Letter from Seth Richardson to Donald S. Dawson

ADDRESS ONLY "CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION" UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION IN YOUR REPLY REFER TO WASHINGTON 25, D.C. FILE LRB: SWR: jad AND DATE OF THIS LETTER June 26, 1950 CONFIDENTIAL - BY SPECIAL MESSENGER Honorable Donald S. Dawson RECEIVED Administrative Assistant to The President The White House JUN 27 1950 Washington 25, D. C. DONALD S, DAWSON Dear Mr. Dawson: The press Sunday morning carried a story suggesting that the President had in mind a plan to appoint a Commission whose duty it would be to study the Government Loyalty Program and to make ulti- mate findings and recommendations thereunto concerning. May I respectfully suggest that you acquaint the President, at a suitable time, with my own views on this important subject. The Loyalty Program which is built upon Executive Order 9835 has been in operation for nearly three years. It constituted the first major attempt to make a loyalty check of the employees in the Executive Department, and for the first time in history pro- vided for employees, the right to hearings before they could be discharged for disloyalty. The Loyalty Review Board was formed to carry into effect, Executive Order 9835, and pursuant thereto it has formed and de- veloped a carefully built system designed to carry into effect the President's Order. All of the operations of the Board have been non-partisan to the highest degree. The public acceptance of the Program has been quite remarkable. Early criticisms di- rected toward the Program no longer engage the public interest, press comments throughout the country have been universally favor- able, employee fears and suspicions have been largely allayed, with the result that employee morale has been strengthened in- stead of diminished as a result of the loyalty check. I think there has been a general appreciation that if a loyalty check is to be authorized, the current Program is a good one and has been properly and intelligently administered. Presently only persons and groups fundamentally opposed to any form of loyalty check, together with a few persons with a personal ax to grind, continue to be active as opponents of the Loyalty Program. The recent