vol. 21, no. 8

American

Civil Liberties

Union-News

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

Free Press

Free Assemblage

Free Speech

VOLUME XxXI

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AUGUST, 1956

NUMBER 8

Red Cross Worker Reinstated

After Security Suspension

A Red Cross social worker at a Naval Installa-

tion in Northern California, who was alleged to be

a security risk, was reinstated to his job on July

2nd. He had been summarily suspended on June 29

and escorted from the installation.

He was informed that he was not entitled to

any charges or a hearing. Under the circumstances,

there was nothing he could do except to offer his

resignation to the Red Cross and it was accepted.

In the meantime, however, Sen. Harry P. Cain

had publicized the case of Irving I. August, 29-year-

old Korean war veteran who had been forced to

resign his Red Cross job after the Army denied

him security clearance for overseas work. The Se-

attle Chapter of the ACLU called this case to Sen.

Cain's attention and the latter not only brought

it to the attention of President Eisenhower, but

made the case a focal point in his appearance be-

fore the Hennings Committee.

The net result of the August case was a definite

policy change by the Armed Services in the han-

dling of such cases so that henceforth even non-

government employees will be granted hearings if

their security clearance is in question.

- Mr. August was restored to his position and is

awaiting a security hearing. The local Red Cross

worker, upon learning of the decision in the August

case, applied for reinstatement. He was reinstated

and was informed that the Navy in "continuing its

investigation." It is assumed that the investigation

will ultimately result in a security hearing for the

Red Cross worker.

Conscientious Objector

Denied Right to Vote in Ala.

_ The Mobile County Alabama Board of Regis-

trars has refused to register Mrs. W. W. Lumpkin

of Pritchard, Alabama, as a voter because of her

religious objection to bearing arms.

Albama law requires would-be voters to fill out

a questionnaire-type application which includes the

question `Will you bear arms for your country if

called upon by it to do so?" If the question is an-

swered in the negative, the applicant is asked to

state his reasons. Mrs. Lumpkin wrote, `By reason

of my religious beliefs, I am conscientiously op-

posed to combat service. I will perform any non-

combatant service required of me."

In denying Mrs. Lumpkin's application, the

chairman of the Board of Registrars stated that it

was the Board's policy to require an affirmative

answer to the question, on the grounds that a per-

son refusing to bear arms could not honestly sign

the oath at the end of the questionnaire to defend

the Constitutions of the United States and Ala-

bama. Mrs. Lumpkin's attorney is filing an appeal

in the Circuit Court of Alabama, contending that

the board's decision violates Alabama's constitu-

tional guarantee of religious freedom and is not

consistent with existing law which does not require

C.O.'s to bear arms.

Campaign Adds 34 Members

During Last Month

Since June 22, ACLU's membership campaign

netted 34 more members and $207, thus raising

the total figure to 466 new members, or 65% of

the membership goal, and $3479 or almost 70% of

the financial goal. The latest report was made on

July 23.

Palo Alto, which had previously surpassed its

membership goal of 30, has now raised its total to

36 new members and attained its financial goal of

$210.

Additional returns in the campaign are antici-

pated during August and September. The final total

should be about 500 new members.

RUBEN BARROW ENDS IMMIGRATION

CASE -- BY HANGING HIMSELF

SAN FRANCISCO, July 10.- Ruben Barrow

ended his years of trouble with the Immigration

Service yesterday. =

He hanged himself.

Ruben Barrow's life might have been a success

story, in the modest, unsung way that most Amer-

ican lives are.

He came to the United States from Honduras in

1944, at the age of 20, to serve as a merchant sea-

man. In 1951 he was admitted as a non-quota immi-

grant and took out first citizenship papers.

Trouble on a Ship

In September, 1953, he was a messman on a.

freighter carrying war supplies from Yokohama

to Korea. He was forced to leave the ship at the

Japanese port because of threats to his life by other

crew members. His skipper suggested he take that

step...

He had no money, his wife in Oakland was expect-

ing their first child. He stowed away on the Presi-

dent Wilson and was removed in Honolulu.

The Immigration Service ordered him excluded

from the United States and sent back to Honduras,

without a hearing. Lawrence Speiser, attorney for

the American Civil Liberties Union, took the case

into Federal Court on a writ of habeas corpus.

Barrow was being held in detention here, refused

even temporary release on bond when his wife had

the baby.

That's Where

Our Money Goes

Thus far, the ACLU of Northern California

has spent exactly $1042.84 in handling five tax

exemption loyalty oath suits, four of which are

now awaiting decision by the California Supreme

Court.

On the other hand, the ACLU has received

only $742.71 in funds which were ear-marked to

be spent for these cases. The deficit of $300.13

must be met out of the General Legal Defense

Fund.

`Screened' Seaman Case

Before Court of Appeals Aug. 7

The U.S. Coast Guard has appealed the decision

of Federal Judge Edward P. Murphy of San Fran-

cisco ordering it to restore validated sailing docu-

ments to about 500 West Coast seamen who have

been barred from the maritime industry as security

risks.

. Enforcement of Judge Murphy's decision was

stayed until August 7 by the Court of Appeals, at

which time the question to be argued before the

original panel which heard the case of Parker vs.

Lester is whether or not Judge Murphy's decision

is consistent with the mandate of the Court of

Appeals.

Under Judge Murphy's decision, screened sea-

men could continue to sail until the Coast Guard,

following a hearing, had ruled that a seaman was a

security risk. The Coast Guard wants to keep the

500 men from sailing while it determines their

fate under new security regulations. The old se-

curity regulations were declared unconstitutional

by the court, on the ground that they denied sea-

men fair hearings. :

If the Court of Appeals sustains Judge Murphy's

order, the maritime screening program on the Pa-

cific Coast will be virtually dead. In any case, it

would take a couple of years to re-hear the 500

cases of screened seamen. Rumors in San Fran-

cisco are to the effect that the screening program

will be replaced by contracts between the labor

unions and employers barring Communists from

the maritime industry.

At the time Federal Judge Louis E. Goodman

asked a local immigration official: "Can't you sug-

gest to whoever the big shot is who sits behind the

desk in Washington that the world isn't going to fall

apart if this man is released on bond?"

The suggestion was carried through-and Wash-

ington okayed the release on $1000 bond, a week

after the baby was born, five days before Christmas.

Later an immigration officer held a hearing to

determine whether Barrow was entitled to a hear-

ing and ruled that, under the McCarran-Walter Act,

a stowaway was not entitled to an administrative

hearing.

The Board of Immigration Appeals held that

there was no discretion under the Act to waive the

stowaway status. Speiser pleaded that Barrow was

an involuntary stowaway, arguing further that the

fact he was paid off by the American President

Lines with the sanction of immigration authorities

indicated he was not a deserter. 0x00B0

The Barrows appealed two years ago to Oakland

Representative John J. Allen Jr., who introduced

a private bill in Barrow's behalf. Immigration then

held off, but last year informed Barrow that "no

action to enforce your departure from the United

States (will) he taken until Ausust 1, 1956, unless

the private bill is withdrawn or adverse action taken

on the bill." oe

Janitorial Work

That began to prey on Barrow's mind. A year

and a half ago they had moved to East Palo Alto

where he set up a janitorial service, getting up

at 2 a.m. to start his day's work.

"Tf those people will only let me alone so I can

do for my family," he once told his wife, Maxine.

The worry brought on ulcers. :

"He kept getting more depressed as it came near-

er August," Mrs. Barrow said yesterday. (Immigra-

tion does not have to withhold deportation pending

outcome of a Congressional bill, but does so as a

courtesy.)

"Just the other day he said, `I'll jump over in

the ocean before they get me to Honduras. I don't

want to be separated from my children."

The Barrows family now: a girl 242, a boy 13

months, a third child on the way. oe

Last week word came from Representative Allen

that should have been encouraging. He said there

was "a good chance" the bill would be acted upon

in this session and if not, he would attempt to fore-

stall deportation and introduce a new bill next

January, if re-elected.

"What if he isn't re-elected?"' Barrow brooded.

Sunday night they had friends in and Barrow

talked of his immigration troubles. Early yesterday

he went to work at a drive-in and told a waitress as

he left: "Farewell. 'm going home and hang my-

self." She thought it was a joke.

At 8:40 a.m. Mrs. Barrow noticed her husband's

truck in the driveway, thought that was curious

and went out to the garage. She found him hanging

from a rafter. On the cab seat of the truck were

Allen's letter and a note.

The note said: `Dear Maxine: I want you to

know that I love you very much but I can't go on

this way and I think is best to end my life now.

Before I keep making you ashamed of me. Please

take care of the kids. Goodby, darling." .

The foregoing account of the final chapter in

the ease of U.S. vs. Ruben Barrow, handled by

the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern

California, appeared under the by-line of J. Camp-

bell Bruce in the July 10 issue of the "San Fran-

cisco Chronicle."

The ACLU will close its file on the case when

the Immigration Service assures itself that Ruben

Barrow is really dead and returns the $1000 bond

posted by the ACLU to allow Barrow his freedom

while the case was being decided.

Page 2

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

August, 1956

Phila. ACLU Urges Due Process

For Juvenile Offenders

In a recently-issued statement, The Greater Phi-

ladelphia: Branch of the American Civil Liberties

Union charged that juvenile court procedures in

Pennsylvania, designed to provide broad flexibility

for the protection and rehabilitation of youthful -

offenders, also have the effect of depriving accused

children of due process of law.

The state's juvenile court legislation provides

that children appearing before the court are not

being tried for a crime. Offenders who are found

guilty of charges brought against them are "ad-

judicated" to be "delinquent," and wide latitude

is given to the judge in deciding what action should

be taken in each case. The purpose of the juvenile

court procedures is to avoid the stigmatization of

children, and to make constructive remedies avail-

able for the problems of juvenile delinquency.

Denials of Due Process Enumerated

However, since the juvenile court is not a `"`crimi-

nal court," many of the protections of due process

of law, available to men accused of a crime, are

unavailable to boys accused of "delinquency." The

Philadelphia ACLU states that the following denials

of due process may take place in the handling of

tases in the juvenile courts:

__ 1) The child may be induced, before and during

his hearing, to make self-incriminating statements.

He is usually without counsel, and is of course in- -

experienced and frequently emotionally distraught.

2) Before his hearing, he may be uninformed of

the specific charge against him, putting him at a

disadvantage in preparing a defense. :

3) Testimony based on hearsay and gossip, that

would never be permitted in a criminal court, may

be allowed in the juvenile court and may serve as

the basis for conviction. :

4) Betore reaching a decision, the judge may

read a probation officer's secret report, unavailable

to either the chiid or his lawyer if he has one, mak-

ing recommendations for the disposition of the case.

The report may contain unproved statements and

opinions having no status as valid evidence.

Recommendations

The Philadelphia ACLU recommends that any

child accused of an act which may send him to a

reformatory should have the chance to know in

detail the charges against him and the source of

the accusations; should have counsel; and should

have the opportunity to face and cross-examine his

accusers and to call his own witnesses. `"The funda-

_ mental step to achieve," the Philadelphia Union's

_ statement continues, "is to make a complete sepa-

ration between the two functions of the juvenile

court, namely the judging of whether a child has in

fact committed the act of delinquency with which

he is charged, and the deciding of what should be

done with the child if he is found to have commit-

ted the act." In this way the full advantages of

flexible disposition of cases can be combined with

sale assurance of due process in determining

guilt.

Juvenile Defendants Must Be

Told of Right to Counsel

Defendants brought before the District of Colum-

bia Juvenile Court must be informed of their right

to have counsel, and where that right is waived, the

court must be satisfied that the decision is `intelli-

gent and competent."

So ruled the United States Court of Appeals in

Washington, in overturning a D.C. Municipal Court

of Appeals decision that the Juvenile Court need

not inform a defendant of his right to counsel.

"Rights afforded by the rules of the Juvenile

Court would be meaningless without legal assis-

tance," the U.S. Court of Appeals decision read.

"Since an intelligent exercise of the juvenile's

rights under the Act (creating the Juvenile Court)

and the Rules clearly requires legal skills not pos-

sessed by the ordinary child under 18, it is plain

that, as appellee, the District of Columbia, con-

cedes, a juvenile is entitled to be represented by

counsel if he or his parents or guardian choose to

furnish one. Appellee contends, however, that the

court:is not required to advise a juvenile of that

right, or to assure itself that the right has been

intelligently waived. It also contends that the court

is not required to appoint counsel where there is

no such waiver or where the juvenile's family is

indigent. We think these contentions are unsound."

_The case on which the appeals court ruled con-

cerned a 15-year-old youth who was committed to

a training school after admitting before Juvenile

Court that he had used an automobile without the

owner's consent. He was not represented by coun-

sel or advised that he could be if he desired. When

an attorney three months later askd that the court's

judgment be set aside on ground that the defendant

had been deprived of his constitutional right to

legal assistance, the Juvenile Court denied the mo-

tion as did the Municipal Court of Appeals at a

later hearing. The American Civil Liberties Union

had urged a reversal, in a friend of the court brief

filed with the U.S. appeals court.

By - Laws

of

American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

- As Amended Feb. 2, 1956 -

ARTICLE I

Name

The name of this organization shall be the Amer-

ican Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.

ARTICLE ACLUN_1946 ACLUN_1946.MODS ACLUN_1946.batch ACLUN_1947 ACLUN_1947.MODS ACLUN_1947.batch ACLUN_1948 ACLUN_1948.MODS ACLUN_1948.batch ACLUN_1949 ACLUN_1949.MODS ACLUN_1949.batch ACLUN_1950 ACLUN_1950.MODS ACLUN_1950.batch ACLUN_1951 ACLUN_1951.MODS ACLUN_1951.batch ACLUN_1952 ACLUN_1952.MODS ACLUN_1952.batch ACLUN_1953 ACLUN_1953.MODS ACLUN_1953.batch ACLUN_1954 ACLUN_1954.MODS ACLUN_1954.batch ACLUN_1955 ACLUN_1955.MODS ACLUN_1955.batch ACLUN_1956 ACLUN_1956.MODS ACLUN_1956.batch ACLUN_1957 ACLUN_1957.MODS ACLUN_1958 ACLUN_1958.MODS ACLUN_1959 ACLUN_1959.MODS ACLUN_1960 ACLUN_1960.MODS ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1962 ACLUN_1962.MODS ACLUN_1963 ACLUN_1963.MODS ACLUN_1964 ACLUN_1964.MODS ACLUN_1965 ACLUN_1965.MODS ACLUN_1966 ACLUN_1966.MODS ACLUN_1967 ACLUN_1967.MODS ACLUN_1968 ACLUN_1968.MODS ACLUN_1969 ACLUN_1969.MODS ACLUN_1970 ACLUN_1970.MODS ACLUN_1971 ACLUN_1971.MODS ACLUN_1972 ACLUN_1972.MODS ACLUN_1973 ACLUN_1973.MODS ACLUN_1974 ACLUN_1974.MODS ACLUN_1975 ACLUN_1975.MODS ACLUN_1976 ACLUN_1976.MODS ACLUN_1977 ACLUN_1977.MODS ACLUN_1978 ACLUN_1978.MODS ACLUN_1979 ACLUN_1979.MODS ACLUN_1980 ACLUN_1980.MODS ACLUN_1981 ACLUN_1981.MODS ACLUN_1982 ACLUN_1982.MODS ACLUN_1983 ACLUN_1983.MODS ACLUN_1984 ACLUN_1984.MODS ACLUN_1985 ACLUN_1985.MODS ACLUN_1986 ACLUN_1986.MODS ACLUN_1987 ACLUN_1987.MODS ACLUN_1988 ACLUN_1988.MODS ACLUN_1989 ACLUN_1989.MODS ACLUN_1990 ACLUN_1990.MODS ACLUN_1991 ACLUN_1991.MODS ACLUN_1992 ACLUN_1992.MODS ACLUN_1993 ACLUN_1993.MODS ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1997 ACLUN_1997.MODS ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_1999 ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS ACLUN_ladd.bags ACLUN_ladd.batch add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log

Headquarters

The headquarters of the Union shall be in San

Francisco, California.

ARTICLE Ill

Affiliation /

This organization shall function as an affiliate

of the American Civil Liberties Union, Inc., of New

`York.

ARTICLE IV

Object

Its object shall be to maintain the rights of free

speech, free press, free assemblage and other civil |

rights and to take all legitimate action in further-

ance of such purposes. The Union's objects shall be

sought wholly without political partisanship.

: ARTICLE V

Membership and Dues `

All persons wishing to further the purposes of

, the Union are eligible for membership. Membership

is established by signing an application and paying

the annual dues. Dues shall be fixed by the Board

of Directors.

ARTICLE VI

Board of Directors and Officers

la. The direction and administration of the

Union shall be under the control of a Board of

Directors of not less than fifteen (15), nor more

than thirty (30), members. The Board of Directors

shall meet once each month, at a time and place

fixed by the Chairman, or on request of five or more

of its members. Members of the Board who fail to

attend five consecutive meetings without explana-

tion may be dropped from membership in the

Board by a majority vote of all of the members of

the Board. Seven members of the Board shall con-

stitute a quorum. - .

1b. Members of the Board of Directors shall be

elected for three-year terms, and may be elected

to successive terms.

Each year, at the May meeting of the Board of

Directors, a committee of five persons shall be ap-

pointed by the Chairman to serve as a nominating

committee to nominate persons to fill Board. of

Director terms expiring during the current year as

well as any unexpired terms that may be vacant.

The committee shall report its recommendations

to the Board of Directors at the September meeting,

the proposed nominations of which shall be subject

to approval or change by the Board of Directors at

the said meeting. The names finally approved by

the Board of Directors shall be submitted for con-

firmation to the annual membership meeting, which

shall be held sometime during the month of Octo-

ber.

Every year, the May issue of the A.C.L.U.-

NEWS shall carry an invitation to the Union's

membership to suggest names to the nominating

committee, and such names must reach the Union's

office not later than May 31 in order to receive con-

sideration. The nominating committee shall con-

sider such suggestions but shall not make any nomi-

nations until after May 31.

.2. The officers of the Union shall be: a Chair-

man, two Vice-Chairmen, a Secretary-Treasurer,

and an Executive Director, who shall be elected by,

and hold office at the pleasure of, the Board of

Directors. :

3. The Chairman shall preside at all meetings

of the membership and the Board of Directors and

act in cooperation with the other officers and with

committees as found necessary or desirable.

4, The Vice-Chairmen shall act in lieu of the

Chairman in event of the latter's absence or inabil-

ity to do so.

5. The Secretary-Treasurer shall perform the

usual duties of such an office. -

6. The Executive Director shall conduct the of

fice of the Union, issue its monthly publication,

maintain minutes of all meetings of the Union and

the Board of Directors, keep the records of mem-

bership and of receipts and disbursements, handle

all matters of civil liberties coming to the attention

of the Union between meetings of the Board of

Directors and report thereon at the following meet-

ing of the Board, secure the services of attorneys,

appear before public bodies on behalf of the Union,

`and perform such other duties as may be assigned

by the Board of Directors.

7. Such other committees as may be found neces-

sary or desirable may be elected or appointed as

determined by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VII

Meetings

1. A general membership meeting shall be held

in San Francisco at least once each year for the

purpose of acting on elections of members of the

Board of Directors, as prescribed by Section 1b of

Article VI of these BY-LAWS, receiving reports of

activities during the preceding year, and consider-

ing such other business as the Board of Directors

may lay before it.

.2. Additional membership meetings for the

transaction of business indicated in the preceding

section shall be held at the call of the Board of

Directors.

3. Luncheon, dinner, mass or area meetings

may be held or lectures may be sponsored, as di-

rected by the Board of Directors. '

ARTICLE VIII

Chapters

The Union by a majority vote of its Board of Di-

rectors may grant a chapter to any petitioning local

group in Northern California which has given satis-

factory evidence of vitality, leadership and devo-

tion to the objectives and program of the Union.

Charters may be revoked for cause by a two-thirds

vote of the Board of Directors, but only after a

statement of reasons has been sent by the Board

of Directors to the chapter officers and members of

the chapter board and a full hearing accorded.

Chapter By-Laws shall not go into effect until they

are approved by the Board of Directors. :

ARTICLE IX

`Rules of Order

Except as covered by the foregoing, ``Robert's

Rules of Order, Revised," shall govern the conduct

of all meetings of the membership, the committees

and Board of the Union.

ARTICLE X

Amending By-Laws

These BY-LAWS may be amended at any meeting

of the Board of Directors by a vote of a majority of

all of the members of the Board, provided the pro-

posed amendments are first submitted to the mem-

bers of the Board.

ee

Challenge Loss of Citizenship

To Native-Born American

The American Civil Liberties Union lost the

first round in the challenge of the constitutional-

ity of a section of the 1940 Nationality Act, which

requires loss of citizenship to native-born Amer-

icans convicted by court martial for desertion from

the armed forces in time of war, when a Federal

District Court upheld the law.

The Union's views were presented by Osmond

K. Fraenkel, its general counsel, in the case of

Albert Trop of Long Beach, N. Y. Trop was in-

formed of the loss of his citizenship in 1952 when

he applied to the State Department for a passport.

The passport was refused on the ground of his con-

viction in World War II as a deserter.

In a brief submitted to the Federal court urging

a declaratory judgment that Trop had not lost

his citizenship, the ACLU pointed out that while

Trop was in the Army in Casablanca, French Mo-

rocco in 1944, he escaped from solitary confinement

but surrendered the next day. It added that Trop

made no contact with the enemy or tried to leave

the area under American control.

Asserting that since Trop did not desert to the

enemy the statute did not apply to him, the Union

argued that even if the court did not agree with this

view it should find the statute unconstitutional. It

stated that a number of Supreme Court decisions

suggested that Congress could only withdraw citi-

zenship from a native-born American if the citizen

has voluntarily expatriated himself or has dual citi-

zenship.

"We submit that this is the extent of Congres-

sional power, and that there can be no question of

loss of American nationality (and therefore none

of consent to such loss) where, as here, there is not

even an intent to acquire another nationality... ."

The case will be appealed to the Federal Court of

Appeals.

August, 1956

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

Page 3

Security Clearance Won

By Air Force Lieutenant

Last month, more than seven months after a

three-day hearing, the Air Force finally granted a

clearance to a Lieutenant at Hamilton Air Force

Base who had been charged with being a security

risk. A week following the decision, the man was

promoted to the rank of captain. He was represent-

ed by Ernest Besig, local Executive Director of the

American Civil Liberties Union.

Two Charges

Two charges were filed against the man. The

first charge read as follows: "During 1947 and

1948, in conversations with associates, at or near

- Lincoln, Nebraska, you made statements which

were intended. tc and did further programs and

policies of the Communist Party and the world

- Communist movement. In these conversations you

stated in substance, that Communism is the way

to live and that you planned to go to South America

_in 1948 with the intention of going from there to

China to join the Chinese Red Army. In 1948 at

Lincoln, Nebraska, you picketed the showing of

the movie "The Iron Curtain" and signed an open

letter to the Evening Journal criticizing the movie.

The circumstances indicate that you did so for the

purpose of furthering the aims and programs of

the Communist Party."

The second, and final charge, was that "In 1947.

and 1948 you maintained a sympathetic association

with persons, including Warren Batterson, Secre-

tary of the Communist Party in the state of Ne-

braska, who are reported to have been members of

the Communist Party or closely affiliated there-

with. The circumstances indicate that you knew

or reasonably should have known, of the Com-

munist sympathies of these associates and that

your association with them was in furtherance of

or in connection with their Communist activities."

Facts Distorted

Of course, the facts in the case had been greatly

distorted. While attending college, he and his room-

mate, after reading a story in the local newspaper

about the Secretary of the Communist Party, were

curious to see a Communist, so they went to his

office and interviewed him. He saw him on only

one other occasion when he spoke at a forum near

the college. /

During the first six months or more of his col-

lege years he had imagined himself to be a Social-

ist. Any statements he made at that time reflected

Socialist and not Communist ideas.

It was not true that he planned to go to South

America and then go from there to China to join

the Red Army. However, he had picketed the

movie "The Iron Curtain" without any real under-

standing of what he was doing.

Just to show how radical this man is, as a Re-

publican, he opposed the nomination of Eisenhower

in 1952 and supported Senator Taft because the

former was too radical.

Separated Vet Faces Second

Army Security Proceeding

_ An inductee, who received an honorable separa-

tion from the Army after being the subject of se-

curity proceedings, is now faced with another secur-

ity proceeding to determine whether he should be

discharged from the Army Reserve. -

When the inductee went into the Army in July,

1953, he admitted past membership in "American

Youth for Democracy" and the "Labor Youth

League" in filling out his loyalty form. Seven

months later, he received charges alleging he had

been active in those organizations besides holding

membership in a group opposed to loyalty oaths

and presiding at a meeting in 1949 at which two

alleged Communists were speakers. He was also

charged with having had Communist literature in

his possession.

' The inductee answered the charges in writing,

and, under the regulations then in force, he was

cleared without a hearing on April 29, 1954. A year

later he received an honorable separation after

having been promoted to the rank of Corporal.

Last month, he received a notice from the Army

saying he had "no doubt" been advised by the Com-

manding General of the Sixth Army of his "in-

definite assignment to non-sensitive (specially con-

trolled) duties."" As a matter of fact, he had never

been informed of such an assignment. However,

that doesn't make much difference since he is in

the inactive Army Reserve. Only if the Reserve

were activated would the assignment to specially

controlled duties be meaningful.

In any case, he was told that the Army had

taken another look at his file and that his "dis-

charge from the Army Reserve is contemplated

because of your specially controlled duties." So,

some time in the immediate future he will have a

second trip on the Army's security merry-go-round.

Ouster of Employee Charged

With C.P. Membership Upheld

The United States Supreme Court has refused

to reverse a decision of the California Supreme

Court upholding the dismissal of a laboratory em-

ployee whe was a meniber of the Communist Party,

in the face of an arbitration award reinstating the

employee to her job.

The American Civil Liberties Union had filed a

friend of the court brief in the case of Doris Walker,

a Clerk-typist at the Cutter Laboratories in Berke-

ley, Calif. Miss Walker, a member of the Bio-Lab

Union of Local 225, United Office and Professional

Workers Union, was discharged, the arbitration

board found, in violation of a contract provision

barring dismissal for union activity. The board

ruled that it was her union work, not Communist

Party membership that was the cause of the dis-

charge.

The California Supreme Court refused to accept

the arbitration award, claiming that Miss Walker's

reinstatement would be against public policy since

it would be assumed that as a Communist she was

dedicated to the "practice of sabotage" and would

commit sabotage under orders of Communist Party

leaders. The court referred to the Cutter Labora-

tories manufacture of antibiotics and medical sup-

plies for military and civilian use.

In a 6-3 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled

that the California high court had correctly deter-

mined that membership in the Communist Party .

was "just cause" for dismissal under a collective

bargaining contract. The California decision pre-

sented "no substantial Federal question," the US

high court said, and involved only California's in-

terpretation of a local contract under local law.

The ACLU brief had argued that the court's ruling

violated the due process and equal protection

clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. It asserted

that merely on the assumption of sabotage, with-

out any real evidence of sabotage to support its

claim, the California Court interfered with an in-

dividual's right to a "judicial remedy, to court aid

in securing (her) rights-a most essential and firmly

established phase of equal protection of the laws."

`The brief argued that the court did not enforce

the contract in the Walker case as it would in other

"cases involving arbitration decisions ordering re-

instatement to a job. This resulted, the brief con-

tinued, in a denial of contract, through her union,

for employment and the enjoyment of "the fruits

of the contract. It deprives her of her right to get

and keep employment and thus curtails her basic

right to work, to make a living and survive eco-

nomically. Certainly these rights are vital aspects

of the liberty assured by the Amendment."

ACLU Brief

The ACLU brief said that if the California

court's reasoning was upheld, "almost any sort of

employment contract would be equally unenforce-

able for a0x00B0Communist-to prepare food, work on

a construction project, run an elevator .. . of pas-

sage on a railroad, to lease a building, to buy prop-

erty anywhere near a Western Union office or

public utility. Under the . . . decision, the courts

would approve the breach of any such contract

with a Communist."

Forty Years in Solitary for

"Bird Man of Alcatraz'

The ACLU is investigating the case of Robert

Stroud, known as "`The Bird Man of Alcatraz," who

has been a Federal prisoner since 1909, at which

time he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment

on manslaughter charges. In 1916 he killed a guard

at Leavenworth Prison. He was sentenced to be

held in solitary confinement until executed. How-

ever, Pres. Wilson commuted his sentence to life

imprisonment.

Stroud has been kept in solitary confinement

for 40 years. The Attorney General not only con-

tends he is merely carrying out the court's order

but that Stroud is a dangerous man. A suit filed in

his behalf contends that he has been rehabilitated

and that the isolation should, therefore, cease.

The question before the ACLU is whether the

solitary confinement, under the circumstances,

constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Committee Chairmen

o ; ug e A a

Appointed for `Liberty Ball

Marin Chapter Board Chairman Milen Dempster

has announced the chairmen who will direct the

planning and committee work for the forthcoming

Liberty Ball, scheduled for September 8.

Co-chairmen of the event are James Chestnut

and Sali Lieberman. They have appointed Louise

Quinn to head invitations; Henry Arian, buffet;

Sali Lieberman, entertainment; Milen Dempster,

physical arrangements; Anne Coolidge, art bazaar,

_and Helen Kerr, publicity.

A midnight buffet will follow the evening's en-

tertainment, which will begin at 9 o'clock. Tickets

are $3.50 per person.

Sedition Prosecutions Voided

After Supreme Court Ruling

In the wake of the U. S. Supreme Court's ruling

that the federal government has preempted the

field of fighting sedition and state anti-sedition laws

are invalid, courts in Kentucky, Massachusetts and

Michigan have voided prosecutions.

The Supreme Court in April reversed the convic-

tion of Steve Nelson,.a Communist leader, under

Pennsylvania's anti-sedition law. The high court

reasoned that since Congress has passed the Smith

Act and an "all-embracing program" against sub-

version it has "treated seditious conduct as a matter -

of vital national concern (which) is in no sense a

local enforcement problem."

Massachusetts Ruling

On the basis of this ruling, the Massachusetts

Supreme Judicial Court quashed the indictments of

Otis Hood and Mrs. Margaret Gilbert. Hood had

been charged with Communist Party membership

and contributing money to the Communist Party.

Mrs. Gilbert, along with Professor Dirk `Struik of

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and

Harry S. Winner, had been charged with conspiracy

to overthrow the state and federal government by

force and violence. Following the Massachusetts

high court's decision, the Middlesex Superior Court

in Cambridge threw out the indictments against

Professor Struik and Winner, and a Suffolk County

Superior Court approved motions to quash con- -

`spiracy indictments against Hood, Ann Burllak

Timpson, Barbara Rosenkrantz, Herbert Zimmer-

man, Edith Abber and Franklin P. Collier.

In Kentucky, the Court of Appeals, the state's

highest court, cited the Supreme Court's Nelson de-

cision as the basis for upsetting the conviction of

Carl Braden. Braden had been convicted for advo-

cating sedition and sentenced to fifteen years in

jail and a $5,000 fine. In its decision, however, the

Kentucky high court said that its ruling did not

stop the state from prosecuting Braden for the

"crime of sedition directed exclusively against the

commonwealth of Kentucky."

Trucks Act

In Michigan, the state supreme court ruled that

the Trucks Act, another anti-subversion law, con-

flicted with the U. S. Supreme Court's Nelson deci-

sion and voided several prosecutions. S

_, Meanwhile, both the Senate and the House Judi-

ciary Committees approved bills to circumvent the

Supreme Court's sedition ruling. The ACLU voiced

objections to the legislation. The Union feels that

concentrating anti-sedition efforts in the Federal

government offers the most practical method of

dealing with any dangers of subversion; minimizes

the dangers of free speech and association viola-

tions; and limits the possibility of exposing accused

persons to multiple prosecutions for a single of-

`fense.

Board of Directors:

American Givil Liberties Union

of Northern California

Sara Bard Field

Honorary Member

Joseph S. Thompson

Honorary Treasurer

Rt. Rey. Edw. L. Parsons

Chairman

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn

Helen Salz

Vice-Chairmen

Fred H. Smith, 1V

Secretary-Treasurer

Ernest Besig

Executive Director

Lawrence Speiser

Staff Counsel

Priscilla Ginsberg

Public Relations Director

_ Philip Adams _

Prof. James R. Caldwell

William K. Coblentz

Wayne M. Collins

Rabbi Alvin I. Fine

Laurent B. Frantz

Rey. Oscar F. Green

Alice G. Heyneman

Prof. Van D. Kennedy

Ruth Kingman

Seaton W. Manning

Prof. John Henry Merryman

Rey. Harry C. Meserve

Rey. Robert W. Moon

William M. Roth

Clarence E. Rust

Prof. Laurence Sears

Theodosia B. Stewart

Stephen Thiermann

Kathleen D. Tolman (c)

Franklin H. Williams

Page 4

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION-NEWS

August, 1956

American Civil Liberties Union-News

Published monthly at 503 Market Street, San Francisco 5,

Calif., by the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California.

Phone: EXbrook 2-4692

RINEIST: BHSIG (3. 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 and Fifty Cents a Year.

Fifteen Cents per Copy : -131.4e

Contract Refused to Teacher

Labeled `Controversial'

The Dover, Delaware Board of Education has re-

fused to approve a contract for Mrs. Jacques Poletti,

a teacher who had already begun to teach at Dover

Elementary School. An article on the incident in

the Delaware State News reported that, ``while the

board agreed that her professional training was ade-

quate, it felt that she should not be employed he-

cause her husband, if not herself, is a controversial

figure."

In a later issue, the Delaware State News further

reported that the minutes of the Board meeting had

been changed to read, "Board members felt it in-

advisable to employ Mrs. Poletti, `whereas the

Secretary's notes are reported by the newspaper

to have read, "Board members felt it unwise to

employ Mrs. Poletti because her husband is the

teacher at William Henry who took a stand for

Mr. Harvey Taylor, the principal who was released

by the William Henry School. This was in the form

of a letter published in the State News."

Mr. Harvey Taylor, former principal of William

Henry School, had favored integration of public

schools. He has brought suit for reinstatement in

his position. :

Spencer Coxe, executive director of The Greater

Philadelphia Branch of the American Civil Liber-

ties Union, requested information on the incident

arom Mr. Paul E. Baker, President of the Dover

Board of Education. Mr. Baker confirmed the

Board's refusal to grant Mrs. Poletti a contract, and

contended that the action raises no legal issues. In

his reply, Coxe agreed that legal issues were not

involved, and stated that the Union considered the

action unfortunate in its judgment of a person not

on merits but on associations, and because of the

apparent desire to avoid controversy in education.

Asserting that ACLU has no information on the

opinions of Mr. and Mrs. Poletti, Coxe asserting that

"being controversial' is a reason to hire, not to

fire. Education is learning to sort out the truth from

conflicting ideas. The whole process is thwarted

if teachers are carefully chosen with a view to

eliminating controversy." /

Coxe pointed out the evils of education "by

teachers who believe their jobs depend upon being

like everyone else, and having the same ideas as

their employers. Freedom of thought is part of

American freedom, and it can be learned best by

example, from teachers and from school boards who

practice what they preach."

Court Orders Issuance of

License for Film Mom and Dad

The Appellate Division of the New York State

Supreme Court has ordered the state to issue a

license for the film "Mom and Dad," which the

New York State Board of Regents had banned as

"indecent" because it contained a brief sequence

showing a human birth.

While avoiding the broad constitutional issue

of prior censorship, the court nevertheless made

it clear that it considered such censorship laws as

operative only within restricted limits, and that

the burden of proof of the need for censorship lay

' with the censors in each case.

The court's statement that the state has the

"heavy burden" of demonstrating that the statute

is operative "in exceptional cases' reverses the

long-standing practice that the censor board should

not be interfered with unless it acted arbitrarily or

corruptly.

- Ruling that if the words "indecent" and "ob-

scene" can serve as constitutionally valid standards

for prior restraint, they must be given "a narrow

and strict interpretation," the Court stated that

the words were clearly inapplicable to "Mom and

Dad." The judges, who viewed the film, stated that

the birth sequence, which was ``a small part of a

long narrative film,' constituted "a biological de-

monstration, scientific in level and tone."

Attorney Ephraim S. London, who argued ``The

Miracle" case before the Supreme Court, served

as counsel for Capitol Enterprises, makers of the

film. In his brief, London offered to stipulate that

"the film is worse than it is, in an effort to reach

the ultimate constitutional issue' (censorship in

advance of exhibition). The court commented, "We

are not required to accept this concession for the

purpose of reaching a constitutional issue not other-

wise presented."

Broadcasting-Telecasting of

Courtroom Proceedings OKd

The Colorado Supreme Court has approved a

report of Referee Judge O. Otto Moore, recommend-

ing that broadcasting and telecasting of courtroom

proceedings be permitted at the discretion of trial

judges.

The report, based on special hearings recently

conducted by Judge Moore in Denver, stated that

a broad problem of freedom of speech and press

was involved, and that arguments advanced in

favor of excluding broadcasting and telecasting

facilities from courtrooms were not of sufficient

merit to warrant a blanket abridgement of these

rights. -

Judge Moore denied that such broadcasts were

not covered by guarantees of freedom of the press

because of their status as "entertainment." Citing

the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Han-

negan v. Esquire, Judge Moore stated that the dis-

tinction between informing and entertaining is too

elusive for adequate protection of the rights of a

pree press. He stated that it is highly inconsistent

to complain of the ignorance and apathy of voters

on public matters and then to "close the windows

of information through which they might observe

and learn."

No Right of Privacy In Public Matter

Regarding the "right of privacy" of participants

or spectators at the trial, Judge Moore stated that

the law does not recognize a right of privacy in

connection with that which is inherently a public

matter. Identification with an occurrence of public

or general interest, according to the report, involves

emergence from seclusion in connection with that

event.

The report also refuted the contention that

broadcasting and telecasting of court proceedings

necessarily involves large-scale mechanical and

electronic distraction, and highly competitive busi-

ness activitiy in connection with the commercial

aspects of such broadcasts.

Judge Moore emphasized that there are doubt-

less many cases and portions thereof which, in the

court's discretion to insure justice, should be with-

drawn from reproduction by photo, film, radio or

television. He stated, however, that the only justi-

fication for blanket prohibition of such coverage

would be the universal validity of arguments urged

against broadcasting and telecasting in court. Since

these arguments do not have universal application

to every case, blanket prohibitions could not be

sustained and the matter of the relationship of

broadcasting and telecasting to the achievement of

a fair trial were within the realm of discretion of

the trial judge.

The report further provided that no witness

or juror in attendance under subpoena or order of

the court should be photographed or have his tes-

timony broadcast over his expressed objection. ~

Major Issue

The broadcasting and telecasting of courtroom

proceedings has become a major issue for news-

papers and TV stations throughout the country.

The Colorado decision is expected to spur this

campaign.

The American Civil Liberties Union has op-

posed broadcasts and telecasts of courtroom action,

on the ground that they invaded the due process

rights of defendants in trials. The Union's Colo-

rado affiliate is preparing a report on the recent

telecasting of the Graham murder trial in Denver,

which the national Due Process-Equality Commit-

tee will examine to see how the new rule is applied.

Segregated Housing

Achieved by Selling Plan

Racial restrictive covenants are no longer en-

forced by the courts, but the exponents of segre-

gated housing are cooking up new schemes to

achieve their purpose. a.

In the Lakeshore Country Club Acres subdivi-

sion, for example, the By-Laws of the Home Own-

ers' Association Inc., of which a home owner must

be a member, provides that `each member, by

accepting such membership, thereby agrees with

the Association and with each member thereof

that he or she (or they) will not convey or attempt

to convey title to any Lakeshore Country Club

Acres subdivision, lot or building plot to anyone

except the Association or a person or persons there-

tofore accepted for membership in the Associa-

tion."

In other words, the owner of property in the

particular subdivision has a limited market for the

sale of the property. He may sell only to the Asso-

ciation or anyone acceptable to its membership.

Needless to add, certain minorities are unaccept-

able to the Association and its membership even if

they have sufficient money to purchase a home.

The next question is, if an owner is forced to sell

to the Association, how is the price determined?

The particular subdivision is a development of

Standard Building Co. of San Francisco.

Jews Not Assigned to U.S.

Military Bases in Arabia

A government agreement with Saudi Arabia

under which American citizens of the Jewish faith

are not being assigned to military service or em-

ployed in defense installations in that country was

criticized last month by the American Civil Liber-

ties Union. :

Protest to Dulles

The ACLU released a letter sent to Secretary

of State John Foster Dulles, scoring the practice

as a violation of the American principle of freedom

of religion and urging that it be ended in the new

agreement now being negotiated with Saudi Arabia.

A 1951 agreement provided that persons found ob-

jectionable to Saudi Arabia would not be included

in the military mission at The Dhahran air base.

The agreement lapsed on June 18, but is renegoti-

able under a 30-day extension in the pact.

"The Union recognizes the legal right of the

Saudi Arabian government to control the entrance

to that country of private persons. But it is a far

different thing for our government to enter into an

agreement with a foreign government to exclude

not an objectionable person, but a whole class of

people from participating in official American en-

`terprises paid for by the money of all sorts of Amer-

ican taxpayers. This is true especially when the

prohibition is contrary to a basic American prin-

ciple that all our citizens are to be accorded equal

treatment regardless of race, religion, color, or

national origin."

Pledge to Eliminate Discrimination

The arrangement which prevents Jews from

_ being hired on government defense contracts in

Saudi Arabia "has special significance .. . ," the

ACLU said, "for this Administration is pledged to

a policy of eliminating discrimination in govern-

ment contracts.

"The executive order creating the President's

Committee on Government Contracts directs it `to

make recommendations to the contracting agencies

for improving and making more effective the non-

discrimination provisions of government contracts.'

The President's Committee is empowered to in-

sure compliance with the non-discriminatory pro-

visions, and has indeed succeeded in several cases.

"If the new agreement with Saudi Arabia con-

tinues to condone religious discrimination against

American citizens, it will conflict directly with the

policy of this government to insure non-discrimi-

_hation in government contracts, a policy which sup-

ports the great national effort to erase discrimina-

tion from all segments of American life."

Practice Disclosed In 1952

The practice of barring Jews from work on.

private defense contracts, the ACLU said, was dis-

closed in 1952 by Major General G. J. Nold, Deputy

Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, who testified before

a Senate subcommittee that because of Saudi Ara-

bia's objection and the firm stand of the New York

Employment Service that under the New York

State Anti-Discrimination Law, Jewish applicants

could not be screened out, contractors simply

avoided the New York labor market. Secretary of

the Army Frank Pace, Jr., confirmed this practice

in a letter on March 3, 1952 to the then chairman

of the New York SCAD, the ACLU continued.

". .. we understand that there has been no change

in this situation since 1952, but that the problem is

receiving the consideration now of the President's

Committee on Government Contracts."

The religion screening of individuals for mili-

tary service and private employment in Saudi

Arabia is unmatched ``so far as we know in any

other area of the world where our military bases

are maintained," the ACLU letter said.

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