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; = 2 wo ee . December 3a ASS e "Whan XY gecapted eployment 16 ras 2 st12055, ony sjening a Joyal ty”, 7 a n yt § Syrek conmented, "J belierws that pt mployer has tke right tO ing uty -ant OF. olitical beliefs and asscciations. Tha fact that lsyal ty oaths ara yequtred 7 y” ish fer sovarnment emplcyee and defense workers dees not justify their arbitrary... °°. extension into other fields,” nite Sf 2 TR MPoeye le The accountant firm said it was. company policy to require loyalty etate:rents.)~ frem all employes even if thay do not work on the beoks of organizations handling > classified contracts. He did net sreculata whether Syrek would ever haye had to’. ees obtain official security clearance if he had vemained with the firm as a multilith:.- 4 orerator. The Northern California ACLU decided to test the action by seeking a writ of wot mandate in the San Francisco Superior Court. It charged that Syrek was Ceprived of: eroperty without dus process of law, ee ; ee mo "The statement required of Mr. Syrek was vague and indefinite and had no reasons’ able relationship to the Job Mr. Syrek was to perform," according to. Ernest Besig,._ ‘ director of the ACLU affiliate, "Further, the extracting of loyalty oaths by private: . employers not engagad in Sensitive work, and not required by law, is an infringement; ef freedom of speech and assembly," : Ce oo So rah TEST OF NOCDL BOOK LIST STARTED IN FODERAL COURT. OS SO FEDERAL COURT Publishing and civil liberties circlen are following with special interest a: book censorship case started in Michigan this fal), ; : - - Five publishers of paper-bound books hava filed suit in Federal District Court: 2 \ \ Branch, State District Attorney Victor H. Blanc has instructed his, F207 eet. lhe at Detroit seeking an injunctien against the prosecuting attorney -of-St.-Clair-County~ Hichigan—= Wilbur ¥. Hamm. Hamm had ordered the two wholesale news distributors ©..." of Port Huron (8t. Clair County), Miche, not to handle any books or magazines listed —. 85 objectionable by the National Crgenization for Decent Literature, a Roman Catholics trganization., Among the titles so banned were "The Search for Bridey Murphy" (on - ms the ological grounds) and a sex book for teen-agers approved by the Detroit Comcil os, of Churches, parent-teacher groups, and Parent's Magazine, ; aed Suit was brought by Bantam, Pocket Books » Popular Library, Dell and the New a can American Library, all of which have titles on the NODL list. Their petition seeks $50,000 damages as well as an injunction, ; . In a separate but related action, Playboy magazine was granted an injunction : preventing Hamm from banning future isstes of that publication. ; After the book publishers! suit was filed and preliminary hearings had been us ‘eld, Father Paul J, Hickey, NODL moderator in Detroit, announced that henceforth |” group would not release its lists of objectionable books to civic or religious. agenciss, ; . ; _ : "The NCDL wishes to emphasize the fact that the prosecutor's action (in publish ‘ne the list) was his voluntary act," Father Hickey commented. "The NODL denies thato*: it ‘persuaded! or in any way, directly or indirsetly, exercised pressure on the 5 = Prosecutor to adept the NODL list. . , cota re a In their petition, tl missible authority in ado deprived them of proper ty without due process While commending the NCDL for secking to improve ‘the ‘standards of books and r magazines offered by newsstands » The Detroit News commented editorially: -- ce Lt News "eeethe activities of the NCDL are deeply alarming. The organization operates © normally as a citizens! Pressure group, Its members, equipped with a list of offen=_ - Siva publications » Visit merchants and demand the removal from the shelves of pro-..* scribed works. If the merchant refuses, they threaten boycott. But few refuse... °"’ There are Plenty of Paper books and magazines and no one seems obviously injured if Some are banned..,." . Se . we — Because of protests by the American Civil Liberties Union's Qe aa