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    "title": "Memorandum from Stephen J. Spingarn with Note",
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        "day": 29,
        "logicalDate": "1950-06-29",
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{
    "seq": 4,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/2/5382/54538202/content/presidential-libraries/truman/598863/1066164-20.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "Haey Jex Per there\nUnited States Senate\nMEMORANDUM M (\n1L the Ju\nHoey Subcannelter 6/28/50\nHoey\n0. Cener\nEas + aloud\nme Cullan\nmundt\nM.C. C. Smith\nSchooppel\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON\nJune 29, 1950\nMEMORANDUM FOR THE HOEY SUBCOMMITTEE SEX PERVERT INVESTIGATION FILE\nYesterday afternoon Jim Webb of State, Charlie Murphy and\nI went up to see Senator Hoey about this matter, at his request.\nWe spent over an hour discussing the whole situation and\na most useful interchange of views took place. Mr. Webb gave the\nSenator some material on the subject which Humelsine of State had\nprepared. I also gave the Senator some background material on the\nsubject and a list of qualified medical witnesses which I had pre-\npared on the basis of advice from Surgeon General Scheele and others.\nWe suggested that the hearings begin with testimony by com-\npetent medical authorities on the nature and scope of the problem,\nthis testimony being designed to put the problem in proper perspective.\nAfter that could come testimony from senior Government security offi-\ncers about the security problems involved. We noted in this connec-\ntion that homosexuals were one category of security risks, and we\ndiscussed some of the other categories.\nThe Senator seemed to be very receptive to the ideas advanced\nabout the hearings. The question came up about the Subcommittee re-\nquesting Government agencies for names and files of suspected or actual\nhomosexual employees. Senator Hoey said that he had talked to Peyton\nFord about the matter in terms of getting the statistics on the situa-\ntion rather than names and files. Peyton Ford had said that Justice\nwould collect this information for the Subcommittee. Senator Hoey\nthought it would be best if the Subcommittee collected it directly or\npossibly through the Civil Service Commission. Mr. Murphy agreed with\nthis viewpoint.\nMr. Murphy expressed the hope that the Subcommittee would\nnot find it necessary to call on the agencies for names and files.\nHe said that, on the basis of the 1948 Presidential directives, the\nagencies would have to decline and refer the matter to the White House\nwhich would put it right in the President's lap. Mr. Murphy hoped\nthis could be avoided. The Senator indicated that he shared that\nhope although he could not, of course, be certain what his Subcommittee\nwould do. He indicated that it was a dirty job which he had not\nwanted but that he was going to do his best to do it right, and in\na quiet and unspectacular way. I was impressed by his straight-\nforwardness and sincerity about the whole matter.\n- 2 -\nThe Senator asked our opinion as to whether any part of the\nhearings should be public. He apparently wants to state in advance\nhow the hearings will be conducted and not wobble back and forth be-\ntween public hearings and executive sessions according to the pressure\nof the moment as the Tydings Subcommittee has done. He thought that\nthe medical testimony at the beginning might be public and the rest\nin executive session. We were of two minds about it. Mr. Murphy's\nreaction was that it would be best to have the whole hearing in execu-\ntive session. Jim Webb was not certain and I was inclined to believe\nthat the medical testimony should be public and the rest in executive\nsession. The Senator asked us to think about it some more and get in\ntouch with him. It was agreed that I would act as liaison man with\nhim.\nI talked to Peyton Ford today and told him of our visit with\nSenator Hoey and also asked his views about the public hearing question.\nPeyton was rather strongly inclined to the view that the medical testi-\nmony should be public.\nS 5.\nS.J.S."
}