Evening star., 1953-01-18
A SeIf-Defeotino POLICY


At the heart of the case of Charles r
Wilson, picked by General Eisenhower as his
Secretary of Defense, lies question of public
policy.
In its application in this instance the
policy threatens to bar Mr.. Wilson from office
II that is in the public interest, it is sound
policy. If not it is unsound
Mr.. Wilson, erstwhile head of General
Motors, owns stock in that corporation worth
about $25 million. A law passed originally in
1871 apparently would make it a crime for
MIN TO become Secretary of Defense while re-
tanning this stock. So it would seem that
choice has to be made among several alter
natives.
l. The nomination could be withdrawn by
General Eisenhower
2. The Senate, which has the responsibility
OF confirmation, could reject the nomination.
3. Mr.. Wilson might dvest himself of his
stock holdings, but he says he is not willing
to do this because of the losses in the form of
taxes he would have to incur
4. The law might be interpreted in such a
way as to permit him to serve, although it is
difficult to see how in good conscience, this
could be done.
5. The law might be repealed or modified
In such way as to permit confirmation
would best serve the public interest?
If the policy reflected in the existing law
is sound it must be based on the premise that
man in Mr.: wilson's situation cannot be
trusted to serve the interests of the Govern
ment faithfully because of a conflicting interest
In the value or earning power of General Motors
stock In other words, would Mr.. Wilson, as
Secretary of Defense, favor General Motors,
Tor reasons of personal gain, in awarding
defense contracts? If the answer is yes, if he is
that kind of man, he ought not to be Secre-
tary of Defense in any circumstances.
On the other hand, if the judgment of
the Senate is that Mr.. Wilson is not that kind
of man. if, on the contrary, it is believed that
he would faithfully discharge his duties, how
is the public interest served by rejecting him?
If he is rejected the services of man with
exceptional qualifications for an exceptional
job will be lost The time spent familiarizing
Mr.. Wilson with defense duties will have been
wasted General Eisenhower would have to
look elsewhere for Secretary of Defense, with
no assurance of being able to find some one as
we'll qualified by training and capacity, and
with equally little assurance that another quail
fled man might not be in the same situation
so far as stock holdings are concerned.
This, to say the least would mean serious
might also mean that the job of running the
Defense Department, so important to the tax
payer when billions of dollars are being spent
through that agency, might have to be intrusted
to less competent hands. How would that serve
the public interest?
There would be some element of risk, of
course in approving the appointment of a man
In Mr. Wilson'S situation He might prove to
be faitheSS, although in such event, he would
be unworthy of trust if he had no stock interest
in General Motors. Whatever weight may be
given this risk, however, it seems to be lesser
risk than that embodied in law which forbids
the appointment of the best qualified man to
post of vast Importance or which would permit
him to serve only at the price of a severe per-
Sonal sacrifice
When all considerations are balanced it is
highly doubtful that such a law, especially in
these times, actually operates in the public
interest And if this is true of the law, it is
equally true of the policy on which it rests.