Senator SYMINGTON. All right. Come up and be sworn, please. Do you swear that the testimony you will give this Senate subcommittee of the Senate Agriculture and Forestry Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Mr. GOOLD. I do.

Senator SYMINGTON. Please identify yourself again for the record.

TESTIMONY OF W. GEORGE GOOLD, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL IN CHARGE OF SECURITY AND INVESTIGATIONS, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. GOOLD. My name is W. George Goold. I am Assistant Director of Personnel in Charge of Security and Investigations in the Department of Agriculture.

Senator SYMINGTON. To whom do you report?

Mr. GOOLD. To the Director of Personnel, Mr. Ernest C. Betts. Senator SYMINGTON. And to whom does he report?

Mr. GOOLD. To the Administrative Assistant Secretary, Mr. Ralph S. Roberts.

Senator SYMINGTON. To whom does Mr. Roberts report?
Mr. COREY. To the Secretary.

Senator SYMINGTON. And who suggested you come up or who directed or asked you to make this statement this morning?

Mr. GOOLD. No one has directed me to make a statement. I came after a meeting was held which was participated in by myself, Mr. Marvin McLain, Mr. Betts, and others.

Senator SYMINGTON. Do you think it would be well for you to make a statement that is not a formal statement of the Department of Agriculture?

Mr. GOOLD. No, sir. I know fully well what I would like to say concerning this matter.

Senator SYMINGTON. Do you represent the Department of Agriculture?

Mr. GOOLD. Yes. I am speaking for the Department of Agriculture in making this statement.

Senator SYMINGTON. Who asked you to come up and speak for the Department?

Mr. GOOLD. The Secretary of Agriculture knows I am here, sir. Senator SYMINGTON. How do you know that?

Mr. GOOLD. Because I spoke with him about it.

Senator SYMINGTON. You spoke with the Secretary?

Mr. GOOLD. Yes, sir.

Senator SYMINGTON. When did you do that?

Mr. GOOLD. About 5:30 yesterday afternoon.

Senator SYMINGTON. Give us the nature of what was said.

Mr. GOOLD. The nature of what was said was that

Senator SYMINGTON. Won't you sit down and be comfortable? Mr. GOOLD. I would just as soon stand if you don't mind. I have been sitting.

It was asked who was going to attend this meeting today. My superior, Mr. Betts, indicated that I should. The Secretary then agreed that I should attend. I am here after that exchange. Senator SYMINGTON. When was that meeting held?

58385-60-10

Mr. GOOLD. At approximately 5:30 p.m.

Senator SYMINGTON. Where?

Mr. GOOLD. In his office.

Senator SYMINGTON. Whose office?

Mr. GOOLD. Mr. Benson's office.

Senator SYMINGTON. I see, and therefore you feel that your statement has the full approval of the Secretary of Agriculture?

Mr. GOOLD. Yes, sir.

Senator SYMINGTON. How long is the statement?

Mr. GOOLD. It will take just 1 or 2 minutes.

Senator SYMINGTON. Generally, we get a copy of a statement under the committee's rules. Will you proceed to read it.

Mr. GOOLD. I don't have it written. I shall speak extemporaneously if you don't mind. It will take only 2 minutes or less.

Senator SYMINGTON. You don't have a written statement?

Mr. GOOLD. No, sir. Not a prepared statement.

I would like to say only in respect to the document which has been received here this morning, "Employee Handbook, USDA," this booklet is given to every new employee at the time he enters on duty. This has been a practice over many years' standing going back into the 1940's.

The document that was referred to secondly as a document for "Action by Employees in all Branches and Offices," is a document that is part of the Commodity Stabilization Service manual. The instructions in that manual apply to all employees of the Commodity Stabilization Service, and they contain a variety of subjects, one of which is employee conduct which has been mentioned here this morning. We expect that our administrative officers who have supervision of employees are fully informed concerning the complete content of this manual of instructions in order that they may properly administer their positions.

Senator SYMINGTON. Have you a letter from the Department of Agriculture to Mr. Corey which accompanied any of the documents to which you are referring, and if so, would you make it a part of the record?

Mr. GOOLD. No, sir, I do not have such a document.

Senator SYMINGTON. Do you believe such a letter is in the files? Mr. GOOLD. No. I do not believe such a letter is in the file, but I have reason to believe he was orally told about the matter.

Senator SYMINGTON. He has testified under oath that he was not orally told. That is hearsay. I don't think it is proper for you to say you have reason to believe unless you have proof. If, beyond that, you have a reason to show that his memory is wrong, we would be glad to accept such for filing with the committee.

Mr. GOOLD. At the appropriate time we will be pleased to insert what we have with regard to that.

Senator SYMINGTON. Why isn't the present the appropriate time? Mr. GOOLD. Because I don't have it with me.

Senator SYMINGTON. Then you don't know whether there is such a letter; is that correct?

Mr. GOOLD. That is right. I do not.

Senator SYMINGTON. Mr. Corey, have you searched your files to find out whether you have such a letter?

Mr. COREY. Mr. Chairman, the files are not available to me in the first place, and

Senator SYMINGTON. They are not available to the committee either,

So we are even.

Mr. COREY. And as I told you earlier, these documents I don't recollect ever having seen.

Senator SYMINGTON. Will you proceed, Mr. Goold?

Mr. GOOLD. I merely state that this document, and the third one that was referred to, which is an official Department of Agriculture regulation, are available to men in his office. We looked to him, from the time he was employed by us to carry out and see that these instructions were fully implemented in every way.

Senator SYMINGTON. Have you ever discussed this with Mr. Corey yourself?

Mr. GOOLD. I have discussed this general matter with Mr. Corey; in this particular instance, no, I have not.

Senator SYMINGTON. When did you discuss it with him?

Mr. GOOLD. On January 16, 1960.

Senator SYMINGTON. Why did you do that?

Mr. GOOLD. I discussed it with him because information had come to our attention that required some action.

Senator SYMINGTON. I see. Thank you, sir.

Proceed.

Mr. GOOLD. That is it. I merely want to state that we did look to him to see that not only he complied but that everyone in his office complied with these instructions, sir.

Senator SYMINGTON. Well, the Senate is in a position of granting the money which enables the Department to operate.

Mr. GOOLD. Yes.

Senator SYMINGTON. Therefore, we naturally have an interest in how that money is used.

Mr. GOOLD. Yes. I am well aware of it.

Senator SYMINGTON. We would be interested to know, since you had this meeting with the Secretary, who we should call to pursue this matter further with the Department of Agriculture.

Mr. GOOLD. The request should be made to the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration. He would provide the witness

Senator SYMINGTON. Let me get this matter straight, Mr. Goold. I am just trying to figure out how we will work this thing. You were sent down here with the approval of the Secretary to make a verbal statement, is that correct?

Mr. GOOLD. That is correct, if called upon to do so, sir.

Senator SYMINGTON. If called upon to do so.

Mr. GOOLD. Yes.

Senator SYMINGTON. We didn't call upon you to do so. We asked you if you would like to do it and you said you would like to.

Mr. GOOLD. All right. Let it stand.

Senator SYMINGTON. Let us get the record straight.

Mr. GOOLD. Let it stand.

Senator SYMINGTON. Inasmuch as we want to be fair in the matter, I am asking you again as a representative of the Department of Agriculture who would you suggest we call before this committee.

Mr. GOOLD. I would suggest you direct your request to Mr. Ralph S. Roberts and he will advise as to which witness should appear depending on the information you wish.

Senator SYMINGTON. That is what I want.

Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Goold, this "Employee Handbook" you have in your hand, does it have a publication date on it?

Mr. GOOLD. Yes. This happens to be "Handbook 23," and it was last revised in March of 1959. The part pertaining to conduct was not substantially changed in this revision.

Mr. SCHMIDT. This would be the document in existence at the time Mr. Corey was hired?

Mr. GOOLD. It is basically the same document.

Mr. SCHMIDT. But not the document?

Mr. GOOLD. Not the document; no, sir.

Mr. SCHMIDT. I don't think this is exactly pertinent since it wasn't in existence at the time Mr. Corey was hired. So I don't think this handbook is the proper one for us to deal with.

Mr. GOOLD. I would like to say, though, that this handbook, too, was made available to the Portland commodity office which he supervised at the time of this revision, and available to him.

Senator SYMINGTON. Shortly thereafter he resigned.

Mr. GOOLD. Yes.

Senator SYMINGTON. Would you get again, if you can, the files and the document in effect, the comparable document, at the time he was employed?

Mr. GOOLD. You bet I will. I will get that for you.

(The document referred to will be found in the files of the subcommittee.)

Senator SYMINGTON. Senator Young?

Senator YOUNG of North Dakota. Off the record.

(Discussion off the record.)

Senator SYMINGTON. Let us put it on the record. Can anybody except a civil service employee be given this job?

Mr. GOOLD. The positions are in civil service schedule A which does not require career service.

Senator SYMINGTON. Were you appointed or did you take any examination to obtain this job, Mr. Corey?

Mr. COREY. No.

Senator SYMINGTON. Who did you see when you applied for the job?

Mr. COREY. Mr. James McConnell who was the Administrator of Commodity Stabilization at the time.

Senator SYMINGTON. Senator Proxmire?

Senator PROXMIRE. In the statement by Mr. Corey he says that in late May 1959, he received a notice from Washington, D.C., enclosing a copy of the Code of Ethics as formulated by the 85th Congress. This was duplicated in the Portland office under date of June 1959.

Now, this code of ethics of the 85th Congress was the first code of ethics which the Department had sent out to any employees? Mr. GOOLD. No, sir.

Senator PROXMIRE. Other than the material which you provided so far which relates to general conduct and has in it some information on the behavior of employees?

Mr. GOOLD. Yes, that is true. As a Code of Ethics, as entitled, that is the first such document we have sent, yes.

Senator SYMINGTON. Senator Cooper?

Senator COOPER. Mr. Goold, I placed in the record the statutory provisions passed by the Congress which relate to conflict of interest. I also placed in the record regulations issued by the Department of Agriculture on this same subject, further regulations which direct the supervisor to inform other employees of these requirements and also documents relating to Mr. Corey's own office.

Now, I think it is pertinent that you place in the record, if it can be secured, this matter: First, the regulations that were in effect in the Department of Agriculture at the time Mr. Corey assumed this position, and any subsequent regulations which were issued.

Mr. GOOLD. Yes, sir.

Senator COOPER. Second, further information as to whether it was the standard procedure of the Department to furnish those regulations to all offices and to the officers in the Portland office. Can that be supplied?

Mr. GOOLD. That can be supplied; yes, sir.

Senator COOPER. Also, because Mr. Corey had previously been employed by the Department of Agriculture under other Secretaries, I think it would be pertinent to place in the record such regulations relating to conflict of interest that were in force at that time. Can that be done?

Mr. GOOLD. I am sure I can provide these, Senator Cooper.

Senator COOPER. May I ask consent that such information be included in the record?

(The material referred to will be found in the appendix starting at p. 410.)

Senator COOPER. You are making a statement that these regulations were in force, and at least in your judgment had been made available to employees and officers of the Department of Agriculture.

Mr. GOOLD. That is my best judgment.

Senator COOPER. Mr. Chairman, I want to say that I think the chairman is conducting this investigation in a very proper way.

Senator SYMINGTON. Let the record show I deeply appreciate what the Senator from Kentucky said.

Senator COOPER. A few minutes ago the chairman made the statement that he had asked the Department of Agriculture for information and it had not been supplied. For that reason I would like to quote from this statement made by the Office of the Secretary, dated March 10, 1960.

I quote:

On January 14, 1960, my Office was advised of certain facts relative— this is a statement

Senator SYMINGTON. I read it into the record.
Senator COOPER (reading):

*** relative to Mr. Corey. He was confronted with this information by an official of the Department on January 16, 1960. The matter was then referred to the Department of Justice for investigation and appropriate action. On January 18, 1960, Mr. Corey elected to resign effective at the close of business January 22, 1960.

On February 25, 1960, the subcommittee counsel contacted the Office of Personnel of the Department relative to the Corey case and was supplied with substantially the above information. In view of the fact that this case was under investigation in the Department of Justice, he was referred to that Department for whatever information could be supplied.