. 

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MEMO 9JTING SLIP 

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COORDINATION 

FILE 

INFORMATION 

NECESSARY 

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4 SEE ME 

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l{r _. J'olul 11. Haward 

Sl4 W~or Road 

1prJn..11eld., Del'! c9., Pmn•!l 

Dear io};m: 

a.ri.als ?? 84 

SISEP 1952 

. -- -

.:. !n 70U.r letter to Dr. 'Ellgst.:rom.. ansvcrin.;: SOllD questions he 

~ed. iti,~ to SCAO attaira• J10U imicated that, ii' Ar..:a.l MOuld ~like to have &OllO suaaestJ.cms on research and d•valop:iont. 

programs .. you. would be very pleased to think about. ~s mat~--~ :tr_.-_ ;;;;; 

aul::.md. t llOllO 1dol.s. ':;I;! 

- ' 

·~· 112~ leiter alao et.ated that. Jl)U vere on the point ot 

taking orr on .,our Yaeation, I bea1 tated to vr1 te JOU 1•ed:S atel.7 

on it$ receipt f:ft>l'll Dr. J:Dgat.rom. because I did not feel it ld.N 

'\io gi:re p>U •OPlething to think about Eld. posa1bl7 dl.aturb 10ur 

~o1m;;int ot somo s~ act1.Yi 'liY as ft.~ or Just. loa!1ne. 

Bolll!f'V'Ql'• I assume that you are t>aCk at work now a.m. thereto~ ll'll vr1 tl DC to aq 1iha. t we do lntea:l want 10ur .-w.ggestlona 

lifi1 •SS-111"8 ;yt)U 1n CYBnCG of 0111" appreciatf.on Of JOUI' tf.tma ~ 

tiiose llnoa. 

for )"OU1' conven1aice alld on the usumpt.i..on that mat ,ou 1d.ll 

BU'tnit ma.7 be ot tairl.J' high clua1t1.ca.U.on, I • enclosing auttable 

franked Gll.VGlo~ properq add:rwssed'IE 

Bopi.qI tha. t 1011 deri Ted much benefit from 70ur Yacation 8IJd 

Q'o 1n tine t•tt.l.e,. I am, 

MTMO FOR REOORD: Self'-expla.natoryo 

'WILLlJM r A FlUJWll-:A.1' 

CQllSJAltaiit 

_ WoF9Friedman/eby/25 Sept 52 

Consultant/60493 

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./ e REF ID:A65869 • 

Burroughs • 0 l>Ul!ROUGHS ADDING MACHINE COMPANY e RESEARCH DIVISION 

Sii NORTH BROAD STREET e PHILADtLPHIA 23, PENNA 

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e REF ID:A65869 e 

SECRET&:NGINEERING RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. 

SECURITY INFORMATION 507 EIGHTEENTH STREET, SOUTH 

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 

OFFICE OF THE 

VICE PRESIDENT 

• 

Mr. William F. Friedman, Consultant 

Department of Defense 

Armed Forces Security Agency 

Washington 25, D. C. 

Dear Mr. Friedman: 

15 August 1952 

I am enclosing herewith the originals of replies to 

my letter of 17 July. I have not had replies from 

Dr. Robertson and Mr. Desch. 

The opinions concerning the two major points in 

question are not unanimous. Dr. Potter, of Bell 

.Laboratories, and Mr. McPherson, of IBM, tend toward 

the inclusion of certain aspects of operations under 

the civilian technical director, The consensus 

concerning the optimistic statement of the ma.in 

problem appears to me to approach the statement as 

revised by AFSA. 

If I can be of further assistance in this connection, 

please let me know. 

HTE:nlb 

Enclosures (8) 

Sire erely yours, 

This document con~.o.ir..s i::1.fori:1at i c:n t:f .:'oc•.,inr; tho national • • ~ • ,.,. , ... · ··'"' • ., 11 ,.. 1 ~ ani· ,.,,,. o"' the defense of the U::n .. ,- - - ~w .r. i - ·•· .,. · 1~ .1. __ .,, J. 

..... - - ~ l" ,. c· ~e .. : . .., .• "'t"''Z and 794 E:;pionage L.:·:.:;, .i..i . ..Lw .1. .... , ~, -• •, -' J~_..,_., "J.J • 

The transmi:~i...:l or t1":1 "r'•·•.r· .. :.t.ic:1 c.!" it: c::mtents in any 

manner to an 1.!11authori:.ed person if:i prohibited by law. 

SECRET 
REF ID:A65869 • WILLIAM WEBSTER • 

441 STUART STREET 

BOSTON 161 MASSACHUSETTS 

August 8, 1952 

Dr. H. T. Engstrom, Vice President 

Engineering Research Associates, Inc. 

507 Eighteenth Street, South 

Arlington, Virginia 

Dear Dr. Engstrom: 

This is in answer to your letter of July 17 

and I shall attempt to word it so as to avoid the 

necessity of classifying and hope that this does not 

also succeed in making it unintelligible. 

First, in connection with your first major 

point, I agree with Speakman on the narraNer responsibility. Second, I agree with most personnel in the 

less optimistic position. 

I am sorry that on account or my absence 

from Boston this reply has been so long delayed and 

hope it is not so late as to have missed the boat 

completely. 

Best personal regards. 
/ e REF ~ : A65-B ffetJQtr··· :.stLREi w• u •f6RMATIOH 

BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES 

DR. H. T. ENGSTROM 

INCORPORATED 

MURRAY HILL LABORATORY 

MURRAY HILL, NEW JERSEY 

SUMMIT 6·6000 

Engineering Research Associates, Inc. 

507 Eighteenth Street South 

Arlington, Virginia 

Dear Dr. Engstrom: 

August 8, 1952 

With regard to the questions raised in your letter ot 

July 17 my opinion agrees with yours on the first point. On the 

second question I feel we can certainly only say, with our 

limited knowledge of the problem, that there is sufficient good 

chance or a solution to justify increasing considerably the 

present ettort toward this solution. It is clearly a gamble, 

but the stakes are high enough to make it worth while. 

Sincerely yours, 

~~-~ . ' 

CLAUDE SHANNON 

SECllt.T ~ ... .. .. 

SECU.~JTY INFBRMi1TIOH 
• REF ID:A65869 • 

THE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY 

. PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY 

SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS July 29,, 1952 

Dear Howard: 

Thank you for your letter of July 17 which I 

found here after my arriva1 two dey-s ago. In the meantime,, 

as you know, I saw the letters that you had sent to Stewart 

Cairns and ToDDey' Tompkins,, and discussed the answer with 

them. Thus,, the matter is taken care of to the extent to 

which you ~ need formal answers. 

Hoping that we will see each other again in the 

not too distant future, I am, 

Sincerely yours, 

JvNzeg Joh~umann 

~ 

Dr. Howard T. Engstrom 

Engineering Research Associates,, Inc. 

507 Eighteenth Street, South 

Arlington,, Virginia 
file. 

• 

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION 

590 MADISON AVENUE 

NEW YORK 22, N. Y. 

OFFICE OF 

VICE PRESIDENT July 29, 1952 

Registered Mail--

Mr. H. T. Engstrom, Vice President 

Engineering Research Associates, Inc. 

50'7 - 18th Street South 

Return Receipt Requested 

Arlington, Virginia 

Dear Howard: 

In reply to your letter of July 1 '7, 1952, on point one my recollection is that 

we had in mind and discussed both a civilian technical director in charge 

of all centralized activities including research, development, and operation; 

and a civilian director of research. Many of the reasons which lead to consideration of this point were common to all three activities if not most important in the operation area. 

As to what can be accomplished on your second point, my feeling was that 

we were far from having exhausted the capabilities of high-speed electronic 

machines, and that the impression of people who knew more than I was tbat 

even with existing equipment results should be secured. 

I - , 

You asked for some suggestions as to specific research programs to be 

undertaken. I would suggest: 

1. .Any radical or long-shot ideas on methods or machines 

2. Basic studies of behavior and mathematical properties 

of devices used or potentially useable in this field 

3. Mathematical studies including matrices and machine 

methods of evaluation 

4. Statistical studies including new indices for characterizing 

patterns found in material 

5. Development of 5!eneralized machines or machine components 

especially applicable or efficient in this field. ----A~ ' 

If I can be of further help, please let me know. 

THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFO!lil 

•MATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL 

DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES 

WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE 

ESPIONAGE LAWS, TITLE 18 U.S. C!' 

SECllONS 793 AND 794. ITS TRAN)' 

JCMcP·im M.ISSICN OR THE REVELATION OF ITS 

" WtllE.'llS IN ANY MANNER TO ANY 

AUlHORllED PERSON IS PAO-

•·~ LJ &Y lAW. SECRET. 

Yours yery truly 

John -q-;Pherson 

Vice g:~Llent 
-· 

FtEF ID:A65869 "'~.:-.. .,-

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i. ·;: • · .~630 ~tic Cm.st Higl:wq ~ :· . . .. · Jlalibu, Calif omia 

n-. Howard T. Ehgstran 

P.ilgineering Research Associates Inc 

507 18th street South 

Arlir:igtcm, Virginia. 

~ar HOW'ard: 

2S JUlf' 195?• 

' . 

,. 

We have received letters from yai dated 17 Jul.7• Since Professor 

von Newnann .,as. also in this area while we were considering air answer, 

we consulted bill (under the assumption that a copy had probab1.y been 

addressed to him elsewhere). We believe that he cmours ful.17 in 

our answer here, llhich he helped prepare. 

l'fe agree witb. your 'Yie1r that the civ.Llian directer shruld be in 

charge or research and development l:ut not. necessarily in charge o£ 

operations. · · 

' 

As far as fu.rther and mpanded errcrts on t.he main problan are concemied, 

it seems to us that they' are j'UStified. 

We have been handicapped 1n ma.king this repq l:v the fact that. 

we have not seen a copy o.t the i'1naJ. SCAG repcrt. 

CC John von Neumann 

Respect1'21J,y1 

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REF ID:A65869 e 

SECURi P/ INFORMATlti~! 

BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES INCORPORATED 

MURRAY HILL LABORATORY 

MURRAY HILL, NEW JERSEY 

SUMMIT 6·6000 

DR. H. T. ENGSTROM, Vice President 

Engineering Research Associates, Inc 

507 Eighteenth Street, South 

Arlington, Virginia 

Dear Dr. Engstrom: 

July 24, 1952 

SECRET 

Helow under separate headings are replies to the 

three questions raised in your letter of July 17, 1952. 

1. Concerning responsibilities of the Senior Civilian 

Technical Director. . .. - .. _. -· ... -·· _ .. ··--.. ·- . ---------- While appreciating the arguments for separating research and development from operations I have not 

been entirely convinced this is the best arrangement organization-wise. The "operations" organization is essentially a vast machine, designed to perform certain functions. Of course, roany functions of this 

machine are routine but this is fundamentally incidental. A first purpose of AFSA research and development is to make this a most effective machine. Therefore it would seem highly important that top level 

supervision extend across the board in a way as to 

tie research, development and operations together technically. This is not contrary to the principle that operations are a responsibility of the military. Responsibility o~ technical supervision on the 

operations side would be confined to technical (in- cluding human) performance of the "machine" rather 

than its use. Similar cases, wherein technical support should be very close to operations, are apparent- ly becoming rather common in modern warfare. 

2. Statement com::erning solution of the main problem 

Based on pros and cons expressed by others better \ 

qualified to have a firm opinion, I would recommend 

we use the words: "There is sufficient promise of 

success to warrant a considerable extension of the 

present effort". 

Thi" tlncument c1,ntJh11 1nfo n1a.t\u11 11frc-rt 0 't\'t H1r--Yt 11\ul\?t\ 1lY'1'"1,\it."'f. ot t'i.c l'n1t"•t 

Ht 1rP• llltt.ln •he mr11n1t1:: ol th• t: ph•n ·::~ 1 ,,, i. 2'11111 l!I I' " t'!, ~~·lion• ;·~ 

an1I ;~I Tiu• t1 1111.uh,Jon <•• tho rc,~!n!l .. n t•T II• r•t~l~lll~ ill 1111\ l'li\hlllr !~• 

1111 l 111 1 1fh•lrl t•d JU 1 "' 11 1-i fU 1h l•1t("r} \J\ 1,1"\"' 

. : J' ~ I 

JECRET 

. --=-..,..-= 
• 

ID:A65869 • 

SECURITY IN KMATION 

Dr. H. T. Eng~trom - 2 SECRET 

(3. Regarding a research program 

The responsibilities of this group would pre- sumably include initiation and supervision of outside research contracts as well as research carried 

on within the AFSA organization. Some of the items 

below could be carried on in either or both ways. Order is not intended to indicate priority and the 

list is illustrative and not complete, 

(A) Research to speed up present comparison and 

computational processes by a substantial factor. 

(B) Research on bro~d band recording. 

{C) Modernization of intercept methods (Cooperative study with other groups concerned). Extending 

up into microwave range and including both plane search and .long range ground systems. 

(D) Basic studies of ways to process (sort, classify etc.) intercept information. 

(E) Research toward new circuit elements, such as 

transistors of special types, new storage schemes, 

new commutation devices, etc. 

(F) Research toward new circuitry, particularly miniaturization as applied to special problems. 

(G) Studies of new cyclic and random key sources. 

(H) Studies of narrow-band telephone, including voice-telegraphy. 

(I) Various studies in psychological area -

(1) Human factor in "busts" and ways to minimize. 

(I believe there are very important possibilities here). 

(2) A broad study 0£ the relationship between 

humans and machines in the security area. 

(3) V.isits to various laboratories where psychological ~esearch is going on and accumulation of background knowledge pertinent to AFSA problems. 
.. e REF ID:A65869 

Dr. H. T. Engstrom - 3 

£IR1rv INFORMATION 

\SECRET 

(4) Various project studies based upon 

current problems. 

(5) From the above, formulation of principles, 

test methodology and simulation procedures ) applying to the AFSA situation. ___J 

Sincerely yours, 

~,~,£~~ 

~·sECRET 

SECURiIY lrJFtiRMATION 
.... 

Log Io. 62-1688 

Copy # ..J_ of & oopi•• 

a-. i:raward r. Engstrom 11' 

Engineering Research .Associates. Inc. 

507 Eighteenth Street. South 

.Arlington• Virginia 

Dear Howards 

~UI 23-1952 

~· 

Kr. Spealcman has received 70ur letter of 17 July 1962. He 

barely had time to read it and hand it to me be.tore lea.Ting again 

on out-ct-town aff'airs. Be hopes you will be •o kind u to accept 

this letter u relqing his thought~ on the matt«1r you di:.acuaaed., 

You have oorreotly atated that the '.fechnical Director of SO.AG 

origin would be responsible ror research and development only. 

would report to th• Direotor • .&FSA. and that the la.rge-aoale operations of A.FSA would remain under military oontrol • 

.U for the second matter you aen.tioned - that ot the clear-out 

promise ot aucceaa -- we still teel that this waa the aenae ot the 

SC.AG. 'lhia in itself oalla tor "considerable augaen.te.tion and 

extension of the present etfo:rt• to quote your letter ln pa.rt. We 

are not surprised tha.t some AFSA peracmn.el feel the ate.teaent in the 

report was OTerly optiJliatio. but the SC.AG report wu :more concerned 

.lo .. ,.- ' .. •·.~·~ a .. ~ 

.. ·;~ ~. ·:·: 

'• 

with it• view ot the situation thq with A.FSA'• re-.o'tiOll.•• ....... -.A· 

I have read your propo•al tor setting up the J18W ot.fioea and I 

t~el it is sound. Only trial can diaolo1e aD1' •mall reTiaiollJI or readjuatm.ents that might be required. I do not think that Kr. Speakman 

ha.a aa yet tmJ' .tira though.ta on the 'teclmical na'ture ot reaearoh progrmna which this group should undertake. I auapeot he would be 

pleaaed to l•Te thb to persona in clo••r touoh with teohnioal 

aspects. 

~··_····· 

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