(UNTITLED)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000500380010-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 29, 2003
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: May 4, 1967
• Content Type: OPEN

STAT
CONGRESSIONAL R COI?
D -
erVUU
i : csicient Truman understood very well the
npo.,tancc of regulating his own schedule
:.o as to !it the needs of his stall for timely
,;;dci.nce and directions. For example, the
., ,r; for holding "speech conferences" with
i 1:e staff were fixed more often at my sugges-
i'ulh Beall at his. If his schedule was so tight
they could not be fitted in during the day, he
would come back to the Cabinet Room in the
owning-and he would come cheerfully. It's
a unique experience to be telling the Presi-
cicnt of the United States he has to come
back to the olllcc to work after dinner-and,
of course, I never put it just that way.
GENTLENESS
Speaking of staff, when I think of President
'.'runsan I often think of an advertisement
at was current some years ago-"Tough bait
Oil so gentle". In many ways, President Tru-
n..:n really was as tough as a boot, but with
s personal staff he was extremely gentle.
In fact, he was more lenient at times then
i.o should have been, and that got him into
-~.;"ouble more than once. On the other hand,
tic staff returned his kindness with an ex-
tr.,ordinary amount of hard work, voluntary
overtime, and wholehearted, single-minded
ucvotion.
'Cho ways In which he showed consideration
for his staff were countless. Mrs. Truman
joined hint in this. I'm sure that on her part
i,iiis was a natural manifestation of the no-
hility and generosity of her nature. I'm sure,
too, that this was the real motivating factor
for him. But I also suspect he was quite
conscious of the dividends this brought him
ii/ terms of extra efforts from his staff.
There are different kinds of inspirational
leadership. This particular kind might be
striven for by almost any one in a position of
leadership, even though his natural talents
ire far less than those of Mr. Truman. I com-
,i:cnd it to the thoughtful consideration of
necutives everywhere as a possible means of
f`;ctting more work, better work, and happier
work from their organizations. But remember
That one prerequisite for its success is that
iiis man at the top has to work harder than
any one else.
DEDICATION
5r. Truman, front start to finish, regarded
?..e o;Iico of President of the United States
with anormous respect. lie regarded his ten-
t:..; there as a trust of the highest order.
One does not think of him as being sancti-
nsonious. He was not. At tile same time, he
:,as completely incapable of doing anything
a; President that he thought was wro n,;.
'.rile problems of the Presidency are so coin-
c tted and unprecedented that- for all
of
hi. Truman's wisdom and talent for simpli- -
c;~.tiou-it was frequently difficult to tell what
was right and what was wrong in a
particular situation; but what lie thought
w.,s right was what he did.
ile used to say to me, "Murph, I 0.,.h't do
slut. It wouldn't be right." He t.icin'~ say,
won't"; he said, "I can't." That w;,., aml
the reason he gave and all the reason lie
needed. If I pressed him about sonic of
these thin,*s, ;,s I did on occasion, he would
get more ;onii:,l an cl call nhc "Murphy".
COURAGE
hleis has .en said about President Tru-
niali's cour;,i;,,. I do not know how much
credit he Is ;,aitl,u to on this score. I've
s 'aqucntly hc;,'d t .,.t the highest form of
coura?le is to be hove even when you are
,.:raid. So far cs I w.,s able to tell, President
.'rumaI was never afraid of anything. So
that leaves m0 witi: the philosophical ques-
tlon of how courai,cous a man can be if fear
is ai>seat from his soalce-up.
Lis ARNING
.!resident 'Truman never stopped studying;
its r:cver stopped learning. As long as he was
in lire White !,louse, he made a conscious and
cie;iberate effort to learn how to be a better
epic eat. He was almost 61 years old when
he cargo to the Presidency, almost 69 when
SOUL 'May 4, .1967
he left it. But few men at any are have
have such an intensive, productive and suc-
cessful learning experience.
He learned by choice, not just as a by-
product of experience. Although he was by
far the wisest and most knowledgeable man
among the group that worked wits: asset, for
him, he always kept trying to learn some-
thing from the rest of us. He made it ex-
tremely easy for his staff to tell him what
they really thought-whether it was yes, no,
or maybe. Harry Truman was not surrounded
by yes men. We all knew who was boss, and
we accepted his decisions and followed his
orders. But we were encouraged to he both
honest and candid in expressing our views.
I have heard, with some amusement, dis-
cussions of an alleged battle between liberals
and conservatives for President Truman's
mind. I would note first that he had a mind
of his own and made it up for himself. And
on most of the issues that usually distill-
g?uish liberals from conservatives in our po-
litical idiom, he was a liberal before he came
to the White House and all the time he was
there. His liberal views were based on much
practical knowledge from earlier expcricnces
and from his study of history, and he held
them with deep conviction.
Ile was not distinctively a professing lib-
oral. Indeed, he seemed to have some distaste
for persons who flaunted their liberalism.
But on the issues, there was never really any
doubt in my mind about where he stood and
was going to continue to stand. He always
had within his official family a few conserva-
tives whose views on social and economic is-
sues differed sharply from his own. I asked
him wily he did this. His answer was
essen-
tially the same as these words of his in Mr.
President;
"I like to have people understand each
other, and that is why I have every shade
of public opinion in my Cabinet.
"I have got a cross section of the thought
and economics of the whole populations of
the United States in the Cabinet froshl left
to right. And this makes for valuable dis-
cussions, and the only way you c lr, get ideas.
And I let everybody have his say before I
come to a conclusion and decide on it final
course of action."
I've even heard it said Mat l iesi:lent Tru-
man was not aware of t_-a, battle for his
mind that was going on around bins. I think
it would be closer to the tend, to say lie was
drawing up . ,cattle pea,- for bath sides.
President 5'n., Lii docc _j, Use "lib-
'cal" point of T. ,v on eve. y ~.~ -... .: c ues-
!,'or oxr.is.,. -, he has a,l :....` -:e be-
in the virt ..,, of a h;ii...cac. a,.c lie
this bell.. with bins teben ht ic.t the
Wil_Le House. In 1063, President Kennedy
reconhmeldcd a tax cut w:.ei he die, not
expect it to result in a balanced budget.
Yes iiiay recall that President Trhuh,ali,
bein;; in New York City at tike time, was
asked ,,bout this by a newspapernsan on his
ntorrhing walk-;old replied that .e c;ic. not
think taxes should be cut until the budget
was balanced. Understandably, lain 'oo heard
President Kennedy, and he sent me to tali,
to President Truman about it. 1 ciid this.
i"inally, President Truman .,,,,M gnat, of-
thougis he would be extremely :, c:. , :.L 1150
any trouble for President
not what he had laic, toe f1lat
was what he believed; but, he lie would
try to beep quiet on the subject thereafter.
I repori.:c, this to President Kennedy, and so
far au _ ;:now, that ended the nuatter.
?i:GANIZING THE PRESIDi-,NC.
T :;,^.oke earlier about President Truman's
orderliness. This was nsanifest also in his
continuing and substantial moves to ins-
prove the or p.ulization of the Preoide itial
a;lice-tl:, 5'.tional aids to the Presi-
dency. i ;r this was brought home
to himso -ply by the suddenness of
his succession to the Presidency and the lack
of preparation for the transition. I believe
that he had seen President Roosevelt pr-
vately only throe times, and very briefly,
since his Inauguration as Vice President, and
that no provision had been made to keep
him informed of matters in the Executive
Branch. This was far less troublesome It,. the
domestic field than in defense and foreign
affairs because Mr, Truman's experience in
the Senate gave him an intimate knowledge
of domestic issues and problems.
In defense and foreign affairs, the new
President felt his lack of current informa-
tion very keenly. He did several things about
this, First, he resolved to try to see that
those who might succeed to the Presidency
thereafter would be fully and currently
briefed on defense and foreign affairs. Ec
arranged such briefings for the man iIi line
to succeed hint 111 the event of death or dis-
ability, and in the campaigns of 1948 and
1952 arranged such briefings for the Republ-
can candidates. Fish was a personal idea of
Mir. Truman's. Next, when he first came to
the White House, he set about studying day
and night until he caught up on the infor-
mation that was available. And soon he set
about improving the machinery for gather-
ing and evaluating information.
He puts it this way in Mr. President:
"One of the basic things I did was to set
up a Central Intelligence Agency. Aclmirals
Leahy and Sowers, and the State, Defense.
Treasury and Commerce Departments all
helped me to set it up.
"Strange as it may seem, the President up
to that time was not completely inforned
as to what was taking place in the world.
Messages that came to the different dcpari;
meats of the executive branch often were
not relayed to him because some official did
not think it was necessary to inform the
President. The President did not see malty
useful cables and telegrams that came from
different American representatives abroad.
"I decided to put an end to this state of
affairs.
"The Central Intelligence Agency now co-
ordinates all the information that is avail-
able to the State Department, the'Depart-
Inent of Defense, and the individual offices of
the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Depart-
ment of Conlnlerce, and the Treasury. III this
way I arn able to get a concentrated survey
of everything that takes 'place. If I need any
elaboration I ask for it. I got a report from
the Central Intelligence Agency every morn-
ing. In cases of emergency I got special re-
ports. I get special reports on the situation
in Korea throughout the day. I get a special
report every day from the Secretary of State
covering the entire diplomatic field. And
once a week the director of the Central Ii-
telligence Agency comes to see me and snakes
it personal report."
Next we should note the creation of the
National Security Council as a major Presi-
dential staff agency to provide continuing
analysis and policy advice on defense-foreign
policy-.security platters, This became an es.-
trensely valuable aid to the President.
As I look back to consider who was Presi-
dent Truman's principal White I-Iouse staff
man in respect of defense and foreign policy,
I conclude that lie himself was that male.
It also occurs to nee sc,mcwhat ruefully that
perhaps that is why his residency is so much
more highly regarded in respect of foreign
policy than in solve other respects.
Intelligence reports were brought in e.,cih
morning by the soil of the National Secu-
rity Coukicil and the ?resident's Naval Aidv.
who spent about 30 minutes going over t11u111
with the Presidcnt. Once each weak, the
Director of the CIA joined these meetings for
a 1n01'e extensive review. No other stall nhenh-
bers were present.
The President met periodically with the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. Usually, no one clsc
attenc.eci these nleetinfs.
lie met frequently with the Secretaries of
State and Defense, together and separately.
Approved For Release 2004/01/16 : CIA-RDP75-00149R000500380010-8