Memorandum from Charles Murphy and Stephen Spingarn to President Harry S. Truman

Riled byD. Steelman McCarthy, Josephs 252-K ARCHIVES NATIONAL TRUSAN AND May 24, 1950 INCORDS BEDICE as Memorandum for: THE PRESIDENT From: Charles S. Murphy and Stephen J. Spingarn Subject: Reply to Senator Tydings' request that you appoint & panel. of distinguished citizens to assist his Subcommittee in the consideration of loyalty files. Senator Tydings has proposed that you appoint a group of distinguished citizens of national reputation as a special panel of the Richardson Loyalty Board to assist his Subcommittee in its examination of the eighty-one McCarthy loyalty cases. We have considered the matter and discussed it at length with Don Dawson, George Elsey, Frank Park, Jack Peurifoy, Adrian Fisher, San Boykin, Peyton Ford and George Leary (a close friend of Senator Tydings). As a result of our study of the matter, we recommend for your consideration that you answer Senator Tydings in the following fashion: (1) You wish the Richardson Loyalty Board, as presently constituted, to go forward with the assignment you gave them two months ago of reexamining from scratch the Government loyalty cases which McCarthy has made charges about. You do not think it wise to appoint a super-panel of distinguished citizens to that Board for this purpose because (a) it would be a reflection on the Richardson Board which has done a fine job, and (b) you are going to set up a Presidential Commission on Internal Security and Individual Rights the jurisdiction of which will include but not be limited to con- sidering the adequacy of the Government Employee Loyalty and Security Programs from the standpoint of both the internal security of the nation and the rights of individual citizens (see (3) below). You will ask the Richardson Board to give priority con- sideration to the thirty-eight or forty cases of McCarthy's eighty-one, which involve current employees of the Government. copy Filed 419-K