Evening star., 1950-01-22
Secretary of the Nation s Secrets
Only President Truman
Will Be More in the
Know Than Luy

Will Be More in the
Know Than Loy
been of more value to him in Gov
ernment than his electrical engi-
neering schooling at v. M. I.
'"The experience in private bust
ness" he says, "has taught me
what to dc in Government. Both
mean working people and getting
the job done"
Mr.. Lay falls heir to the organi-
zation Mr.. Souers worked out for
co-ordinating the policy work of
the State Department and the
Defense Establishment with its
jurisdiction over the Army, Navy
and Air Force. On paper this
organization looks elaborate. with
various interrelated committees
and working groups. Actually, the
atmosphere Of cooperation is such
that only q small staff Is needed
by the executive secretary. This
years budget was 100000: next
year 1t probably will be SITS, 900.
Briefs President
By the time policy papers" are
considered by the council, most
Of the differences between the de-
partments and agencies have been
resolved. Whatever differences
remain. are subjects Of supple
mental papers so that the council
members, and particularly the
President, have the views of all
sides in understandable form.
Much has been written about the
voting" within the council. This
Is most unusual but even if the
members voted 4 to o ON q prob
lem, the President could reverse
the opinion, which Is only ad-
visory.
This Government has not taken
over in toto the British procedure
in the Committee of Imperial
Defense, whose name has been
changed to Defense Committee
because of the connotations of the
word imperial"
The council as now constituted
is concerned only with the for
mutation Of policies. Their i'm
fermentation is usually left up to
the Secretary of State since he is
the Presidents representative on
foreign affairs. In Britain, Lord
Hankey and his "secretariat" of
Defense Committee informed va
rious agencies about what had
been decided and saw to it that
the policies were carried out.
Mr.. Lay will take over Mr..
Souers' daily duty of briefing the
President on the latest develop
ments in foreign affairs. These
sessions, lasting from a half to a
full hour, are also attended by
Rear Admiral Robert L. Dennison,
the White House naval aide, who
brings in the latest reports from
the Central Intelligence Agency.
Souers Is Consultant
BY keeping Mr.. Truman cur
rently informed on the work of
the councils staff, the President
can serve actively as chairman of
the council and determine its
agenda even though he does not
sit in on all the formal meetings.
With Mr.. Souers as his special
conSultant" on a $50-per-diem
basis, Mr.. Truman can keep even
closer check on foreign and mill
tary policies, with Mr.. Souers con-
tinuing his unique co-ordinating
efforts and working out the trou-
BILE spots.
Mr.. Lay, like Mr.. Souers, ap-
pears to take his high RESPONSE
bilities, long hours and intense
concentration in his stride. He
lives in Falls Church. Va, about
80 minutes ride from Washing
ton. From May to September he
has cabin cottage on Chesa-
peake Bay, an hours ride each
way. He says that living in New
York's suburbs conditioned him
for these long daily trips.
The family residences were Sc
lected to give the best environ
ment to three daughters, Carolyn
Miller, age 8; Patricia Lockhart,
7. and Emily Graham, 4.
Mrs. Lay was the former Emily
Graham Miller of Raleigh, N. c.,
who met Mr.. Lay while he was
working in Richmond and she,
graduate of the Smith College
Postgraduate School for Social
Service, was doing psychiatric So
cial work there.
For home hobby, Mr.. Lay goes
in for woodworking. He says he
is strictly a hammer, chisel and
saw man, and has not yet got
into the power-lathe class.
tBy Special Advancement with the st.
Louis Post-Dispatch.)