vol. 25, no. 4

American

Civil . Liberties

Union

Volume XXV

Number 4

San Francisco, California, April, 1960

- Conscientious Objectors

t To Salute Fi

`

ag

Irving Breyer, attorney for the San Francisco Unified

School District, ruled last month that a student who has con-

scientious objections to saluting the flag and giving the

pledge of allegiance cannot be required to do so and that in

such cases the pupil may not be penalized in any manner

whatsoever. The written opinion

was submitted to the March 22nd

meeting of the school board.

Capricious Refusals

The opinion suggested that the

school department might adopt

reasonable regulations to assure

that pupils were acting in good

faith and not capriciously. Such

regulations might include a re-

quirement that the student sup-

port his request for exemption

from the salute with a statement

from his parent or legal guardian.

The issue arose in one of the

San Francisco high schools when

a senior honor student refused on

grounds of principle to salute the

flag. His registration room teach-

er, with the concurrence of the

Principal, thereupon penalized

the boy by ousting him as class-

`room representative to the Stu-

dent Council. Thereafter, the

boy's father complained to the

ACLU.

ACLU Intervenes

The ACLU discussed the prob-

lem with the principal, Superin-

tendent Harold Spears, Melvin

Peterson, Assistant Superintend-

ent in charge of Senior Hign

-Schools, and Irving Breyer, at-

torney for the school department.

The school department at first

contended that only religious ob-

jectors such as Jehovah's Wit-

nesses could be excused from the

flag salute. The ACLU pointed

out, however, that when the U.S.

Supreme Court ruled against

compulsory flag saluting in West

Virginia v. Barnette (1943), its de-

cision was not based on religious

grounds. While the case involved

a member of Jehovah's Wit-

nesses, the court stated in clear'

language that the issue did not

"turn on one's possession of par-

ticular religious views or the

sincerity with which they are

held." It held that no citizen

could be required to affirm a

belief.

High Court Language

. "If there is any fixed star in

our constitutional constellation,'

said Justice Jackson writing for

the court, "it is that no official,

high or petty, can prescribe what

shall be orthodox in politics, na-

tionalism, religion, or other mat-

ters of opinion or force citizens

to confess by words or act their

faith therein. ... We think the

the action of the local authorities

in compelling the flag salute and

pledge transcends constitutional

limitations on their power and

invades the sphere of intellect

and spirit which it is the pur-

pose of the First Amendment to

our Constitution to reserve from

all official control.? :

In the past San Francisco

schools have had a regulation

granting exemption from the flag

salute to pupils claiming a "con-

scientious religious objection." In

effect, the local regulation is

being brought into conformity

with the U. S. Supreme Court's

decision by dropping the word

"religious" from the regulation

and exempting all students who

have "conscientious objections,"

religious or otherwise. -

Boy Reinstated

In a conference with the boy's

father, school administrators

' have now agreed to reinstate the

boy to his position as class rep-

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. Trustees,

In This Issue...

ACLU position on

Church-State Issues

Examined ...................----- p. 4

Anonymous Distribution coh

of Handbills Upheld...... p. 3

Dismissal of L. A. Social

Worker Upheld ............ p. 2

Is Freedom of Speech for

American Nazis? .......... p. 2

Relation Between Local and

Nationa] ACLU Mem-

bership: =... 2. p. 4

Uphold Non-Disclosure of

Membership Lists ........ p. 3

resentative to the student council.

Last January, the (c) Lassen

Union High School District and

Lassen Junior College Board of

after receiving pro-

tests from school administrators,

teachers and the ACLU, with-

drew a compulsory flag saluting:

regulation and placed the salute

on a voluntary basis.

Other School Districts

The parents of some students

object to the present pledge of

allegiance because it contains the

words "under God." Pupils who

in good faith object to the lan-

guage of the pledge or are other-

wise opposed to it must be ex-

cused upon request. It is quite

likely that many school districts

excuse only religious objectors.

If such instances come to the at-

tention of ACLU members they :

should notify the ACLU office.

Registration

Law for Ex-Cons

Ruled Invalid

A Los Angeles ordinance re-

quiring ex-felons convicted since

1921 to register was declared un-

constitutional on February 26 by

the California Supreme Court.

The law required registration,

mugging and fingerprinting.

The decision was handed down

in the case of John Hunley Ab-

bott, who was convicted under

the Selective Service and Training

Act for failure to remain in a

Civilian Public Service Camp, He

was sentenced to two years in

prison which he served, except

for time allowed for good behav-

iour. /

In a unanimous decision writ-

ten by Judge Raymond Peters,

the court declared that "the or-

dinance is unconstitutional be-

cause it attempts to legislate in

a field already preempted by the

state. In other words the respon-

dent city has attempted to legis-

late in a field, and in a manner,

beyond its constitutional power."

The court found that the State

Legislature had adopted a law

requiring sex offenders to regis-

ter and had otherwise occupied

the field of registering ex-con-

victs. Having done so, local com-

munities are barred from enact-

ing registration laws.

Some eight California commu-

nities, mostly in the Los Angeles .

area, have registration laws for

ex-convicts.

The case was handled by at-

torneys for the Southern Califor-

nia branch of the ACLU.

"Common Drunk"

"Vag" Section

invalidated

The section of the California

vagranecy' law which defines a

"common drunk" as a vagrant

was held to be unconstitutional

last month by the State Supreme

Court. The unanimous decision

was handed down in the case of

Emery Newbern who had been

convicted not only under the vag-

rancy law but under a municipal

`drunk law. He himself filed the

petition for a writ of habeas

corpus with the State Supreme

Court which considered it be-

cause otherwise he would have

_served his six month sentence

before the case

reached the court.

Insufficient Standards

First, the court said, "citizens

are not sufficiently warned by

vague language as to what course

of conduct is denounced. Sec-

ondly, the court is given insuf-

ficient standards by which to

judge the defendant's conduct.

Consequently, each judge and

jury is free to define the crime

in any manner it sees fit, giving

rise to the dangers of imposing

ex post facto punishment of the

defendant, having the jury find

the law as well as the facts and

giving the statute the effect ofa

bill of attainder in each partic-

ular case."

In consequence of the decision

hundreds of persons throughout

the State who were serving sen-

tences as "common drunks," were

released. :

Right To Counsel

Incidentally, the court also

ruled on the right to counsel. In

this case, the public defender was

appointed to represent the de-

could x have

fendant but was not given five.

days in which to prepare his -de-

fense.

"All persons accused of crime

in any court in the state have a

right to counsel," said the court.

"That includes the judicial ap-

pointment of counsel in cases in

which the accused is financially

unable to employ counsel him-

self... the right includes: the

opportunity of counsel to prepare

and conduct the case in a reason-

ably efficacious manner."

Butte County Issue

In Butte county, the ACLU is

informed, the judges refuse to

appoint counsel in misdemeanor

cases, The ACLU has just written

to all of the judges calling atten-

tion to the law. .

Public School Witch Hunt

_Forn

1ePF

`Re ds'

Face Loss of _

Credentials

Hearings were held in Sacramento last month before a

special hearing officer in proceedings brought hy the Creden-

tials Commission of the California Department of Education

to revoke the elementary teaching credentials of Rita and

William Mack who last taught in the Redding area. The Macks

were one-time members of the

Communist Party but joined the

mass exodus from the Party after

the Hungarian revolt. Thereafter,

they became public school teach-

ers.

Neither of the Macks were

Owens Keeps

His Teaching

Credential

On March 22, the five-member

Credentials Commission of the

State Department of Education

voted unanimously not to bring

proceedings to revoke the teach-

ing credential of Jack Owens who -

recently lost his job as Lassen Ju-

nior College. The Commission re-

viewed Owens' case and decided

he had not been guilty of unpro-

fessional conduct.

Owens, 40, was dismissed from

his job last February 3 after Su-

perior Court Judge A. K. Wylie

ruled that he had been guilty of

unprofessional conduct in attack-

ing public education in Lassen

County and the California Teach-

ers Association in `five letters

published in the Lassen Advo-

cate, a weekly newspaper pub-

lished in Susanville.

In the meantime, the ACLU of

Northern California, which has

intervened in Owens' behalf, has

filed a notice of appeal and the

elerk of the court! has been or-

dered to prepare a transcript of

the record. The court reporter re-

quested a deposit of $900 for the

trial transcript and additional

fees will be paid to the county

clerk for preparing the record,

The printing of briefs will also

be costly. Contributions ear-

marked for the Owens case will

be welcomed by the ACLU.

On March 24, Owens filed as a

Republican candidate for the

State Assembly in the Second As-

sembly District, which embraces

Lassen, Siskiyou, Modoc, Trinity,

Shasta, Plumas and Sierra coun-

ties. Pauline L. Davis, Democrat

of Portola, now. represents the

Second District.

Complaints That Census

Questions Invade Privacy

The local office of the ACLU received numerous inquiries

late last month from persons who objected to some of the

questions that will be asked during the 18th census.

Census questions inquire whether the householder owns

radios, television sets, washing machines, air conditioners,

refrigerators and food freezers.

There are also questions about

the monthly cost of gas, electric-

ity and water; the number of

toilets and bathrooms, age of the

house and its value; and the

birthplace and schooling of each

member of the household. Many

of these questions, inquirers con-

tend, constitute an invasion of

privacy.

Since this is a national issue,

the ACLU of Northern Califor-

nia has looked for guidance from

New York. The national office

has had a committee investigat-

ing the matter, but its report will

not be available until April 1, too

late for reporting in this issue of

the "News."

In the meantime, the local of-

fice of the ACLU wishes to point

out that refusal to answer ques-

tions is punishable by a fine of

$500 and six months in jail. On

the other hand, no one in this

area has ever heard of a person

being prosecuted for refusing to

answer census questions.

There is, of course, constitu-

tional authority for the census.

But, the U. S. Supreme Court has

never passed directly on the con-

stitutionality of any of the past

census questions. Back in 1871,

however, in the Legal Tender

Cases, the Supreme Court had

this to say:

"The Constitution

enumeration of free

the different states

years. The direction extends no

further. Yet Congress has re-

peatedly directed an enumeration

not only of free persons in the

states, but of free persons in the

territories, and not only an enu-

meration of persons, but the col-

lection of statistics respecting

age, sex, and production. Who

questions the power to do this?"

Two years ago, the ACLU and

other organizations opposed a

proposed inquiry into religious

affiliations. The question was

orders an

persons in

every ten

withdrawn by the Census Bureau.

members of the Party at the time

they signed their Levering Act

oaths, and there is no California

law whcich prevents a former

Communist Party member from

teaching. Fhe Credentials Com-

mission claims, however, that the

Macks: falsified their Levering

Act oath by not listing their for-

mer membership in the Commu-

nist Party.

The cases turn on the question

whether at the time they signed

their oaths the Macks knew the

Communist Party advocated the

violent overthrow of the govern-

ment. In signing the Levering

Act oath a public employee

makes a declaration that he has

not belonged to a group advocat-

ing the violent overthrow of the

government during the previous

five years, and if so he lists any

exceptions. Mrs. Mack testified

that when she took the oath she

had no knowledge that the Com-

munist Party advocated violent -

overthrow of the government.

Gave Statement to FBI

Mrs. Mack also testified that

after an FBI agent had visited

her present employer in La Jolla

and informed him she was a for-

mer member of the Communist

Party she had gone to the FBI

offices in San Diego and given

a statement about her Party

membership, including names of

her former Communist associa-

tes. The family moved to San

Diego last September because

Mr. Mack had no teaching job for

the school year, so Mrs. Mack

resigned her teaching position.

Made Public Admissions

Mr. and Mrs. Mack were among

the 93 California teachers sub-

poenaed to testify before the

House Committee on Un-Ameri-

can Activities last June. After re-

- ceiving the subpoenaes they made

statements to their local news-

-Continued on Page 3

a : a

Marin Meeting

The Marin Chapter of the

American Civil Liberties

Union of Northern California,

will begin its annual member-

ship drive on April 15, an-

nounced Mrs. Leon Ginsberg,

chairman of the two-week

event. Assisting her will be

Mrs. Betty Hemingway, Dr.

Michael J. Franzblau and Mr.

Richard J. Wertheimer.

Highlight of the campaign

will be an informal "Wine,

Talk and Song" evening to ac-

quaint prospective members

with ACLU. Dr. Alfred Aze-

vedo, principal of Marina

Adult School in San Francisco

and a long-time member of

ACLU will speak on his `"Per-

sonal View of ACLU." Wine,

and folk singing are also on

the agenda for the evening.

Entertainment will be provid-

ed by Chris Bratt (banjo) and

Glen Carlson (guitar). The

gathering will be held on Fri-

day, April 22nd, at the home

of Mr. and Mrs. Richard J.

Wertheimer, 245 Laurel Grove

Ave., in Kentfield at 8:15.

Present members of the

Marin Chapter may attend

only by bringing a prospective

member with them. Any mem-

ber who wishes to enjoy the

evening but doesn't know of

any prospects may call Libby

Ginsberg, GL 4.9872 or Donna

Franzblau, GL 6-3131 to find

out the name of a person to

invite. Any person wishing to

join, however, may attend

without being invited by a

member.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION NEWS

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Second Class mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, Calif.

ERNEST BESIG...

Editor

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

Subscription Rates-Two Dollars a Year

Twenty Cents Per Copy

VICE-CHAIRMEN: Dr.

Philip Adams

Theodore Baer

William K. Coblentz

Richard De Lancie

Samuel B. Eubanks

John M. Fowle

Howard Friedman (c)

Rev. Oscar F. Green

Zora Cheever Gross

Robert H. Hardgrove

Alice G. Heyneman

Mrs. Paul Holmer

Rev. F. Danford Lion

Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California

CHAIRMAN: Rabbi Alvin |. Fine

Alexander Meiklejohn, Helen Salz

SECRETARY-TREASURER: Fred H. Smith,.1V

HONORARY TREASURER: Joseph M. Thompson

HONORARY MEMBER: Sara Bard Field

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ernest Besig

Rev. Robert W. Moon

Lloyd L. Morain

Rt. Rev. Edward L. Parsons

Clarence E. Rust

Rev. Harry B. Scholefield

Mrs. Alec Skolnick

Mrs. Martin Steiner

Stephen Thiermann

Franklin H. Williams

Harold Winkler,

GENERAL COUNSEL

Wayne M. Collins

STAFF COUNSEL

" Albert M. Bendich ;

Fifth Amendment Case

_ Dismissal

Of L. A.

Worker

Social

Upheld

By a vote of 5 to 3, with Chief Justice Warren not sitting,

the U. S. Supreme Court on February 29 upheld the dismissal

of a Los Angeles County social worker who was discharged

for insubordination because he refused on Fifth Amendment

grounds to answer questions before the House Committee on

Calif. High Court |

Will Review .

-Syrek Case

On petition of the Attorney

General's office, the California

Supreme Court last`month grant-

ed a hearing in the case of .

Marion R. Syrek, 26, of Berkeley .

who was denied unemployment

insurance because he refused to

accept a referral to a public job

which would have required him

to take the Levering 2 loyalty

oath.

The District Court of Appeals

had held last January 21, in a

unanimous decision which re-

versed Alameda County Superior

Court Judge Folger Emerson,

`that a person could not be denied

unemployment insurance because

he refused such a referral on

grounds of conscience.

No date has as yet been set

for the oral argument.

Ordinance Bans

Obscenity In

San Mateo Co.

While the activities of the cen-

sorship, forces in northern Cali-

fornia appear to have lost their

momentum, the San Mateo Coun-

ty Board of Supervisors has nev-

ertheless adopted a new obscen-

ity ordinance which will appar-

ently be used in preference to the

State law if occasion arises.

Under the State law it must be

proved that the defendant `"wil-

fully and lewdly" distributed ob-

scene material. Under the new

county ordinance such distribu-

tion must be done "knowingly."

If the District Attorney be-

lieves that a publication is ob-

scene he will inform a seller or

distributor of his opinion, If he

continues to sell or distribute the

publication, it will then be argued

that he had knowledge that it is

obscene.

. The new ordinance went into

effect on March 25, 1960.

ACLU NEWS

April, 1960

Page 2

@

`Un-American Activities.

Under

the State's Dilworth Act, public

employees are required to answer

certain political questions before

investigating committees or be

dismissed for insubordination.

Temporary Employee

The case involved Arthur Globe,

a temporary employee. After re-

fusing to testify, Globe was sum-

marily dismissed from his job.

He requested a hearing before

the County Civil Service Commis-

sion but, as a temporary em-

ployee, it was. found he was not

entitled to a hearing.

Globe contended that he could

not be fired for resting on the

Fifth Amendment. But Justice

Clark claimed he wasn't fired for

_resting on the Fifth Amendment

but for insubordination in refus-

ing to answer certain political

questions which the Dilworth Act

required him to answer.

Black Dissents

Justice Black, in a dissenting

opinion concurred in by Justice

Douglas, contended "It is beyond

doubt that the State took Globe's

job away from him only because

he claimed his privilege under

the Federal Constitution." In giv-

ing supremacy to California law,

he felt that the Court approved a

plain violation of the Constitu-

tion which makes that Constitu-

tion "the Supreme Law of the

and 22

"J would hold," said Justice

Black, "that no State can put any

kind of penalty on any person for

claiming a privilege authorized

by the Federal Constitution. The

Court's holding to the contrary

here does not bode well for indi-

vidual liberty in America."

Justice Brennan wrote a sep-

arate dissent concurred in a! Jus-

tice Douglas,

Nelson Case

The court also had before it he

case of Thomas W. Nelson, an-

other Los Angeles county social

worker,*who was also dismissed

on grounds of insubordination

because, on Fifth Amendment

grounds, he refused to answer

questions of the House Committee

on Un-American Activities. In

this case, however, the court dis-

agreed by a vote of 44. Conse-

quently, the adverse decision of

the lower court was upheld, but

no opinions were written.

Belief In God

Required For

Md. Public Office

"Belief in the existence of God

is a qualification for any office

of profit or trust in this State. _

This restriction may be rightly

imposed by a sovereign state in

dealing with its own officials,"

Maryland Circuit Court Judge

Ralph Shure asserted recently in

- upholding the denial of a notary

public commission to Roy R. Tor-

caso. Toreaso had refused to af-

firm his religious belief in ac-

cordance with Article 37 of the

state's Declaration of Rights,

which requires all who seek pub-

lic office to swear: "I do declare

that I believe in the existence of

God."

Attorneys for Torcaso,

ported by the American Civil

Liberties Union and the Ameri-

can Jewish Congress, cited con-

stitutional provisions for freedom

of religion and separation . of

church and state in a suit brought

by Torcaso to require that the

state turn the Commission over

to him. We agree with the Su-

preme Court that a person has a

right to disbelieve and not be

Mont-

discriminated against."

gomery (Md.) County attorneys

asserted that "a non-believer has

the right to be a non-believer,

but he does not have the right to:

hold public office."

Judge Shure held that "Tor-

caso can continue his religious

position without any interference

from Maryland, either as to his

present employment of his citi-

. zenship." But public office is a

privilege, not a right, he said.

"The people of Maryland have

imposed a qualification of belief

in the existence of God as a con-

dition for holding public office."

The declaration shows qualifica-

tion for office, he maintained,

and is similar to prerequisite

qualifications for practicing a

profession or entering a state

university.

Torcaso, an office manager for

a real estate firm, had asked that

the Montgomery County Court

direct its clerk to certify him as

a notary public, despite his re-

fusal to make the prescribed dec-

laration. "My religion is my own

business," he asserted, He vowed

to take his plea to the United

States Supreme Court if he fails

to win in higher Maryland courts.

Denial Of

Service To

Beatniks Ends

The Buon Gusto Pastry Shop at

414 Columbus Ave., San Fran-

cisco, which recently refused to

serve "beatniks," changed its

mind last month after protests

from the ACLU.

The issue arose when a North

Beach model, wearing black stock-

ings, together with her husband,

was turned away when she sought

service at a table. A waitress

pointed out that all tables bore

"reserved" signs and, therefore,

they had no table available. In

fact, only a few tables were occu-

pied and it was ultimately admit-

ted that the signs were merely a

dodge to exclude so-called beat-

niks,

The same thing happened when

an ACLU investigator went to the -

restaurant. In fact, an employee

explained to patrons in the res-

taurant that they excluded beat-

niks. The manager justified the

procedure on the ground that the

presence of beatniks discouraged

other persons from patronizing

the restaurant. It wasn't too clear

just how management determined

that a person was a beatnik.

The ACLU contended that, in

effect, the restaurant had invited

the general public to patronize

the place and, therefore, it had to

serve all patrons who were. well-

behaved. At the same time, it

was suggested that management

did not have to allow the restau-

rant to be a loitering place in the

style of a number of North Beach

coffee shops.

Following receipt of a protest

from the ACLU, the restaurant

withdrew its "reserved" signs

from the tables and now serves

all comers.

sup-.

United States Hate Groups

Basic speech principles were invoked by the ACLU last

month to answer criticism of some who objected to ACLU in-

-tervention in Washington, D. C., on behalf of George Lincoln

Rockwell and J. V. Kenneth Morgan, leaders of the Ameri-

can Nazi Party. |

Both men had been distribut-

ing scurrilous anti-Negro and

anti-Semitic handbills for several

months on a Washington, D- C.,

street corner. One Irving Ber-

man, accompanied by four

friends, two of whom were law-

yers, came to "observe" Rock-

well's distribution last February

6. There were two or three local

police officers at the scene. Be-

fore Rockwell had distributed

any pamphlets, Berman said to

one of the policemen, "I am go-

ing to take those pamphlets away

from Rockwell," to which there

was no reply; they took no action.

Berman then walked up to Rock-,

well and snatched all of the pam-

phlets out of his hands. Morgan,

standing next to Rockwell, im-

mediately grabbed at the pam-

phlets in Berman's hands. Then

the policemen present arrested

both on charges of disorderly

conduct as they were each trying

to gain possession of the pam-

phlets. The entire incident did

not take more than five seconds.

When Rockwell requested

ACLU(R) intervention, David L.

Shapiro and Lawrence Speiser

represented Morgan and _ the

charges against him were ulti-

mately dismissed. Milton Fried-

man, feature story writer for the

Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.,

then attacked the ACLU in vio-

lent terms for "creating" a civil

liberties issue.

ACLU Statement

The ACLU thereafter issued a

statement which reads, in part,

as follows.

One of the recurring problems

which continually. confronts the

American Civil Liberties Union

is the question of the protection

of freedom of speech and press

of those whose views are not only

undemocratic, but also reprehen-

sible and distasteful. We have

faced this problem with regard to -

protecting the civil liberties of

Communists and those who advo-

cate the overthrow of the Gov-

ernment by force and violence,

when we had to determine

whether such advocacy is within

the protection of freedom. of

speech and press. More recently

we have grappled with

this problem when such arch seg-

gregationists as John Kasper

~have been arrested for inflamma-

tory speeches on the racial ques- (c)

tion. In all these matters, the

ACLU has applied a single stand-

ard. We have drawn a line, the

same line that the U. S. Supreme

Court drew in the 1956 Yates.

Smith Act case: As long as the

views expressed are not, in fact,

incitements to action, they. are

protected by the First Amend-

ment, no matter how repugnant

and distasteful these views are.

Incitement

The key word in this formula

is incitement. What do we mean?

By incitement we mean language

which presents a clear and pres-

ent danger of riot, disorder, in-

terference with traffic upon the

public streets, or other immedi-

ate threats to public safety, peace

or order that there is not time

enough for the police to handle.

To determine whether words ar eC

in fact incitements, we cannot

look at the words alone-no mat-

ter what they say or advocate. We

must look at the circumstances

under which they are said and

whether there is danger that

people. will act on the words im-

mediately. This concept was ar-

`ticulated many years ago by

Supreme Court Justice Louis D.

Brandies when he said:

"To courageous, self-reliant

men, with confidence in the

power of free and fearless reas-

oning, applied through the proc-

esses of popular government, no

danger flowing from speech can

be deemed clear and present, un-

less the incidence of the evil ap-

prehended is so imminent that

it may befall before there is op-

portunity for full discussion. If |

there be time to expose through

discussion the falsehood and fal-

lacies, to avert the evil by the

processes of education, the rem-

edy. to be applied is more speech,

not enforced silence. Only an

emergency can justify repression.

Such must be the rule if author-

ity is to be reconciled with free-

dom. Such in my opinion is the

command of the constitution."

It-is quite evident that in this

American Nazi Party case, con-

sidering the form, the time, the

place and the manner of the

leaflet in question, there was

little danger of Rockwell inciting

anyone to commit any action in

line with his abhorrent and rep-

rehensible views. - views which

are contrary to the ACLU's own

beliefs. Rather, the major danger

from Rockwell's proposed distri-

bution was the reaction of the

people who were so incensed by'

his ideas and their expression

that they were inclined to pre-

vent him and his supporters from

disseminating such views, even

if necessary by seizing the leaf-

lets physically. We recognize the

strong, emotional feeling of Jew-

ish people about such leaflets.

The recent outburst of anti-Se-

mitic incidents has reinforced

their memory of Hitler's annihi-

lation of six million Jews and

stirred their indignation. But de-

spite this understandable anger,

the ACLU cannot justify suppres-

sion of Rockwell's views by phy-

sical attack. To condone such ac-

ion would leave free speech com-

pletely at the mercy of individ-

uals to whom the ideas expressed

are repugnant. As

Amendment's protection of free

speech is designed to protect the

right of a minority to express it-

self, it would seem clear that any

such criteria would negate the

basic principle on which free

speech is founded. It is in this

spirit that we defend even the

rights of those who would likely,

if they came to power, suppress

civil liberties, - we cannot

abandon the principles of the Bill

of Rights, which require the de-

fense of everyone's rights, with-

out distinction. The Supreme

Court in the 1949 Terminiello

case has held that free speech is

protected which, "stirs the public

to anger, invites disputes and

brings about a condition of un-

rest." (The Terminiello case

concerns the same kind of prob-

lem raised in the Rockwell-

American Nazi Party case. Ap-

plying its single-standard, the

ACLU opposed the prosecution

of Terminiello when his inflam.

matory anti-Semitic views pro-

duced a fight outside the meet-

ing hall. The ACLU believes

that persons who act in a man-

ner contrary to law should be

punished, not the speech itself.)

To those who advocate suppress-

ing view points they hate, we

reply that no consistent line can

be drawn. The only clear place

to draw the line is betwen words

on the one hand, and acts - or

a clear and present danger of

acts - on the other.

Group Libel Laws

The question of group libel

laws has also been raised by this

incident. As was pointed out in

-Continued on Page 4

the First

me

1960 Membership

Campaign in High Gear

ACLU's 1960 membership drive

approaches peak activities during

the next few weeks with five

house parties. planned in San

Francisco, one in Hillsborough,

one in San Mateo, and others

coming up.

The first in the San Francisco

series was held March 25 in the

home of Lacey Spake. Ernest Be-

sig, director of the ACLU, spoke

- to a group primarily composed of

State College students and facul-

ty members,

Coffee and Brandy

Mr, Besig will also speak at

three coffee and brandy parties

`during the first week of the cam-

paign: April 5 at the home of

Mr, and Mrs, Paul Sack, April 6

at the home of Morse Erskine,

and April 7 at the Zora Cheever

_ Gross home.

Miss Ellen Fisk, graduate stu-

dent at San Francisco State Col-

lege, is planning another party at

her home.

Hillsborough Meeting |

For the near Peninsula pros-

pects, a party will be held in the

Hillsborough home of Mr. and

Mrs. Howard Friedman. Mrs.

Friedman is drive chairman for

the Hillsborough, Burlingame,

San Mateo area.

On April 1, Franklin Williams,

member of the board, will speak

to a group in San Jose, where

Mrs. Walter Bowman is chairman.

A Berkeley re is scheduled

May 8.

Other paws are being planned

Police Admit

They Harass Men

With Beards

Late last month, San Francisco

police were instructed by their

Chief to be more circumspect

about their questioning and

_ harassment of bearded men until

May 22nd because such persons

may be visitors from Calaveras

county who are celebrating

"Pioneer Days," winding up with

the famous frog-jumping contest

honoring Mark Twain. Many Ca-

laveras men, in recapturing the

pioneer days, have grown beards

of various style which San Fran-

cisco police associate with "beat-

niks."

Distinguish The Visitors

"Members of this department

coming in contact with these

visitors are not to confuse them

with other minority groups. in

our city with whom beards are

symbolic and have recently come

to the attention of this depart-

ment as somewhat of a police

problem," said Chief Thomas

Cahill's General Order to the

. members of his department.

Visiting bearded men should

not "be subjected to, any unwar-

ranted questioning or harass-

ment precipitated solely due to

their general appearance," he

concluded.

It must be assumed that after

May 22nd, San Francisco police

and the members of the so called

- "S Squad" in particular will re-

turn to their old ways of ques-

tioning and HOSS bearded

men.

ACLU Position

"There is no legal justification

for questioning all persons who

wear beards," said the ACLU.

"It cannot be assumed that a law

violator lurks behind a beard. In

any case, there is no authority in

law for the police to harass any

citizens. The General Order

issued by Chief Cahill supports

the repeated charges made by

the ACLU that San Francisco

police are harassing alleged beat-

niks. Of course, such `rousting'

is an accepted practice in San

Francisco police department

against Negroes, alleged home-

sexuals, juveniles, etc. It would

appear that the people of San

Francisco need protection from

the lawless operations of the San

Francisco police."

in Eureka by David Weiss and for

Oakland and Piedmont prospects

by Mrs. H. H. Hechter.

Early Honors to Berkeley

A small, early flow of member-

ships have already arrived with

Berkeley taking honors for their

dormant drive. Thirty-five for-

mer members rejoined the active

ranks as the result of the persua-

sion of Mrs. Joe Madore and PT

workers.

Zora Cheever Gross, Buea

chairman of the drive, announces

the appointment of more(R) area

. chairmen since the March News:

Mrs. John Henry Merryman,

Menlo Park and Atherton; Mrs.

Julian Polon, Redwood City, San

Carlos, Woodside; Mrs. Jean Hed-

ley, Sonoma County; David Weiss,

Humboldt County; Mrs, Paul Cou-

ture, Modesto; and James V, Bur-

schell, Orinda.

Handsome New Brochure

The first letter of the campaign

is now being mailed to all pros-

pects referred by members. The

envelope also contains the hand-:

some new brochure designed by

member Adrian Wilson, typogra-

pher, and Walter and Anne

Thiess, artists.

Anyone interested in helping

with the campaign, please centall

EX 2-4692. These members

worked very hard during the past

month: Mrs. H. S. McClees, Mrs.

Mary Hall, Betty Duorman, Ella

Quinn, Barbara Slickman, Lucille

Harer, Mrs: Alfred Wolstenholme

and Mrs. Rosalind Watkins.

`Shift Catholic

Course Off S.F.

State Campus

After a protest by the' ACLU,

an announced class in "Marriage

and Family Ethics" under the

auspices of the Newman Club (a

Catholic student group) and

taught by a Catholic priest for

which one unit credit could be

_ received was shifted off the San

San Francisco State College cam-

pus. Discussions will take place

but they will be located off

campus and without college

credit, according to Glenn P.

Smith, Assistant to the President

of the College.

A flyer announcing the course

stated that registration would oc-

cur on February 23rd and the

Golden Gater, the college paper,

carried a similar announcement

the same day. Whether approval

for this course was ever given by

the college pdms nOn is still

not clear.

The ACLU said it ad no objec-

tion to the Catholic point of view

on that or any other subject be-

ing presented in an appropriate

place in a regular course, but

thatit was opposed to indoctrinat-

ing students with the Catholic

point of view in a public institu-

tion. It insisted that, under the

constitutional

separation of Church and State,

the college could not, in effect,

sponsor a religious point of view.

Sen. Thompson

Would Curb

Teachers' Speech

Senator Jack Thompson (Rep.,

Santa Clara) didn't take kindly

last month to a challenge of San

Jose State College professors to

debate capital punishment.

"Tf they have time to write let-

ters and arrange debate on dead

issues, I want to take another

look at the pay raise they're going

to get," said Thompson, who de-

clined the challenge.

Said the ACLU: Sen. Thomp-

son seems to forget that teachers

are citizens, and as such may par-

ticipate in public affairs and ex-

press their opinions on public is-

sues. When a person enters the

teaching profession he doesn't

surrender his freedom of speech.

requirement of

Former 'Reds'

Face Loss of

Credentials

Continued from Page 1- -

paper and on TV admitting past

membership in the Communist

Party and explaining why they

joined and why they quit. There-

after, the ACLU agreed to rep-

resent them at the HUAC hear-

ings in San Francisco which were

cancelled after many protests.

Hearings Recessed

After two days, the hearings in

the Macks' cases were recessed

until early in May. The Macks

were represented by Albert M.

Bendich, ACLU Staff Counsel.

The Credentials Commission

was represented by Charles Bob-

by, assistant counsel of the State

Department of Education. Bobby

called a former member of the

Communist Party and a paid in-

formant of the FBI, who has

been making speeches before

various clubs in the Bay area, to

testify against the Macks whom

he had never met. This was the

"Mr. X" whom the San Francisco

Examiner asserted was scheduled

to testify as a cooperative wit-

ness before the House Un-Ameri-

can Activities Committee hear-

ings in San Francisco last June.

While Bobby claimed the witness

was an "expert" on Communism,

he appeared badly informed and

very confused. The hearing officer

may eventually exclude his tes-

timony because it served no pur-

pose except to secure publicity.

Six Teachers Forced To Resign

In a recent Associated Press

story from Sacramento, Laurence

D. Kearney, administrative ' ad-

viser for the Department of Edu-

cation is quoted as saying that at

least six teachers subpoenaed by

the House Un-American Activi-

ties Committee have been fired

or forced to resign by their local

school boards. The story gave the

names of the, Macks and one

other person, who is represented

by the ACLU of Northern Cali-

fornia.

Tested Levering Act

The latter has appealed from

the denial of a teaching creden-

tial. The Department claims he .

had a duty to sign the Levering

Act oath in 1950. Instead of doing

so, he challenged the constitu-

tionality of the law and resigned

his public school job when the

law was upheld by the California

Supreme Court. Because he there-

after allowed his teaching cre-

dential to lapse, he was com-

pelled to apply for a new one

only to be turned down by the

Credentials Commission.

Kearney is also quoted as say-

ing that two other credentials

eases involving subpoenaed

teachers are pending.

"noxious to the rulers.

Freedom of Expression

Anony!

10us

bution of

A Los Angeles ordinance forbidding the distribution of

handbills which do not carry the name and address of the dis-

tributor was declared unconstitutional on March 7 by the U.S.

Supreme Court in a 6 to 3 decision. Involved in the case was

Manuel D. Talley who was fined $10 for distributing a leaflet

calling upon the public to boycott

certain merchants and business-

men, whose names were given,

on the ground that they carried

products of "manufacturers who

will not offer equal employment

opportunities to Negroes, Mexi-

cans, and Orientals." The hand-

bills did not carry the required

identification.

"There can be no doubt," said

the court in an opinion by Justice

Black, `that such an identifica-

tion requirement would tend to

restrict freedom to distribute in-

formation and thereby freedom

of expression."

The courts opinion cited the

`history of anonymous publica-

"Anonymous

tions as follows:

pamphlets, leaflets, brochures

and even books have played an

important role in the progress of

mankind, Persecuted groups and

`sects from time to time through-

out history have been able to

criticize oppressive practices and

laws either anonymously or not

at all. The obnoxious press li-

censing law of England, which

was also enforced on the Colonies

was due in part to knowledge

that exposure of the names of

printers, writers and distributors

would lessen the circulation of

literature critical of the govern-

ment. The old seditious libel

cases in England show the

lengths to which government had

to go to find out who was re-

sponsible for books that were ob-

John Lil-

burne was whipped, pilloried

and fined for refusing to answer

questions designed: to get evi-

dence to convict him or someone

else for the secret distribution of

`books in England. Two Puritan

Ministers, John Penry and John

Udall were sentenced to death on

charges they were responsible

for writing, printing, or publish-

ing books. Before the Revolu-

tionary War colonial patriots fre-

quently had to conceal their au-

thorship of literature that easily

could have brought down on

them prosecutions by English

controlled courts. Along about

that time the Letters of Junius

were written and the identity of

Uphold Non-Disclosure

Of Membership Lists

Refusal of NAACP officials to furnish membership lists

to the municipalities of Little Rock and North Little Rock was

recently upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court.

The member-

ship lists were required under 1957 amendments to business

licensing ordinances.

were unanimously reversed.

Freedom of Association

"On this record," said Justice

Stewart, "it sufficiently appears

that compulsory disclosure of the

membership list of the local

branches of the National Associa-

tion for the Advancement of Col-

ored People would work a signifi-

cant interference with the free-

dom of association of their mem-

bers. There was substantial un-

- controverted evidence that public

identification of persons in the

community as members of the or-

ganizations had been followed by

harassment and threats of bodily

harm. There was also evidence

that fear of community hostility

and economic reprisals that

would follow public disclosure of

the membership lists had discour-

aged new members from joining

the organizations and induced

former members to withdraw.

This repressive effect, while in

part the result of private atti-

tudes' and pressures, was brought

to bear only after the exercise of

governmental power had threat-

Convictions of the NAACP officials

ened to force disclosure of mem-

bers' names. Thus, the threat of

substantial government encroach-

ment upon important and tradi-

tional aspects of individual free-

dom is neither speculative nor.

remote."

The court found that the NAA-

CP was not engaged in any occu-

pation for which a license would

be required, even if it were con-

ducted for a profit; that the. mu-

nicipalities have never claimed

that the NAACP was required to

pay an occupation license tax;

and that the NAACP never as:

serted exemption from the tax.

The court, therefore, conclud-

ed that the municipalities had

failed to justify the substantial

abridgment of associational free-

dom which disclosures of the

membership lists would effect.

"Where there is a significant en-

croachment upon personal lib-

erty," said the court, "the State

may prevail only upon a subordi-

nating interest which is compell-

ing."

April,

their author is unknown to this

day. Even the Federalist Papers,

written in favor of the adoption

of our Constitution, were pub-

lished under fictitious names. It

is plain that anonymity has some-

times been assumed for most con-

structive purposes.'

The opinion recalled two re-

cent decisions in which the court

ruled that the National Associa- ~

tion for the Advancement of

Colored People did not need to

make public its membership list.

"The reason for those holdings

was that identification and fear

of reprisal might deter perfectly

peaceful discussions of public

matters of importance," Black

said. "This broad Los Angeles or-

dinance is subject to the same in-

firmity."

Talley's leaflet bore the words .

"National Consumer Mobiliza-

tion"-on the masthead with a post

office address and phone number.

This identification was not con-

sidered sufficient by California

courts which upheld the ordi-

nance as a proper exercise of the ~

State's police power.

The case was handled by the

ACLU of Southern California.

Appeals Court

Rules in Favor

Of 'Chatterly'

The United States Court of Ap-

peals ruled on March 25 that

"Lady Chatterley's Lover" is not

obscene and cannot be excluded

from the mails. The unanimous

decision upheld a ruling of U`S.

District Judge Frederick van Pelt

Bryan with respect to the Grove

Press, Inc., unexpurgated edition

of PD, H. Lawrence's novel.

In a decision written by Judge

Charles E. Clark, the court

likened the Lawrence thesis re-

garding sex as similar to that

found in marriage counseling and

doctor's books.

Clark said that in Lawrence's .

sex descriptions "showing how

his aristocratic, but frustrated,

lady achieved fulfillment and

naturalness in her life, he also

writes with power and indeed

with a moving tenderness which

is compelling, once our age-long

inhibitions against sex revela-

tions in print have* passed."

"Actually," the court went on

to say, "in present-day literature

such prescriptions of physical re-

lations appear as regular staples

of literary diet and quite with-

out Lawrence's straightforward -

and somewhat refreshing can-

dom

In San Mateo, "Lady Chatter-

ley's Lover" and "Lolita" are

among the books that the San

Mateo Committee for Decent

Literature is trying to pressure

dealers to withdraw from their

shelves. In one instance, the sec-

retary of the organization not

only visited the dealer and sent

him a letter but `also sought to

have the owner of the building

put pressure on the dealer to ac-

cede to the wishes of the Com-

mittee. Of course, if the dealer

withdraws any books that are on

the Committee's disapproved list

they will continue to attempt to

dictate what books that he may

sell. But this business of pres-

suring the owners of the build-

ings and thereby threatening the

leases of book dealers raises an

interesting legal issue that might

provide a legal means of dealing

with the Committee.

ACLU NEWS

1960

Page 3

=

-`terrogated

Roman Catholic Crticism

On Church

Issues Exal

Principal differences between Roman Catholic and Ameri-

can Civil Liberties Union thinking on the complex issue of

church-state separation were discussed recently in two maga-

zine articles.

ACLU "wants the State Dpeoutel removed from contact

with religious life," wrote Father

Kevin A. Lynch, editor of "Infor-

mation," a monthly publication of

The Missionary Society of St.

Paul the Apostle in the State of

New York.

Religious Liberty Violated

"That this is impossible for the

religionist, because the one per-

son is both citizen and believer,

has not been grasped by the

ACLU," he observed. "It so

stresses the separation clause of

`the First Amendment that the re-

-ligious liberty section suffers

violence ... Catholics can see no

Indiscriminate

Questioning

Denied By Immig.

The local Immigration Service

insisted last month that its in-

vestigators "do not interrogate

indiscriminately, but question

only those persons whom they

reasonably believe to be aliens."

The statement was made by H.

D. Nice, District Director of the

Immigration and Naturalization

Service in San Francisco in a let-

ter to Ernest Besig, Executive Di-

rector of the ACLU of Northern

California.

"Therefore, and in response to

your specific query," the letter

went on to say, "immigration of-

ficers do not question every per-

son who appears to be Chinese or

Japanese, or who has an accent."

The ACLU wrote to Mr, Nice fol-

lowing press reports which quot-

ed him as saying that his in-

vestigators "can stop any person

"on the street and ask him to

prove he is a citizen." He was

also quoted as saying that "every

day" persons are stopped "on

suspicion." Mr. Nice said he

didn't care to discuss the accur-

acy of the press reports.

The entire matter arose be-

eause of the four-hour detention

of a French woman who was in-

in the Greyhound

depot after making inquiries

about a bus ticket to the Winter

Olympics at Squaw Valley. When

she failed to produce her alien

_ registration card upon demand,

she was taken into custody.

. In its letter to Mr. Nice, the

ACLU said it interpreted the law

to mean that a duly "authorized"

Immigration Service employee

must have reasonable grounds to

believe that a person is an alien

before he may be stopped and

questioned, and that "mere sus-

picion" is not enough.

Chicago Hosts

ACLU Meet

April 21-24

The biennial conference of the

American Civil Liberties Union

will be held at the LaSalle Ho-

tel in Chicago from April 21-24.

A dinner meeting on the opening

evening will also serve to cele-

brate the 40th anniversary of the

ACLU.

The program for the confer-

ence will be occupied with dis-

cussions of racial problems,

police authority and civil liber-

ties, censorship and sex morality,

church and state issues and Govy-

ernment investigations and citi-

zens' privacy. In addition, a ses-

sion will be devoted to ACLU

legal work and ACLU administra-

tion. .

- The ACLU of Northern Cali-

fornia will be represented by its

executive director, Ernest Besig.

ACLU NEWS

April, 1960

Page 4

`seience? , .

constitutional warrant for the es-

tablishment of secularism as a

privileged religion-or irreligion

-even though this may be done

in the name of freedom. They.

-feel a more balanced solution

must be found for the religious

liberties issue."

Religion In Education

Another Catholic critic of

ACLU policies - Father Robert

F. Drinan, dean of the Boston

College Law School - remarked

in an article in the Catholic

weekly, America:

"One of the practical questions

which the ACLU has not yet

really confronted is the place of

religion in education, and espec-

ially the claim of Catholic par-

ents that the denial of State aid

`for parochial schools violates dis-

tributive justice - and thus, in

fact, denies such parents the `free

exercise of religion' which the

First Amendment guarantees

along with `no establishment of

religion'... Can the ACLU log-

ically or justly continue to pro-

claim that parents may not have

free exercise of religion in a

matter of such intimate concern

as the education of their chil-_

dren? Can the ACLU with intel-

lectual integrity continue to as-

sert that Catholic and other re-

ligious parents must suffer an

economic penalty if they desire

schools consistent with their con-

. The ACLU . has

the obligation . . . to re-examine

the parental right to educate. . .

Pocketbook Penalization

"This writer, in view of the

manifest impartiality of ACLU's

Church-State Committee and the

traditionally profound respect of

ACLU for all exercises of relig-

ious liberty, feels that eventually

ACLU cannot resist the sheer

logie of the case of the religious

parent who is now penalized in

his pocketbook for sending his

child to the school of his choice.

It seems impossible that an or-

ganization self-described as a

`nonpartisan organization defend-

ing the Bill of Rights for every-

one' could deny that there is a

serious civil liberties problem for

those to whom public schools are

in conscience unacceptable."

In his article, Father Lynch

commended ACLU for certain of

its activities. Both Catholics and

the Union "have worked to de-

fend the rights of labor unions

and oppressed racial minorities,"

he wrote. "Many Catholics agree.

with the ACLU's. opposition to

the use of evidence gained

through wiretapping, its fight

against discrimination in the

Armed Forces, its concern for

civil rights in congressional in-

vestigations and its campaign for

equality in public housing."

In Opposite Camps

Father Lynch noted that "in a

large number of instances over

the years,' ACLU has defended

the rights of religious groups and

individuals, including Catholics.

"The Church-State issue, more

than any other, places Catholics

and the ACLU in opposite

camps," he added. "Catholics

feel ACLU policy on this issue

shows little of the delicate sensi-

tivity for religious civil liberties

it guards so jealously in other

areas."

"The ACLU has consistently

maintained that the First Amend-

ment prohibition of government

aid to religion requires strict

divorcement of government from

any activitiy which would assist

religion. The civil liberties group

has emphasized that it is this

constitutional concern, not op-

position to religion, which has

shaped its position.

' was

ls Freedom

Of Speech for

Hate Groups?

Continued from Page 2-

the Corporation Counsel's opin-

ion, there are no group libel laws

in the District of Columbia. The

American Civil Liberties Union,

' along with most organizations in-

terested in civil liberties (includ-

ing the American Jewish Con-

gress and the American Jewish

Committee) opposes group libel

laws on the grounds that such

laws infringe freedom of speech.

It is true that the validity of a

group libel law was upheld by the

Supreme Court in the 1952 Beau-

harnais case. But we still adhere

to our belief that such laws in-

herently have an inhibiting effect

on free speech. As was stated in

a recent pamphlet published by

the American Jewish Congress

on hate publications, "laws pun-

ishing group defamation which is

not accompanied by incitement

to an unlawful act rest on a dif-

ferent footing. They seek to pun-

ish evil words rather than evil

deeds. : . . Here, as elsewhere,

America should remain faithful

to Jefferson's dictum that `it is

time enough for the rightful pur-

poses of civil goverment for its

officers to interfere when prin-

ciples break out into overt acts

against peace and good order'."

Under group libel laws, any cri-

ticism of a race, people, or na-

tion, or of a particular religion

might be interpreted as a religi-

ous or racial hostility. Everyone

expresses public views largely in

reference to social groups or

classes and often in critical or

condemnatory language. Laws of

this kind are necessarily so vague

that they cannot easily become a

weapon to attack unpopular mi-

norities. We cannot combat move-

ments which to some are appar-

ently menacing by adopting the

principles of repression which

these very groups espouse. And

we know from the experience of

totalitarian countries that once

principles of freedom are im-

paired, minority groups - in-

cluding religious minorities -

are the first to suffer. The free-

dom of religious and other minor-

ities is directly connected with

the preservation of freedom in

general.

In summary, handbills such as

those which Rockwell intended

to distribute are within the pro-

- tection of freedom of speech and

press, no matter how abhorrent

and reprehensible the views ex-

pressed. They may not be within

the protection of the First

Amendment's guarantees if a

clear and present danger arises

that the views expressed will re-

`sult in immediate action in ac-

cordance with those views. In or-

der to determine whether such a

result will prevail, one must look

at the conditions and circum-

stances under which the distribu-

tion is to be made. There was

- absolutely no indication that a

clear and present danger existed

of riot, disorder, interference

with traffic upon the public

streets, or other immediate

threat to public safety, peace or

order. Therefore, Rockwell and

Morgan had a right to distribute

their pamphlets and it was for

that reason, and that reason

alone, that the ACLU aed

in this case.

Brown Asked To

End Compulsory

ROTC At U.C.

Last month, Governor Brown

presented with petitions

signed by 7,000 undergraduate

students at the University of Cali-

fornia on the Berkeley and Les

Angeles campuses urging him to

`press for the elimination of com-

pulsory R.O.T.C. at the Univer-

sity of California before the

Board of Regents of which he is

a member. They urged that

. ROTC be placed on a voluntary

basis.

Since last October the com-

pulsory military training pro-

gram has been under study by a

statewide faculty committee ap-

pointed by UC President Cee

Kerr.

telation

Beiween Local and

tional ACLU

lembership

During the course of the current drive some campaign

workers have solicited persons for membership who say they

belong to the national ACLU but their names are not on the

roster of the ACLU of Northern California. Consequently,

questions have been asked concerning the relationship be-

tween the national ACLU and

the northern California branch

which this article will attempt to

clarify.

Choice Under By-Laws

Under the national By-Laws,

"The board of an affiliate shall

determine whether to become, or

remain, integrated in member-

ship and income with the nation-

al organization." Ever since it

was started in September, 1934,

the branch has run its own fi-

nancial affairs. In fact, only since

1951 have the membership and

finances of any branches been in-

tegrated with the national or-

ganization.

Except in California and New

York City, members send their

dues to the national office which

retains 40% and sends the re-

maining 60% back to the particu-

tar branch. In southern Cali-

fornia, the branch raises all the

money and keeps an extra 10%,

or a total of 70%, for its efforts.

Local Integration Fruitful

The latter plan, which provides (c)

for a per capita tax or percentage

of income of local branches to

finance national organizations,

would seem to be the desirable

one. In fact, under this plan,

southern California today raises

much more money than any other

financially integrated branch.

The stumbling block to estab-

lishment of the latter system in

northern California appears to be

one of mechanics. The national

office has insisted on receiving

duplicate receipts for each mem-

bership contribution, besides

other services. The additional

paper shuffling would entail a

substantial increase in overhead

expense without a compensating

inerease in real civil liberties

work.

During its past fiscal year,

which ended January 31, the na-

tional office raised $20,068 in

northern California, none of

which was spent here, while the

branch raised $44,745 in member-

ship contributions. Integration

would not only result in cutting

the branch income but would in-

crease local expenses

$5,000 each year.

Tax Exemption

Contributions to the ACLU of

Northern California may be de-

ducted for State income tax pur-

poses. This would be lost if the

membership were _ integrated

with the national office. Also, an

application has been pending

with the Internal Revenue Serv-

ice since iast October to allow

contributions to the ACLU to be

deducted for Federal income tax

purposes. Contributions made to

the national office are not de-

ductible for either State or Fed-

eral income tax purposes.

Soliciting Lists

Frequently, members send

their dues to the national office -

by mistake. This usually happens

as a result of the national office

circulating the mailing lists of

such periodicals as "The Report-

er" "The Progressive," "The New

The first right of a citizen

Is the right

To be responsible.

about

Republic," ete. with whom the

national office exchanges mail-

ing lists. In fact, the national of-

fice recently announced it was

sending out 100,000 appeal letters

and your name could be on one

or more of the lists that are be-

ing used. People often fail to

notice that the return envelope

in which they put their check is

addressed to New York and not

to San Francisco, or that the

ACLU of Northern California

will receive none of the money.

Incidentally, the local branch has

a strict volicy of not giving its

mailing list to other groups.

If you want to support the

work outside northern California,

send your dues to New York. If

you want to support ACLU. work

in northern California and par-

ticipate in local ACLU activities,

send your dues to the ACLU of

Northern California, 503 Market

St., San Francisco 5, Calif.

Mid-Peninsula

Chapter Holds

First Meeting

The first meeting of the Mid-

Peninsula Chapter of the ACLU

of Northern California was held

in All Saints' Parish House in

Palo Alto on March 30, too late to

be reported in this issue of the

News.

Ernest Besig, Executive Direct-

or of the ACLU of Northern Cali-

fornia spoke on "How a Chapter

Can Promote Civil Liberties,"

and Milen Dempster, Chairman

of the Marin Chapter, spoke on

"Opportunities and Responsibili-

ties of an ACLU Chapter."

Board Elections Held

The main business of the meet-

ing was to elect a temporary

Board of Directors of 14 mem-

bers to serve until next Fall,

when By-Laws will be adopted

and new directors chosen pursu-

ant to By-Law provisions.

The following twenty persons

agreed to run for the 14 board

positions: Kenneth Arrow, Mrs.

Max Bakalinsky, Abraham Berry,

John H. Bunzel, William Capron,

Ralph W. Evans, Harold H. Fish-

er, Norman C. Howard, Mrs.

Henry Kaplan, Mrs. Wm. Kautz,

John Lamperti, Mrs. Sidney Le-

vine, Mrs. John Mothershead, Jr.,

Ernest Norback, Kurt Servos,

Peter Szego, Richard A. Wasser-

strom, Alvin M. White and John

Wilcox. Aliso, the floor was open

for additional nominations.

Karel deLeeuw served as con-

vening chairman.

Chapter Area

The Mid-Peninsula Chapter em-

braces the communities of Palo

Alto, East Palo Alto, Stanford,

Menlo Park, Atherton, Los Altos

and Los Altos Hills. Almost 400

active members of the ACLU of

Northern California and 60

whose memberships expired re-

cently received notices of the

meeting.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Patron Membership wei ties

Sustaining Membership .....

Business and Professional Membership .............. `25

oe $100

Pee ears 50

Family Membership ....... 2.2 3225.3. eo. 12

Associate Membership ........... Pe 10

Annual Membership, 4.4. 80s. ee. 6

Junior Membership (under 21) ...2.... 3.20. 2

ACLU News Subscription; 2. "32. 00

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ADDRESS = 22. Cea

TEEEPHONE NUMBER

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See: AMT: ENGLOSED.-72.

503 Market Street

San Francisco, 5

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