TO THE COMMITTEE ON EXPENDITURES IN THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00610R000100020015-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 28, 2003
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: June 12, 1947
• Content Type: SPEECH

1726 Pennsylvania Avenue, I.T. ?J.
TO THE COi',1MITTEE ON EXPENDITURES IN TH ; EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT S
Washington D. C. //' .y )
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OF THE HOUSE OF REPRES71-ITATIVES:
I am speaking to you as the representative of the
Reserve Officers of the Naval Services - better known perhaps
as RONS an organization with a membership of over thirty-
six thousand reserve officers of the Navy, Marine Corps and
Mr. Chairman, Gentlemen of the Co:rrnittee:
now resumed their places in civil life in their home community,
Coast Guard. R?servo officers, a greater part of whom have
?arevitally interested in this proposed unification of the
armed forces. Most of them left positions of standing in
Their number
to the Naval
touched upon
zation..
profession or occupation to servo in the Naval
periods ranging from two to six or more years.
provided approximately 90% of the officers
Services in World ;`Jar II and their activity
every function of that tremendous wartime organi-
No group in the country today has a better grasp, a
more thorough understanding, c_ more intelligent approach
to the underlying causes which impel unification of our
armed forces than those Reserve Officers, everyone of whom is
subject to recall in any nationr.1 emergency. Perhaps no
group can more dispassionately weigh the pros and cons of
unification than such a one.
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 12 June 1947.
Approved For Release 2003/04/02 : CIA-RDP90-0061OR000100020015-9
=MMTDUJM FOR T RECORD
(R?On the CBS program "Open Hearing,n Senators Leverett Salt tall ,, Mass. ), and Edward V. Robertson, ,sect of unification of the armed forcesR ons
at 0 30,P.IM.,, tTues~s10
June 1.947.
In his opening statement, Senator Robertson declared that "To
insure our national security, there must be a Central Intelligence,
Agency, presided over by an appointed-civilian
sible to the National Security Council and its**Cha~at"spor
Senator Saltonstall, in his opening must have a statement, stated that,
professionally train
d
e
, world-~i.de in
te1lfgence force. it
Toward the end, of the
ro
o
p
gram, Winst
n Burdett the moderator .
said, "I would like -to brin
u
t
g
p
her point in the bill,. It sets Lm
a Central Iatel'Ligence ano
Agenc
y, and provides that a military
be
appointed as Director. Senator Robertson, what' do ytiman XW
c of that
RtftTSQAT: I feel that th
t
a
position as head of the Central
into gee agency - in fact I feel that it is most im
this position should be filled portant that
an. That has
the potentialities of an American G Agency all
contr e:st
olled by a miUtaz Po' and such an an orgwd=t
ontr we could not y ,would be in possession of untold power
Properly place in the hands of our military.
'which SALTQNSTALL; I agree with Senator Robertson that ultimately it
shoo, Tre `inn the hands of a civilian.
Just like Mr. Hoover of the F.B.I. has made ha lifeecareer of his3job.
But at the moment, it would undoubtedly be difficult to get such a
man Properly to fill that position, because these positions have
been in the hands of the military. They are e
that ultimately it should be a civilian; and he rresend. I agree
man, I believe, has agreed to give up his status lean Adn Admiral.
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