vol. 26, no. 5

American

Union

Civil Liberties -

Volume XXVI

San Francisco, May, 1961

ACLU Brief Supports Teacher

wens

ylic

ul

r Criticiz

ired -

iucat

ion

The ACLU argued recently that officers and administra-

tors of the Lassen school district, together with the California

Teachers Association, have attempted "to prevent and punish

the expression of ideas critical of the state of current educa-

tion," by dismissing Jack Owens, teacher at the Lassen Junior

College. The argument appeared

in a brief filed by the ACLU's

former staff counsel Albert M.

Bendich, in the State District

Court of Appeal in Sacramento.

in behalf of Owens. .

The Charges

Owens was dismissed, on

grounds of "unprofessional con-

duct," in May, 1959, because of

five letters published by him in

the "Lassen Advocate," a weekly

newspaper in Susanville. The es-

sence of these letters was stated

in the brief as follows: "that

the teaching profession is dom-

inated and stifled by the admin-

istrator-controlled California

Teachers' Association, that many

-of the courses required for certi-.

fication and advancement are

empty and worthless, that educa-

tion generally needs open public

evaluation, that it should begin

with open and public confronta-

tion of administrators, teachers

_ and public (despite the admin-

istrators' reluctance) for the

purpose of full and free discus-

sion of the situation."

Critical School Sittation

Owens' trouble started when

in December of 1958, as the or-

ganizer and moderator of a Pub-

lic Forum in Susanville he wrote

a letter to the local newspaper

announcing that the Forum

would hold a series of public

meetings to consider the subject

of education. "The letter," says

the brief, "was critical of local

.education conditions. Perhaps, in

_ the light of the following facts,

appellant's concern will be

placed in proper perspective:

Only ten per cent of the grad-

uates of Susanville high school

are eligible to enter the Univer-

sity of California." According to

results on the standardized sub-

ject achievement tests taken

throughout the Western United

_States, Lassen high. school dis-

trict students in the school year

1958-1959 made the following

median scores: Algebra I, 34;

Algebra II, 49; Biology, 177;

Chemistry, 50; English II, 17;

`English III, 19; English IV, 59;

General Science, 73; Latin I, 11;

Latin II, 4; Physics, 63; Geom-

etry, 37.

HLS. Freshmen Score Poorly

"Of one hundred and fifty

freshmen entering Lassen High

School the median score in Eng-

lish was 22," the brief goes on to

say. According to the court tes-

timony, "Only 33 of approximate-

ly 150 Lassen High School fresh-

men were average or better on

the test. Forty-six were in the

lower five percent nationally."

Of the 150 freshmen mentioned,

fourteen weren't even tested be-

eause they couldn't read!, the

brief points out.

Free Speech Violated

The brief argues that "To dis- -

miss a teacher for expressing his

ideas and opinions on public edu-

eation in a newspaper of general

circulation is to violate the con-

stitutional guarantees of freedom

of speech, due process and equal

protection of the law."

".. . the basis for the finding

below, of `unprofessionalism',"

the brief goes on to say, "has to

do neither with lawless expres-

Sion ... nor with misuse of school

time or property, but with the

mere fact that the letters in ques-

tion were written by a person, in

his purely private capacity, who

is indistinguishable from other

persons acting in their respective

private capacities except perhaps:

for the fact that he is a public

school teacher. In other words,

the sole basis for the finding of

`unprofessionalism' would seem

to reduce itself to the astonish-

ing fact that a teacher said what

anyone else would have an un-

questionable and constitutionally

protected right to say."

Equal Protection Denied

The brief also argues that

"Discrimination against teachers

in terms of free speech is irra-

tional and invalid; it violates due

process and equal protection as

Continued on Page 2

JAMES ROOSEVELT

pot-luck supper speaker

Save Saturday, June 24

Number 5

Only the Pure of

Skin May Gamble

Four members of a minority

race found that they were not

welcome aboard a Greyhound bus

going to Harrah's Club on the

Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. The

four had purchased tickets which

entitled them to round trip trans-

portation and a refund at the

Club. However, a representative

of the Club prevented them from

boarding the bus and refused to

give any reason for this action.

A later conversation with a ticket

seller indicated that the Club has

a policy of not allowing non-

whites to participate in the refund -

program, :

The ACLU is representing the

four and will shortly file suit

under the California Civil Rights

Act to attempt to stop this prac-

tice and obtain damages for the

illegal discrimination.

Santa Clara Co.

Schools May |

Not Use Prayers

The County Counsel of Santa

Clara county ruled last month

that the saying of grace before.

milk is served in kindergarten

classes would "constitute a viola-

tion of the doctrine of the speara-

tion of Church and State.' The

opinion was furnished to the Los

Gatos Union School District on

March 31 at the request of the

Board of Trustees.

The question arose several

months ago when Dom Sallitto, a

resident of the district, charged

that prayers were being used in

kindergarten in violation of the

Constitution. The board then

sought legal advice,

Rabbi Fine Appoints

Nominating Comm.

Rabbi Alvin I. Fine, Chairman

of the ACLU Board of Directors,

has appointed the following

`nominating Committee: From

- the Board-Chairman: Howard

Friedman, and the Rev. Harry L.

Scholefield; from the general

membership-Prof. William Cap-

ron of Stanford; William J, Davis,

director of Stiles Hall, Berkeley;

and, Dr, Martin Katzman, Marin

County.

Cong. James Roosevelt

Speaks at Pot-Luck Supper

James Roosevelt, outstanding Congressional opponent of

HUAC, has accepted Marin Chapter's invitation to speak at

its eighth annual potluck supper on Saturday, June 24, at the

Roger Kent Estate in Kent Woodlands, Kentfield. Roosevelt

has chosen as his. topic, "Liberty of Thought is the Life of the

Soul," a quotation from Voltaire.

A question period will follow his

talk.

"Public Invited - Early

Marin Chapter invites the pub-

lic but asks that everyone be on

hand early this year as the speak-

ing program will start sharply at

8 p.m. The chapter is asking an

admission-donation of $1.50 per

person and 75 cents per.student,

whether we come for the speak-

ing part of the program only or

also for the cocktails and potluck

supper which precede the speak-

ing program. :

Who Brings What

Those coming to the cocktails

and potluck are asked to arrive

at 5:30 p.m. Arriving early is

stressed as the chapter expects

an unusually large attendance

this year and wants all to have

time to enjoy the cocktails, sup-

per and their friends before the

speaking program begins, Those

coming for the potluck whose last

names begin with letters from A

to N are asked to bring a hot dish,

and with letters from O to Z a

salad, enough to serve three times

the number in their party. The'

chapter will furnish ice cream for

dessert and coffee.

Background

Roosevelt has served with dis-

tinction as Congressman from

California's 26th district since

1954.. He ran for Governor of

California in 1950. During the

war, he was Executive Officer of

Carlson's famous Marine Raider

Battalion, Commander of the

Fourth Raider Battalion, and

served as Intelligence Officer on

amphibious group staffs. He was

awarded the Navy Cross and Sil-

ver Star. He was born in 1907,

the eldest son of Franklin Delano

and Eleanor Roosevelt, and was

graduated from Harvard in_1930.

He is airjetting from Washington

especially for this event.

Planning Committee

The arrangements committee of

the Marin Chapter for the potluck

this year are: Sali Lieberman,

chairman; Priscilla Smith, Vir-

ginia Stone, Dan Chaffin, Marion

Miller, Helen Kerr, Frederic

Coolidge and Milen Dempster.-

M.D. :

Dilworth Act Firing

The State Board of Education last month restored the

teaching credential of John W. Mass, 49 English teacher at

San Francisco City College who was dismissed in 1953 for

refusing to testify at hearings of the House Committee on |

Un-American Activities. Thereafter, in an executive session

the San Francisco Board of

Education, according to Irving

Breyer, board attorney, refused

to reinstate Mass.

Board Rejects Compromise

The ACLU and Breyer had-

worked out .a compromise settle-

ment for Mass' reinstatement.

Under the proposal, Mass would

have received about $19,000 in

back salary, be placed in the

10th salary bracket (there are

twelve), start teaching at the

summer `session and have the

board pay its share into the pen-

sion fund for the years 1953 to

1956. No public announcement

of the board's rejection of the

compromise was made and the

Sen. Burns Says

ACLU Is NOT

Subversive

State Senator Hugh M. Burns,

Fresno Democrat, Chairman of

the Senate Fact-Finding Com-

mittee on Un-American Activities,

in commenting last month on

requests for investigation of the

John Birch Society declared that

his committee has investigated

many organizations "including

the American Civil Liberties

Union, which we have found not

to be subversive."

Tenney Disagreed

The statement is of interest be-

cause in the 1948 report of the

Committee, then under the

leadership of Sen. Jack B. Tenney

of Logs Angeles, the ACLU was

characterized as a "Communist

front," although Ernest Besig, its

local executive director "appears

to be a sincere, conscientious

American, whose reasoning leads

him to the defense of most any-

one, regardless of the accusation."

The 1948 statement was made

even though on October 24, 1947,

at a hearing in Fairfax, Richard

E. Combs, the Committee's coun-

sel, stated for the record, "we

have never characterized the

American Civil Liberties Union

as a-Communist front organiza-

tion."

First Charge in 1943

As a matter of fact, in 1943, the

Joint Fact-Finding Committee on

Un-American Activities, also

headed by Tenney, characterized

the ACLU as "a Communist front

or `transmission belt' organiza-

tion." Of course, Tenney's con-

clusions were reached without

ever seeking information from

the ACLU,

The wild-swinging Tenney,

himself a supporter of the radi-

eal right, was replaced as chair-

man of the red-hunting committee

after making irresponsible

charges against members of the

Legislature. He was succeeded by

Sen. Hugh M. Burns who has

eschewed many of the headline

hunting tactics of his predecessor,

including sensational public hear-

ings.

ACLU Position

Tenney's charges never did

make sense in view of the ACLU's

policy of defending the civil lib- |

erties of all persons without dis-

tinction. It has never taken a

class position on civil liberties

and it has often defended the

civil liberties of bitter opponents

of the Communists,

It is interesting to note, too,

that the ACLU has never ap-

peared on the Attorney General's

subversive list nor the subversive

list of the House Committee on

Un-American Activities. It does

have the distinction, however, of

having "made" Sen. Jack B.

Tenney's list.

grounds for its action can only

be surmised.

Motion To Dismiss Suit

On April 18, San Francisco

Superior Court Judge Edward

O'Day, after hearing arguments,

took under submission a motion

to dismiss the school district's

dismissal action against Mass,

which is still pending in the

Superior Court. The suit was

originally filed in December

1953. but in 1956 the State Su-

preme Court reversed the dis-

missal, on the ground that the

Dilworth Act, under which the

dismissal was sought, required

an inquiry into why Mass had

rested on the Fifth Amendment

in refusing to testify. before the

HUAC. The court suggested that

Mass might have a legal ground

for doing so, such as the advice

of counsel, and to interpret the

law to allow dismissal merely

for resting on the Fifth Amend-

ment would constitute a denial

of due process of law and result

in invalidating the statute. _

Board Again Refuses Hearing

After the dismissal suit was

`sent back to the Superior Court,

the ACLU staff counsel moved

to require the board to hold a-

hearing to ascertain Mass' rea-

sons for resting on the Fifth

Amendment, but. the court

claimed it had no jurisdiction

and when the request was made

directly to the beard, it refused

to act. ee

In this connection, it should

be remembered that when Mass

executed his Levering Act oath

in 1950, he indicated that he had

been a member of the Commu-

hist Party from 1947 to 1949,

and, before his dismissal, he ap-

peared at a school board meet-

ing and offered to answer, under

oath, any questions the board

might wish to ask him, but the

offer was refused.

Statute Of Limitations Runs 0x00B0

_ After the Supreme Court's~re-

versal of the dismissal, the

school district took no further

action to press its dismissal suit.

Then, early in 1960, a motion was

filed by ACLU's staff counsel to

have the dismissal suit thrown

out of court because of the

board's failure to press its suit

`within the three years allowed

by law after the case was re-

turned to the Superior Court. In

other words, the ACLU contends

that the statute of limitations

has run and the court has no

choice but to throw the case out

of court. :

Irving Breyer, school board

attorney, makes the rather lame

argument that the statute

doesn't apply because within the

three-year period the court took

some action in the case (refused

to order the school board to

question Mass about why he re-

fused to answer the questions of

the HUAC). Of course, this was

attempted action by Mass, and

resisted by the board.

Breyer has also opposed the

motion on the ground that Mass

-Continued on Page 4

e

In This Issue...

ACLU Brief Attacks

Iliegal Detentions ..... p. 3

Civil Liberties Under Attack

in Calif. Legislature ....p. 2

Mosk Rules L. A. Support of

Bible Story Is lilegal ....p. 3

States' Dilution of Right

To Vote Opposed ...... p. 4

Your Board Nominations,

Ricase to p. 3

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION NEWS

Published by the American Civil Liberties Unien of Northern California

Second Class mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, Calif.

ERNEST BESIG .. . Editor

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

Subscription Rates-Two Dollars a Year

Twenty Cents Per Copy

f

Philip Adams

Theodore Baer

Prof. Arthur K. Bierman

Rey. Canon Richard Byfield

Prof. James R. Caldwell

William K. Coblentz

Richard De Lancie

John J. Eagan

Samuel B. Eubanks

Howard Friedman

Rev. Oscar F. Green

Zora Cheever Gross

Rev. F. Danford Lion

Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union

of Northern California .

CHAIRMAN: Rabbi Alvin I. Fine

VICE-CHAIRMEN: Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn, Helen Salz

SECRETARY-TREASURER: John W. Fowle

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ernest Besig

Prof. Van D. Kennedy

John R. May

Lloyd L. Morain :

Prof. Charles Muscatine

William M. Roth

Prof. Nevitt Sanford (c)

Rey. Harry B. Scholefield

Mrs. Alec Skolnick

Mrs. Martin Steiner

Gregory S. Stout

Donald Yial _

Harold Winkler

GENERAL COUNSEL

Wayne M. Collins

Brief Supports Teacher

Who Criticized Schools

Continued from Page 1-

well as free speech, as would such

discrimination against Jews or

Republicans."

The brief notes that although

Owens "conducted public forums

on numerous subjects other than

public education, they were a

matter of indifference to the"

school district. "Indeed, had the.

forums on public education been

designed to praise the current

system rather than to open up

full and free debate on its merits

or demerits, there can be no

doubt that muscle-soreness due

to backslapping would have been

the only result." The brief then

goes on to cite "several pieces of

evidence supporting this con-

clusion," including a provision of

the CTA's "code of ethics" which

provides that the teacher "Tells

the community what the schools

are doing for the betterment of

the American way of life."

The brief also cites a series of.

meetings on fluoridation `at the

specific request of the City

Council," and the commendation

of the superintendent of schools

in Lassen county and of its board

of education.

- Arthur Corey's Testimony

The testimony of Arthur Corey,

executive secretary of the CTA,

in which he defined unprofes-

sional conduct is also cited:

"The best definition I have

heard of a professional is a group

{sic] in which relatively high

prestige status is needed proper-

ly to do one's work. A physician

must be held in high status rela-

tive to the patient, or he can't

properly treat the patient. The

attorney must have faith, con-

fidence, and trust with[sic] the

client. And the same thing is

true of the teacher; if the teach-

er doesn't stand before the com-

munity and pupil in a proper

prestige relationship. Therefore,

I think this commission has

started out in trying to develop

what good ethics are. Any be-

haviour which tends to tear down

the profession is unprofessional

conduct."

Corey's View Must Be Embraced

"It is one thing," says the brief,

for Mr. Corey, or the CTA or

any other group or person "to

believe that good ethics is the

expedient of standing `before the

community and pupil in a proper

prestige relationship,' rather than

the search for human values, the

struggle for the strength and

courage to live with integrity, to

search for truth, for justice, for

beauty, and to be capable of love.

But it is an entirely different

thing when Mr. Corey's views

must, upon pain of excommunica-

tion from the teaching profes-

sion, or at least from one's teach-

ing position, be embraced by all

teachers; and it is a matter of the

gravest and most profound con-

cern when such views ... are

- ACLU NEWS

May, 1961

Page

adjudicated by a court of law, as

proper, and other views are stig-

matized as unethical and un-

professional, as was the case of

the appellant."

Criticism Catalogued

The brief goes on to catalogue

criticisms of public education

that have been made in recent

months. "We are not concerned

here with the merits of that con-

troversy;", the brief declares,

"the only question is whether it

is constitutional or even sensible

to permit governmental authori-

ties officially to take sides and

punish holders of a point of view

they disagree with it."

. Orthodoxy Rules

"But when `yea or nay saying'

by officials determines what is

permissible speech, the enjoy-

ment of political freedoms which

the Constitution guarantees is

made contingent upon the uncon-

trolled will of officials who thus

become our censors exercising

the power of prior restraint....

Under the standards of `unpro-

fessional' and `unethical' the most

careful and tolerant censor would

find it virtually impossible to

avoid favoring one philosophy of

education over another, and he

would be subject to the inevitable

tendency, being set adrift upon a

boundless sea among a myriad of

conflicting currents of educa-

tional views, to sail according to

the charts provided by the most

vocal and powerful orthodoxies."

' After receiving extensions of

several months in which to file a:

reply brief, the school district

now has until May 17 in which to

file its brief. Thereafter, a final

brief will be prepared and filed

by the ACLU.

Stockton |

Doubles lis

Membership

Highlight of the _ Stockton

membership drive as a meeting

held at the Unitarian Church,

Wednesday, April 12, at which

Marshall Krause,

Counsel, spoke to 55 persons on

"Legal Aspects

Defense of Extremes."

Fifteen new members were en-

rolled at the meeting, which

boosted the Stockton ACLU roster

to approximately 60 members-

over twice the pre-campaign

number. Chairman of the success-

ful Stockton campaign was Dave

Rothkop, ably assisted by Mrs.

Rothkop, Raphael Hanson, Glenn

Price, Marvin Marks, and Rev.

Harold Schmidt.

some interest was expressed at

the meeting in regard to forming

an active Stockton chapter.

Therefore Stockton ACLUers

interested in discussing ways in

which to make ACLU a more

vital force in their community are

invited to the home of Raphael

Hanson, 1001 W. Vine Street,

Wed., May 17, at 8:00 p.m.

ACLU. Stati

of ACLU-In .

Civil Liberties Under (c)

Attack In Calif. Legislature

ACLU's proposed Sacramento Valley Chapter was or-

ganized April 14 with a warning that California's Legislature

is barely holding the line against current attacks on civil

liberties.

The warning was delivered by Assemblyman John O'Con-

nell to about 100 members and

guests who packed a small room

at Sacramento State College to

elect officers and adopt by-laws.

The San Francisco Democrat

said until recently he "was hope-

ful the Legislature could move

forward on civil liberties."

"But now we'll be awfully

lucky to emerge from this ses-

' sion without having gone back-

wards," said O'Connell, chair-

man of the Assembly's Criminal

Procedure Committee.

Precarious Position

The Legislature, he added, "is

`in a pretty precarious position

_ and it wouldn't take too much

for it to succumb to fear and in-

decision."

O'Connell warned that de-

mands for investigation of the

right-wing John Birch Society

will "give a shot in the arm" to

the State Senate Fact-Finding

Committee on Un-American Ac-

tivities.

The committee, he said, prob-

ably "will spend a little time on

the Birch Society and then be

off chasing `Communists' again."

The past record of the com-

mittee, O'Connell added, "has

not been terribly distinguished."

Partisan Issue

He blamed much of the anti-

civil liberties agitation on the

Legislature's Republican minor-

ity, which he said has made civil

liberties a partisan issue in its

attempt to regain the legislative

control it lost in 1958.

For example, O'Connell cited

a Republican-sponsored bill re-

quiring school children to salute

the flag daily-introduced, he

said, "to embarrass the Dem-

ocrats."

But "like the late Senator

Joseph McCarthy," O'Connell

said some legislators have gone

beyond partisanship, notably

Assemblyman Louis Francis (R-

San Mateo).

Francis Seeking "Political

Mileage"

O'Connell deplored Francis'

attempts "to gain personal polit-

ical mileage' from charges of

subversion in California schools.

But though Francis' activities

may keep the Legislature from

acting in the opposite direction

on civil liberties, O'Connell said

he didn't expect any direct leg-

islation to result.

Nor did he expect enactment

of any of the 10 bills which

Francis and others have intro-

duced to ban so-called "smut."

"There's not a god bill in the

lot," said O'Connell, whose mail

has been running 10-1 against

the. bills, which writers term as

censorship.

As for himself, O'Connell said

the only possible legislation he

could envision in this area would

be ``to perhaps repeal some of

the current laws attempting to

censor certain people."

Narcotic Legislation

And though narcotics legisla-

tion this year will be "mostly

bad and bordering on hysteria,"

- O'Connell said he also expected

some constructive legislation

aimed at rehabilitating rather

than merely punishing addicts.

He said, too, that chances for

abolition of capital punishment

-as called for in one of his

bills-or at least modification of

its application stands "at least

a fifty-fifty chance."

O'Connell said the chances are

even better for a bill to revamp

California's 45-year-old juvenile

justice law and give youthful

offenders a measure of the civil

rights granted their elders.

Thanks partly to Emery New-

burn's successful challenge to

the "common drunkard" section

of the Vagrancy law, O'Connell

said he also may win his legis-

lative campaign to repeal this

law, thus substituting specific

erimes for "crimes of status."

Perhaps, too, "we're going to

"make some substantial progress

against lawlessness on the part

of the police," he added.

: their

Shryock Elected

O'Connell's talk followed the

chapter election, at which Dar-

rell Shryock, a supervising psy-

chiatric social worker in Sacra-

mento, was elected chairman.

Also elected for one-year

terms were Vice Chairman: Lee

Watkins, laboratory technician

at the University of California

in Davis; Secretary Mary Irwin,

Sacramento civic leader; and

Treasurer George Bramson, mis-

sile engineer from Fair Oaks.

Other Directors

Other directors elected:

Frank Andrews, Sacramento

State College student; Harry

Aaron, Sacramento State psy-

chology professor; Elliott Costel-

lo, retired Sacramento rancher;

Norma Clevenger, Sacramento

civic leader; Natalie Dukes of

Davis, chairman of the Yolo

County Democratic Central Com-

mittee.

Leonard Holman of UC at

Davis; Homer Ibser, Sacramento

State. physics professor; Dick

Meister, Sacramento newsman

and writer; Jane Record, Sacra-

mento economist; Stephen Sos-

nick, agricultural economics pro-

fessor at Davis; and . Kenneth

Wemmer, state personnel anal-

-yst.-D.M.

One final step must be taken

before the Chapter receives a

charter. Its By-Laws must be ap-

proved by the Board of Directors

of the ACLU of Northern Cali-

fornia. This will very likely oe-

cur at the board's May 11 meet-

ing.

Delay Passports

For Applicants

Who Affirm

Last month, passport applicants

at the San Francisco branch of-

the Passport Office who sought

to affirm rather than swear to

the truth of statements made in

applications were com-

pelled to await approval of their

applications in Washington be-

fore receiving their passports.

The San Francisco office didn't

object to the word affirm being

entered on the applications but

did object when the applicants

struck out the words "So help me

God" from the declaration as to

the truthfulness of the state-

ments. They required the ap-

plicants to submit-written state-

ments as to why they entered the

word "affirm" and struck out the

words, "So help me God," and the

applications and explanations

were then sent to Washington for

consideration.

' Obviously, to insist on the

words "So help me God" would

negate any affirmation. `"Cer-

tainly," said an ACLU protest to

the Passport Office, "a citizen has

the option of either swearing to

the statements in his application

or affirming the truthfulness of

those :

think that such affirmation would

be treated as a mattter of course

and would not require review by

your office. In fact, we are in-

clined to regard this exceptional

treatment as being discriminatory -

against persons who desire to

affirm the truthfulness of their

statements." .

The Passport Office explained

that their general instructions

failed to cover striking out of the

words "So help me God," but "We

have no objection to the revisions

in question." They also promised

that their San Francisco "agency

will be appropriately instructed."

The ACLU' has referred the

matter to its national office which

may wish to `receive assurances

`from the Passport Office that all

of its branches have been prop-

erly instructed to allow applicants

to affirm rather than swear to the

truth of the Statements in their

applications, (c)

statements...We would

Pres. Clark Kerr

Speaks Out

For Freedom

President Clark Kerr of the -

University of California talked

eloquently of his concern "about

freedom and responsibility with-

in the University community," at

the Charter Day ceremonies in

Berkeley on March 20. Follow-

ing are excerpts from that

speech:

Free Inquiry and Discussion

The lifeblood of an intellectual

community is free inquiry and

discussion, yet on every hand the

question is raised whether there

is a right to. freedom of inquiry -

and freedom of discussion, with

the nation in its present peril.

Thus an important and even im-

perative function of an alumni

body is to carry back to the

community, by means which the

eollege professor cannot com-

mand, the conviction that there

eannot possibly be any connec-

tion between blindness and sur-

vival; that the right to free in-

quiry, even the necessity of free

inquiry, is an integral part of

the strength of a progressive so-

ciety; that the non-conformist, as

contrasted with the conspirator,

today as in ages past also serves"

humanity and that the university

is one of his havens; and that

when freedom of thought and

expression has died on a univer-

sity campus, it has died every-

where. :

Freedom Will Not Die

Freedom of thought and ex-

pression has not died at the Uni-

versity of California; nor, despite

the currently rising passions of

the radical left and the radical

right, will it die.

As in all the affairs of men, free-

dom must be matched by respon-

sibility if freedom is not to die.

And the University has the re-

sponsibility to insure that the

search for truth will never be

subverted internally..,

Right to Freedom

Members of the University

community, faculty members and

students alike, deserve the same

right to freedom of thought and

expression which every citizen

enjoys outside the campus boun-

daries. They are not, however,

entitled to trade on the Univer-

sity's good name, or to use the

University community or a part

as a captive audience, or to vio-

late the law. The University, in

turn, is not entitled to place lim-

itations upon the off-campus ac-

tions of students or faculty mem-

bers in their roles as private citi-

zens. Participation in the Uni-

versity community does not sever

either the rights or the obliga-

tions of citizenship in the broad-

er community.

Freedom Is Strong

Those of little faith are dis-

posed today to see in one episode

or in one speech, the end of all

they hold dear. But America is

stronger than that; the way of

freedom has more to commend

it than that. Our nation was

founded not on fear, but on faith.

Those persons who act as agents

of suspicion and distrust, or who

resort to conspiratorial action to

defeat another conspiracy, are

unwittingly forsaking the very

heritage they claim to protect.

Our American ideals are not fra-

`gile objects of historical interest

to be sheltered from the reality

of today's world. They are strong -

and resilient and as serviceable

today as in 1776. They need no

special care except daily exer-

cise, and no shield but truth.

ACLU Holds Its

First Public

Meeting in Napa

Close to 100 persons attended

the first public meeting ever held

by the ACLU in Napa on April

18 to hear Ernest Besig, local

ACLU executive director, speak

about the ACLU's work.

The meeting, held at the Junior

College library, was presided over -

by Robert Boyet, Junior College

sociology professor, The meeting

was organized by Mrs. J. W.

Smart, who heads the current

membership drive in Napa,

Pilgrimage Play

si R ules L. A.

Support of

Bible

Story Is lilec ai

The use of tax funds for the support of the Pilgrimage

Play in Los Angeles County is prohibited by the California

Constitution, ruled Attorney General Stanley Mosk last

month. His opinion was requested by Assemblyman Lester

A. McMillan, Los Angeles.

The Pilgrimage Play Associa-

tion, Ltd. has produced the play

for the past several years to

which the County of Los Angeles

has appropriated approximately

$20,000 annually for the years

1959-60 and 1960-61.

Purpose Of Association

Articles of incorporation estab-

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_1960.batch ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1961.batch 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 lished the association in 1920 as

a charitable and educational in-

stitution. The corporation states

its purpose is to produce a dra-

matic presentation of the Gospel

annually in El Camino Real Can-

yon near Hollywood.

The county appropriations

were cited by the county as au-

thorized by section 26100 of the

Government Code which provides

use of special tax money for "ad-

vertising, exploiting and making

known the resources of the

county."

Association Reserved Rights

The Pilgrimage Play Associa-

tion in 1941 leased its real pro-

perty of 28 acres to the Holly-

wood Bowl Association for 82

years. Later the acreage was con-

veyed to the County of Los An-

geles, subject to the rights of the

lessee under its prior lease. In

turn, the Hollywood Bowl Asso- -

eiation, in 1956, entered into an

agreement with the county, sur-

rendering its possession subject

to the right of staging and pre-

senting the Pilgrimage Play and

other productions.

Contract With County

Since 1959 the county and the

Hollywood Bowl Association

have operated under a contract

in connection with the staging of

the Pilgrimage Play, with the

eounty agreeing to pay $19,600

annually, which payments have

been made.

- The question arises on whether

the contribution of tax moneys

constitutes a violation of the

principle of separation of church

and state as particularized in

Article IV, section 30, of the

State Constitution, which pro-

vides: . :

"Neither the Legislature, nor

any county, city and county,

township, school district, or

other municipal corporation,

shall ever make an __appropria-

tion, or pay from any public |

fund whatever, or grant any-

thing to or in aid of any religious

sect, church, creed, or sectarian

purpose, or help to support or.

sustain any school, college, uni-

versity, hospital, or other insti-

tution controlled by any relig-

- fous ereed, church, or sectarian

denomination whatever; nor

shall any grant or donation of

personal property or real estate

ever be made by the State, or

any city, city and county, town,

or other municipal corporation

for any religious creed, church, -

or sectarian purpose whatever;

provided, that nothing in this

section shall prevent the Legis-

lature granting aid pursuant to

Section 22. of this article."

Government Impartiality

"In essence," states the

torney General's: opinion,

At-

"this

provision of the Constitution.

prohibits the use of any public

funds to aid any religious or

sectarian purpose and consti-

tutes the definitive statement of

the principle of government im-

particality in the field of religion.

"There is no doubt that the

Pilgrimage Play has gained wide--

spread fame and recognition and

has become an important factor

in bringing visitors to Los An-

geles County. Indeed, the Puil-

grimage Play may well be a pro-

duction of cultural, artistic and

educational value to the com-

munity. However, the question

presented is whether tax funds

may appropriately be used to

support the production of this

presentation. This in turn raises

the question whether aid to the

Pilgrimage Play constitutes pro-

hibited aid for a sectarian pur-

pose."

Content of Play

The opinion then describes six

scenes each of the first and sec-

ond acts, dealing with the life

of Christ, episodes, miracles, the

betrayal by Judas, trial before

Pilate, the crucifixion and resur-

rection.

"Dramatization of the story of

Jesus Christ serves the spiritual

needs of those religious groups

which see in Jesus Christ the

Lord and Saviour," says the

opinion. It is in this light that

Jesus is portrayed in the Pil-

_grimage Play. Those sponsoring

the play candidly assert that the

production has a devotional and

religious aspect which is intend-

ed to inculcate religious prin-

ciples and religious beliefs and

which is designed to deepen the

religious feelings of the specta-

ters."

Sectarian Presentation

In_ concluding,

states:

the opinion

"An examination of the con--

tents of the Pilgrimage Play

demonstrates that-it-is an affir-

mative exposition of the life of

Christ as accepted by one relig-

ious group, albeit a large one,

namely the. adherents of the

Christian faith. As such, the play

constitutes a sectarian presenta-

tion.

"The use of tax funds in the

support of this play is therefore

an appropriation in aid of a

sectarian presentation, contrary

to Article IV, section 30 of the

Constitution of California."

Three Agencies

Deny Release -

Of "Mug Shots'

J. Edgar Hoover,

General Stanley Mosk and San

Francisco Chief of Police Thomas

J. Cahill have all denied release

of the "mug shots" of those ar-

rested in connection with the

City Hall incident.

The mug shots have been used

in an anonymous circular which

has been distributed in Los

Angeles and possibly other areas.

The circular quotes from "Com-

munist-Target-Youth," a report

of the riot by J. Edgar Hoover

and gives the impression of being

a Government document by re- -

ferring to the U. S. Government

Printing Office.

Chief Cahill's reply ignored a

statement in the ACLU's com-

plaint that a paste-up of the 63

mug shots was to be found in the

reom of the Intelligence Squad

at the Hall of Justice, and was

reported to be indentical with

the group picture that is used in

the circulars,

"Freedom unrestrained by re-

sponsibility becomes mere _li-

cense; responsibility unchecked

by freedom becomes mere arbi-

trary power. The question, then,

is not whether freedom and re-

_ sponsibility shall be united, but

how they can be united and re-

conciled to the best advantage. .

This is indeed the central prob-

lem of all political philosophy

and practice.'-Carl Becker in

"Freedom and Responsibility in

the American Way of Life."

for one year:

Philip Adams, San

1941. |

tion.

inee.""

of the ACLU.

Attorney

Your Board Noniinations, Please

The terms of the following three members of the Board of Directors of the ACLU

__ of Northern California expire next October 31 but, having served two consecutive three-.

year terms, they do not become eligible for re-election until they have been off the board

Francisco lawyer, who has been a member of the board for 22

years; William K. Coblentz, San Francisco lawyer, who has been on the board since 1955;

and, the Rev. Oscar F. Green of Palo Alto, who has served on the board since November,

The terms of five other board members also expire next October 31, but they are all

eligible for re-election. In fact, all five of them were elected to the board last November

| er since then in order to fill vacancies. They are: Prof. James R. Caldwell of the Univer-

~ sity of California; Prof. Van D. Kennedy of the University of California; John R. May, ex-

ecutive director of the San Francisco Foundation; William M. Roth, board chairman of

Pacific Life Assurance Co.; and, Donald Vial, assistant to the secretary-treasurer of the

California State Federation of Labor. _

Two other vacancies arise from a provision

to two founders of the branch "After the expiration of their present terms of office.'' The

two persons are Prof. Alexander Meiklejohn and Mrs. Helen Salz, vice-chairmen of the

branch. The By-Laws also provide that "Such life members shall not be counted in de-

termining the maximum membership of the Board of Directors." In effect, the last pro-

vision would increase the membership of the board to 32 persons. It has been suggested

that the board is becoming too large and cumbersome and a proposal will be made to

keep the maximum membership at 30.

The By-Laws require that the NEWS carry an invitation te the ACLU's membership

to suggest names of possible board members to the Nominating Committee, and such

names must reach the ACLU's office no later than May 31 in order to receive considera-

The By-Laws also provide that "In addition to the foregoing method of proposing

names to the nominating committee, members may make nominations directly to the

Board of Directors in the following manner: Not later than August 1 of each year, nom-

inations may be submitted by the membership directly to the Board of Directors, provided

each nomination be supported by the signatures of 15 or more members in good standing

and be accompanied by a summary of qulifications and the written consent of the nom-

Please send your suggestions for board members to the ACLU, 503 Market Street,

San Francisco 5, Calif., giving as much biographical information about your candidate as

possible. In making your suggestions, please bear in mind that board members must be

ready to defend the civil liberties of ALL persons without distinction, that they are ex-

pected to attend noon meetings in San Francisco the second Thursday of every month

except August, besides serving on committees, and, of course, they must be members

of the By-Laws which grants life terms

ACLU Opposes

Grants to

Church Schools

Strong opposition to federal

grants or loans to church-con-

trolled elementary and secondary

schools was voiced last month by

the American Civil Liberties Un-

ion. (c)

The civil liberties group made

public the text of a statement

filed with the Senate and House

subcommittees studying the Ad-

ministration's federal-aid-to-edu-

cation program. The statement

represented the position taken

by the Union's national Board of

Directors. after full debate.

While defending the right of

church-controlled schools to ex-

ist under the "free exercise" of

religion clause of the First

Amendment, the ACLU added

that the same amendment also

forbids any law "respecting an

establishment of religion."

"We believe that if Congress

were to authorize the making of

long-term federal building loans

to church-controlled elementary

and secondary schools, it would

be supporting not one, but vari-

ous, establishments of religion-

not only Catholic, but Lutheran,

Episcopalian, Quaker, Jewish,

ete.

"We take no position on any-

thing but the civil liberties prob-.

lem involved in the debate over

public v. private (especially paro-

chial) schools. But our belief

that subsidization of church-con-

trolled schools would violate the

`establishment' clause rests upon

the very nature, and understand-

able purpose, of church - con-

trolled schools. They are devoted

in considerable degree to religi-

ous instruction, or indoctrination.

They are created for the precise

purpose of communicating a

body of religious teaching....

They have additional functions

to be sure; they engage in secu-

jar educational work, organized

play, and the like. But they ex-

ist primarily to assure that chil-

dren of school age will receive

religious instruction and will be

shielded from competing ideol-

ogies and values."

In addition to its comment on

the separation of church-state

problem, the ACLU - statement

urged that a provision be added

to the tegislation _ withholding

federal funds from public schools

in which racial segregation is

practiced as a matter of policy.

Lawless Law Enforcement

ACLU Brief |

Attacks

illegal

Detentions

In a brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the

Ninth Circuit the ACLU contended that three convicted rob-

bers should be given new trials because illegal practices were

used to induce or coerce confessions from the men while they.

were being detained by the Los Angeles police.

Beatings Denied

The three, James Grace, Joe

Johnson, and Morris Strain,

claimed that they signed the con-

fessions only after beatings and

threats induced fear for what

might happen to them if they

did not sign. These charges were

denied by the police and the

issue of coercion was submitted

to the jury. By their general.

finding of guilty the jury is pre-

sumed to have accepted the story

of the police and the issue of

brutality cannot be effectively

raised in petitioning for a writ

of habeas corpus.

Uncontested Facets

The argument of the brief pro-

ceeds on the basis of the uncon-

tested facts-that Grace was de-

tained in police custody for nine

days before he was arraigned

(that is brought before a magis-

- trate and advised of his right not

to make any statement and to

have the assistance of counsel at

all stages of the proceedings),

and that Johnson and Strain

were similarly detained for five

or six days. California law re-

quires arraignment within two

days and failure so to arraign is

a misdemeanor on the part of

the officers having the prisoner

in custody, although there has

never been a prosecution in Cali- .

fornia under this statute.

Tyranny Over the Mind

The brief argues that deten-

tion for this period of time,

coupled with police questioning,

can make a prisoner think that

he will never receive impartial

advice or be charged, tried or re-

leased until he "co-operates" with

the authorities. The exercise of

what appears to the prisoner to

be unlimited power creates a

tyranny over the mind which

forces the prisoner te go to ex-

tremes when he believes that he

must do so to obtain relief.

Denial of Due Precess

Secondly, the ACLU argues

that the illegal detention of these

prisoners deprived them of so

many substantial rights as to be

a violation of due process of law.

They were deprived of the right

te be admitted to bail, of the

right to impartial advice on their

constitutional and statutory rights,

of the right to be officially in-

formed of the charges against

them, of the right to have the

asistance of counsel including

counsel appointed by the court

if they cannot afford their own,

of the right to make a telephone ~

call immediately after being

booked, and many more.

The ACLU hopes to bring te

the attention of the court the

injustice of these flagrant abuses

of police power in order to es-

tablish that a good system of

criminal law need not depend on

lawless police action.

The ACLU intervened in the

case at the request of the

Federal judge who heard the

matter in the U.S. District Court.

-M.K.

4,4661 Members

AS the NEWS goes to press, -

the paid-up membership of the

ACLU of Northern California

reached a new record of 4662.

The previous high record was

4581 reached on August 31, 1960.

A year ago, the membership was

about three hundred less than it

is at the present time. The ACLU

also has 175 separate subscribers

to the NEWS. :

ACLU NEWS

May, 1961

Page 3

"

A change in the apportionment of state legislative districts

to give all voters equal representation was endorsed March

13 by the American Civil Liberties Union. In a policy an-

nouncement of its national Board of Directors, the civil liber-

ties organization said the "equal protection of the law' clause

of the 14th Amendment `would

appear to require that there be

no classification between voters,

(so) the establishment of state

electoral districts should be

based only upon population."

Reasonable Classification

The statement recognized that

apportionment on a strict popu-

lation basis might harm, for ex-

ample, the check and balance be-

tween urban and rural interests

to such an extent that certain va-

riations might. be necessary.

- "But since the 14th Amendment '

requires that any variation must

result in a reasonable classifica-

tion, the burden of proof for

making such a variation must

rest on those making the claim,"

the statement said. The full text

_ of the statement follows:

Text of Statement

"The equal protection clause

of the 14th Amendment is in-

fringed by the dilution, as well

as the denial, of the right to

vote and malapportionment by

the states raises a civil liberties

issue. The ACLU does not be-

lieve a valid analogy can be

drawn between the federal sys-

tem, which justifies representa-

tion by states in the U. S. Sen-

ate, and apportionment within 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_1960.batch ACLUN_1961 ACLUN_1961.MODS ACLUN_1961.batch 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

states based on area representa-

tion. Because the equal protec-

tion clause of the 14th Amend-

ment would appear to require

that there be no classification be-

tween voters, the establishment

of state electoral districts should

be based only upon population.

It is conceivable that there might

be situations where apportion-

ment on a strict population basis

would cause inequalities, and for

this reason certain variations

may be necessary. But since the

14th Amendment requires that

any variation must result in a

reasonable classification, the bur-

den of proof for making such a

variation must rest on those mak-

ing the claim."

Previous Stand Reversed

The new ACLU position re-

versed a stand taken in 1959. At

that time malapportionment of

Congressional and state legisla-

tive districts was criticized for

violating the 14th Amendment's

"equal protection" clause by di-

luting the right to vote. How-

ever, the ACLU specifically not-

ed that its support of reappor-

tionment of state legislative dis-

tricts covered only those houses

of state legislatures that were

districted according to popular

representation and did not apply

to those houses established on

the basis of geographical area.

The new ACLU policy ends this

distinction and calls for the elec-

tion of all state legislators on the

basis of population only.

Basis For Earlier Stand

The earlier ACLU decision re-

flected concern about upsetting

the states' political structure,

which it was thought followed

historical tradition and the histo- .

rieal area-population pattern

worked out for the Senate and

House of Representatives of the -

United States Congress. How-

ever, further research revealed

that few state houses apportion

in such a way that a clear dis-

tinction can be made between

area and population. There are

thirty-four states with a mixture

or combination of area and pop-

ulation representation. Although

some of the so-called "popular"

districts were very bad, ACLU

said, the least representative dis-

tricts were in those purporting

to be by area.

Examples of Unfairness

The ACLU, in a comment by

ACLU NEWS

May, 1961

Page

: apportionment system.

its executive director, Patrick

Murphy Malin, cited examples

of the unfairness of the present

"Twelve

per cent of the California popu-

lation controls that state's Sen-

ate: (One state senator repre-

sents 14,014 residents, another 4,-

151,687.) 10 per cent of Connec-

ticut's population controls that

state's lower house; before the

recent reapportionment in New

Jersey, 20 per cent of the people

picked 62 per cent of the state

senate. These figures illustrate

that the 14th Amendment's equal

protection clause is not being re- -

spected in the vital area of elec-

toral representation," Malin said.

While the right to vote is there,

he continued, "the meaning of

franchise-representation in the

decision of government-is seri-

ously weakened by the present

arrangement."

Tennessee Case

The ACLU Board also an-

nounced its support of two cases

now before the U. S. Supreme

Court which deal with malappor-

tionment. One is Baker v. Carr,

a Tennessee challenge which the

high court has accepted for re-

_view. The focus in this case is

the failure to observe a state con-

stitutional requirement that there

be a decennial apportionment on

the basis of population. The sec-

ond case, Scholle v. Hare, on ap- |

peal for review by the Supreme

Court, concerns Michigan, where

the state constitution was amend-

ed. in 1952 to freeze; in effect, the

senatorial districts which had

last been redistricted on the

basis of population in 1925. Both

state practices have been at-

tacked as violative of the 14th

Amendment's equal protection

clause.

Brighter Court Prospects

In recent years few malappor-

tionment test cases have been

brought because of a 1946 Su-

preme Court decision that such

cases were "of a peculiarly po-

litical nature and therefore not

meet for judicial determination."

However, the Supreme Court's

acceptance of the Baker case and

its recent voiding of the gerry-

mandering of Tuskegee, Ala-

bama, to eliminate a large bloc

of Negro voters, has brightened

prospects that the Court is ready

to reconsider its 1946 decision.

The Rey. Canon RICHARD BYFIELD

new ACLU board member

Canon Byfield

Elected to

Bd. of Directors

The Rev. Canon Richard By-

field of San Francisco, Executive

Assistant to the Rt. Rev. James

A: Bishop of California, was

`ele-cted to the Board of Directors

of the ACLU of Northern Cali-

fornia last month to fill a term

which expires October 31, 1963.

Three Resignations

_ The vacancy was created by

the resignation of Prof. Seaton W.

Manning of San Francisco State

College whose teaching schedule

does not allow him to attend

board meetings. An unfilled

vacancy on the board arises from

the resignation of Mrs. Paul

Holmer of Kentfield whose re-

sponsibilities as a national board

member of the League of Women

Voters made it difficult to par-

ticipate in ACLU work. A third

resignation was that of Robert H.

Hardgrove who found impossible

to attend board meetings.

Elected to the board to fill one

of tthe vacancies was Prof. James

R, Caldwell of the University of

California, a former valuded

board member and a member of

the ACLU's National Committee.

Biographical Information

Cannon Byfield was born in

San Francisco, attended high

school in Selma, California and

received his B. A. degree from

the University of Oregon in 1947.

In 1953 he was graduated from

the Church Divinity School of the

Pacific. He is married and has

three children.

At the present time, Cannon

Byfield is Chairman of Cali-

fornians Against State Execu-

tions, a member of the Pacific

Coast Theological Group and the

National Religious Publicity As-

sociation. He is co-author of

"Your Money and Your Church,"

a book on stewardship, and col-

laborator with Bishop Pike in the

latter's book, "A Roman Catholic

in the White House."

Regional U.S. Civil

After better than 19 years

service with the federal govern-

ment, a San-Francisco man: has

been dismissed from his posi-

tion for "misconduct off duty."

Binoculars Used |

The charges stem from reports

filed by intelligence officers who.

followed him from the time he

got off work until he went to bed

for a period of three months.

With the use of high powered

binoculars these officers were

able to observe their quarry in

three "incriminating" acts - all

done in the interior of private

homes. These acts, which were

denied by the employee involved,

were dancing "for a few sec-

onds" with another male, "nuzzl-

ing" another male, and receiving

a kiss from another male. The

subject was also observed on

three occasions entering bars

which were "known hangouts for

degenerates."

Spying Protested

At a hearing before the local

Service Sustains Peepers

civil service commission the em-

ployee was represented by ACLU

Staff Counsel Marshall Krause

who protested the spying and in-

vasion of privacy carried out by

the government against its em-

ployees.

Krause also argued that there

was no evidence that the dis-

missal would meet the statutory

requirement of "promoting the

efficiency of the service."' He was

substantiated in this by the em-

ployee's superior officer who

testified that there had been no

complaints as to the job efficiency

of the employee nor was he

aware of any off-duty misconduct

of the employee. This officer also

testified that his office did not

handle secret or classified infor-

mation. The decision of the hear-

ing officer was against the em-

ployee and an appeal is now on

file with the Board of Appeals

and Review in Washington, D.C.

-M.K.

: job,

Credential Won But Mass

Continued from Page 1-

allowed his teaching credential

to lapse in 1956. Just what rela-

tion this has to the board's fail-

ure to press its dismissal suit

within the three-year limit is

obscure. :

More Court Action Due

In any case, whoever wins on

the motion now pending before

Judge O'Day, an appeal will, no

doubt, be taken by the loser to

the District Court of Appeal.

And, an ultimate appeal to the

State Supreme Court is not un-

likely. At this point, the board

seems to be committed to a

policy of frivolous action to pre-

vent Mass' reinstatement.

Credential Fight

The fight for the teaching

eredential began last year. Last

June 28, the State Credentials

Commission rejected Mass' ap-

plication on the grounds that

he had been guilty of-unprofes-

sional conduct in refusing to

answer the questions of the

House Committee on Un-Amer-

ican Activities. Mass appealed

from the decision, and a hearing

officer of the Division of Ad-

ministrative Procedure recom-

mended on November 2 that he

be granted his credential. Action

on the recommendation was de-

layed by the State Board of

Education which finally sought

the advice of the Attorney Gen-

eral as to whether it had author-

ity to deny credentials to per-

sons who have refused to answer

certain political questions before

legislative investigating commit-

tees. The Attorney General ruled

that the Legislature had given

them no such authority and that,

under the Dilworth Act, local

school boards may simply dis-

miss teachers who refuse to

answer certain questions of leg-

islative investigating committees

unless they have a legal ground

for refusing to do so. Conse-

quently, a credential was issued

to Mass, dated May 30, 1960 and

valid to June 30, 1962. By the

time the current legal proceed-

ings are disposed of, Mass may

need another teaching credential.

Interview With Spears

While the ACLU was nego-

tiating for Mass' reinstatement

Irving Breyer arranged for Mass

to be interviewed by Superin-

tendent Harold Spears and the

President of City College. The

purpose of the interview, accord-

ing to Breyer, was to allow the

school district to determine

whether Mass was physically and

mentally able to teach. At the

interview, however, Spears also

asked whether Mass felt any

obligation to the ACLU, whether

he didn't feel like a free agent

who could come to them and ask

for a job, whether he knew the

proposed terms of the settlement

and whether they had first been

discussed with him, etc. To the

press, Superintendent

had stated, "If he applies for a

job here, he will be considered

_on his merits. We will start all

over again." In other words, in-

stead of reinstating Mass to his

the Superintendent ap-

peared to be taking the position

Spears -

Denied Reinstatement

that if Mass were employed, it

would only be as a new teacher,

without tenure and at the salary

of a starting teacher.

Callous Action

At this point, the Superinten-

dent's callous action and the

frivolous legal obstacles placed

in Mass' way suggest an element

of persecution in the school dis-

trict's 74-year attempt to dis-

miss Mass. In any case, the

ACLU will now press the legal

fight for Mass without compro-

mise and just as speedily as

possible. If the dismissal suit is

thrown out of court, the ACLU

will then seek a writ of man-.

date to compel the board to

reinstate Mass at the top teach-

ing scale, pay every cent of his

salary since December 1953 and -

to bring his payments into the

pension fund up to date.

Mass is married and has two

children. After his dismissal, he

was unemployed for about a

year, and he is presently unem--

ployed. Mass has an excellent

record as a teacher. He was an

inspiring teacher who had the

support of students and col-

leagues.

Flag Salute Bill

Oked; Red-Hunt

Bills Progress

The State Legislature on April

17 sent a bill to the Governor

requiring "appropriate patriotic

exercises' each day in public

elementary and secondary schools.

"The giving of the pledge of al-

legiance," says the bill, "shall

satisfy the requirements of this

section." Final action on the bill

was taken in the Assembly which

expressed its approval by a vote

of 59-7,

Civie Center Act

Another bill by Mr. Francis, A.B.

1559, would restore to local school

districts authority to deny use of

public school facilities for sub-

versive purposes. The bill prohib-

its use of school property "for

the commission of any act in-

tended to advocate or teach con-

crete action for the overthrow of

the government by force or vi-

olence." It was adopted in the

Assembly by a vote of 69-8,

The measure was introduced

after the State Supreme Court,

by a vote of 4 to 3, outlawed an

oath of non-disloyalty required

by the Civic Center Act. Five of

the eight: opposing votes were

east by Bay Area Assemblymen.

Unemployment Insurance -

Also, on April 2, the State

Senate adopted S. B. 629 (Shaw,

Dem., Ontorio) by a vote of 23

to 13. It would deny unemploy-

ment insurance benefits to those

who refuse referrals to jobs re-

quiring loyalty oaths. This bill is

also intended to overturn a 4 to

3 decision of the State Supreme

Court. :

The Legislature has many other

red-hunting bills before it and

some of them may reach the Gov-

ernor's desk in the closing days

of the session.

The first right of a citizen

Is the right

To be responsible.

JOIN TODAY

10x00A71

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Patron Membership ......scccscesecccesssceess- $100

Sustaining Membership - 2%... . 2s. siescesecesssses

Business and Professional Membership .........ecee06

Family Membership... 3.335 656 dn cs 6 ae ss cet ee

Associate- Membership .... 5 sce cc ose ciee tet tts eas

50

25

12

10

Annual Membership ..... citric. ccc ww ccc ess cccccess 6

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

ACLU News Subscription ....ssesssvercesesces es 200

NAME CRCHSHSHRKEHHRHEKSHHSHEHRESEBTEROHSHFOASSCHOSCHOSEHHEHEECHESHEHEHHHRHH BEES

ADDRESS Pe ree ek face ees suse ce ee

TELEPHONE NUMBER. ....+ee0eees++ AMT. ENCLOSED. .ssceeeee

503 Market Street

San Francisco, 5 -