Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-01-27
Eisenhower 10 Study
Labelling Dismissals
Not Involving Loyalty

NUI IIIVVIVIIIy UIoHy
President Eisenhower said
today he believes it ought to be
possible to give something like
an honorable discharge to
people who leave Government
jobs without any disloyalty or
security risk suspicious against
them.
But he told a news conference
at the same time that he is not
going to brand any one disloyal
unless the charges can be
proven.
He remarked that. of course,
the whole business of trying to
weed possible security risks out
of the Government is a confused
one.
On Breakdown of Cases.
He said he doesn't know
whether there ever can be made
public a real breakdown of the
1900 cases announced by the
administration so far as being
separated from Government en-
ploy under the security program.
The question first came up
when a reporter asked If any
thing could be done about the
problem of people who leave the
Government of their own accord
to take other jobs, but whose
friends may think they were
fired as security risks because
of the secrecy surrounding the
whole program. The reporter
asked if there isn't some way
to tag these people like in the
armed services-like honorable
and dishonorable discharges.
Gen. Eisenhower said his idea
is that no one should be charged
publicly with disloyalty or with
being a security risk unless the
charge could be proven.
He said he had tried to pro-
vide a scheme under which. if
the record showed an employe
not to be good security risk, he
should not be in the Government.
He indicated uncertainty as to
now such dismiSSals could be diff
ferentiated from those who leave
the Government with a letter of
recommendation, for example. But
he said he believed something
ought to be possible and he GER
tainly was going to investigate it.
Other Refusals Pointed Out.
Another questioner pointed
out that both Attorney General
Brownell and Civil Service Com
mission Chairman Young had
refused to give any breakdown
Of the 1900 diSmissals an
nounced under the security pro-
gram. with Mr.. Young now say
ing the question would have to
be settled by the White House
and the National Security Coun-
Oil.
The reporter asked if news
men were being given a run
around.
Gen. Eisenhower said prob
ably the reason for Mr.. Young's
referral of the matter to the
White uoI1ca v,oc tJao+ kary,o~ ~
an executive order prohibited re-
lease of details about the Sc
curity program.
Remarking that he did not
know if there ever can be a
real breakdown of the kind
newspapers are demanding, the
President said he would have to
ask Mr.. Young himself. What
he is trying to do. he empha-
sized, is to protect the service
Of the United States.
Committees Rebuffed.
- Mr.. Young, whose commission
is charged with collecting sta
tistics on the security program,
has declined to give out even
the barest details about it.
He turned down two congress
sional committees yesterday. A
member of the House Civil Serv-
ice Committee had requested a
breakdown, by cause, of the 1900
security separations. while the
Un-American Activities Commit
tee merely asked for the num-
bers of separations each agency
had made.
Several months ago. when The
Star asked the CSC for the same
Information. it was referred to
the White House. Press Secre-
tary James Hagerty tossed the
ball right back to the commits
sion, however. suggesting that
MIR. Young had all the details.
Attorney General Brownell,
who is credited with setting up
the. administrators security
program, last week said he OPP
posed making public any break
down on the Justice Department
figures and that it would be up
to the csc to decide whether
any general breakdown of the
1900 should be made.
Some newspapers and mem
berS Of Congress have been urg-
ing that a breakdown be made
to show how many of the Sc
curity diSmissals involved the
question of loyalty because the
impression is general that the
great majority. if not all. of the
1900 were tainted with Commu-
mist associations. This impress
sion has been fostered by several
Republican leaders who have
used the security risk figures in
discussions of the Communists
n-Government issue.