Operation Correction (1961)

I'm Ernest big executive director of the American civil liberties Union of Northern California on behalf of that organization we are going to show you a film you may already have seen it was called operation abolition and was a film spliced together from television newsreal footage subpoenaed by the house committee on un activities following their visit to San Francisco in May 1960 the final film produced and sold by Washington DC film company has been made part of its official record by the committee this is the committee's report under date of October 7 1960 entitled The Communist L riots against the house committee on unamerican activities in San Francisco May 12 to 14 1960 now the American civil liberties Union a large number of reliable eyewitnesses including ministers Educators attorneys newspapermen and broadcasters disagree with that title communist-led riots yes there were demonstrations against the committee some newspaper editorials against the committee's tactics in fact fairly widespread questioning of the committee from persons representing many shades in the broad spectrum of American political opinion no doubt some Communists both foreign and domestic variety are against this committee but we point out and we will prove with their own film that persons who demonstrate against the committee are not thereby Communists or communist dupes if you're to be called a communist every time you stand up for basic American Rights and Freedoms what's likely to happen will you be silent and if so is this what the house committee on unamerican activities is really after a silent submissive unprotecting America if not then why the falsifications in their own film in a moment you will see that film known as operation abolition but you will hear a corrected description of the events the evidence offered by the committee to prove that the San Francisco demonstrations were communist manipulated is this film but Mark this well the evidence lies not in the pictures you see but in the words spoken by the operation abolition narrator some of the effect has been achieved also by skillful editing and by omission of certain newsreal sequences but we're going to play fair the American way we don't think you answer lies and propaganda with more propaganda we think that if we show you the original film with the same sequences in it in the same positions but tell you in straight simple facts on which day each sequence was made you'll see for yourself some of the things that occurred in San Francisco in brief what occurred was this a three-day hearing of the house committee on unamerican activities at the city hall in San Francisco Thursday Friday Saturday May 12 13 and 14 1960 students expressed their protest against the committee's tactics on all three days on Friday afternoon the second day the police turned fire hoses on the demonstrators those are the simple facts the committee would have you believe that everything that occurred was calculated to lead up to that Friday afternoon disturbance and they tried to prove it by rearranging the scenes to fit that false assertion one of the dozens of examples of telling you one thing and showing you quite another is this statement in the film by chairman Walter the scene which you uh will be viewing were taken by newsreal photographers during hearings of the committee on unamerican activities in San Francisco California on May the 12th 13th and 14th 1960 during the next few minutes you will see revealed the the longtime classic communist tactic in which a relatively few few well-trained hardcore communist agents are able to incite and use non-communist sympathizers to perform the Dirty Work of the Communist party that as you will see is a totally unsupported propaganda statement which is why the American civil liberties Union of Northern California has in the interests of setting the record straight called its version of the film operation [Music] correction these films were made outside the San Francisco City Hall on Thursday the day before the police hosing the students are exercising the American right to pick up peacefully a right guaranteed them and a right clearly recognized by the San Francisco Police Department this group engaged in peaceful and orderly picketing from Thursday morning through Saturday without incident members of the students for civil liberties of the University of California joined by students from San Francisco State College and other schools are present none of the organizers of this group is either a known or alleged communist the operation AB narration states that these students were activated by trained agitators and propagandists months before the scheduled hearings a neat trick considering that the hearings were announced only 16 days in advance here we have Congressman Willis giving a reporter the committee's explanation of why the hearings were being held with respect to the general operation of the Communist conspiracy wherever it may lead uh it's the mandate that law has been on the books for probably over 20 years we receive our Appropriations and our audit every year to maintain this General surveillance uh of the Communist operations with the view of amending improving correcting uh laws having to do with our internal security the internal Security Act of 1950 foreign agents registration act the Smith Act uh and so on this part and parcel of our General Studies of the machinations of the Communist conspiracy the committee hearings had been announced as public hearings meaning that any citizen might go and see what his elected representatives to Congress were doing one group of students was at this moment inside the city hall waiting to get into that hearing in order to show you how the committee has falsified the facts by stringing scenes together without regard to the true sequence of events from time to time we're going to supply subtitles to indicate when the scenes were actually taken but now let's listen to the original narration who had an active part in the San Francisco abolition campaign and the protest demonstrations were Harry Bridges whom you see here being escorted out of City Hall by police officials moments before the writing broke out the truth is that Bridges was having lunch when the disturbance occurred and did not arrive at the city hall until the hosing was over and Order had been restored FBI director J Edgar Hoover has reported the correct time of Bridge's arrival and Congressman Walter finally admitted quote that the commentary is an error in stating that Bridges was escorted from City Hall before the rioting broke out end quote and Order had certainly been restored when this scene was filmed because this took place Saturday the day after the fire hosing here's Archie Brown a subpoena witness described as playing a major role in inciting the demonstrations he's doing no inciting here because one of these scenes took place on Friday and one on Saturday both after the fire hose incident the committee would have you think that the students are guilty of associating with Archie Brown simply because they were also at City Hall in the present sequence Brown is exercising his legal rights in distributing leaflets this is Marl Brodsky another subpoena witness described as participating in the chanting and singing demonstrations immediately outside the hearing room Brodsky was acting completely on his own when he tried to get cooperation from student monitors of the picket lines he got a flat turn down here is Douglas wer the committee falsely claimed he played an important part in the student demonstration the fact is Douglas wer was forced to attend as a a subpoena witness he was not a leader of any demonstration you will note that he is just finishing his testimony yet this shot shows him in the hallway with the students awaiting admission to the hearings now remember the committee hearings were supposed to be public so a lot of people came to attend simply as Spectators they queued up outside the hearing room waiting to be admitted they had assumed admission would be on a first come first served basis but the committee wasn't playing it that way people bearing passes issued by the committee to carefully selected groups were admitted by the side door and the overwhelming majority of the seats were occupied by these past carrying Friends of the committee on the first morning they did admit about 75 people from the general public but this was the most ever the committee's narrator says quote the committee issued 100 passes what he does not say is that on most passes it said admit three four five or six it was this policy of stacking the Committee hearing With Friends of the committee which produced a deep sense of indignation and frustration in the students who had waited outside the door so long here's Archie Brown again the original film cast him in the role of villain and brown is giving a good performance like the committee he is reaching for newspaper headlines in this sequence Brown is being evicted from the hearings on Thursday morning to build up the effect this has been falsely coupled with these shots of the eviction of a student on Friday morning and also Merl Brodsky on Friday a glaring example of how the film transposes scenes is shown in the reappearance of Douglas wter wter was previously shown leaving the witness stand now he's just appearing on the stand and testifying at some length remember wter was forced to be present because he was subpoenaed unlike Archie Brown wter didn't behave badly and wasn't tossed out of the hearings why then does the film spend so much time with him it is because he is an alleged communist and a college student because you see one alleged communist student and then many other students the committee would have you lump them all together and believe that all of the demonstrating students were Communists this is known as guilt by association the committee's favorite weapon in smearing all kinds of people let's listen now to the mild mannered Douglas wter testifying it punishes individuals and groups for their political ideas and associations through public exposure and condemnation now I'm sorry you are refusing to answer on the basis of the pr amendment is that correct I have I have objection to the question it punishes individuals and groups for their political ideas and associations through public exposure and condemnation often result an economic fanction I cannot cooperate with the committee in answering any such questions I feel I have an obligation as as a citizen of this country to preserve the Constitution and I do not feel I can do so in good conscience by allow allowing the house and American Activities Committee to inquire into my beliefs or Association wter is then ordered and directed to answer the question whether he is a Communist Party member here is his response I decline to answer that question on the grounds previously stated and I also respectfully refuse to answer that question on the Constitutional grounds that I cannot be forced to Bear witness against myself perhaps these crowd shots were designed to link wter to the demonstrating students at noon on Thursday a mass rally was sponsored by the students for civil liberties at Union Square about a mile away from the city hall a minister and Two California assemblymen addressed this rally and denounced the house committee on unamerican activities as a threat to civil liberties after the rally the students marched back to the city hall and began to pick it outside the building under the direction of monitors wearing armbands They Carried signs critical of the committee here is Police Inspector Dan Shelly on duty outside the door of the hearing room on Thursday morning waving back the students who were unable to gain admission at the close of the Thursday morning session and mainly while the committee was recessed a group of subpoena Witnesses engaged in a demonstration inside the hearing room they chanted open the door this was followed by the singing of the star spangle banner and the reciting of the pledge of allegiance to the flag and then repeated chanting of open the door the connection between these subpoenaed Witnesses and the students protesting the committee is never made clear the subpoena Witnesses the stars of this show didn't pick it with the students and the students were extremely careful to have nothing to do with the witnesses yet this cutting back and forth these honest and accidental mistakes to quote chairman Walter again would have you believe that there was a connection the original film distorted the account of the demonstration in the hearing room in three ways first of all it concealed the fact that most of this time the committee wasn't even in session second it hid the immediate reason for the demonstration the fact was some of the subpoena Witnesses had presented a petition to the committee asking them to move to a larger room or else admit people on a first come first serve basis the committee refused to consider the petition and third students were justifiably angry over the seating policy the fact that almost all of the seats were filled by people carrying the committee's white card now remember this demonstration occurred at the close of the Thursday morning session and mainly while the committee was recessed although the way the film is pieced together you think it happened Friday just before the police hosing it just wasn't that way at all now let's listen to the [Applause] demonstration open the door open the door [Applause] open the door open the open the door open [Applause] the open open the open the open the door open the open open the open the open the door open the door [Applause] get out of town what a show you put on open the doors or get out of town are you afraid they'll see the school pigeons I mean if these people here would see just what what bankrupt kind of people you bring before this committee if that was you I I to know what are you afraid of Jo my [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the through [Applause] of the and [Applause] the [Applause] bear in mind that the committee is not now in session and this demonstration however noisy is in no way interfering with the taking of testimony open the door open the door open the door open the doors what are you afraid of open the doors here comes a goose Squad this is americanism watch this americanism in action watch this americanism in action watch this [Applause] americanism finally after the seven subpoena Witnesses had been allowed to put on their disorderly act for the benefit of the TV cameramen and the newspapers they were removed from the hearing room by police officers they could have been removed much sooner since police were on duty throughout the hearings but it served the committee's purpose to allow the demonstration to be prolonged in fact both the committee and the demonstrators were bidding for headlines chairman Willis opens Thursday afternoon's hearing session with a request for order that these hearings have been conducted in a dignified fashion [Applause] the only reason only Earthly reason why uh people the door is not open is there in no courtroom in America of people allow on the side AIS unless they order in no picture show or other public puncture of people allowed in the side ey being that is the only reason why this thing has been brought about we were very patient this morning we will continue to be patient but firm and decided now uh this thing was brought about by the Solly conduct this morning in the next 2 minutes you'll see a series of mixed up scenes because we can't show you what we really happened we'll have to tell you we're getting now to the heart of this matter the police hosing which the committee calls the quote communist Le riots first you must know that there were two police authorities in operation at City Hall on this particular Black Friday there was no apparent liazon between them on one side was sheriff carbury on the other inspector Maguire of the city police the sheriff seemed to be working in One Direction the inspector in another naturally there was confusion Friday morning the sheriff approached the students saying in effect wait in the Rotunda and I'll try to arrange for you to be admitted to the hearing room through no fault of his Sheriff carbury could not make the necessary arrangements in time for the afternoon session in the meantime the responsible student leadership made several attempts to cooperate with the police they were rebuffed they sensed the danger in the situation and made frantic effort to contact the mayor or some other responsible City official no one was available at noon on Friday the students thought their efforts were to be successful that at last they were to be let in on a first come first served basis and again they were treated to the spectacle of the passholders being admitted ahead of them they felt cheated they felt they'd been betrayed Sheriff carbury had led them to expect the afternoon sessions would see admissions on a more Equitable basis ironically enough the sheriff had done as he promised he'd gotten the permission he was after and he was on his way back to City Hall with that information when the hosing began under inspector Maguire's Direction a squad of policemen moved up the city hall stairs the students quieted down they expected the police to make some statement some request for them to leave the building but nothing was said the committee's version keeps emphasizing that the students were warned it's true the police ask a few individual students to leave but there was never a general warning to the students no hint was given of what was to come out of the sight of the students the police began uncoiling the fire hoses the students tried to demonstrate their nonviolent Intentions by sitting down some witnesses heard a policeman shout something to this effect so you want some of this do you well you're going to get it and then the water was turned on that's what really happened but here's the committee's version of what happened when one officer warns that fire hoses will have to be used if the crowd do not dispersed the demonstrators become more and more unruly one student provides the spark that touches off the violence when he leaps over a barricade grabs a police officer's night stick and begins beating the the officer over the head as the mob surges forward to storm the doors a Police Inspector orders that the fire hoses be turned on well you surely know that Robert meisenbach was acquitted in his San Francisco trial if you saw Life Magazine of May 23rd 1960 you saw a photograph of meisenbach standing perfectly dry over against the wall of the Rotunda looking on while the students were being hosed not even the committee will suggest a communist trick so adroit that a man can touch off a riot beat a police officer be drenched with fire hoses and get away all dried off within a matter of seconds it can't be done and wasn't done even the officer who supposedly was assaulted admitted at the trial there was no barricade jumping by meisenbach and another curious fact despite all the experienced press and television cameramen on the spot all the footage that was taken no one has come forward with a single frame showing anyone jumping any barricade nor as the committee would have it quote any mob surging forward to storm the doors end quote do you see anything of that kind here you can bet that if it had occurred someone would have pictures of it and you can bet at even longer odds that if such pict existed the committee would have publicized them far and wide look at these scenes of police rousting students from City Hall which group is using allout violence the students or the police and just suppose for the sake of argument that a student had leaped a barricade and assaulted an officer that would would certainly be grounds for his arrest but would that if it occurred have Justified the police in handling all the students in this way the fact is no one leaped a barricade no one assaulted an officer then why did the police use the hoses only the police know that and they aren't saying there has been a widespread awareness not only in San Francisco but nationally that the evidence points to brutality and violence on the part of the police rather than on the part of the students we ask you to draw your own conclusions remember that most of the scenes you saw just prior to the hosing were actually taken the day before on Thursday but the makers of operation abolition weren't satisfied with the truth it wasn't dramatic enough it didn't prove their point about a communist-led riot so by combining the two demonstrations the film editors were able to create a distorted untrue but persuasive effect as we said before representative Walter has tried to defend himself by saying the errors in the film are purely accidental you know now they were not accidental when the committee subpoenaed the film from the photographers all sequences were properly dated and labeled there was no excuse for error no excuse for mixing up the true sequence of events it's a matter of record that at least seven students were injured what operation abolition didn't include was the original newsreal film showing injured students lying prostrate and apparently unconscious on the floor of city hall or outside on the ground such scenes were carefully deleted by the committee's producers in contrast see now what tender concern they have for the police in the words of the original narrator and non injured four students suffer minor injuries eight policemen are injured to the point where they require hospitalization five officers were seriously hurt two suffering heart attacks and three are treated for deep Cuts here you see patrolman Frank duny aged 61 who suffered a stroke when he was knocked down by student agitators this makes a good story from the committee's point of view but the truth as shown by the official police report is that officer duny merely collapsed from exhaustion and other police injuries were minor why shouldn't they be minor no one was turning hoses on the police or dragging them downstairs and all eight policemen were back at full-time Duty within 3 days the committee also falsely tied in the students with Communism by declaring that just before the hosing quote students enthusiastically join in on the refrains to the song about is the committee We Shall Not Be Moved lyrics to which are lifted from the old communist people song book end quote actually we shall not be moved is an old religious spiritual well known to people acquainted with folk music which appears in himels and is presently the theme of sittin demonstrators in the South these are the arrested students being booked later charges against all but one Robert meisenbach were dismissed and meisenbach was acquitted by a jury after Less Than 3 hours of deliberation now with all the talk in the committee's film about communist leaders and communist dupes only two of those arrested are even alleged to be Communists and these two joined the group only after the hoses were turned on so even this flimsy pretext by the committee of communist provocation of police Falls flat now the film shows you some more so-called evidence of Communists agitating California students into opposing the house committee on Un-American Activities this includes clippings from the daily Californian and the San Francisco Chronicle the implication is that these news stories on events surrounding the hearings are a result of communist inspiration showing a page from a newspaper obviously doesn't prove prove this claim nor do continuing scenes of pickets and crowds taken at various times during the hearings again you will see actions of some of the witnesses under subpoena in the hearing room you're informed in operation abolition that in some way these Witnesses were directly responsible for the demonstrations a mild away at Union Square also the demonstrators outside City Hall and also those trying to get into the hearing the committee narrator tells you it's a communist tactic for witnesses to defy it if so why does the committee subpoena the same Witnesses again and again is it because they really think the witnesses will suddenly break down and make some dramatic disclosure or is it because they can count on a stubborn defiant witness making a good newspaper Story the committee doesn't like statements from unfriendly Witnesses its rules say that any statement can be rejected as an attack on the committee so any witness Who Dares disagree has no way of being heard either verbally or in writing without the committee's Indulgence here we see Archie Brown attempting to read just such a statement I live at 1027 Brussels Street San Francisco I am a long shoreman I want to State uh Mr chairman that uh I have something I have something to tell the commit you committee I want to tell the committee response to which is served upon you by this committee my family is response to a which is served upon you by this committee expect to suggest to witness now the ordered and directed to answer the question I uh direct you to answer that question are youing today in respons served on You by this committee yes it was served on me by this committee and are you represented by Council that I am c will you TR and identify yourself George Anderson Brown wor when were you born Mr uh chairman I want to state that I I direct you to answer the question that's the only way we can proceed a well uh I was subp here you I I was a here and uh my Pro the next my family you Pro with the next question I was in City Iowa I expect to suggest to witness now the order directed to answer the outstanding principal question answer what is the outstanding principal question the outstanding principal question is where when were you born I already said it give a sen please a word about your education as Archie Brown doggedly continues his efforts to read a statement chairman Willis threatens him with expulsion from the hearing room under the rule of the committee you may file that paper with our director at this time if you wish to I wish to read this statement I wish to I want to read this statement Mr chairman how come that you're bridling me I want to explain my position I want all right I want to I want to you may file the statement you may not to read my statement make a motion before I direct you sir to am Arie Brown is forcibly removed for the third time the committee need have been surprised that this next Witness William Mandel turned out to be hostile their narrator described him as quote an identified agent of the Communist Party end quote what did they expect well they expected an outburst because this is great publicity In fairness to Mr Mandel it should be said that the testimony you hear was presented out of context if you think that I am going to cooperate with this collection of judices of men who sit there in violation of the United States Constitution if you think I'll will cooperate with you in any way you are insane Mandel's answer that he was a lecturer was left out and now we hear only part of his answer to the next question whether he was a party member and lectured as such this question has no purpose other to harass me when I was asked this question last in 1943 by the late Joe McCarthy and let me say that I am honored when people come up to me on the street perhaps I don't deserve this honor and say you're the man who killed Joe McCarthy because I I happened to appear on the first day of the book burning hearing and I did my best to conduct myself in the manner which I'm conducting myself today if there were any such evidence against me under any law the proper authorities could move against me this body is improperly constituted it is a kangaroo court it does not have my respect it has my utmost contempt and I am not going to answer that question sir next you will see Frank Wilkinson being interviewed by a new man he is described by Congressman Gordon H sheerer as a top communist agent and accused of agitating among the student demonstrators of course this accusation is totally unsupported and just as phony as the crowd noises that were dubbed into the film of the city hall today no I've just been an observer of those I understood uh you had said you were organizing protests against the committee yes uh one of the things that that our committee does and I do for our committee is to come to each Community when the committee issues its subpoena to assist the subpoena persons and others in the community who are not familiar with the kind of unconstitutional behavior that this committee carries on to assist that community and to assist those subes in their own self-defense in the committee hearings today you were called an international communist agent are you a communist that's a very flattering remark I been frequently called a a hardcore communist a local communist by Mr erens but never an international communist as far as the basic question is concerned until the Supreme Court uh has answered the fundamental constitutional question which is now pending in my case which is one of the 36 First Amendment test cases of this committee until they have resolved this matter and declared these kind of questions under compulsion to be illegal and unconstitutional I refused to answer the questions away from the committee just as I refused to answer them directly to the community to the committee when I've been called now you've seen the film known as operation abolition but accompanied by a narration of facts rather than unfounded statements and deliberate distortions I'm sure you now see that what happened in San Francisco was not a communist Le riot or even a group of young Americans being duped by Communists once you recognize this truth two questions then arise why were the students there and why did the house committee on unamerican activities make this film first the student demonstrations increasingly students have become passionately involved in civil liberties issues these are good forthright American issues going back a Long Way to the Declaration of indep dependence to the Bill of Rights and coming right up to today with our serious National concern for the civil rights of all Americans there's a difference between communist dupes and high-minded young men and women proud of their country's traditions of freedoms so openly proud of that tradition that they had the courage and conviction to protest the violations of those freedoms by the Walter committee the students protested by peaceful picketing they sought admission to what had been announced as a public hearing and were denied on flimsy frustrating and conflicting grounds yes their reaction to this denial singing and chanting inside a public building May rightfully be criticized but as the record shows they maintained their self-imposed passive resistance and acted on the whole with a restraint and courage not always matched by their Elders now the second question why did the house committee on non-american activities twist and distort this whole episode why did they play scenes out of sequence why did they leave out certain scenes why did they make narration statements that were totally unsupported either by the pictures or the facts why did they give special prominence to the misbehavior inside the hearing room of a few Communists and alleged Communists who had been subpoenaed we believe that the original film and narration were carefully and deliberately designed to create the impression that all who oppose the committee are either Communists or communist dupes in this manner the committee seeks to discourage further protests against it particularly among students and to inhibit freedom of speech and assembly yes some Americans have been duped but in this case the duping has been done by the house committee on unamerican activities Mark well that the Walter committee did all this by indulging in a highly dubious bit of business using its subpoena power to seize private property belonging to television stations and turning it over to a Comm commercial film producer who made the distribution and took the profits our disclosure of the Distortion of this incident and the untruthfulness of operation abolition gives the American people a concrete example of the irresponsible manner in which the house on American Activities Committee operates the ACLU supports the statement of the New York Times when it says this whole unamerican operation by the unamerican Activities Committee is evidence not of the need for its continuance but need of its abolition a course we have urged before and that's why we have just shown you operation correction