Evening star., 1961-06-07
Communist Curbs

The margin was slim-5 to 4 in
each case. Nevertheless, the Supreme
Court, in two decisions, placed at least
a preliminary stamp of approval on
legislation intended to help this Gov
ernment cope more effectively with the
Communist conspiracy.
One ruling, announced by Mr..
Justice Frankfurter, upheld the regis
tratton requirements of the Internal
Security Act of 1850. This means,
after 10 years of litigation, that "Com-
munist action" and Communist front"
organizations meaning the Communist
Party and its StoogeS-muSt register
with the Attorney General. The court
majority needed 112 pages of text to deal
with the pros and cons of the issues
involved. One of these issues grew out
OF the Communist Party's contention,
as summarized by the court, "that the
First Amendment prohibits Congress
from requiring the registration and
filing of information, including mem
bership lists, by organizations sub
Stantially dominated or controlled by
the foreign powers controlling the world
Communist movement and which oper-
ate primarily to advance the objectives
Of that movement-the overthrow of
existing government by any means
necessary and the establishment in its
place of a Communist totalitarian
dictatorship"
Justice Frankfurter's comment was
short and very much to the point: "We
cannot find such a prohibition in the
First Amendment. So to find would
make a travesty Of that Amendment
and the great ends for the well-being
OF our democracy that it serves"
The second opinion, written by Mr..
Justice Harlan, upheld a section of the
Smith Act of 1910 which makes it a
crime to belong knowingly to an organ
ization which advocates the violent
overthrow of the Government. The
effect is to sustain the 1858 conviction
of JuniuS Irving Scales, who has since
left the party and is living in New York.
These rulings, joined in by Justices
Clark, Whitaker and Stewart, will be
helpful. But they were carefully cir4
cumscribed and their import should
not be exaggerated. True enough, the
Communist Party calls them Crush
ing blow to democracy" and pledges
that it will not be "derelict in its duty
to the American people" to fight
vigorously for its own full legal rights
and existence" The fact is, however,
that Justice Frankfurter'S ruling did
not reach the penalty provisions of the
Internal Security Act. These penalty
clauses, If invoked by the Department
of Justice in event of a refusal to
register, may or may not be sanctioned
by the court. And Justice Harlan, in
the Scales case, made it clear that the
forbidden party membership must be
active, and not nominal, passive, or
theoretical" Presumably, many Com
muniSts are beyond the reach of the
Smith Act clause.
Then there is the further con-
Sideration that even these limited
restraints on the Communist conspiracy
survived by mere one-vote margin
in the court. A change of mind by a
single justice, or possibly replacement
on the bench, could alter the whole
result. We do not say this in any spirit
of criticism of the four justices who,
for various reasons, disSented. They
voted their convictions. But there is
small room for complacency on the
part of those who take seriously what
the court describes as the menace of
"a world wide integrated movement
which employs every combination of
possible means, peaceful and violent,
domestic and foreign, overt and clan
destine, to destroy the Government
itself. . :" The Communist Party will
be around for some time. And the day
may come when it's venal activities will
be held to lie within the shelter of
the Constitution.