' I ESTARLEHED 1936
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THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 1970 PAGE TWENTY-FOUR
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SENATOR k
SAM ERVIN
first Amendment Misused
WASHINGTON lnasmuch as the Fust Amendment and
the right of dissent are being invoked with frequency nowa
days to justify rioting by students on the campuses of some
of our institutions of higher learning, it is timely for us to
consider this: Amendment and this right.
The Pint Amendment undertakes to make the minHc and
spirits of men free. To this end, it guarantees to every per"
son in our land freedom of thought, freedom of speech, free
-dom of the press, and freedom of religion. One may exer
cise these freedoms either as an individual or in association
with others having a common lawful purpose. Furthermore
the First Amendment expressly recognizes a collective free
" dom, I. e., the right of the people "peaceably to assemble
and to petition government for a redress of grievances." Also,
the right of dissent, which is the right to differ from others
in opinion, may be said to be a part of the First Amendment
Under our Constitution, men can le punished for what they
do or fail to do, but not for what they think or believe.
Even so, it is abundantly clear that the Amendment re
quires that alof these freedoms be exercised in a peaceful
manner, and law abiding manner. This requirement is ex
plicit in the declaration that those who wish to petition gov
ernment for a redress of grievances must assemble peaceab
ly, and is implicit in the nature of the freedoms themselves
They are designed to enable people to inform and persuade
others, not to coerce them. Also, the Amendment doesrft
any acts whatever except non-violent acts tanta
mount to the freedoms it secures such as peaceful demonstra
tions and peaceful picketing, which merely proclaim the
views of the participants and do not infringe on the rights of
others.
These things being true, the First Amendment freedms*
not legalize, or exempt from punishment, the acts of those
who commit crimes or incite others to commit crimes. In
deed, they do not deny government the power to curtail a
person's right to speak if the manner of speaking and the
surrounding circumstances create a clear and present danger
that his words will incite others to violence and thus encfctger
the public safety.
During recent months groups of students, acting in con
cert, have used physical force and threats of physical force
to disrupt the education process of the campuses of some of
our public and private institutions of higher learning. Thus,
students by violent means have detained administrative of
ficers of these institutions in their offices, have denied teach
ers and fellow students access to buildings set apart for in
structional purposes, and on occasion have even assaulted
administrative officers, teachers, and fellow students, who
refused to cooperate with them.
Moreover, they have often denied innocent citizens their
legal rights to travel in safety on public highways by block
ing such highways, or by hurling stones into their automobifa.
Those who seek to justify such outrageous conduct ignore
the simple truth that criminal coercion has no place on the
campus of any university or college anywhere in our land.
After all, the ultimate duty of a free society is to enforce
law and maintain order, and in the final analysis our univer
sities and colleges must see that this is done or else the in
tellectual and spiritual light necessary to preserve a free
society will perish.
stradglit flHn
By Tom Anderson A
A MAN OF STRONG CONVICTIONS
On February 20, 1970, a mild-mannered a
gentleman named Robert De Pugh stood be
fore Judge Collinson in Federal Court in Kan
sas City and was sentenced to four years in
prison. Before the sentencing, the Judge asked
Mr. De Pugh whether he cared to make a
statement.
“Yes, your honor,” De Pugh replied.
“I am 46 years old. For the first 41 years of
my life I was a completely law-abiding citizen.
“When I worked for others, I gave an honest
day’s work for each day’s pay. When other
men worked for me, I gave an honest day’s
pay for each day’s work. I tried to be a good
husband, a good father and a good neighbor.
I have been given honorary membership in sev
eral scientific societies. More than 100 new
medical products have resulted from my work
as a research chemist.
“Even today, those who know me best will
confirm that few people set for themselves as
rigid a code of personal conduct as the prisoner
who stands before you. My personal code of
conduct does not permit me to use profanity, or
to drink or smoke. My personal code of con
duct does not permit me to gossip about other
people’s affairs or to hurt,another person’s feel
ings by sarcasm or innuendo. My personal
code of conduct does not permit me to make
myself look good at another person’s expense.
“During the past five years, I have been
repeatedly accused of crimes I did not commit.
As a priviate citizen I have been forced to
marshal my limited resources, financial and
psychological, over and over again to defend
myself against the awesome power of State
and Federal Governments, and the cost has
been high—higher than you can ever know.
“Now, Your Honor, for the other side of the
coin, I stand before the Court tried and found
guilty.
“It may be of little importance, but I would
like to say this: I have never broken the law
wantonly. I have not done anything that I
thought was morally wrong or anything that
actually hurt my fellowman.
“Os course, the government’s position must
be that the individual citizen cannot decide
for himself which laws he thinks are right and
which laws he thinks are wrong. Every govern-
he
By Marilyn Manion -
A WORD TO THE WISE . W .
It all began in the name of Peace. The
United Nations, planning to celebrate its 25th
anniversary this year, decided to stage a “world
youth" assembly on the banks of the East
River. Scheduled for July 9, the gathering
would include young delegates from around the
world. The cost of this friendly little get
together was estimated at $700,000. It was ex
pected that good old Uncle Sam would come
up wqh most of that amount.
While the Peaceful Internationalists blissfully
worked on these plans, some dedicated Com
munist youths were busily making plans of
their own at a secret meeting in Switzerland.
Members of two Communist youth groups in
Eastern Europe threatened to boycott the as
sembly unless it were revised to include certain
additional guests. The additions? Communist
China, North Vietnam, East Germany, the
Palestine Liberation Front, and various African
and Asian "national liberation" movements.
The UN capitulated to the Communists 'and
issued 126 extra invitations to non-members.
Whereupon, lo and behold, the holders of the
purse strings balked. Western countries—in
cluding the United States—allowed as how
paying the way for the Reds would be the last
straw. So, for awhile, it looked as if lack of
funds would cancel the assembly of horrors,
and so much the better.
But some people can’t let well enough alone.
Michael Butler, who is the producer of the
Broadway musical “Hair,” heard that the as
sembly needed funding. He offered “Hair's”
services to the UN—he would hold, he said.
ment that has ever existed has told its citizens
the same thing. At first impression this seems
reasonable enough. It’s usually not too difficult
to obey the law. In fact, it’s very easy—easy,
that is, for those who have no great convic
tions.
“Such a man will attend to his own affairs.
He will ‘keep his nose clean.’ He will stay out
of trouble. He will obey the law. They obeyed
the law, Your Honor, and stood aside while
Jesus was nailed to the cross. They obeyed
the law, Your Honor, while their fellowmen
were sold into slavery, and pocketed their
share of the profit. They obeyed the law, Your
Honor, and turned their Jewish neighbors in, so
they could be legally and lawfully transported
to the gas chambers. In Cuba today, it is the
law-abiding wife who turns her husband in
to the police for an insulting remark about
Castro. In North Vietnam today it is the law
abiding citizen who takes part in the public
execution of American prisoners of war. But
for the man who has strong beliefs regarding
the. basic principles of right and wrong, the
path is not always so clear —and he has few
precedents to guide him . . .
“The best of all we have today—of what we
call Western Civilization —was given us by men
who broke the law. Think of Galileo sitting in
prison for teaching that the earth revolves
around the sun. Lister, Harvey and many other
physicians broke the laws of their day to con
duct the medical research for which we are
now so thankful. Every person who is ever
bitten by a rabid animal can thank his lucky
stars that Louis Pasteur broke the law flagrant
ly while doing the research that makes the
Pasteur treatment possible.
“It is in the field of law itself that laws have
most often been broken. The Magna Carta
was not given to the people of England as
the gratuity of a generous monarch. It was
fought for by men who broke the law to create
better laws. How many heads rolled from the
guillotine to bring a new set of laws to France?
The laws of this nation and every other nation
are written in blood.
(More on Robert De Pugh’s statement and
incarceration in this space next week.) —
American Way Features
benefit performances of the show and raise a
few hundred thousand dollars for the cause.
(Note to theatre-goers: The benefits —eight of
them in the U.S. and Canada—took place on
June 4). Butler said he acted in the spirit of
“Hair”—love and service to humanity.
Naturally, the planners of the assembly were
ecstatic. Said one: “We have been afraid the
kids would stand away, feeling the assembly
was too much Establishment; having ‘Hair’ in
the act will turn it on.” (As if the Communists
could care about precisely who provides the
platform for their anti-American diatribes.
If the “Establishment” is to be their unwitting
ally, so what?)
“It is obvious,” writes Thurman Sensing,
Executive Vice President of the Southern States
Industrial Council, “what such representatives
will do if they are permitted to enter the United
States t», attend the Youth Assembly. They will
use the sessions at the U.N. to make propa
ganda war against the United States and its
allies. Inasmuch as the United States has no
diplomatic dealings with these nations, and
as they are bitter enemies of free people, there
is no reason why delegates from these nations
should be admitted to the United States. In
deed, the Nixon Administration should make it
plain at the earliest possible date that these
youthful propagandists will not be permitted
to set foot on American soil to abuse this coun
try in the halls of the U.N. building.”
The Youth Assembly was, as the Chicago
Tribune quipped, “Saved By A Hair.” A pity
‘ for America.— American Way Features