Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-11-26
Insurance
Loyalty Quiz,
D. kUrged

The American Civil Liberties
Union today asked the District
Commissioners to drop loyalty
oath" questions from applica-
tons for licenses as insurance
dealers here.
This, the organization con-
tended in letter from Patrick
Murphy Malin. New York ex-
lecutive director, violates the
spirit Of constitutional guaran-
tees Of freedom of association
and due process of law"
The ACLU based its letter on
testimony several months ago
before Senate subcommittee on
Constitutional Rights by Albert
F. Jordan, superintendent Of in
surance for the District. The or
ganization said he had testified
that applications had been with
drawn by sponsoring insurance
companies when he had notified
them that applicants had admit
TED belonging to organizations
on the Attorney Generals Sub
versive" list.
Raised Objection in 1854
Mr.. Jordan went through an
examination on the subject by
former Commissioner Renah F.
Camalier in April, 1854, about
six months after he first put the
questions on the application
form.
The matter was dropped when
Mr.. Jordan commended the law
required him to make a positive
finding that applicants are
Trustworthy" before granting a
license.
This, he said when asked
about the ACLU requests, is the
reverse of standard American
legal procedure which makes a
negative finding of mot guilty"
in the absence of positive proof
of guilt.
He said he had the "enthusi-
astic support of leaders in the
insurance. industry" for the
questions. They, in effect, ask
if the applicant has been or is
a member of the Communist
Party; whether he has been or
is a member of any organization
on the Attorney Generals list,
or whether he ever has taken
refuge in his constitutional
rights to avoid testifying.
Cites Freedom Concept
The application form, Mr.. |
Jordan said, goes on to ask not |
only about convictions, but about .
arrests or involvement in money
irregularities.
The ACLU letter commended,
THE concept and tradition of
American freedom is that indi-
vidual competency is the meas
ure by which an individual
should be judged. Departure
from this standard can be justi-
fled only in a time of national
danger, when the nature of his
work has relevancy to his po-
litical association and activity.
But we suggest that to desig-
nate an insurance broker as
holding a sensitive position en-
dangering the national security
stretches even the most vivid
imagination. A political means
test, which these questions COM
prise. runs counter to guarantees
of the Bill of Rights and can
result only in stultifying thought
and diScussion-the seeds in
which our democracy grows. The
Nation is just now recovering
some of the ground lost by the
obseSsive hunt for security I'M
recent years. which was illus
trated by loyalty oaths and such
questions as those asked in the
Mr.. Mains letter said similar
questions had been dropped from
insurance applications in New
York after civil liberties aspects
we're pointed out.
And, he contended, Mr.. Jor-
dams testimony that some appli-
cations had been withdrawn
shows economic penalties are
suffered by persons whose men,
bership in prescribed organiza-
ton may have been f1eeting and
wholly innocent and who have
not been found legally guilty of
any wrong doing"