Memorandum from Lillian Dennison to Charles Murphy with Attached Note

Hoey Sex Per. One THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON July 7, 1950 S.I So MEMORANDUM FOR STEPHEN J. SPINGARN: Dear Steve: I have been thinking over your memorandum of June 29th and have come to the conclusion that the opening testimony ought to be public, if possible. There has been too much tendency to distort the facts. Closed sessions on the policy part of the hearings would, I think, tend to accentuate this distortion. While there is some risk of unfavorable publicity being directed toward irrelevant parts of the problem, I think, nevertheless, that it would have a healthy effect to bring out into the open some clear statements on the psychiatric and security aspects of homosexuality. After the initial hearings, I think that all the sessions ought to be executive, in order to protect the reputations of individual persons, whose names may be brought up in completely innocent context, and yet be wrongly identified through association. PHILLEO NASH This is only white House staff new in yours I public hearings (P. Ford of Justice, however, has expressed The same new). Opposed are Charles murpy, Don Dawsma Matt Camelly, Joe Feeney, Dave Bell ,Dair Lland, sick neusTast, Frank Parks, Here malety, George Elsey; also Sugen general School to advan Fisher of State. S.J.S. 7/8/50