\ 

.. REF ID:A101234 

auBJEC'l'i l'r.tvate bilJ. to be eubmitted to the Concnaa 

Inc.loam-Mt (A) Cop1 of curt"eapondenee 

(B) Cop7 ot HaorandUM dated 21 Aug 11!SIJ t.o Major 

Milla, JAQC 

(C) CoP7 of -orandm dated 15 JUne 1"}50 t'rOll 

Ir. Stauffer, AfSA-0.)l.), t:or Cl'liet, U'SA•O:J 

l.. 1 think 10U know that l haw been tr;ritlt:i for aOM U.•• to 

obtain aoae epeoial. OMP•nat.1on tor eertain i.nYentione and patent. 

appllcatione Whieb haT• pl"Operly lMen kept in a claaaitied st.a.tu fora loni ti•. At'\er a ooupu ot yean ot negotiationa l wu ottieially 

ciY•n Vet"lliasion to a.pl.Of oouuel to au!et ill preparing a cue with 

a view \o obtainint; suob special c.t01Rptm11&tion. i'relimin&JT Meting• 

bet•••n IQ' counaei and the ll•part.!l•nt. ot Liefenao ha•• reaulted in a 

req11eat by the AJ'111' Jw:4...,.. Advocate Cieneral • • repnaer.tative, Major . 

lifiJ.J.a, Cr,ief of the Patent.a uivision, th&t oouneol aut.it a ••ol'Vld\1111 

to him on the nbJeet. A copy of the correapondence leading up to 

that. reque.i i• attached, ~loaw"e (A). 

2. Cuuue.l baa prepared and reunt.11' subllitted to Major "ill.a 

t.h• 1.Getion.Mua re ueeted bl' hia. It is t1robaba that th• .. oranduln 

will be aubllitted thro~~h ot'tlcial ehalmela to you tor oomm•nt a.M/or 

reeorom~ndat1on. Theretore, tor 70u.r 1nf ol'91&t1on, a copy thereof la 

att.achttd, ll'lcloeure (B). 

). To ammarbe briefq the intent ot £nclowre (9), I aq say 

that 1t uu no aff ll'MtiY• action or eu~·port on the part ot the 

Department of u.tena• in thia caae, but 11terely aska an opportunity 

to prtuu'.>nt the oaee to the Congresf!!, witho9\ otJJtctiqQ on the part 

ot the Depar-taent. 

4. The buia on which l .. pemitted t.o engage counsel in 

thia 11&tter -. that I woul.d not diacJ.o•• t.o couneel any cl.usiftod 

1ntormat.1on and in a atriat adi'Mtrenc• to th1a liMitatlon I did not 

f ff 1 at J.1bert7 to tell eounael nen ot the niatence o! an oftiaial 

policy dMiaicm by the A.C .. of s., G-2, u.s. Ar117, haY1ng a de.finite 

beariQi an the ca•, becauae t:·.at. policy deciaion 18 c.l&aaU'ied 

IJClll..'T. HoWYv, that decision, a copy ot whioh ia attacbecl u an 

SEGRETi 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 05-21-2014 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 
• 

REF ID:A101~4 

SECRET. 

appendix to f:ncl.oaure (C), c.i.ea.rJ.,y indioat•• that 1t would be proper 

!or the Dep&rtaent 0£ De!en.e, or, at laaat the De{iart;!':ent ct the umy, 

not on.l,y t-0 off er !J? qbJ19!,ton to the suhmi&l!lion ot a private bill to 

the Congre•» but. evoo to IUQL'\C[t sue~~ a bi.l.l. · 1ad I ooen freo to teil 

oounsel ot t:·w.t poJ.ic7, tti11oh, so far u l a·11 anre, h4s nvt been 

rescitided, i Cl)t~ld have s>~eEtted to hi:a that it lllOUld be ;;roper tor 

him to request. t.'1~ active support of the .Cttpartmont r"i.t "1er thar. ti,e 

y&SfllVe lfnon-ubjeotion" to the 8Ubmieion of a vrh'atc hill in lfY' 

behad. 

S. 1t. mt).;f oe that t!4jvr :.1.Ha knows or the G•2 pol.!cy but l 

am not sure that i-ie ooee. for tne fore1oing !'M80D I -wou.l.G be most 

appreciative U t,he existe{10e of tn. :;-2 p1>lioy, antl a copy the:reo.f, 

nre clllled of fie iaily to the att.ution or %1.ajor '•'<ill.a u acJon aa 

PJ"&et1oab..Le. I feel that. it wuld be to ay a.Wantage u· the ':'.".-2 

policy becarre k'10fin t.o i>'iajor Jifi.U.• in th~ earlf 8t4«•• ot hiB atucy 

o! the ll;e~orandUlli which cou~eel aubaltted to hill Oil 21 AUouust. It 

might resu,J.t in a mor• qtapat.hetie attitude toward the ca.a• e.ncl 

poaeib..i.y asailt material.l,J ln leading towl"d a decision in 111 favor. 

6. 1 dsh to a~.ti t"1at. Mr. Rowlett, who ia co-irrrc"to_r in t•• 

ot t.he inv•ntione 1nvoJ.ved in thie ca .. , ha• b9en ltept tul.lt intoned 

of t~~ variotl.9 atepe I ho• t.a.xen, 'tthleh h4•• l'liet with nia concurrence. 

lt t.~e :,\?part:ll~nt of ~·efenae ahould act fe.vorabq in 91 e&M he will 

eith~r join with ~• in the aubmiasion of a priYat~ bill in our joint 

behalf or ~ roceed aep,~a.teJ.y 1n h1a own b•Mli'• 

SECRET 

2 
...... · 

Aua~st 21, 1950 

MEMPRANDUM CONCERNING 

A 

BILL FOR THE RELl.EF OF 

WILLIAM F. FRIEDMAN 

Submitted 

at Reque•t of 

MAJOR JAMJr.8 R. MILLS, JAOC 

Chief, Patents Dlvlalon 

By 

F:JSCHER, WILLIS AND PANZER 

Dupont Clrc.le BuUdln1 

.'Waahlngton 6, D. C. 
REF ID:A101234 

0: Major James R. Mills, JAGC 

Chief, Patents Division 

E: Bill for the Relief of William F. Friedman 

Introduction 

At a conference held on June 8, 1950, I submitted to you orally our 

roposal to have submitted to the Congress a bill for the relief of Mr. 

illiam F. Friedman, now Chief of the Technical Division, Armed Forces I 

ecurity Agency, Department of Defense. This proposal was made to you puruant to the authorization and direction your office had received through 

ha.nnels from the Department of Defense to investigate and report upon the 

atter, and to determi:iie the attitude of the Department of Defense in that conection. I presented an oral argument to you and your associates at that time 

which I emphasized that it was not our purpose in presenting the matter to 

e Department of Defense to request any affirmative action on its part, but 

ath.er, to acquaint the Department with the situation and to request merely an 

indication that the Department of Def.ense has no objection to the submiesion of 

e bill to the Congress for consideration upon its merits. At the end of the 

conference, you asked that we submit the matter fully in writing as a convenien 

sis for your ascertaining the policy of the Department of Defense with ref.erence to the proposed bill. This memorandum is accordingly submitted in 

triplicate in compliance with your request. If there is any additional information you wish, please let me know. 

- 1 -
REF ID:A101234 

William F. Friedman 

Mr .. William F. Friedman has been an officer of the Army and a 

civilian employee of the War Department and the Department of Defense for 

almost thirty years; he began his civilian employment with the War Department ~ l 9Z 1. Throughout the entire period of his employment with those 

departments he has worked in the highly specialized field of military communications, specifically cryptology. and for his entire period of employment the character of his work has been highly classified. He is now Chief 

of the Technical Division, Armed Forces Security Agency. Department of 

Defense. In World War I. Mr. Friedman was a first lieu.tenant in the Military 

Intelligence Division, assigned in 1918 and 1919 to General Headquarters, 

AEF, in France. in charge of the German code solving section of the Intelligence Division. From l 9ZZ to 1941, he held a commission in the Signal 

Corps Reserve, attaining the grade of Lieutenant Colonel. He was retired in 

1941 from the Reserve Corps upon the finding of the Surgeon General of a 

permanent impairment of health. Despite his illness, however, he received 

for his work in connection with World War II the highest civilian awards of 

honor bestowed by the United States: the Medal for Merit a.warded by 

President Truman and the Commendation for Exceptional Civilian Service 

awarded by Secretary of War Stimson. The citation accompanying his 

Medal for Merit reads as follows: 

. WILLIAM F. FRIEDMAN. for exceptionally meritorious 

condu.ct in the performance of outstanding service, conspicuously above the usual, with the Government of the 

United States during the period from 8 September 193-9 

to Z September 1945, in duties of considerable responsibility while Director of Communications Research, Army 

Security Agency, Military Intelligence Service, Washington, 

D. C. By untiring and self-sacrificing devotion, by exceptional technical ingenuity in an extremely specialized 

- z -

-·---··.---··---~-====-=- --·- -. ---=~=-·=-~~-~-~~~=====~·-==~=· ~~-~====-'====.....-~ 
REF ID:A101234 

field, which ranks him among the world•s foremost author~­

ties, by able leadership, by initiative and zeal above and 

beyond the requirements of duty, Mr. Friedman distinguished 

himself in contributing directly and tremendously to the 

succeasful prosecution of the war effort. The conduct of 

Mr. Friedman has been in keeping with the highest traditions of the Government Service. 

The citation accompanying the Commendation for Exceptional Civil~n Service 

reads as follows: 

For outstanding performance of service to the War 

Department, over and beyond the requirements of du.ty, 

during his extended period of service with the Signal 

Corps. He has demonstrated a degree of initiative, forethought and leadership which has proved of utmost importance to the Army Signal Corps in the execution of its 

mission. His research and developments in the field of 

military communications have been valuable to the operation of all units of the Armed Forces. 

The highly classified nature of Mr. Friedman's services, of course, made it 

impossible to set out specifically in the citations quoted above the work for 

which he was honored. In this connection, however, it is interesting to note 

that he was one of the first in World War II to receive these awards. 

The Inventions Involved 

During the period of his employment with the War Department, Mr. 

Friedman invented a number of systems and devices in the field of military 

c·ommunications, some alone, others in collaboration. With respect to some 

of the inventions, patents have been issued; a.s ~ others., patent applicati~ns 

are being held in secrecy under the "three-year rule" (35 U .s.c., §37) or 

P.-L. 700 (35 U .S.C ., §4Z) or both; as to at least two, the need for secrecy was 

such that no patent applications were ever filed with respect to them. Some of 

the inventions on which patents have issued were held in secrecy for a time 

either under the "three-year rule• or P.L. 700 and were subsequently allowed 

to go to issue. The specific inventions, patents and patent appl~cations involved.in this matter, with the relevant information concerning each of the 

in.ventions are set out in the following table: 

- 3 -
REF ID:A101234 

ISSUED PATENTSJr. -

Held Under 

3-Yr. Pub. Used by 

Pat. No. Description Inventors Filed Issued Rule 700 Govt Owner License 

2,395,863 Crypto Device 

(Strip Board) 

Friedman 19 Oct39 5 Mar46 No Yes Yes Inv 

PENDING APPLICATIONS -

Serial Nos. 

682,096 (Conv. M-134) Friedman ZS Jul 33 Yes Yes Yes Govt 

107,244 (Conv. M-134-TZ) Friedman 23 Oct36 Yes Yes Not yet Govt 

70,412 SIGABA ( Conv. , Friedman &t Z3Mar36 Yes Yes Yes Govt 

M-134-C, ECM): Rowlett 

478,193 Facsimile enc. sys. Friedman 6Mar43 Yes /' . ·•. 

~c;-\ ? Inv 

549,086 (Conv. M-325) Friedman 8Nov44 Yes Yes Yes Inv 

443,320 SIGCUM - Friedman &t 16May4Z Yes Yes Yes Inv 

(Conv. M-ZZ8) Rowlett 

In addition to the invention_s set out in the table above, two basic inventions in the 

crypta.naiytic field were made by Mr. Friedman and submitted for action to the 

Signal Corps Patent Board in April, 1937. Because it considered these inventions 

so highly classified, the Board recommended that no patent applications be filed, 

and, in fact, no epplications were ever filed with respect to them. However, at 

least one of these basic inventions was used and developed and extensions of it 

are now in use. 

Govt 

Inv 

Inv 

Inv 

Govt 

Govt 

Govt 

·==--==========================- . -'====================~-~=-===========--==-=============-===========:=======~~==-=-==-·========I 
REF ID:A101234 

The inventions described above all arose in connection with the 

official du,ties of Mr. Friedman, but not as a result of any specific direction 

or designation to invent the things involved. In fact, all the inven:_tions listed 

above were made while Mr. Friedman was engaged in other work which was 

in part responsible for his ultimately receiving the Medal for Merit. The 

official descriptions of the various posts held by Mr. Friedman in the course 

of his employment cannot of course be submitted because of their classified 

nature; but Mr. Friedman assures us that nowhere in the official records will 

there be found any designation to invent a specific thing, and that, in fact, no 

such designation was ever made. Further, specific findings have been made 

with respect to several of his inventions, including one of the latest and most 

significant still in secrecy (Serial No. 443,320, filed 16 May 42), that they 

were not the resu,lt of any specific direction or designation to invent the thing 

involved, these findings being made by a board having special jurisdiction for 

that purpose, the Signal Corps Patent Board. And, in consonance with this 

state of the facts, under the provisions of A.R. 850-50, Mr. Friedman, along 

with his collaborators, has in fact been allowed to retain, either by ownership 

of the patent or exclusive license, the domestic commercial rights and all 

foreign rights in the inventions listed in the table above. 

On April 25, 1936, Mr. Friedman subscribed a docwnen:t purporting to constitute an agreement to make a complete assig~ent of any inve~­

tions thereafter made by him to the United States, if the Chief Signal Ofiicer 

requested such assignment. No such a request has been made with respect 

to any of the inventions described above and in all the inventions made subsequently to April 25, 1936, Mr. Friedman has been allowed to retain rights 

under the provisions of A.R. 850-50, to the same extent as in those inventions 

. - 5 .. b 
REF ID:A101234 

made prior to that date, exceptina those two so highly classified that no patent 

applications were filed. The provisions of the •three-year rule"' and P.L. 700 

were, of course, invoked to maintain secrecy. 

The salient fact regarding all the inventions whlch were or still remain in secrecy, is that the rights retained by Mr. Friedman cannot be exercised whUe an invention is in a secrecy statu,s. In makins this point, we wish 

to emphasize that there is no qu.estion as to th.e wisdom of the judgment placing any of the inventions in secrecy. Indeed, it appears that most of the inventions still in secrecy are of au.ch significance to our national defense, that 

the prospect of their release at any time in the near future seems remote, 

and Mr. Friedman would be among the first to argue that the re.tention of the 

secrecy status with reference to th.em is necessary in the national interest, 

whatever may be the consequ.ences to his personal fortunes. 

Legal Status 

It is not our purpose to argue the strict legal status of the rights 

Mr. Friedman may have in his inventions or of any claim he may have arising 

from these rights. The reasons for this will become clear, we believe, when 

we discuss later in this memorandum the nature of the relief we seek for 

Mr. Friedman. But because the legal issu.es are relevant to the equitable 

considerations later to be discussed we wish to point out the Dature of those 

issues. 

It seems fairly beyond the r·ealm of dispute that the rights which 

Mr. Friedman may have in his inventions have been substantially and adversely affected in at least two ways in connection with those specific inventions which were in secrecy and subsequently released as well as with those 

that today remain in secrecy; first, to the extent that the secrecy 

- 6 - 1 
REF ID:A101234 

requirement has prevented and still prevents the use of such rights during the 

period of secrecy and second, to the extent that foreign governments may have 

been or still are permitted the use of any of ·the inventions during the period 

of secrecy. The first type of impairment has occurred to a more or less substantial deg.ree in respect of all tb.ose inventions described above which were 

placed in secrecy. Because of the secrecy surrounding the use of the inventions, the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense alone would 

know the exact measure of the second type, namely, that resulting from the 

use of any particular invention by foreign governments. . One of the condition.a 

under which Mr. Friedman was permitted to retain counsel in this matter was 

that he would n.ot disclose any classified information. and therefore we are not 

in full possession of the facts. 

·With respect to the inventions released from secrecy, and on which 

patents have issued, the qu.estion is raised whether Mr. Friedman has a claim 

in the case of Patent No. Z,3-95,863 under the provisions of P.L. 700, 35 U.S.C., 

§42 which provides as follows: 

Whenever the publication or disclosure of an invention by the 

granting of a patent might, in the opinion of the Commissioner 

of Patents, be detrimental to the public safety or defense he 

may order that the invention be kept secret and withhold the 

grant of a patent for such period or periods as in his opinion 

the national interest requires: Provided, That the invention 

disclosed in the application for said patent may be held 

abandoned upon it being established before or by the COJDmissioner that in violation of said order said invention. has been 

published or disclosed or that an application for a patent therefor has been filed in a foreign country by the inventor or his 

assigns or legal representatives, without the consent or approval of the Commissioner of Pa.tents. 

When an applicant whose patent is withheld as herein provided 

and who faithfully obeys the order of the Commissioner of 

Patents above referred to shall tender his invention to the 

Government of the United States for its use, he shall, if and 

when he ultimately recei-ves a patent, have the right to sue for 

- 7 -

.. ···-----·-·---~=.,.-------·=-=-·--~ .. ·----·-··-· ··-~---~~--~=~-~~---~==~ ........... ~~ 
REF ID:A101234 

compensation in the Court of Claims, suc:-i rigJit to compensation to beain from the date of the use of the invention by the 

Government: Provided, Tha.t $he Secretary of War ar the Secretary of th.e NaYY er ty chleJ' ·officer. of MY established defense 

aaency of .the United State•· aa the case .piay be, is aut.\orl!!Cl 

to enter into an aareement with.. tl\e aaid a;gplis;pt in full seW&-

men& and compromise for the damage accruing to 1Wn by reaso_n 

of the order ~£ secrecy. and for the u.se of the invention by the 

Governmen.t. [Emphasis added] 

With respect to those inventions still in secrecy, which are of such 

significance to our national interest that their ultimate r-elease from secrecy 

seems at best remote, the•question is raised whether the Secretary of the 

Army, or the Secretary of Defense, in accordance with the authority granted 

by P.L. 700, should not "enter an aareemen~ with the •.• applicant in full 

I settlement and compromise for the damase accruing to him by reason of the 

order of secrecy•. 

We appreciate fully that the application of the provisions of P.L. 70 

to inventors in the position of Mr. Friedman is subject to argument: we point 

out the leaal issues here not to argu.e such issues, but rather to show subsequently the relevance of these issues to the equitable considerations in the 

matter. 

Th~ Relief Soupt 

As we have already indicated, it is not our purpose to argue the 

strict legal issu.es that may exist in the case of Mr •. Friedman, the reason 

being that the strict legal issues are not the foundation for the l'elief we are 

seeking on his behalf. Mr. Friedman does not request any afiirmative action 

of the Depal'trnent of the Army or of the Departrnen~ of Defense. 

·What we seek on Mr. Friedman•s behalf is an opportunity to 

present his case to the Congress without objection on the part of the Department of Defense. 

- 8 -

- ··-·---'"'=--~~~-~--~-~~--------------------------..i.....-
REF ID:A101234 

We propose to have submitted to the Congress a bill authorizing the 

Secretary of the Treasury to settle all claims and rights of Mr· Friedman in 

respect of all the inventions described above for the sum of $100,000, the bill 

being in the following form: 

For the relief of William F. Friedman. 

·Be it enacted by !Jie Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, 

authorized and directed to pay to William F. Friedman, out 

of any money in the Treasu.ry n'Ot otherwise appropriated, the 

sum of $100, 000 in full set~_~n.t !9.r .. _~!!-~!s..l!!~espect of 

his inventions in connect!OD with military, naval and air communications facilities, which are now or at any tirne have been 

placed in secrecy status by the War Department or the Department ·of Defense, including but not limited to all rights with respect to his inventions covered by Patent Number 2,395,8_63, 

and by patent application serials 682,096, 107,244, 70,.412, 

443,320, 478,193 and 549,086 and with respect to all inventions 

for which patent applications have been withheld by the War 

Department or Department of Defense in order to preserve 

secrecy: Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated 

in this act in excess of 1 O~ thereof shall be paid or delivered 

to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services 

rendered in connection with such claims and rights. 

The sum of $100,000 will not be submitted as having any relation to 

the legal measure of damag.es due to the impairment of Mr• Friedman's rights 

in his inventions because of the secrecy orders. We think that a figure determined in accordance with any legal measure of damages could reach a 

magnitude in his case which would be far beyond the range and purpose of the 

relief we seek; indeed, the experience of the War Department in the purchasing of rights in inventions of this nature would probably offer a fair indication 

of the value of the foreign and domestic commercial rights in Mr. Friedman's; 

inventions. The sum of $100,000 will be submitted to the Congress as a sum 

Mr. Friedman can reasonably request in the light of the equitable con.aid.eration.s to be discussed below. 

- 9 -
I 

\ 

REF ID:A101234 

At this point, we wish to make it doubly clear that we ask nothing of 

the Department of Defense except an indication that the Department will not 

object to the submission of the bill described above to the Congress for consideration upon its merits. It is of course, ol>vious that Mr. Friedman. who 

· is a hi1h level technic-al consultant in the Department of Defense, wou.ld be 

highly embarrassed if he were to take any action in the matter without first 

soliciting the atiltude of the Department upon it. It seems equally obvious 

that it is desirable from the Department•s viewpoint that we ascertain its 

policy befor·e proceeding;, 

Th.e Equitable Conside~ationa 

.Mr .• Friedman is now 59 years old and has dedicated his entire 

adult life to the work he has done for the War Department and the Department 

of Defense. He has made inventions of the greatest importance, and has retained rights in them which he will probably never be able to exercise in his 

lifetime because of the orders maintaining them in secrecy. He has received 

the highest honors the United States can bestow upon a civilian, but, ironically, 

the very significance of the work which brought him honors ha.s placed upon 

him burdens and disabilities to which he would not otherwise have been subJ.ected. It will be necessary to catalogue only a few of them in order to demon 

strate this. 

(a) In the course of his work, but beyond the requir~menta ~f any 

of his duties, Mr. Friedman performed basic research, developed techniques 

and made discoveries and inventions of a significance to the national interest 

. which we understand would challenae the most creative imagination to evaluat 

I

I . in any monetary terms. In accordance with the firm policy of the. War Department tO offer an incentive for inventive genius, which. brought about such 

... 10 -

~~~··-------=-===---------··---··--

I I 
REF ID:A101234 

exceptional results in the case of Mr. Friedman, he was granted the domestic 

. commercial rights and foreign rishts in his inventions. If those inventions ha 

I 

been of only minor significance to the national interest, Mr. Friedman would 

h_ave been in a position~ benefit from those rights. __ Because of their inestimable importance to the national interest, however, Mr. Friedman has 

'been efiecllvely and properly (from the point of view of the national Interest) 

foreclosed from exercising any of his rights in his most significant inventions. 

It seems equitable, and desirable from the viewpoint of the government, to 

I mitigate by some token the penalty which has thus unintentionally been im1 posed upon high achievement, and to vindicate in some small measure the long 

standing War Department policy of stimulating inventions, a policy which 

failed here simply because it was so suc-cessful. 

(b) The desirability of some relief for Mr. Friedman in this situaI tion is heightened by reference to the policy of the Congress expressed in 

1946 by the statutory authority granted to all Government departments to 

make awards to government personnel for any suggestions beneficial to the 

government (5 U .S.C.,§l 16a), without limitation in amount, so far as the DeI partment of Defense is concerned. In furtherance of this policy, awards have 

I been made for suggestions improving methods of packing, office procedures, 

I files and the like. It is not reasonable to assume that a Congress which 

I authorized such rewards for any helpful suggestions to the government, would 

not authorize relief for Mr. Friedman in the extraordinary situation in which 

I he finds himself. 

I (c) Although it may be that the provisions of P.L. 70.0 do not apply 

~ to inventors in the position of Mr. Friedman, they point gen.erally to the con-

! 

sideration given to the problem set out in paragraph (a) above by the Congress 

- 11 - I~ 
REF ID:A101234 

and al\ow a. further disposition on its part to grant relief against inequities of 

,.thl• ,..ture. The patent provlalona of the Atomic En.ersy Act (42 u.s.c. 51811) 

I likewise show the eon.eern of the Congress to avoid stilling the in:ventive urge 

in those areas of our national interest of the highest importance by compensating for the penalties which are dictated by necessity. 

(d) The secrecy whieh has surrounded all the achievements of 

Mr. Friedman in connection with his duties for the Government, has effectively circumscribed any opportunities of Mr. Friedman to engage in his profession elsewhere whether by teaching, writing~ lecturing, by independent 

invention or otherwise. lt may be noted in this connec~ion that Mr •. Friedman 

has written a number of basic works in his field which are maintained in 

secrecy and are available for use only to a comparatively small group within ' I 

the Department of Defense. 

· (e) The secrecy surrounding all his work has effectively denied 

. Mr. F.riedman the recognition his superior work deserves and to which men 

in all professions and sciences aspire. The recent experience of the Atomic 

Energy Commission in its effOrts to retain in its employ scientists of the 

highest calibre under a blanket of secrecy is relevant to the present case. 

·(See Report of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, 8lst Cong., 1st Session. 

Oct., 1949, Senate Report No. 1169, p. 36.) 

(f) The immeasurable stress of his work and the burden of responsibility imposed by the necessity for constant secrecy ever since 1921 were 

major factors in the impairment of Mr. Friedman's health which now makes 

his livelihood increasingly precarious. 

It ls this last consideration which finally indu.ced Mr. Friedman to 

'1 permit us to bring the matter to the attention of the Depa:rtment ~f Defense. 

- lZ -
REF ID:A101234 

Of course, this consideration needs no documentation because much of the 

·medical atten_tion Mr. Friedman has received over the past several years has 

been in army and veteran hospitals. As already indicated, also, Mr. Friedman 

was required to retire from the Reserve Corps in 1941 for this reason. We 

are enjoined by Mr. Friedman from expanding upon this consideration and 

laying upon it the stress we think it deserves. This alone explains the bareness of its presentation. 

The Precedents 

There are at least two precedents for the relief we propose to seek 

from the Congress on behalf of Mr. Friedman, both involving the invention of 

devices in the field of military communications. The first, an ·

11Act for the 

Relief of Captain Russell Willson•, and the second, an 16Act for the Relief of 

Maude P. Gresham and Agn.es M. Driscoll•. The full statement of facts and 

the legislative history of each of these acts is attached hereto as Appendix A. 

(a) In each of the cited cases, a single cryptographic device was involved, invented in one case by a naval officer and in the other by a naval 

officer in collaboration with a civilian employee of the Navy Department. In 

the case of Mr. Friedman, at least nine inventions are involved. 

(b) The practical significance of the inventions involved in the two 

cited cases is unknown to us and Mr. Friedman is enjoined from disclosing 

that information. Only th.e Department of Defense is in a position to weigh 

that significance in comparison with the significance of the inventions of 

·Mr. Friedni-an. 

(c) As in the case of Mr. Friedman, the devices involved in the 

cited cases were inventions by officers and personnel of an organization now 

a part of the Department of Defense, made without designation to invent, put 

to use by the government and maintained in a secret status. 

- 13 -

--·-----···------~-
..... 

REF ID:A101234 

(d) In the two cited cases no patent applications were ever filed 

and acc~rdingly the inventors had no patent rights in the inventions whatever; 

I with respect to two of Mr. Friedman's inventions, he is in exactly the same 

position. As to ·the other seven inventions listed in the table above, Mr. 

Friedman was, in fact, granted the domestic commercial rights and foreign 

riahts. It has already been indicated, however, that these rights have been 

defeated by the very importance of the inventions, and have been completely 

1 nullified for all practical purposes by the necessity for holding the inventions 

.in secrecy. In the case of one of his inventions (Serial No. 682,096), these 

rights have now been suspended for 17 years; in another (Serial No. 107 ,244), -

14 years; for how many more year_s they will remain suspended is not even 

subject to rough estimate. Obviously, suspension in these circumstances be-· 

comes synonymous with nullification. 

(e) The personal considerations in the two cited cases were similar to those ln thi_s case. 

(f) ·1n the two cited cases, the claims submitted to the Congress 

, received the express approval of the Navy Department. Mr. Friedman asks I ~nly that the Department of Defense express no obj.ection to the presentation 

of his matter to the Congress. He wou_ld of course be happy if the Department of Defense were to give the matter its affirmative approval, but he does 

not ask that much. 

Aside from the eases cited above, which seem parallel to the 

pr·esent case in all respects including the very nature of the inventions involved, there are others where officers and employees of the military serviC.es sought and received relief from the Congress for inventions which were 

put to use by the government. -These cases, of course, are not directly in 

- 14 -
REF ID:A101234 

point here, because we do not intend to make any request based upon government use of Mr. Friedman's inventions and for this reason are not cited here. 

They are mentioned, however, to show generally the disposition of the 

Congress to aid in the effectuation of the War Department and Navy Department policies of offering this form of incentive to stimulate invention in the 

national interest. 

Conclusion 

It has been our purpose to make this memorandum as brief as a 

reasonable presentation of the matter of Mr. Friedman would allow. It is 

respectfully submitted as a basis for the request for an indication that the 

Department of Defense has no objection to the presentation of the matter to 

the Congress on its merits. The considerations which seem to make that re!'" 

quest a reasonable one in the circumstances have been set out along with the· 

factual background of the matter. Favorable conslderation of the request 

would be greatly appreciated. 

Respectfully submitted, 

FISCHER, WILLIS AND PANZER 

BY 

Attorneys for William F. Friedman 

- 15 -

I~ 
REF ID:A101234 

APPENDIX A 
REF ID:A101234 

i·h'H l."uNGBESS l HOUSE 014' REPRESI~NTATIVES J 

I xf S, .~xitm. f l :--_-··=-==:::.·:: =-:-.:::.:-_____ ---

:REroBT 

No. 284 

= 

.M \ ncn 4, Hl35. --C11111111itt.1•1I to th1• Committt!u of the Wholt• llu1111c and ordel'L'tl 

to l.K' J1ri11tl'cl 

:\h'. ~EA 101, from th<• ( 'onunitt.oo on Na val Affuin1, !'IUbmittcd the 

following 

REPORT 

[To K<'r.omp:my If. R. 5564) 

Thl' C'ommittN> on Naval Affail'l-l, t.o whom wn.~ r<•forr<•d the hill 

(JI. H. fi!)ti4) fm· tlll1 n•lil•f of l'upt. lfossl'll \'Villson, llnitl.'d Htnt.Ps 

X 11\',\', hn ving <·1msid1•n•d tlu• s1mw, l'l'port it to t.lw llous1• with tho 

J't'1·01111111•nd11tion thnt it. do puss. 

Tiu• p111·post• of till' 1n·oposl•tl l<•gislntion is to ~ivl.' Capt. H.11sRl'll 

\\'illson, l'nitt•d Stntl's Nuv.\·, $15,000 in full st~ttl('Jnl'nt for 1l rl'rtain 

invt'nt.iun of his us<•d in l'OllJlt•t·tion with the st•1·rct 1·omm1mit·ntion 

f.triliti<•s of till' N 11vv. 

Thi• rnl111• to thl' ·Navy and to thl' GovC'rllml'nt of this invention 

t•1umot ht• mt•nsurl'cl in doll1u"M and <·11nb1. Its valur. to the Governm1•11t 11111~· ht• judg-<•d by t.ht• fart thnt it wus usl'd during the ·world 

""111· in 1111 dispntrh1•i-1 ht•tw<•t•n tlw N uv.v l><'pnrt.mt•nt und nuvnl hl'ad-

<1u11rtl'I'~ in London, i1wludini.r those t•om·.t•rning movl'nwnts of transport .. , wht'l't' its st•t·rt•c·y proh't•tt1d thousnnds of lives and millions of 

dollurs worth of prt>pl't't.v. 

Bt•in~ 11w111't' of t•ompllrntive l'llS:> with whi1·h c·onficlt•nt.inl mul st•t'l'<'t 

ml'ssd~t·s wl'rf• intc•rt·l'pt.l'd 11nd dl'1·odl'd hr 11111111t.hori.ir.t•tl pt•r·sons, 

· C1lptnin ""illson 1·01wt•1\•ed nnd Jll'rft•t'tod thi .. invc•ntion whilt• on a 

tour of sl'n dut~· in l!lHi. For C1tptnin \\"ill .. ;m to hnn• puti•ntt•d this 

invC'ntion would h1w<• dt•strovcd its lll"l'fuhwss in thut it woulcl thl'n 

h1l\'l' ht•c•n opt•n to puhlil' im~1>i•c•t.ion; instl'1ul, lw gnvl' it to t.hl' N nvy. 

Tiu• l'llit•it•n<'\' of I 111.• dl'vi<'l' mny lw morl' fully npf>rl'l'in ted from 11 

stntl'nwnt nuufti hl'for1• tin• ronunith•t• clming tht• ll'nrin~ on this 

hill whic·h is quotl'd us follow2'1: 

Toward tht• <•ml of th!' World Wl\r I\ 1U.11mkh from I\ di11loml\tic l\ltClllt in 

Copt•nh:Li.tf'n rl'portt•d Umt copir.11 of u.11 r.al1lt•i! Wl'rt• n•uching Hcrlin and l\ll Wf're 

hl'ini: cle1·ipht•n•d t•xccpt thrnm in Nu.v~· cipher. 

This hill providl's for long-dehtyl'd l'nmpt•nsution for 11. dt•vi<'<' whil'h 

durin~ thl' World \\'111· wus the hnsis of tht• Nuvy's system of !'lerret l ~ 

l'ommunirn tions. 
-

REF ID:A101234 

--

2 CAPT, RUSSELL WILLSON 

The X ayy Department fa ,·ors this proposed legislation as is indicated by tbe letter of the Secretary of the Navy to the Speaker of 

the House of Representntins which is hereby made a part of this 

report. 

NAVY DEPARTllENT1 

Waahington, Februarg ,4, 1986. 

The SPEAKER OJ' THE Ho"CSE or REPRESENTATIVES, 

Waahinglon, D. C. · 

MT DEAR Ma. SPEAKER: There is transmitted herewith a draft of a proposed bill for the relief of Capt. Ruuell Willson, United States Navy. The proposed legislation pro,·ides that the Secretary of the Treaaury is authorized and directed 

to pay Capt. Russell Willson, United States Navy, out of any money in the 

Treasur)• not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $16,000 in full settlement for a certain invention of his used in connection with the secret communication facilities 

of the Navy. 

Captain Willson while servinf at sea in 1916 conceived and designed this invention relating to the secrecy o naval communications, and developed it in 1917 

without suggestions, ideas, or help from any other person at any time. He submitted the invention to the Navy Department which accepted it in 1917. The 

invention has been used by the Navy continuously since that time. For reasons of public policy, it has never been patented. Captain Willson baa not in any way, directly or indirectly, received any compensation for his work in producing this 

invention, nor for its use by the Navy during and since the war. The sum of $16,000, which the Navy Department believes should be appro- priated, ia modest in comparison with the value of the invention to the Government during the World War and during the 16 years thereafter ~hat it has been 

in continuous use. The Navy Department recommend• that the proposed legislation be enacted. 

Sincerely yours, . CLAUDE A. SWANSON. 

0 
-

REF ID:A101234 

Calel1i1r No. 835 

SJDTATB :{ BmUH No.192 

CAPT. RUSSELL WILLSON,· UNITED STATES NAVY 

MA!' 13 (oalendar day, 1'111f• I}, 1981.--0rdered to be printed 

Mr. HALE, from the Committee oD Naval .Aft'airs, 1ubmitted the 

following 

BEPOBT 

[To accompany H. a MMJ 

The Committee OD Naval Affairs of the Senate to whom wu 

reft?rred the bill (H. R. 55.M) for ~e relief of Capt. kU188ll W'illson, 

Umted States Navy, havmg colllid.ered the s1m·e, report it to the 

Senate without amendment with the recommendation that the bill 

do_pus. · The purpose of this bill is to give Captain Willson $15,000 in full 

settlement for a certain invention of bis used in connection with the 

secret communication facilities of the Navy. This bill, if enacted, would involve an additional ooet to the Government of S15,000, but the bill is recommended by the Navr Department and the committee feels that this is a ju1t claim in view of the ~t value his invention has been to the Navy. The House report, which explains this bill in detail, is hereby made 

a part of this report. 

IB.Rept. No. 9', 7all CODI., 1d -.) 

The Committee on Naval Atrain, to whom WU referred the bm (H. a MM) for the relief of Capt. RWlllflll Willlon, United 8tatee Navy, having comldmed the 

aame, report it to the Houae with the recommendation that It do _pau. The p~l')J088 of the pl'ODOllld legialation la to give Capt. RU1811ll WIU.On United 

States Navy, 116,000 in full lettlement for a certain invention of hla u;;d in con- nection with the ll8Cl'8t communication facilltiell of the Navy. The value to the Navy and to the Government of thia invention cannot be 

measured in dollan and centa. Ita value to flle Government may be fu~ by tbe fact that it wu ulll!d during the World War In all diapatchea between the Navy Department and naval headquarten rn London, lncludfng thoae oonoernlng move- ments of tranlPOl'tll, where tta 11ecrecy protected thOueanda of Uv• and milliona 

of dollars worth of property. Being aware of comparative eue with which oonfldential and l8Cl'8t me.agea 

were intercepted and decoded by uuuthorized penona, Captain Willaon oon- oeived and perfeeted this Invention while on a tour of .. duty In 1918. For 
REF ID:A101234 -

2 CAPT. H{T88ELI, Wll.l.SOX, l'NlT~:ll 8TATE8 XAVY 

Captain Willson to have·pakuted thiM invention would hu\'l~ destroyed its m1erul11e11S in that it would theu have been 01>e11 to public inspection; instead, he gave it to the Nan·. 

The cfficiPi1l'y of the device may he more £ully n1>preciated from n statement 

made before the committee during the hearings 011 thit1 bill which is quoted aa follows: 

"Toward the end or the World War a dispatrh from a diplonmtic agent in 

Copenhagen re)>orted that copies or all cables were rc:iching Berlin and all were being deciphered except those in Navy cipher." 

This bill provides for long-dehn·ed compensation for a device which during the 

World War was the basis or the Navv's sn1tem or secret communications. 

The Navy Department favors this pruj>u11Cd legislation as is indicated by the 

letter of the. Secretary of the Na,·y to the Speaker of the House of Representatives which is hereby made a part of this report. 

NAV\" DEPARTMICNT, 

Wo11hington, February 4, 19fJ5. 

The SPJCAKBR oP THJC HoueE op R&ttni:eENTATIVEs, 

Wa11hinglon, D. C. 

MY Dsu Ma. SPllAltEft: There is tran1m1itted herewith a draft of a proposed blll for the relief of Capt. Russell WillKon, United States Navy. The proposed legislation provides that the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed 

to pay Capt. Russell Willson, United States Navy, out of any money in the 

Treasury not otherwise a11propriated, the sum of $15,000 in full settlement for a certain invention of his used in connection ,.,·i1111 the secret communication facilities 

of the Navy. Captain Willson while serving at sea in 1916 conoeived and de11igned this invention relating to the secrecy of naval communications, and developed it in 1917 

without suggestions, ide&H, or help from any other tx:rson at any time. He submitted the invention to the Navy Department, winch accepted· it in 1917. The 

invention has been used b,· the Navv eontlnuously since that time. For reasons of public policy, it has never been patented. Captain Will1mn has not in any way, 

directly or indirectly, received anv compensation for his work in producing this 

invention, nor for its use hf the Navy during and since the· war. 

The sum of $15,000, winch the Na\'y Department believes should be appro~ 

priated, is modest in COIJ!P&rison with the value of the invention to the Government during the World War and during the 16 years thereafter that it has been. 

iD continuous use. The Navy Department recommend11 that the pl'OpOlled legislation be enacted. 

Sincerely youn, 

CLAUDJI: A. SWANSON. 

0 
- REF ID: A1012.._34 

(PRIVATE-No. 79-74TH CONGRESS) 

[JI. R. 5564) 

AN ACT 

For the relief of Captain Rul!Sl)JI Willson, Unite<! Rtates Navy. 

Re it P11a.rfed by tl1e .Sennt<i and llm.t>u> of RP.p-re.~··t1foti1w1 of the 

l'nited Sffltn of Am.Pricn. in (Jongrexx f1H>1embl1·d, That the Secretary of the Treasury be. and he is lll'l't~by, autho1·izt-1l aml directed 

to pay to Captain Hnssell 'Villson, Uniter! States Na\·y. out of any 

money in the Tr1»1.~11ry not otherwise appropriated, the sum of 

$J;;.OOO in full !wttlP11wnt for his invention which has been ac<"epted 

bv the X1n·v I>t~partment for use in connection with naval com- . 11i11nication f1u·ilities. 

A11proved, June 13, 1935. 
7&ru CoNOllE88 } 

lat Be•11ion. 

REF ID:A101234 

SENATE 

-· 

Caleadu No. 

t 

MAUDE P. GRESHAM 

MAY 10, 1937.-0rdered to be printed 

539 

REPORT 

No. 526 

Mr. WALSH, from the Committee on Na val Affairs, submitted the 

following 

REPORT 

[To accompany S. 1463) 

The Committee on Na val Affairs, to whom was referred the bill 

(S. 1453) for the relief 'Of Me.ude P. Gresham, having considered the 

same, report favorably thereon, with amendment, and, as amended, 

recommend that the bill do pass. 

Amend the bill as follows: 

Page 1, lines 6 to 8 inclusive, strike out the following: 

Navy, out of any money in the Treuury not otherwiae appropriated, the aum of 

$16,000 in full settlement for the late Commander William F. Gresham's invention 

which haa. 

And insert in lieu thereof the following: 

Navy, the aum of $8,730 and to Agnes M. Driscoll the aum of $6,250, out of any 

money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, said aull\ll to be in full and 

complete settlement of all claim• hv said parties a11;ainat the United State• arising 

from the in\'ention of the late Commander William 1''. Gresham which said 

invention baa. 

Amend the title of the bill so as to read: 

A bill for the relief of Maude P. Gresham, and for other purposes. 

The purpose of the bill is to pay to the widow of the late Commander 

William F. Gresham, United States Navy, the sum of $8,750 and to 

Agnes M. Driscoll the sum of $6,250 in full and complete settlement 

of all claims by said parties against the United States a.rising from the 

invention of the late Commander William F. Gresham which has been 

accepted by the Navi Department for use in connection with naval 

communication facilities. · The bill was introduced at the request of the Navy Department. 

The Department states that tho hill is in accord with the program of 

tho President and involves an additional cost to the Government of 

$15,000. • 

Commander Gresham invented a device that greatly increased the 

efficiency of an important part of the naval communication service . 

. ?---;, 
,_ 

REF ID:A101234 

-

2 :\l.\l~l.11·: I'. cmE~H.Ul 

This dc\·ice wns of such a secret nncl conficlentinl nnture, nnd of sm·h 

importnnce to th<' X utionul defense, thut thl' N 1wy Depnrtnwnt confiscnted it for th(' ''xdusivt> use of the Nnvy 1md prevented Commnnder Urcshum from ohtninin~ ii pntent thl'rl'on. If thiR invention 

hod he<'n pu t<'nt<•d its wmfulness woul<l hnve he<'n dMtroycd, us it 

would thl'n hu n• been opPn to public im1pcction. ' . 

Prior to his d<'nth, C'onunund<'r Gr(•sham rN{Uested thnt h<' he <'Ompensnted for his in,·ention in the amount of $30,000. l'.pon re<·eipt 

of his rN{ U<'st the Sec·r<'tury of the Xu vy l'Oll\"ened a hourd of three 

officers to re<'omnu:•nd the amount of compensution to he pnid to 

Commander Gr<'sham. The hoard found, after carl'ful compnrison 

of Communde1· Gresham's invention with Parlier and similar llevices, 

that it greutly incrensed the efficiency of an important component 

part of the nanil communication service und that $15,000 v;ould he 

a fair compensation therefor. 

The N'twy Department has recent)>· <'onducted a further investign.-

tion into the mutter und is of the opmion that Commander Gresham 

was the sole inventor of the device, hut that the fundamental cryptographic principles which the muchine wa.s designed to employ prohahly 

was con<'ei\'l'd by ~frs. Driscoll and disclosed by her to Commander 

Gresham. The <'ommittee is therefore of the opinion thn.t Mrs. 

Driscoll's rights und interests in the invention 1tre substantially e<1ual 

to those of Communcler Gresham and that she is entitled to a fair 

percentage of any compensation which may he granted to Mrs. 

Uresham. The committee, therefore, recommends an amendment 

granting ~1rs. Gresham the sum of $8,750 and Mrs. Driscoll the sum 

of $6,250. 

Payment of compensntion in like amount to Capt. Russell Wilson, 

United States !'\avy, for an invention which during the World War 

was the basis of the Navy's system of secret communications, was 

authorized and 11ire<'ted hy the net of June 13, 1935. 

The committ.ee has inspected this invention and believes that it is of 

great vnhu• to the Gm·ermnent in connection with the secret communication facilities or the ~avy and is or the opinion that, although the 

vulue of this in\'cntion to the Government cannot he measured in 

dollars nnd rents, $15,000 is a fair compensation therefor. 

0 
7t1T11 Coso1n:Ms } 

1 Hf ."it'HHirm 

REF ID:A101234 

HOURI': O.F 1mP1u:~EN'l'A'l'l\"ES { REPORT 

No. 1099 

MAUDE P. GRJl:SHAl\f .AND AGNES M. DH18COLL 

JuNJo: 24, 1937.-·Committed to the Committee of the Whole llomic aml orclerccl 

to he 11ri11tl'd 

?\fr. C'oFna: of '\'n11hington, from tht' Committf'P on C'luim11, submitted tl1f' following 

REPOR~r 

[To aer.011111a11y S. 1453] 

The C'ommitteo on Clnims, to whom wus rt•frrrt>tl t.he hill (8. 14!i3) 

for the relief of l\foude P. Gr('l,\hnm, lurdng ronsider('(l the sumt>, 

reJ>ort theroon with the rerom111entl11tion th11t it tlo pnss with t.11e 

fo lowing aunendments: 

l'uge I, line 6, strike out the figures "$S, 7 50" nnd insert in lieu 

t.hereof "$8,690.55". 

Pn~t> I, line 11, 11ft.er thl' nnmt' "Grf'i;hnm", inse1·t "nnd Agnes :\f. 

Drisroll,''. 

Amt>nd the titlt> of tlrn bill to reutl: 

A hill for the relief of Maude J>. Gre11hs111 and AfClll'M M. Driscoll. 

STAT•:M•:ST OF FACTS 

As nmt>ndetl, this hill pr°'·itles for the pnyment of $8,690.55 to 

l\foude P. Or~hnm, widow of ""illinm }'. Grt>slunn, lutl' communder, 

Pnited Stntes NnYy, nnd the sum of $1i,2!i0 to Anges :!\I. Drisroll, in 

full nnd romplete sf'Ulf'ment of nil clnims by said partif's ngninst the 

United States arising fmm tlu• invl'ntion of t.he latt~ Commander 

Willium I<'. Greshnm und Aitnf'S :!\£. Drist·oll, whi<"h inv<"ntion hns 

been nrrPpt<'tl by th<' Nnvy Depm'fmt•nt for usl' in ('Ollnf't'tion with 

nnvul <"ommtmirntion fn<"ilitit•s. 

Th<' inYention herl' <'Olllpf'nsuted for hns not. hrf'n vi<'wed by your 

rommittf'l' nml its exa<"t nnturt• is not known, but thl' Xnvy Department statt•s tlu: t -

It greatly illCfl'l\Hl'd till' l'flid1•m•y of Ull important l'OIUJllllll'llt part of tlu• na\'aJ 

co1111111111it·ation Hf.•n·irt• and that !fll;i,000 would h1• a fair 1•ot11flt'llHl\t.ic111 tiJl'n•for. 

A similnr findinμ- hns het•n nuule by the Ht•nntf' ('ommittrf' on Nnvnl 

Afl"nirs, whid1 vi1•w1•cl tlu• invrution, nnd whi<'h found thut. .Agnrs M. 

Dris<"oll nssist.ed in tlw de11ign of (•ertnin of its funclnmf'ntnl prialC'ipll'S. 

."? 
REF ID:A101234 

2 

Therefore, the hill includes nn oword both to the widow of Commander 

Gresham nnd to Mrs. Driscoll ond the payment of these claims is 

similnr to the ol'tion token by t.he Congress in connection with another 

navnl invention under Private I..aw No. 79, Seventy-fourth Congress. 

It will hl' noted that the <'ommittee has reduced the payment to 

Mrs. Groshaun by $59.45, which sum was overpaid to her husband 

ns a rl'ntal allowance and was the subject of S. 1313, Private Law 

No. 86, Seventy-fi!th Congress. That law authorized a credit in the 

accounts of the disbursing officer who made the payment to Commandl'r Gresham. At the time, your e.ommittef'! endeavored to 

ascert11in why the o\·erpayment was not collected from Commander 

Greshnm, and the Department replied that such action was usually 

taken but that the officer's death hod precluded it in the case in 

question. As thl' disbursing officer was beld liable for the payment, this committef' re<'omml'nded the hill, the evidence disclosing that it 

was mude without negligence on his part and prior to his receipt of 

Cl'rtain pertinent instl'tictions. Your committee is not attempting 

to take a small position with regard to the $59.45 overpayment, but 

it is constrained to the opinion that it should have been refunded to 

the Government either by Commander Gresham or his estate, and· 

consequently we can see no reason why it should not be recovered 

on behalf of the Government. The deduction here made accomplishes that purpose. 

Furtber facts relative to these claims appear in the report of the 

Senate Committee on Na.val Affairs and a letter from the Navy 

Department, both appended. 

[S. Rept. No. 320, 75tb cone .. lat -.J 

The Committee 011 Naval Affail'll, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1453) for 

the relief of Maudt• P. Gresham, having considered the same, report favorabl, 

thereon, with ame11dme11ts, and, M amended, recommend that the bill do pau. 

Amend the bill as follo\\"11: Page 1, li11e 6 to 8 inclusive, strike out the following: "Navy, out of any mone) 

in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of Sl5,000 in full settlement 

for the late C0111ma11der William F. Gresham's invention which has". 

And insert in lif'u thereof the followinPC: "Navy, the sum of $8,750 and to Agnes 

M. Driscoll the sum of $6,250, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 

appropriated, said sums to be in full and complete settlement of all claims by 

said parties &PCainst the United States arising from the invention of the late 

Commander William F. Gresham which said invention has". 

Amend the title of the bill so as to read: "A bill for the relief of Maude P. 

Gresham, and for other purposes." The purpose of the bill is to pay to the widow of the late Commander William 

F. Gresham, United States Navv, the 1um of $8,750 and to Agnes M. Driscoll the sum of $6,250 in full and complete settlement of all claims by said parties against the United Rtates arising from the invention of the late Commander William F. 

Gresham which has been acce.pted by the Navy Department for use in connection 

with na,·al communication facilities. 

The bill was introduced at the request of the Navy Department. The Department states that the bill is in accord with the program of the President and involves a11 additional cost to the Governmr.nt of $15,000. ~ Commander Grc11ham invented a device that greatly incre&11ed the efficiency of an important part of the naval communication MCrvice. This device was of 

such a secret and confidential nature, and of such imPortance to the national 

defense, that the Nan· Department confiscated it for the exclusive u11e of the 

Navv and prevented Commander Gre11ham from obtaining a patent thereon. If 

this invention had been patented its usef11lnm111 would have been destroyed, as it 

would then ha\"C been open to public inspection. 
,_ 

--

REF ID:A101234 

MAUD& P. GU:ESHAM AND AGNES H. DRISCOLL 3 

Prior to bi1 death, Commander Gresham requested that he be compenuted for bi1 invention in the amount of $30,000. Upon receipt of hl1 reque11t the 

Secretary of the Navy convened a board of three oftieen to recommend the 

amount of compenution to be paid to Commander Gresham. The board found, 

after careful oompari1<1n of Ccimmander Grelham'• invention with earlier and 

eimllar devlees, that It greatly increued the efficiency of an important component 

part of the naval communication service and that 115,000 would be a fair com- penutlon therefor. 

The Navy Department hu reeent!Y conducted a further invCllltiption Into the 

matter and i1 of the opinion that Commander Greeham wu the BOio Inventor 

of the device, but that the fun~mental cryptographic princlplOB which the 

machine wu deeigned to employ probably wu conceived by Mn. Driscoll and 

dilcll.llled by her to Commander Greeham. The committee i1 therefore of the 

opinion that Mra. Dri1coll'e rbrhte and lntereete in the invention are 1ub8tantially equal to thoee of Commander Greaham and that llhe 11 entitled to a fair pereentage of any compeneation which may bfi granted to Mn. Grellham. The committee, 

therefore, reoommendl an amendment granting Mn. Greaham the 1um of $8,750 

and Mn. I>rilcoll the 1um of 16,250. 

Payment of compen11ation in like amount to Capt. Ruuell Wil11on, United 

Btatee Navy, for an Invention which during the World War wu the buie of the 

Navy'• 1y1tem of aeoret communicatione, wu authoriaed and directed by the act 

of June 13, 1935. 

The committee hu in1pected thi1 Invention and bolievea that It ie of great value to the Government In connection with the eeoret communication faoilltiea 

of the Navy and i1 of the opinion that, although the value of thi1 invention to the 

Government cannot be meuured in dollan and cente, $15,000 le a fair compenution therefor. • 

NAVY D••A.BTllSllT, 

W111Ai"f14m, Fillrua'11 6, 1931. 

The 8•U1t•• 01' TB• 8011811 01' Rs•••UMTATIV••· 

W111AttlfC09', D. C. 

MT Dllu Ma. s .. AltSa: There .. tranamitted herewith a draft of a propoeed bill for tbe relief of Maude P. Onsbam. 

Tbe p~ of thil_piopoeed ~tlon la to _pay to the widow of the late Commander William F. Oreallam, Ulllted Btatel Navy, the 1um of $11,000 in full 

lettlement for an Invention Of the late Commander Gresham wlitch bu been ~by tbe Navy Department for Ul8 in connection with naval communication faollitiel. 

Prior to hia death, Commander Gnsbam requeated that he be compeJ!l&ted for hil Invention in the amount of $30,000. Upon receipt of thia requeet the Secretary of the Navy convened a board Of three oftleen to recommend the amount of 

oompeneatiln to be p_.td to Commander Gre11ham. The board found, after careful 

oompariaon of Commander Greeham'• invention with earlier and 1imilar devioea, 

that it greatly inoreued tbe dlciency of an important component part of the 

naval communication eervioe and that SUS,000 would be a fair compenution 

therefor. 

Payment ·or oompeneation in llke amount to Capt. Ruuell Wlllllon, United 

Btatee Navy, for an invention wu authoriHd and diiected by the act of June 13, 

1935 (41 Stat. -). . The p~" Jegielation, if enacted into law, would involve an additional eii:~ to tbe Government of SUi,000. 

The Navy Department reoommendl that tbe propoeed leglelation be enacted. 

The propoeedleglelation le in accord with the program of the Preeident. 

Sincerely youn, CLAtJDS A. SWA.IHON. 

0 
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-- REF ID:A101234 

(PRIVATE-No. 267-75TH CONGRESS) 

[CHAPTER 583-lST SESSION) 

[S. 1453) 

AN ACT 

For the relief of Maude P. Gresham and Agnea M. DriecolL 

Be it enacted by the Senate and Home of Repre11entativu of tM 

United SiateJJ of America i1, Oonrp·e111J atJ11embled, That the Secretary 

of the Treasury be\ and he is hereby, authorized and directed to pay 

to Maude P. Gresruuu, widow of \Villiam F. Gresham, late commander, United States :Savy, the sum of $8,690.55, and to Agnes M. 

Driscoll the sum of $6,~fiO, out of any money in the Treasury not 

otherwise appropriated, said sums to be in full and complete settlement of all claims by i-;aid parties against the United States arising 

fnJJu the i11vention of the late Commander WilJiam 14'. Gresham and 

Ai.rues ~I. Driscoll, which s1&id invention has been accepted by the 

N 11 \".)" DepartmPnt for use in cmmection with nav1&l communication 

f:u·ilities: ProvUed, That 110 part of the amount appropriated in this 

Art in excess of 10 per ceut um the1-eof shull be paid or delivered to 

01· l"t'ceivecl by any ahreut or agents, attorney or attorneys, on account 

of servic·ps rendered in co1111ection with said claim. It shall be 

nn lu wful for any agent or u~nts, attorney or attorneys, to e][act 

coll•·rt, withhold, or n•c·eive 1my sum of the amount appropriat;l 

i11 this Ac:t in excess of 10 JX'I" cP11t11111 thereof on account of services 

l"'.')Jdl'rl'd in rn1111ection with said ('hlim, 1&ny contract to the contrary 

1111! wit hst u11cl i llJ{. Any /M•r:;o11 viol at i11g the provisions of this Act 

sh:dl be dl't'llll'U guilty o a 111i;.;cli•nwa11or and upon conviction thel'eof 

shall Im fi1wd iu a11.v s11111 110! 1•Xt't•ctling $1,000. 

Approved, August 11, 1937. 
REF ID:A101234 

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