IMPROPER USE OF GOVERNMENT EQUIPMENT AND GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP60-00442R000100070001-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 22, 2002
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 27, 1956
• Content Type: REGULATION

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Union Calendar No. 1205
84th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - House Report No. 2948
IMPROPER USE OF
GOVERNMENT EQUIPMENT AND
GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL
(Immigration and Naturalization Service)
TWENTY-SIXTH INTERMEDIATE REPORT
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT
OPERATIONS
JULY 27, 1956.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON . 1956
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CHET HOLIFIELD, California
JOHN W. McCORMACK, Massachusetts
EARL CHUDOFF, Pennsylvania
JACK BROOKS, Texas
LESTER HOLTZMAN, Now York
ROBERT II. MOLLOIIAN, West Virginia
L. II. FOUNTAIN, North Carolina
PORTER HARDY, JR., Virginia
JOHN A. BLATNIK, Minnesota
ROBERT E. JONES, Alabama
EDWARD A. OARMATL, Maryland
JOHN E. MOSS, California
JOE M. KILGORE, Texas
DANTE B. FASCELL, Florida
MARTHA W. GRIFFITIIS, Michigan
HENRY S. REUSS, Wisconsin
CLARE E. HOFFMAN, Michigan
R. WALTER RIEHLMAN, New York
CECIL M. HARDEN, Indiana
CHARLES B. BROWNSON, Indiana
GEORGE MEADER, Michigan
CLARENCE J. BROWN, Ohio
GLENARD P. LIPSCOMB, California
B. CARROLL IREECE, Tennessee
J. ARTHUR YOUNGER, California
VICTOR A. KNOX, Michigan
OTTO KRUEGER, North Dakota
CHARLES R. JONAS, North Carolina
WILLIAM If. MINSHALL, Ohio
CHRISTINE RAY DAVIS, Staff Director
ORVILLE S. POLAND, General Counsel
WILLIAM PINCUS, Associate General Counsel
HELEN M. BoYER, Minority Professional Staff
LEGAL AND MONETARY AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE
ROBERT H. MOLLOIIAN, West Virginia, Chairman
JOHN A. BLATNIK, Minnesota GEORGE MEADER, Michigan
JOE M. KILGORE, Texas J. ARTHUR YOUNGER, California
MARTHA W. GRIFFITHS, Michigan WILLIAM If. MINSIIALL, Ohio
EARL CHUDOFF, Pennsylvania
MEMBERS EX OFFICIO
WILLIAM L. DAWSON, Illinois CLARE E. HOFFMAN, Michigan
CURTIS E. JOHNSON, Staff Director
JEROME S. PLAPINOER, Counsel
HAL CHRISTENSEN, Associate Counsel
A. CARL CAREY, Jr., Assistant Counsel
STANLEY FISHER, Accountant-Investigator
JOHN L. ANDERSON, Investigator
ELIZABETH HEATER, Clerk
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, D. C., July ,27, 1RDRSTFG@ 2 07001-6
General SWING. Yes, there had been..
Mr. PLAPINGER. When was that, sir?
General SwiNG. That was December 1 or 2 or some
time like that.
Mr. PLAPINGER. What happened to those plans, sir?
General SwiNG. They did not materialize.
Mr. PLAPINGE, R. Where was that trip to be, sir?
General SwiNG. As I recall, I thought I might be able to
get down there in early December. But I did not do it.
(See also p. 134.)
Although at the hearing on July 6, 1956, General Swing had been
accorded the opportunity to submit additional information to clarify
the record, by July 1.4, 1956, none had been received by the subcom-
mittee. On that day, acting on the basis of newly discovered infor-
mation, the chairman wrote to General Swing apprising him of a
report that on December 17, 1954, the general, accompanied by
several named border patrol employees, had gone into Mexico on a
hunting trip and had used for this purpose 3 motor vehicles and 1
house trailer which were described by make and license number.
On July 18, 1956, the Immigration and Naturalization Service
submitted, among other documents, a "revised" list of hunting trips
which included the trip of December 17, 1954, and also the trip in
December of 1955 of which the general, as noted above, had so posi-
tively sworn lie had no knowledge.
On July 19, 1956, the chairman received a letter from General
Swing admitting the December 1954 hunting trip to Mexico.
It is noteworthy that the "revised" list and the letter admitting
the December 1954 trip were submitted more than 2 weeks after the
conclusion of the hearings and after General Swing had received the
chairman's letter confronting him with specific references to the
vehicles used and the names of several of the persons accompanying
him on the trip.
The revised list of hunting trips, which included the above-men-
tioned two trips, was submitted to the chairman by General Swing's
,office, as follows:
1. Date and place: November 13, 1954, north of Rouses Point,
N. Y.
Purpose: Inspection of United States border installations and con-
ference with United States officials.
Present, United States: Swing, Carter.
Present, Canada: One Canadian immigration official.
2. Date and place: December 17, 18, and 19, 1954, near Mata-
moros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Purpose: Inspect Service operations in the area and confer with
Mexican officials on border problems.
Present, United States: Swing, Carter, Harrison, Wahl, Gilman,
Amthor.
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Present, Mexico One or more Mexican officials named below.'
3. Date and place: September 4 and 5, 1955, near San Fernando,
Tamaulipas, Mexic .
Purpose: Conference with Mexican officials.
Present, United tates : Swing, Carter, Quandt, Gilman, Harrison,
Amthor, Hinton and Woolley.
Present, Mexico: See below.'
4. Date and place: September 30 and October 1, 1955, Assiniboia,.
Saskatchewan, Canada.
Purpose: Conference on border problems with RCMP.
Present, United States: Swing, Carter, Brown, Pilliod, Farrell,
Williams.
Present, Canada Two RCMP officials.
5. Date and plat : November 4 to 8, 1955, Matamoros, Tamaulipas,.
Mexico, and Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, areas.
Purpose: Conference with Mexican officials and inspect Monterrey
Bracero Center and operations.
Present, United tates : Swing, Carter, Gilman, Harrison, Amthor,
Woolley, Carnahan
Present, Mexico: See below.'
6. Date and place: December 2 to 4, 1955, near Matamoros,
Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Purpose: Confer (nee, with Mexican officials.
Present, United States: Swing, Carter, Carnahan, Gilman, Harrison, Anithor, Wo ley, Hinton.
Present, Mexico: See below.'
7. Date and pl ce: January 12 to 16, 1956, near Matamoros,.
Tamaulipas, Mexic .
Purpose: Confer nce with Mexican officials.
Present, United tates: Swing, Carter, Carnahan, Marshall, Gil-
man, Harrison, Bail , Wooley, Amthor, Hinton.
Present, Mexico: See below.'
General Swing contended that these trips were for the purpose
of consulting with Mexican officials on an informal basis and that
hunting was done only incidentally. General Swing asserted the
value of such infor al contacts. He claimed that they had resulted
in many important] concessions from the Mexican Government to
the advantage of he United States Government, and in greater
cooperation from M xican officials which had substantially assisted him
in the Immigration Service operation on the Mexican border (p: 21).
It should be note and General Swing conceded (p. 142) that the
above list of "officials" contains no person equivalent in rank to the
United States Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization...
In addition, with the exception of a person listed as "chief, Mexican
Border Patrol," the ist does not contain a single Mexican immigration
official.
General. Swing did make vague references to the Governor of a
State of Mexico an also to a Mexican General (pp. 7, 9, 10, 11, 24,
25, 37, 41, 42, 43,4 , 50, 60). Upon close interrogation, however, he
admitted that neither of these individuals ever attended his "official"
hunting trips into the interior of Mexico. (Pp. 7-9.)
1 Angusto Cardenas, mayor f Matamoros; Enrique Moreno Olaguibel, chief, Mexican Border Patrol;
Ricardo Solezzi, chief of police, Matamoros; Pablo Macias Hernandez, chief of customs, Matamoros;,
Venustiano Guerra Garcia, Fe oral and State judge, Matamoros region; Dr. Pablo Balboa, Mexican Public
Health Service; Antonio Cue a,,Franciseo Saenz, Emilio Carpio, Luis Oarza Soto, Mexican customs;
officers.
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Two of the sites selected for General Swing's "conferences" with
Mexican "officials" were located in extremely isolated locations, excel-
lent for hunting, but surrounded by chaparral, cactus, and sagebrush
and accessibly, except by air, only by traveling 80 miles, in 1 instance,
and 110, in another., over rough roads.
Regarding advance arrangements made for meeting with these
Mexican officials, General Swing testified in connection with the
September 1955 trip:
I didn't invite anybody. Let us say that these gentlemen
all along were aware that I would be down about that time.
I hoped they would come and talk with me, and they did
(p. 60).
General Swing conceded that the time on these trips was not com-
pletely consumed by official conferences with. Mexican dignitaries.
With respect to entertainment, he said:
The entertainment, part of it is my personal [sic], and
the men with me, is our personal business. We buy the
beer, we buy the edibles, canned goods, and so forth, and I
do not see why I and the officers with me cannot ask anybody
they choose to sit down (p. 150).
The following further examination, however, brought forth that
while the entertainment may have been General Swing's personal
business, the expense was not:
Mr. MOLLOHAN. You mean you bought the foodstuffs and
everything yourself?
General SWING. Yes.
Mr. MOLLOIIAN. None of you were on per diem from the
the Federal Government?
General SWING. Yes, we have to be on per diem on an offi-
cial visit (p. 151).
It should be noted that Government equipment was used to trans-
port the party to the hunting site and a Government-owned house
trailer used to house the members of the party.
SEIZURE OF GUNS BY MEXICAN GAME WARDEN, SEPTEMBER 5, 1955
According to a deposition given by Adolph Amthor, border patrol
investigator, and supplied to the subcommittee by General Swing's
office: On September 5, 1955, three members of General Swing's
hunting party, chief patrol inspector, George Harrison of the McAllen,
Tex., sector, patrol inspector E. W. Woolley, and Adolph Amthor,
were asked for their hunting licenses by Dionicio Ochoa, game warden
for the San Fernando District, Mexico. Amthor described the
incident as follows:
I advised the game warden that our permits were in
another car which was not present at the site; that it would
be back in a short time. He told me that he could secure
proper permits for the party at a cost of approximately $20
United States per person or a total of about $1.80.
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b IMPROPER USE OF GOVERNMENT EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL
He first requested us to accompany him to San Fernando
until he could produce the permits in our possession. Later,
he agreed to hold three of the parties' guns as security that
we would app ar with the proper permits.
The estimate ofj$180 for licenses indicates that 9 persons, or the
whole party inclu ing General Swing, were still present or in the
vicinity when the guns were seized. The reference to the licenses
being in another car also points to presence of other members of the
party being in the vicinity.
General Swing testified repeatedly that he had already left the
camp at the time the guns were seized and that he had never seen the
game warden and lid not hear of the incident until about a month
later:
I was gone. I never saw the game warden. * * * I was
gone to the States by car (p. 26). "I learned (about) this a
month or so latter'.' (p. 10).
General Swing fist testified that he hunted 2 full clays on September
3 and 4 and left early in the morning on September 5 (pp. 66-67).
However, later, hell was reminded by the testimony of Mr. Dewitt
Marshall, deputy chief of the border patrol, that he had attended
a barbecue at Mc llen, Tex., on September 3. The General then
testified,
then this must be the 4th and 5th (p. 110).
His final testimony then was:
I was there two days. I say from the fact that we were
at the barbecu~ (at McAllen, Tex.) on the 3rd, the two days
I was there would have been the 4th and the 5th, leaving
early on the 6th (p. 113).
On another occa
and he left the cam-
warning (p. 11). '
tember 5 (plane lob
General Swing r
Amthor, Hinton, ai
had left for the Stu
warden and that he
later (pp. 10, 26).
At the request of
tion from Amthor.
were seized on Sepi
September 6 and r
However, the Br_
as a passenger on
September 6 for Vii
not have been at t
at the same time.
In an effort to rc
submitted the folio,
1956:
,ion, he stated that the party broke up hurriedly
after a border patrol plane dropped the hurricane
Phis warning was dropped about 12 noon on Sep-
~peatedly stated that the guns were taken from
id Woolley (pp. 10, 40, 113). He testified that he
tes at the time the guns were seized by the game
did not learn of the incident until about a month
the subcommittee, the General submitted a deposi-
Amthor stated he was present when the guns
ember 5; that he recovered them the next day on
turned to Brownsville on September 7.
,wnsville Airport manager's office recorded Amthor
a border patrol plane which left Brownsville on
;toria, Mexico (p. 114). Obviously Amthor could
ae campsite and boarding a plane in Brownsville
concile these discrepancies, General Swing's office
wing information to the subcommittee on July 18,
On Septcmb~r 5, 1955, the helioplane cleared for Victoria,
lone, carrying a message regarding Hurricane
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Gladys. The pilot dropped the message without landing
and flew back to Brownsville. That same day General
Swing, Mr. Gilman, and Mr. Amthor returned to the United
States. On September 6, 1955, the helioplane again cleared
for Victoria, this time with the pilot accompanied by Messrs.
Gilman and Amthor and one Mexican official. Again the
plane did not land but dropped a message to Messrs. Hinton
and Woolley concerning road conditions resulting from the
storm. The same day, September 6, 1955, Mr. Amthor
returned to the campsite by jeep, saw the game warden, and
obtained the three guns. All three men then returned to
the United States on September 7, 1955, bringing the truck
and trailer.
This clears up Mr. Amtlior's statement except that he is now
reported returning on September 5 with General Swing. All testimony
and supplemental information received by the subcommittee up to
July 23, 1956, agreed that Amthor was present when the guns were
seized on September 5. However, if Amthor had left with General
Swing, General Swing's statement that he had returned to the States
at the time the guns were seized, is false. General Swing's repeated
testimony that lie left early in the morning on the 6th, after receiving
a plane message warning of the hurricane, contradicts his statement
that they left hurriedly after the warning was dropped (noon, Sep-
tember 5) and also contradicts the supplemental information which
gives September 5 as the day of departure.
At 2 p. in. on July 23, 1956, General Swinghad aletterhand delivered
to the chairman which reads as follows:
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE,
Washington, D. C., July ,23, 1956.
HOn. ROBERT H. MOLLOHAN,
House of Representatives,
Washington, D. C.
DEAR MR. MOLLOHAN: Upon my return to Washington I have
reviewed the attachments to the letter of July 18th submitted to you
by my executive assistant. A reading of the digest of additional
information thereto attached, discloses a misconception which could
be drawn from the recital: "That same day (September 5th) General
Swing, Mr. Gilman, and Mr. Amthor returned to the United States."
A more detailed statement of the events of that day follows:
"On September 5, 1955, the helioplane cleared for Victoria, with
the pilot alone, carrying a message regarding Hurricane Gladys. The
pilot dropped the message without landing and flew back to Browns-
ville. In the forenoon of that day I crossed back into the United
States, accompanied by Gilman, Carter, and Quandt, departing
Brownsville at 2 p. m. for Washington, D. C. I was in my office in
Washington on September 6th. After my departure occurred the
incident with the game warden, Ochoa, described in more detail in
Mr. Amthor's affidavit. Shortly after this event, in the afternoon of
September 5th, Mr. Amthor crossed into the United States by car.
Amthor flew back over the campsite in the helioplane that same after-
noon, and after returning to Brownsville without landing, again
returned to the campsite by car that evening."
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Of further inter st in clarifying the situation, there is attached a
recently made photograph of me to which Game Warden Ochoa has
signed the followin (translated) statement on the reverse:
I
I hereby certify by my signature and my seal of office that I have
never seen the person here photographed.
Sincerely yours,
This July 23 recital flatly contradicts the submission made on
July 18, in placing General Swing's departure in .the forenoon of the
5th instead of the 6th. This forenoon departure is contradicted by
the log of the plare which dropped the hurricane warning about 12
noon on the 5th. If the log is correct, the General could not have
departed until the afternoon.
It also substitutes Mr. Carter (Chief of the United States Border
Patrol) and Colon 1 Quandt as his traveling companion in place of
Amthor. Amthor is reported to have driven back to Brownsville in
the afternoon. This is a 110-mile trip over very rough roads. Thus,
Mr. Amthor on the afternoon of the 5th had his guii taken by the
game warden, dro e 110 miles to Brownsville, flew back to the camp-
site, returned to Brownsville, and then drove a jeep 110 miles back
to the campsite. However, there is no record of this second plane
flight into Mexico either on the plane log submitted by General Swing
or at the office of the manager of the Brownsville airport which clears
all plane flights int Mexico.
On the basis of information made available to date by General
Swing, the subcommittee is at a loss to resolve the doubts arising from
the foregoing welte of conflicting, sworn statements and documentary
Further contributing to this confusion, General Swing, at the last
minute, submitted
Ochoa,, despite the
his character and 1
Attention must
ing his "observant
When asked if
Swing testified as f
in his own behalf an affidavit by Game Warden
fact that during the hearing Swing had impugned
lso be given to General Swing's assertion concern-
" of Mexican hunting laws.
G. I considered myself fully equipped with
General Swi
all the documei
Army, I used
never entered
documents. V
immediate step
Mr. PLAPINC
mits in any otl
Mr. SWING.
Mr. PLAPINC
eral Zamora.
Mr. SWING.
eral Zamora.
Mr. MOLLOI
sion?
Mr. SWING.
ts. Might I say that even while I was in the
to hunt a lot in Mexico all the time and it
y head that we didn't have all the proper
s to rectify the situation.
ER. Was there any attempt to obtain the per-
er place, in Reynosa, for instance?
We had the proper documents for Reynosa.
ER. That had been arranged for you by Gen-
he Governor had arranged through this Gen-
AN. Were those documents in your posses-
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Mr. MOLLOHHAN. What did they consist of? Were they
gun permits, a license to hunt, were they a letter permit?
Mr. SWING. You have a gun permit and a license of some
kind.
Later, General Swing asserted that "when you are a guest invited
there by the Governor of the State, it is not necessary to have docu-
ments. I could go down tomorrow without any documents and hunt
in Tamaulipas, or in any other of the States along there, because I am
known to the officials. The officers there did think they had some
documents, but they weren't necessary." (p. 50.) The General's
confidence (or possibly that of his subordinates) in this assertion was
not apparent on November 26, 1955, less than 3 months after this
incident. On this occasion, the game warden in Matamoros issued
hunting licenses to General Swing, Harlan Carter, Leonard Gilman,
and George Harrison, and import permits for seven guns (p. 136).
Later in his testimony, he admitted "I never had a piece of paper
in my own possession" (p. 63). "* * * Mr. Harrison (Chief Patrol
Inspector at McAllen) undoubtedly had some documents * * *. The
only question I asked was, "is everything ship-shape?" (p. 64).
Following the hearing, General Swing supplied the documents
which had been in possession of the party on the September 4-5 hunt.
They consisted of five individual permits to enter the country with a
gun (identified by serial number) and had been issued to Messrs.
Joe Swing, Douglas Quandt, H. B. Carter, George W. Harrison, and
David Carnahan. (Carnahan's name, incidentally, does not appear
as on the list of the September hunting party. Apparently, Amthor,
Woolley, Gilman, and Hinton had no documents at all. There were
nine guns in the party (p. 112). The permits specifically state that
the holder may hunt "upon permission from the Forestry Bureau of
Hunting and Fishing." Information from the Mexican consul in
Washington states "there are special local and district offices from
which licenses may be obtained."
Although General Swing alleged that he and his party were guests
of the Governor, it seems strange that they did not have a letter or
document so stating which could be presented to any official in the
State. No documents were offered to the game warden in San Fer-
nando. Amthor stated that the gams warden offered to issue the
necessary permits for about $20. (According to the Mexican Em-
bassy, Mexican. law requires a fee of $19.40 for a hunting permit.)
This offer was refused. by Am.thor as "an improper attempt on the
game warden's part to obtain money not justly due him or the Mexi-
can Government." (Amthor deposition.) General Swing described
it as an attempt to get "mordida"-or a "bite," (p. 10) though the
amount requested was equivalent to the lawful hunting license fee.
In the absence of any documents, the game warden, in the course of
his duties, took up the three guns.
General Swing testified that" * * the officers * * * immediately
wired the Governor, who had gone to Mexico City and this General
Zamora. General Zamora wired his opposite number in this district
below Brownsville that we were there at the Governor's invitation.
The Governor wired the game warden that our papers were in order
and that the guns should be returned, and I am told, lie transferred
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the game warden out of that area for--well, it was considered quite
rude, because eve~yone else knew we were guests of the Governor"
(p. 10).
General Swing greed to furnish the subcommittee with a copy of
the Governor's tel gram to the game warden ordering the return of the
guns. However, t has not been made available and it can only be
conjectured as to how the Mexican officials extricated the General
and his party wi h the least strain on. American-Mexican relations
(p. 1] 2).
The subcommittee also received reports that during this September
hunting trip, General Swing's house trailer suffered extensive damage
requiring over a week's repair work at the McAllen Border Patrol
Center.
General Swing testified that the damage to the trailer was very
minor (p. 117), a "broken hitch" and "the mesquite scratched the
side" .(p. 51). Mr. Marshall, Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol,
stated that Mr. A thor had reported the damage as, "it was scratched,
it had some paint scratched off the side of it" (p. 52). Specific records
on the repairs we re requested and a purchase order for $44.75 was
supplied-replace eats for 5 awnings, 1 window unit, door handle,
and clearance lights. A further bill for 2 sheets of aluminum, 3 feet
by 10 feet, at $38, vas reported. No record of man-hours was supplied
to show the extent of the work performed at the McAllen Center.
It would appear that the damage was somewhat more extensive than
scratched paint.
During the September 1955 trip, two airplane flights were made to
the campsite at an Fernando. Subcommittee investigators found
Mexican customs clearances and flight plans for this destination in
the office of the Brownsville Airport. However, the flight log sub-
mitted by the Im igration and Naturalization Service lists the flight
on September 5 a Brownsville to Brownsville and the September 6
flight as McAllen to Brownsville, both flights being described as local.
On November 4 6, General Swing hunted at the ranch of Don Simon
Garcia. He hunted there again on December 2 to 4 and a third time
from January 12-. 5, 1956. This site was particularly convenient for
airplane use as natural landing field-a dry lakebed-was im-
mediately adjacen to the campsite. The General admitted to using
the helioplane on he January 1956 trip. A border patrol plane was
reported to the s bcommittee to have been seen there also in late
November 1955, presumably in connection with the early December
1955, trip. However, General Swing, while testifying, stated that he
had not gone on t d s trip though it had been planned. Information
submitted by his o ice subsequently confirmed that he had hunted at
Don Simon Garci 's ranch in early December.
Operation Alert
simulation of a su
gency relocation i]
OPERATION ALERT, JUNE 1955
held on June 15, 16, 17, 1955, was intended to be a
rprise enemy attack on Washington and an emer-
i other cities of Federal agencies. Following this
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'operation, the subcommittee received information that General Swing,
because he was dissatisfied with local hotel accommodations, had
ordered two house trailers to be hauled from Brownsville, Tex.-some
1,700 miles from the relocation center-and a third from Miami, Fla.,
a distance of more than. 1,200 miles. The trailers were reported to
have traveled night and day to reach the site on time. All three
,trucks needed alterations and repairs on arrival.
A call to General Swing's office brought the response that no in.forma-
tion could be given concerning the incident as all information per-
taining to Operation Alert was classified. It should be noted that
Operation Alert was well publicized by the. press and only the reloca-
tion site of the agencies was not reported.
General Swing was questioned concerning this incident. He testi-
fied that "they (the house trailers) are used to house these officers
who are charged with the security of the whole Attorney General's
relocation and it is quite necessary that they be there because, un-
fortunately, the relocation center does not have many accommoda-
dations" (p. 146).
Since the hearing, affidavits as to the availability of accommoda-
tions have been. secured by the subcommittee from the managers of
two hotels in the city which served as the relocation center. One
hotel reported 50 rooms available on June 15; 54 rooms on June 16,
57 rooms on June 17. The manager of this hotel reported no request
had been received for accommodations for United States officials
for the above-mentioned dates. The second hotel reported no rooms
available on June 15; 11 rooms on June 16; 48 rooms on June 17.
The general's observation that "unfortunately the relocation center
does not have many accommodations" seems open to question. The
3 trailers could accommodate 12 persons (p. 13). There were over
50 hotel rooms available.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL LETTER
On June 21, 1956, the Attorney General addressed a letter to the
chairman of the Committee on Government Operations protesting
that committee representatives-
were investigating allegations of misappropriation of funds
by Gen. Joseph M. Swing (retired), Commissioner of the
Immigration and Naturalization service * * *.
You have my assurance that if there are any such matters
which require investigation in possession of your committee
and you bring them to my attention, I will have them
thoroughly investigated by the FBI and a report made to
you concerning the result thereof.
The letter was referred to the chairman of this subcommittee for
reply, and on July 2, 1956, wrote the Attorney General. The reply
is quoted here in part:
As you are undoubtedly aware, the Government Opera-
tions Committee is charged with determining efficiency and
economy of operation of executive agencies. In the discharge
of my responsibilities as chairman of this subcommittee,
and in accordance with a unanimous resolution of the sub-
committee, I authorized Mr. Johnson, subcommittee staff
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 ApprdQed of #. (2008 1 Sit DA0449FA4g j0001-6
director, and Mr. John L. Anderson, staff investigator, to
proceed to Texas recently to investigate the authenticity of
information r ceived by the subcommittee on irregularities
in the Service originating in that area.
Each Servi e employee interviewed was told specifically
that the subs mmittee was investigating reports concerning
the use by Go &al Swing of Government vehicles on hunting
trips to Mexico. Implicit in such a statement is the misap-
plication of Government property bought obviously with
appropriated unds. I find it difficult to believe that stated
honesty of purpose of the investigation constitutes an
impropriety. I am satisfied that the investigation was.
handled with complete. propriety.
I am happy to note your offer to make an FBI investiga-
tion of the matter and make the FBI report available to the
subcommittee While the subcommittee is in the process of
discharging its duties, I see nothing inconsistent in the
FBI undertaking an investigation of the same matter. In
fact, I welcom your cooperation in this regard. I am pleased
also to note the apparent departure, at least in one respect,
from executiv ; branch inhibitions on making information
available to congressional committees which are set forth in
your 1954 me norandum to the President.
At the time of his report, no reply has been ' received from the
Attorney General, nor has any report been received on the findings of
the FBI to indicate that the Attorney General has ordered an
investigation.
1. General Swine's protestations that his hunting trips were organ-
ized primarily for conferences with Mexican officials and only inci-
dentally for pleasure, are less than convincing. His references to
conferences with Mexican officials were vague. In one instance, he
admitted that he h %(I not invited, but hoped Mexican officials would
come to his camp.
2. General Swing's hunting trips must be regarded improper and
unnecessary, contributing little, if anything, to the effectiveness or
efficiency of his agency's operation. His use of Government equip-
ment and Governor nt personnel was an improper use of appropriated
funds.
3. General Swing's ordering the movement of 3 trailers over
1,500 miles to the Department of Justice relocation center during
Operation Alert in June 1955, when adequate hotel facilities were
available, must be egarded as an unwarranted waste of United States
Government funds as well as a complete operational absurdity.
Should an atomic a tack on Washington ever occur, it is unlikely that
the enemy will give several days warning to enable General Swing to
arrange things for his maximum comfort and convenience.
4. We recommen l that the General Accounting Office conduct an
extensive survey of he expenditures of the Immigration and Naturali-
zation Service. Congress has been more generous in appropriating
funds for the Service under General Swing than with any previous,
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IMPROPER USE OF GOVERNMENT EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL 1
Commissioner. The Service, under General Swing, has been credited
with a highly effective border patrol operation, but the results of this
hearing indicate misuse of Government equipment, personnel, and
the drawing of per diem allowances when on hunting trips.
5. General Swing's outright denial of the trip in December 1955
and his omission of the one a year earlier could ordinarily be attributed
to mere lapses of memory. However, elaborate arrangements were
required in each case, and the later one occurred only 7 months prior
to Swing's appearance before the subcommittee. Furthermore,
the admissions were forthcoming only after confrontation of General
Swing with factual information. Considering General Swing's
testimony as a whole, it should be pointed out that these additional
trips had not been reported voluntarily to the subcommittee before
further inquiry, even though some 10 days had elapsed since the
hearing.
6. Much of his testimony is replete with conflicting and incom-
patible statements. The material prepared from his personal papers
flatly contradicts his own testimony. The deposition from Adolph
Amthor submitted by General Swing and the other belated submissions
add even more to the confusion in the conflict of statements.
7. In light of the information brought forth in this inquiry, it is
recommended that the Attorney General carefully examine the record
of this hearing. It appears to the subcommittee that the conduct of
General Swing, through his activities and also through his lack of
candor during these hearings, is not consistent with the conduct which
one associates with the high office of Commissioner of Immigration and
Naturalization.
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