vol. 24, no. 9

Civil Liberties

Union

Volume XXIV

San Francisco, California, September, 1959

Number 9

Prof. Henry Steele Commager,

banquet speaker.

25th Anniversary -- Oct. 17

Workshops Set

For ACLU

Celebration

_ Four stimulating workshops have been arranged for the

afternoon of ACLU's 25th anniversary celebration. which will

be highlighted by Professor Henry Steele Commanger's ban-

quet address. The workshops will take place from 2 to 5 p.m.,

October 17, at the Sheraton-Palace, to be followed by the

cocktail bar, dinner and the an-

nual meeting.

. Controversy will definitely not

be repressed at the workshops.

Panel members and topics were

selected to produce divergent

viewpoints, with the goal to make

the. discussions .as stimulating

and thought-provoking as pos-

sible. |

ce Four Topics

~The four topics are Censor-

ship, the House Un-American

Activities Committee and Our

Schools, Church. and State, and

Law Enforcement and Individual

Rights. Here is the list of parti-

cipants:

- Censorship workshop-Rev. Fr.

Eugene J. Boyle, member of the

Diocesan Mission Board of San

Francisco; Louis Francis, State

assemblyman from San Mateo;

Templeton Peck, editorial page

director of the San Francisco

Chronicle; Steven Warshaw, Di-

rector of Promotions, University

of California Press; and Dr. John

Henry Merryman, chairman of

the ACLU board, who will be

chairman. -

- - HUAC and Our Schools

' House Un-American Activities

Committee and Our Schools-

Irving Breyer, legal adviser, San

Francisco Board of Education;

Hartly Fleischmann,. attorney;

Professor Alan J. Moscov, Stan-

ford Law. School; Ben Rust, for-

mer president of California State

Federation of Teachers; and Pro-

fessor William M. Capron, Stan-

ford University Department of

Economics, who will be chair-

man.

Church and State-Dr. Nor

man .L. Conard, pastor, Glide

Memorial Methodist church and

president, San Francisco Council

a e

In This Issue...

' Final' Results of Spring

:.' Membership Campaign . .p. 2

~"Kastler "Vag" Conviction

"Reversed 0 i... ee ee p.3

Police Officer Rips Poems

_- From Window ........ p. 3

Rescind Order to Censor Letters

: of Fed. Employees ...... p.3

|.Statement on Discrimination

~ dn Housing 2.00. ...... p. 4

The Committee. Blows

Retreat: ee p.2

of Churches; Professor Phil,

Neal, Stanford Law School; -Rab- -

bi Sanford Rosen, Temple Beth

El, San Mateo; Rt. Rev. Walter

J. Tappe, editor, San Francisco

Catholic Diocese newspaper; and

Howard Friedman, chairman.

Law Enforcement and Individ-

ual Rights-Rev. Pierre Delatre,

Bread and Wine Mission; Thomas

C. Lynch, district attorney, San

-Continued on Page 3

Another Culprit

Must Attend

Church

San Francisco Municipal Judge

Jackson H. Eyman did it again

last month: He found another de-

fendant, Charles Stones, 24, of 79

Seventh Avenue, San Francisco,

guilty of being drunk and disturb-

ing the peace and placed him on

probation for a year, on condition

that he attend the Unitarian

Church every Sunday. Last June

23, Judge Eyman, as a condition

of probation for 17-year-old Wil-

liam J. Korpa, ordered him to at-

tend Catholic Mass every Sunday

morning.

Stones made no protest to

Judge Eyman, but outside court

declared that he didn't think go-

ing to church should be made a

punishment, and he was already

attending church every Sunday

anyway.

Judge Eyman's action is mean-

ingless. The Probation Depart-

ment is not checking on the

church attendance of either Stone

or Korpa. If Judge Eyman

should, however, send either one

to jail for violation of probation

because of failure to attend

church, a court test can be made

of his action. .

"Unhappily," commented Royce

Brier, San Francisco Chronicle

columnist, "Judge Eyman's judi-

cial philosophy comprehends, in

effect, a religious test for some

accused at his bench. If you can

" pass it you will be relieved of

whatever penalty the law may

provide; if you cannot pass it, or

refuse to try, the penalty will be

imposed."

| Job Openings

The ACLU has two job

openings - one for a legal

stenographer and the other

for a clerk typist.

. The legal _ stenographer

works mainly with the staff

counsel and, as time allows,

takes the letters of the execu-

tive director. There are also

miscellaneous duties. The sal-

ary is $365 to start. Experience

is required. The job will be-

come available on September

8.

The ACLU also has an im-

mediate need for an exper-

ienced clerk-typist. This job

involves maintenance of the

Union's membership records,

recording of receipts, making

of deposits, cutting of Elliott

address stencils, operation of

the Elliott Addressing Ma-

chine, etc. The starting salary

is $325.

The office uses only electric

typewriters. Office hours are

from 9 to 5, five days a week,

with half an hour for lunch.

For interviews, please con-

tact Ernest Besig, Executive

Director, 503 Market St., San

Francisco 5, Calif. (EXbrook

2-4692).

Clearance

For P. O.

Employee

Recently, a postal employee was

ruled suitable for his position

after receiving "loyalty charges"

from the Civil Service Commis-

sion. According to allegations

which he received, his sister and

brother-in-law were members of

the Communist Party. Both de-

nied they were ever members of

or active in the Communist Party.

It was also alleged that an-

other sister of the employee be-

longed to the Chinese American

Youth Club, which has recently

disbanded. The employee admit-

ted he knew of his sister's mem-

bership in this club, but said he

had assumed that this was merely

a social club and had nothing to

do with politics. In fact, his sister

denied that the club was sympa-

thetic with Communism, and

claimed that the organization has

been the victim of misrepresenta-

tion. |

In the past, a number of per-

sons have faced Army security

proceedings because of member-

ship in the Chinese American

Youth Club, but, in each case, .

clearances have been issued.

Appoint Speiser

ACLU Director In

Washington, D.C.

Lawrence Speiser, former staff

counsel of the ACLU in northern

California and a practicing law-

yer in San Francisco, has been

appointed executive director of

the Washington, D. C. office of

the American Civil Liberties

Union. He leaves San Francisco

on September 9.

`Speiser succeeds Irving Fer-

man, who resigned to become the

executive vice-chairman of the

President's Committee on Gov-

ernment Contracts. He served as

local ACLU staff counsel for al-

most five years, resigning on

August 1, 1957 in order to go

into the private practice of law

in San Francisco where he was

associated with the firm of Haet,

Dominguez, Speiser and Wil-

liams.

In his new position, Speiser

will engage in lobbying for the

national office of the ACLU. He

will also do a limited amount of

legal work for the ACLU besides

developing a local Civil Liberties

Union organization.

Teachers Probe

Walter Comm.

Cancels Calif.

Hearings

The investigation of California teachers by the House Com-

mittee on Un-American Activities was postponed for a second

time last month and then finally cancelled. In dropping the

hearings and quashing the subpoenaes, which were reportedly

received by 110 persons, 40 in northern California, Chairman

Francis E. Walter accepted the

suggestion of Arthur E. Corey,

Executive Secretary of the Cali-

fornia Teachers Association, that

information about subversion by

teachers should be made available

to local boards of education, who

might then question the teachers.

In adopting the proposal, Mr.

Walter asked that transcripts of

these interviews be made avail-

able to his committee.

Other Proposals

Corey's letter to Walter had

` also proposed: 1. That informa-

tion about subversion by any

teachers should be made available

immediately to State officials so

steps could be taken to revoke

their teaching credentials; and, 2,

that where teachers have been

subpoenaed merely as witnesses

and are not suspected of subver-

sion, their school boards should

be notified promptly.

Corey's proposals met wide-

spread opposition in northern

California. It was argued that the

Committee ought to keep its

hands off local educationa] mat-

ters and restrict itself to matters

on which it: may legislate.

Southern California Suit

Prior to this, in southern Cali-

fornia, the ACLU filed suit in the

U.S. District Court to prevent the

disclosure by William Wheeler,

the Committee investigator, of

those who had been subpoenaed.

(In northern California the names

of 26 subpoenaes were leaked to

the press several months ago.)

That suit was dismissed but an

appeal was taken. After the sub-

poenaes were canceled by Con-

gressman Walter, the suit was dis-

missed as moot by the Federal

Court of Appeals in San Fran-

cisco, but permission was granted

to amend the petition in the Dis-

trict Court to allow a move to

prevent Wheeler from releasing

information about teachers to

boards of education.

`Northern California Suit

In northern California, an ef-

fort to~secure a temporary re-

straining order from the Federal

District. Court was refused `by |

Federal Judge Louis Goodman.

It would have prevented the Com-

mittee's California investigator,

William Wheeler, from turning

over information about subpoe-

naed teachers to local school

boards and the trustees of private

schools. When the temporary re-

straining order was refused, the

suit was not filed.

As the NEWS goes to press,

the ACLU is considering filing a

suit either in San Francisco or

Washington to enjoin the Com-

mittee from releasing to local

school boards information in its

files about subpoenaed teachers.

However, while the ACLU in

northern California represents

seventeen subpoenaed teachers,

it has not yet been able to secure

a qualified client in whose name

to bring the action.

Revocation of Credentials

In the meantime, the Commis- .

sion of Credentials on June 30

requested two subpoenaed. teach-

ers voluntarily to relinquish their

teaching credentials, and, failing

this, it promised to file proceed-

ings to revoke the credentials.

The teachers were not notified

of this action until July 24, and

late last month Charles H. Bob-

by, Assistant Counsel of the De-

partment of Education, said he

would "prepare and serve ac-

cusations."

Denial of Credentials

Last April 27, following the de-

nial of teching credentials to an-

other teacher, an appeal was filed.

-Continued on Page 2

Civil Serv. Com.

Still Undecided |

In Picketing Case

Chairman John E. Blann of the

Board of Appeals and Review of

the U. S. Civil Service Commis-

sion informed the ACLU of North-

ern California last month that the

Board is still considering the ap-

peal of Conrad C. Eustace, which

was taken last November 25. Eu-

stace and Thomas H. Monroe,

president and secretary-treasurer,

respectively, of the United Postal

Workers of San Francisco, were

fired from their Post Office jobs

after the Union picketed the main -

Post Office in November, 1957, to

protest low wages and bad work-

ing conditions.

-On his appeal, which is being.

handled by Ernest Besig, the AC-

LU's executive director, Eustace

made the following three conten-

tions:

1. The appellant has been de-

nied the opportunity to answer

the charges personally, as re-

quired by the Veterans Prefer-

ence Act.

2. The matters complained

about are outside the jurisdiction

of the Post Office Department be-

cause they concern the actions of

a labor union, which are not

chargeable to the appellant as an

individual.

3. Even if the matters in ques-

tion are chargeable to the appel-

lant, they do not furnish grounds

for dismissing the appellant.

history of these groups.

8:00 p.m.

drinks will be provided.

Mosk Speaks at Marin Pot-Luck |

_ The public is invited to join the ACLU on Friday eve-

ning, September 25th, when the Marin Chapter of ACLU

will hold its annual pot-luck dinner at the Roger Kent

Estate in Kentfield, California.

"State of Civil Liberties in California" will be dis-

cussed by Attorney General Stanley Mosk as part of a

program celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of

ACLU of Northern California and the fifth anniversary

of the Marin Chapter. A mountage, with commentary by

Louis Hartman, will highlight memorable events in the

The meeting will begin at

Preceding the meeting, cocktails and dinner will be

served from 6:00 to 7:45 p.m. Under the pot-luck dinner

rules, all those with initials A-G are asked to bring salad;

from H-Z, a hot dish. Please bring enough to serve three

times the number of people in your group. Dessert and

There will be an admission charge of $1.

September 25

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION NEWS

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California -

Second Class mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, Galit.

ERNEST BESIG . . . Editor

503 Market Street, San Francisco 5, California, EXbrook 2-4692

Subscription Rates--Two Dollars a Year

Twenty Cents Per Copy

Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

CHAIRMAN: Prof. John Henry Merryman ~

VICE-CHAIRMEN: Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn, Helen Salz

SECRETARY-TREASURER: William M. Roth

HONORARY TREASURER: Joseph M. Thompson

HONORARY MEMBER: Sara Bard Field

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ernest Besig

Philip Adams

Theodore Baer

William K. Coblentz

Richard De Lancie |

Joseph L. Eichler

John M. Fowle

" Howard Friedman

Rev. Oscar F. Green

Zora Cheever Gross

Alice G. Heyneman

Mrs. Paul Holmer

J. Richard Johnston

Prof. Theodore J. Kreps

Rev.:F. Danford Lion

Seaton W. Manning (c)

Rev. Robert W. Moon

Lloyd L. Morain

' Rt. Rev. Edward L. Parsons

Clarence E. Rust

Mrs. Alec Skolnick

_ Fred H. Smith, IV

_ Theodosia B. Stewart

Stephen Thiermann

Franklin H. Williams

GENERAL COUNSEL

Wayne M. Collins

STAFF COUNSEL

Albert M. Bendich

The Committee |

Blows Retreat -

One of the most heartening victories for political decency

and constitutional rights that it has been our pleasure to re-

port in quite `some time came in Friday's announcement that

the House Un-American Activities Committee had canceled its

scheduled inquisition of 110 public and private school

teachers of California. - ee ee

Chairman Francis E. Walter's retreat from the battlefields

he had staked out in Los Angeles and San Francisco vindi-

cates the organizations and individuals that had protested the

Un-American Committee's intrusion as wholly unwarranted.

One of the most powerful and authoritative of these pro-

tests had come from the California Teachers Association. It

properly urged that if the Un-American Committee actually

believed a "sinister intrigue" existed in California schools, it

should take action before the reopening of schools by placing

its evidence before State authorities. ag

`As had the Episcopal Diocese of California, the California

Labor Federation (AFL-CIO), and other responsible groups,

the Teachers Association reproached the committee for its

undemocratic methods, its disregard for individual rights, its

infringement upon the field of public education in California,

and its prosecution of an inquiry that bore no discernible rela-

tionship to any Federal legislative purpose. ;

The release of the names of subpoenaed teachers in ad-

vance of the scheduled hearings was especially deplored as (c)

an outrage upon the individual rights of teachers. As Director

Ernest Besig of the American Civil Liberties Union pointed

out, this did "irreparable injury" to both the school teachers

and public education, both of which stand condemned without

having had an opportunity to defend themselves.

We endorse Besig's conclusion that this committee be

abolished. In the meantime, we would seriously question the

propriety of any California school board's complying with the

terms of surrender outlined by Chairman Walter. He pro-

posed to transmit to the school boards concerned the names

of the teachers whom the committee had subpoenaed "`so that

they may be interrogated by such boards, which would then

transmit to the committee the copy of the transcript of the

proceedings."

It is our suggestion that the Un-American Committee

would have no business with local school boards' transcripts.

The State of California is fully competent to take any action

that such inquiry may. warrant-San Francisco Chronicle

editorial, August 23, 1959. a. :

Why Did Walter

Run for Cover?

... What made Walter run for cover? The cancellation was

announced in a reply to a protesting letter from the California

Teachers Association. This powerful group had questioned

whether the proposed hearings had any recognizable rela-

tionship to legislation. This was the point made by The Chron-

icle in several comments, and it had been taken up by others:

the American Civil Liberties Union, San Franciscans for Aca-

demic Freedom and Education, the California Democratic

Council, the San Francisco Labor Council. In short, the public

represented by these agencies was aroused over the prospect

of a witch hunt in the public schools and resentful of the

House Un-American Activities Committee's poking its nose

into a State affair. i

Walter, in an attempt to save face, proposed to transmit to

the school boards concerned the names of teachers sub-

poenaed "so that they may be interrogated by such boards,

which would then transmit to the committee the copy of the

transcript of the proceedings." We would heartily protest such

action. The Un-American Activities Committee would have no

business with such transcripts; the State is fully capable of

running the public schools.-Editorial, San Francisco Chron-

icle, August 25, 1959. #

second.

Cancels Calif.

_ Team of Four#

@ f e pe e

Final Results of Spring Membership Campaign

ZORA CHEEVER GROSS, Chairman Membership Campaign

: New Subs. to Money

Members NEWS Rec`d

Berkeley- Albany .......... 123 9 $ 800.50

Butte County ............. 14 1 ~ 91.00

Davis 3.0 oe. 20 132.00

Diablo Valley .....:....... 28 167.00

Fremont ... 2. 2263 cs 8 1 6.00

Fresno-Modesto-Stockton .... 4 1 35.00

Hayward =. 2643 ee. 6 1 43.00

Los Altos-Mt. View-Sunnyvale. 18 128.50

Marin County ....... es 33 3 217.00

Menlo Park-Atherton ....... 7 1 52.00

Napa-St. Helena ........... 5 30.00

-Oskland 5 bse: 15 91.00

Palo Alto-Stanford ......... 31 6 226.00

Placerville ..... a 1 6.00

Redwood City ............. 24 157.00

Richmond-El Cerrito ....... 23 1 140.00

Sacramento ..........7:.. 8 44.00

San Franciscco ............ 108 11 931.50

San Jose ......25 5.7.52. 2.. 27 132.00

San Mateo 9... 05.2222... 40 13 266.00

Santa Cruz... 2. oc. 23 187.00

Sonoma County ....... ee 85.49

Watsonville ..0x2122........:. Yl 6.00

Miscellaneous ........ ee: 1 111.00

581 38 $4084.99

@Lee H. Watkins, Leonard Homann and Dr. H. A. Arnold

#Mrs. R. L. Betzenderfer, Mrs. Charles Chase, Dr. David G. Edwards

Ruhland :

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_1957.batch ACLUN_1958 ACLUN_1958.MODS ACLUN_1958.batch ACLUN_1959 ACLUN_1959.MODS ACLUN_1959.batch 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_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 Dr. and Mrs. John Henry Merryman, Theodore F. Baer, Ralph Evans, John M. Fowle, Rev.

Oscar F. Green and Rey. F. Danford Lion

Area

Chairmen

Mrs. Leon Lewis

Paul H. Finch

Team of Three@ .

Mrs. Roy Potter

Mrs. Paul Couture

Theodore F. Baer

Mrs. Leon Ginsburg

Mrs. John Merryman

John Dunlap

Rev. Roy Nichols

Team of Seven*

Mrs. David T. Thatcher

Mrs. H. J. Lewenstein

Mrs, Edward McHugh

Mrs, Wilson Record

Mrs. Arthur Bierman and

Shelby Cooper

Mrs. Robert A. Hall

Mrs. Howard Friedman

Dr. Marvin J. Naman

H. Gordon Tappan

Harry F. Brauer

ana William A.

vey Pamphlets

are For Sale ai

A |

roses Spree. ACLU Office

Without a written opinion, the

The following pamphlets are

Appellate Department of the San

F isco Superior Court last :

ee} available at the ACLU office, 503

Market St., San Francisco 5,

month denied Wendy Murphy's

Calif., at the prices indicated.

appeal from a conviction on

charges of resisting arrest and :

Mail orders accepted if accompa-

nied by payment:

battery stemming from self-

Academic Freedom and Academ-

styled "Beatnik Patrolman" Wil-

liam C. Bigarani's edict that she |

ic Responsibility-A statement of

principles concerning the civil

stay out of the Coexistence Bagel

Shop, a North Beach restaurant,

last December. liberties of teachers in public

When barefoot Miss Murphy re- and private schools, colleges and

fused to go home and attempted niversities, published by the

ACLU. 16 pages. Price 10c.

Academic Freedom and Civil

to enter the restaurant Bigarani

grabbed her and placed her under

Liberties of Students-Published

by the American Civil Liberties

arrest. Miss Murphy's resistance

to Bigarani's manhandling _re-

Union. 12 pages. Price 10.

A Labor Union `Bill of

sulted in charges of "resisting"

Rights,' Democracy in Labor

and "battery" upon which she

Unions and The Kennedy-Ives

was found guilty.

Two other charges were placed

Bill-Statements by the Ameri-

can Civil Liberties. Union. 31

against Miss Murphy by Bigar-

ani-vagrancy and malicious mis-

pages. Price 35c:

Biennial Report - American

chief. The first was thrown out

by trial Judge Charles Peery, and

Civil Liberties Union of North-

ern California-June 1956-June

the jury acquitted her on the

1958. 28 pages. Free to members.

Price to non-members, 25c.

Loyalty and Security in a De-

mocracy-A Roundtable Report.

Public Affairs pamphlet. 28

pages. Price 25c.

Religion and the Free Society.

Articles by William Lee Miller,

William Clancy, Arthur Cohen,

Mark DeWolfe Howe and Maxi-

milian W. Kempner. Published

by The Fund for the Republic.

107 pages. Price 50c.

Religion and the Public

Schools, by Marvin Braiterman.

Published by the Commission on

Social Action of Reform Judaism.

73 pages. Price 35c.

Secret Detention by the Chica-

go Police - A Report by the

American Civil Liberties Union,

Illinois Division. 47 pages. Price

$1.

The FBI, by Fred J. Cook, spe-

cial issue of The Nation. 79

pages. Price 50c.

The Past Is Prologue - 38th

Annual Report of the national

ACLU-July 1, 1957 to June 80,

1958. 112 pages. Price, 75c.

The People's Right to Know-

A report on Government news

suppression, by Allen Raymond.

Published by the American Civil

oe

On the appeal, ACLU volunteer

attorney Kurt Melchoir argued

that a citizen has a constitutional

right to be free and to resist ar-

bitrary and unlawful arrest and

its incidents. ACLU attorneys

are presently considering a fur-

ther appeal to the U.S. Supreme

Court. Trial of the case was

handled by ACLU staff counsel .

Albert. M. Bendich.

Walter Comm.

Hearings

Continued from Page 1-

Thereafter, a "Statement of Is-

sues" was served upon the teach-

er, which declared that he was

guilty of "unprofessional con- -

duct" because in November, 1950,

he refused to sign the Levering

Act oath, and thereafter relin-

quished his teaching job. Since

then, whatever teaching he has

done has been in private schools.

While he was awaiting a hearing

on his appeal, he was served with

a subpoena to appear before the

House Committee on Un-Ameri-

ean Activities. He is still await-

ing the hearing on his appeal from

the action of the Credentials Com-

mission in denying him a creden-

tial. 35cent.

When Congress Investigates -

By Alan Barth. Public Affairs

pamphlet. 28 pages. Price 35c.

ACLU NEWS

September, 1959

Page 2

Liberties Union. 48 pages. Price -

Release Two

Witnesses Held

Five Months

Two men held since last Octo-

ber at the Adult Correctional In-

stitute in Rhode Island as mater-

ial witnesses in a murder trial

were released recently when the

State Supreme Court ruled that

they had not been given a suf-

ficient hearing before they were

detained. as

Because they couldn't furnish

bail, fixed first at $5,000 each and

much later reduced to $2,500,

General Quince and Titus Ward,

both migrant workers, had been

kept in custody pending the

forthcoming trial of Harry Rob-

inson. Robinson is charged with

fatally stabbing another man last

October 13 on a potato farm in

West Kingston, where all three

men were employed. Quince and

Ward were picked up by the state

police for questioning on October

17, and held without charge for

two days even though they never

were suspected of the crime. On

October 19, a District Court

Judge ordered them sent to the

Adult Correctional Institution. -

Throughout their detention,

the two men were treated like

criminals. They were taken from

the police barracks to the court-

house in handcuffs and finger-

printed and photographed at the

Adult Correctional Institution.

Furthermore, the Institution

didn't forward their mail, and so

they couldn't get a lawyer until

February. At that time, attorneys

representing the American Civil

Liberties Union, the Committee

on Civil Liberties of the Rhode

Island Bar Association and the

NAACP took the men's case to

court. They argued that the

men's commitment violated the

due process clauses of both the

federal and Rhode Island Consti-

tutions, because Quince and

Ward never had a fair hearing,

their bail was excessive, the

length of their detention was ex-

cessive and they had no. oppor-

tunity to obtain counsel.

The Rhode Island Supreme

Court based its opinion entirely

on the first argument and ruled

that since it had decided that

Quince and Ward were not given

a sufficient hearing, there was no

need to consider the other ques-

tions.

Rescind Order To Censor

Letters of Fed. Employees

The American Civil Liberties

Union disclosed last month that a

"gag order" of the International

Cooperation Administration's In-

donesia Mission requiring em-

ployees and members of their

families to clear all letters to Con-

gress'on the Mutual Security Pro-

gram with the Mission has been

rescinded. -

Senators Protest

The civil liberties organization,

which protested the mail censor-

ship, said that the ICA's director,

James Riddleberger, had revoked

the local ICA directive on August

3, following a strong protest to

him from Senator Richard L. Neu-

berger of Oregon and a similar

objection to the State Department

from. Senator J. William Ful-

bright.

The Order

The directive curbing comment

to members of Congress on the

overseas aid program was issued

on May 13, but only recently came

to the attention of the ACLU of

northern California through one

of the Mission's employees and

was forwarded to the Union's na-

tional office. The order stated

that all correspondence by the

Mission's "direct hire and contract

employees and members of their

families, concerning public affairs

of the United States or of any for-

eign government, must be consid-

ered official." Even with the best

of intentions, the order stated, "it

is inadvisable for our employees

and their families to write their

Congressmen from countries in

various parts of the world to ex-

press opinions on the Mutual Se-

curity Program: ... Private letters

on public affairs are often sourc-

es of embarrassment to the writer,

`to the employee's agency and to

the U.S. Government. Views may

be in conflict with policies estab-

Williams Heads |

Mosk''s New Civil

Liberties Unit

Attorney General Stanley

Mosk has appointed Franklin H.

Williams, 41, of Palo Alto, San

Francisco attorney and West

Coast director-counsel of the Na-

tional. Association for the Ad-

vancement of Colored People, as

head. of a new constitutional

rights section in his office. Wil-

liams is a member: of the Board

of Directors of the ACLU of

Northern California.

. _ Third In Nation

__. Mosk said the new section is

the third in the Nation to be es-

tablished in an Attorney Gen-

eral's office. Others are in Penn-

sylvania and Massachusetts.

The unit will investigate and

report on alleged. infringements

of civil rights and take court ac-

tion if necessary; serve as media-

tor to help prevent civil rights

violations and work closely with

the new State Fair Employment

Practices Commission.

- Initial Action

. The initial action of the new

unit will be to intervene in a

Santa Clara county suit brought

by the San Jose 40 et 8 Society

against the national organization.

The San Jose group seeks an in-

junction to prevent the national

society from revoking its charter

because it elected a Chinese-

American as its head. The Attor-

ney General's office will support

the suit.

Williams is a partner in the

San Francisco law firm of Haet,

Dominguez, Speiser and Wil-

liams. He has taken a leave of

absence from his job with the

NAACP, Williams will take over

his $12,600 a year job on Sept.

10.

Williams graduated from Lin-

coln University and received his

law degree from Fordham Uni-

versity. He is a member of the

bar in both New York and Cali-

fornia.

lished by the Department of State

and with plans of the ICA pre-

sented to Congress of each year...

All private letters and other types

of correspondence dealing with

public affairs must be cleared

with the Mission Director or Dep-

uty Director prior to dispatch."

Possible Dismissal

Personnel of the Mission who

violated the regulation were sub-

ject to disciplinary proceedings,

"including possible dismissal from

the service," the directive said.

In its protest to the Washington

headquarters of the ICA, the AC-

LU described the order as "un-

adulterated censorship." Assert-

ing that the ACLU is aware of

the "sensitive political nature of

the Mission and that critical pub-

lic comment on American policy

frequently assists Communist:

propagandists in their campaign

to besmirch our foreign aid ef-

forts," the Union's letter said that

the gag on the Mission's employ-

ees and their families "so that

their opinions may not be ex-

pressed is a gross violation of the

First Amendment..."

Embarrassment Possible

Expression of opinion about the

overseas aid program can "embar-

rass" the Mission and the U. S.

position abroad, the ACLU ac-

knowledged, "but we believe that

both are strong enough to with-

stand possible criticism without

collapsing." It added that such

comment could help our position

"by pointing up necessary im-

provements in the Mission's oper-

ations." The ACLU is not com-

petent to judge the merits of the

charges now being made about

our overseas aid program, the let-

ter said, "but we do know that

the utilitarian purpose of the

First Amendment is to allow a

free exchange of opinion which

will create ideas that may solve

particular problems."

Demonstrates Fear

The censorship imposed on the

Mission's employees, the civil lib-

erties group stated, "flatly con-

travenes" the non-technical aid

purpose of the ICA program,

which is to show the "true spirit

and meaning of our democratic

system." The order weakens

rather than strengthens our posi-

tion in the eyes of a foreign coun-

try, the ACLU said, "by demon-

strating fear rather than faith in

the basic democratic guarantee of

free expression."

Friedman and (c)

Kennedy Resign

From ACLU Bd.

Two University of California

professors have resigned from

the ACLU Board of Directors be-

cause of new jobs that have taken

them away from northern Cali-

fornia for a year.

Prof. Van D. Kennedy, of the

Department of Industria] Rela-

tions, who served on the board

from November, 1950, to Novem-

ber, 1953, and again from March,

1955, until June 4, 1959, has gone

to India, This is his second

lengthy sojourn in India, He is

serving as Program Specialist for

the Ford Foundation Industrial

Relations Research Program, He

may be addressed in care of The

Ford Foundation, New Delhi.

Julian Friedman, Assistant

Professor of Public Health, who

was elected to the board in-No-

vember, 1958, resigned on July

2 because of a new job that has

taken him to Syracuse Univer-

sity, Syracuse, New York, to be

part of the Overseas Training

Program of the Maxwell Grad-

uate School of Public Affairs.

The school is concerned with

problems relating to Americans

overseas. Mr. Friedman will also

teach a course on American For-

eign Policy in the _ Political

Science Department and conduct

sa seminar on African affairs.

Police Officer

Rips Poems

e 4

From Window

The ACLU last month protest:

ed the lawless activity of Police

Officer William A. _Bigarani in

entering The Bagel Shop in San

Francisco's North Beach and rip-

ping two poems from the front

window. While the poems did not

mention Bigarani by name, he

justified his action by claiming

the poems were "defamatory,"

and "after all, I do have feel-

ings."

One poem, by Bob Kaufman,

read. as follows:

"One day Adolph Hitler had

nothing to do.

All the Jews were burned, the

artists all destroyed.

Adolph Hitler was bored, even

with Eva,

So he moved to San Francisco,

became an ordinary

Policeman, devoted himself to

stamping out Beatniks." -

The other poem, by William

Margolis, told how Bob (Kauf-

man) had his toe stepped on by

a police officer and been called

a "black nigger" S.0.B. Appar-

ently, the poem referred to an

incident on August 3 when Bi-

garani's partner allegedly crush-

ed Kaufman's big toe with his

heel as he arrested him on a

drunk charge. Kaufman forfeited

bail but Bigarani secured an ar-

rest warrant and, while Kauf-

man was detained, he was allow-

ed medical attention for his

crushed toe only after a lawyer

threatened to petition for a writ

of habeas corpus.

The poetry was put up again

but the proprietor of the Bagel

Shop apparently having read

Captain Borland's remark that

"if nothing is done we will have

to take action to abate that place

as a public nuisance," and after

being visited by several police of-

ficers, removed the poems. He

admitted "knuckling under' but

declared, "I like owning the Ba-

gel Shop."

Advocacy of

Unconventional

Ideas Upheld

The U. S. Supreme Court re-

cently declared unconstitutional

a section of the New York State

movie licensing statute which for-

bade the exhibition of films that

show "acts of sexual immorality,

perversion or lewdness (as) de-

sirable, acceptable or proper pat-

terns of behavior." Under this

provision of the law, the distribu-

tors of "Lady Chatterley's Lover,"

refused to issue a license for ex-

hibition of the picture unless cer-

tain Scenes were deleted. The

lower court had held that the law

required the denial of a license

to the picture because it "allur-

ingly portrays adultery as proper

behavior." ,

The main opinion was written

by Mr. Justice Stewart. "It is

contended," said he, "that the

State's action was justified be-

cause the motion picture attrac-

tively portrays a_ relationship

which is contrary to the moral

standards, the religious precepts,

and the legal code of its citizenry.

This argument," he went on to

say, "misconceives what it is that

the Constitution protects, Its guar-

antee is not confined to the ex-

pression of ideas that are conven-

tional or shared by a majority.

It protects advocacy of the opin-

ion that adultery may sometimes

be proper, no less than advocacy

of socialism or the single tax, And

in the realm of ideas it protects

expression which is eloquent no

less than that which is uncon-

vincing.

"Advocacy of conduct pro-

scribed by law is not, as Mr, Jus-

tice Brandeis long ago pointed

out, `a justification for denying

free speech where the advocacy

falls short of incitement, and

there is nothing to indicate that

the advocacy would be immedi-

ately acted on.' `Among free men,

the deterrents ordinarily to be

applied to prevent crime are edu-

cation and punishment for viola-

tions of the law, not abridgment

of the rights of free speech....'"

Kastler "Vag"

Conviction

Reversed

On August 25 the Appellate Department of the San Fran-

cisco Superior Court reversed the vagrancy conviction of

Phyllis Kastler (see June NEWS). Miss Kastler had been ar-

rested by self-styled "Beatnik Patrolman" Officer William C.

Bigarani while being driven home from a late date and charged

with three counts of "vagrancy."

Officer Bigarani testified he was

really interested in making an

arrest of Miss Kastler's date who

was wanted because of numerous

traffic citations.

The Argument

During the oral argument be-

fore the Appellate Department,

Assistant District Attorney Al-

fred Del Carlo was asked by the

court whether it wasn't true that

he had a pretty weak case on the

facts. Del Carlo admitted that his

case was weak. As a matter of

Workshops |

Celebration

Continued from Page 1-

Francisco County; Professor Her-

bert Packer, Stanford Law

School; Prof. Arthur Sherry, Uni-

versity of California Law School;

and Franklin Williams, chair-

man.

In order to explore the sub-

jects in depth, each workshop

will meet for the full period.

Panel members will present their

views, followed by discussion

from the floor. At the end of the

period, all participants will con-

vene and reporters will summar-

ize the discussion on each topic.

Workshops Free

There will be no charge for

the workshops and they are open

to the public as well as members.

Participants are asked to regis-

ter in advance. The invitation

and program for the 25th anni-

versary will be mailed and a reg-

istration form will be included

on the return envelope.

Members may also indicate on

the return envelope whether

they will come to the dinner and

program or program only. This

year, there will be a small charge

($1) for those coming to the

program only, a departure from

the past. This is necessary to

meet the higher travel expenses

of bringing a speaker from the

Kast and the moderate honora- -

rium offered Professor Com-

mager. The program committee

felt it unfair to ask those com-

ing to dinner to help with this

higher expense and not charge

those coming to the meeting

only. The dinner tickets will be

$6.

_ Commager's Speech

Dr. Commager, whose topic is

"Civil Liberties in Perspective,"

is particularly interested in the

balance of interests in freedom,

and the larger question of what

the interest is in freedom. As a

teacher and writer of history,

civil liberties has been one of

Dr. Commager's main fields of

interest. Some of his titles on

this subject are' "Majority Rule

and Minority Rights," "Civil

Liberties Under Attack," and

"Freedom, Loyalty and Dissent."

Dr. Commager will be intro-

duced by Dr. John Merryman,

chairman of the Board of. Direc-

tors, who will be toastmaster at

the banquet. Ernest Besig, exec-

utive director, will present his

annual report before Dr. Com-

mager's address.

Program Schedule

Here is the' schedule for the

25th anniversary program, all to

be held October 17, at the Palace

Hotel.

Workshops, 2 to 5 p.m., regis-

tration, Comstock Room; Cock-

tail Bar, 5 to 7 p.m., Concert

Room; Dinner, 7 p.m., Gold Ball

Room; Program, 8 p.m., Gold

Ball Room.

fact, the court continued, it's

even weaker on the facts than

People v Casey isn't it? Again,

Del Carlo agreed that it was even

weaker. This admission removed

all possibility of any suggestion

that Miss Kastler's arrest could

be justified, for in People v.

Casey, the court said:

"The insufficiency of the evi-

dence for conviction is at once ap-

parent ... it is no more than

could be offered against any citi-

zen who has occasion to walk

upon the city streets or patronize

licensed places of business, or

who, perchance may wander

about `taking in the sights'."

Arbitrary Exercise of Power

Yet, despite the fact that the

evidence in the Kastler case was

impliedly characterized by the

Court and by Del Carlo as even

weaker than non-existent, Bigar-

ani's arbitrary exercise of power

resulted in a young woman, both

a registered nurse and a law stu-

dent, who had never in her life |

been arrested, let alone charged_

with crime, going to jail, being

booked, mugged and finger-

printed, being charged with being

"lewd and dissolute" and as a

consequence thereof, compelled

to submit to an examination to

determine whether she was ven-

ereally diseased, in addition to

other "vagrancy" charges, and be-

- ing forced to stand trial and then (c)

to appeal in order to secure such

partial vindication as is available.

The trial and appeal in the

case were handled by ACLU staff

counsel Albert M. Bendich.

Counsel Due For

Marin Indigent

Misdemeanants

When ACLU won an appeal in

the Robert Bruce case, in Placer-

Ville last year, it won the right

for all persons in El Dorado

County who were charged with

misdemeanors, to be represented

by counsel appointed by the

Court, if they could not afford to

hire private counsel.

Superior Judge Ralph McGee,

who wrote the Bruce opinion,

said: "...a defendant accused of

a misdemeanor and tried in a jus-

tice court is entitled to be repre-

sented by counsel and, if he does

not have funds with which to em-

ploy counsel, the Court must as-

sign an attorney to defend him."

Besides El. Dorado County, the

. only other areas where attorneys

have been appointed to defend in-

digents charged with misdemean-

ors are Alameda and San Fran-

cisco Counties, and the cities of

Los Angeles and Long Beach.

( There is now a new addition to

the list. In a letter to ACLU staff

counsel Albert M. Bendich, dated

August 7, Marin County District

Attorney William O. Weissich

stated that he had mimeographed

copies of the Bruce Opinion "for

distribution among the local bar.

I believe that as a direct result of

J udge McGee's opinion, which you

so kindly furnished me," he went

on to say, "our Municipal Court

will begin: to appoint counsel

whenever an indigent defendant

makes the request."

Copies of the ACLU brief and

Judge McGee's opinion will be

circulated among the remaining

Northern California counties by

ACLU with a-view toward obtain-

Ing uniform recognition of the

fundamental right to counsel. no

matter how high or low the crime

charged, or how rich or poor the

defendant.

ACLU NEWS

September, 1959

Page 3

Statement

ninat

Discri

ion

In Housing

The need for State and local governments to take legal

action against discrimination in the sale or rental of private

housing on grounds of race, creed, color, national origin or

political affiliation was urged recently by the national office

of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Patrick Murphy Malin, ACLU

executive director, released the

text of a new policy statement

approved by the Union's Na-

tional Board of Directors cover-

ing discrimination in both public

and private housing.

Private Housing `

Major emphasis in the state-

ment was placed on private

housing discrimination, Malin

noted, because more and more

legislatures are coming to grips

with this part of the housing

problem. "It is our hope," Malin

said, "that the Union's views

will help legislators as they de-

bate this question."

The ACLU statement asserted

that a conflict of civil liberties

principles occurs in the private

housing field, between "reserved

private rights such as freedom

of association and non-associa-

tion, and non-discrimination."

Whenever such a conflict occurs,

the ACLU said, "it cannot be

avoided and should be explicitly

recognized; the question then. be-

comes one of balance and choice.

The ACLU, choosing on balance,

believes that the degree of pub-

`lie interest at stake in removing

housing discrimination from

private housing is now large

enough to demand its legal pro-

hibition by State `or local govern--

ments."

Case By Case Approach

Aware that various States and

cities will have different ap-

proaches to legislation covering

private housing discrimination,

the ACLU said that neither its

national office nor any of its 25

State affiliates need oppose or

refrain from supporting such

legislation merely because it

contains exceptions to the gener-

al prohibition of discrimination. .

The ACLU will take action on

specific legislative proposals as

they arise, the statement said.

In making the policy state-

ment public, Malin also pointed

out that the Union's established

opposition to discrimination on

political grounds in the public

housing field has now been ex-

tended to the private housing

field. "The Union," he said, "is

thus again urging the applica-

tion of a fundamental civil liber-

ty principle, that every person

should be treated on the basis

of his individual worth and not

on the basis of any group classi-

fication."

Text of Statement

The full text of the statement

adopted on May 25, follows:

"(1) The American Civil

Liberties Union is opposed to all

housing discrimination based on

race, creed, color, national

origin or political affiliation.

"It is so opposed because one

- of the great principles of civil

liberty-ranking with due pro-

cess, freedom of speech and re-

ligion, and reserved private

rights such as freedom of asso-

ciation or non-association - is

that every person should be

treated as a person, on the basis

of his individual worth and not

on the basis of any group classi-

fication. This non-discriminatory

treatment is most of all neces-

sary in meeting the basic needs

of food, clothing and shelter;

and, with regard to shelter, that

necessity is growing as popula-

ACLU NEWS

Septemiber, 1959

Page and

tion-particularly in urban and

suburban areas - rapidly in-

creases in mobility, and thus the

frequency of sales and rentals

causes housing increasingly to

resemble other. commodities

handled by organized market

operations.

"(2) Such discrimination in

any housing in whose provision

or financing any government

participates in any way. should.

be legally prohibited.

"The right to equal protection

of the laws, included in the

federal and State constitutions

(e.g., the 14th Amendment of the

former), makes such prohibition

of such discrimination not only

desirable but -constitutionally

necessary, by federal, State or

local action-legislative, execu-

tive or judicial.

"(3) Toward removing such

discrimination from private.

housing, the degree of public

interest at stake requires - in

addition to education-that State

or local governments should

legally prohibit such. discrimina-

tion in the sale or rental of

private housing. But groups es-

tablished in good faith for non-

housizg purposes-w.g., religious

bodies or fraternal orders -

should be permitted in good

faith to limit to their members

the sale or rental of housing ac-

commodations to provide specifi-

cally for their members. (Neither

the Union's national office nor

any affiliate need oppose, nor re-

frain from supporting, legisla-

tion. prohibiting discrimination

in private housing merely be-

cause it contains other excep-

tions; but may ask the Board for

action thereon.)

"The question of method in

removing discrimination from

completely private housing, in

which no governmental agency

participates at all, involves more

considerations than in the case

of government-assisted housing.

Such private housing is not with-

in federal jurisdiction; legal ac-

`tion to remove discrimination

from such housing is in the pro-

vince of State or local govern-

ments. Moreover, the federal

Constitution's 14th Amendment

provision for equal protection of

the laws does not require such

legal action by State or local

governments to remove dis-

crimination from such private

housing. Most important, there

are other provisions in the

federal and State constitutions,

protecting reserved private

rights such as freedom of asso-

ciation or non-association, which

must be taken into account when

even State or local governments

contemplate restricting private

decision. Wherever a conflict oc-

curs between one civil-liberty

principle such as free association

or non-association and another

civil-liberty principle such as

non-discrimination, the conflict

cannot be avoided and should be

explicitly recognized; the ques-

tion then becomes one of bal-

ance, and choice. ThesACLU,

choosing. on. balance,. believes

that the degree of public inter-

est at stake in removing dis-

crimination from private hous-

ing is now large enough. to de-

mand its legal. prohibition by

State or local governments. The

Union will' take action on speci-

fie legislative proposals within

the guidelines set forth above."

Test School

Segregation |

in N.Y.

High courts will be asked to'

determine whether segregation

is practiced in public schools of

the nation's largest city.

Appeals were. promised from

two decisions handed down in

New York's Children's Court last

winter-one holding that several

Negro parents were guilty of neg-

lect for refusing to send their

children to schools they branded

inferior; the other maintaining

that parents of two other Negro

students. were innocent of neg-

lect because the schools around

which the controversy centered

did in fact offer "inferior educa-

tional opportunities . . . by rea-

son of racial discrimination." An

unusually high percentage of

substitute teachers and fewer

services were cited by Justice

Justine Wise Polier as the chief

reasons for her decisions sup-

porting the Negro parents.

Compromise

The New York Board of Edu-

tion voted to appeal Justice Po-

lier's ruling, while counsel for

parents. said the "guilty of neg-

lect" ruling by Justice Nathaniel

Kaplan would be appealed. Un-

der a compromise worked out

between school officials and par-

ents of the nine Negro children

involved, the students are en-

rolled in schools other. than the

ones their families on one hand

and the Board of Education on

the other refused to let them

attend. This was done so that

they would not be without ade-

quate instruction while the cases

are fought in the courts.

The New York Civil Liberties

Union, which created a special

committee to study civil liberties

issues raised by the test cases,

authorized a statement which

said in part:

civil liberties and education can-

not be solved until New York's

public schools are integrated,

with uniform educational oppor-

tunities throughout the system.

All children-regardless of race,

creed, color or socio-economic

group-must be given equal edu-

cational opportunities. Not to do

so is to deprive whole groups of

future citizens of their constitu-

tional right to a free and full

education."

Investigation Sought

When two New York state leg-

islators from Manhattan-scene

of the school controversy-called

for an investigation of what they

charged was "de facto segrega-

tion" in the school system, Dr.

John J. Theobald, superintendent

of the city schools, declared:

"Only a lack of understanding of

the facts would lead anyone to

say that New York City discrim-

inates against Negro and Puerto

Rican children."

~The _ schools predominantly

Negro and Puerto Rican in stu-

dents have more teachers per

pupil than other public schools,

he said, and consequently have

more substitutes.

"These parents have the con-

stitutionally guaranteed right to

elect no education for their chil-

dren rather than to subject them

to discriminatorily inferior edu-

cation," Justice Polier ruled. She

found no evidence of gerryman-

dering of school districts to cre-

ate segregated schools in New

York, but she did hold the Board

of Education responsible for pol-

icy under which licensed teach-

ers cannot be forced to teach in

schools not of their own choice.

This practice, Justice Polier

held, had resulted in a less high-

ly-qualified staff for schools at-

tended almost exclusively by

Negroes and Puerto Ricans.

"The problem of

State Sedition

Prosecutions

Validated

Dramatically shifting its em-

phasis, the U.S, Supreme Court

has handed down a 5-4 ruling that

contrasts sharply with its own

previous pronouncements limit-

ing the scope of state investiga-

tions for subversion.

Upholding the State of New'

Hampshire, the high court ruled

recently that Willard Uphaus, di-

rector of an adult camp called

World Fellowship Center, was

acting in' contempt. by refusing

to give the state's attorney gen-

eral attendance rosters and infor-

mation about his group. Uphaus

had contended that the USS.

Supreme Court's decision in the

1956 Nelson case had rendered

the states powerless to investi-

gate subversive activities because

Congress had so completely pre-

empted that field. World Fellow-

ship, which describes itself as a

pacifist organization, had invited

for discussion groups, speakers

who were reputed to have a his-

tory of associations with `"Com-

munist front" movements, _

Nelson Decision Restricted

In the majority opinion, writ-

ten by Justice Clark, the Supreme

Court denied that its ruling

against Uphaus had actually re-

versed the 63 Nelson decision

where Pennsylvania's anti - sedi-

tion law was held not valid be-

cause of the Federal govern-

ment's activities against subver-

sion. Justice Clark said: "The

opinion (in the Nelson case)

made clear that a state could

proceed with prosecutions for

sedition against the state itself;

that it can legitimately investi-

gate in this area follows." What

was proscribed, Clark wrote, "was

a race between Federal and state

prosecutors to the courthouse

door." This is being interpreted

as meaning the Nelson decision

applies only to sedition prosecu-

tions affecting the United States

and opens the decor to prosecu-

tions involving purely state sub-

version.

"The Attorney General was

commissioned to determine if

there were any subversive per-

sons within New Hampshire,"

Justice Clark commented.

obvious starting point of such an

inquiry was to learn what persons

were within the state." The rul-

ing went on to reiterate New

Hampshire's contention that it

' was investigating Uphaus in the

interest of self-preservation.

"This interest outweighs individ-

ual rights," Justice Clark de-

clared.

. Exposure for Exposures Sake

However, dissenting Justices

Warren, Douglas, Black and

Brennan took sharp exception to

Justice Clark's majority opinion

In the opinion written by Justice

Brennan, he contended that the

data in the case "not only fails to

reveal any interest of the state"

sufficient to subordinate Uphaus'

constitutionally protected rights

of assembly and privacy, but af-

firmatively shows that the inves-

tigatory objective was the imper-

missible one of exposure for ex-

posure's sake,

"We deal here," said Justice

The first right of a citizen

Is the right

To be responsible. -

"The

Approve Stake and

Fed. Trials for

Same Offense

A divided U, S. Supreme Court

affirmed long-standing decisions

that the double jeopardy safe- |

guard of the Fifth Amendment

tion for the same offense tried in

a federal court..

-

`does not apply to a state prosecu- -

In one key case, the defendant, .

Alfonse Bartkus, had been acquit- :

ted in a federal district court of .

bank robbery. Subsequently he

was indicted by the state of ILlin-

ois for the same crime and con- (c)

victed. Five of the Supreme

Court justices held that the Fifth 0x00B0

Amendment does not apply to"

the states and that successive

trials did not deny Bartkus due

process as provided by the Four- 0x00B0

teenth Amendment. Three dis-

senting justices declared that

"double prosecutions for the

same offense are so contrary to_

the spirit of our free country

that they violate even the prevail-

ing view of the Fourteenth

Amendment." They predicted

that "the power to try a second"

time will be used, as have all

similar procedures, to make

scapegoats of helpless, political,

religious, or racial minorities

and those who differ, who do not

conform and who resist tyranny."

The second case concerned

Louis Joseph Abbate and Michael.

Louis Falcone, who were found

guilty by an Illinois court of vio-.

lating a state law making it a

crime to conspire to injure or

destroy the property of another.

state, in this case the facilities of

a telephone company in Missis-

sippi. Later, the two men were

convicted in a federal court in

Mississippi of conspiring to de-.

strey parts of a federally. oper-

ated and controlled communica-.

tions system. Facts used in both.

trials were identical, Six justices

held that the Fifth Amendment.

did not prevent a federal prose-

cution, despite the earlier state

conviction. Three dissenters held

that the cases constituted a clear

violation of the double jeopardy

provision of the Bill of Rights.

Shortly after the decisions.

were announced Attorney Gener-

al William P, Rogers sent a

memorandum to federal attor-

neys. warning them to use ex-

treme caution in seeking a

federal trial in cases previously

tried by the states.

"As the court clearly indicated,

those of us charged with law-en-

forcement responsibilities have a

particular duty to act wisely and

with self-restraint in this area,"

Rogers wrote. "We should con-

tinue to make every effort to

cooperate with state and local

authorities to the end that the

trial occur in the jurisdiction,

whether it be state or federal,

where the public interest is best

served. If this be determined ac-

curately, and is followed by ef-

ficient and intelligent coopera-

tion of state and federal law en-

forcement authorities, then

consideration of a second prose-

cution very seldom should arise."

Brennan, "with inquiries into the .

areas of free speech and assem:

blage where the process of com-.

pulsory disclosure itself tends to

have a repressive effect."

et

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