Evening star., 1962-12-31
Douglas Raps
Some Probes
As Improper
~ the Associated Press

liam o. Douglas last night
described the Constitutions
Fifth Amendment as "one of
the greatest heritages we
have" but said ut has become
a slur" because Of improper
Governmental investigations.
Appearing on a taped tele-
vision interview (ABC-Howard
X. Smith, the veteran AS
sociate Justice was asked
whether he feels congressional
investigating committees are
fulfilling their purpose of
seeking information for legis-
lative purposes" Justice Doug
las replied:
Some have rendered out |
standing service. Others have
been publicity hounds, men |
running for office, exposing |
people for exposures sake,
making a circus Of it.
I'VE have lost the sense Of
proprieties concerning the
Fifth Amendment. The Fifth |
Amendment Is one Of the
greatest heritages we have, and
instead Of calling a man to
see how many times he would |
invoke the Fifth Amendment,
the standard should be |
the standard Of the old Pecora |
investigation in the early days !
Of the New Deal.
Protects Citizenry
"They would never call a
man If he was going to invoke |
the Fifth Amendment. The |
Fifth Amendment is mans
protection against all-powerful
Government"
The Fifth Amendment is the |
portion of the Bill of Rights
which provides that a man |
can not be compelled to testify |
against himself. Ferdinand |
Pecora is a New York attorney
who achieved nationwide note |
as an investigator of Wall |
Street practices in the 1930s.
Asked whether he feels in
voking of the Fifth Amend
ment has become a slur be-
cause it is resorted to so often |
in congressional investigations,
Justice Douglas answered:
"It has become a slur, and it !
was designed to protect the in
nocent as well as the guilty. |
The design was to make Gov
Iernment produce evidence i
rather than putting a man or
a woman on the rack and
squeezing out Of him or her the
stuff to convict them. :"
Much of the interview was
devoted to examination of JUS
tice Douglas belief that indi-
vidual liberties are threatened |
by Government and commercial
pressures and a desire for social
conformity. These views were
spelled out by the jurist earlier
this month in a booklet Free
dom of Mind" in which Justice
Douglas specifically criticized
activities Of the Central Intel
ligence Agency, the State and
Defense Departments and ac-
cuSed the press of failure to
keep the people informed.
ScOrns Loyalty Oaths
Justice Douglas criticized last
night the widespread use of 10y
atty oaths as a requisite for
obtaining or holding a job,
arguing principally against the
fact that many of them have
no time limitation, but require
that a man swear he never has
been a member of the Com
munist Party. Justice Douglas
said:
I'm the case of a man who
20 years ago, or 80 years ago,
Joined the Communist Party not
knowing what it was, and then
after a year discovered what It
was. and resigned and became,
as many have, bitter anti Com
munists that man would
be disqualified for a job"
Justice Douglas said the stig-
mas attached in such cases are
very difficult to fight through
the courts and ARE stigmas that
follow him right to the grave"
regardless Of what sort of man
ne may have been at the time
ne was asked TO take the oath.
The jurist concluded:
That is why government has
become so powerful over people
that we have to be very alert
TO protect the individual against
increasingly powerful govern
ment, because government is
not always right"