vol. 12, no. 10

American

Civil Liberties

Union-News

Free Press

Free Speech

Free Assemblage

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

=

Vol. XII.

SAN FRANCISCO, OCTOBER, 1947

No. 10

Dr. John H. Sherman Discusses "Elements of

Growth and Decline in American Intolerances'

The annual membership meeting of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern. California

will be held at the California Club, 1750 Clay St., San Francisco, on Friday evening, October 17, at 8

o'clock. Dr. John H. Sherman, economist and educator, will discuss "Elements of Growth and De-

cline in American Intolerances." Rt. Rev. Edward L. Parsons, national vice-chairman of the local Ex-

ecutive Committee, will preside, while Ernest Besig, the Union's local director, will report briefly on

the state of the Union.

The meeting will mark the 13th anniversary

of the local branch of the Union, which was

founded September 14, 1934. The public is in.

vited, and admission is free. It is hoped that the

Union's membership will make this an occasion

to invite their friends.

The principal speaker, Dr. John H. Sherman, is

a virtual newcomer to California. He was born

in Virginia and is a graduate of Cornell Univer-

sity and the John Marshall Law School. He holds

A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the

University of Wisconsin, and is a member of

the Illinois bar.

+} Dr. Sherman has taught economies at the

`University of Minnesota, the University of Cha-

tanooga and Lake Forest University. From

1937-1940 he served as President of the Univer-

sity of Tampa, and from 1940-1942 he was Presi-

dent of Webster College.

Dr. Sherman served as a Captain in the Air

Service in France during World War I, and as

a Lt. Col. in World War II. During the past few

months he has established his home in Berkeley.

Dr. Sherman has stated that half of his ad-

- dress will be devoted to the question of anti-

o

Semitism. The Negro problem will also come

in for discussion.

Health Certificates Required

Of 2 Nearoes at Benicia Pool

_ Two Negroes were admitted into associate or

non-voting membership in the Benicia Swimming

Pool Club last month, but only after they had

furnished health certificates,-something that is

not required of white applicants. The two were

admitted to membership after the Union charged

the management with racial discrimination and

obviously to furnish a token argument for its

claim that they do not discriminate.

In the meantime, the Union's Executive Com-

mittee has voted to file an appropriate civil suit

challenging the right of the pool management

and the Citv to exclude Negroes, The Union

claims that the City conveyed the pool to a non-

profit corporation in order to bar Negroes from

what is now established as a private member-

ship club. The corporation paid no money what-

ever in securing title to the pool, and is report-

ed to have given merely a promisory note, In

effect, the corporation is simply managing the

nool for the City. The suit is expected to be filed

in a month or two.

ACLU Chairmen John Haynes Holmes

Leaves for India, Japan

John Haynes Holmes, chairman of the ACLU's

Board of Directors and minister of New York

City's Community Church, left on September 18

for India where he will spend several months lec-

turing at the invitation of the Watumull Founda-

tion. He will also lecture in Pakistan.

On his return trip home via Japan, Dr. Holmes

will meet with General MacArthur and Japanese

leaders. He will also spend a week in Hawaii.

He expects to return to New York about Febru-

ary 1. His place as chairman of the Union's

Board will be taken up by Walter Frank, attorney,

and Richard S. Childs, the two vice-chairmen.

Fairfax Council Stalls on

Hearing in Gidlow Case

Whether Miss Elsa Gidlow is ever going to

get the hearing voted her by the Fairfax City

Council seems highly uncertain at this time. Last

month, the hearing into charges of "Commu-

nistic and un-American activities" that led to

her ouster from the City Planning Commission

was postponed after the Council unanimously

adopted a resolution on procedure which invited |

the Hon. Jesse W. Carter, Justice of the State

Supreme Court, to act as a referee in the matter.

Justice Carter is a resident of the bordering

town of San Anselmo, and his selection at once

placed the hearing on a dignified judicial basis.

Justice Carter accepted the invitation, and the

only thing that remained was to arrive at a date

for the hearing that was agreeable to all parties

concerned.

After the resolution was adopted, Mr. Gros-

bauer and his two cronies on the Council appar-

ently regretted their action, because at the very

next meeting they voted 3 to 2 to hold action

on the resolution in abeyance, and they abso-

lutely refused to explain their intentions. In sup-

port of this change of heart, they argued that

Justice Carter had been "hand picked" by Miss

Gidlow's supporters, and that, anyway, the res-

olution conflicted with one that was previously

adopted to ask the Tenney Committee to investi-

gate revolutionary activities in Marin County.

Maybe the majority in the Council expect the

bumbling Tenney Committee to act as referee

in the matter. In any case, it seems obvious

that Miss Gidlow will have to press her demands

for the hearing that was voted if she is ever

going to get one.

In the meantime, the Communist Party took

advantage of the situation to cite the Gidlow

case in advertisements inviting Marin County

residents to attend a William Z. Foster meeting

in San Francisco. Miss Gidlow has expressed

herself as resenting the intrusion of the Com-

munist Party into the case.

Rule By Nightstick Hit

In New York City

New York City police are guilty of "indiscri-

minate use of guns, holding witnesses in pro-

tective custody, using third degree methods to

obtain confessions, and resorting to strong arm

methods to maintain law and order', the New

York City Civil Liberties Committee charged

September 22. The Committee blamed Police

Commissioner Arthur W. Wallender for "over-

zealousness." =

In protesting against what it called "lawless

enforcement of the law", the Committee declar-

ed that the Commissioner's "devotion to public

welfare is above question," but that "dangerous

extra-legal and summary methods are always

destructive of democratic government however

hiehminded a concept of public service lies be-

hind it."

ERSHIP MEETING OCTOBER 17

Union Opposes Segregation

In California National Guard

The American Civil Liberties Union of North-

ern California last month called upon Gov. Earl

Warren to end racial segregation in the Cali-

fornia National Guard.

Taking issue with Major General Curtis D.

`O'Sullivan, adjutant general of the Guard, that

`practices of the War Department do not permit

non-segregated units, the Union declared ``The

War Department position, as we understand it,

is that the question of racial segregation is de-

termined by each State."

In support of its contention, the Union pointed

to the action of the New Jersey State Constitu-

tional Convention on August 21, 1947, in adopt-

ing a provision that "No person shall be... .

segregated in the militia . . . on account of

religious principles, race, color, ancestry or na-

tional origin."" Connecticut and New Hampshire

have also established a practice of non-segrega-

tion.

"We submit," said the Union's letter to the

Governor, "that it is within the State's power to

accord just treatment to California's Negroes

and to Beckford Dominguez in particular, and

we strongly urge that the policy of segregation

in California's National Guard be ended by you."

The Union's letter was prompted by the re--

cent discharge from the Guard of Beckford Do-

minguez of Loomis, on the ground that a Negre

may not serve with a white unit. It appears

that Negro enlistments in California are limited

to two segregated units in the Los Angeles and

San Francisco areas. Gen'l O'Sullivan declared

that Dominguez could enlist in the San Francisco

unit and then be attached to the Auburn com-

pany for training.

Assemblyman Allen G. Thurman of Colfax

brought the case to public attention. "Accord-

ing to my information," said Thurman, "the

men of the company wanted Dominguez in the

Guard. He attended high school with other

members of the company and played football.

If he is good enough to play football on our

school's team and receive his education in our

schools, he surely is good enough, in my opinion,

to be a member of the Guard. T certainly am

opnosed to drawing the color line in this manner."

In response to an inquiry from the Union,

General O'Sullivan declared "The discharge of

Beckford Dominguez was accomplished by his

local commander in accordance with the require-

ments of the National Guard Bureau and this

office has forwarded the discharge to the War

Department in compliance with directives of

federal authority."

_ The Union has requested clarification of the

issue from the National Guard Bureau. Thus far,

no answer has been received from the Governor.

Consideration of Felon Registration

Postponed in S. F., Defeated in Marin

_ Consideration of a proposed ordinance requir-

ing the registration of all persons convicted on

felony charges since 1921 has been postponed

indefinitely by the San Francisco Board of Super-

visors. A similar proposal was turned down unan-

imously by the Marin County Supervisors last

month.

Los Angeles county is said to have such an or-

dinance, but no effort is ever made to enforce it.

Philadelphia, Pa., likewise has a registration or-

dinance but the Union has no record of the City's

experience under it.

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

ACLU Opposes Peace-Time

Compulsory Military Service

The ACLU's opposition to universal peace-

time military training was announced Septem-

ber 8 in a statement by the Union's Board of

Directors, following a referendum of the Nation-

al Committee and the Board. After considering

two contrary reports concerning the proposals

of the President's Commission on Universal Mili-

tary Training, the Union declared itself against

all such measures.

The statement reads: "The ACLU has always

opposed the principle of compulsory military

service as a violation of individual civil liberties.

It has, however, recognized the superior claims

of national security in war or the imminence of

it, and did not therefore oppose the draft act

of August 1940. On the issue of peace-time

compulsory military training the Union, in

January 1945 during the war, opposed the adop-

tion of all the proposals then being debated on

the ground that the objectionable principle was

not over-ridden by the prospects of post-war

threats to national security.

"In the light of the present controversy over

bills in Congress the issue has again had a care-

ful examination by the Union's Board of Direc-

tors and National Committee. The Union sees

no occasion now to change its position. No clear

and immediate danger `so threatens the country

as to justify resort to such an extreme measure

as the President's proposal for peace-time uni-

-versal military training."

The vote by the National Committee stood 46

to 83 in favor of the foregoing policy. Five local

committees voted to oppose peacetime conscrip~

tion, while one voted not to oppose. The Califor-

nia branches voted against peacetime conscrip-

tion. The Northern California Committee vote

stood 11 to 6.

Okla. University Race Bias

Case Goes To High Court

Jim Crow in state-supported institutions of

higher learning will again be challenged before

the U.S. Supreme Court. Counsel for the Na~

tional Association for the Advancement of Col-

ored People is seeking review by the court of

the case of Ada Lois Sipuel, Negro student who

was refused admission to the law school of the

University of Oklahoma. The state's policy of

segregation has already been upheld in the lower

courts and a hearing was denied by the state

supreme court. A graduate of Langston College,

Oklahoma's separate college for Negroes, Miss

Sipuel refused an offer to pay for her education

outside the state. a method whereby Oklahoma

has previously sidestepped provision for Negroes

seeking law school training.

The ACLU will offer its aid as a friend of the

court supporting Miss Sipuel and the NAACP

if the Supreme Court accepts the case.

Executive Committee

American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

Sara Bard Field

Honorary Member

Rt. Rev. Edw. L. Parsons

Chairman

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn

Helen Salz

Vice-Chairman

Joseph S. Thompson

Secretary-Treasurer

Ernest Besig

Director

Philip Adams

John H. Brill

Prof. James R. Caldwell

H. C. Carrasco

Wayne M. Collins

Rev. Oscar F. Green

Margaret C. Hayes

Prof. Ernest R. Hilgard

Ruth Kingman

Ralph N. Kleps

Dr, Edgar A. Lowther

Seaton W. Manning

Mrs. Bruce Porter

Clarence E. Rust

Rabbi Irving F. Reichert

Prof. Laurence Sears

Dr. Howard Thurman

Kathleen Drew Tolman

_ Board of Supervisors from instituting its

National Report Notes "Sharply Unfavorable

Change' in American Democratic Liberties

A "sharply unfavorable change" in American

democratic liberties has marked the past year,

according to the annual report of the ACLU,

published Sept. 3 in an 80-page pamphlet en-

titled "In Times of Challenge." In contrast with

the optimism of its war-time reviews, the Union

voiced "an apparently justified scepticism as to

the immediate future of our democratic liberties

as instruments of progress." It reported a "gen-

eral retreat to nationalism, militarism and de-

fense of the status quo, with liberal and mino-

rity forces everywhere on the defensive." This

was corroborated by a recent poll in all states

of 125 local Union correspondents which showed

a "trend to greater restrictions on dissenters

and minorities, particularly on any movement

associated with Communists."

Viewed as contributing to the nation's "cau-

tious and conservative temper," were the poli-

tical split. between the Administration and Con-

gress, the growing sense of conflict with Russia

-and a corresponding drop in faith in the U.N.

The effects to date were seen in "sweeping

Congressional legislation aimed at organized

labor;" "unreasonably tight" machinery to check

the loyalty of federal workers; the menace to

freedom of opinion in the irresponsible methods

of the House Committee on unAmerican Activi-

ties; and the failure of Congress to act on major

bills to extend civil liberties. The report also

cited state curbs on the rights of trade unions, -

greater resistance in the South to Negro "ad-

vances" and an increase in lynching and violence.

Losses Outweigh Gains

In a balance sheet of the year, the Union

listed, 43 favorable items against 30 unfavorable,

but held the favorable to be outweighed by

"major adverse tendencies." The report cited

the Supreme Court 5-4 decision upholding the

use of public funds for transportation in paro-

chial schools; its opinion widely extending

searches without proper warrants; the 5-3 deci-

sion sustaining the "Lea Act" restricting picket-

Univ. of Maryland Asked

To Admit More Negroes

A campaign to open the University of Mary- -

land's graduate schools to Negro students is

being conducted by a group of organizations

which includes the Maryland committee of the

ACLU. The University is the only state sup-

ported institution in Maryland offering graduate

and professional training. It has thus far ad-

mitted Negroes only to its law school. Talks

are presently under way between president Dr.

Harry C. Byrd, and 16 groups cooperating to

equalize educational opportunities in states

where racially separate schools have been the

rule. If no change in the University's policy is

promised, the organizations plan a test case to

bring the issue into the courts.

An earlier case, a suit filed in 1935 by Donald

Gaines Murray, was responsible for the admis-

sion of Negroes to the law school. Mr. Murray, a

Baltimorian, argued that his constitutional rights

as a citizen of the state and his educational qua-

lifications warranted his admission to the law

school. Ordered by the court to admit him, the

University appealed the case. The lower court's

ruling was upheld, and Mr. Murray is now a

member of the Baltimore Bar and a member of

the local ACLU's executive board.

ACLU Seeks to Enjoin

Los Angeles "Loyalty Test"

Los Angeles' witch hunt has been challenged

by the Southern California branch of the ACLU.

A petition for an injunction to restrain the

"loyal-

ty test'"' has been filed on behalf of Mrs. Julia

Learned Steiner, a county librarian of old New

England stock, who has never been associated

with the Communist Party or with any of the

150 organizations the Board of Supervisors has

listed as suspect on the word of California's

Chief Witch Hunter, Sen. Jack B. Tenney,

Supervisor John Anson Ford alone of the five

supervisors questioned the legality of the "loyal-

ty test," but his motion that the names of the

organizations be stricken and that action on the

test be suspended pending the outcome of the

Union's suit, was voted down with Mr. Ford's

_ the only affirmative vote. The Board had per-

mitted no hearing on its action, and Mr. Ford's

motion for a special hearing was defeated by a

two to three vote. .

ing or strikes to enforce "feather-bedding"'

practices; the 5-4 decision upholding a murder

-conviction although the defendant had no lawyer

when he entered a plea of guilty. Also scored

were state court decisions in Ohio, Michigan and

Missouri upholding race restrictive housing cove-

nants, while Texas and Louisiana judges upheld

racial segregation in colleges, Terming the Taft-

Hartley Act "a major legislative victory in the

drive to tame the power of the trade unions in

industry and to weaken them in politics," the

report listed seven `vigorous objections" to the

bill. The Union declared its intention to "parti-

cipate at all points where civil rights are clearly

involved."

International Civil Liberties

Of civil liberties in international relations, the

report said: "The high promises of the UN

charter for human rights, freedom of interna-

tional communication, the protection of minori-

_ties, the emancipation of so-called backward

peoples have all bogged down in unresolved

conflict."" In U.S.-occupied countries, it found the -

"successful application of democratic liberties"

in effect only in Japan. As evidence of "some

slight progress in colonial possessions," it cited

the agreement to place under trusteeship rule

the Pacific Islands wrested from Japan, the

moves toward civil rights and civilian govern-

ment for Guam and Samoa, and the law enabling

Puerto Ricans to elect their own governor.

Pending Issues

Major issues now pending in the courts and

legislatures affecting civil liberties, the review

pointed out, cover an unprecedented number of

Supreme Court appeals. These involve the Cali-

fornia alien land law; alleged monopoly practi-

ces in the motion picture industry; chain owner-

ship of movie theaters to the detriment of

audience rights; restrictive housing covenants;

private religious instruction in public school

buildings; conspiracy in the mere advocacy of

polygamy; a New York law penalizing publica-

tions dealing with "bloodshed, crime and lust."

i ey | e

ACLU Hits Poll Tax in

@, e @ e@

Virginia Court Suit

An attack on Virginia's poll tax laws was

launched last month in the U.S, District Court

at Roanoke by the ACLU. Through attorney

Moss Plunkett, the Union brought an action in

behalf of 24-year-old Negro Dorothy Bentley

Jones to permit her to vote without payment

of the tax. :

The Union's complaint hits the poll tax as an

unconstitutional device to disenfranchise Ne-

groes. "The poll tax does not bear a `reasonable'

relation to the fitness to vote," the Union main-

tains. "It is an unconstitutional restriction of a

federal right."

The complaint also declared that the tax was

adopted and is currently administered solely to

deny Negroes their voting rights. "It clearly

violates the spirit and letter of the Fifteenth

Amendment which prohibits states from with-

holding the franchise from any citizen because

of his color."

The Union's legal action came after a U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia held last

spring that it would consider "most carefully a

proper case . . . alleging that the payment of

the poll tax was deliberately adopted for the

purpose of disenfranchising Negro citizens." The

Court made its statement in considering the

complaint of Republican Congressional candi-

date Lawrence Michael who had been defeated

in the 1946 elections. Its decision, announced in

April, held that Michael's suit to enjoin the as-

sessment of a poll tax was mooted by the No-

vember elections.

9 Alien Enemies Paroled to Attorney

As Brief Is Filed in Test Case

Attorney General Tom Clark last month paroled

to the custody of attorney Wayne M. Collins of

San Francisco, nine alien` enemies of Japanese

ancestry who have been held more than five years

and who were then interned at Crystal City.

Texas, and who, with their families, are sched-

uled for removal to Japan.

In the meantime, an appeal is pending from

the ruling of a Philadelphia federal judge uphold-

ing the removal of 27 persons of Japanese ances-

try classed as "dangerous alien enemies." Mr.

Collins will file his brief in the Circuit Court of

Appeals on October 5. No decision is expected in

the case until early next year.

ee oe

Mo

4

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Page 3

Oakland Cops Ordered to Let

Street Distribution of Leaflets

Robert P. Tracy, Oakland Chief of Police, has

ordered the local police force not to interfere

with the distribution of religious, economic and

political literature on the streets of Oakland.

The action came as a result of a request directed

by the Union to the City Council to instruct

the Chief not to interfere with the distribution

of such literature,,

In presenting its request, the Union pointed

out that during the first five months of 1947,

the Oakland police on at least four different

occasions interfered with street distribution of

political and economic literature. Arrests were

made in two cases under an ordinance prohibit-

ing the distribution of advertising matter on

private property without a permit. In one case

Herbert F. Steiner, State Organizer of the Social-

ist. Labor Party was convicted for violating the

ordinance, but his conviction was set aside on

appeal.

The Union`s protest was referred to City Man-

ager J. F. Hassler and he undertook to refer the

matter to the City Attorney for an opinion. The

opinion upheld the position taken by the Union,

but the Union had no assurance that the police

would abide by it. At the urging of the Union,

Chief Tracy finally instructed his men in the

following language:

"Under date of August 7, 1947, the City At-

torney rendered an opinion concerning Sec. 5-

3.01 O.M.C. regulating the distribution of ad-

vertising matter on public streets, which con-

densed means:

"1. That the distribution of handbills or cir-

culars cannot be interfered with, nor regulated

and does not require a permit except for those

that carry some sort of commercial advertise-

ment.

"2. That the throwing of handbills or circulars

on the streets or sidewalks is a violation of the

law: however, the violator is not the person

distributing the circular, but the person throwing

or drovping the circular on the street.

"3. That the interference, arresting, or censor-

ing of the distribution of handbills or literature;

other than commercial advertisement. would be

~ violation of the First and Fourteenth Atnend-

_ ments of the United States Constitution, in that

it restricts the freedom of speech.

"4. A person could not exercise this liberty bv

taking a stand in the middle of a crowded

street. or contrarv to traffic regulations, and

maintain his position if it would interfere with

the free flow of traffic: neither could a group

of distributors insist on forming a cordan across

the street and attempt to block pedestrians from

passing who did not accept a tendered leaflet."

Racio Industry Considers

Improved Broadcast Code

The long campaign for improving radio pro-

grams in the public interest was advanced con-

siderably last month when the National Asso-

ciation of Broadcasters proposed a new code

at its convention in Atlantic City, September

15. Chief reforms contemplated were reduction

of commercials and better program balance to

allow for more public service broadcasts.

The new code was drawn up in reply to

charges made by the Federal Communications

Commission in its 1946 "blue book" and backed

by the ACLU and other organizations that "ex-

cessive commercialism" seriously limited the

freedom of American listeners. Adoption of the

new provisions is far from assured since a num-

ber of independent stations have already regis-

tered protests. NAB officials indicate that if the

controversy continues, a referendum of its mem-

bership may be conducted.

The ACLU's Committee on Radio, headed by

Thomas R. Carskadom and James L, Fly, is

presently studying the provisions of the new

code. Under particular consideration are those

regulations dealing with religious and political

_ broadcasts, and the presentation of news, public

and controversial issues.

"Fascism in Action' on Public Sale

"Fascism in Action," the Library of Congress

report whose authorization in early July as a

House document followed a five months contro-

versy, is now on public sale.

The Union had joined with a number of other

public organizations in urging publication of the

pamphlet, declaring: "The evident struggle to

obtain publication of this report while a similar

document on Communism has already been pub-

lished may well arouse suspicion that anti-demo-

cratic political activities are not being pursued

with an even hand."

Two Victories Scored in Japanese-American

Citizenship Renunciation Cases

. Two victories were scored last month on behalf

of Japanese-American renunciants, In the federal

court in San Francisco, Judge Louis E. Good-

man freed from detention 319 renunciants held

in internment camps at Seabrook Farms, N.J.,

and Crystal City, Texas, for removal to Japan

as alien enemies. They were paroled to the cus-

tody of their attorney Wayne M. Collins of San

Francisco, who has the support of the ACLU: of

Northern California.

The Government filed notice of appeal, but it.

is quite possible that the Government will never

perfect its appeal, because the issue will become

academic just as soon as a treaty of peace is

signed between the U.S. and Japan. In his ear-

lier decision, Judge Goodman rejected the Gov-

ernment's argument that the Nisei held dual

citizenship, "The theory that a native-born resi-

dent American can at the self-same time be an

alien and a citizen of a foreign state, is, in my

opinion, judicially wholly unsound," said Judge

Goodman. Consequently, he ruled that the Nisei

could not be removed as Japanese alien enemies.

In the second case, Federal Judge Paul Cava-

naugh of Los Angeles set aside the renunciation

of citizenship of three former Tule Lake in-

ternees on the ground that they had acted under

coercion. The Court also invalidated the renun-

ciation of an ex-internee at the Manzanar con-

centration camp who was only seventeen at the

time he renounced his citizenship. The Court

held that no citizen under 21 years of age may

legally renounce his citizenship, and, moreover,

that the boy was acting under parental duress

which made his renunciation null and void.

Concerning the other three renunciants, the

Court concluded they had acted "under undue

influence, duress and coercion and not of their

own free will and act." Said the Court, "A high

Longo Wins New Trial

In Jersey Vote Case

John R. Longo's four year legal battle against

charges that he falsified his own voting record

scored a major victory September 12 when New

Jersey's highest court unanimously reversed a

state supreme court decision upholding his con-

viction. The ruling, announced by Chief Justice

Clarence E, Case of the Court of Errors and

Appeals, ordered a new trial on the ground that

the special prosecutor in the first trial was no

longer a Hudson County official at one point

when he pressed action against Longo. The

ACLU has endorsed Longo's defense and con-

tributed to it.

Longo charges that the case against him is

based on evidence manufactured by ex-Mayor

Hague's party henchmen in retaliation for his

public opposition to the Democratic machine.

The 34-year old political crusader is accused of

altering his primary registration sheet by sub-

stituting "Dem" for `Rep'. In November, 1943,

a Hudson County court sentenced him to eight-

een months to three years in the state prison.

He appealed and has been free on $5000 bail.

A few hours after the new trial was ordered,

Longo was assaulted and seriously beaten while

distributing his paper, "Jersey Justice', in

Hoboken. The charge against his assailant, ex-

convict Samuel Bello, was dismissed when it was

paces that Longo had not signed the com-

plaint.

Court Grants Citizenship to Near-

Victim of Hysterical Neighbors

Once accused as a pro-Nazi, Gertrude Ordemann

of Redwood City, near-victim of a couple of hys-

terical neighbor women, was granted citizenship

by the federal district court in San Francisco on

September 29. .

After a hearing before a naturalization exam-

iner, whose favorable recommendation was over-

ruled by the Central Office of the Naturalization

Service, the ACLU intervened in the case and

secured a rehearing for Mrs. Ordemann. At the

hearing, one of the two neighbor women testified

she had seen Mrs. Ordemann wearing a swastika

necklace, which a second glance might have told

her was a four-leaf clover, while the second

woman insisted she had seen a picture of Hitler

in Mrs. Ordemann's apartment on the only occa-

sion she ever visited there in 1940. Neither

woman ever heard Mrs. Ordemann say anything

against the government, but the second witness

did object to Mrs. Ordemann using German terms

of endearment in fondling her baby. After the re-

hearing, the Naturalization Service recommended

that citizenship be granted by the Court.

degree of excitement and mass hysteria existed.

Two groups of Japanese existed, one consisting

of Japanese born in the United States and who

were not disloyal and guilty of espionage and

sabotage or violation of any law, and one con-

sisting of those who were not citizens and pro-

Japanese belonging to terror groups of violent

activities, of assaults, beatings, threats of mur-

der and murder of those Japanese who opposed

their policies and activities and who were in

danger of physical violence. Those Japanese who

spoke against the pro-Japanese were brutally

assaulted causing them to be in mental fear, inti-

midation and coercion when they applied for

their renunciation, is clearly revealed by the af-

fidavits and which were the primary and con-

trolling factors in divesting them of their citi-

zenship. Such persons should not be held re-

sponsible for their action as it was not their -

full and voluntary will." :

The decision is highly welcome, although it

hardly offers a practical solution for the 3700

Nisei renunciants who claim they gave up their

citizenship under duress. In fact, the decision

may serve to jeopardize the results in the mass

suit pending in San Francisco, because the Court

may now feel impelled to go along with the Los

Angeles decision and rule that each case must

be judged separately. As a practical matter,

that would mean 3700 different suits in order to

`restore the citizenship of all renunciants still

residing in the US.

Tt should be noted, too, that the Los Angeles

suit failed to raise the question of governmental

duress relied upon in the San Francisco suit,

which also rests on charges of community du-

ress, etc. in seeking to set aside all of the re-

nunciations without going into the impossible

task of setting forth the facts in each case.

Air Mail, Commercial Mail

To Japan Resumed

Air mail and several types of commercial mail

to Japan were resumed for the first time since

prewar days by order of the U. S. Postmaster.

General on September 5. The move, long urged

by the ACLU as a "necessary encouragement to

dissemination of opinion, debate and criticism,"

relaxes previously tight restrictions which had

permitted first. class mail service only since

January.

After issuing the order, the Post Office ex-

plained that books, pamphlets and magazines may

be mailed but not newspapers "sent separately."

The prohibition on newspapers does not extend

to subscriptions nor to those sent gratis from a

newspaper office. No explanation was given of

the discrimination against newspapers as com-

pared with magazines. ;

The Post Office action permits the following:

(1) air mail at 25c per half ounce, or 10c for

special form "air letters"; (2) commercial papers.

printed matter, samples of merchandise and

small packets, private letters and postcards; (3)

parcel post packages, increased to 22 pounds, at

a rate of 14centc a pound, but limited to one package

of relief items per week to the addressee. Letter

mail may not contain merchandise. Money trans-

fers, communications on changes in Japanese ex-

ternal assets, ministerial or legal documents,

copyrights, patents, and rights of translation, re-

production, or performance of books, articles,

plavs, music, movies, etc., are all prohibited. The

right of censorship on mailable matter is still

retained by occupation authorities.

Texas Judae Upholds

Taft-Hartlev Act's Red Ban

In the first court challenge of the Taft-

Hartley Act. the law's "anti-Communist" prov-

ision was held legal, "consistent and proper" by

Federal Judge T. Whitfield Davidson of the U.S.

district court at Fort Worth, Texas, on Septem-

ber 8. He ruled that the Oil Workers Interna-

tional Union, CIO, could not receive NLRB certif-

ication of an election until non-Communist affi-

davits and financial statements have been filed

with the Labor Board by CIO national officers.

The OWIU replied that it was autonomous,

had voluntarily in years past filed financial

statements with the Labor Department and

barred Communists from membership and offi-

cers had complied with the Taft-Hartley Act's

provisions.

Page 4

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

American Civil Liberties Union-News

Published monthly at 461 Market St., San Francisco, 5

Calif., by the Ameriean Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California.

Phone: EXbrook 2-3255

ERNEST BESIG ...... : Editor

Entered as second-class matter, July 31, 1941, at the

Post Office at San Francisco, California,

under the Act of March 8, 1879.

Subscription Rates-One Dollar a Year.

Ten Cents per Copy. 151-

Decision Awaited in Air Base

`Disloyalty' Case Hearing

Disloyalty charges against a Negro Civil

Service employee at the Alameda U. S. Naval

Air Station based on his two months' member-

ship in the Communist Party in 1945, were heard

by a Loyalty Board composed of two Command-

ers and two civilian employees in a day-long

hearing on September 9. A decision is being

awaited.

No effort was made by the Government to

present any evidence whatsoever in support of

its charge that the man is presently a member

of the Communist Party, or that he attended

a Communist meeting in 1945, and that he ap-

peared on the Party's mailing list in 1945, The

entire hearing was spent in examining and cross-

examining the employee, who was represented

by Ernest Besig, director of the ACLU of North-

ern California.

The man denies that he is disloyal to the U. S.,

that his membership in the Communist Party

for two months in 1945 constituted an act of

disloyalty, or that he has ever knowingly done

anything to injure this country. The charges

were served on August 18 and the man is still

employed, The Union was informed that this was

the second loyalty proceeding at the Air Station

taken under the President's Loyalty Order.

North Carolina Grand Jury

Frees Two in Lynch Case

`The determined efforts of North Carolina

Governor R. Gregg Cherry to bring to justice

the seven members of a gang which attempted

to lynch 24 year old Negro Godwin Bush were

defeated September 15 by a Warren County

grand jury. It reported finding "no true bill"

against Joe Cunningham, self-confessed leader

of the gang, and A. W. Edwards, Jackson jail

keeper. ae

All the other defendants had been released

September 2 when Jackson Superior Court Judge

Paul Frizelle ruled Cunningham's confession to

the FBI could not be used against them. He

bound Cunningham and Edwards over to the

grand jury when the latter admitted on the wit-

ness stand that he had voluntarily released Bush

to the gang. :

The case came before the Superior Court when

a local grand jury refused to indict the men

for conspiracy to break into and enter the jail

to lynch the Negro who was suspected of at-

tacking a white woman. He escaped from his

assailants, Governor Cherry blasted the deci-

sion as a "miscarriage of justice" and invoked a

52 year old state anti-lynching law to. order a

preliminary hearing in the Superior Court

September 2. Upon hearing the decision of the

Warren County grand jury, both the Governor

and Solicitor E. Tyler indicated that no

further legal action would be taken. The Union

had commended the governor for his vigorous

members of the gang to

efforts to bring the

trial.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

American Civil Liberties Union of No. Calif.,

461 Market Street,

San Francisco 5, Calif.

1. Please enroll me as a member at dues of

$k for the current year. (Types of mem-

bership: Associate Member, $8; Annual Mem-

ber, $5; Business and Professional Member,

$10; Family Membership, $25; Contributing

Member, $50; Patron, $100 and over. Mem-

bership includes. subscription to the "American

Civil Liberties Union-News" at 1 @ year.)

2. I pledge $............ per month........ OF $2 per yr.

3. Please enter my subscription to the NEWS, $1

per year) S ses

Enclosed please find $.......................... Please bill

MG. ee:

Name

Street.. !

ON ZONe 2

Occupation: 2

Incommunicado Practice in Chinese Cases

Modified by S. F. Immigration Service

Following protests by the American Civil Lib-

erties Union of Northern California, the Immigra-

tion Service in San Francisco has ended its prac-

tice of holding Chinese wives and children of war

veterans incommunicado for months on end. In

the future, visiting will be permitted after the

primary inspection, which ordinarily takes place

within a week or ten days of arrival.

`The Union believed the issue had been settled

last February at which time Attorney General

Tom Clark sent Willard F. Kelly, Assistant Com-

missioner of Immigration in charge of alien con-

trol, to investigate the Union's complaints. And,

on February 20, 1947, the Immigration Service

announced new regulations under which the pe-

riod of incommunicado detention was reduced to

seven or eight days by permitting visiting after

the primary inspection. Without the Union's

knowledge, however, the old system was rein-

stated, and some women and their children had

been held incommunicado for three months at the

time the Union renewed its protests.

The Immigration Service argued that "the re-

striction on permitting applicants for admission

to receive visitors was found to be a necessary

measure to protect the interests of the Govern-

ment and as a practical matter only applies to

those cases where the applicants do not have

satisfactory proof of their claimed status (mar-

riage). In such cases it is necessary to question

the applicant and his witnesses separately and

therefore applicants are not permitted to receive

visitors until the primary inspection has been

completed."" Unfortunately, there are no official

marriage records in China, so the veteran and his

alleged wife must establish the marriage by other

evidence..

The situation has been complicated by the fact

that an unusually large number of applicants for

admission to the United States have arrived at

the port of San Francisco during recent months,

and by the fact that vessels sometimes arrive on

the same day or only a few days apart.

In order to cope with the situation, the Immi-

gration Service "has detailed immigrant inspec-

tors to meet boats at Honolulu and conduct in-

spections en route to San Francisco. In addition,

the force of immigrant inspectors at San Fran-

cisco has been doubled since Jan. 1, 1947, and the

clerical force augmented; further, experienced

officers have been transferred from other districts

to the San Francisco office." Unfortunately, how-

ever, the District has not gotten the full benefit

of the increased personnel because most of the

force had accumulated considerable leave during

the war, and a ruling has now been made that no

employee may accumulate more than 60 days

leave, so there was naturally a rush to take an-

nual leave before the new rule went into effect.

While the immigrants are now permitted visit-

ors within a reasonable time after arrival, the Im-

migration Service has not relaxed its rule against

permitting counsel until after the primary inspec-

tion. Apparently, the Service is fearful that dis-

honest lawyers may help immigrants frame cases,

although it would seem that counsel could be of

assistance to the Immigration Service in ironing

out tough cases. The Union's local Executive

Committee has authorized court action if admini-

strative relief cannot be secured.

Once again, Senator Sheridan Downey and

Congressman Franck R. Havenner have been.

helpful in solving the issue by demanding an

official explanation of the department's policies.

ACLU Debates Policy Relating

To Organizations on Campus

By a vote of 9 to 4, the national board of the

ACLU readopted a statement of policy with ref-

erence to organizations on campus. Both the

Northern and Southern California branches had

objected not only to the failure of the Board to

consult with local committees before adopting

the statement, but also to the second paragraph

of the statement approving the expulsion of

groups operating materially under false pre-

tenses, which was directed at Communist front

groups.

The San Francisco committee took the posi-

tion that a charge that students are lying is one

for the College administration and not for the

ACLU. The committee was also of the opinion

that the effect of the statement was to excuse

the banning of organizations from a campus be-

cause of their opinions. A further appeal may be

taken by the California branches to the National

Committee of the Union.

Hearing on Marriage Law Oct. 6

Arguments in the Davis-Perez case testing Cali-

fornia's anti-miscegenation statute will be heard

by the California Supreme Court in Los Angeles

on October 6. The ACLU is planning to file an

amicus curiae brief attacking the constitutional-

ity of the law which declares, "All marriages of

white persons with Negroes, Mongolians, or

mulattoes are illegal and void."

-~BOOKNOTES

GUAM AND ITS PEOPLE, by Laura Thomp-

son. Princeton University Press, $5. The present

acute issue of civil government and citizenship

for the 23,000 natives of our oldest and largest

Pacific island possession is strikingly presented

by Dr. Thompson in this third revised edition of

the standard book on Guam. While it is a care-

ful anthropological and historical study, the

author pulls no punches in dealing with the 50-

year-old Navy dictatorship, The record makes

one marvel how the Guamanians, who learned

our democracy under naval dictators, could have

been so intensely loyal to the United States

under the Japanese occupation. The book does

not cover the Japanese occupation nor does it

include a first-hand study of developments since

for the reason that the Navy refused Dr. Thomp-

son permission to revisit the island. But the

study is essential to those interested in American

colonial rule of subject peoples. -

823 MARRY IN JAPAN UNDER

AMENDED GI BRIDES ACT

A total of 823 World War II veterans, most of

them Nisei, married Japanese girls between July

19 and August 19 so they could take them to the

U. S., American consular officials in Yokohama __ -

reported recently. The one-month period was due

to the recently amended GI Brides Act of 1943.

under which veterans were permitted to marry

orientals and bring them to the U. S. despite their

exclusion under the 1924 act. The amended act.

supported by the ACLU and the JACL, will also

enable some fifty Japanese wives married to GIs

prior to the act's passage to enter the U. S.

STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT,

CIRCULATION, ETC., REQUIRED BY THE ACTS OF

CONGRESS OF AUGUST 24, 1912, AND

MARCH 3, 1933 AND JULY 2, 1946

Of American Civil Liberties Union - News

monthly at San Francisco, California, for October, 1947.

City and County of San Francisco)

State of California ) ss.

Before me, a Notary Public in and for the State and city and

county aforesaid, personally appeared Ernest Besig, who, having

published

been duly sworn according to. law, deposes and says that he is-

the Editor of the American Civil Liberties Union-News, and that

the following is, to the best of his knowledge and belief, a

true statement of the ownership, management (and if a daily,

weekly, semiweekly or triweekly newspaper the circulation), ete.,

of the aforesaid publication for the date shown in the above

caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1912, as amended by

the Acts of March 8, 1933, and July 2, 1946, (section 537, Postal

ewe and Regulations), printed on the reverse of this form,

to-wit: :

1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, edi-

tor, managing editor, and business managers are:

Publisher-American Civil Liberties Union of Northern Cal-

fornia, 461 Market St., San Francisco 5.

Editor-Ernest Besig, 461 Market St., San Francisco 5.

Managing Editor-None.

Business Manager-None. =

2. That the owner is: (If owned by a corporation, its

name and address must be stated and also immediately there-

under the names and addresses of stockholders owning or

holding one per cent or more of total amount of stock. If

not owned by a corporation, the names and addresses of the

individual owners must be given. If owned by a firm. com-

pany, or other unincorporated concern, its name and address,

as well as those of each individual member, must be given.)-

American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, 461

Market St., San Francisco 5.

Rt. Rev. Edward L. Parsons, Chairman, 461 Market St.. San

Francisco 5.

Ernest Besig, Director, 461 Market St., San Francisco 5.

8. That the known bondholders, mortgagees, and other

security holders owning or holding 1 per cent or more of

total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities are:

(If there are none, so state.) None.

4. That the two paragraphs next above, giving the

names of the owners, stockholders, and security holders, if

any. contain not only the list of stockholders and security

holders as they appear upon the books of the company but

also, in cases where the stockholders or security holder ap-

pears upon the books of the company as trustees or in any

other fiduciary relation, the name of the person or corpora-

tion for whom such trustee is acting, is given: also that the

said two paragraphs contain statements embracing affiant's

full knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and con-

ditions under which stockholders and security holders who

do not appear upon the books of the company as trustees,

hold stock and securities in a capacity other than that of a

bona fide owner and this affiant has no reason to believe

that any other person, association, or corporation has any

interest direct or indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other

securities than as so stated by him.

5. That the average number of copies of each issue of

this publication sold or distributed, through the mails or

otherwise, to paid subscribers during the twelve months pre-

ceding the date shown above is. :

(This information is required from daily, weekly,

semiweekly

and triweekly newspapers only.)

ERNEST BESIG, Editor.

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 16th day of Sep-

ber, 1947.

tee at) DOROTHY H. McLENNAN,

(Sea

Notary Public in and for the Co. of San

Francisco, State of California.

(My Commission expires Dec. 21, 1950.)