Evening star., 1954-01-01
fsEosyto Rewrite History
If You Huye'o Committee Tie

4O11OW1u& RuU11SIlCu ICROIGc VI
tampering with the transcript
Of a Senate Small Business
Committee hearing on the bat
terry powder AD-X2.
According to these reports.
somebody somewhere along the
line revised the testimony Of
DR.. Harold c. Weber Of the
Massachusetts, Institute Of
Technolgy. NIT had made
an unfavorable report on AD-X2.
and DR.. Weber's testimony. as
originally given. was in the
same vein. AS it appeared in the
final printed record, however,
it had been significantly re-
vised.
A committee staff member
said today the revisions were
nine In number and made no
particular change in DR.. Weber's
meaning.
SeveraI changes Made.
A member Of the committee
said the changes were 10 in
number. seven strongly favor
able" to AD-X2. one "unfavor-
able" and two. minor and
grammatical"
Both sources confirmed that
DR.. Weber had not seen the
original transcript. and did not
do the editing himself. An in
vestigation has been launched by
Chairman Thye. Republican, of
Minnesota, who said tampering
with a witness testimony is "a
very serious thing indeed" But
such are the opportunities for
tampering that nobody has much
confidence that the culprit in
this case will ever be discovered.
It is. and for many years has
been. standard practice for both
committee members and such
witnesses as request 1t to receive
q copy Of the original transcript
which they may edit for errors
made by the official stenog-
raphers and for such changes in
sense as they may wish to make
In their own statements. Sena-
tors and Representatives have
the same privilege with respect
to the Congressional Record.
Ethics Only Restraint.
The restraint on this practive
Is only the restraint Of ethics
and honesty. The same thing
applies to changes which out
siderS can make in a witness
testimony before a committee.
II the restraint isn't present, the
changes can easily be made, be-
cause the record Of committee
proceedings passes through these
hands before it appears In final
form:
/. Copies of the original tran
script go to the chief clerk of
the committee. They are edited
by the committee staff.
2. The copies are then sent to
the members Of the committee.
They are edited by them or by
members Of their STATS.
3. The copies are then sent
to such witnesses as desire 1t.
They also may make whatever
changes they wish.
4. The copies are then re-
turned to the chief clerk, who
makes all corrections on a mas
ter copy which is then sent to
the Government Printing Office.
5. The Government Printing
ONCE sets the master copy in
type and returns galley proofs to
the chief clerk.
8. The chief clerk, the staff,
the committee members and
their staffs. and the witnesses
and their STATS. may all make
last-minute corrections at this
point.
2. The galley proofs are then
returned to the GPO which pres
emily produces what purports to
be an accurate record Of what
occurred at the committee hear
ing.
At conservative estimate, so
people may approach the trans
cript. biue-pencil in hand, before
it emerges in final shape. Con-
sidering this. committee spokes-
men feel. it is not so surprising
that things get changed once
in q while. The only surprise