Mr. THOMAS. Would it be advisable in the face of that status to goahead with other cases, when all of them more or less depend upon this one big one? Are not you just really spinning your wheels there until you get your pattern?" Mr. BROWN. That is a very difficult question to answer. I believe all I could say with regard to that would be that I have been advised that should an order be entered requiring the respondent Communist Party to register, the Attorney General would then file 15 or 16. petitions against other so-called Communist front organizations. ADDITIONAL POSITIONS IN 1953 Mr. THOMAS. Certainly you do not need these 25 additional employees until the Board finally comes to a conclusion on the question in the big case, namely, the Communist Party itself, and that is at least 6 months away; is it not? Mr. BROWN. That is right, sir.. Mг. THOMAS. I am not trying to throw any blocks in your way. We want to help you. At the same time, there is no need of giving you so much money when you cannot use it. That is clear; is it not? Mr. BROWN. I agree with you. Mr. THOMAS. You cannot possibly use these 25 people until another 6 months, and it is doubtful whether you can use them then. JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER OBJECTS At this point, we will insert page 9 of the justifications, showing the other objects. (The matter above referred to is as follows:) JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER OBLIGATIONS A total of $95,825 is requested for "Other obligations" in the budget year. The following summary table indicates the breakdown by objects of expenditure and by fiscal years. Egures include payments of $36,626 expended in 1951 from the President's emergency fund. Mr. THOMAS. Travel jumps from $2,000 in 1952 to $10,000 in 1953. I believe in your justifications you say that figure is purely one of guesswork. Is that correct? Mr. BRASSOR. That is correct. There is nothing to go by; there are no precedents to go by. Mr. THOMAS. What is the unexpended balance for the 1952 trav allowance of $2,000 as of January 1? Mr. BRASSOR. We spent less than $100 so far in 1952 for travel. Mr. THOMAS. That will cover you for the fiscal year 1952? Mr. BRASSOR. No. We have spent during the first 6 months le than $100. Mr. THOMAS. Is it not a fair statement to say you will spend b $200, then, for the fiscal year 1952? Mr. BRASSOR. I think that would be all right. Mr. THOMAS. What about your communication services? Wha have you spent up to January 1, 1952, for communication services? Mr. BRASSOR. $2,260. Mr. THOMAS. What about printing and reproduction? Mr. BRASSOR. $633. Mr. THOMAS. $633? Mr. BRASSOR. Yes, sir. Mr. THOMAS. Will that cover you for the full 12 months? Mr. BRASSOR. This is what we spent during the first 6 month Mr. Chairman. Mr. THOMAS. What do you think you will need for the remainde of the year? Mr. BRASSOR. About the same amount for the rest of the year unles there is a decision on the part of the Board that a summary of th evidence in this case and the findings of fact and the order will b printed. Mr. THOMAS. For equipment you really did some purchasing i 1951 to the tune of $40,058. You had only $500 last year for equip ment, and now you want $8,200. Can you not get by without any thing comparable to that?. Mr. BRASSOR. We have only spent $190; so, my answer would hav to be "Yes." REPORTING SERVICE Mr. THOMAS. Let us go to "Other contractual services," for whic you are requesting $53,650 for 1953. That is mainly for your report ing service. How much have you spent for 1952? Mr. BRASSOR. We have spent during the first 6 months $3,371. Mr. THOMAS. About a $6,000 total? Mr. BRASSOR. Yes. Mr. THOMAS. Now, listen, the individual parties and organization who are under investigation at the time they are interested in thes matters are just about one-fifteenth or one-sixteenth of the interested parties. Why can you not sell copies, and instead of having it co the taxpayers about $50,000 let other people pay for it like they do in other agencies? In other words, let this out on competitive bid, and the chances are that the bidder will take the risk and sell daily o maybe weekly or monthly copy, as some of these hearings will last or 7 months. Let the interested parties pay for it. That is often the case in a good many agencies of the Government. Mr. BRASSOR. The contract was let out as a result of competitiv bidding. We got bids out, and the lowest bid was accepted at 18 cent a page for seven copies a copy for each Board member and one for the files, and one for the general counsel. Mr. THOMAS. And that runs $52,650 for 1953? Mr. BRASSOR. In 1953 it jumps up, because rather than having one case being reported we anticipate we will have 15 cases being rported at the same time. Mr. THOMAS. Is the same reporting company doing all of your reporting? Mr. BRASSOR. For the fiscal year 1953 we will get out bids the same as we did for 1952. Mr. THOMAS. On your new bid to the reporting company do you give to the interested parties free copies of the transcript? Mr. BRASSOR. No, sir. Mr. THOMAS. How do they get it? Mr. BRASSOR. The Department of Justice and the parties buy their copies from the stenographic-reporting firm. Mr. THOMAS. What about the other parties to the suit? Mr. BRASSOR. If anybody wants them, they have to buy them from the reporting firm: Mr. THOMAS. What do they pay for them? Mr. BRASSOR. That is in the contract. I shall be glad to supply it for the record. NOTE.-The contract provides parties to the case may purchase transcripts of the hearing from the reporting firm at 45 cents per page.) INTEREST IN CASES Mr. THOMAS. Is there not quite a bit of interest in these cases, not only from the point of view of different organizations but on the part of a good many members of the organizations? What we are questoning here is, Have you gotten perhaps the best contract under the circumstances that exist today? Maybe when you made this contract there was not too much interest in these matters. I can well imagine that the interest has grown quite a bit now in view of the recent court derision; so, instead of spending about $50,000 for reporting service, it seems from here on you ought to be able to break even and let the parties interested pay for it. When did you make the contract? Mr. BRASSOR. At the beginning of the fiscal year. Mr. THOMAS. Is this the best deal you can make? Mr. BRASSOR. We would be very happy to take your suggestion and to canvass the reporting firms at the beginning of the next fiscal Tear with that idea in mind. Mr. THOMAS. As a matter of fact, in this case here it ought to show a profit. Mr. BRASSOR. I will be very glad to canvass all of them. Tery good suggestion. It is a Mr. YATES. What is the reporting cost for the principal trial for the year? Do you have any quotation on that? I wonder what the reporting cost would be for the principal trial for the first half of the Trar? Mr. BRASSOR. In the neighborhood of $3,371. Mr. THOMAS. So that it would be in the neighborhood of $6,000 a Year. HEARING-ROOM OFFICERS Mr. YATES. Are there any other agencies that have these heari room officers you spoke of? Judges have bailiffs or marshals, but do not know any other agencies that perform in a quasi-judic capacity that have hearing-room officers. Mr. BRASSOR. The reason we have one is because of the lar number of exhibits and the great number of papers introduced in t cases, and then during the course of the cases there were repeat calls for those exhibits, a second, a third, or fourth time, and the repeated calls made it necessary to have someone there in the heari room to index them and number them and date them and have the in the file handy so that they could be pulled out readily anyti they were called for. Mr. YATES. Off the record. (Discussion off the record.) AUTOMOBILES Mr. COUDERT. Do you have any automobiles? STATUS OF PETITION FILED AGAINST COMMUNIST PARTY Mr. COTTON. It is interesting to note in the record that on Washin ton's Birthday, February 22, nearly a year ago, your agency w before this committee, and the then chairman outlined to us the pr cedure that had been started, and the fact that he did not know whe proceedings would reach that point where you could really get und way, and he then told us that the Attorney General might at any tim file an added group that would immediately put you into action. Now, another year has elapsed and the situation is precisely th same as he outlined to us last February-it is not?-except that the have been certain motions and procedures and so forth in court on th main test case? Mr. BROWN. Except that we are 1 year closer to the date f termination of this current proceeding. Mr. COTTON. It might well be another year before it terminates? Mr. BROWN. No, sir. The best estimate at the moment is to th effect that the actual taking of testimony should be concluded i about 3 months. Mr. COTTON. But, as a practical matter, is it not extremely unlikel that the Attorney General will start any more cases until you have decision, or at least some indications of what the decision is going t be in this case? Mr. BROWN. I would believe that assumption is correct, sir. Mr. THOMAS. Thank you Mr. Brown and Mr. Brassor. It is nic to see you; a happy new year to both of you. |