Evening star., 1946-07-22
Loya|tyChecks
|nU. ). Offices
Begging Down
Agencies Either Lack
Facilities or Show
Apathy for Job

AoJ eASS AAAF w w SSNA
out Communists, fellow travellers
and other subversive groups in
the Government have broken
down, with Federal agencies ap-
pearing unable to conduct the
job formerly performed by the
Civil Service Commission, a sur
vey by The Star indicated today.
Confusion and apathy appeared to
be the reaction of most agencies to
the new plan which has turned over
to them the job of wedding out SUBJ
versive elements.
With a few exceptions, the agen-
cies have neither the funds, staffs OF
the time to conduct loyalty investi-
cations, until recently the job OF
the Civil Service Commission. Lack
OF funds has forced the commission
virtually to cease such work and
turn over to the agencies the re-
sponsibility of keeping subversives
out of the Government.
Some Agencies in Ignorance.
Some agencies were not even
aware today that they now have the
responsibility of fingerprinting job
applicants and sending the prints to
the FBI. Previously, it was the
commissions responsibility to check
all fingerprints with the FBI to de-
termine an applicants past record,
if any.
In the main, personnel chiefs OF
the various agencies said they had
neither the money nor the facilities
to conduct loyalty and character
investigations. Some departments
like Interior are making use of
small investigative stats to conduct
limited inquiries, but admit a COM
plete job cannot be done.
Other departments like Agricui-
ture have no investigative staffs at
all and must be content for the
most part on an employees sworn
statement that he is not a member
of the Communist party or any
other group which advocates the
overthrow of the Government.
Otn6r Units Little Better.
Other departments are in a little
more advantageous position. These
include the War, Navy, Treasury ami
State Departments, all of which
have some facilities to conduct in
vestigationS.
But even the State Department
has run into trouble, as members
of Congress have charged it with
having hired and retained Commu-
nists and Soviet agents on its staff
The War and Navy Departments
are relying on the Ar1ny's and
Navy's intelligence divisions to in
vestigate employees, but the drastic
reduction of these divisions since
the end of the war has reduced the
aid that can be expected.
We're doing all right at present
because we're not hiring many en-
ployes," War Department official
said today. But heaven help us if
hiring is resumed on large scale
and we have to inquire into the
background of each applicant. Un-
less we get sufficient funds to in
crease our own investigative func-
tions, we won't be able to do a
thorough job"
Purging of Rolls a Problem.
Wedding out subversive elements
from among Federal job applicants
Is only one of the problems con-
fronting Federal departments today
The other is dismissing from the
Federal service subversives who al
ready are on the Government pay
roll because of the Civil Service
Commissions inability to conduct
adequate Investigations of the ma
jority of the two million or more
persons hired during the war.
The commission says that it has
no legal authority to reopen a case
once the employe has passed his
loyalty test and has been placed on
the Federal payroll. Most Gov
eminent employees passed their
loyalty test by sworn statements
that they were not a member of the
Communist party or any other SUBJ
FerSlVe group
The Attorney General in 1912 set
up an Interdepartmental Commit
tee on Investigations ito consider
cases of subversive action on the
part of employees" but this group
functions in an advisory capacity
and individual agencies are not
bound by its recommendations. The
final authority and decision whether
to retain or release an employe are
left to the employing agency.
Individual agencies have the right
to conduct their own loyalty in
quiries of employees and to dismiss
in cases where the agency is con-
vinced that the suspicious or
charges are correct. Agencies have
no uniform set of standards or pro-
cedure in trying these cases, how
ever.
Administrative Procedure Varies.
AS pointed out by Saturdays re-
port OF the Special House Subcom-
mlttee investigating subversive ac-
tlVltleS, some agencies continue to
regard loyalty proceeding as a
criminal trial and give it all the pro-
tective principles and procedural
requirements of the criminal law
Others 60 to the other extreme anC
decide cases on the basis of rumol
and suspicion with little regard fol-
the rights of the person affected.
The committees report also point
ed out that there appears to be q
lot of duplication of effort under the
existing law. Cases investigated
and forwarded by the Interdepart-
mental Committee are often rein.
vestlgated on transfers or promo
tions and redecided by the Civil
Service Commission and vice versa
Conclusion of the committees re-
port was that a special commission
should be appointed to adopt and
submit to Congress a uniform
standard of procedures to be fol-
lowed in all loyalty cases in the
Government.
Mundt TO Press Inquiry.
Meanwhile, Representative Mundt
Republican, of South Dakota, high
ranking member of the House For
e1Sn Affairs and Un-American Ac-
tlvities Committees, said that he
would propose at the committees
next meeting that it undertake O