vol. 16, no. 8

American -

Civil Liberties

Union-News

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."*

Free Press

Free Assemblage

Free. Speech

VOLUME XVI.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AUGUST, 1951

No. 8

_ Suggestions, Please!

`The terms of the following eight members

of the Executive-Committee of the American

Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

expire October 31: Rev. Oscar F. Green, Mrs.

Margaret C. Hayes, Rt. Rev. Edward L. Par-

sons, Clarence Rust, Prof. Wallace-E. Stegner,

Beatrice Mark Stern, Dr. Howard Thurman

and Kathleen D. Tolman. These persons are

all eligible for re-nomination. There are no

vacancies on the Committee at the present

time.

_ The Union invites its members to suggest

the names of persons to serve on the Com-

mittee. Such suggestions should reach the

Union's office, 503 Market St., San Fran-

_cisco 5, California, no later than August 31.

In submitting your suggestions, please

give as much biographical information about

-your candidate as possible. Also, bear in

mind that Committee members are expected

to attend noon meetings in San Francisco

once a month and to serve on sub-committees.

High Court Rules Out Damage

Suit Against Tenney Comm.

Shortly before the U..S. Supreme Court re-

cessed, it handed down an 8-1 decision involving |

the Federal Civil Rights Act. The case involved

William Brandhove, who had sued the members

of the California Un-American Activities Com-

mittee (Tenney Committee) for damages, claim-

ing his federal civil rights had been violated when

the Committee called him before it, alledgedly not

for a legislative purpose, but solely to silence him

after he had circulated literature against it. In

reversing the decision of the Circuit Court of

Appeals at San Francisco, the Supreme Court, in

an opinion by Justice Frankfurter, held that be-

cause of the country's long history of giving ab-

solute immunity to legislators, it could assume

that the Civil Rights Act was never intended to

make legislators liable, even assuming that Con-

gress could constitutionally do so,

In a separate concurring opinion, Mr. Justice

Black pointed out that even under the majority

opinion, legislators might be liable if they acted

in a non-legislative field and stated that there

were "grave doubts" as to whether the Commit-

`tee could constitutionally exercise all its broad

powers. In the sole dissent, Mr. Justice Douglas

claimed that Brandhove's right to free speech had

been denied by a perversion of the power of the

Committee, thus ending the reason for the right

to immunity. - =

Following this ruling, the Supreme Court

handed down another decision affecting the Civil

Rights Act. By a 6-3 vote, the high court reversed

the decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals at

San Francisco in the Hardyman v. Collins case,

which held that private persons who broke up a

public meeting to discuss national issues were

liable for damages to the private parties whose

right to discuss national issues had been impaired.

Writing for the majority, Mr. Justice Jackson

held that even assuming that defendants did de-

prive plaintiffs of "having and exercising" a fed-

eral right which would bring the case within the

Federal Civil Rights Act, there was no proof that

these defendants were conspiring to deprive the

plaintiffs of equality of protection by the law or

their equality of privileges and immunities under

the law the only type of conspiracy affected by the

law. Injury there was, snd discrimination against

this meeting too, the court said, but "such private,

discrimination is not inequality before the law un-

less there is some manipulation of the law or its

agencies to give sanction or sanctuary for doing

so." Their rights were certainly violated, but not

their rights under law or to protection of the laws.

The Hardyman case was a test case begun by

the ACLU's Southern California affiliate and car-

ried on with the aid of the national office.

The Cicero

On July 10-12, 1951, mob violence in Cicero

broke out over the prospective occupancy of an

apartment by a Negro veteran and his family.

Law and order broke down so completely that

Cook County Sheriff Babb requested Governor

Adlai Stevenson to call in the national guard. This

was done and it was the first time in almost three

decades that troops were used in the Chicago

area to quell racial disturbances.

Cicero

Cicero is a separate, incorporated municipality

located west of Chicago. It begins at 4600 West

and runs to 6200 West, extending from 39th Street

on the south (bordering Chicago and Stickney) to

12th Street on the north (bordering Chicago and

Oak Park). Its 70,000 residents comprise more

than 22 nationality groups, with a predominance

U. S. Supreme Court Upholds

L. A. Employee Loyalty Oath

Before it recessed, the U. S. Supreme Court

upheld by a 5:4 vote the constitutionality of the

_Los Angeles City employees loyalty oath which

required the foreswearing of advocacy of violent

overthrow of the government or membership in

an organization so advocating,

Mr. Justice Clark, writing for the majority,

held that this was a reasonable regulation to pro-

tect the municipal service by establishing a quali-

fication of loyalty Though the ordinance required

foreswearing of the forbidden advocacy or mem-

bership for five years prior to its enactment, the

City charter had proscribed the same activities

for seven years-hence the ordinance was not an

unconstitutional ex post:facto law. Nor was it a

bill of attainder (punishment without judicial

trial), Justice Clark held, since by prohibiting

generally the prospective employment based on

certain standards, the law did not impose a pun-

ishment. The charge that the oath was "guilt by

association" and a violation of due process of

law was denied by Justice Clark who said that ~

there was no reason to suppose that the Califor-

nia courts will not read the requirement of knowl-

edge of the purposes of the organizations into

Law .

Mr. Justice Burton, writing a separate dissent,

claimed that the oath was invalid as an ex post

facto law; it acts and always will act as a bar to

employees who ever held the proscribed views at

any time since a date five years preceding the

effective date of the ordinance. Mr. Justice Frank-

furter, in another dissent, ruled that the oath was

a violation of due process of law, since*there was

no reason to read the requirement of knowledge

into the statute-men cannot be asked, ``on pain

of giving up public employment, to swear to some-

thing they cannot be expected to know." He also

pointed out that loyalty oaths "may in the long -

run to more harm than good." Mr. Justice Black,

joined in another dissent by Mr. Justice Douglas,

claimed that this case is clearly governed by prec-

edents showing the oath to be a bill of attainder,

finding it unnecessary to reach the question of

whether the law was ex post facto.

The majofity also held constitutional Los An-

.geles' requirement. of its employees of an affida-

vit disclosing past or present membership in the

Communist Party, since this may prove relevant

to fitness for public service. The Court did not

consider the question of whether such affiliation

would justify discharge.

Membership Keeps Growing

The Union's local paid-up membership reached

1854 last month. The Union ended its first eight

years with only 624 members, but during the past

eight years the membership has almost trebled. -

The paid mailing list now totals 2110, including

256 separate subscribers to the "News."

Race

of persons of Czechoslovak lineage, with many

of Polish, Lithuanian, Italian, and German par-

entage. There are nine large Roman Catholic

churches and eleven small Protestant churches.

There is no synagogue, although there are ap-

proximately 900 Jewish adults living in the city. -

It is said that no Negroes live within the limits

of Cicero.

A large proportion of Cicero's wage-earners

work for the Western Electric Company. The sec-

ond largest industry is Hurley Manufacturing

(Hot Point). Cicero has had a reputation of being

Al Capone's town, although it is said that he never

lived there, but had large gambling and beer sup-

ply interests there. The municipality is governed

by a 7-man board of trustees, with Henry San-

dusky as town president. He was first elected in

1944. The chief of police, Ervin Konovsky, was

appointed by the town president in 1944, :

June 8th to July 10th

Some years ago the 20-apartment building at

6132-42 W. 19th Street in the northwestern sec-

tion of Cicero was purchased by Miss Camille De

Rose. She increased rents and was harassed by

tenants. In March, 1951, she leased the apartment

in the building in which she was living to Mr. and

Mrs. Harvey E. Clark, Jr., a Negro veteran and

his wife. They did not attempt to move in imme-.

diately. On March 31st, Miss De Rose found po-

lice stationed outside her apartment because they

felt a Negro family would move in. Later Cicero

`City Attorney Nicholas Berkos told her that they

would not and could not afford to permit Negroes

to be in the neighborhood because it would cause

bloodshed and they would not be responsible for

(Continued on Page 2, Col. 1)

Red-Hunting Bill Vetoed

Governor Earl Warren last month pocket

vetoed S.B. 1836, the most vicious red-hunt-

ing bill adopted by the 1951 session of the

California Legislature. It would have al-

lowed the dismissal of State College teachers

who, wittingly or unwittingly, joined or gave

"active support" to Communist fronts, or

who actively and persistently participated in

the public meetings of such groups.

Under the proposal, "any person" could

start the machinery of dismissal proceed-

ings against a professor by filing "a com-

plaint accompanied by an affidavit stating

tacts which, if established by competent evi-

dence, would constitute grounds for dis-

Missal...) i =

Critics of the legislation pointed out that

the bill was an open invitation to disgruntied

students, parents, or spiteful citizens to in-

timidate members of state college faculties,

and the Governor agreed. ;

The Governor announced that he had de-

cided to veto the bill after conferences with

Superintendent of Public Instruction, Roy

Simpson. He also questioned the constitu-

tionality of the measure and declared that

the general probiem is adequately covered by

existing law. He noted that the bill was "de-

signed to fire a particular professor at San

Diego State College."

Senator Fred H. Kraft of San Diego, who

introduced the bill in the last three weeks of

the session, stated quite frankly that it was

_ aimed at securing the discharge of Prof.

Harry Steinmetz of San Diego State College,

who has been active in left wing groups off

the campus.

The Union congratulates the Governor on

his veto and wishes to express its apprecia-

tion to its many members who, in response to

the Union's circular letter of July 3, urged

the Governor to veto the measure.

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

(Continued from Page 1, Col. 3)

their safety. Later two police officers visited her

in her apartment and she said they told her that

if she attempted to rent it to a Negro, she would

not be able to get away with it. (Miss De Rose's

interest in the trust owning the whole apartment

has been transferred to Jewel Young, 4757 S.

Parkway.)

On June 8th, Charles E. Edwards, the rental

agent, went to the apartment with Mrs. George

C. Adams. At 2:30 p.m. a moving van with Mr.

and Mrs. Clark drove to the building. Two plain

clothesmen stopped the truck and said the furni-

ture could not be moved into the building without

a permit. The two women went into the apart-

ment. Mr. Edwards said he was followed by a

policeman with a drawn revolver who said, "All

of you get out of here right away-we are all

going out." They left the building with the officer

following with a drawn revolver. The attorney

checked with Cicero authorities and was told that

no permit to move furniture was ever required.

Following is an affidavit from Charles S. Edwards

describing subsequent events:

"About 6 p.m. the Chief of Police of Cicero

rushed out of the alley nearby followed by about

20 men and rushed up and grabbed my arm. The

- police in the cars out front got out of their cars

and rushed up toward us. The chief said to me,

`You should know better-get going-get out of

here fast. There will be no moving into this

building. I'm not going to endanger the lives of

19 families for the likes of you.' During these

statements, the chief held my left arm with his

strong left hand and he kept hitting me in the

back with his right fist, especially at my right

shoulder and on my right side below the shoul-

der. He hit me about eight times while he was

pushing me ahead of him toward my car which

was parked across the street. I was trying to

walk, but he was trying to make me move faster.

When we reached my car, I opened the door and

the chief shoved me inside and said, `Get out of

Cicero and don't come back in town or you'll get

a bullet through you.' There were 3-4 officers

with the Chief ... I have not been back to Cicero

since and my clients the Clarks have not been

allowed to move into the. aber nent, which is

theirs =

Mr. Edwards and Me Clark brought this ee

ter to the attention of the NAACP and other de-

fense agencies. It was decided to bring criminal

prosecution against the civic authorities of Cicero

under the United States code-the civil rights sta-

tutes-for conspiring to deprive citizens of their

right of freedom of movement ky force and vio-

lence and under authority. They also filed a $200,-

000 damage suit against the town.

On June 26th, United States District Judge,

- John P. Barnes heard the appeal for a preliminary.

injunction restraining the town of Cicero from

stopping Mr. Clark and family from moving into

the apartment. Cicero Attorney Nicholas Berkos,

_representing Cicero Police Chief Ervin Konovsky,

argued that all the accusations were denied by

town officials. Judge Barnes issued the tempo-

rary injunction warning, "If you don't obey the

order, you're going to be in serious trouble. Pll

tell you what you are going to do. You are go-

ing to exercise the same diligence in seeing that

these people move in as you did in trying to keep

them out." When Joseph Lustfield, attorney for

the town trustees, interrupted to say that there

had been "some trouble" about the ownership of

the building, Judge Barnes said, "You don't need

to worry about who the owners are. From now

on you are going to treat these people like any-

- body else." The order restrains the town, its pres-

ident, its chief of police, and other officials and

agents from `shooting, beating and otherwise ha-

rassing"' Mr. Clark and his family. Judge Barnes

set September 11th for a hearing on the perma-

nent injunction and the $200,000 damage claim.

He refused to order hearings by a master in

chancery and said, "I want to hear this case my-

self." Later the Clarks appeared before U. S. At-

torney Otto Kerner for questioning to determine

if the case should be presented to a federal grand

jury for possible action under the 1870 rights

`law, originally an anti-Ku Klux Klan measure.

With this temporary injunction, the Clarks pre-

pared to move into the apartment, with the date

kept secret. The Illinois Interracial Commission,

the Chicago Council Against Discrimination, and

other groups tried to do what they could to pre-

pare the community for the move-in. For exam-

ple, on June 28th, The Church Federation of Great-

er Chicago sent a communication to all Protestant

ministers in Cicero and Berwyn, asking them to

make a statement from their pulpits on July ist

to help maintain peace and order. They enclosed

a statement written by a pastor in a similar dis-

turbed area in Chicago.

The Clarks moved their furniture into the apart-

ment building on Tuesday, June 10th. Although

the date of move-in was a closely-quarded secret,

observers on the scene on June 10th heard neigh-

bors discuss tha' the family was moving in that

day. Their furniture was moved into the apart-

ment, although they did not stay that night. A

crowd gathered, and the windows of the Clark

apartment were broken.

Wednesday, July Lith

The nineteen other families in the building mov-

ed out most of their furniture and put it in storage

during the day.

An observer from the American Civil Liberties

Union made this report of what he saw that even-

ing: `When I arrived at 7:30 p.m., a crowd of 800-

900 people were gathering. By dusk it had grown

to 4000-5000 people. There were people of all ages,

many women and children. The most active were

teen-agers, some in gangs. Police did nothing to

break up the gangs. There was a large pile of

stones in a lot near the apartment and later in the

evening police watched women pass stones from a

rock-pile back to throwers in the crowd and they

made no effort to stop this. The police for the

"most part were in a jovial mood, cracked jokes

with the crowd, and some made Jim Crow remarks.

By dark the ropes were cut by the gangs and the

crowd came close to the apartment. Stones were

thrown in the windows on all three floors, with

increasing intensity on the South side of the build-

ing. There was one feeble effort by the County

Police to re-rope the area, but this was soon aban-

doned. Firecrackers were thrown and one man,

said to ke a plainclothesman, went up to the

group of kids and was heard to say, `Cut out the

firecrackers. In case you're searched, don't have

any on you. We don't care how many stones you

throw, but get rid of the firecrackers.'

"By 10:30 p.m., the frames of windows were be-

ing knocked out. Then a gang climbed into the

apartment building from first-floor windows and

kicked out sections of the windows. They went

upstairs and vandalized apartments and turned on

water and gas. One came out saying, `get back,

maybe there'll be an explosion.' They threw fur-

niture out of the window and this was burned by

others below. By 11:30 p.m., the gang was in the

basement tearing up the plumbing. Then one boy

rushed outside and said that they were being held

downstairs. A large gang then moved into the

basement and police used tear gas, which seemed

to be effective for ten minutes. Later a loud speak-

er announced that Mr. Clark said he would not re- -

turn to the apartment."

A similar first-hand account of Wednesday night

appears in the Friday Chicago Sun-Times, written

ky reporter David Anderson. It was estimated

that 30 Cicero policemen and 20 of the Sheriff's

deputy policemen were on the scene. One police-

man was hit in the head with a brick and hos-

pitalized. Sheriff Babb said he was "disappointed

at the degree of cooperation received from Cicero."

His deputies asked the Cicero firemen to connect

hoses and keep the crowd back, but they wouldn't

do it except with an order from. their lieutenant

and he couldn't be found. The chief of police of

Cicero was reportedly unavailable both on Tues-

day and Wednesday evening. The president of

the town council was out of town on Wednesday

evening, summering at Antioch, Illinois.

Sheriff Babb was on the scene on Wednesday

evening and talked to the crowd in an effort to

disperse them. There are conflicting reports of

just what he told them. Early in the morning on

Thursday, young men even pulled down a half

dozen 25-foot high poplar trees in front of the

apartments. As each tree ripped, there was a

crackle-and cheers. Although late in the even-

ing it was announced by police loudspeaker, that

the Clark family agreed not to return to the apart-

ment, this report was labeled false by the NAACP.

Clark's attorney on Thursday said, "He (Clark)

doesn't believe Cicero residents can afford to deny

him his civil rights after he made such a sacrifice

and helped to win the war and to establish the

safety of those who live in Cicero."

Community Reaction

The press gave much more coverage to these

disorders than any previous similar situation in

the Chicago area for several years. Thursday

morning papers had moderate stories of what hap-

pened on Wednesday night. As soon as it was

revealed that the National Guard was called, the

story was on the front pages of all the Chicago

newspapers. The Chicago Sun-Times had an espec-

ially fine editorial on July 13th and_also a column

on the affair written by Clifton Utley (a reprint

of his television broadcast on Thursday evening).

The Chicago Daily News also ran a good editorial |

-on Friday afternoon. There was full coverage by

radio, both local and by national hook-ups.

Civic groups met on Thursday to discuss the

situation. Organizations affiliated with the Chi-

cago Council Against Discrimination met on

Thursday afternoon to discuss several important

measures and the Chicago Division of the Ameri-

can Civil Liberties Union also discussed the legal

implications on Thursday. At a meeting of the

Chicago Branch of the NAACP, it was announced.

that a.mass meeting would be held within two

weeks to collect money to reimburse the Clark

family for damage they suffered.

Thursday, July 12th.

Sheriff Babb, as chief law enforcement officer

of Cook County, talked by telephone to Governor

Stevenson at 12:30

Alderman Archibald Carey and others. The Gov-

ernor was at first reluctant to call out the Nat-~

ional Guard without a request from the Mayor of

Cicero. Babb replied, "If you can find the Mayor,

let me know." (Elsewhere he was reported as hav-

ing said that Cicero authorities turned their backs

on the disorders). Then Babb said although the

Mayor was at his summer place near Antioch,

Illinois, he wanted the National Guard called im-

mediately, as chief law enforcement officer of

the county. Gov. Stevenson then sent the follow-

ing telegram to Sheriff Babb: "Proceeding in ac-

cordance with our understanding. Please confirm

formally by wire your official request for National

Guard forces to maintain law and order in Cicero."

Sheriff Babb immediately replied, "Confirming

my telephone conversation, I hereby notify you

that the police forces available to me are unable -

to preserve the peace in Cicero, Cook County, II,

and I therefore call upon you to dispatch neces-

sary military forces to me in Cook County for

the purpose of preserving the peace.'' Gov. Stev-

enson then issued this statement: "The Sheriff

of Cook County has informed me that it is im-

possible to maintain law and order in Cicero and

has formally requested assistance from the Illi-

nois National Guard. The state's attorney of Cook

County, acting through his first assistant, has

made the same.representations and the same re-

quest. Accordingly, I have ordered units of the (c)

Illinois National Guard into Cicero to assist the (c)

local police and the sheriff's police to maintain

order."

Since the Chicago division of the National

Guard was still at summer maneuvers at Camp

Grayling, Michigan-several hundred miles north

-Maj. Gen. Leo M. Boyle, Illinois Adjutant-Gen-

eral, dispatched five companies within a 40-mile

radius: Company A of Woodstock, C of Elkin,

D of Waukegan, G of Joliet, and H of Aurora.

Gen. Boyle notified Col. Clifford Hodgin, com-

manding officer of the 129th Infantry at Peoria,

to proceed to Cicero. First units arrived at the

temporary Guard headquarters at the Cicero Town

Hall at 4932 W. 25th Place, between 7:30 and 8: 00

p.m. Sheriff Babb was then informed that he had

to issue a written directive to the commanding

officer and this did not arrive until 9:42 pm.

In the meantime, Sheriff Babb tried to mobilize

the maximum number of Sheriff's deputies to pro-

tect the building. Of the 118 officers and men

under his command for the whole of Cook County,

he mobilized 60, asking the police of other Cook

County towns to respond to county police calls.

Also at the scene were many of the 80 police of

Cicero, They formed a cordon at all intersections

within two blocks of the apartment building in all -

directions. This was complicated by the fact that

the city of Cicero ends a block west of the apart-

ment, and Berwyn begins, but many Berwyn police |

were on duty just within Berwyn. While large

crowds gathered at the periphery-estimated to

number almost 10,000 persons-none were able -

to get within two blocks of the bulding. At 9:30

p.m., however, the police line two blocks west of

the apartment broke and a crowd of 2000-3060

persons surged to within 300 feet of the west end

of the building. The BOuee lines in the other three

directions held.

When the police tines were broken, a call was

made for the troops and they arrived in vehicles -

from the Cicero City Hall at 10:20 p.m. For more

than an hour they made a shoulder-to-shoulder

line to keep the crowd back of the western end of

the building, but for more than an hour they did

not push the crowd back. Young men, aged 16-20, |

about 300 feet from the apartment and about 100

feet inside the crowd from the National Guard, be-

gan throwing stones and bricks at the apartment

building. No attempt was made to push the crowd

back beyond the reach of stones or to arrest the

vandals. In fact; the spotlight of one police car

(M-5000) surrounded by the crowd in the field

was used by the boys to illuminate the windows

' of the building as a target for the rocks. Every

time a window was hit or broken, great cheers

went up from the crowd. Also some firecrackers

and flares were thrown toward the apartment.

Beginning at 11:30 p.m., the National Guard

slowly pushed the crowd gathered west of the

apartment back 600 or more feet from the apart-

(Continued on Page 4, Col. 1)

p-m., at the instigation of ee

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Page 3 -

"The Tenney Committee"

_ The ACLU has on hand a supply of Prof.

Edward L. Barrett's book, "The Tenney

Committee," which has just been published.

If you want to receive a copy of this 400-page

study of the operation of the Tenney Com-

mittee by mail, please send your check in the

sum of $5.11 to the ACLU, 503 Market St.,

San Francisco 5.

A review of "The Tenney Committee" by

_ Prof. Laurence Sears will appear in the

September issue of the "News." -

Test Racist's Conviction

Under Group Libel Law

The American Civil Liberties Union disclosed

last month that it is seeking a U. S: Supreme Court

test of the constitutionality of state "race" or

"group" libel laws.

In a petition to the high court the Union sought

a writ of certiorari (an order to review) in the

conviction last year of Joseph Beauharnais of Chi-

cago.

As founder and president of the White Circle

League of America, Beauharnais circulated peti-

tions in Chicago calling upon white people to "pre-

serve and protect white neighborhoods from the

constant and continuous invasion, harrassment

and encroachment by the Negroes."

He was convicted by Municipal Court in Chi-

cago of violating an Illinois law prohibiting the

publication and exhibition of lithographs which

showed Negroes in an unfavorable light. His con-

viction subsequently was upheld by the Illinois

Supreme Court, which later denied a petition for

a rehearing.

While opposing Beauharnais' views, the Ameri-

can Civil Liberties Union championed his right to

them and questioned the legality of the Illinois

law, which is similar to statutes of several other

states. It is of the "utmost importance," the ACLU

said, for the Supreme Court to "determine the

-constitutionality of such provisions."

The Union "and its counsel . .. wish it to be

distinctly, understod that by their action in filing

this petition, that they neither condone nor agree

with the allegations made by the Petitioner in his

publication and as a matter of fact the record of

both the American Civil Liberties Union and its

counsel shows that both have always been opposed

to racism of any kind," the ACLU petition said.

_ "Nevertheless, it has been the policy of the

American Civil Liberties Union to consider all

cases raising fundamental questions of constitu-

tional law as extremely important. As so often

has been said, if the right of free speech and press

' means anything at all it means freedom for the

expression of opinions we hate as well as those

with which we agree."

ACLU contended that the Illinois law contra-

venes the First and 14th Amendments to the Con-

stitution by restricting free speech, press and

assembly. It charged as well that the state law

violated the due process clause of the 14th Amend-

ment because it is vague, indefinite, and fails to

"adequately apprise the citizen of the offense

charged." :

The Union's petition pointed out that free ex-

pression may be prohibited only in the face of a

clear and present danger-a factor not existing -

in the Beauharnais case, and one the Illinois courts

refused to consider.

_ "It is our contention here," the petition declared,

"that this statute first of all on its face is invalid

and void because it is prohibitive of free speech,

press and assemblage, and secondly, that if our

first proposal is not sustainable then as construed

and applied, the Illinois law violates the petition- -

er's right of free speech, press and assemblage

because there was no evidence of clear and present

danger and beeause the information under which

this defendent was charged does not charge that

his remarks were productive of riots or breach of

the peace." .

ACLU Handles Many

Coast Guard Screening Vases |

The ACLU of Northern California furnished

counsel in seven Coast Guard security screening

cases during the past month. No decisions are

expected in these cases until sometime in Sep-

tember. Hearings in seven other cases have not

yet been scheduled.

Decisions have been announced in ten other

cases in whichthe Union appeared previously.

Six of these cases were decided favorably while

four were lost and are now on appeal. The Union

has also been asked to handle two other appeals

in which the appellants had no counsel at their

original hearings.

Coast Guard screening cases are notorious for

their total absence of what is commonly regarded

as due process of law.

ACLU Participates in Seventeen.

iployees' Loyalty Cases

Federal E:

During the past four months the ACLU of

Northern California has participated in one way.

or another in 17 federal employees' loyalty and

security risk proceedings with varying success.

Five of these cases have been successfully con-

cluded. One case, that of a physician who was a

member of American Youth for Democracy for -

a short time in his college days and who was also

charged with having been a member of the `"Uni-

versity of California Campus Committee to Fight

Conscription in 1940," was disposed of on the

basis of answers to interrogatories. The other four

cases were decided favorably only after hearings.

In one case a young woman was accused of at-

tending dances held by Communist front groups

as well as close asseciation with her mother, a sub-

scriber to the "Daily People's World," who, be-

cause of that paper's emphasis on Negro issues,

- had solicited subscriptions to it.

In the second case, the cleared employee of the

Federal Security Agency was charged with hav-

ing been closely associated with an alleged Com-

munist while employed at the Alameda County

Welfare Department. The remaining charges were

against his wife and her family.

The third case hung fire for many months, be-

fore the employee, a typist-stenographer for the

Labor Department, was finally cleared for loyalty:

This woman was accused of having admitted to

two fellow employees that she had been a member

of the Communist Party in the late thirties. It

was also charged that she opposed our entry into

the war until the invasion of Russia by Germany,

and that while living in Seattle she was closely as-

sociated with two alleged Communists whom she

had never heard of. The only recent charge was

that she had attended a Mother Bloor meeting at

Moose Hall in Seattle sponsored by the Commun-

ist Political Association, although the Govern-

ment's own records show that she was at that time

employed at Prince Rupert, which is 2144 days by

boat from Seattle. It is believed the employee, who

has a common name, was confused with some

one else. :

The fourth case involved a Negro laborer who

had previously been cleared in a loyalty proceed-

ing in which he was represented by the ACLU. The

_ Naval Supply Depot in Oakland filed security risk

charges which were identical with the charges

raised in the loyalty proceeding. It was alleged

that the employee's name had appeared on a ros-

ter of the National Negro Congress in 1947 and

again in 1949, that he had received an "invitation"

to attend a `People's Picnic" sponsored by the

Communist Party of San Francisco, that in Feb-

ruary 1945 his name "appeared on a list of names

maintained at Communist Party headquarters in

San Francisco" and, finally, that he was an as-

-sociate of an elderly Negro who was "suspected"

of being a Communist.

The Union has also been asked to represent

another man in a security risk proceeding whom

it represented successfully in a loyalty proceed-

ing two years ago. Once again the charges are

substantially the same as those in the loyalty pro-

ceedings. The employee is charged with past mem-

bership in the Socialist Workers Party and with

having relatives who were allegedly active in the

radical movement.

One case, involving a temporary employee of

the Veterans Administration was finally disposed

of by the resignation of the employee. Charges

were filed against him in January and he finally

resigned on July 1, after two hearings were post-

poned through no fault of his own, in order to ac-

cept a job which would advance his career.

Decisions are presently being awaited in two

_ Cases in which hearings were recently held. In the

first case a Veterans Administration employee ad-

mits having engaged in fellow-traveling, while in

the other case, which has just had a second hear-

ing before the Regional Loyalty Board, a U.C,

student is accused of having relatives who are as-

sociated with the Communist movement. He him-

self admitted brief membership in American Youth

for Democracy, and interest in the Henry Wallace

campaign but denied that he had ever indicated

a "preference for the Communist form of govern-

ment" or that he had attended meetings of the

Communist Party, allegedly held at the home of

his father and sisters. :

Three cases are still in their initial stages. A

hearing is being awaited in the case of a Depart-

ment of Commerce employee who denies that he

was ever "a member of or in sympathetic asso-

ciation with the Communist Party" or that he

ever attended Communist Party meetings. He

admits membership many years ago in the Inter-

national Workers Order as well as an arrest in

1936 as a young man for shouting out against

Franco in a theatre when the latter's picture ap-

peared on the screen. He denies that he has

"praised the Russian system of government" or

that he has ever been a subscriber to or a reader

of the `Daily People's World." Finally, he is

charged with "sympathetic association with mem-

bers of the Communist Party, members of Com

munist front organizations and with persons in

_ terested in furthering the objectives of the Com-~

munist Party." ee

Also pending in its interrogatory stage is the

ease of a man whose deceased father was ap-

parently a one-time member of the Communist

Party, and who is accused of having made pro-

Communist statements in the late thirties.

The third case involves a social worker at the

Veterans Administration who is accused of having

had limited association with several Communist

"front" groups. | 0x00B0

-Recently the Regional Loyalty Board acted un-

favorably in four cases that had been pending

before it for many months. For the first time

the Board applied the new standard which requires

the employee to establish his loyalty "beyond a

reasonable doubt." All four cases have been ap-

pealed to the Loyalty Review Board in Washing~

ton, but hearings are not expected to take place

until sometime in the Fall. A full discussion of

these cases will appear in the next issue of the

"News." :

Finally, after handling scores of loyalty cases,

the local office of the ACLU lost its first case

when the Loyalty Review Board refused to set

aside an unfavorable decision of the Regional

Loyalty Board of the Civil Service Commission in

the case of a messenger for the Veterans Ad-

ministration. He was dismissed from his job after

the hearing disclosed that he had subscribed to a

Communist publication and supported the: Cali-

fornia Labor School. It was also alleged that he

had admitted to associates that he was a Com-

munist and that he was sympathetic to the prin-

ciples of Communism. Finally, he was charged

with "being an intimate friend and associate of"

three named persons who were alleged to be Com-

munists. The man is presently attending San -

Francisco State College under the GI Bill of

Rights.

Further Test of N. J. Teac? er

Loyalty Oath Law Started

ACLU requested the United States Supreme

Court last month to hear a case testing the con-

stitutionality of a New Jersey anti-Communist

"loyalty" oath directed against teachers in public-

supported schools.

The petition for the writ of certiorari (request

for a hearing) was filed in the case of George B,

Thorp, dismissed as an instructor from the New-

ark College of Engineering after he refused to

sign the state's new loyalty oath.

A member of the non-Communist pacifist Fel-

lowship of Reconciliation, Thorp contended his

conscientious and constitutional rights would ke

violated if he signed the oath. Defendant in the

case is the Board of Trustees for Industrial Edau-

cation of Newark College. After the New Jersey

state Board of Education refused to reinstate

Thorp, the issue was taken to the state courts

"which also rejected arguments against this sec-

tion of the law.

The brief contends the oath-passed without

any public hearings in the state legislature-

"throttles . . . any unorthodox philosophy." It

further asserts that "any attempt to stamp out

the legal validity of the widest possible diversity

of opinion and privilege can only result in ultimate

straitjacketing of the American mind."

One who signs the oath, part of the Tumulty-

Mehorter Bill, affirmatively denies favoring the

use of force or violence to overthrow or change

the state or federal government, denies member-

ship or affiliation with groups or individuals who

propose such programs and swears he is not bound

by foreign domination.

In addition to alleging unconstitutional regu-

lation of individuals' thoughts, the brief submit-

ted to the high court also contended: (1) the

pertinent statute was vague, indefinite and with ro

standard of guilt fixed; (2) the statute permits

the finding of guilt by association; and (3) the

oath is a bill of attainder, by setting up a penalty

without judicial trial. :

Another section of the same state law requir-

ing oaths from all candidates for public office,

already has been invalidated by the New Jersey

Supreme Court in a case brought by James Imbrie,

1948 Progressive Party gubernatorial candidate,

and supported independently by ACLU. =

The case is being hand'ed for the ACLU by

Newark, N. J., Attorneys Samuel Rothbard and

iimil Oxfeld. :

imposing this, Col. Hodgin said:

2 Page 4

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

: :

American Civil Liberties Union-News

Published monthly at 503 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.

-151

Ten cents per Copy

The Story of the Cicero

Race Rios of 195i

(Continued irom rage 2, Col. 3)

ment. In the meantime, the crowd was focusing

attention on the north side of the apartment and

surged to only 50 feet from it. They threw in

flares, bricks, and finally burning torches. Sev-

eral fires were started within the apartment. The

fire trucks, standing in the vicinity, rushed to the

building and threw water on the apartment and

*put out the fire. Fire-hoses were used to wet the

south side of the building to prevent flares from

burning and, earlier in the day, the whole build-

ing was purposely soaked by tiremen to prevent

fire.

By 12:15 a.m., the National Guard had pushed

the crowd away from the northwest corner of the

_ building. In the melee, one police-car was over-

turned. it was reported that three other police-

Aars were overturned during the evening and an

attempt was made to burn one vehicle. During the

evening and early morning, 19 persons were re-

ported injured. Among those injured were four

National Guardsmen, four police officers, and nine

civilians (including four, three men and one wo-

man, bayoneted by Guardsmen).

Approximately 70 persons were arrested and

_appeared before the Police Magistrate in the Cice-

ro Town Hall on July 16th at which time their

cases were continued until August 6th. Four were

charged with unlawful assemoly and destruction

of public property and bond was set at $50 for

each charge. `en were charged with unlawful as-

sembly and assault to kill and bond was set at $100

for each charge. Fifty-six persons were -charged

with unlawful assembly and their bonds were set

at $50 each. One of the rioters pointed out to

- police by National Guardsmen as_ especially

troublesome was a GI home from Korea on 30-

day leave. Police escorted him from the area and

released him. Those arrested for participating in

assaults were taken to the Bureau of Identitica-

tion at the Chicago police headquarters for fin-

-gerprinting and to have their pictures taken.

Lt. Jack Johnson of the Bedford Park sheriff's

office stated that he would ask for a sweeping

U.S. investigation of the clashes.

Henry J. Sandusky, town president, in a be-

lated statement said, "I deeply regret this inci-

dent which has made it necessary to call upon the

militia to re-establish law and order in this parti-

cular area. Our officers, limited in number, coped

valiantly with the problem, but it became evident

by Wednesday night's disorders that outsiders

had invaded our town, stormed our police lines

and damaged the homes and properties of inno-

cent citizens. Therefore to cope with these van-

_dals, Sheriff Babb and I have felt it necessary to

call for aid."

Col. Hodgin declared the area bounded by High-

land Avenue on the West (Berwyn), and Austin

Blvd. on the East, between 16th Street and Cer-

mak Road (22nd) to be under martial law. In

"We're here to

maintain law and order, We will cooperate with

local authorities. All persons living in the half-

- mile square area and those having places of busi-

ness there will be required to show credentials

before they enter the region and upon leaving -it.

The martial law will be in force until ime troops

are released from duty there."

The mob was under control by 12:45 a.m, early

Friday morning and by 3:00 a.m. only a sprinkling

_of the crowd remained. A full company of Guards-

men remained on duty at the scene, while others

went to nearby restaurants.

Mr. Clark, who so far has been prevented from

moving into his apartment, is 29 years old. He

was born in Mississippi. After finishing high

school, he entered Fisk University in Nashville,

Tennessee, where he majored in political science.

While there he married a fellow student, Johnette,

now 26 years old. They were married nine years

ago and have two children, Machelle, aged 8, and

Harvey III, aged 6. Clark left Fisk to join the ar-

my air force in 1942 and was assigned as an avia-

tion instructor at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

He served there and in two other southern fields

until he was discharged in 1945. He returned to

Fisk and finished his education under the GI bill

of rights. While there he played baseball and was

a member of the university debating team.

In 1949, Clark graduated from Fisk and brought

his family to Chicago. He first got a job as an in-

surance agent. A year ago he began work as a bus

driver for CTA. He lived for a while at 6725 St.

Lawrence, but is now living temporarily at 921

E. 44th Street in a one-reom apartment.

Statement of ACLU Policy on the Smith Act

And the Communist Convictions Under

Registering its "fundamental disagreement'

with the recent Supreme Court decision uphold-

ing the constitutionality of sections of the Smith

Act under which the 11 Communist leaders were

convicted for conspiring to teach and to advocate

violent overthrow of the government, the Ameri-

can Civil Liberties Union has announced its de-

termination to "help obtain an everruling"' of the

decision "by participating independently in fur-

ther cases arising under the Act."

The ACLU and the Smith Act, 1940-1951

The ACLU attacked the Smith Act of 1940 when

it. was first proposed as legislation. It fought the

law in 1942 when it was first applied to the ``Trot-

skyites," in 1943 when it was used in the mass

"sedition" trial of alleged Nazi sympathizers, and

finally in 1948 when it was applied against eleven

leaders of the Communist Party.

The Union took its stand in each of these cases

not because it favored ``Trotskyism," Nazism or

Communism, but because it believed that "Con-

gress shall make no law... abridging the free-

dom of speech..." (from the First Amendment

Calif. Test Oath Suits

There were no developments last month

in the University of California and Levering

Act test oath suits, which were argued before

the California Supreme Court on June 21.

Last month contributions toward the ex-

penses of the Levering Act cases amounted

to $25, thus raising the total fund to $443.75.

Further contributions will be welcomed.

Please send all contributions to the ACLU,

503 Market St., San Francisco 5, ear-marking

the purpose of the contribution.

Teacher Dropped for Sending

Son to Parochial School

The Iowa Civil Liberties Union has asked the

Boone (Iowa) school board to reinstate Robert

Shorb, high school teacher who was recently

dropped from his job because he refused to remove

his son from a parochial school. The national

ACLU supports its local affiliate in `the action

requested.

The incident, which neared early in April,

aroused considerable national comment. There

was never any question about the competence of

the 33-year-old instructor and war veteran. The

failure of the board to renew Shorb's contract

hinged entirely on the question of whether the

young instructor should, as a public school teach-

er, send his son to a Catholic private school.

"The choice of the manner of a child's educa-

tion, within the law," comments the Iowa division

in summarizing its investigation into the Shorb

affair, "is one of the civil rights which no teacher

should even be asked to sacrifice."

The firing occurred as the result of a board

meeting during which Shorb's contract came up

for renewal. At no time during the session did the

board discuss with Shorb the matter at hand.

Instead, according to the Iowa division, they dis-

cussed at length'' his son's school attendance.

Shorb, continues the report, `assumed a con-

nection between that and his contract, as he had

a right to do under the circumstances of the dis-

cussion. Later, when he refused to sign a statement

of resignation and was-given no opportunity for

reinstatement, his assumption was proved correct.

He had declined to remove his son from the pri-

vate school."

The school board officially disclaimed religious

bias. [ts point of view was that failure to send a

child to public school is an implied criticism of the

public school system.

The Iowa division calls this "a clear non sequi-

tur." The crucial point, it says, is the principle

that "teachers may be judged and penalized only

on the basis of their professional activity and in

accordance with fair and just procedure."

The Boone Board of Education contends that

there was no dismissal and that no law required

Shorb's reappointment, But, replies the Iowa di-

vision, "Whether or not the board acted within

the limits set by law, the public interest has suf-

fered greatly whenever continued tenure depended

on a loss of freedom-especially in a matter of

conscientious judgment like the present one. Fear

about reappointment may impair the quality of a

school system just as certainly as fear of dis-

missal."

The Iowa division concludes that there is only

one way for the Boone school board to remedy

the harm done to the teaching profession: "That

is to reconsider their decision and to invite Robert

Shorb to return to the post which he has oe

tently filled."

to the Constitution.) The ACLU held the Smith

Act (which punishes advocacy and teaching--not

acts of espionage, sabotage or revolution) to be

unconstitutional,

The ACLU and the Smith Act, July, 1951

Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the

law, what is the Union's position?

1. The ACLU disagrees fundamentally with the

Supreme Court's 6-2 decision. The Union, as al-

ways, opposes this law because it infringes upon

the rights of free speech guaranteed by the First

Amendment and because it is dangerously unwise

legislation.

2. The Union, believing wholeheartedly in the

American system of law, accepts the decision as

part of the present law of the land. But the de-

cision is no barrier to further legal testing of the

Act's constitutionality, or to attacks upon its

wisdom.

3. The ACLU stands ready to help obtain an

overruling of the June 4th decision by participat-

ing independently (through briefs and legal argu-

ment) in further Smith Act cases, when they

reach the Supreme Court.

4, The Union also stands ready, in further

cases at all court levels, to help insure that (a)

the limits-of the Supreme Court's constitutional

approval are not overstepped, and (b) the defense

is allowed to present evidence, and present it to

the jury, as to whether there is a clear and pres-

ent danger of the advocacy's leading to the com-

mission of illegal acts.

5. The ACLU will urge the repeal of sections

2 and 3 of the Smith Act, and any similar state

or local legislation; and will oppose any new laws

of like nature. It will stress that, not only Black

and Douglas, but Frankfurter and Jackson ex-

pressed strong doubts as to the wisdom of such

legislation.

6. The Union will work with other non-Com-

munist organizations in educating the American

people as a whole to support the above positions

and actions. The ACLU will stress the clumsy

_ ineffectiveness of such laws in coping with the

real problem of national security. It will fight

vigilantism and any actions which go beyond the

scope of the Supreme Court decision.

: The Constitutional Points

The ACLU disagrees wih the Supreme Court's

majority on the following constitutional points:

1. The Court held that while discussion of vio-

lent overthrow of the government is permissible,

advocacy is not. The ACLU believes the distinc-

tion is not practical, and that it will inevitably

' infringe on free speech. To quote Max Lerner, it

means that "if you wear a cap and gown and turn

around in a swivel chair, you can discuss Marx |

- and Lenin, but if you get serious and go into the

market-place and hawk your ideas, it's no go."

2. The Court has abandoned the "clear and

present danger" test of Justice Holmes for one of

clear and probable danger. And the majority did

not meet Justice Douglas' argument "that it is

impossible for me to say that the Communists in

this country are so potent or so strategically de-

ployed that they must be suppressed for their -

speech."

3. The Court ruled that the question of whether

a clear amd present (or probable) danger exists

is a matter of law for the judge and not a matter |

of fact for the jury. The Union rejects this view;

it believes this question should be decided by the

common sense and judgment of the members of

the community who form the jury; decision by a

judge takes it into a realm of legal abstraction

where it does not Delone in the tradition of our

law,

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