The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1937-05-07
3 New York DaiIies
Give Editorial OK
In HerndOn Case

NEW YORK tC)-Three OF the
leading daily newspapers. the
Times, News and Herald Tribune,
gave (editorially) the o. k. to the
release by the Supreme Court on
Monday Of Angelo Herndon. y. 49,.
The Times, now edited by Dr..
John H. Finley, who has visited
and spoken at T,iskegee Institute,
said Tuesday: @Once again. As on
50 many historic occasions in the
past, the Supreme Court has acted
to uphold the constitutional guar
antees Of American liberty In this
latest instance it had before it the
case Of q young negro convicted Of
melting insurrection against the
state of Georgia, under a statute
passed in Reconstruction days. Adj
mittedly he was member Of the
Communist party. Admittedly he
had solicited others to join that
party. Admittedly a booklet was
found upon his person. setting
forth a fantastic program for the
South. which presumably could not
be achieved without lawlessness.
But no evidence was offered IL
prove that he had advocated iris
program. and a majority Of lie
court denied yesterday that either
membership in the Communist par
ty. or the solicitation Of others to
join It. constitutes in itself an act
Of instruction. The Georgia stat
ute, as construed and applied. was
described as lacking a reasonably
ascertainable standard of guilt,
and as amounting in these circum-
stances to mere drag-net which
might enmesh any one who agi-
tates for a change Of government.
SO vague and so indeterminate are
the boundaries set in the statute
to the freedom of speech and as
sembly that the law necessarily
violates the guarantees Of liberty
embodied in the Fourteenth
Amendment.
an taking this position the court
Is true to the tradition which
makes it the guardian of civil
rights belonging even to the humb-
lest citizen. !"
The News. noted 70 rits liberal
ism and fair play. said: THE SUI
preme court yesterday, by the fa-
miliar 5-4 vote, handed down one
liberal decision of national interest.
With Justice Owen j. Roberts still
feeling modernistic. the Court ov-
erturned the Georgia conviction of
Angelo Herndon. colored Commun-
ist, under Georgia's law forbidding
insurrection against a state gov
eminent.
"Herndon was under sentence of
eighteen to twenty years on one of
Georgia's ill-famed chain gangs for
having organized colored people
and poor White in Atlanta to DEM
onstrate against cut in relief.
The Supreme Court said this
crime was not covered by the
Georgia instruction law, and that
Herndon had been deprived of his
rights without due process of law,
contrary to the Fourteenth amend
ment.
The decision is right, we think
lit keeps the Communists from
making martyr of Herndon as
they have done of Tom Mooney
and Sacco and vanzetti; and it
may discourage some of those who
want all the free speech for them
selves and none for their oppon-
ents."
The Herald Tribune, independent
Republican, said: THE Supreme
Court recognized and safeguaraded
another no-man's-land in freeing
Angelo Herndon from his Georgia
sentence The decision bears a
wholesome reminder to legislatures
minded to be over-zealous in their
efforts to forestall conspiracy at
the expense of free speech"