vol. 13, no. 9

American

Civil Liberties

Union-News

Free Press

Free Speech

Free Assemblage

"Fternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

Vol. XH

SAN FRANCISCO, SEPTEMBER, 1948

No. 9

5500 Nisei Now Parties To

Citizenship Restoration Suit

There were two developments in the Nisei

citizenship renunciation cases last month. 1. Fed-

eral Judge Louis Goodman denied the Govern-

ment's motion to strike the names of some 600

_renunciants joined to the suit after his favorable

decision on April 30. 2. Attorney Wayne M.

Collins' motion to add over 2000 additional

names to the suit was granted by Judge Good-

man. As a result, approximately 5500 renun-

ciants are now parties to the suit and are sched-

uled to have their citizenship restored to them

by Judge Goodman because of governmental

duress.

_ On the other hand, the Government was given

an additional 120 days in which to designate

_ the names of those renunciants it claims `acted

freely and voluntarily," and, as to these, the

Government may present further evidence. As to

all of the others, however, a final judgment

restoring their citizenship will be entered about

January 1. Whatever administration comes into

office as a result of November's election will

consequently be faced with a decision as to

whether an appeal shall be taken from Judge

Goodman's final judgment.

Housing Regulations Silent On

$1 A Year Leases Toe Churches

The Federal Public Housing Administration

last month denied that the lease of land at the

Hunters Point Project, San Francisco, to a reli-

gious organization at a token payment of $1 a

year is improper, but supplied regulations which

make no provision for token payments.

Jesse Epstein, Regional Director, relied for

his decision on a regulation which provides that,

"For locally-owned low-rent and war-housing de-

velopments, regional directors, upon the recom-

mendation of the local housing authority, may

authorize the leasing of a portion of the project

site to a religious group for construction of a

church building. The terms and conditions of

such lease shall be subject to the approval of the

regional director. In instances where sale is

deemed necessary, the regional director may

recommend to the Commissioner the sale of a

portion of the site to a church group at a fair

price."

After receiving Mr. Epstein's answer, the

Union promptly replied that leases to religious

organizations at token payments "are not only

in violation of the U. S. Constitution but also

contrary to your own regulations." While the

regulation provides for leasing property to a

religious group, no authority is given for merely

token payments.

The Union also pointed out that according to

its information a project building at Hunters

Point formerly used as a recreation hall has

been changed into a church for Negroes. The

Union asked to be informed as to the exact

nature of this arrangement.

ANNUAL MEETING

The annual membership meeting of the

American Civil Liberties Union of Northern

California will be held at the California Club, .

1750 Clay Street, San Francisco, Friday eve-

ning, October 15, at 8 o'clock. There is no

admission charge. The meeting is open to

the general public.

The program for the meeting will be an-

nounced in the October issue of the "News."

Rt. Rev. Edward L. Parsons will be chairman

of the meeting.

OCTOBER 15, 1948

Calif. Law Obliges Racial Minorities to Pay

15% Higher Premiums for Auto Insurance

All colored persons in the State of California

are required to pay a 15% higher premium for

their automobile insurance than anyone else, and

they are doing so simply as a result of California's

financial responsibility law that went into effect

on July 1 and which virtually requires every mo-

tor vehicle operator to carry automobile insur-

ance.

The higher premium rates for those who have

the wrong color result from the fact that no in-

surance company to the Union's knowledge will

now write automobile insurance for a colored per-

son unless an application is made through the

California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan. That

plan has the blessing of the Insurance Commis-

sioner of the State of California, and all com-

panies writing automobile insurance are com-

pelled to participate in it. It was devised to pro-

vide an equitable apportionment of risks of those

"applicants who are in good faith entitled to au-

tomobile bodily injury and property damage lia-

bility insurance but are unable to procure it

through ordinary methods."' The Plan describes

a few risks that will NOT be covered by it, but

makes no reference in any way to colored appli-

cants.

The only reference to the race of the applicant

appears in the application for such insurance.

Question 1b. is as to a person's race. It would,

therefore, appear that the designers of the Plan

expected it to be applied particularly to minority

racial groups. According to the Manager of the

Plan, 16% of the risks that have thus far been

assigned cover the applications of colored people.

Justice Dept. To Review Cases

Of 24 Japanese Enemy Aliens

The Justice Department has informed attor-

ney Wayne M. Collins that it will review the

cases of 24 Japanese `dangerous enemy aliens",

who were interned for over five years and who

were finally paroled to Mr. Collins pending the

final determination of a habeas corpus suit

which is now pending in the Circuit Court of

Appeals in Philadelphia. That suit was held in

abeyance pending U.S. Supreme Court decisions

in two German cases. As a result of those deci-

sions, handed down June 21, the Philadelphia

suit will very likly be dismissed because the place

of confinement was not within the limits of the

court's territorial jurisdiction.

The Justice Department has indicated that as

a result of its review of the 24 Japanese cases,

about two thirds of them will be dismissed. That

will leave eight Issei who face the possibility of

removal to Japan as `dangerous enemy aliens"

after long-time residence in the United States.

More than three years after the end of hostili-

ties in the Japanese war, the Government still

asserts the right summarily to pick up and re-

move without hearings or judicial inquiry any

Japanese aliens it designates as dangerous. And,

unfortunately, this arbitrary power was recently

sustained by a 5 to 4 decision of the U.S.

Supreme Court. "Because of today's opinion,"

said Justice Rutledge in his dissenting opinion,

"Individual liberty will be less secure tomorrow

than it was yesterday. Certainly the security of

aliens is lessened, particularly if their ideas hap-

pen to be out of harmony with those of the

governmental authorities of a period. And there

is removed a segment of judicial power to pro-

tect individual liberty from arbitrary action, at

least until today's judgment is corrected by

Congress or by this Court."

Further court action will be undertaken by Mr.

Collins when the Government seeks to remove

any of the Japanese.

The excuse that is offered for the racial dis-

crimination is that the automobile risks of col-

ored persons are more expensive to the compan-

ies to carry and that they are, therefore, entitled

to a large premium. They are more expensive, it

is said, because juries are prejudiced, and in a

trial involving a colored person on one side and a

white person on the other, the jury will invari-

ably bring in a verdict for the white person.

One would suppose that such an argument was

supported by statistics, but to the Union's sur-

prise, such statistics do not appear to be in exist-

ence. On the other hand, the Manager of the

Plan suggested that before any complaint is

made against it an opportunity of several years

duration should be given to develop such figures.

The proper procedure, it would seem, would be

to charge all persons the same premium in the

absence of supportable reasons to the contrary.

Incidentally, it is not inconceivable that Japan-

ese, Chinese, Filipinos, Negroes, etc., may turn

out to be better drivers and better risks and, in

spite of the alleged racial prejudice of juries, show

a smaller cost to the companies than white risks.

Another reason sometimes advanced for charg-

ing colored risks a larger premium is that their

incomes are smaller and they cannot afford to

keep their cars in good repair. Even if that were

true, we do not find that the economically dispos-

sessed among the racial majority are treated in

like manner. The colored person, however, pays

a higher premium under the Plan whether he has

an old car or a brand new one. The poor white

applicant with a good record may pay a higher

pen only for an old car, not for a newer

model.

Finally, it is argued that the racial discrimin-

ation ought to be accepted because today a col-

ored person is a lot better off than he was before

because now he can actually buy automobile in-

surance whereas before it was almost impossible

for him to do so. There is no denying that col-

ored persons had great difficulty in procuring au-

tomobile insurance before the financial responsi-

bility law went into effect, but, if the State vir-

tually compels all motorists to carry such insur-

ance, then it has a duty to see that all persons are

able to procure such insurance on an equal foot-

ing. Certainly the question of race is irrelevant.

It is true that California does not have a com-

(Continued. on Page 4, Col. 2)

S.F. Municipal Railway

Carries Nuns Free Of Charge

The American Civil Liberties Union last month -

requested J. H. Turner, Manager of San Fran-

cisco Utilities to provide it with complete infor-

mation concerning any free transportation af-

forded representatives of religious groups.

The Union's request resulted from a complaint

received by it that Roman Catholic nuns are

being carried free of charge by the Municipal

Railway. In support of his complaint, the com-

plainant furnished the Union with a letter signed

by the Acting Manager of Utilities declaring

that "For 81 years it has been the custom of

all transit companies in San Francisco to carry

free of charges Sisters of Charity of the Cath-

olic denomination in their garb.

"This has been in effect since 1867. when the

services of the Sisters of Charity in stemming a

small-pox epidemic and providing free nursing

facilities for the sick of all faiths, who would

otherwise have been unattended, were recog-

nized by action of the Board of Supervisors

granting them this service. Priests pay their

fares."

Mr, Turner acknowledged the Union's letter

and said he would submit it to the Public Utili-

ties Commission for the consideration.

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Brief Filed On Rehearing Of

Self-Incrimination Case

Supporting the application for a rehearing on

the Supreme Court's recent decision against the

petitioner in the OPA self-incrimination case of

William Shapiro, private businessman, the Union

recently filed a brief as friend of the court, on

grounds of "unreasonable search and seizure."

Prepared by Osmund K. Fraenkel, for the

ACLU, the brief contends that in criminal pro-

ceedings the privilege against self-incrimination

applies even where records are required by law

to be maintained, thus calling into question the

ruling in this case, in which the court held that

the federal statute requiring submission of busi-

"ness records on the OPA's request did not violate

the Fourth Amendment, even though the records

were self-incriminating. The main burden of the

Union's argument was stated in part as follows:

"We believe that the true criterion for deter-

mination as to what records are beyond the

protection of the privilege against self-incri-

mination must be found in a consideration of

the character of the records themselves. When-

ever the records are commonly open for public

use and inspection-then clearly they are not

protected. The same result should follow when-

ever the records deal with a subject inherently

public, such as those dealing with government

property or activities. It may even be proper to

extend this doctrine to businesses affected with

the public interest in the sense that they may

function only as the result of a franchise.

"The adoption of the foregoing criteria would,

however, leave within the protection of the priv-

ilege, records such as those involved in this

case, records of a purely private business con-

ducted by a private individual without franchise

from the state. To permit this but preserves the

spirit of the privilege against self-incrimination,

and need not unduly impair the administration

of regulatory legislation."

`Ban On Labor Union Political

Spending Upheld By Fed. Court

Federal Judge Carroll C. Hincks, in United

States District Court at New Haven, Conn., up-

held the Taft-Hartley Act's ban on political

spending by labor unions on July 28th when he

refused to dismiss indictments against an AFL

local in Hartford. The indictments were brought

against Local 481 of the Brotherhood of Paint-

ers, Decorators and Paperhangers and its presi-

dent, John R. O'Brien, after they challenged the

law by spending union funds for a political ad-

vertisement in a public newspaper and a politi-

cal radio broadcast.

Recently the Supreme Court upheld dismissal

of an indictment against Philip Murray of the

CIO. It found that use of general union funds

to publish partisan political appeals in a union

newspaper was not prohibited by the Taft-

Hartley Acts.

The ACLU announced that it would support

the union's contention on appeal in the Supreme

Court on the ground that the Federal act vio-

lates freedom of speech and press.

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 Adam's -

John. H. Brill

Prof. James R. Caldwell

- H.C. Carrasco

Wayne M. Collins ,

_ Rev. Oscar F. Green

Margaret C. Hayes

Ruth Kingman

Ralph N. Kleps

Seaton W. Manning

Mrs. Bruce Porter

Clarence M. Rust

Rabbi Irving F. Reichert

Prof. Laurence Sears

Dr. Howard Thurman

Kathleen Drew Tolman

Acquittel Won In N.Y. Park

Literature Distribution Case

The acquittal of Richard Roiderer, publisher

of the "Idealist", by a New York City court on

August 9th, connoted a victory for the ACLU,

which had come to the assistance of the defend-

ant on the basis that the affected municipal

regulation requiring permits for sale of news-

papers in or near public parks is unconstitu-

tional. He had been arrested for selling copies of

his four-page newspaper near the entrance to

Central Park at Columbus Circle.

Acting on Roiderer's request for the Union's

support, Emanuel Redfield, a director of the

New York City Civil Liberties Committee, ap-

peared in his defense as counsel, pleading the

unconstitutionality of a Park Department regula-

tion which provides that no person without a

permit ``shall exhibit, sell or offer for sale any

merchandise" within 350 feet of a public park.

Magistrate Morris Ploscowe, in acquitting Roi-

derer, expressed doubt as to the constitutiona-

lity of the ordinance.

Asserting that had a conviction resulted, the

Union would have carried the case to the Sup-

reme Court, Redfield pointed out: "The Supreme

Court has ruled repeatedly that the right of dis-

tribution of literature in public streets should be

unmolested by restraints from public officials.

To require a permit to distribute literature is,

in effect, to give a public official power to

censor the mind of the person making the appli-

cation. To prevent such tyranny, laws requiring

such permits have been invalidated as uncon-

stitutional."

Brief To Be Filed In Hawaii's

Foreign Language School Case

The Union's board of directors, August 9th,

approved the filing of a brief challenging the

constitutional validity of the Hawaiian statute

prohibiting the teaching in the public schools of

any language other than English, involved in a

case now before the Supreme Court on appeal

from the Circuit Court of Appeals. The issue

was joined by the action of Hawaiian school

corporations and others applying for declaratory

judgment on the constitutionality of the law by

the three-judge district court. The Union will

argue that the law if upheld violates the prin-

ciple of freedom of education. It noted that in

an earlier case from Nebraska the Supreme

Court had stated that the right "to acquire use-

ful knowledge" was constitutionally secured to

all persons.

The Hawaiian court entered declaratory judg-

ment and granted injunctive relief. holding that

the statute violates the `due process" clause in

the Fifth Amendment. The Circuit Court of Ap-

peals in San Francisco affirmed the ruling. The

appellant contended, in part, that the statute is

a valid exercise of the power of the Territory

of Hawaii to protect the health and welfare of

children in its domain, and that the lower court

erred in entering declaratory judgment, since

there is no right to declaratory relief when a

case is not a proper one for equitable relief.

Union Opposes Conviction Based on

Evidence Secured by Wire-Tapping

Viewed as involving a breach of civil rights,

the "call-girl" case in which Nancy Fletcher

Choremi and two other women were convicted

of "loitering for purposes of prostitution" re-

cently in New York will be the subject of a

brief to be filed by the ACLU's New York City

Civil Liberties Committee, as friend of the court

on the appeal.

Th brief, which is being prepared by Louis

Bender, former U.S. Attorney in New York, on

behalf of the committee, will limit its participa-

tion to the constitutionality of the use of evi-

dence obtained by wire-tapping in this case. The

Union's intervention is based upon the use of

wire-tapping as the sole evidence, and not merely

as collateral proof supporting the charge. The

ACLU has consistently opposed wire-tapping by

authorities as unconstitutional "search and

seizure."

Victims of Attempted Robbery

Held Four Days Without Bail

The Civil Liberties Union secured the release

from jail last month of Walter Green and a

companion who were being held "en route to

Sacramento" by the San Francisco police. They

were the victims of an attempted robbery by a

hitch-hiker early one morning. A struggle took

place in which Green received a bullet wound in

the thigh. The robber escaped leaving his gun

and hat behind. The police proceeded to arrest

the robber's victims "for investigation.'' They

were held without bail for four days and not

taken before a magistrate before the Union fi-

nally secured their release.

Civil Liberties Under Union

Scrutiny In Occupied Germany

At the invitation of General Lucius Clay, U. S.

Military Governor in Germany, Arthur Garfield

Hays, general counsel of the American Civil Lib-

erties Union, sailed Aug. 21st aboard the Queen

Elizabeth for a tour of the American Occupied

Zone for the purpose of making an unofficial in-

vestigation of civil liberties. Roger Baldwin,

director, and Norman Cousins, editor of The Sat-

urday Review of Literature and board member

of the Union, will join him there later, also as

guests of General Clay.

There are three aspects of the Military Occu-

pation of Germany which the Union considers

of basic importance to civil liberties:

1) Degree to which governmental functions

are being transferred from military authority

and our own civilian agencies, to the Germans.

2) Actual democratic attitudes and behavior

of the Occupation in demonstrating its own

avowed principles. os

3) Contact of Germans with genuine demo-

cratic forces internationally; through books,

newspapers, cables, mails, travel, affiliations and

so forth. u

Unification of the three zones and the deci-

sion to establish a constitutional German govern-

ment in the west, according to the Union's

spokesman, offers an opportunity for checking

the tendencies toward institutional democracy,

which requires:

1) Guarantees of a Bill of Rights.

2) Strong local government.

3) Judicial review of individual and group.

rights, and possibly legislation to determine con-

formity with the constitution. ne

Existing forms of censorship, ACLU officials

hold, should be examined to determine how far

the Occupation is preventing the expression of

German opinion, particularly with respect to the

Communist Left and the reactionary Right.

Next, as to the spirit of democracy, an appraisal

of the Occupation attitudes and means for de-

veloping a German sense of civil liberties is de-

sirable. Are there public opinion polls, for ex-

ample, and how are they conducted? Do the

trade unions feel free to push their programs

toward, say, nationalization of industry-or does

the Occupation discourage this? What of the

charge that Nazi officials have gotten back into

positions of influence despite the purge? :

Right To Bail In Deportation

Cases Under Court Review

The U.S. Circuit Courtof Appeals in New York

City, on August 3rd, ruled unanimously for a

review of Attorney General Tom C. Clark's re-.

fusal to release Gerhard Hisler and four other

alleged alien Communists from Ellis Island on

bail while deportation proceedings were pending.

This decision reversed an earlier one by Fed-

eral Judge William Body, who had declined to

issue a writ of habeas corpus on the ground

that the action of the Attorney General was

not reviewable.

In directing Judge Bondy to hold a hearing on

whether Clark had abused his discretionary

power, the Circuit Court's opinion held that "`it

requires more than the general power to fix

bail, to exempt the Attorney General from all

control in the exercise of that function, espe-

cially if he should be shown to have acted in an

arbitrary manner. This interpretation is parti-

cularly indicated in such cases as the present,

in which personal liberty is involved." -

The court pointed out, in addition, that "the

general spirit of our institutions makes it im-

probable that Congress intended to give the

Attorney General unlimited power over the ad-

mission to bail of aliens against whom depor-

tation proceedings have been brought."

Broadcasting of Crime News Brings -

Contempt Charges Against Stations

Charging the action represents a denial of the

rights of freedom of speech and press, the

ACLU will protest against the ruling of a Balti-

more Court, July 21st, which cited five radio

stations and a commentator for contempt on

charges that they violated the court's code on

handling of crime news. James Lawrence Fly, "

former head of the FCC, will investigate the

case on behalf of the Union and intervene to

challenge the legality of the code, at the hearing

set for October ist. aan

The local court rules involved prohibit pub- .

lication of any statement an accused may make |

after his arrest, reports about his actions, and -

discussions of police evidence or past criminal |

records. The charge in this case was based on -

the use by the broadcasters of alleged state-

ments made by a man accused of murder. The

court held these reports to be "embarrassing to

the administration of justice."

_ AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Page 3

Union Backs New York Test Of

Released School Time Issue

The New York State Supreme Court enter-

tained arguments, August 4th, on the petition

of two Brooklyn parents to force the city to stop

permitting children to obtain time off during

school hours for religious instruction off school

grounds in an action initiated by Kenneth Green-

awalt, acting for the plaintiffs with the support

of the ACLU, American Jewish Committee,

American Jewish Congress, United Parents Asso-

ciation and Public Education Association. The

hearing was postponed in view of a question

of venue, as between New York City and Albany.

Greenawalt, representing Tessim Zorach and

Mrs. Esta Gluck, argued before Supreme Justice

George J. Beldock in Brooklyn that religious

training should be restricted to churches and

homes and not "channeled" through public

schools. He declared that this suit is similar to

one decided March 8th by the United States

Supreme Court in the case of Mrs. Vashti Mc-

Collum of Champaign, Ill. The high court ruled

that the religious instruction program of the

Champaign public school was unconstitutional.

One point of difference, however, is that the

Champaign program was conducted in school

buildings, whereas the New York City program

is conducted off school grounds.

Assistant Attorney General Kent A. Brown,

representing the Commissioner of Education,

asked that the suit be dismissed as the court

was without jurisdiction, or that the action be

transferred to Albany where the program was

planned' in 1940. Justice Beldock reserved de-

cision on Brown's motions, and ordered both

sides to submit briefs by August 25.

A similar action is pending in a case brought

by Arthur Garfield Hays on behalf of Joseph

Lewis of the Freethinkers of America. Lewis'

suit is on behalf of atheists while the present

case is on behalf of a Protestant and a Jew.

Further, Lewis' case attacks the released-time

regulation on its face but Greenawalt's case will

attempt to show the regulation's abuses.

New Mexico Indians Win Court

Fight For Right To Vote

A notable forward stride toward racial equa-

lity was made last month in New Mexico where

a special three-judge Federal Court, after hear-

ing a complaint presented by the Union, ruled

that a state constitutional provision denying

Indians the right to vote was contrary to the

U.S. Constitution. The far-reaching decision,

handed down Aug. 3rd, in effect gives all New

Mexico Indians the right to vote. In a similar

decision on July 15th, the Arizona Supreme Court

granted the right to vote to reservation Indians

who meet the educational qualifications.

The Union's brief in the New Mexico case

held that state's law making "Indians not taxed"

ineligible to vote contrary to the Fifteenth

Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which gives

a ballot to everyone of voting age regardless of

race, creed or color. The Court's decision, given

by U.S. Circuit Judge Orie L. Phillips and U.S.

District Judges Bower Broaddus and Royce Sa-

vage, agreed with that view.

The Union case was presented on behalf of

Miguel Trujillo, an Isleta Indian, who was pre-

vented from registering by County Clerk Eloy

Garley on the grounds that he was an Indian

not taxed. The brief, presented by Felix S.

Cohen, former Solicitor for the Department of

the Interior and attorney for the ACLU, pointed

out that non-Indian citizens are allowed to vote

whether or not they pay taxes, providing they

are qualified in all other respects. The brief

quoted the equal protection clause of the 14th

Amendment of the Constitution.

Comic Book Censors Named

By Sacramento Mayor

Seven Sacramento leaders of women's clubs

have been appointed to investigate comic books

on sale in the community "with a view to ban-

ning those which stress crime, violence, torture

or sex." The Committee was appointed by Mayor

Belle Colledge on the recommendation of the

City Council. According to the police, approxi-

mately 300 comic books are distributed in the

community of which `10% would be classified

as objectionable."

It is not clear just how the "objectionable"

books will be banned. Obviously, neither the

police nor a citizens committee may order any-

one to stop distributing a book that meets with

their displeasure. On the other hand, if the sale

of such comic books violates any law, then the

_ proper course would seem to be for the District

Attorney to prosecute. The Union is inquiring

to determine just how the censorship will work.

Dr. Meiklejohn Urges Absolute Freedom

For Speech That Concerns the Public Welfare -

"Free Speech-and Its Relation to Self-Gov-

ernment," by Alexander Meiklejohn. Harper and

Brothers, New York. 107 pp. $2.00.

This is an important book, important not

simply for those experts interested in the de-

velopment of American constitutional law, but

for the laymen concerned in the present crisis

to know how far we shall carry the principle of

freedom of speech. It is significant that it is

written for the citizen, not primarily for the

specialist, and I can think of few books that

more successfully clarify the issues which we

all face.

Its basic question relates to the meaning of

the First Amendment ``What then do we intend

that the principle of freedom of speech shall

mean?" His answer applies only where there are

governments deriving their just powers from the

consent of the governed, where there is the

agreement of free citizens rather than the sub-

mission of slaves.

He starts with the thesis that under the con-

stitution there are two different freedoms of

speech, and hence two different guarantees of

freedom. One of these is open to restriction by

the government, the other emphatically is not.

A further principle is that no free government

can submit to control other than its own, and

that, therefore, it must limit and control itself.

He is not pleading for an absolutism in the

sense that any man can say anything. His con-

tention is that the First Amendment does not

forbid the abridging of speech, but that it does

forbid the abridging of free speech. Here he is

building on his distinction between the different

freedoms of speech, those that are private.and

those that concern the public welfare. As an ex-

ample of the former, he cites the freedoms which .

are claimed by lobbyists for special interests, by

advertisers, by preachers of racial intolerance,

etc. These men may be restricted in their utter-

ances, but there is an area where no restriction

can be permitted. `". . . the vital point is that

no suggestion of policy shall be denied a hearing

because it is on one side of the issue rather than

another. And this means that though citizens

may on other grounds be barred from speaking,

they may not be barred because their views are

thought to be false or dangerous." Where there

are issues on which the public welfare depends

and where the decisions must be made by free

citizens, there men must have complete liberty,

not so much to speak, as to hear all sides.

His chief point of attack is focused on the

"clear and present danger" test of Mr. Justice

Holmes. Mr. Holmes' defense of restriction of

speech lay in the fact that it is apparently at

times dangerous to the safety of the state. To

which Dr. Meiklejohn asks whether this means

that in all dangerous situations minorities must

be silent. His own position is explicit. "It is

the very presence of those dangers which makes

it imperative that, in the midst of our fears, we

remember and observe a principle upon whose

integrity the entire structure of government by

consent of the governed rests."' One other pas-

sage deserves to be quoted: `It makes no dif-

ference whether a man is advocating conscrip-

tion or opposing it, speaking in favor of a war

or against it, defending democracy or attacking

it, planning a communist reconstruction of our

economy or criticising it. So long as his active

words are those of participation in public dis-

cussion and public decision of matters of public

policy, the freedom of those words may not be

abridged. That freedom is the basic postulate

of a society which is governed by the votes of

its citizens."

He finds himself in complete agreement with

the position taken by Mr. Justice Brandeis in the -

Whitney case. Recognizing the inadequacy of the

clear and present danger test, Mr. Brandeis for-

mulated a different principle. "If there be time

to expose through discussion the falsehood and

fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of

education, the remedy to be applied is more

speech, not enforced silence." Dr. Meiklejohn

feels that this is essentially a defense of the ab-

solute freedom of public discussion which he

advocates, since the only justification for the

limitation of speech is "to be found, not in the

dangerous character of a specific set of ideas,

but in the social situation which for the time,

renders the community incapable of the reason-

able consideration of the issues of policy which

contront it."

One of the most interesting parts of the book

comes in the closing chapter where he examines

the individualism of Mr. Justice Holmes, and

analyzes the philosophy, the `view of human in-

stitutions, and the theory of human destiny out

of which the clear and present danger principle

springs. Here Dr. Meiklejohn's own assumptions

emerge most clearly: his belief that the basis

of society is not merely mechanical but ulti-

mately moral, and that men "must move, not

with bayonets behind, but with purposes ahead."

No brief review can do justice to the clarity

of Dr. Meiklejohn's thought or the moving

quality of his conviction. This is not a difficult

book to read, but it is one to be pondered on. I

know of no other work more sorely needed at

the present time when freedom of speech has

become part of a creed to be accepted rather

than a threatened principle to be fought for.

-Laurence Sears

S.F. Police Commission Denies

"Road Blocks' Are Lawless

The San Francisco Police Commission last

month denied that its officers have established

"road blocks' and detained motorists without

probable cause while an inspection was made to

determine whether there was any violation of

law. The ACLU had charged that such "road

blocks" were in use and that they constituted

lawless enforcement of the law.

J. Warnock Walsh, President of the Police

Commission, informed the Union that "Our lo-

cal traffic safety checks are to be distinguished

from the facts involving the Los Angeles Case in

that our police officers do not arbitrarily stop

any car and thereafter look for a violation of

the law, but, rather, first they observe a viola-

tion of the law and then detain the particular

party for the purpose of a search which is in-

cidental to the arrest. This procedure fully satis-

fies the requirements against unreasonable

search and seizure in that the police officers

have probable cause and/or actual knowledge

that the occupant of said auto has violated some

law; albeit said offense may be one in the

nature of a traffic violation."

Since the Union's protest, the "road blocks"

have been discontinued. Sergeant Moody who

directs the "road blocks" is said to be on vaca-

tion. The Union will undertake to carry on its

investigation of the "road blocks" if they are

reestablished.

HOW TO GET `FREE SPEECH'

Dr. Alexander M. Meiklejohn's new book,

"Free Speech and Its Relation to Self-Gov-

ernment," is now available at the A.C.L.U.

office, 461 Market St., San Francisco 5. To

get your copy, send a `check, money order or

eash in the amount of $2 to the Union and

the book will be sent to you by return mail.

Union Joins Fight To Protect

Kosenkina's Right To Asylum

Clifford Forster, Staff Counsel for the ACLU,

last month pledged the Union's support in legal

proceedings to protect Mrs. Oksana Stepanova

Kosenkina's right to asylum from Soviet of-

ficials.

In a letter to Common Cause, Inc., the organi-

zation which sought a court order to release

Mrs. Kosenkina from the Russian Consulate,

Forster wrote, "If the facts show that Mrs. Kos-

enkina sought to obtain freedom for herself. . .

she is entitled prima facie to the right of

asylum. The American Civil Liberties Union has

always vigorously supported this right of asylum

for all persons seeking to escape tyranny or

persecution because of their race, color, or poli-

tical beliefs."

Forster wrote the above letter on the morning

of the day Mrs. Kosenkina fell from a window

in the Soviet Consulate, After hearing the news

of her fall, Forster wrote another letter to Com-

mon Cause.

"On the face of things, there would appear to

be a restraint of person by consulate officials,"

Forster said. "If this is so there is a clear case

of denial of civil liberties in which we are in-

terested. Should you continue with your pro-

ceeding, we shall be glad to be of assistance."

New Membership Record

The Union's local membership reached a new

high of exactly 1400 during the past month.

Since the beginning of the fiscal year on Novem-

ber 1, 1947, there has been a net increase of 175

members. Separate subscribers to the "News"

number 285, also a new high. The Union, there-

fore, has a paid mailing list of 1685.

The branch will be fourteen years old on

September 15, having been founded on that date

in 1934. Less than five years ago, on October

31, 1943, the Union's membership was only 624.

ERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-WEWS

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

Calif., by the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California. oe

Phone: EXbrook 2-325 o

ERNEST BESIG : Editor

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

Post Office at San Francisco, California,

under the Act of March 3, 1879

Subscription Rates-One Dollar a Year.

"Ten Cents per Copy -151"

Text Of Sedition Indictments

Against 12 Top Communists

Following is the text of the indictment against

the twelve Communist leaders charging them

with violation of the Federal sedition law:

The Grand Jury charges:

1. That from on or about April 1, 1945, and con-

tinuously thereafter up to and including the date of the

filing of this indictment, in the Southern District of

New York, and elsewhere, William Z. Foster, Eugene

Dennis, also known as Francis X. Waldron, Jr., John

R. Williamson, Jacob Stachel, Robert G. Thompson,

Benjamin J. Davis, Jr., Henry Winston, John Gates,

also. known as Israel Regenstreif, Irving Potash, Gil-

bert Green, Carl Winter, and Gus Hall, also known as

Arno Gust Halberg, the defendants herein, unlawfully,

willfully and knowingly did conspire with each other,

and with other persons to the Grand Jurors unknown,

to organize as the Communist Party of the United

States of America a society, group and assembly of

persons who teach and advocate the overthrow and

destruction of the Government of the United States by

force and violence, which said acts are prohibited by

Section 2 of the Act of June 28, 1940 (Section 10, Title

18, United States Code), commonly known as the Smith

Act.

2. It was part of said conspiracy that said defend-

ants would convene, in the Southern District of New

York, a meeting of the National Board of the Com-

munist Political Association on or about June 2, 1945, to

adopt a draft resolution for the purpose of bringing

about the dissolution of the Communist Political Asso-

ciation, and for the purpose of organizing as the Com-

munist Party of the United States of America a society,

group, and assembly of persons dedicated to the Marx-

ist-Leninist principles of the overthrow and destruction

of the Government of the United States by force and

violence.

3. It was further a part of said conspiracy that said

defendants would thereafter convene, in the Southern

District of New York, a meeting of the National Com-

mittee of the Communist Political Association on or

about June 18, 1945, to amend and adopt said 0x00A7 draft

resolution. S

4. It was further a part of said conspiracy that said

defendants would thereafter cause to be convened, in the

Southern District of New York, a special National Con-

vention of the Communist Political Association on or

about July 26, 1945, for the purpose of considering and

acting upon said resolution as amended.

5. It was further a part of said conspiracy that said

defendants would induce the delegates to said National

Convention to dissolve the Communist Political Asso-

ciation.

6. It was further a part of said conspiracy that said

defendants would bring about the organization of the

Communist Party of the United States as a society,

group, and assembly of persons to teach and advocate

the overthrow and destruction of the Government of the

United States by force and violence, and would cause

said Convention to adopt a Constitution basing said

Party upon the principles of Marxism-Leninism.

7, It was further a part of said conspiracy that said

defendants would bring about the election of officers

and the election of a National Committee of said Party,

and would become members of said Party, and be

elected as officers and as members of said National

Committee and the National Board of said Committee,

and in such capacities said defendants would assume

leadership of said Party and responsibility for its policies

and activities, and would meet from time to time to

formulate, supervise, and carry out the policies an

activities of said Party.

8. It was further a part of said conspiracy that said

defendants would cause to be organized Clubs, and Dis-

trict and State units of said Party, and would recruit

and encourage the recruitment of members of said

Party.

9. It was further a part of said conspiracy that said

defendants would publish and circulate, and cause to

be published and circulated, books, articles, magazines,

and newspapers advocating the principles of Marxism-

Leninism.

10. It was further a part of said conspiracy that said

defendants would conduct, and cause to be conducted,

schools and classes for the study of the principles of

Marxism-Leninism, in which would be taught and ad-

vocated the duty and necessity of overthrowing and

destroying the Government of the United States by force

and violence.

' In violations of Section 3 and 5 of the Act of June

28, 1940 (Section 11 and 13, Title 18, United States

Code), commonly known as the Smith Act.

17 L. A. County Employees Fired

For Refusing to Sign Loyalty Oaths

Seventeen Los Angeles county employees who

refused to subscribe to a loyalty check af-

fidavit have been fired from their jobs, not for

disloyalty, but under a resolution of the Board

of Supervisors providing that refusal `"`to execute

the oath and affidavit constitutes insubordina-

tion." The summary action was taken without

waiting for appellate court decisions in pending

test suits. Of the 21,000 county employees, 104

refused to sign the affidavit.

Calif. Auto Insurance Law

Causes Racial Discrimination

(Continued from Page 1, Col. 3)

pulsory automobile insurance law as in Massa-

chusetts. Indeed, the insurance companies are

bitterly opposed to such a law. The compulsion

in California is indirect. Under the law that went

into effect on July 1, if a motorist has an accident

involving a death, injury or property damage in

excess of $100, HIS LICENSE WILL BE SUS-

PENDED UNLESS he carries a certain minimum

amount of insurance, or unless he deposits secur-

ity "in a sum which shall be sufficient in the

judgment of the department to satisfy any judg-

ment or judgments for damages resulting from

such accident as may be recovered against such

operator or owner." No, insurance is not compul-

sory, BUT the average driver might have to give

up driving if he did not carry insurance.

If the State virtually requires the carrying of

automobile insurance, then it should see to it

that all persons are able to buy it on the same

footing. If private business won't supply the in-

surance, then the State will have to do so itself,

just as it sells disability insurance. As matters

now stand, the Insurance Commissioner is a par-

ty to a system of assigning risks in which colored

persons are discriminated against solely because

of their race. The State should not be a party to

such a deal any more than the State should help

make effective a racial restrictive property

agreement. 0x00B0

The matter will be considered by the Union's

Executive Committee at its September meeting.

Congressional Comm. Urged

To Change Immigration Laws

Invited to testify before the Senate Sub-Com-

mittee on Immigration which is conducting hear-

ings covering the entire field, the Union was

represented through its Alien Civil Rights Com-

mittee by William Gurock, who appeared Aug-

ust 19th with a number of specific recommenda-

tions. Gurock was formerly attached to the Ex-

clusion and Expulsion Section of the Justice De-

partment's Immigration and Naturalization Ser-

vice.

The ACLU's committee advocates the follow-

ing changes in the existing framework of statu-

tory laws in the immigration field: 1) repeal of

the few remaining sections of the Oriental Ex-

clusion Act; 2) legislation to provide asylum

generally to political refugees; 3) enactment of

a ten-year statute of limitations on deportations

of aliens; and 4) removal of provisions in the

set law which discriminate against alien

males,

Gurock pointed out that the Exclusion Act is

predicated on racial discrimination and argued

its repeal further on the basis that only Jap-

anese, Koreans, Indo-Chinese and Indonesians

remain under any ban at present. and that the

quota system would limit the flow of immigrants

of these groups to less than 500 a year.

In the matter of asylum for political refugees,

which has been highlighted by the Kosenkina

case in New York, Gurock argued that persons

such as stowaways, who flee tyranny abroad or

who find, during a stay in this country, that

conditions have so changed in their homeland

as to place them in jeopardy for political reasons

if they return should be granted asylum by law

in accordance with traditional American policy.

Text of the Federal

Peace-Time Sedition Law

The text of the United States sedition law, Sec-

tion 2 of the Alien Registration Act of 1940, also

referred to as the Smith Law, under which 12 top

United States Communists will be tried in New

York City on October 15, is as follows: Le

Section 2. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person-

(1) to knowingly or willfully advocate, abet, advise,

or teach the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of

overthrowing or destroying any government in the

United States by force or violence, or by the assassina-

tion of any officer of any such government;

(2) with the intent to cause the overthrow or de-

struction of any government in the United States, to

print, publish, edit, issue, circulate, sell, distribute, or

publicly display any written or printed matter advocat-

ing, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirabil-

ity, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any gov-

ernment in the United States by force or violence;

(3) to organize or help to organize any society,

group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or

encourage the overthrow or destruction of any govern-

ment in the United States by force or violence; or to be

or become a member of, or affiliate with, any such

society, group, or assembly of persons, knowing the pur-

pose thereof.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the term "gov-

ernment in the United States" means the Government

of the United States, the government of the District of

Columbia, or the government of any political subdivision

of any of them.

Union Protests Violation Of

Rights In Bentley Hearings

On August 4th, ACLU counsel Arthur Gar-

field Hays wrote letters to Senators Homer Fer-

guson (R. Mich.) and Representative J. Parnell

Thomas (R. N. J. ) calling their attention to an

editorial in the August 4th New York Times,

concerning the accusations of Elizabeth T. Bent-

ley, confessed former spy for the Communists.

The editorial, headed "Due Process in Washing-

ton," decried the manner in which the hearings

are being conducted, and stated that they violate -

civil rights, particularly the guarantee against

being called to answer for an infamous crime

except upon Grand Jury indictment, a promise of

open trial by a jury of one's peers, and the right

to confront one's accusors in open court after

having been previously informed of the nature

and the cause of the accusations.

Hays pointed out that, under the separation of

powers theory of our Government, the courts

and juries exist to determine guilt or innocence

of alleged criminal actions. He stated that the

investigative powers of Congress do not include

within them the power to bring quasi-judicial

indictments. Hays suggested that Congressional

investigating committees follow the example of

the Royal Commission in Canada, when it made

its inquiry into espionage in atomic research.

A committee should "conduct its hearings in

private, weigh the evidence and only then make

public the charges."

card Member Chosen

Union B

Chairman Of Loyalty Board

Ernest Angell, board member of the Unton,

was appointed Chairman of the Civil Service

Loyalty Board for the second region, the Com-

mission announced August 18th. The second re-

gion comprises New York and New Jersey, and

accounts for 216,000 Federal employees. Of

these some 50,000 were appointed to their jobs

since October 1, 1947, and are subject to a

loyalty check by the new board. Prior to that

date, all incumbents underwent a loyalty check

by the Commission,

Angell, a New York attorney was SEC re-

gional administrator in New York from 1936 to

1938. He is president of the Association Against

Election Frauds, president of Briarcliff Junior

College and chairman of the committee on muni-

cipal affairs of the New York City Bar Asso-

ciation.

Donation Honors Bishop Parsons

In honor of Bishop Edward L. Parson, a na-

tional and local officer of the ACLU, the Union

recently. received a contribution of $100 from

Helen Salz, vice chairman of the local committee,

on the occasion of the beloved Bishop's 80th

birthday.

The difficult summer financing of the Union's

work has been helped along during the past

month by a $100 contribution by a loyal Carmel

member, and another $100 contribution from a

former Committee member and long-time mem-

ber of the Union. In addition, a Berkeley woman

started her association with the Union by giv-

ing $50.

BOOK NOTES

AMERICANS FROM JAPAN, by Bradford

Smith, former WRA official. J. B. Lippincott

Company, Philadelphia. 400 pp. $5.00.

Smith spent two years on Guggenheim Fel-

lowship researching and writing this study of

the Japanese minority in Hawaii and the U. S.

It is being published as one of "The People Of

America"' series.

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