Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-06-21
DANGERS ARE IGNORED
ny MIRIAM GUTENBERG
star stan Writer

Exactly a year ago the Supreme
Court ruled that the Secretary Of
State could not refuse a passport
to q Communist because Congress
had never specifically given him
the right TO refuse.
Stunned by decision that over
ruled a century-old concept Of the
Secretary's power over passports,
the State Department rushed pro-
posed legislation to Congress.
And President Eisenhower ur-
gently Endorsed the legislation in
these words:
Each day and week that passes
without 1t exposes us to great
danger"
We are still exposed.
BY the latest count. LOO per-
sons whom the department has
reason to suspect have applied
for passports since the Supreme
Court decision. And the passports
have been granted.
A Multitude Of Bills
Congress failed to plug the loop
hole in the law at the last ses-
sion. So far in this session 81
bills have been introduced in the
House and four have gone into
the Senate hopper. The bills have
been assigned to six different COM
mittees.
Not - has come out of COM
mittee.
Various rs.- onS have been given
for the delay. The one heard
most frequently is that other bills
particularly foreign aid meas
ures-have had priority. Another
is that Chairman Fulbright of the
Senate Foreign Relations Com
mittee has served notice that he
wants his committee to handle
any passport legislation. 1t was
in this committee that a House.
passed bill died in the last ses-
sion.
1t has also been mentioned
that the administration has not
sent its own bill to Congress.
Last week. the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee sent the
State Department a letter asking
its intentions The State Depart
ment still wants the bill it tried
and failed to get last session
codifying all passport laws and
regulations. But in a letter cleared
through the Budget Bureau it
has made clear that a bill intro
duced on May 7 by Representative
Bentley, Republican of Michigan,
would be acceptable to take care
Of the immediate problem.
The Bentley bill starts out by
terming the activities of the in
ternational Communist movement
"a clear. present and continuing
danger to the security of the
United States" 1t authorizes the
Secretary Of State to refuse or
revoke passports to persons en-
gagged in the international Com
munist movement. And it sets
out detailed procedure for pass
port denial and appeal. In other
words, like most of the other
pending bills, it is limited to
granting or denying passports to
Communists.
Senotor Mundts Bill
The latest entry in the passport
race is the most comprehensive
one. 1t was introduced on June 3
by Senator Mundt. Republican of
South Dakota. 1t stems from the
simple recognition that while the
Communist problem is the most
pressing. it is one Of many areas
Of the multi-million-dollar pass
port business not covered by any
specific law.
Basically, the right of the Sec
rotary Of State to issue passports
goes back to a law passed in 1856.
Records indicate that the Secre-
tary had been issuing passports
long before that but the law was
considered necessary to make it
clear that passports issued by
States or judges were no good.
In 1925, the law was brought
up to date for that time but
was no more specific. 1t said the
Secretary should operate under
rules prescribed by the President.
With the passing years, two
things happened. First, passports
became big business. Where
176,033 passports we're issued or
renewed in 1925, the annual figure
had reached 676,S9 in 1858. This
year, 100000 Americans are ex-
pected to ask for passports for
overseas travel in the biggest
travel spree Of all time.
While the passport business was
booming and the Government
was struggling with regulations,
the Communists launched their
offensive against the security pol
icies Of the Government.
Paralleling the attack on the
passport policies were attacks on
port security, Government en-
ployes loyalty, the industrial Sc
curity and the visa programs.
And on passports, the Govern
ment was vulnerable for lack of
legislative authority which it had
always been assumed was implicit.
A Pioneer Decision
Court decisions began raining
down. The first restriction on the
free exercise Of the Secretary's
discretion came in 1852 in the case
of Anne Bauer, journalist over
seas who was alleged to be a Com
munist sympathizer. The State
Department revoked her passport.
The Court Of Appeals here held
that the department had no au-
thority to revoke 1t without notice
and a hearing. The court directed
that the passport be returned to
Miss Bauer or that she be given
hearing. The showdown never
came because Miss Bauer lost her
citizenship by marrying a French
man and staying overseas.
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