Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-10
Hennings AssaiIs
Security Program
Many Cases
Are Labeled
Synthetic
BY L. EDGAR PRINA

eminent employees had been
"asked to sacrifice their constitu-
tional rights on the altar OF
bureautractic authoritarianism."
In a seven-page news release
reviewing the findings Of almost
three weeks Of public hearings.
the chairman of the Senate Sub
committee on Constitutional
Rights declared that "the ma
tional security" is cited as the
paramount consideration. but
that many individual cases DEM
onstrate that the determining
factor in adverse decisions often
was something considerably less.
Novel Interpretation
Referring to what he called
1.-THE novel Interpretation" put
upon President Eisenhower's Sc
curity order by Philip Young.
chairman of the Civil Service
Commission, the Senator said:
mfr. Young testified that in
compiling the figures on security
risk examinations. the commits
sion adds to the number Of those
dismissed under the presidential
order the far greater number OF
those who were dismissed under
regular civil service procedures
without any charges of being a
subversive or security risk being
leveled against them.
This latter class, which may
be called the synthetic security
risks, are people who have de
rogatory information in their
! files and people in whose cases
the head of the agency made
purely mental determinations
that they were in reality secur-
ity risks"
The Missouri Democrat said
he had asked Mr.. Young to cite
the legal opinion he relies on to
support his view that the execu-
tive order permits making a
security determination without
using any of the procedures OF
the order for charges, hearings,
suspension and the like.
Order to Initiate Totals
! IF Mr.. Young's view is cor
rect, it means that heads OF de-
partments, who are all political
appointees. are authorized by the
Eisenhower security order to in
fate the security risk totals
almost without limit by the proc
ess of making mental security
determinations" he asserted.
/ Senator Hennings said that
the principal accomplishment OF
the subcommittee recent hear
ings was ito reveal the snow
balling nature of the Govern
ment's loyalty security programs
/ and their extension to areas
! having no genuine relation to
the Nations military security"
He cited the State Depart
ments passport policy which he
said tended to contradict the
claim that the right to travel
was being abridged only for
urgent reasons of national secu-
rity. He pointed out that Scott
Mcleod, head of the depart
ment's Bureau of Security and
Consular Affairs, testified that
Communists or persons alleged
to be Reds. were granted hear
ings in passport cases but that
the citizen who is not a Com
munist does not get a hearing.
"Inasmuch as the national
security is threatened to the
greatest degree by Communists.
it is rather hard to understand
how national security considera-
tons justify more rights for
| Communists than for ordinary
people," the Senator said.
Due Process Lacking
He said the case OF Clifford
Hennings, who was fired last
year by the Treasury Depart
ment as a security risk, best
demonstrates 1.-The possibilities of
using the security order for try
ling and Furnishing people without
due process for acts having Moth
ing to do with the national
security"
The Senator said that H.
Chapman Rose, Undersecretary
of the Treasury, conceded that
the charges against Mr.. Hyn-
ming were not based on specific
paragraphs in the presidential
security order and that the &C
cused attorney had successfully
rebutted the implied charges of
sympathetic association with
communism and subversion. But
Mr.. HenningS was condemned on
an accusation put forward at
the close of the hearing he
was not candid in saying he
could not recall a 10-minute in
terview with an FBI agent in
1912.
Pentagon Policy Criticized
In this case not only was no
opportunity for defense accorded
on this last minute accusation.
but Mr.. Hynning received the
punishment of being branded a
security risk-a threat to the
national security-even though
the matter had nothing to do
with national security" Sena-
tor Hennings declared.
The Pentagon's policy OF Civ
ing draftees less than honorable
discharges on account of their
pre-induction activities or as
sociations and the widespread
misuse of the Attorney Generals
so-called SubverSive list also
were criticized by the Senator.
On another matter. the Sena-