Evening star., 1948-09-05
BY Don S. Worren

Demands that all Communists
and their sympathizers be ousted
from Federal jobs, and be kept
out, were made last night by the
Ferguson Subcommittee of the
Senate Executive Expenditures
Committee as it charged that the
Governments loyalty program
had failed to achieve its objec-
tives.
The investigation group, in an
almost unanimous progress report
on its inquiry into the Government
checks on subversives, found the
program is marked with dangerous
delays, loopholes and confusion.
1t contended also that the system
suffers from antiquities of policy
instructions and a lack of uniform
standards of procedures, and as
serted "disloyal and subversive ele-
mentS in Government constitute a
dangerous and malignant growth
which must be promptly and effec-
lively removed"
Only One DiSSenter.
The group, with one member dis
senting, also protested that the Tru-
man administration was unreason-
ably withholding requested informa-
tlon in the case of William w.
Remington, S10,305-a-year Com
merce Department export license
officer. now suspended, accused of
having been a Soviet spy ring con-
tact. Conferences are planned with
Attorney General Clark to seek a
nnal answer on these issues.
Going into a considerable outline
OF the details of the system in its
26-page interim report, the group,
headed by Senator Ferguson. Re
publican, of Michigan, stressed these
findings:
That even now, IT months after
President Truman issued an execu-
tive order to set up the latest loyalty
check system and over a year after
Congress provided funds to finance
1t, the Government is just beginning
checks of persons appointed after
October /, 1947, when the new
system was put into operation.
Hits at Delay.
That it was an error for the gov
ernment to defer the checking of
all the incoming jobholders to await
completion of the FBI checks of
the more than 100000 incumbent"
employees, who were appointed before
October l, 1947. The FBI check of
its files against this great mass of
earlier appointees now is about
completed, but the Senate group
insists the checking of the two
groups could have been done at the
same time.
although it is necessary to bail
out the boat" the Ferguson group
declared, 1T was at least as i'm
Eortant to plug the leak"
Demands Plug of Gaps.
That the program still lacks any
elective plans tor prompt checking
on new appointees named to "sensi-
ti.e' posts. regardless of their I'M
Eoriance or the confidential data
they might handle. The Senate
group protested that disloyal per-
sons might be named to such posts
without any prior investigation OF
their loyalty and be protected
against either suspension or dis
missal until the routine of the sys-
tenn was completed. This, it said,
might be at least 120 days. under
present procedures.
The report demands that these
gaps be plugged and that action be
taken to provide loyalty checks for |
excepted" positions which consti-
tute only about 8 per cent of all
Federal employees, The committee
noted, that the excepted" jobs i'll
clude many OF the most important
positions.
On the latter point, the Ferguson
subcommittee report asserted:
The loyalty of such appolntees
is not subject to scrutiny by any
authority independent of the en-
ploying agency. 1t has already
been demonstrated that men of I'M
questioned ability, but OF question:
able loyalty have obtained positions
of great confidence in the Federal
Government through the channel
Of one agency. Under this system
the weakness or careless of one
tSee FERGUSON, Page Al.