress. We are

glad to note that his successor is apparently

continuing the same policy.

Initiative Measure Flops

Californians seeking signatures to get an

initiative measure on the November ballot

strengihening the State's alien land law

failed to secure enough names on their

petition. The present law, passed in 1920,

and amended since, prohibits any alien who

is ineligible to United States citizenship

(theretore including Japanese aliens) trom

owning any land in California and from

- leasing agricultural land. `lhose authori-

ties who uphold the law declare Japanese

have evaded it by registering deeds in the

names of their American-born children,

who are citizens.

Figures on the effort to get names on

the petition, announced by the Secretary

of State of California, brought a comment

from Mrs. Ruth Kingman, executive secre-

tary of the Pacific Coast Committee on

American Principles and Fair Play. She

said:

"Many people who just after Pearl Harbor

were quite agitated over the question of

loyalty of Japanese Americans have had

their minds changed by the fine records

made by these Japanese Americans in the

Italian campaign and by the absence of

sabotage."'

`The ACLU test cases in the Federal

Court at Los Angeles, challenging the con-

stitutionality of further enforcement of the

military exclusion orders, are set for hear-

ing next Monday, Sept. 25, before Judges

Peirson M. Hall and Benjamin Harrison.

The Ochikubo case will be heard at 10

A.M. and the Yamamoto case at 2 P.M.

JUSTICE MURPHY TELLS HOW

TO ELIMINATE PREJUDICE

AGAINST MINORITY GROUPS

Associate Justice Frank Murphy of the

U.S. Supreme Court has demonstrated his

liberalism again and again since he took

a seat on the high bench. Now he is mak-

ing a tour of the country speaking against

racial prejudice. Last week he addressed

several meetings here in California, and

those who heard him declare that his words

were powerful and penetrating. A sample

of what he said is given in the following

quotations:

"Love and compassion in the human

heart is really what rules us. The law is

for few of us, really-the exceptions. There

is something beautiful about standing for

a minority group. May I say that even the

Japanese should not be discriminated a-

gainst because of their blood. Several mi-

nority groups have been abused. It just

so happens that Hitler made anti-Semitism

an instrument of international power pol-

itics. Here in America there is not one of

us but belongs. to a minority group. We

are a people of minority groups. ...

"We must not forget what democracy is.

Oh, don't modify or give up trial by jury.

That was one of the first things to go in

Fascist countries. And guard well the ed-

itor who doesn't like you, or whose opin-

ions you don't share. And that little fel-

low on the soap box. Let him speak too."

As to maintaining freedom in this coun-

try, in accordance with the provisions of

the BILL OF RIGHTS, Justice Murphy of-

fered the following practical suggestions:

"We can consciously strive to eradicate

from our hearts and minds every vestige

of racial and religious prejudice and hat-

red.

"We can call upon our government to

provide full and complete protection of life,

liberty, freedom of worship and civil rights

for all our inhabitants, whatever may be

their distinctions as to birth, color, nation-

ality, race or religion.

``Through our government's and our own

behavior, we can guarantee the equality

of opportunity in law and in fact for all

inhabitants.

"We can respect and guarantee the right

of all religious, ethnic and cultural groups

to maintain and foster their: respective

group identities and to engage in their

own beliefs and practices so long as the

public interest is not adversely affected.

"We can work toward the realization of

full economic security for all the people

of the United States, recognizing as we

do that man at heart is good, and only

resorts to acts of intolerance against mi-

nority or scapegoat groups of people when

he feels his ability to provide a decent

livelihood for his family is jeopardized.

"We can establish, if necessary, appro-

priate and adequate machinery in every

local community, no matter how remote, to

secure protection against the curtailment

of our fundamental rights."

LEGAL STENOGRAPHER WANTED

WANTED: Competent full-time stenog-

rapher, preferably one with legal steno-

graphic experience, and with general sym-

pathy for work of A.C.L.U., by Attorneys

A. L. Wirin and J. B. Tietz. Compensa-

`tion and working conditions per current

union standards. Communicate with Mr.

Tietz, 257 South Spring Street, Los Angeles

12, California. Telephone MIchigan 9708.

L. A. POLICE COMMISSION MOVES TO

CURB POLICE BRUTALITY

Attorney J. Ray Files, member of the

Los Angeles Police Commission, has taken

the initiative in the ``police brutality" prob-

lem, approaching it from a new angle. Last

week Tuesday he introduced the following

succinct resolution at a regular session of

the Commission:

"Be it resolved by the Police Commission

that it is the sense of this board that the

police officers are public servants and that

at any cost to themselves should protect

the public interest.by giving testimony any-

where, anytime, that the public interest

may demand; that any police officer claim-

ing constitutional immunity in order to

protect himself from incrimination violates

the propriety of his office and forfeits the

confidence and respect of the community.

He should be promptly discharged and the

City Charter should so provide.''

When the resolution was introduced a

number of representative citizens were

present prepared to offer their opinions in

favor of its passage. Included were Earl C.

Craig, chairman of the Thursday Evening

Forum; Arthur Pratt, president of the Mu-

nicipal League of Los Angeles; and J. B.

Tietz, attorney for the ACLU. However,

none of the members of the commission ex-

pressed any opposition to the resolution

of Mr. Files and it was adopted unanimous-

ly, with no comment other than that from

the members themselves.

Mr. Files stated that. the Police Com-

mission has no direct disciplinary authority

over the police force. This is due to an

amendment to the City Charter that de-

prives this body of such power. :

"The Open Forum" urges its readers

to write immediately or phone at least one

councilman urging that a charter amend-

ment be placed on the ballot at the next

election requiring all city employees, in-

cluding police officers, to testify in crim-

inal cases before the Grand Jury or any

Municipal, Superior or Federal court, or

resign their positions in the city govern-

ment.

This important charter amendment will

give great help in controlling police brutal-

ity and corruption in government.

City Councilmen |

Parley C. Christensen

Delamere Francis McCloskey

John C. Holland

Harold Harby

Floyd G. Davies

Ira J. McDonald

Ned R. Healy

Charles A. Allen

J. Win Austin

John W. Baumgartner

Carl C. Rasmussen

Earl C. Gay

Robert L. Burns

G. Vernon Bennett

George Moore

MI. 5211 is the telephone number for all

these men.

(Continued from page 1, Col. 1)

religious affiliations, and 116 with philo-

sophical, political or other non-religious

bases for their objection. Many among these

last groups did not claim conscientious ob-

jector status until they were ordered to

report for induction; others, even when

granted exemption, refused to comply with

their: civilian work assignments.

Penalties invoked varied from light fines

to prison sentences of as much as five years.

In approximately one-fourth of the cases,

prison sentences of from two to three years

were imposed. Eight hundred thirty-two

offenders were imprisoned for from four

to five years.

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