Evening star., 1952-09-21
Editors Group Charges
PHA in San Francisco
Refuses 10 LIST PAYROLL


The Freedom Of Information
Committee of the Associated Press
Managing Editors Association an
nounced last night that it is
unable to get the Public Housing
Administration to make public the
names and salaries of its employees
in San Francisco.
The San Francisco Call Bulletin
has been trying to get the payroll
information from PHA's San
Francisco Office since May.
j. r. Virgins. managing editor
of the Washington Post and chair
man of the Freedom of Informa-
ton Committee. carried the issue
to the Civil Service Commission
and the Washington headquarters
of PHA, but could not obtain the
information.
The dispute centered on the
PHA payroll in San Francisco.
The principles involved, however,
applied to almost all Government
personnel lists, except those in
security agencies.
Can't Explain Stand.
Mr.. Virgins said he could not
explain the PHA stand. He ex-
pressed hope PHA eventually
would relent.
PHA Commissioner John Taylor
Egan, in turning down the request
for the payroll information, said
that. unless some public purpose
is clearly served, this agency
should not be put to the expense
and unnecessary trouble of fur
nishing lists of employees to whom
soever might make such a.
request"
Should the request for these
names be Substantiated by clear
evidence that some useful public
purpose would be served by such
publication" he added, II would
be very pleased to review the
matter"
Policy Interpreted.
Mr.. Virgins told Mr.. Egan that
"you have laid down policy
under which information is to be
made available only II, as and
when Government officials think
1t will be properly used.
Under such a policy it would
be logical to expect an agency to
release information when assured
in advance that the requesting
citizen proposed friendly use OF
the facts and to withhold it when
the requesting party had an un-
friendly intent. -.
IF the names and salaries of
employees of the Government are
a matter of public information.
they ought to be available to all
citizens who request that infor-
nation for whatever purpose they
wish to put them. It is not up to
a Government agency to decide
whether or not publication serves
useful public purpose in a dem
ocracy, and all of it that can be
divulged without prejudicing the
national safety or security or
plainly interfering with the con-
duct of Government, ought to be
divulged."
Ramspeck Gives Views. i
Chairman Robert RamSpeck of
the Civil Service Commission,
asked for an opinion of the dis
pute, said that. "i1- most cases
the public would be entitled to the
information which was requested
in this case"
Mr.. Ramspeck, however, sug-
gested that the newspaper pay the
cost of compiling the requested
information. He also complained
that publication of salaries might
make recruiting Government
workers more difficult.
The American Federation of
Government Employees. through
National President James C.
Campbell, said: "The names and
salaries of all Government en-
ployes should be available to any
interested person at all times"
He cautioned, however, against
criticizing rank-and- file admins
trative workers for Government
policies that they do not help
make.
Paper Lists All Employees.
The Call-Bulletin, campaigning
against Government spending,
published the names and salaries
of all San Francisco area en-
ployes of the Office of Price
Sterilization. The paper ran into
the road-block when it tried to
do the same with PHA employees.
In explaining why he wanted
the PHA list, Call-Bulletin Execu-
tive Editor Lee Ettelson told Mr..
Virgins:
1T is almost useless to point
out, let us say, 1,700 persons are
on a specific public payroll; the
message doesn't get over-but it
does get over when the list itself
is published, even if the full list
itself is not read.
1--WE may be cockeyed in trying
to mold public opinion against
bureaucracy or in taking these
means to achieve our results. The
point involved is: If we think we
are right, have we the right to
the information and the right to
publish it,"