Evening star., 1953-01-30
u. n. Staff Council
Takes Issue With Lie.
On Loyalty Probe
BY the Associofsd Press

UNITED NATIONS, N. Y, Jan.
So.-Representatives of the s.
000-man United Nation staff
called on Secretary General
Trygve Lie today to give their
American fellow-workerS a "rea-
sonable" time to answer compli-
Gated questions in the million
dollar loyalty probe instituted by
Washington
The United Nations 40-mem-
ber staff council also made clear
1t felt the council should have
ben consulted before Mr.. Lie
agreed to fingerprint American
employees of the United Nations
as part of the United States Sc
curity checks. Their stand was
taken in a unanimous council
vote yesterday as Americans con-
tinued working on the question
naireS.
Action DiSturbS Lie.
The secretary general, obvious
ly disturbed by the staff council
action, issued this statement:
II have acted in what l be-
lieve to be the best interests of
the United Nations staff. If they
had any questions, 1 regret they
did not first ask them before
passing haSty resolutions which
indicate misunderstanding Of
the situation"
Members of the council, who
would not be identified, said the
resolutions were approved after
much deliberation.
The first resolution noted that
the f1ngerprinting of American
members of the United Nations
staff was serious element" in
the staff personnel problem fac
ing the United Nations. 1t ex-
pressed regret that such an i'm
portant step had been taken
without previous consultation
with the staff council.
The second resolution said
there was no clear time limit for
some 1,700 Americans working
here to fill out the four pages of
questions about their previous
and present lives. There have
been reports that these forms
must be completed within day,
but the staff council asked for a
reasonable period" and for
Identification of the obligations
Of staff members with respect to
these forms"
Criticism Forecast.
Some United Nations delegates,
meanwhile. indicated that the
fingerprinting within the United
Nations boundaries by the United
States would be roundly criti-
cized in the General Assembly
debate next month.
One European delegate, who
refused use of his name, criti-.
cized the f1ngerprint operation
as not a tasteful thing" An
Asian delegate said his country
takes prints only of known GRIM
inals and certainly not of gov
ernment workers. Others made
1t clear they did not like the
United States operation on the
United Nations premises, which
have inviolate status like that of
a foreign embassy in the United
States.
Personnel Policies Hit.
Several delegates worked on
papers in preparation for a hot
debate on the whole question Of
Mr.. Lies personnel policies.
Some foreign delegates feel that
Mr.. Lie has bowed too much be-
fore what they call American
dictation in hunting out alleged
subversives on the United Ma
tions staff. Mr.. Lie himself is
keeping silent, but is co-operat-
ing with the United States to
check the loyalty of United
States citizens on his staff.
The f1ngerprinting, meanwhile,
continued at an uninterrupted
pace. United Nations guards
are doing the work under the
supervision of United States Civil
Service Commission representa-
tiveS.
The commission will use the
f1ngerprint records and the ques-
tionnaires in evaluating the 1881
American employees of the United
Nations from the standpoint of
loyalty to the United States and
of whether they are security
risks to the United States.