Evening star., 1948-12-22
Law toPrevent
Loss Of Federal
Record!sUrged
Hoover Unit Would
Bon Removal by
Outgoing Officials
By Francis P. DouqIos

Cabinet members and even
Presidents leaving Office would
be prevented from taking their
papers with them, if a recon-
mendation to the Hoover Com
mission is carried out.
A task force" of the Commission
on Organization of the Executive
Branch, headed by Emmett J.
Leahy, has recommended the enact
ment of Federal records manage
ment act. This not only would set
up Federal records administration
but would require that outgoing
officials and employees deliver rec
ords to their successors and estab-
lish safeguards against the removal
or loss of Federal records"
Mr.. Leahy, who Is executive di-
rector of the National Records
Management Council, a private or
ganjzation, said this would apply,
not only to cabinet members and
other high officials, but to Presidents
as well.
Presidential Custom.
1t is traditional that, when a
President leaves Office, he takes with
him the White House papers.
1T is hoped" Mr.. Leahy said,
that, with the expert advice of pro-
fessional archivists, distinction can
be obtained in the White House be-
tween public papers on the one hand
and personal and political papers on
the other" He said the same would
apply to papers in lesser offices.
1t was learned that, during the
task forces study, search was made
for a report on the Veterans Admin
istra ton that had been ordered dur
ing the administration of President
Hoover. No Government agency
could find it. Finally the National
Archives came up with the informa-
ton that the report was in the col
lection of Hoover papers at Stanford
University, in California. When Mr..
Hoover was apprised of this, he was
very amused.
The task force make these points:
More than $32,000,O0O could be
saved in the next two years and
$600O,OOO a year thereafter by re-
organizing Government record
making and keeping. This now costs
more than 100000 a year.
Would Fill Six Pentagons.
The Governments 1S,500,OOO cubic
feet of records would fill six Pen
tagon buildings.
The average organization could
cut in half it's total number Of
records on hand by eliminating
useless records and moving others
to storage.
The proposed records administra-
ton would establish records CEN
tiers here and in other parts OF the
country for screening, serYtearg and
fstorage Of records.
+ A requirement. that outgoing
1pficials deliver records tatbeir sue
cessorS recalls the disct1ssfon early
/ in 1947, when it was disclosed that
Henry Morgenthau. jr., left the post
of Secretary of the Treasury with
6OO-volume journal he had COM
piled while in office.
Secretary Snyder announced later
that Mr.. Morgenthau was return
ing papers that were Government
documents.
President Truman had been re-
ported earlier as seeking restrictions
on Withdrawals of public papers by
Cabinet officers.
Records Officers Proposed.
The Leahy task force recommend
ed that each Government agency
be required to appoint a records
management officer to set up pro-
gram to eliminate duplication, use
modern Office machines and stream
line correspondence. 1t urged the
use of form letters, pattern letters,
procedural guides and electric type
writer's and the making of fewer
copies.
The task force report said it may
cost as much as $29 year to main
tain noncurrent records in four
drawer filing cabinet in expensive
Office space. But this may be cut
to $215 by centralized storage.
The National Archives would be
an integral part OF the proposed
records administration.