Memorandum from David Niles to President Harry S. Truman, with Attachment

THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON February 7, 1950 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT: Charles Fahy and the Secretary of the Army have had a friendly and encouraging talk on the Fahy Committee's remaining recommendation - the substitution of an achievement quota for the present racial quota. The attached graph illustrates the real problem of bringing about equality of treatment and opportunity in the Army; that is, the great difference between Negro and white soldiers in education and resulting mental achievement. The steps the Army has already taken will help to equalize opportunity, without interfering with efficiency or morale. But for these steps to have a significant effect, it is necessary to have men in the Army who can take the best advantage of them. A proposal is now being circulated to the members of the Fahy Committee, and will shortly be presented to Secretary Gray, which will improve the quality of the Army by raising the level of its Negro recruits. It will also remove the racial quota, which has been sub ject to heavy criticism, and which has restricted the enlistment of high-grade Negroes without preventing the enlistment of low-grade men. The substance of the Committee proposal is: ARCHIVES "NATIONAL AND RECORDS SERVICE" 1. To require all recruits, both white and Negro, to score at least 90 on the GCT test. 2. To take steps making it difficult for soldiers, both white and Negro, now in the Army, to re-enlist if they are perennial low-score men, or are otherwise inapt. The Army already has this proposal under consideration. 3. Simultaneously with these two steps, to eliminate the present racial quota of one Negro for every nine whites. This proposal seems fair and sensible; and is gradual in that Negro units would gradually disappear, but would not be abolished overnight.