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OCTOBER TERM, 1958.

Opinion of the Court.

360 U.S.

had never seen those persons whose statements were the subject of their reports.

On January 29, 1952, the IERB, on the basis of the testimony given at the hearing and the confidential reports. reversed the action of the PSB and informed petitioner and ERCO that petitioner was authorized to work on Secret contract work.

On March 27, 1953, the Secretary of Defense abolished the PSB and IERB and directed the Secretaries of the three armed services to establish regional Industrial Personnel Security Boards to coordinate the industrial security program." The Secretaries were also instructed to establish uniform standards, criteria, and procedures."

The Boards were abolished pursuant to a memorandum of March 27, 1953, issued by the Secretary of Defense to the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force and to the Chairman of the Munitions Board. It provided in part:

"5. The Department of the Army, Navy and Air Force shall establish such number of geographical regions within the United States as seems appropriate to the work-load in each region. There shall then be established within each region an Industrial Personnel Security Board. This board shall consist of two separate and distinct divisions, a Screening Division and an Appeal Division, with equal representation of the Departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force on each such division. The Appeal Division shall have jurisdiction to hear appeals from the decision of the Screening Division and its decisions shall be determined by a majority vote which shall be final, subject only to reconsideration on its own motion or at the request of the appellant for good cause shown or at the request of the Secretary of any military department."

"The memorandum from the Secretary of Defense also provided: "6. The Secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force, shall within thirty days (30), establish such geographical regions and develop joint uniform standards, criteria, and detailed procedures to implement the above-described program. In developing the standards, criteria, and procedures, full consideration, shall be given to the rights of individuals, consistent with security requirements. After approval by

GREENE v. MCELROY.

Opinion of the Court.

Cases pending before the PSB and IERB were referred to these new Boards. During the interim period between the abolishment of the old program and the implementation of the new one, the Secretaries considered themselves charged with administering clearance activities under previously stated criteria.

On April 17, 1953, respondent Anderson, the Secretary of the Navy, wrote ERCO that he had reviewed petitioner's case and had concluded that petitioner's "continued access to Navy classified security information [was] inconsistent with the best interests of National Security." No hearing preceded this notification. He requested ERCO to exclude petitioner "from any part of your plants, factories or sites at which classified Navy projects are being carried out and to bar him access to all Navy classified information." He also advised the corporation that petitioner's case was being referred to the Secretary of Defense with the recommendation that the IERB's decision of January 29, 1952, be overruled. ERCO had no choice but to comply with the request."

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the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the standards, criteria, and procedures shall govern the operations of the Board.” The memorandum provided:

"7. All cases pending before the Army-Navy-Air Force Personnel Security Board and the Industrial Employment Review Board shall be referred for action under this order to the appropriate Industrial Personnel Security Board."

The memorandum further provided:

"4. The Criteria Governing Actions by the Industrial Employment Review Board, dated 7 November 1949, as revised 10 November 1950, and approved by the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, shall govern security clearances of industrial facilities and industrial personnel by the Secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force until such time as uniform criteria are established in connection with paragraph 6 of this memorandum."

10 See note 2, supra.

OCTOBER TERM, 1958.

Opinion of the Court.

360 U.S.

This led to petitioner's discharge." ERCO informed the Navy of what had occurred and requested an opportunity to discuss the matter in view of petitioner's importance to the firm." The Navy replied that "[a]s far as the Navy

11 The Chairman of the Board of ERCO, Colonel Henry Berliner, later testified by affidavit as follows:

"During the year 1953, and for many years previous thereto, I was the principal stockholder of Engineering and Research Corporation, a corporation which had its principal place of business at Riverdale, Maryland. I was also the chairman of the board, and the principal executive officer of this corporation.

"I am acquainted with William Lewis Greene. Prior to the month of April, 1953, Mr. Greene was Vice-President in charge of engineering and General Manager of Engineering and Research Corporation. He has been employed by this corporation since 1937. His progress in the company had been consistent. He was one of our most valued and valuable employees, and was responsible for much of the work which Engineering and Research Corporation was doing. In April, 1953, the company received a letter from the Secretary of the Navy advising us that clearance had been denied to Mr. Greene and advising us that it would be necessary to bar him from access to our plant. In view of his position with the company, there was no work which he could do in light of this denial of clearance by the Navy. As a result, it was necessary for the company to discharge him. There was no other reason for Mr. Greene's discharge, and in the absence of the letter referred to, he could have continued in the employment of Engineering and Research Corporation indefinitely."

12 The President of ERCO wrote to the Secretary of the Navy as follows:

"The Honorable R. B. Anderson

"Secretary of the Navy

"Washington 25, D. C.

"My dear Mr. Secretary:

"Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of April 17, 1953 in which you state that you have reviewed the case history file on William Lewis Greene and have concluded that his continued access to Navy classified security information is inconsistent with the best interests of National Security.

"You request this company to exclude Mr. Greene from our plants,

GREENE v. MCELROY.

Opinion of the Court.

Department is concerned, any further discussion on this problem at this time will serve no useful purpose."

Petitioner asked for reconsideration of the decision. On October 13, 1953, the Navy wrote to him stating that it had requested the Eastern Industrial Personnel Security Board (EIPSB) to accept jurisdiction and to arrive at a final determination concerning petitioner's status." Var

factories or sites and to bar him from information, in the interests of protecting Navy classified projects and classified security information.

"In accordance with your request, please be advised that since receipt of your letter this company has excluded Mr. Greene from any part of our plants, factories or sites and barred him access to all classified security information.

"For your further information, Mr. Greene tendered his resignation as an officer of this corporation and has left the plant. We shall have no further contact with him until his status is clarified although we have not yet formally accepted his resignation.

"Mr. Greene is Vice President of this company in charge of engineering. His knowledge, experience and executive ability have proven of inestimable value in the past. The loss of his services at this time is a serious blow to company operations. Accordingly, should like the privilege of a personal conference to discuss the matter further.

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"Furthermore, you state that you are referring the case to the Secretary of Defense recommending that the Industrial Employment Review Board's decision of January 29, 1952 be overruled. If it is appropriate, we should like very much to have the privilege of discussing the matter with the Secretary of Defense.

"Please accept our thanks for any official courtesies which you are in a position to extend.

"Respectfully yours,

"Engineering and Research Corporation "By /8/ L. A. Wells"

"On May 4, 1953, pursuant to the memorandum of the Secretary of Defense dated March 27, 1953, see note 6, supra, the Secretaries of the military departments established regional Industrial Personnel Security Boards governed by generalized standards, criteria, and procedures.

OCTOBER TERM, 1958.

Opinion of the Court.

360 U.S.

ious letters were subsequently exchanged between petitioner's counsel and the EIPSB. These resulted finally in generalized charges, quoted in the margin, incorporating the information previously discussed with petitioner at his 1952 hearing before the IERB."

14 The specifications were contained in a letter to petitioner's counsel dated April 9, 1954, which was sent nineteen days before the hearing. That letter provided in part:

"Security considerations permit disclosure of the following information that has thus far resulted in the denial of clearance to Mr. Greene:

"1. During 1942 SUBJECT was a member of the Washington Book Shop Association, an organization that has been officially cited by the Attorney General of the United States as Communist and subversive.

"2. SUBJECT's first wife, Jean Hinton Greene, to whom he was married from approximately December 1942 to approximately December 1947, was an ardent Communist during the greater part of the period of the marriage.

"3. During the period of SUBJECT's first marriage he and his wife had many Communist publications in their home, including the 'Daily Worker'; 'Soviet Russia Today'; 'In Fact'; and Karl Marx's 'Das Kapital.'

"4. Many apparently reliable witnesses have testified that during the period of SUBJECT's first marriage his personal political sympathies were in general accord with those of his wife, in that he was sympathetic towards Russia; followed the Communist Party 'line'; presented 'fellow-traveller' arguments; was apparently influenced by 'Jean's wild theories'; etc. [Nothing in the record establishes that any witness "testified" at any hearing on these subjects and everything in the record indicates that they could have done no more than make such statements to investigative officers.]

"5. In about 1946 SUBJECT invested approximately $1000. in the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation and later became a director of its Radio Station WQQW. It has been reliably reported that many of the stockholders of the Corporation were Communists or pro-Communists and that the news coverage and radio programs of Station WQQW frequently paralleled the Communist Party 'line.' [This station is now Station WGMS, Washington's "Good Music Station." Petitioner stated that he invested money in the station

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