Evening star., 1955-06-15
Phone Tap Hint
InSecurityQuiz
RiIesCarIson
BY L. EDGAR PRINA

Senator Carlson, Republican,
Of Kansas said today ''I'm going
to scream my head OF" if he
finds that the sta1f Of the special
Senate subcommittee inyestigat-
ing the Federal Employe Secur-
ity Program has been recording
telephone conversations.
The matter of such recordings
came up yesterday during the
testimony Of Clarence E. Clarke,
q 28-year-old suspended Small
Business Administration investi-
gator who charged that his su-
perior had photostated confiden-
tial FBI documents and had
falsified reports to the Civil
Service Commission.
Until his suspension, Mr..
Clarke worked under the supeS-
vision of George v. McDavitt,
director Of the ofice of compli-
alice and security in SBA.
Holds Transcript
Senator Carlson asked Mr..
Clarke whether he chad in
formed Mr.. McDavitt that the
conversation was being recorded"
when he telephoned him from
the ONCE Of the subcommittee
stan on june Q.
''No, I did not" the witness
replied.
"Was the conversation re-
corded?" the Senator demanded.
II have q transcript Of what
went on" Mr. Clarke said.
Senator Carlson, who is the
lone subcommittee Republican
and ranking minority member
OF the parent Civil Service Com
mittee, did not press the witness
further.
Later, however, he told The
Star that he is not finished with
the matter. He said he had been
informed that the Clarke-Mc-
Davitt call was recorded, but
conceded that a stenographer,
If she had listened in. could have
taken down the conversation in
shorthand.
Mr.. Clarke leveled a long list
Of serious charges against Mr..
McDavitt yesterday.
Handed a List
He said his superior had ruled
that any derogatory information
on an employe was sufficient to
bring about his dismissal.
Shortly after the subcommit-
tee session ended. Wendell B.
Barnes, head Of the Small Busi-
ness Administration, told report
ers that he found mo merit" in
the blanket and unsupported
charges made by Mr.. Clarke.
He characterized the witness
as "a disgruntled, confused,
mixed-up young man who is
seeking notoriety through fam
boyant statements"
The subcommittee announced
today that it has subpoenaed
Mr.. Barnes and certain docu-
ments from the Small Business
Administration. Mr.. McDavitt.
however. has not been sub
:ponaed.
: Few Sensitive Jobs
/: Meanwhile, it was disclosed
that less than half the 5000
I: persons fired as security risks
:: in the first 16 months of the
Eisenhower program held sensi-
tive jobs.
: Philip Young, chairman of the
civil Service Commission. ad-
:vised Senator Humphrey, DEM
:ocrat, of Minnesota, of this fact
lin a letter to a Government
Operations Subcommittee which
Just released a report on its
Hearings on a bipartisan COM
Emission to study the security
system.
: Mr.. Young said that l,645 in
:dividuals dismissed from May
:2S. 1853 through September 80,
1884, had non-sensitive positions.
There were AIS other dismissals
:among the 3,002 on which it
could not be determined what
type Job they had.
The chairman advised the
Senator that neither the csc
nor the agencies could provide
"a breakdown which would indi-
cate in how many of the 1,645
separations "subversive informa-
:tion was O substantial factor. I"