Open forum, vol. 26, no. 18 (September, 1949)

THE OPEN FORUM

Official Organ of THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, Southern California Branch

"When good people in any country cease their vigilance

and struggle, then evil men prevail?

-PEARL Buck

Vol. XXVI

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, SEPTEMBER 8, 1949

No. 18

Subversive Curb

Held Unconstitutional

Maryland Court Throws Out

Teachers' Oaths, Discharge

Right, Membership Denial

The State of Maryland is on the way

back to sane Americanism. Judge Joseph

Sherbow of a Baltimore Circuit Court

has held unconstitutional the broadest of

ill state anti-subversive laws fathered

by Maryland's Jack Tenney-Frank B.

Ober. It is the first judicial decision, dur-

ing the current wave of anti-communist

kgislation to reaffirm the individual's

tight to express his political beliefs, un-

orthodox though they may be.

In concluding his 8,000 word opinion

judge Sherbow said,

[The law] "violates the basic freedoms

juaranteed by the First and Fourteenth

Amendments [to the United States Con-

ititution], guaranteeing freedom of

speech, press and assembly, and due

process under the Fifth Amendment.

"It violates the Maryland Constitution

ind Declaration of Rights, it is an un-

hwful bill of attainder, and is too gen-

val for a penal statute. As stated by Mr.

justice Jackson in West Virginia Board

vs. Barnette, 819 United States 624,642:

"If there is any fixed star in our con-

titutional constellation it is that no off-

tal, high or petty, can prescribe what

hall be orthodox in politics, nationalism,

teligion or other matters of opinion or

lorce citizens to confess by word or act

their faith therein.' "

The law was designed ostensibly to

put an end to Communist activities in

the state by the totalitarian method of

`uppression. It provided for prison sen-

faces up to five years and fines up to

85,000 for mere membership in an or-

ganization deemed subversive while pen-

ilties up to $20,000 and twenty years in

jtison are provided for those convicted

of engaging in subversive activities. In

view of what Maryland's witch hunters

pretended to believe to be the imminent

tanger of the overthrow of the strongest

Sovernment on earth an amendment was

idded to the law declaring that an emer-

fency existed thus making the law effec-

(Continued on page 2, column 3)

Loyalty Order Held

Un-American Commit-

Basically Objectionable tee Curb Being Planned

American Scientists Warn

Best Minds Will Shun

Government Employment

Open and determined opposition to

the Truman Loyalty Order is snowball-

ing rapidly. The American Association

for the Advancement of Science, the

world's largest general organization of

scientists, has finally rebelled against its

members being "treated as objects of

suspicion and possible calumny." The

Association warned that "work in the

atomic energy field will be shunned by

men of ability and pride" unless the pres-

ent system of thought and association

control is drastically modified.

Hysterta PROMOTED

The statement, drafted by the associa-

tion's "special committee on civil liberties

of scientists" and released by the govern-

ing council of the organization which rep-

resents 24,000 members, says that the

Atomic Energy Commission "has recently

manifested a tendency to require security

clearance not only for those scientists

who themselves have access to restricted

data, but also for their fellow scientists

with whom they may have personal con-

tact."

"This apparently reflects a yielding to

uninformed or sensationalist legislators

and others who tend to exaggerate the

problem of `keeping our atomic secrets,'"

the report said.

Un-AMERICAN IN METHOD

Assailing the provision of the Presi-

dent's order that any employee in a Fed-

eral post may be discharged "if he is be-

lieved to be disloyal" the scientists take

the sound, American position that, like

all other citizens, government employees

should be judged by their overt acts

rather than by the gossipy reports, col-

lected by the FBI, of the beliefs of his

associates.

No one questions the propriety of the

government's demanding that its employ-

ees be loyal to their jobs and to the demo-

cratic institutions they serve. The loyalty

(Continued on page 4, column 3)

ACLU Supports Lucas

Resolution Establishing

Procedural Safeguards

Public revulsion against Thomas-

Mundt-Nixon tactics in such cases as

those of the famous Hollywood Ten is

bearing fruit in Congress.

In the Senate, Senator Scott Lucas CT).,

Ill.) has introduced a resolution to estab-

lish certain safeguards against un-demo-

cratic procedures by Congressional in-

vestigating committees. Clearly aimed at

the House Committee on Un-American

activities the statement accompanying

the resolution as filed with the Senate

Rules Committee said,

"These standards would tend not only

to facilitate the work through elimina-

tion of confusion and ill-feeling, but will

provide greater protection for persons in-

vestigated and witnesses examined from

otherwise arbitrary action permitted the

investigators."

Grant ConstiTuTIoAL RicHtTs

The Lucas resolution calls for oppor-

tunities for reply by persons attacked at

public hearings through the calling of

witnesses in their behalf and cross exam-

ination of the person who leveled the

charge, and the right of witnesses to have

their counsel present and advise them,

although not while they are on the stand,

unless the committee agrees.

It also provides that the hearings shall

be based on evidence which is "relevant

and germane," and _ that stenographic

transcripts shall be provided witnesses.

The resolution guards against the "smear

publicity" which has marked recent in-

vestigations by providing that no report

shall be published until a meeting of the

committee has been called and a ma-

jority approves the report. It goes further

by stating that no committee or commit-

tee employee may publish a statement

commenting adversely on any person un-

less that person has been advised of the

comment and given an opportunity to

present a sworn statement in reply.

PAGE TWO

Another section of the resolution pro-

hibits any committee member or em-

ployee from publicly discussing commit-

tee reports for compensation. Not aimed

at stifling public discussion, it is designed

to ward off the flood of special news-

paper articles which have appeared at-

tacking people without justification or

basis of fact.

ACLU Succests AppITIONS

Appearing before the Rules Commit-

tee, July 2lst, representatives of the

ACLU suggested what many consider

highly important additions to the resolu-

tion. They urged that the term "person"

should be considered to include associa-

tions, organizations, or government agen-

cies as "an organization which may be

unjustly accused should have the same

right to defend itself as an individual."

TEXTBOOK Fiasco

Reminding the committee of the recent

college text-book probe fiasco created by

a minority of the House Un-American Ac-

tivities Committee, it urged that no per-

son shall be compelled to testify or pro-

duce documents unless a majority of the

committee approves. It called for the

right of all witnesses at public or private

hearings to be "advised of their consti-

tutional rights against self-incrimination

and' their right not to divulge any confi-

dential communications protected by

law."

ENp BROWBEATING

To avoid the "serious browbeating of

witnesses which occurs when only one

interrogator is present," the ACLU state-

ment emphasized the need for open hear-

ing unless public interest requires secret

sessions and the presentation of testi-

mony "before at least two committee

members as well as the interrogator."

Witnesses at committee hearings

should have the right to question other

witnesses who comment on their testi-

mony, the ACLU pointed out. This

should be done through a written ques-

tion handed to, the chairman. Witnesses

should not be held in contempt of com-

mittees until the full committee has con-

sidered the contempt and a majority of

those present votes the contempt charge.

This would not apply to witnesses who

have obeyed suppoenas but then decline

to answer a question at hearings "or

otherwise act contumaciously."

te May Make STATEMENT

' The final suggestion made to:the com-

mittee was to grant each witness the right

to make an oral statement at the conclu-

sion of his testimony or file a sworn state-

ment for the record, provided they are

relevant to the subject of the hearing.

Communist-Christian

Gap Held Bridgeable

Another Church Calls for

Higher Level Thinking

In Days of Hysteria

"We may. be on good Christian terms

with the Communists of a few genera-

tions hence," said the Rev. Dr. Audrey R.

Vines of Beaks, England, in a successful

move to have stricken from the official

"Message to the Churches," as reported

by a committee of the sixth International

Congregational Conference, a statement

that spoke of an "unabridgeable" gap

between Christian principles and_ the

Communist movement, and "the violent

acts of Communist aggression."

The "Message" to the world's 3,000,000

Congregationalists is sent out as a blue-

print of future "Christian strategy"-a

"constructive and creative" program to

increase the "areas of economic and social

health." As such it is in happy contrast

to the interest inspired, hysteria creating,

propaganda of hatred so common in secu-

lar circles, and is representative of many

church utterance which begin with a

recognition of the inescapable fact that

we live in a moral universe in which

higher values must ultimately prevail.

The message adopted "deplores the

strident tones of propagandists, whether

civilian, military or ecclesiastical" encour-

aging belief that war with Russia is

inevitable, "or that such a conflict would

be in the nature of a holy crusade."

"It is apparent," the amended version

reads, "that at present there exists funda-

mental incompatibility between Christian

principles and certain forms of commu-

nism. The conflict of philosophies is in

danger of becoming one of power.

"Certain forms of communism do not

admit any rival center of authority. In

such a situation, which profoundly affects

the Western nations, it is necessary that

we should support such policies as. will

act as a deterrent to any ideology that is

likely to cause aggression.

"But the primary Christian strategy in

this situation is to press for the develop-

ment of such constructive and creative

programs as will increase the areas of

economic and social health throughout

the world."

The message, which was drafted by a

committee headed by the Rev. Dr. Rus-

sell J. Clinchy of Hartford, Conn., will be

sent to all Congregational churches in

thirty-seven countries. It will be trans-

lated into Swedish, Norwegian, Danish,

Finnish, Chinese, Japanese, German,

Tamil, Spanish, Portuguese, Armenian

and Dutch.

THE OPEN FORUM

MARYLAND COURT...

(Continued from page 1, column 1)

tive immediately upon signing by the

Governor.

LoyaLty OatTus UNCONSTITUTIONAL!

Judge Sherbow at once held the amend-

ment unconstitutional because it is an

ex post facto law and improperly drawn,

Then, section by section, he held violative

of constitutional rights provisions requir-

ing loyalty oaths of public school teach-

ers, investigations of loyalty by state

aided schools, the right to discharge or

deny employment by public agencies "on

reasonable grounds to believe that any

person is a subversive person," (As in

the case of L. A. City and County and

L. A. public schools-Ed.) requiring loy-

alty oaths from candidates for elective

office, (Like Tenney proposal-Ed.) and

baring membership in subversive organi-

zations.

Lasor's CONCERN

Of particular interest to organized

labor is the illustration used by Judge

Sherbow in deciding the provisions of the

law to be unconstitutional as they relate

to membership in subversive organiza-

tions. Said the Judge:

"Some labor organizations have been

characterized as subversive. A worker

may believe his union is in the control of

officers who would direct its activities

into seditious channels.

"If that union has a closed shop agree-

ment with management he cannot with-

draw from the organization without los-

ing his job. If he remains in the union he

is guilty of a felony, not because of any

act of commission on his part, but be-

cause of his association with others.

"Valuable property rights within the

organization may be lost. The alternative

is no job, or conviction of a serious crime,

all without his day in court and without

due process."

To Br APPEALED

Attorney General Hall Hammond has

announced that pending a possible re-

versal of Judge Sherbow's decision on ap-

peal, the law is invalid and public em-

ployees, including three Quakers, who

had enough American independence not

to sign the loyalty oaths will keep their

jobs. The case was filed by ten college

professors, professional and business men

with a sense of personal responsibility

for preserving our freedoms.

The Southern California Branch al-

ready has the Steiner case, involving

many of the issues above mentions, 1?

the U. S. Supreme Court. Argument 1s

scheduled for early November.

|

1H

AM

|

|

Los

6

wh

ties

ine

trek

{ THE OPEN FORUM

PAGE THREE

THE OPEN FORUM

OFFICIAL ORGAN

" AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BRANCH

AAaRON ALLEN Hetst, Director-Editor

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

J. W. MacNair Rev. ALLAN HuNTER

; Chairman KATHERINE KILBOURNE

A. L. Wirtn, Counsel Loren Miner

, Rosert Morris

J. B. Trerz, Treasurer Pror. Cuar.tes R. Nixon

FRANKLIN L. ALEXANDER FrepD OKRAND

Mrs. Joun BEARDSLEY Joun C. Packarp

Dr. OriveR H. Bronson Dr. E. P. RyLAND

) Epmunp W. CooxE Mrs. Ratpu SMITH

FLoyp CovinGTon Dr. Ciinton J. Tarr

Pror. Grorcr M. Day Ciore WARNE

Hucu HarpyMan EvizaBetH A. Woop

L Dr. Wn. Linpsay YouNG

Published Bi-Weekly at

Room 517, 257 South Spring Street

, Los Angeles 12

) Phone TUcker 8514

One Dollar the year

Five cents per copy

Entered as second-class matter April 24, 1946,

at the post office at Los Angeles, California,

under the Act of March 8, 1879.

oo

los Angeles, Calif., September 8, 1949

"Not free thought for those

vho agree with us, but freedom

ior the thought we hate."-Jus-

lice Holmes in U. S. v. Schwim-

ier.

"AGENTS OF A FOREIGN

GOVERNMENT"

Our willing victims of hysteria-as well

isa few thoughtful people-are sure that

hey have a clinching argument in answer

0) those who point out that this is far

tom the first time our "way of life" has

teen "menaced," and that we have some-

low outlived real dangers. "Yes," they

ay, "but these Communists are agents of

foreign government to which they owe

ist allegiance."

Even people with short memories

ould not have forgotten by now that

actly that argument was used against

ilSmith when a candidate for president.

that Smith's detractors had sufficient

ound for sincerely believing as they

lid is convincingly evident from a read-

tg of so recent and well documented a

ok as Paul Blanchard's "American

freedom and Catholic Power."

What intolerant anti-Catholics did not

hen seem to know, any more than bitter

inti-Communists realize today, is that

llenty of real democrats rise above the

tomulgations of their totalitarian hier-

itchy,

At the very height of the Cardinal

Spellman-Mrs. Roosevelt controversey,

Representative Jacobs of Indianapolis, a

devout Catholic, stood up in Congress to

oppose the seemingly hierarchy-inspired

bottling up of the ecclesiastically de-

nounced Barden Bill. (See Congressional

Record, July 7)

A really first rank illustration of what

may be expected of real democrats was

enacted in Canada half a century ago,

when the Roman Catholic authorities bit-

terly opposed the establishment of non-

sectarian education in the Province of

Manitoba. The Conservative party intro-

duced a bill in the Canadian Parliament

to meet the wishes of the hierarchy. Sir

Wilfred Laurier, the young leader of the

Liberal party, a staunch French Roman

Catholic, successfully opposed the bill.

He was informed by letter that he had

incurred the hostility of the church and

that reprisals would follow. His answer

came in a speech in Parliament. Refer-

ring to the threat from "the church to

which I belong" the young political lead-

er said, "I am here representing not

Roman Catholics alone, but Protestants

as well, and I must give an account of my

stewardship to all classes... . Am I to

be told... that I am to be dictated to as

to the course I am to take in this House

of Commons by reasons that can appeal

to the consciences of my fellow Catholic

members but which do not appeal as

well to the consciences of my Protestant

colleagues? No! So long as I have a seat

in this House, so long as I occupy the

position I do now, whenever it shall be-

come my duty to take a stand upon an

question whatever, that stand I will take,

not from the point of view of my Roman

Catholicism, not from the point of view

of Protestantism, but from a point of view

which can appeal to the consciences of

all men, irrespective of their particular

faith, upon grounds that can be occupied

by all men who love justice, freedom and

toleration." The die was cast. The issue

went to a general election. Bishop Lefle-

che declared that no Catholic could with-

out sin vote for a party whose chief sup-

ported such error. The Liberal party won

a substantial majority of the seats in the

House of Commons and Sir Wilfred

Laurier became prime minister of Can-

ada and remained so for many a year.

(See "The Day of Sir Wilfred Laurier" by

Oscar D. Skelton.)

More important than the sort of faith

in God that lives so comfortably along

side of suspicion and hatred is a great

need of all America-faith in our fellow

men! Democracy withers without it!

Keep Freedom's Torch

Burning!

The rights guaranteed in the First

Amendment stand at the core of the

American way of life.

I. FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Religious freedom is the condition and

guardian of all true freedom . . . Only

the recognition that a man has ends and

loyalties beyond the state will insure true

justice to the human person." - World

Council of Churches.

"The lesson of religious tolerance - a

toleration which recognizes complete

liberty of human thought, liberty of hu-

man conscience -is one which, by pre-

cept and example, must be inculcated in

the hearts and minds of all Americans if

the institutions of our democracy are to

be maintained and perpetuated."-Frank-

lin D. Roosevelt.

FEAR INDICATES LACK OF

FAITH

Nothing, in our own day, is more im-

pressive, or more sobering than the wide-

spread fear of false ideas-chiefly Com-

munist ideas-that has gripped the Amer-

ican people. It is, we must conclude, evi-

dence of deep-seated insecurity. It is evi-

dence of lack of faith in the intelligence

and integrity of the American people,

lack of confidence in the validity of the

American political and economic system.

Surely those who are confident of the

superiority of their own way of life

should not fear competition, in the realm

of ideas, from other systems or philoso-

phies. - Prof. Commager of Columbia

University.

ms ee " oa yo ea

PAGE FOUR

Loyalty Oaths

Insults To Teachers

School Board Taking Same

Oath Reflects on Sanity

Of Members, Says Writer

"An insult to every teacher in Cleve-

land," is the way a correspondent of the

Pxiain DEALER characterized the demand

of Cleveland's Board of Education that

all teachers subscribe to loyalty oaths-

euphemistically called "Re-affirmations"

in Los Angeles.

Large number of citizens were shocked

by a front page picture in the PLAIN

DEALER showing members of the Board

solemnly taking their own hysteria con-

cocted oath. "Did not the members take

a loyalty oath when in their regular oath

of office they swore to uphold the Con-

stitution of the United States," demanded

a citizen. "Then why this mummery of

which every American should be asham-

ed?" Another correspondent felt that the

action pictured reflected on the sanity of

Board members.

COMMENTATOR WRITES

"Since we ran the picture of the school

board taking the oath, I have been haunt-

ed by the sight of loyal (and some of

them bright) Americans, standing there

looking both silly and abject, fear written

on most of their faces, engaging in one

of the trappings of the very system they

were so redundantly forswearing,"

Charles W. Lawrence, breakfast com-

mentator of the PLAIn DEALER, wrote to

his editor. "It seems to me that picture

was symbolic of what has been happen-

ing to our country in the past few months

-a weakening of our national character,

a loss of our sense of humor, a deteriora-

tion of our traditional self-confidence, as

the result of a great unreasoning fear of

a nation far weaker, both physically and

ideologically, than ours."

REPRINTS

Reprints of two articles recently ap-

pearing in the Open Forum, together

with one soon to appear will not be

available until after the middle of this

month. Meanwhile we shall file orders

as they are sent in.

LOYALTY TO

CONSTITUTION

While observing Constitution Week it

is well to recognize that to swear to "up-

hold the Constitution" should not imply

determination to preserve it from change.

Thinking Americans believe our Consti-

tution to be a living, adaptable instru-

ment needing continuous reinterpretation

in order to bring its provisions in line

with changing, growing human needs.

The scholarly Justice Holmes made the

experimental nature of the Constitution

a forceful argument for complete freedom

of speech. Said he,

"Our Constitution . . . is an experiment,

as all life is an experiment. Every year if

not every day we have to wager our sal-

vation upon some prophecy based upon

imperfect knowledge. While that experi-

ment is part of our system, I think that

we should be eternally vigilant against

attempts to check the expression of opin-

ions that we loathe and believe to be

fraught with death. .. ."

NO THOUGHT CONTROL

From Editorial in New York Times

August 16, 1949

In declaring the state's new anti-sub-

versive law unconstitutional, a Maryland

circuit judge gave expression to a view-

point that is fundamental to the American

system, but that sometimes recently has

seemed in danger of being forgotten:

"Laws may punish acts and conduct

which clearly, seriously and imminently

threaten substantive evils. They may not

intrude into the realm of ideas, religious

and political beliefs and opinions. The

law ... may punish for acting, but not

for thinking."

This is, in effect, a restatement of Jus-

tice Holmes' "clear and present danger"

doctrine. It cannot solve the problem of

determining at exactly what point the

"substantive evils" in any specific case are

so imminently threatened that the state

may step in to protect itself. However, as

a general expression of principle, it re-

affirms the basic protection of freedom of

thought inherent in the Constitution.

The Maryland law invalidated by the

opinion quoted above provides heavy

fines and prison sentences for belonging

to organizations held to be subversive. . . .

THE OPEN FORUM

To punish members of such organiza.

tions simply as members and with no

proof of conspiratorial acts is hardly con.

sistent with the constitutional guarantees,

The state is surely strong enough to

protect iself against actual conspiracy or

against overt acts or immediate threat of

overt acts without the necessity of going

so far afield, into what can too easily be-

come the realm of thought control and

the suppression of the radical, or the un- |

popular, point of view. Whatever the -

danger from Communist-front organiza- -

tions, efforts to police the thinking of the

community or of individuals present an

even greater danger to the vitality of

American institutions.

LOYALTY ORDER...

(Continued from page 1, column 2)

order is, however, basically objectionable

because it seeks to determine the em-

ployee's loyalty by inquiring into his sup-

posed thoughts and attitudes, which are

established in large part by imputing to

him the beliefs of his associates."

REVISION URGED

"If the loyalty order is to be retained,'

the statement said, "a drastic revision is

essential. Instead of focusing on an em-

ployee's associations, it should focus on

his behavior in overt acts. Legislation al-

ready on the statute books amply pro-

tects the Federal service against retention

of employees who advocate overthrow of

the government."

NAACP Ogsjects

In a strong resolution adopted by its

40th annual conference here in Los An-

geles last month the National Association

for the Advancement of Colored People

called for an end of the loyalty program,

which "has helped to create national hys-

teria and fear and is a greater danger to

the strength of our democratic ideals

than the danger which the loyalty pro-

gram is designed to cure."

ACLU OpposeEs

The National Board of the AMERICAN

Crviz Liserties Unton earlier called

upon Attorney General Clark to secure

the abandonment of the program except

in the three so-called sensitive areas.

Both California branches of the ACLU

have from the first been opposed to the

entire program as un-American in its ap-

proach, futile in its objectives and un

necessary in view of adequate laws en- -

forcable under due process.

Se. and Cc =