vol. 17, no. 3

American

Civil Liberties

Union-News

Free Press

Free Assemblage

Free Speech

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

VOLUME XVII

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, MARCH, 1952

o Alto Meeting Set for Monday Evening

March 17: San Francisco Gathering, March 18

Patrick Murphy Malin, the ACLU's national director, will make his second official visit to the Far

West since taking over the national leadership of the Union from Roger Baldwin in January, 1950.

From March 8 through the 28th he will visit Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake

City and Denver.

Palo Alto Meeting

Mr. Malin wil visit in the Bay Area on March 17

and 18. During that time he will address two

public metings to be held under the auspices of the

American Civil Liberties Union of Northern Cali-

fornia. The first meeting will be held at the Parish

House of All Saints Episcopal Church, 425 Hamil-

ton St., Palo Alto, on Monday evening, March 17

at 8 o'clock. The subject of Mr. Malin's address

will be "Freedom, Justice and Equality-Amer-

ica's Developing, but Threatened, Heritage."

Wallace E. Stegner, professor of English and

director of the Stanford Writing Center at Stan-

ford University, will preside at the meeting. Mr.

Stegner has written many books, including the

Novels, Second Growth and The Preacher and the

Slave, as well as a volume of short stories, The

Women on the Wall. The February issue of

Harper's carries a short story by Mr. Stegner en-

titled, Pop Goes the Alley Cat. Incidentally, Mr.

Stegner is a member of the Union's local Execu-

tive Committee.

San Francisco Meeting

The second public meeting will be held in San

Francisco at the Marines' Memorial Theatre, 609

Sutter St. (at Mason), on Tuesday evening, March

18 at 8 o'clock. Mr. Malin will speak on "World

Tension and American Civil Liberties."

The chairman of the San Francisco meeting will

be our beloved Bishop Edward L. Parsons, who

has served as Chairman of the Union's local

Executive Committee since January, 1941. Bishop

Parsons has also been a vice-chairman of the

National Committee of the ACLU for many years.

Of course, no ACLU meeting in San Francisco

would be complete without him.

The meetings are open to the general public.

There is no admission charge. It is hoped that the

PATRICK MURPHY MALIN

Union's members will make this an occasion to

invite their friends to become acquainted with the

Union's national director as well as the Union's

work.

Mr. Malin's first visit to the Bay Area found

him new to the Union's work and bent on getting

acquainted with the organization. The Union's

membership will now have an opportunity of find-

ing out what effect two years of grueling exper-

ience in the day to day struggles for civil liberties

have had upon their organization's national leader.

Who is Pat Malin?

The following biographical material may be of

interest to the Union's members: Mr. Malin served

as a member of the Economics Department at

Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania from 1930

to 1950. During the war he served for four years

as vice-director of the Intergovernmental Com-

mittee on Refugees, with headquarters in London.

He was also American Director of the Interna-

tional Migration Service, Price Executive of the

O.P.A. Chemical and Drug Branch in Washing-

ton, and Deputy Chief of the Division of Program

and Requirements in the State Department's Of-

fice of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Opera-

tions. His work has taken him to Great Britain

and continental Europe, including the Soviet Un-

ion, the Near East, Canada, the West Indies and

South America.

Mr. Malin served as Vice-Chairman of the

American Friends Service Committee from 1936

to 1938. He is also a member of the board of the

National Council of Religion in Higher Education

and served as the president of that group from

1939 to 1943.

He is a member of the Society of Friends

(Quakers) and an independent in politics. Born in

Joplin, Missouri, he is 48 years old, married and

has three sons.

Mr. Malin is a graduate of the University of

Pennsylvania, Class of 1924. He did graduate

_ study at the Union Theological Seminary and

Teachers College and Columbia University in New

York City.

Evictions From Met. Project

Over Bias Dispute Halted

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. has agreed to

drop eviction proceedings against 19 tenants of its

huge Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper housing

projects on Manhattan's East Side after a last-

minute intercession ky City Council President

Rudolph Halley.

Halley arranged conferences between the com-

pany and the Town and Village Committee to End

Discrimination in Stuyvesant Town. The 19 ten-

ants were to be evicted ag the result of contro-

versy over the company's alleged discriminations

barring Negro families from the two projects.

Thirty-three tenants had originally been asked to

move; 14 had left.

Halley's arrangement with the company pro-

vided that several of the 19 remaining tenants

will move voluntarily, that the rest will stay "on

the same basis as all tenants." A Negro family,

which has been staying as "guests" in the apart-

ment of a lessee, will become tenants in another

apartment.

Metropolitan Life pursued its original legal ac-

tion against the 19 tenants against the protest of

Union Scores Victory In Case

Of Soviet Political Refugee

The ACLU of Northern California scored a

victory last month in the case of Alexander Loba-

nov, who had been detained by the Immigration

Service for exactly 390 days on the ground that

his entry would be prejudicial to the interests of

the United States.

The favorable decision was handed down by the

Board of Immigration Appeals on February 25

and reversed decisions made by a Board of Special

Inquiry and the Commissioner of Immigration.

The latter had taken the position that under the

Internal Security Act of 1950, because Lobanov

had as a youth belonged to the Komsomol or

"Communist Young Folks,' he was barred from

entry into the United States because of past mem-

bership in a Communist organization.

The Board of Immigration Appeals, however,

adopted the argument advanced by the ACLU

that Lobanov's membership in the group was in-

Voluntary and brought about by economic neces-

sity. It appears that he was transferred to the

group without regard to his own wishes. `There

is also an affirmative showing," said the Board,

"that appellant's membership or affiliation with

the Komsomol after attaining his sixteenth birth-

day was solely for the purpose of obtaining and

keeping his employment. Under the circum-

stances, we are of the opinion that the appellant

has met the burden of proving by clear and con-

vincing evidence that his membership or affilia-

tion with a proscribed organization was involun-

tary."

The Board's conclusion brought Lobanov with-

in the terms of an amendment to the McCarran

Act, adopted March 28, 1951, which nevertheless

allows aliens who have been "members of" and

"affiliated with," proscribed groups to enter the

United States if such membership occurred when

under 16 years of age, by operation of law or for

purposes of obtaining employment, food rations

or other essentials of living.

In this case, because of his membership in Kom-

somol, Lobanov received preference for employ-

ment during a period of great economic stress in

the Soviet Union. When the Five Year Plan got

underway in 1931 and jobs became plentiful, Lo-

banov quit the group.

Lokanov came to the United States in 1943 to

help man a lend lease ship. Instead, he got a job

as a guard with the Soviet Purchasing Commis-

sion. In December, 1944, he was ordered to return

to the Soviet Union but refused to do so. The So-

viet officials then tried unsuccessfully to kidnap

Lobanov but policemen intervened and Lobanov

was turned over to Immigration officers in Se-

attle, who, in turn, allowed him to ship out on a

Belgian vessel.

From 1945 until January 30, 1951 when he was

arrested by Immigration Officers, Lobanov had

been shipping out of San Francisco as a member

of the Sailors Union of the Pacific. At the time

the Union intervened in the case last August, Lo-

banov had been detained for seven months with-

out a hearing and without being informed as to

the reason for his detention. The decision of the

Board of Immigration Appeals now allows him to

return to his calling as a seaman.

at least 16 labor, veteran, and other civic groups,

including ACLU. The company's right to evict the

tenants had been upheld in the courts.

The Town and Village Committee charged that

the 19 tenants were being evicted because they

had helped form the committee in 1948.

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

N. Y. Ban on Use

Of Schools Fought

The New York Civil Liberties Union on Feb-

ruary 19 petitioned for the rescinding of a New

York City Board of Education ruling which denies

use of public school buildings to certain proscribed

organizations.

The Union argued that the regulation violates

U.S. and state constitutional guarantees of free

speech and due process of law and constitutes a

bill of attainder.

Its views were set forth in a "friend of the

court" brief filed at a hearing before the state

Commissioner of Education on an appeal by the

Teachers Union, Local 555 (UPW), which has

been denied use of school buildings for meetings.

The so-called Timone Resolution, approved by the

New York City Board of Education, prohibits use

of school buildings and grounds by the Communist

Party, the International Workers Order and any

other organizations which the Department of

Justice or the State Board of Regents have found

to be totalitarian, fascist, Communist or sub-

versive, any groups the Board of Education or

superintendent of schools "has reason to believe to

be' in those categories, and any subsidiary, com-

mittee, or affiliate of such organizations. The

ACLU and its Academic Freedom Committee

argued against the resolution prior to its enact-

ment.

"The resolution is a dragnet which can encom-

pass all ideas and views," the NYCLU declared in

its brief. "Under the vague and subjective tests,

the expression of all unpopular or dissentient

views becomes dangerous. Just what degree of

control of policy or percentage of membership or

following of the `party line' must be found he-

fore an organization can ke held to be Communist

is completely lacking in specification; there is no

statement, for example, whatsoever as to how

many or which if any of these factors must be

taken into account, or which factors must or may

be excluded. The word `subversive' is similarly un-

certain in meaning."

Objecting not only to use of Justice Department

or Regents lists of subversive organizations but to

the discretion granted the Board of Education or

school superintendent regarding groups each con-

sider subversive, the NYCLU asserted:

"Suspicion of subversiveness replaces a finding

of subversiveness. The conduct of which `the cr-

ganization must be guilty is itself too vague and

indefinite; suspicion of vague conduct can become

a tool for the utmost in repression, and transforms

a vague standard into a meaningless one."

The brief pointed out that the attorney general's

list of subversive organizations was ruled illegal

by the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Its further use here to curb speech is clearly

unconstitutional," the brief commented. "Surely

an illegal list cannot be used as a reasonable

standard without doing violence to the funda-

mental tenets of due process. The related issue of

the constitutionality of the list to be drawn up by

the Board of Regents pursuant to the Feinberg

Law was argued only a few weeks ago in the

United States Supreme Court."

The brief, prepared for the Union by Osmond

K. Fraenkel, counsel to the NYCLU, and Herbert

Monte Levy, ACLU staff counsel, called attention

also to the dangers of barring "any subsidiary,

committee or affiliate' of so-called subversive

groups.

"It may well be that an organization may be

found to be Communist, subversive or fascist,

whatever that may mean, and yet it may well be

that an affiliate of that organization or a com-

mittee of that organization could not conceivably

be termed Communist," the brief said. "The reso-

lution would have the effect, for example, of

denying the right or privilege to meet in the school

buildings of all chapters of the American Legion,

if perchance the Communists succeeded in captur-

ing or infiltrating but one local affiliate of the

American Legion."

Serving In Dutch Underground

Doesn't Dub One a Communist

Following the Union's intervention, the Board

of Immigration Appeals last month granted vol-

untary departure to an illegal entrant who is mar-

ried to a legally resident alien. Such voluntary de-

parture had been denied the alien, both by the lo-

cal hearing officer in San Francisco and the Cen-

tral Office of the Immigration Service, solely be-

cause he had associated with Communists in the

Dutch underground during the last war.

The Board of Immigration Appeals agreed with

the Union that there was absolutely no evidence

in the case to pin the badge of Communism on

the alien, and he was given 90 days to effect his

departure. As a result of the decision, the alien

will be able to apply for legal entry after he re-

turns to Holland.

Public School Readings From Old Tesic

Violate Church-Stea

New Jersey statutes that require daily readings

from the Old Testament in the public schools set

up religious services and exercises that directly

violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments,

the American Civil Liberties argued recently.

In a "friend of the court" brief supporting a

test case brought ky Donald R. Doremus and

Anna E. Klein against the Hawthorne, N. J.

Board of Education and the State of New Jersey

before the U. S. Supreme Court, the Union de-

clared:

"To us it seems very plain that the New Jersey

law and practices aid one or more, if not all, reli-

gions and prefer one or some religions over oth-

ers; that taxes are being levied and used there to

support religious activities and the teaching and

practicing of religion; and that, to the extent that

church services are being conducted in the public

schools (i.e., by Bible readings and recitations of

the Lord's Prayer which are an important part of

services in most Protestant churches), the state

is forcing or influencing children to go to them."

The case, which has attracted widespread in-

terest since Bible readings are required in several

other states, was argued on January 29 in the

Supreme Court.

The New Jersey Supreme Court, in upholding

the statutes, ruled "that the Old Testament, be-

cause of its antiquity, its content, and its wide

acceptance, is not a sectarian book when read

without comment... It is accepted by three great

religions, the Jewish, the Roman Catholic and the

Protestant, and, at least in part, by others." It

added that all other groups are `numerically

small and, in point of impact on our national life

negligible."

Disputing such a view, the ACLU brief pointed

out that even among the "three great religions"

there are differences concerning the proper ver-

sion of the Bible; that, in fact, conflicts among

Jews, Catholics, and Protestants over Bikle read-

ing and prayers in public schools "have created

...many years of bitter divisions and strife."

Moreover, it said, currently there are at least 256

religious sects or denominations in the United

FBI Agent Opposes "Oaths"

Herbert A. Philbrick, the Government's

star witness in the Foley Square Smith Act

prosecution, who, as an FBI agent, was a mem-

ber of the Communist Party for nine years, last

month opposed loyalty oaths and the outlaw-

ing of the Communist Party. Said he: .. .. ..

"Such measures as the outlawing of the Com-

munist party could conceivably destroy Gov-

ernment intelligence work without seriously

damaging the underground party, and thus in

the end merely serve to strengthen the Com-

munist hand.

"The loyalty oath is another popular device,

short of outlawry, which does more harm than

good for the cause of anti-Communism.

"In March, 1948, the State of Massachusetts

put the teeth of penalty into its 13-year-old

teachers' loyalty oath law. Publicly, the com-

rades violently attacked the law. But in the

secrecy of cell meetings they laughed about it,

and gave orders which put Communist teachers

first in line to sign up. A few teachers in the

State refused to sign and could not teach. But

they vcre non-Communists.

"The cause of anti-Communism lost more

than it gained. Such oaths give the Communist

party new propaganda fuel, but they do not

control party members or activities."

cent

Urge Freedom of Association

For Physicians

ACLU last month scored St. Francis Hospital

of Poughkeepsie, New York, for demanding that

seven staff physicians sever their connections

with the Planned Parenthood Association.

In a letter to the hospital, the Union said that

as a "state licensed institution, which is the recipi-

ent of over one-half million dollars in federal aid,

your infringement upon the right of association in

the medical staff does serious harm to the prin-

ciples of freedom. . . . The fact that the hospital

has accepted federal funds makes the present dis-

crimination a violation of the spirit-and perhaps

the letter-of that portion of the Constitution re-

quiring equal protection of the laws."

"We hope our views in this matter," the letter

said, "will not be construed as an attack on the

religious principles which you hold." The Union's

position is simply that "as citizens of a free coun-

try (staff members) are entitled to join in organ-

izations of their own choice whose objectives are

entirely legal. There is no reason to believe, no evi-

iment

fe Principle, Says Union

States; "under the U. S. Constitution there is or

should be no difference in the principles applica-

ble to a small minority religious group and to a

large dominant group."

The issue is not ameliorated, it asserted, by a

local Hawthorne ruling (not specifically author-

ized by the statutes), that any student may be

excused, upon request, during Bible readings,

since "the very fact that there is any reason for

his exclusion . .. shows that the exercises are. sec-

tarian." Such an action, in addition, would tend to

subject the student to a religious stigma, the

brief argued.

Stressing the point of church-state separation,

the brief declared:

`Religion is taught and should only be taught

(by prayer, reading and studying the Bible or

other sacred books and other exercises and devo-

tions) in the homes, churches, and religious

schools where the truths of religion can ke most

effectively learned and enforced. In the American

concept of government the State has no right to

interfere with such religious activities. By the

same token, the State, being a civil institution

should not enter into the field of religious in-

struction through the facilities of the _uolic

schools supported and attended by persuns hov-

ing a wide variety of beliefs in rezpect to reli-

gion."

Through the statutes, the ACLU brief con-

cluded, New Jersey "has fused spheres of religi-

ous activity and civil authority."

"It is using tax-supported property for religi-

ous instruction and exercises. It is providing pu-

pils for religious services and exercises through

use of the State's compulsory public school ma-

chinery. It is using its state power and laws to

aid some religions and to prefer some religions

over others. It is using taxes raised for secular

public schools to support religious activities . . .

It has made man's relation to his God the concern

of its state. This is not a separation of Church

and State ... The principle should be enforced in

its full integrity."

Regulations Issued for Work

Assignments to `Objectors'

President Truman on February 20 signed Se-

lective Service regulations governing the two-year

service required of conscientious objectors unwill-

ing to perform non-combatant service in the

armed forces. Under the existing law, signed last

June 18, such an "objector" may be ordered by

his local koard to perform "such civilian work

contributing to the national health, safety or in-

terest as the local board may deem appropriate

...", subject to the new regulations.

Such "civilian work" is limited to a Federal or

State agency, or a non-profit organization en-

gaged in charitable, health, welfare, educational

or scientific activity. Work in private profit-mak-

ing employment is specifically excluded. A list of

available jobs has not yet been announced.

Upon notice from his local draft board, the "ob-

jector" has 10 days to submit three types of civil-

ian work "which he is qualified to do." If he fails

to submit such a list or the local board finds that

none of the types of work submitted is appropri-

ate, the local board shall submit a list of three

types of work to the registrant by letter. If none

of these is acceptable to the registrant, the State

Director, on 10 days notice, shall meet with the

local board and the registrant to try to find agree-

ment on a job. If the registrant is still dissatis-

fied, the matter is referred to the National Selec-

tive Service Director for a final decision.

Ordinarily, the registrant will not be required

to perform such work in his home community. In

reporting to his work assignment, he is entitled to

travel, meal and lodging allowances. While no

specific provision has keen made for compensa-

tion, it is believed the registrant will be paid at

the going wage. If the registrant fails to obey the

work order or fails to perform his work satisfac-

torily, the National Director shall determine

whether he is to be reported to the Department of

Justice for prosecution.

Latest figures show 8,215 conscientious objec-

tors registered under the Draft Law. Many of

these will be deferred fom work assign..ents for

physical or other reasons.

It will very likely take a month or two before

local draft boards begin assigning conscientious

objectors to jobs.

Planned Parenthood Association renders the phy-

sician unfit for a medical post." As far as the

Union can find out, the doctors give no advice

dence to show, that mere membership in the concerning birth control to hospital patients.

Union Plan

700 New M

The Executive

Northern Califor

cial campaign to

700 new members

At the present

bers only a secret

ing on a budget "

numerous volunt

the Union.

Seven hundred

income of $7000,

with the growin

which have kecon

staff to handle. |

able the Union to

provide him with

tals, and thereby

Union's director.

Joseph Tho:

The campaign

manner in the ba:

almost 1900 men

son, San Franci:

agreed to serve

Committee. Duri

steps will be take

established, lists "

be assembled, cz

pared, and other

paign off to a wi

The following

accepted in prope

San Francisco

Berkeley ....

Oakland

The Peninsula

Marin County

Miscellaneous

Around March

ceive forms in th

names of prospec

to volunteer their

mittees. Every m

to help his area ac

Jppose Ci

bles im Ec

Last month the

filed protests wit!

and Albany agai

ciety to distrib

schools. The Gide

Testament, the P;

The Union's cent

tion of the Bible

late the State C

and the First Ar

tution. The Unic

Gideon Bible is :

and California la

activity in the p

preme Court has

the federal gove1

aid one religion,

religion over anot

Thus far, neith

Society request.

ney Francis W.

ruled that the cent

tributed in county

Maryland

Slated for

Maryland's sw

is once more hea

challenge this tin

Brailey, a memb

Dr. Brailey, a Qt

quired by the la

tends that, under

was unconstituti

The Ober law,

several times be

employees from

organizations. It

public employees

ers in state-aide

only one case t

the Supreme Cot

requirement fror

oath that he is 1

throw the goverr

Wment

nion

ution there is or

rinciples applica-

; group and to a

it asserted, by a

ecifically author-

student may he

Bible readings,

is any reason for

exercises ake. Sec-

on, would tend to

ious stigma, the

state separation,

d only be taught

ing the Bible or

ercises and devo-

s, and religious

zion can ke most

In the American

has no right to

ctivities. By the

civil institution

of religious in-

3s of the _ublic

by persons bhay-

| respect to reli-

.CLU brief con-

spheres of religi-

yperty for religi-

is providing pu-

xercises through

ublic school ma-

wer and laws to

r some religions

aised for secular

us activities .

God the concern

ration of Church

ld be enforced in

or Work

sctors'

ry 20 signed Se-

ling the two-year

objectors unwill-

; service in the

`law, signed last

y be ordered by

ch civilian work

lth, safety or in-

leem appropriate

1S.

1 to a Federal or

organization en-

fare, educational

ivate profit-mak-

cluded. A list of

nnounced.

`t board, the "ob-

ree types of civil-

o do." If he fails

board finds that

itted is appropri-

it a list of three

by letter. If none

istrant, the State

ll meet with the

try to find agree-

t is still dissatis-

e National Selec-

cision.

not be required

1e community. In

, he is entitled to

ances. While no

le for compensa-

t will be paid at

. fails to obey the

lis work satisfac-

shall determine

he Department of

iscientious objec-

t Law. Many of

-assign.rents for

th or two before

ing conscientious

renders the phy-

AS far as the

S give no advice

tal patients.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Page 3

Union Plans Drive to Secure

700 New Members and $7000

The Executive Committee of the ACLU of

Northern California last month authorized a spe-

cial campaign to be carried on in April to secure

700 new members and $7000.

At the present time, the paid office staff num-

bers only a secretary besides the director, operat-

ing on a budget of $17,200. In addition, however,

numerous volunteers contribute their services to

the Union.

Seven hundred new members, coupled with an

income of $7000, will enable the Union to cope

with the growing pressures on civil liberties,

which have kecome too numerous for the present

staff to handle. Seven thousand dollars will en-

able the Union to put an able lawyer in an office,

provide him with stenographic help and inciden-

tals, and thereby take some of the load off the

Union's director.

Joseph Thompson Campaign Chairman

The campaign will be carried on in an organized

manner in the bay area where most of the Union's

almost 1900 members reside. Joseph S. Thomp-

son, San Francisco business man, has already

agreed to serve as Chairman of the Campaign

Committee. During March, final organizational

steps will be taken. Local area committees will be

established, lists of good prospective members will

be assembled, campaign literature will be pre-

pared, and other steps taken to send the cam-

paign off to a winning start on April 1.

Quotas

The following membership quotas have heen

accepted in proportion to present membership:

San Francisco ....249 Members and $2050

Berkeley ......... 243 Members and $2000

@akland ......... 57 Members and 0x00A7 475

The Peninsula .... 70 Members and 0x00A7$ 575

Marin County ..... 18 Members and $ 150

Miscellaneous ..... 60 Members and 0x00A7$ 500

Around March 1, the Union's members will re-

ceive forms in the mails on which to suggest the

names of prospective members and to allow them

to volunteer their services on area campaign com-

mittees. Every member is asked to do what he can

to help his area achieve its goal.

Oppose Circulation of Gideon

Bibles in East Bay Schools

Last month the American Civil Liberties Union

filed protests with boards of education in Oakland

and Albany against proposals of the Gideon So-

ciety to distribute their Bible in the public

schools. The Gideon Bible is composed of the New

Testament, the Psalms and Proverbs.

The Union's complaint charged that distribu-

tion of the Bible in the public schools would vio-

late the State Constitution, the Education Code

and the First Amendment to the Federal Consti-

tution. The Union pointed out that at best the

Gideon Bible is a sectarian version of the Bible

and California law specifically prohibits sectarian

activity in the public schools. Moreover, the Su-

preme Court has stated that `Neither a state nor

the federal government . . . can pass laws which

aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one

religion over another."

Thus far, neither board has acted on the Gideon

Society request. In the meantime, District Attor-

ney Francis W. Collins of Contra Costa County

ruled that the Gideon Bibles could not be dis-

tributed in county schools. :

Maryland Ober Law

Slated for Court Test

Maryland's sweeping anti-subversive Ober law

is once more headed for a test in the courts. The

challenge this time stems from the firing of a Dr.

Brailey, a member of the Baltimore Health Dept.

Dr. Brailey, a Quaker, refused to sign an oath re-

quired by the law for religious reasons. She con-

tends that, under the circumstances, her dismissal

was unconstitutional.

The Ober law, which has come up in the courts

several times before on test cases, forbids state

employees from joining or supporting subversive

organizations. It also requires loyalty oaths by

public employees, political candidates, and teach-

ers in state-aided schools. Court rulings have in

only one case touched on its constitutionality,

the Supreme Court having held constitutional the

requirement from a candidate for public office an

oath that he is not engaged in attempts to over-

throw the government.

Anti-Rhee Korean Wins New Stay of

"Death-Sentence" Deportation Order

On February 1, the Central Office of the Immi-

gration Service granted Sang Rhup Park a 30-day

stay of his scheduled deportation to South Korea,

in order to allow him to submit additional evi-

dence to show that he would suffer physical per-

secution if he were turned over to the Rhee Gov-

ernment. The stay was conditioned on the ACLU

paying the costs of detention at $3 per day.

This is the second time since he was taken into

custody on November 29 that the anti-Rhee ali-

en's removal to South Korea has been stayed. Be-

fore granting the new stay, the Commissioner of

Immigration, following a hearing in San Fran-

cisco, had denied Park's petition to exercise his

discretion under the Internal Security Act of

1950, which provides that "No alien shall be de-

ported under any provisions of this Act to a coun-

try in which the Attorney General shall find that

such alien would be subjected to physical perse-

cution." The new stay was granted four days be-

fore Park's scheduled removal on an Army trans-

port.

In compliance with the new stay, another hear-

ing was held late last month at which several im-

portant affidavits were introduced into evidence.

One of the affidavits was submitted by Stewart

Meacham, who served in Korea as Labor Advisor to

Lt. Gen. John R. Hodge, former Commander of the

U. S. Armed Forces in Korea. Mr. Meacham's af-

fidavit declares that, if Park is deported to South

Korea, "I would expect him to be quickly disposed

of by torture murder at hands of Rhee's police."

An equally strong affidavit was submitted by

Stanley W. Earl who, from August, 1947, until

June 27, 1950, served as Special Assistant to the

Chief of the American Legion in Korea. "It is my

opinion," says Mr. Earl, "that if this man is de-

ported to South Korea he will be summarily ex-

ecuted by the Rhee Government as a traitor and

communist." At another point in his affidavit, Mr.

Earl declares, `After reading carefully the utter-

ances of this Korean alien, it is my confirmed

opinion that he would receive no justice whatever ;

that he would be executed after a farcial trial, and

his execution would be used as political fodder

against any political opponents of Rhee."

A third affidavit comes from Ely Haimowitz,

former Chief, Cultural Affairs Office of Civil In-

formation, Hg. United States Armed Forces in

Korea. Says Mr. Haimowitz: "From my own per-

sonal observation of how the Korean government

has acted in the past, and how its police system

still functions, I know that if this Mr. Park is re-

turned to the jurisdiction of the Government of

South Korea, he will be subjected to the most in-

humane physical tortures the human mind is ca-

pable of contriving. In all prokability, at least in

my opinion, from what I have seen and experi-

enced with these Korean policemen, he will be

executed."

Possibly the strongest affidavit of all was sub-

mitted by Leonard M. Bertsch who, during the

years 1946, 1947 and 1948, served in Korea both

as an officer of the United States Army and, sub-

sequently, as a civilian official under the War De-

partment. He was a political analyst of the Mili-

tary Government, Political Advisor to the Com-

manding General and Political Advisor to the

United States-Soviet Joint Commission.

Says the affidavit in part: ". . . the Rhee ad-

ministration itself is terror-minded and but little

superior, morally, to the barbarism of the Com-

munist Northern regime; that there is no possibil-

ity of fair trial for any Korean deported from the

United States and believed to be a political adver-

sary of the President; and that the deportation

of Sang Rhup Park will be tantamount to an ille-

gal death sentence.

"On the basis of wide acquaintance with offi-

cials who have served in the Korean theatre from

Lt. General John R. Hodge down, I state further

that this conviction is the all-but-unanimous con-

clusion of all who are familiar with the picture

and that its wide public statement is deterred

only by the fear that such wide public statement

might strengthen the hand of the barbarian

enemy.

"With special reference to the possibility that

the South Korean Administration might make

special promises of safeguarding the administra-

tion of sound law in this case, I would state cate-

gorically that such assurances in the light of the

past record of broken official pledges to the Gov-

ernment of the United States would be worth-

aless."

It appears that the Rhee Government has as-

sured the Immigration Service that Park would

not suffer physical persecution if he were returned

to South Korea, so it is highly doubtful whether

any amount of evidence will persuade the Com-

missioner of Immigration not to send Park to

South Korea. It is clear from the evidence, how-

ever, that the Rhee Government's promises cannot

be relied upon. Therefore, it may be necessary for

the Union to resort to court action in order to

save Park.

Incidentally, the Union is informed that ten

similar cases involving Chinese are now pending

in the U. S. District Court in New York. In addi-

tion, on February 14, a Miss Margarethe Leiss

Lainburg filed suit in the Federal District Court

in Washington, D. C., to prevent her deportation

to Austria where she says she would suffer phy-

sical persecution by Communists.

Movie Censorship

Cases Active Again

There have been two major developments in

movie censorship during the past month:

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the

constitutionality of New York's ban on the Italian

film, `The Miracle."

A Texas appeals court upheld local censors who

barred showings of "Pinky" in Marshall (Tex.)

theaters.

At issue in "The Miracle" case are four sections

of the New York State Education Law. These say

that films may not be shown without a license

and that no film can be licensed if it is ``obscene,

indecent, immoral, inhuman, sacrilegious." Joseph

Burstyn, distributor of "The Miracle," contends

that the statute violates the Constitution on four

grounds: (1) It is too vague, and so infringes on

due process; (2) it violates separation of state

and church; (8) it infringes on free exercise of

religion; (4) it puts an illegal clamp on freedom of

expression. ACLU is supporting Burstyn's appeal

and will file a `friend of the court" brief in the

Supreme Court.

The Texas decision-by the state's Court of

Criminal Appeals upheld a $200 fine against a

Marshall (Tex.) theater manager who defied a

city ban against showing the movie, ``Pinky," a

film describing Negro-White relations in the South

and the problem of Negroes passing as white.

Much of the court's reasoning followed closely

a decision by U.S. Court of Appeals in 1950. This

upheld the right of Atlanta censors to bar the

movie ``Lost Boundaries" from local theaters.

Said the Texas court: `"`We cannot concede that

the motion picture industry has emerged from the

business of amusement and become propaganders

of ideas entitling it to freedom of speech." Even

if television and magazines can bring to the youth

improper matters, "we cannot concede that this

has divested the municipal authorities of a right

to regulate such subjects (motion pictures.)"'

The case will be appealed to the U. S. Supreme

Court.

ACLU Opposes UMT, Hits

Forced Religious Training

ACLU last month again took a stand against

universal military training and specifically blasted

any plan to make religious instruction compul-

sory under the program. Major points of the Ad-

ministration's UMT bill have already been ap-

proved by the House Armed Services Committee;

the Senate Armed Services Committee is holding

hearings now.

Main basis for the ACLU protest was testimony

of Admiral Thomas C, Kinkaid before the House

committee, as reported by the United Press

Jan. 16.

Kinkaid, a member of the National Security

Training Commission, was said to have outlined

a proposal to make "religious instruction . . . com-

pulsory even for those who indicate no religious

affiliation." He explained, according to press

dispatches, that "a lecture on religion will be in-

cluded in the regular `character guidance' pro-

gram."

ACLU's protest, in a letter to Chairman Carl

Vinson of the House committee, signed by Patrick

Murphy Malin, executive director, declared:

"We earnestly hope that this report (of Kin-

kaid's testimony) is erroneous for we believe that

to draft men into universal military training and

then force them to take religious instruction

would be a grave violation of the principle of sep-

aration of Church and state as embodied in the

First Amendment to the United States Constitu-

tion.

"Tt is desirable and necessary to provide reli-

gious facilities to those persons who would other-

wise be deprived of such facilities because of their

presence in the armed forces. But it would he

shocking were the government even to contem-

plate the establishment of teaching religion."

ACLU is opposed to the whole idea of UMT

on the ground that it might create a spirit of

militarism, prepare the way for totalitarian prac-

tices, and become a regular feature of education,

even in peacetime.

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.

Ten cents per Copy

OPEN FORUM |

EDITOR: The February number of the Civil

Liberties News, ran an article protesting against

the action of the Treasure Island PX, in dropping,

the Mickey Spillane novels from among the kooks

sold there. This action was apparently taken at

the instance of the chaplain; it seemed to be re-

garded as interference with the freedom of the

press.

I believe this objection overlooks the nature of

the PX and the nature of the control which the

armed forces exercise over it. The PX is a special

retail store which the armed forces operate for

the benefit of their members. From the stand-

point of the suppliers, it is a special facility to

sell goods to a concentrated group of customers.

The PX cannot carry everything; the armed

forces authorities have to make choices as to what

they will handle. Making that choice suppresses

nothing; it merely decides that one set of books

(or other goods) rather than another will _be

given the advantages of the special PX facilities.

It is wholly beside the point either that the

Spillane novels had been obtainable at the PX be-

fore, or that they were discontinued at the in-

stance of the chaplain. It is purely a matter of

internal organization whether the PX is directed

by the manager, the chaplain, or the J oint Chiefs

of Staff. And the mere fact that the PX at one

time carries an item, is no reason to carry it for-

ever.

The Spillane books are reviewed in the Febru-

ary 11 number of the New Republic under the title

"Sex Murder, Inc." That is only part of the story:

they are true fascism in the sense of glorifying

the sadistic self-confessed dregs of society in the

name of anti-communism. If they are not handled

at the PX, neither is the Commnnist Manifesto;

so far as they may represent sadistic literature,

the same is true of the works of the Marquis de

Sade, which are much better written. But the PX

does not carry them, either.

Here the government happens to be in private

business. The decisions which it makes in its

proprietary capacity are something different

from those in which it coerces private citizens by

force of law. Hence, the issue of free speech is

not involved-_GEORGE OLSHAUSEN

Editor's Note: On February 7 last, the Union's

local Executive Committee voted to take no action

concerning the dropping of the Spillane novels by

the Treasure Island PX. Moreover, on February

22, Mr. Spillane announced to the press that he

had joined Jehovah's Witnesses and would no

longer write the kind of books that are presently

objected to.

Maryland ACLU Protests

Indictment In Smith Act Case

In Maryland, ACLU has stepped into the gov-

ernment's case against six Communist leaders

charged with violating the Smith Act. In a friend

of the court brief, the union's affiliate, the Mary-

land Civil Liberties Committee, criticized the

government's indictment on two counts:

(1) "The defendants are not charged with hav-

ing committed a single act directed toward the

overthrow of, or a conspiracy to overthrow, the

government. The charge is a conspiracy to ad-

vocate overthrow of the government by force and

violence, but the vital information which would

establish whether the conspiracy is covered by

the Smith Act is not set forth.

(2) "The defendants do not present a clear and

present danger to the security of the U'S.... We

contend that no political party based on advocacy,

whether it be 2,000 strong or 200,000 strong, can

ever be a danger under our constitutional system.

On the contrary, the real danger . . . arises from

the suppression of political advocacy."

The motion to dismiss the indictment was de-

nied, and the government has introduced a new

indictment.

The six leaders under indictment are Philip

Frankfeld, George Meyers, LeRoy Wood, Regina

Frankfeld, Dorothy Blumberg, and Maurice

Braverman.

-151 "

(=

New York Civil Liberties Union

Meeting Scores Pol

Proposals ranging from better selection and

training of policemen to increased public aware-

ness and action on the problem were offered as

the answer to police abuses of civil liberties at a

recent public meeting sponsored by the New York

Civil Likerties Union.

Over 600 persons heard Osmond K. Fraenkel,

ACLU Board member and counsel to the NYCLU,

declare that police brutality could not be meas-

ured only by direct acts against non-criminals but

should also include such practices as illegal

search and seizures and the obtaining of evidence

through solitary confinement and beatings. The

law is clear in this matter," he said, `These prac-

tices are violations of the law. But while the

courts condemn, seldom is anything done to the

police involved." Fraenkel also pointed to the dis-

crepancy in which New York courts accept evi-

dence obtained through illegal search and sei-

zures while the federal courts don't. He said that

when police engage in lawlessness, seldom does

the public know they are subject to discipline by

their superiors. "Too many of these proceedings

are in secret," he added, and urged that the dis-

ciplinary power be taken out of the hands of the

police. Only the fullest publicity and the continual

institution of civil suits against police for brutal-

ity will correct these misdeeds, he said.

Magistrate Morris Ploscowe asserted that po-

lice brutality is not the usual pattern of police

activity, and attacked the mishandling of minor

offenders. "Too often cops get tough at minor

petty offenders, but not at top gangsters. When

you have corrupt police officials you will find

them getting tough against those persons who

are in competition with the people they are pro-

tecting."

Arnold Fein, legal counsel to Borough Council

President Rudolph Halley, retorted that too many

people believe it is proper to use such tactics

against the criminally or politically unpopular.

"But under the American system," he said, "we

don't drive `tin-horn' gamblers from town. We try

them in a court of law, and if you can't convict

them, it's unfortunate." He said that demands for

action by the press and public in cases that out-

rage the community result in the use of force by

the police who are under pressure to obtain re-

sults. He suggested that selection of police be

done with greater care to weed out those persons

who are over-aggressive or like to wear uniforms

to exhibit their authority. This could be achieved,

Freedom Fares Badly

At Hands of Teen-Agers

The February 27 issue of Look magazine gives

a report on a survey conducted by the Purdue

Opinion Panel, a survey organization at Purdue

University, which questioned some 15,000 high

school students to find out what they think of

freedom.

75 per cent of the students stated that obedi-

ence and respect for authority are the most im-

portant virtues that children should learn.

49 per cent of those who were polled believe

that large masses of the people are incapable of

determining what is and what is not good for

them. Another 19 per cent were "uncertain."

58 per cent agree that police may be justified

in giving a man the "third degree" to make him

talk.

33 per cent say that persons who refuse to

testify against themselves should either be made

to talk or severely punished-while another 20

per cent are uncertain.

25 per cent of the `teenagers would prohibit the

right of the people to assemble peaceably, saying

that some groups should not be allowed to hold

public meetings.

26 per cent believe the police should be allowed

in some cases to search a person or his home with-

out a warrant.

15 per cent would deny to some criminals the

right to have a lawyer.

Only 45 per cent believe newspapers should be

allowed to print anything they want except mili-

tary secrets.

Two-thirds of the students believe that all Gov-

ernment employees should sign loyalty oaths,

while 15 per cent say that only those in positions

involving security or secrecy should be required

to sign.

33 per cent say that a foreigner visiting this

country should not ke allowed to criticize our

Government.

60 per cent would deprive conscientious ob-

jectors of their right to vote.

60 per cent believe that police and other groups

should have the right to censor or ban books and

movies when they see fit. :

ice Brutality

he said, through psychological testing. "And cops

should be taught not to distinguish between poor

_and rich, black and white, alien or citizen." To

meet the charge that complaints of police brutal-

ity receive scant attention, Fein suggested that a

special deputy commissioner, not selected from

the ranks, be named, "perhaps an ex-judge," who

would be legally charged with the job of investi-

gating these complaints.

Donald E. J. MacNamara, vice president of the

Society for the Advancement of Criminology, said

that American police practices are far better,

with one or two exceptions, than other countries.

Fear and untrained police are the greatest causes

for police abuses, he added.

Rev. Donald Harrington, chairman of the Citi-

zens Committee on Police Practices, reviewed the

so-far successful efforts made by his group to

have the Police Department consider new ap-

proaches to the problem. He said that the prob-

lem won't be resolved unless police are taught

that it is not their job to punish, but only to arrest

offenders and until there is better community

understanding. Roger N. Baldwin, chairman of

the ACLU National Committee, said that the

tendency of the U. S. police departments is that

the ends justify the means," and if you have to

clean out the crooks it is all right to use force."

The meeting was told by Edward P. Morgan,

CBS news analyst, who read several case histo-

ries of police brutality, that the NYCLU and

other groups in 1951 investigated about 80 com-

plaints, twice as many as 1950. "The NYCLU

knows of awards in 1951 to victims of police bru-

tality amounting to $175,000 and it is estimated

that pending suits total more than $3,000,000."

Fliigh Court May Settle Child

Custody, Religious Issue

The U.S. Supreme Court may settle this term

an issue that has been fought over for years in

child-custody cases. The issue: How much weight

should you give to religion in placing a child with

foster parents?

The immediate case before the court involves

two children, Diane and Linda Southern. Appar-

ently Jewish, the two had been committed by the

New York City Children's Court to the Free Syna-

gogue Child Adoption Committee. The committee,

in turn, had placed them in a Jewish home. Later,

it developed that the children had been baptized

Roman Catholics, and the state Appellate Division

ruled that, under adoption law, the religion of the

two had to be considered to the exclusion of all

other factors. The children were then withdrawn

from the Jewish home (though they were seem-

ingly fully adjusted to it) and transferred to the

Catholic Home Bureau.

The Free Synagogue Child Adoption Committee,

which is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court,

contends the Appellate Division's ruling converted

(the Children's Court) from a guardian of the

welfare of the children to an agency serving reli-

gious groups. This, it says, is a violation of the

principle of separation of church and state. Reli-

gion, the committee maintains, should be consi-

dered in placing children for adoption, but only in

conjunction with "all other facts" bearing on their

health and well-being, as is the case in all other

comparable situations.

ACLU will-file a "friend of the court" brief at

the appropriate time contending the law, as con-

strued, violates the principle of separation of

church and state.

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