Mr. Ross. Yes, sir; which we are constantly striving to do. Mr. FASCELL. There is nothing specific at this point that you can tell this committee about contemplated changes in your present policy? Mr. Ross. Yes, sir; I can inform you in connection with two things which are contemplated in the Department of Defense. Mr. FASCELL. Fine. We would be very interested in them. Mr. Ross. One, we have in the process of being established a panel to review our procedures for the declassification of historical documents with a view to setting up, if possible and if it is found feasible, firm guidelines to expedite the declassification of such documents. The Assistant Secretary for Research and Development has just about ready to submit to Secretary Wilson a recommendation for the handling of scientific and technical material with a view to expediting the dissemination of that material to interested people in the scientific fraternity and otherwise. Mr. FASCELL. At the present time, on the dissemination of that scientific and technical information, is the Department of Defense required to coordinate or clear with the OSI in any way? Mr. Ross. Not on the dissemination of scientific material in the United States. Mr. FASCELL. Only on foreign release? Mr. Ross. Only on the exchange of scientific material. Mr. FASCELL. In other words, they have no supervision over your department? They exercise no control over your department? Mr. Ross. No, sir. Mr. FASCELL. You have no particular problem with respect to the application of judgment in individual cases by the personnel within your department at the present time? Mr. Ross. Well, sir, the only thing I can say to that is that we exercise the best judgment possible. Of course, we sometimes make errors. Mr. FASCELL. That is all I have, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Moss. Mr. Ross, we want to thank you. The committee will look forward to seeing you again tomorrow morning at 10. (Whereupon, at 12:35 p. m. the committee adjourned to reconvene at 10 a. m. Tuesday, July 10, 1956.) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES Part 5-Department of Defense, First Section TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1956 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT INFORMATION OF THE Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10 a. m. in room 304, Old House Office Building, Hon. John E. Moss (chairman of the subcommittee), presiding. Mr. Moss. The subcommittee will now come to order and we will resume with Secretary Ross. Mr. Mitchell, I believe you were questioning the witness when we adjourned yesterday. Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Ross, we were having a discussion yesterday on the verbal order or instruction or information concerning that Washington Post article. Mr. Ross. Yes, sir. Mr. MITCHELL. At that time you said that the item was restricted to speed trials of aircraft, I believe? FURTHER STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT TRIPP ROSS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS; ACCOMPANIED BY PHILIP K. ALLEN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS; LEONARD NIEDERLEHNER, DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL; C. HERSCHEL SCHOOLEY, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INFORMATION; AND BERT SAYMON, LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMS DIVISION Mr. Ross. The discussion which took place between the Secretaries at which an agreement was arrived at concerning the 1-year time period related only to official speed runs of aircraft. Mr. MITCHELL. Was that order, or that instruction, or whatever you want to call it, reduced to writing to apply to all weapons subsequent to the date of the Washington Post article? Mr. Ross. No, sir. Mr. MITCHELL. It never has been reduced to writing? Mr. Ross. No, sir. Mr. MITCHELL. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I have a few ques tions for Mr. Schooley. Mr. Schooley, you have been in the Pentagon since 1946? Mr. SCHOOLEY. I have been in the Washington Government information programs since 1946, Mr. Mitchell. Mr. MITCHELL. In connection with the Military Establishment? Mr. SCHOOLEY. That is right. Originally in 1946 I came into Washington duty while still in Navy uniform after the war. Mr. MITCHELL. But you have been in the military information program in some capacity since then? Mr. SCHOOLEY. That is right. Mr. MITCHELL. Are you familiar with the procedures used by previous Secretaries of Defense, Mr. Forrestal, Mr. Johnson and, Mr. Lovett? Mr. SCHOOLEY. Yes, sir. I have been in the Defense information program since Harold Hinton was borrowed by Mr. Forrestal from the New York Times to undertake first studies in the coordination of the information program under the 1947 National Military Establishment Act, or the National Security Act. Mr. MITCHELL. Could you explain to the subcommittee the method used by these previous Secretaries of Defense for giving the press a firsthand explanation of Defense Department problems and policies? I am thinking of the so-called background conferences. What was the procedure, for example, used by Mr. Forrestal? Mr. SCHOOLEY. Historically, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Forrestal, who left the Secretaryship of the Navy to become Secretary of Defense in September of 1947, was a man of conciliation and mediation, and he believed in understanding and good will, so he undertook a number of basic studies on problems as he saw them on the new defense horizon. One of those was public information. As I mentioned a minute ago, he borrowed from the New York Times, with the approval of Mr. Sulzberger, its publisher, Harold B. Hinton, who was at that time the Times military correspondent, and asked Mr. Hinton to begin pilot studies of how best to set up a Government information operation broad enough to cover the new legislation. Mr. Hinton began that study and pilot operation in July 1948. The result was the signing and issuance of what has since been known as the Forrestal memorandum of March 17, 1949, which set up a coordinated program with the Secretary of Defense as the responsible head. Mr. MITCHELL. The memorandum quoted yesterday by Mr. Ross? Mr. SCHOOLEY. That is right, sir. Since that time, to summarize, all of the successive Secretaries of Defense and their service Secretary counterparts have undertaken to deal with this same problem of coordination and effective operation to the best of their respective abilities as part of their general problems. Mr. MITCHELL. Specifically, would you explain to the subcommittee how Secretary Forrestal used background conferences to help the press with information problems and difficulties? How often did he meet with the press, where, under what circumstances, and so forth? Mr. SCHOOLEY. I will now catch that part of your question. In reply, I would say that Mr. Forrestal held record press conferences on various points, and in addition to that, on occasion he met informally with the press at what you might describe as background din ners or luncheons, or occasions where he would meet informally with the press and discuss matters at sessions which were other than record sessions. Mr. MITCHELL. Did the press at those conferences have an opportunity to point out to him some of the information difficulties? Mr. SCHOOLEY. Undoubtedly they did. Mr. MITCHELL. These are what you would call off-the-record conferences for background purposes? Mr. SCHOOLEY. They were what you refer to as background confer ences. Mr. MITCHELL. What was the procedure used by Mr. Louis Johnson? Did he succeed Mr. Forrestal? Mr. SCHOOLEY. Mr. Johnson did succeed Mr. Forrestal. Mr. Johnson's practices, as all practices have differed, did differ from those of his predecessor. As I recall those circumstances, he held two record press conferences in the early days of his administration, and infrequent ones thereafter throughout his 16 or 17 months as Secretary of Defense. Mr. MITCHELL. He also had these background conferences? Mr. SCHOOLEY. I do not recall that Mr. Johnson had such background conferences with the press. I do not think that he continued that practice of background conferences. Mr. MITCHELL. Is there any way that that can be verified? Mr. SCHOOLEY. Certainly. That can be verified. Mr. MITCHELL. Are those a matter of record? Mr. SCHOOLEY. Well, his calendar undoubtedly is a matter of record. That would be the only way, the best way I can think of, to refer to the record. Mr. MITCHELL. Have you ever attended one of those conferences yourself? Mr. SCHOOLEY. Not with Mr. Forrestal nor with Mr. Johnson. General Marshall was next. Mr. MITCHELL. Did he conduct background press conferences? Mr. SCHOOLEY. General Marshall did not. Mr. MITCHELL. Were you there then? Mr. SCHOOLEY. Yes, sir. Mr. MITCHELL. Did he have a deputy who did that? Mr. SCHOOLEY. Mr. Lovett was his deputy and Mr. Lovett during General Marshall's year as Secretary of Defense did not have a procedure or custom of holding background conferences. Mr. MITCHELL. Did anybody during that particular time have any background conferences? Mr. SCHOOLEY. During that time, that was a year of conflict in Korea, that is from September 1950 to September 1951, General Marshall's regime, at that time there was practice of having military briefings daily for the military writers at the Pentagon. That was done not to duplicate in any sense coverage of the conflict in Korea but to provide the military writers with an understanding of the military developments in Korea. That was done by competent military briefing officers representing Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Lovett's procedure? Mr. SCHOOLEY. That was General Marshall's procedure with Mr. Lovett as his deputy at that time. |