vol. 15, no. 2

American

ties

Civil

Free Press

Free Speech

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

- Vol. XV

N.J. Supreme Court

Kills Loyalty Oath Bill

_ Upholding lower court rulings that the New

Jersey state legislature had no authority to im-

pose loyalty oaths on candidates for state office

and state office holders, the State Supreme Court

~ ruled 5-2 January 9 that the measures were un-

constitutional. The decision was handed down in

the case of James' B. Imbrie, the Progressive

Party's gubernatorial candidate who challenged

the law prior to last November's elections.

In its decision, the court sustained the Appel-

late Division of the Superior Court, which held

last summer that the state constitution pre-

scribed an oath for public office holders, and the

legislature had superceded its power in enacting

the controversial oath, which made candidates

and office holders swear they belonged to no sub-

versive organization and did not approve of use

of force or violence to overthrow the government.

ACLU, through Attorney Emil Oxfeld, had

_ filed briefs in Imbrie's behalf which contended the

legislature had exceeded its authority, and, in

effect, its action unconstitutionally amended the

state constitution.

The court, in its decision read by Chief Justice

Arthur T. Vanderbilt, did not rule on the consti-

tutional questions of free speech and due process

of law which ACLU had raised.

~ Jury Trial Set for Selier

Of Nudist Magazines

After considering the matter for about six

_ weeks, District Attorney Edmund G. Brown, final-

ly decided last month to go ahead with the prose-

cution of Stanley M. Spencer, who was arrested

last December 6 for selling the nudist magazines

Sunshine and Health and Natural Herald. Mr.

Brown declared he had discussed the matter with

the Police Department and they were insistent

upon another prosecution. If no conviction is

secured this time, Mr. Brown promises that will

`end arrests for distributing the nudist magazines.

Mr. Spencer, who is a clerk at the D and T Cigar

Store, 300 Kearny St., San Francisco, is at liber-

ty on $100 bail. He plead not guilty to a charge

of selling obscene literature and has asked for a

jury trail. While the trial has been set for March

20, it will very likely not be held until a later date.

Mr. Spencer will be represented by attorney

James Martin MacInnis of San Francisco. Last

September, Mr. MacInnis won an acquittal in a

similiar prosecution against Troy Gillespie. Pre-

viously, he won an acquittal in an obscenity trial

involving Edmund Wilson's "The Memoirs of

Hecate County." e

SAN FRANCISCO, FEBRUARY, 1950

City of Berkeley Settles VD

No. 2

Quarantine

False Imprisonment Suit for $500 .

The City of Berkeley paid $500 late last

month to settle a damage suit arising from the

`quarantining in jail of two Berkeley women `to

determine whether they were suffering from a

venereal disease. The women are Opal Black and

Lola Rusk of 2306 West Street, Berkeley. Defend-

ants in the suit were John Pepper, Berkeley Police

Government Files Briefs In

Nisei Renunciation Cases

The Justice Department last month finally filed

briefs in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to

support its appeal from the decisions of Federal

Judge Louis E. Goodman in the Nisei citizenship

renunciation cases. Judge Goodman, on April 12,

1949, signed a final judgment restoring citizen-

ship to about five thousand Nisei who had re-

nounced their citizenship under duress while de-

tained at the Tule Lake concentration camp

during the war. On June 30, 1947, he granted

writs of habeas corpus to the Nisei whom the

government had been holding as alien enemies

because of their war-time renunciations of citizen-

shiv. Both orders are under appeal.

The former judgment specifically restrained

the Government from interfering in any way

with the exercise of citizenship by the renunciants.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to

grant a stay of the judgment.

Wayne M. Collins, attorney for the renunciants,

expects to file his answering briefs early this

month, and consideration of the cases by the

Court should occur sometime within the next

couple of months.

In the meantime, the State and Justice Depart-

ment have announced that renunciants who went

to Japan may apply for restoration of their citi-

zenship. Such applications must be supported by

affidavits, however, setting forth why they re-

nounced their citizenship. These affidavits do

nothing more than to raise the same issues that

were determined by Judge Goodman. In signing

these affidavits, the Nisei place into the hands of

Government one more weapon which may be used

against them to defeat efforts to secure restora-

tion of their citizenship. The requirement of the

affidavit is a devise to entrap renunciants and

constitutes an evasion of Judge Goodman's order

restoring citizenship.

Catholic Nuns Proselyte in San Fran. School |

Dr. Herbert Clish, San Francisco Superinten-

dent of Schools, has promised swift action to put

an end to the proselyting activities of Roman

Catholic nuns at the John Hancock School, located

in the city's heavily Catholic populated North

Beach section.

Official action followed a complaint received by

the Union from Mrs. Byron Randall on January

25 that two nuns had visited the school's fourth

grade class. The nuns reportedly asked which

children were Roman Catholic, and those who

raised their hands were then admonished to at-

tend catechism or not be promoted.

_ Nine-year-old Gale Randall was asked whether

she was a Catholic, and, somewhat awed and

frightened, she answered, defensively, "sort of."

Then the nuns told her to come to church. When

the child came home she was very upset and told

her mother what had happened at school.

Mrs. Randall telephoned another parent and

varified her child's story. She also telephoned the

principal, Miss Hause, who expressed ignorance

and incredulity about the entire affair. It was at

this point that the mother 'phoned the Union.

`The Union at once requested an investigation

by the Superintendent's office and a prompt check

was made. It confirmed Mrs. Randall's complaint.

In fact, it was learned that the nuns had visited

two classes. Dr. Clish is now awaiting a full writ-

ten report from the principal.

The immediate check showed, however, that

the nuns had not secured the required passes from

the Principal or Vice Principal to visit the classes.

The principal, who is not herself a Roman Cath-

olic, freely stated to Mrs. Randall that on one

occasion she had received from the nuns a list of

Catholic children who were not attending cate-

chism and she had admonished them to attend.

Mrs. Randall also states that her child made

a similar complaint sometime before Christmas,

but she did not do anything about it. It. also ap- (c)

pears the nuns meet the children when they are

going home from school in order to check on their

attendance at religious classes.

Superintendent Clish is unalterably opposed to

the activities complained about and intends to

take prompt remedial action.

Officer, John Holstrom, Berkeley Chief of Police

and: the Berkeley Health Officer.

The women charged that on May 10th, 1946, at

11:30 p.m., while seated at a table in a Berkeley

restaurant awaiting the service of food, Officer

Pepper entered and told them the police had a

report they had "burned" a couple of sailors. The

women were taken to the Berkeley jail and next

day transferred to the Oakland jail from which

they were released, after being in custody for 4%

days, when tests showed they were not suffering

from any infectious disease. They had not been

charged with a public offense.

Lola Rusk is the mother of three children. As

a result of her arrest and imprisonment, she

allegedly lost her job.

The suit was filed by Clarence E. Rust of Oak-

land, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties.

Union.

Ernest Besig, Northern California Director of

the Union, declared that the suit was aimed at

putting an end to tre dragnet methods of police

and health departr ents in picking up girls in pub- .

lic places and quarantining them for from three to

five days while the results of venereal disease

tests are awaited. During the period of quaran-

time such persons are not eligible for bail.

The Union contends that health departments

may not quarantine unless there is probable cause -

to believe that a person is suffering from a vene-

real disease and that the infection will be spread

to others unless the person is quarantined. The

Union declared there is no authority to quarantine

persons merely suspected of promiscuity or who

are drunk in public places.

The Union warned that the veneral disease con-

trol program inevitablv will lose public support if

some of the present illegal procedures are not

eliminated.

In San Francisco, in the meantime, the Union's

Executive Committee appointed a subcommittee

to confer with Dr. Richard Koch. director of the

San Francisco Health Department's venereal dis-

ease control program, and Lawrence Arnstein,

secretary of the California Social Hygiene Associ-

ation, concerning alleged denials of due process of

law in the application of San Francisco's venereal

disease auarantine program. The conference was

duly held and was also attended by a representa-

tive of the District Attorney's Office.

The chief question raised was whether the

Adult Probation Officer has authority to take

statements from all women appearing in the Spe-

cial Women's Court prior to plea or verdict of

guilty. The Penal Code specifically authorizes

such investigation after conviction "when so

directed bv the court." The District Attornev's

representative contended, however, that this did

not bar "voluntarv" statements, since the law did

not sav investigations could "only" be made after

conviction or plea of guilty, and "only" upon the

direction of the court. Incidentally, the Special

Women's Court is the only court outside of the

Juvenile Court, where such investigations are

made of all nersons arrested.

The question was also raised at the conference

as to how "voluntary" statements from these

women are since they are faced by officers of the

- court who have the power to make unfavorable

recommendations.

In anv case, it was agreed that the probation

reports should not be made available to the court

until after conviction. nor to the District Attor-

nev. Since the meeting, it was discovered that

nolice officers were scrutinizing the reports

before testifving. That practice, it is expected,

will also be stonped.

It has also been found that in some cases the

health department neglects to file quarantine or-

ders for more than half a day while a woman is

(Continued on Page 3, Col. 1)

- Rage 2

AMBULAN CLVLu LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

JL : High Court Denies Review of

_ Maryland Free Press Verdict

__ An important free press victory was scored

January 10th when the United States Supreme

Court refused to review a decision of the Mary-

land Court of Appeals which had upset a Balti-

_ more court rule barring publication of crime news

8 prior to a trial.

Justice Felix Frankfurter, who read the court

opinion which gave no reason for the denial to

review the case, said that the "sole significance"

- of the denial "simply means that fewer than four

`members of the court denied it was desirable to

review the decision of the Maryland court as a

matter of `sound judicial discretion.' "

Three radio stations and a broadcaster, James

B. Connolly, were convicted last February for vio-

_ lating a nine-year court rule banning press and

radio comment involving criminal cases before

trial. The city court charged contempt because

_ the stations had broadcast evidence against a

Negro, who was later convicted and hanged for

_ the murder of an 11-year-old girl. The conviction

- was upset in the Maryland Court of Appeals. In

a brief filed with the appeals court, the National.

American Civil Liberties Union contended, that

the city ruling "abridges freedom of speech and of

the press by declaring all instances of certain

types of publication to be contempt of court."

The Maryland ACLU branch took an opposite

view, asserting that while the ruling restricts free

speech and the press, it was warranted to protect

fair trials.

_ Hays Scores Trenton Ban on

Play, `They Shall Not Die'

Arthur Garfield Hays, American Civil Liberties

Union general counsel, charged recently that the

refusal of Andrew Duch, Trenton, N.J.'s Director

of Public Safety, to grant a permit for the per-

formance of the John Wexley play, "They Shall

Not Die," was a "shocking and complete disre-

gard for the right of free speech and assembly

_ and clearly unconstitutional."

The play, an original Theatre Guild production

dealing with the famous Scottsboro trials of the

middle 30's, was scheduled to be shown on Novem-

ber 22nd by the New Jersey Cultural Committee,

_now the New Jersey Creative Arts Council. The

group booked the play, staged by People's Drama,

Inc., for showing throughout New Jersey as part

of a campaign to win support for the six Trenton

_ Negro youths facing a second trial on the charge

of murdering a second-hand furniture dealer in

January, 1948. The original conviction was upset

by the New Jersey Supreme Court last spring

which ordered a new trial scheduled to begin next

month. The Civil Rights Congress, a left-wing

defense agency, concentrated its legal attack on

the racial question, claiming the case is a "North-

ern Scottsboro affair." ACLU, after careful

investigation, discounted this, but filed a brief

asserting that the defendants had been denied a

fair trial, because their "confessions" had been -

extorted from them and their defense counsel had

- ho chance to examine the murder weapon. The

New Jersey high court upheld these points. __

~Duch, in a letter to ACLU, which had ques-

tioned him for the reasons. behind his action,

declared that he acted on a city ordinance which

gives him permission to ban productions likely to

create a public disorder.

Hays commented that Duch's action amounted

to precensorship, which is a "bold defiance of the

constitutional right of free speech." He added

that the play has toured in other cities of the

state without creating any disorder.

Hays stated that the ACLU may begin a legal

test of the ordinance to have it declared unconsti-

tutional.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

American Civil Liberties Union of No. Calif.,

461 Market St.,

San Francisco 5, Calif.

1, Please enroll me as a member at dues of

eR for the current year. (Types of mem-

bership: Associate Member, $3; 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 a year.)

2. J pledge $:.......2. per month........ orf per yr.

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

er Year) ee i

Enclosed please find $...0...2....-.-.-... Please bill

IMO e ere ;

INS Ce

CR ee

City. and: Zone. 2.

Occupation. 22

Labor Disciplinary |

Actions Under Review

Disturbed by reports of "illegal and undemo-

cratic procedures in disciplinary proceedings of

trade union members" by several CIO and AFL

union organizations, the Board of Directors of the

American Civil Liberties Union announced Jan-

uary 18th a "preliminary study" of these' pro-

ceedings ... "to discover if, and to what extent,

the civil liberties of union members have' been

violated."

The action was made public by Dr. John Haynes

. Holmes, board chairman; Herbert Northrup, head

of the ACLU Labor Committee, and Acting Di-

rector Clifford Forster. They stated that the

Union's action was prompted by press accounts

and unsolicited- reports from union members in

which "a majority of the cases appear to have

resulted from individual opposition to policies of

the national (union) leadership or the expression

of unpopular minority political opinions." -

Asserting that many of the reports come from.

the maritime and printing industries, the ACLU

officials said it has been informed of cases where

membership books, "without which an individual's

economic existence is imperiled, have been taken _

up," expulsion of members has been practiced,

local union charters are lifted, and violations of

free speech and press are "rampant."

The ACLU officials said that. the issue of

"guaranteeing internal trade union democracy is

not a new one. As early as 1943, disturbed chiefly

by the practices of racial discrimination by unions,

ACLU proposed -federal legislation which would

prohibit this and other undemocratic activity in

a trade union `Bill of Rights' bill. Now, when po-

litical ideologies are so sharp within the labor

movement, it appears that further restrictions of

civil liberties have again cropped up. It is there-

fore properly a subject for review by the ACLU

whose function it is to safeguard individual lib-

erty against repression."

They added that if the findings warrant it, pos-

sibly a full-scale investigation would be under-

taken "which can be related to further congres-

sional consideration of the original Bill of Rights

proposal."

Stressing the non-partisanship of the study, the

ACLU said its inquiry would cover any union or-

ganization falling within the scope of the investi-

gation, whether it be "left or right wing." "Our

purpose is not to condemn or condone the political

beliefs of either individual members or heads of

trade unions," the statement declared.

The ACLU stressed that cooperation would be

sought from leading national union officials and

information will be welcomed from local union

officers and members.

Wire Tap Charges Dismissed

In Two New York Cases

New York State and federal courts recently

both dismissed cases seeking to prove the un-

constitutionality of wire-tapping. `

By unanimous decision, the Appellate Part of

the Court of Special Sessions upheld the convic-

tion of Nancy Choremi, Madeline Blavier, . and

Margaret Starr for prostitution last December in

Women's Court. Although the three received

three-months suspended sentences, an appeal was

taken during which ACLU attacked police use of

wire-tapping to obtain information that led to the

arrest of the three women. It said the women's

constitutional rights had' been violated.

Justices George B. Deluca, William N. North-

rop and Thomas E. Morrissey submitted no writ-

ten opinion in finding that the defendants were

convicted legally.

A special three-man federal statutory court

threw out the suit brought by the New York

Criminal Courts Bar Association against state and

city officials which challenged the validity of

New York State's constitutional amendment

which permits court-authorized wire-tapping. The

court dismissed the complaint on the ground that

the defendants failed to show that they, individ-

- ually, had been deprived of their constitutional

rights and that the action was not within the

court's jurisdiction. oe

The action of the Criminal Courts Bar Associ-

ation was taken after it held lengthy hearings on

the subiect stemming from the Choremi convic-

tion. ACLU last spring protested to Governor

Dewey that the state amendment, which it origin-

ally opposed, had been abused and urged an in-

vestigation into these abuses.

S.F. Supervisors Turn Down FEPC

The San Francisco Board of Supervisiors last

month voted 7-4 against a local Fair Employment

Practice Commission. The Union was one of the

many organizations that supported adoption of

an ordinance establishing an FEPC. S

Fact-Finding Panel Urged for :

UN Human Rights Covenant 4

Establishment of a five-man fact finding com-

mittee to hear complaints and determine viola-

tions of the proposed international covenant on

human rights was urged on the United Nations by

the United States last month.

The UN, which has adopted the first world-_

wide declaration of human rights, is now studying

means of implementing this document.

The American position was outlined by Mrs.

Eleanor Roosevelt, U.S. representative on the UN

Human Rights Committee. She said that the U.S.

proposed that one nation could bring charges of

violation of human rights against another nation,

_and that if the two countries could not agree, the

five-man committee would be authorized to inves-

tigate. :

Also included in the American recommenda-

tions was an international guarantee against gov-

ernmental interference with freedom of informa-

tion.

be covered in the human rights covenant after a

two-year effort to write a separate treaty had

failed. Mrs. Roosevelt said that the U.S. proposal "was

simple and straightforward, worded so as to pro-

tect from governmental interference the right to

hold opinions, to seek, receive and impart. infor-

mation, opinion and ideas, regardless of frontiers, a

through speech, press, art or any other media."

ACLU, through its former director, and now

international affairs chairman, Roger N. Baldwin,

has long fought for the approval and enforcement

of the international freedom of information cove-

nant, and has actively supported the fight for |

adoption and implementation of the international :

Bill of Rights. a

Action Urged on Washington,

D.C., Fiome Rule Bill fo Le

A concerted drive to force the issue of home __

rule for Washington, D. C. out of the House of

Representatives District Committee, where it is -

now pigeon-holed, was under way last month. The = --

bill would guarantee citizens of the capitol dis-_

trict self-government and the right to vote in

_local elections. e

Already passed by the Senate, the issue has ~~" .

been kept from the floor of the House because of

the refusal of the District Committee to approve

the measure. A discharge petition, if signed by __

218 members of the House, will remove the bill -

from the Committee's consideration and bring

it directly before the House. The drive is in the

hands of Rep. John Kennedy (D-Mass.) and if

sufficient support is aroused action may .be

forthcoming this month.

Chief bottleneck has been the obstinance of os

some members of the District Committee who, in

effect, now govern the city, to relinquish their

powers, and enfranchise the 30 per cent Negro

population. Sentiment of the people in the capitol -

district is highly favorable to home rule."

ACLU urged that congressmen bk: contacted

asking that they sign the discharge petition, or

that if they are members of the District Commit-

tee, they act to report the bill favorably without

further delay. oe

Executive Committee _

American Givil Liberties Union -

_of Northern California

Sara Bard Field

Honorary Member

Rt. Rev. Edw. L. Parsons

Chairman

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn

Helen Salz : (

Vice-Chairmen

Joseph S. Thompson

Secretary-Treasurer

Ernest Besig

Director

Philip Adams |

John H. Brill

Prof. James R. Caldwell

H. C. Carrasco Ps

Wayne M. Collins

Rev. Oscar F. Green

Margaret C. Hayes

Ruth Kingman

Ralph N. Kleps

Seaton W. Manning

Mrs. Bruce Porter _

Rabbi Irving F. Reichert

Clarence M. Rust

Prof. Wallace E. Stegner

Beatrice Mark Stern

Dr. Howard Thurman

`Kathleen Drew Tolman

The General Assembly had asked that the oS L

covenant on free press, radio news and news reels

a

eo

onage.

the Federal Communications Commission,

' AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Page 3

Immediate Congressional

Wire-Tap Investigation Urged

Voicing their opposition to the practice of wire

tapping by agents: of the federal government, the

American Civil Liberties Union and the Ameri-

cans for Democratic Action January 10th called

on the Senate Judiciary Committee to open an

immediate investigation of "this `rapidly spread-

ing evil."

In a letter to Sen. Pat McCarran (D-Nev.),

head of the Senate Committee, they urged that

the investigation cover the power of the govern-

' ment to employ wire tapping either to secure evi-

dence or leads to evidence, the extent of wire tap-

ping, "and if it does not now do so, whether the

Federal Communications Act should not be

amended to outlaw all such methods by federal

authorities."

Noting that recent disclosures of wire tapping

by federal agents prompted their action, the

ACLU and ADA officials stated that "fundamen-

tal rights such as confidential communications

between attorney and client, husband and wife,

parent and child, doctor and patient, minister and.

parishioner seem to be in jeopardy."

They added that they had always considered

- wire tapping as an "invasion of the right of pri-

poping p

vacy and serious infringement of civil liberties.

In our opinion the Federal Communications Act

prohibits all forms of wire tapping and we call

to your attention the various decisions of the

United States Supreme Court which have strongly

criticized and barred these practices in federal

cases."

Interest in the use of wire tapping by govern-

ment agents was aroused by recent disclosures in

the trial of Judith Conlon, U.S. Department of

Justice emplovee, and Valentine Gubitchev, Rus-

sian United Nations engineer, charged with espi-

' James Lawrence Fly, former chairman of

blistering indictment of these practices, demanded

in the Washington Post January 7th a full-scale

Congressional inquiry. Atty. Gen. J. Howard

McGrath on January 9th approved the practices

disease examination to be made.

persists in a. more limited wav as seen in a ``vag"

there is a historv of promiscuity.

and said they would continue "in view of the

emergency which still prevails and the necessity

..for pro ne the national security."

: Rerkelev Settles VD

- Querantine Suit for $500

(Continued From Page 1)

- nevertheless held in quarantine on the mere rec-

ommendation of a police officer.

Another practice in the Special Women's Court

is for all criminal cases to be continued for three |

days pending the results of the veneral disease

test. (If a woman is picked un Saturday, the

matter is not disposed of until the following

Thursday.) While the District Attorney is en-

titled to continuances for cause, he is certainly not

entitled to a three-day continuance in every case

that comes before the court. Consequently, even

if the health report is negative (and it is in eisht

out of 10 cases), the defendant is kept in custody

until she reappears before the court. As often as

not. the criminal charges are then dismissed.

During the war vears the San Francisco police

used dragnet methods of auarantining women.

The police develoned the habit of picking up girls

who were seen with Service personnel in bars and

"vageine'' them. The criminal charge was usu-

ally placed for the purnose of enabling a venereal

The practice still

ease tried on January 23. The arrestine officer

: testified he told the girl "Perhans vou'd better

come down for a fest." The criminal charges

were dismissed and the health report proved to be

negative.

More recertiv. the Snecial Women's Court has

handled moastlv the cases of vrostitnutes and street

walkers. Now. however the police are recom-

mending cnarantine in the cases of women who

are drunk in nublic nlaces and the health depart-

`ment is exercising its quarantine nowers in this

tvne of case. It is also quarantining in the cases of

promiscuous women. even if it only suspects

Incidentally,

the men companions of these women are rarely

quarantined. .

Slight Rise in Lynchinas Noted

A slight rise in the number of Southern lynch-

` : ings was noted for 1949 by F. D. Patterson, presi-

- dent of Tuskegee Institute this week. Three

cent

lynchings occurred. one more than 1948 and two

`over the 1947 total.

President Patterson reported that 17 persons-

six whites and 11 Negroes-escaped lynch mobs

last year, most of them through the eg of

law officers.

The men lynched last year were all Negroes.

in 2

gain Released on

al as High

Court Hands Down Bad Decision in Knauff Case

The Central Office of the Immigration Service

on January 9 authorized the release of Valentina

I. Gardner on bail, and she is again at liberty after

$1000 in U. S. Treasury bonds was posted by the

Civil Liberties Union.

This action by the Immigration Service came

just before Federal Judge Louis E. Goodman of

San Francisco was about to hear arguments on

an application to continue Mrs. Gardner on bail.

On December 23 he had granted her "temporary

conditional release' over the Christmas holidays,

after a Board of Special Inquiry had found -that

her entry would not be prejudicial to the inter-

ests of the United States, "if the Attorney Gen-

eral after consultation with the Secretary of State

. .. is satisfied that her admission would not be

prejudicial to the interests of the United States."

The file was air mailed to Washington on De-

cember 23, and it was hoped that by the time Mrs.

Gardner's conditional release expired on January

9 there would be a final decision in her case.

Unfortunately, there was no decision and the

local Immigration Service refused to continue

' Mrs. Gardner on bail.

At this point, Wayne M. Collins, A.C.L.U.

attorney, telephoned Willard Kelly, Assistant Com-

missioner of Immigration in Washington and pre-

vailed upon him to authorize Mrs. Gardner's

release on bail. The Gardners are still in San

Francisco awaiting a final decision in the case

that has now been pending for more than fourteen

months.

In the meantime, on.January 16, the U. S.

Supreme Court handed down an unfavorable deci-

sion in the Ellen Knauff case, which is similar to

the Gardner case. The court split 4 to 3.

left Germany and went to Czechoslovakia during

the Hitler regime. There she was married and

divorced. She went to England in 1939 as a refu-

gee. Thereafter she served with the Royal Air

Force efficiently and honorably from January 1,

1943, until May 30, 1946. She then secured civilian

employment with the War Department of the

United States in Germany. Her work was rated

`very good' and `excellent.' On February 28, 1948,

with the permission of the Commanding General

at Frankfurt, Germany, she married Kurt W.

Knauff, a naturalized citizen of the United States.

He is an honorably discharged United States

Army veteran of World War II. He is, as he was at

the time of his marriage, a civilian employee of

the United States Army at Frankfurt, Germany."

. Ellen Knauff sought to enter the United States

in New York under the War Brides Act. "On

October 6, 1948, the Assistant Commissioner of

Immigration and Naturalization recommended

ing on the ground that her admission would be

prejudicial to the interests of the United States.

On the same day the Attorney General adopted

this recommendation and entered a final order

of exclusion." She then sought her release by a

writ of habeas corpus.

Under a 1941 Act of Congress the President

was given war-time authority to provide "restric-

tions and prohibitions in addition to those" pro-

vided otherwise in the law upon aliens seeking

entry into the country. It was thereafter provided

that no alien should be permitted to enter the

United States if it were found that such entry

would be prejudicial to the interests of the United

States, and it also provided that a hearing might

be denied by the Attorney General where he de-

termined that the alien was excludable on the

basis of information of a confidential nature.

The majority held that a state of war still

exists, and that the Attorney General's authority

still remains in force. The court also decided that

"The exclusion of aliens is a fundamental act of

sovereignty. The right to do so stems not alone

from legislative power but is inherent in the execu-+

tive power to control the foreign affairs of the

nation .. . Whatever the rule may be concerning

deportation of persons who have gained.entry into

the United States, it is not within the province of

any court, unless expressly authorized by law, to

review the determination of the political branch

of the Government to exclude a given alien." The

court also held that the War Brides Act did not

ales the security provisions of the immigration

aws.

Justice Jackson wrote a strong dissent that

was concurred in by Justices Black and Frank-

furter. Said he: "Now this American citizen is

told that he cannot bring his wife to the United

States, but he will not be told why. He must aban-

don his bride to live in his own country or fore-

sake his country to live with his bride.

"So he went to court and sought a writ of

habeas corpus, which we never tire of citing to

Europe as the unanswerable evidence that our

free country permits no arbitrary official deten-

tion. And the Government tells the Court that not

even a court can find out why the girl is excluded.

But it says we must find that Congress authorized

this treatment of war brides and even if we. can-

not get any reasons for it, we must say it is legal;

security requires it.

"Security is like liberty in that many are the . -

crimes committed in its name. The menace of the

security of this country, be it great as it may,

from this girl's admission is as nothing compared

to the menace to free institutions inherent in pro- -

cedures of this pattern. In the name of security |

the police state justifies its arbitrary oppressions

on evidence that is secret, because security might

be prejudiced if it were brought to light in hear-

ings. The plea that evidence of guilt must be

secret is abhorrent to free men, because it pro-

vides a cloak for the malevolent, the misinformed,

the meddlesome, and the corrupt to play the role

of informer undetected and uncorrected."

Neither Justice Douglas nor Justice Clark par-

ticipated in the consideration or decision of the

Knauff case.

N.Y. City Council Adoot:

Stringent Ban on Housing Bias

Taking an unprecedented step, New York City's

Council'recently unanimously passed an ordinance

banning discrimination in public or private hous- -

ing aided in any manner by the municipality,

_ through tax exemptions, financial assistances,

Ellen Knauff "was born in Germany in 1915. She (c)

condemnation or markdown in price to private _

users. It was the first city in the country to take :

such action.

So,emphatic was the Council's decision that the

matter was not referred to a committee nor were

hearings necessary before passage. The action

followed in the wake of President Truman's an-

nouncement that the Federal Housing Authority -

would ban insurance on mortgages on racially-re- .

stricted property.

Commenting on the action, the New York State

Committee on Discrimination in Housing, a pri-

vate agency, said, `"`This momentous step will pave'

the way to enactment. of similar legislation in

Albany in the 1950 session and stimulate efforts

leading to. similar ordinances and state laws

throughout the country."

High Court Frees Man. Held

On Obscene Letter Charge -

that she be permanently excluded without a hear- (c)

Jesse Sinclair, a Bonueyhien sentenced to a

year and a day in jail for allegedly sending his -

wife an obscene letter through the U.S. mails was

freed Jan. 9th by a unanimous decision of the

U.S. Supreme Court. The high court's action re-

versed a decision of the U.S. Circuit Court of

Appeals in Philadelphia. .

Sinclair was charged with sending his wife a

letter containing strong statements relating to -

her sexual acts. A Federal District Court held

him suiltv of using the mails for obscene purposes.

ACLU filed a brief in Sinclair's behalf in the

Suvreme Court, claiming the letter was a con-

fidential communication, that it was not obscene,

and the prosecution for sending such a letter is a

violation of the right of free speech in the ab-

sence of a clear and present danger.

Lafayette Colleae Refuses |

Bequest Tied to Bias Clause

Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., turned down ~

January 4th a $140,000 bequest made to it by -

Frederick F. T. Dumont, former U.S. diplomatic -

official, because the scholarships provided in the

gift were for "American-born" students, "Jews -

and Catholics excepted." |

The action of the Board of Trustees came after

an original annnouncement by Lafayette's presi-

dent, Dr. Ralnh C. Hutchinson, that the first pay-

ment of the bequest, $13,506, would be accepted

by the college despite the discriminatory bars.

Dr. Hutchinson's statement on the trustees'

decision said that "the legacy contains an inoper- -

ative clause discriminating against Jews and

Catholics. The Board has taken action declining

the legacv as containing intimations of discrimi-

nation which are contrary to the history, practice

and ideals of Lafayette College."

Page 4

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS_

American Civil Liberties Union-News

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

Calif., by the American 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 3, 1879

Subscription Rates-One Dollar a Year.

Ten Cents per Copy -151.

Union Handled Another Batch

Of Loyalty Cases Last Month

One loyalty issue was favorably disposed of by

the Union last month, while in another case an

unfavorable decision was handed down by the

Regional Loyalty Board.

In the first case, the Loyalty Review Board

reversed the decision of the Regional Loyalty

Board in the case of an illiterate Negro worker

who had no representation at his original hear-

ing. The employee was charged with membership

in the Communist Party, which he denied, and

with attending classes at the California Labor

School under the GI Bill of Rights, which he ad-

mitted. The board whose decision was reversed

consisted of Judge Bradford Bosley, Colbert Cold-

well and Frank S. Gaines.

_In the second case, a Regional Loyalty Board

composed of Edward Hohfeld, Clarence E. Patty

and Frank S. Gaines decided against a Negro

hospital attendant at the U.S. Marine Hospital in

San Francisco. He is an admitted ex-Communist

who withdrew from the Party because they

"weren't doing him any good." If he had damned

| the Communists, maybe the board would have

acted otherwise. He testified, however, that the

Communists did nothing bad in his presence.

"They never did no overthrowin' in my presence."

An appeal has been taken to the Loyalty Review

Board in Washington. The Union has another ap-

peal ae that body which has not yet been

eard.

Besides assisting in the case cited in another

column of this issue, the Union also appeared in

behalf of a Negro packer for the Naval Supply

Depot. It was claimed his name appeared on a

list maintained by the Communist Party "and

that of the 32 names appearing on the list 26 have

been identified as members of the Communist

Party." It was also "reliably reported" that he

was a Communist. He denied these charges and

also denied that he had ever subscribed to the

Daily People's World. Three other charges in- -

volved his wife (who is not a Government work-

er) and concerned her activities essentially prior

to their marriage. The case is under submission

to the hearing board.

In still another case, a 23-year-old Nevro mai

clerk and ex-U.C. student was charged by the

Regional Loyalty Board with being a member of

A.Y.D. in 1944 and with holding two meetings of

that group in her home. It is also charged that

she belonged to a Communist faction of the N.A.

A.C.P. at U.C. a year ago, although she attended

only the opening orientation meeting of that

group. She denied membership in the A.Y.D. and

claimed that only church and sorority meetings

were held in her home. While her answer was filed

about five weeks ago, she has heard nothing fur-

ther from the Board.

It is noteworthy that all the foregoing loyalty

cases involve Negroes. .

a Larry Gara Draft Violation

Conviction Upheld

The conviction of Larry Gara, Ohio Mennonite

college teacher, for violating the peace-time Se-

lective Service act by counseling one of his stu-

dents, Charles Rickert, to stand by his principles

and not register for the draft, has been upheld by (c)

the United States Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Gara, who was sentenced last March to an 18-

month jail sentence, has been paroled by the gov-

ernment, but his case is being taken to the Su-

preme Court as a matter of principle.

The Gara conviction has been attacked on the

grounds that Rickert had already indicated his

refusal to register three months before he met

Gara. The government charges Gara with "aiding

and abetting" Rickert's violation on the basis

that registration is a continuing obligation.

ACLU has supported Gara's case in the lower

courts and will participate when the. issue is

brought before the U. S. Supreme Court.

The Circuit Court answered the argument that

Gara was denied free speech without the exist-

ence of a "clear and present danger" bv assert-

- ing that Congress is the judge of the existence of

the "clear and present danger.'"' Commenting on

the alleged abridgment of Gara's religious rights;

the court merely noted that the "rights of religion

are not beyond limitation."

Loyalty Charges Claim Employee's Opinions

"Coincided' With Those of the Communists

The most flagrant case yet to arise under the

Government's loyalty program came to the.

Union's attention last month. The employee, a

21-year-old typist for the Army Recruiting Serv-

ice, is being proceeded against under Public Law

808, which gives certain departments of the Gov-

ernment summary powers of removal.

The employee is not charged with membership

in any organization found on the Attorney Gen-

eral's subversive list. She is not charged with

associating with members of such groups. She is

charged merely with having "expressed opinions

which coincide with stated principles of the Com-

munist Party." While the employee, whose fate

is still unsettled, claims the interrogatories she

received distorted her opinions, here are the ques-

tions and her answers:

a. You stated that the United States Govern-

ment was a "Fascist" government.

I have never on any occasion stated that the

United States Government was a "Fascist"

government, and such a statement is con-

trary to my beliefs.

b. You believe the United States forces should

get out of Germany.

While I know little on the subject of our

`occupation of Germany and consequently am

not qualified to express any opinions on the

matter, I am certain*I never expressed the

view that we should get out of Germany. On

the contrary. I have felt that we should con-

tinue the occupation until the German people

are able to rule themselves. At the same

time,,I have no recollection of ever discuss-

ing this subject with anyone.

c. You believe the Russian satellite countries

are much better off under the control of

Russia than they ever were before Russia

dominated them.

This is another subject about which I know

little or nothing. In any case, I did not make

the foregoing statement nor anything similar

to it. I may, at one time or another, have

discussed Church domination of various

countries, but I am really at a loss to under-

stand what basis your informant could have

for distorting my views in this manner.

d. You do not favor the Marshall plan.

I believe I have been present when the Mar-

shall Plan was the subject of discussion

among a number of people, but I certainly

: never made the categorical statement that

I do not favor it. Maybe it is not commend-

able to be such a poorly informed citizen, but

I must confess that I have no views on the

subject because I do not have information

on which to base an opinion. In a discussion

where others did the talking, I may have

agreed or disagreed with something that was

said, but I am sure that is the limit of any

expression I could have made on the subject.

e. You expressed pleasure over the fact that

China was being overrun by the Communists

and stated you believed China will be much

better off if it is dominated by the Commu-

nists. You have highly praised the book "Red

Star Over China" and indicated you were in

accord with the text.

T have discussed events in China, not from

any interest in Communist politics, but only

from the standpoint of the welfare of the

Chinese people and the reported corruption

of the Chiang-Kai-shek government. Any

approval I expressed was not for Commu-

_ nism but over the fact that the Chinese peo-

ple were trving to improve their lot.

_ I did read "Red Star Over China" and I was

favorably impressed with the book. I never

knew until I read the foregoing question that

this book was regarded as subversive and

that I might get into trouble if I read it. I

had gathered the honest impression after

reading the book that the author was not

a Communist, but that he went into China

with the purpose of giving an unbiased ac-

count of what he saw.

f. You have said that you were glad that Car-

dinal Mindzenty got what was coming to him

in Czechoslovakia.

I have often expressed views against any

clerical interference in government in this

country or anywhere else. Any comments I

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zenty undoubtedly reflected this basic prin-

ciple, but certainly did not seek to pass judg-

ment on the prosecution. I never did say that

"Cardinal Mindzenty got what was coming

to him in Czechoslovakia."

g. You have frequently defended the Commu-

nist leaders tried for treason in Now York

City.

I have never defended the New York Com-

munist leaders or any others, nor have I

ever defended the commission of treason. I

believe it is possible to be unsympathetic

with Communism and still question the wis-

dom of our modern version of the Alien and

Sedition laws which our school history texts

told us were abused and discredited. My own

feeling is that people should not be punished

merely for their political beliefs. Anything

_I said in commenting on the Communist

prosecution in New York was along this

line.

h. You have stated you thought Italy would be

"better off" under Russian control.

I could never have made the absurd state-

ment that Italy would be "better off under

Russian control.' Certainly, Russia has no

place in Italy. At the time of the Italian

elections, I recall speculating as to who

would win, but that is as far as any state-

ments of mine went.

In general, let me say that I do not share

"the beliefs, ideologies and sympathies of

the Communist Party.' While I know little

or nothing concerning Communism, I do

know that I am opposed to the dictatorship

of a Hitler, Mussolini or Stalin. I do not0x2122

favor trading liberty for the economic se-

curity promised by these leaders.

Firing of Security Risks by

Private Employers Challenged

The American Civil Liberties Union urged last

month a change in regulations of the Industrial

Employment Review Board in order to prevent

arbitrary dismissals of alleged subversive em-

ployees by employers who feared that military

contracts would be denied them if these workers

were retained.

In a letter to Col. E. M. Talley, Jr., chief of the

Office of Manpower in the Munitions Board, under

which the IERB operates, ACLU staff counsel

Herbert M. Levy stated that "adequate proce-

dures already exist by which the government

weeds out a bad security risk who has access ta.

classified materials." Levy emphasized that only

such a person should be subject to ERB security

checks and that these cases must be administered

only by the government. "This should not be

done by an employer. If a contract is denied

because of the possibility of an employee's being

a bad security risk, it should be only after" an

employer's appeal from a denial of a contract has

determined that an employee is subject to dis-

charge or transfer to a non-sensitive position.

The issue grew out of the action of the Stewart-

Warner Corporation of Chicago, which dismissed

five emnloyees, shops stewards for the left-wing

United Electrical Workers Union who had refused

to sign non-Communist affidavits. The com-

pany's decision to require loyalty oaths was

alleeedlv based. in part, unon certain criteria set

up by the Munitions Board. This provided that

access to military information necessary for the

negotiation. award or performance of a contract

shall be refused to prospective contractors if rea-

sonable grounds exist to believe that any of the

company's personnel could not pass the IERB

security tests.

Levy suggested that the Department of Defense _

make a public announcement to the effect that

present regulations were not intended to give con-

tractors power to discharge emplovees considered

bad security risks, and that only when contracts

are actually denied could employers move against

employees.

"Certainly there is no justification for the imno-

sition of loyaltv oaths by contractors or would-be

contractors. The government. through the IERB,

is completely competent to judge the questions of

whether giving a particular person access to clas-

sified information creates a security risk. and

should take sole responsibility for such action."

Public Funds for Transportation

Of Parechiel Students Hit

Five minutes before the deadline, a petition of

20,660 signatures was filed in Boston, Mass., to

place on the next election ballot an initiative to

repeal a state law permitting the use of public

funds to provide bus transnortation for public and

parochial schools. According to a report in the

Christian Century, the drive was spear-headed by

Frank J. Batcheller, chairman of the national

committee of the League Opposed to Sectarian

Appropriation.