Freedom of Conscience

Abstract

On May 19, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Harry Sacher v. United States reversing Mr. Sacher's conviction by a lower court of contempt of Congress for refusing to answer certain questions put to him by the Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security. This case is in some ways unique among the hundreds of witch-hunt cases of the last few years, for, so far as we know, Harry Sacher alone refused to answer questions about his politics solely on grounds of conscience and without invoking any amendment to the Constitution. Since the case has been largely neglected, even by the left-wing press, and since Harry Sacher's statement before the Senate subcommittee is one of which Americans can not only be proud but from which they can take heart, we publish below the key excerpt from the committee hearings. In doing so, we pay our respects to a man who has given us all a welcome and invigorating lesson in courage and principle. —The Editors.

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