Truman Pardons 1,523 Draft-Act Violators

CONSHIES ON LIST GETTING CIVIL RIGHTS

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23. -- Christmas pardons by President Truman today restored citizenship rights to 1,523 person convicted of violating the wartime Draft Act. They incuded [included] conscientious objectors and others.

Most, if not all, of those affected already have served their sentences. The effect of the President's proclamation is a blanket restoration of "political, civil and other rights."

The President acted on the recommendation of an Amnesty Board, which he set up a year ago and which reviewed 15,805 cases.

The board was head by Owen J. Roberts, former associate justice of the Supreme Court. He was assisted by Willis Smith, Raleigh, N.C., attorney, and James F. O'Neil, former police chief of Manchester, N.H.

Northwest Pardons

Those pardoned included these men sentenced in Washington and Alaska Federal Courts, and the dates of sentencing:

Western Washington District Court -- Walter Anderson, December 11, 1944; Clifford Martin Johnson, October 9, 1944; Thorger William Johnson, October 9, 1943; Ralph Benjamin Lee, July, 1942, and February, 1944; Ted Parez D. Niedo, September 10, 1943; Charles A. Whitson, March 2, 1943; Warren Jacob Yuniger, December 19, 1946.

Eastern Washington District Court; Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi, November 30, 1944; Oscar Johnson, July 31, 1943; Edgar Ellis Kestner, April 10, 1945; James Robinson, September 26, 1942.

Alaska: Edward Nullorok, April 23, 1943.

15,805 Cases Considered

The board's report said that the 15,805 Selective Service violation cases considered included "approximately 10,000 wilful violators, 4,300 Jehovah's Witnesses, 1,000 religious conscientious objectors and 500 other types."

The list of those pardoned did not indicate in which class the board placed each individual.

"Of this total," the report continued, "618 were granted presidential pardons because of a year or more service with honorable discharges from the armed forces. An additional approximate 900 entered the armed forces and may

become eligible for pardon upon completion of their service.

"When the board was created there were 1,200 offenders in custody. Since that date, an additional 550 have been institutionalized. At the present time there are 626 in confinement, only 76 of whom were in custody on January 6, 1947."

General Amnesty Rejected

The board said it rejected recommendations that it advocate a general amnesty to all violators, asserting such a blanket action would have resorted full civil status to some men "who neither were nor claimed to be religious conscientious objectors."

The board said that its work was directed "chiefly to examining the propriety of recommending restoration of civil rights to those who have been returned to their homes." It did not state whether any of those for whom the pardons were recommended are still in custody.

Although two thirds or more of the cases studied concerned "willful violation," the board said it found in some instances that such violation was due to "ignorance, illiteracy, honest misunderstanding or carelessness not rising to the level of criminal negligence."

But many of the wilful violators had prior criminal records and others had "ulterior motives" for draft dodging, the report said. It concluded that those who for such reasons evaded the law indicated no respect for civil rights any way and were not recommended for pardons.

The board said it also did not feel justified in recommending clemency for men who founded their objections to war service "on intellectual, political or socialogical [sociological] convictions resulting from the individual's reasoning and personal economic or political philosophy."

This latter group, it contended, set itself up as "a wiser and more competent than society to determine their duty to come to the defense of the nation."

In other cases, the board found that some who asserted conscientious objections actually were moved by "fear, the desire to evade military service or the wish to remain as long as possible in highly paid employment."

Nisei on List

The board recommended pardons for a number of Americans of Japanese ancestry who were convicted because of their refusal to serve without full recognition of their rights of citizenship. he said they "deeply resented" wartime classification as "undesirables."

The board considered approximately 4,300 cases of Jehovah's Witnesses, whose difficulties it said resulted from their insistence that each be accorded a "ministerial status."

The board said it recommended pardons for those it thought should be classified as "ministers."

VETS GET CLEMENCY -- The office of Senator Jenner, Republican, Indiana, made public today a letter from President Truman stating that former service men "entitled to clemency are receiving it."

The President's letter was dated December 9 and was in reply to one from Senator Jenner suggesting that Mr. Truman grant "general amnesty" to all former service men now in prison for "more or less minor offenses." Jenner's letter called attention to the presidential clemency recently granted Mayor Curley of Boston.

The Indiana Republican wrote:

"In my opinion such general amnesty would be warranted and would soften the criticism recently heard with reference to your action in commuting the sentence of Mayor James Curley of Boston, Mass. In that case a man who was convicted twice, the latest being a charge of using the mails to defraud on the pretense of being able to influence the granting of war contracts, was given a commutation of sentence to permit him to eat Thanksgiving dinner at home."

Jenner added that "a large number of enlisted men," many of whom were inducted at an early age and suffered battle fatigue or shell shock, still are in prison. He said a presidential pardon would be a "splendid Christmas gift" for the men and their families.

The President's reply, revealed by Jenner's office, was:

"I received your letter of December 4 with a great deal of interest and the matter to which you refer has been gone into by the attorney-general and those members who are entitled to clemency are receiving it. I appreciate your interest in Mayor Curley."

Jenner is in Indiana for the holidays, but instructed his staff to make the President's letter public.