Attorney General Robert H. Jackson today warned the second annual conference of United States attorneys to protect “the spirit as well as the letter of civil liberties” in instituting prosecutions.
“In times of fear or hysteria,” he said, “political, racial, religious, social, and economic groups, often from the best of motives, cry for the scalps of individuals or groups because they do not like their views. Particularly do we need to be dispassionate and courageous in those cases which deal with so-called ‘subversive activities.’
“They are dangerous to civil liberty because the prosecutor has no definite standards to determine what constitutes a subversive activity, such as we have for murder or larceny. Activities which seem benevolent and helpful to wage earners, persons on relief, or those who are disadvantaged in the struggle for existence may be regarded as ‘subversive’ by those whose property interests might be burdened or affected thereby.”
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