Senator FERGUSON. Who has access to the personnel files where, for instance, a Lattimore letter would be?

Who has access to that kind of a file room?

Mr. HUMELSINE. I don't know how many people would have access to that.

Senator FERGUSON. HOW many could you say?

Mr. HUMELSINE. I don't know. I wouldn't hazard a guess.

Senator FERGUSON. 1,000?

Mr. HUMELSINE. I wouldn't hazard a guess. I would be perfectly happy to find out for you.

Senator FERGUSON. I wish you would, and let us know for the record.

Mr. HUMELSINE. I will be glad to.

Senator FERGUSON. Some evidence came out that he had access to all the personnel files. Was that within his job?

Mr. HUMELSINE. I would imagine it was within the job at the time, if he had access to it.

Senator FERGUSON. Do you know, isn't that part of your security, as to who has access to the personnel files?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Mr. Service has been out of the State Department for several years.

Senator FERGUSON. Yes, but I am talking about when he was there.

Mr. HUMELSINE. I do not know whether he did or not. I would have to investigate and find out. I just don't know, and I don't think I should be expected to know every detail about that.

Senator FERGUSON. Today, who has access to the personnel files? Mr. HUMELSINE. I do not know. I would assume that the people that have charge of it.

Senator FERGUSON. Does Mr. Boykin know?

Mr. HUMELSINE. I don't think Mr. Boykin would know entirely. Senator FERGUSON. Isn't that part of your security system, to know who has access to your personnel files?

Mr. HUMELSINE. As to who has access?

Senator FERGUSON. Isn't that?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Sure, and we have people that are in charge. Senator FERGUSON. I will ask the Chief who has access to the personnel files.

Mr. BOYKIN. Senator, we have received indications a month ago, over a month ago, that on this question-actually, last year, in December I believe it was-that there were too many people having access to the personnel files of the Department. Specifically, the question which is now under investigation by the committees of Congress, and we have undertaken to go into that matter very, very thoroughly. We are in the process of investigating it now. The investigation is not complete and I cannot say at this time, but that investigation will finally be completed and, as I say, I cannot say what that investigation will finally show.

Senator FERGUSON. Can you tell us at this time, to your knowledge, who has access to the personnel files?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Sure.

Senator FERGUSON. Tell us.

Mr. HUMELSINE. After the investigation is completed, if I go back and check with the head of the Foreign Service Personnel Office, or his deputy, I can give you an accurate answer to that.

MR. BOYKIN'S POSITION

Senator FERGUSON. Mr. Humelsine, here we have the Chief of the Security Section

Mr. HUMELSINE. He is not Chief of the Security Section.
Senator FERGUSON. He is not?

Mr. HUMELSINE. No. sir.

Senator FERGUSON. Who is?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Mr. Ford is the Chief of Security.
Senator FERGUSON. What is Mr. Boykin's position?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Mr. Boykin is Director of the Office of Security in Consular Affairs, which is one of the top jobs in the Department of State, which has to do with the whole conduct of the consular program of the U.S. Government and Foreign Service. One of the Divisions that is under Mr. Boykin's supervision is the Security Division.

ACCESS TO PERSONNEL FILES

Senator FERGUSON. Now, I am asking him, then, as head of the Security Division, who has now, and who last December had access to the personnel files?

Mr. BOYKIN. Senator, I cannot answer that question until this investigation is complete. We are in the process now of checking into that question. Allegations have been made that too many people had access.

Senator FERGUSON. To your knowledge, who had access to them? Mr. BOYKIN. To my knowledge?

Senator FERGUSON. Yes.

Mr. BOYKIN. I don't know. I can say this, that if I had to guess as to who had access to them, that the Chief of the Personnel Division would have access to them, and his deputy; and the people who are engaged in recruiting personnel would have access to them, as well as the people who are in charge of the files; but that is purely a guess on my part, and I would have to wait until that investigation is complete before I could give you an accurate answer.

Senator FERGUSON. How are you trying to find out who had access to these files? Why has it taken you from December to now to investigate that matter, as to just who had access to the personnel files?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Sure we know. Mr. Boykin said he does not know specifically, and I don't think it is necessarily a part of his job to know.

Senator FERGUSON. Have you completed

Mr. HUMELSINE. The investigation is not complete.
Senator FERGUSON. Why not; why this long?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Perhaps it was broader than the qusetion of who had access to the particular files. I think that it had a broader connotation than that, and it takes time to run those things down, and

we tried to make, tried to make thorough, careful investigations so that when we have an investigation it is meaningful and one we can take proper action on.

Senator FERGUSON. Mr. Boykin, who brought it to your attention that there were too many people having access to the personnel files? Mr. BOYKIN. That was brought to my attention by the Chief of the Division of Security.

Senator FERGUSON. Who is that?

Mr. BOYKIN. Mr. John Ford, formerly of the FBI.
Senator FERGUSON. What was his complaint?

STRIPPING OF PERSONNEL FILES ALLEGED

Mr. BOYKIN. He had received information from another agency of the Government to the effect that there had been allegations that they had received, indicating that the files of the Foreign Service personnel, too many people were having access to them, and that there was a question of a stripping of those files, and we are in the process of investigating that now.

Senator FERGUSON. Well, there was a claim, then, by another agency of the Government, not Congress, that there was a stripping of the files?

Mr. BOYKIN. There was an allegation reported to us by that agency. The CHAIRMAN. Off the record.

[There was discussion off the record.]

Senator FERGUSON. I would like to know where [deleted], I will get back to that later, was tried.

Mr. HUMELSINE. Who, sir?

Senator SPARKMAN. [Deleted.]

Mr. HUMELSINE. You mean [deleted], where he was tried?

Senator SPARK MAN. Yes.

Mr. BOYKIN. I believe it was in North Carolina. I know that is where he was from, and put in the penitentiary there.

Senator FERGUSON. Where was he tried?

Mr. BOYKIN. There.

Senator FERGUSON. Do you know where?

Mr. BOYKIN. No, I think it was in North Carolina.

EXECUTIVE ORDER RELATIVE TO THE M'CARRAN AMENDMENT

Senator FERGUSON. When was the Executive Order which enabled, or really required you to use other processes than the McCarran Amendment in the Appropriations Act, relative to the discharge of employees, when was that Executive Order put into effect?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Senator, I am sure we can get the information for

you.

Senator FERGUSON. Would you furnish that?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Yes, sir.

Senator FERGUSON. A copy of the order?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Yes, sir. I would have to make sure whether it was verbal or written.

Mr. BOYKIN. It was a written order; a letter.

Mr. HUMELSINE. It was a written letter.

Senator FERGUSON. I would like to have that letter for our records here.

Mr. HUMELSINE. We will secure that, provide it for the committee.

COMPLAINTS CONCERNING SERVICE

Senator FERGUSON. Had you had a complaint that Service did have access to these Foreign Service files?

Mr. BOYKIN. We had a complaint to that effect.

Senator FERGUSON. When did you get that complaint?

Mr. BOYKIN. I don't know, sir. I would have to check.

Senator FERGUSON. About when, how long ago?

Mr. BOYKIN. I am not sure whether that was in the December allegations or not. I think it came up afterward. Senator FERGUSON. Was that part

Mr. HUMELSINE. That is part of the investigation.
Mr. BOYKIN. That is part of the investigation.

Senator HICKENLOOPER. I assume that in the Executive Order, as a part of that, you would want to know to know who, if he was authorized, who issued that authorization and direction that Service have access to the files.

Mr. HUMELSINE. I believe this is going only on the basis of hear

say.

Senator HICKENLOOPER. I don't assume that he did

Mr. HUMELSINE. I think he did have access to files, I think that Service was employed in the Foreign Service personnel office division, back in 1947 or thereabouts.

Senator KNOWLAND. But, with Service's record in the Amerasia case, you mean subsequent to the Amerasia case that he had access to the files?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Yes, sir.

Senator KNOWLAND. Or, was that before?

Mr. HUMELSINE. Afterward.

Senator KNOWLAND. I think it is very important to know, with that background of Mr. Service, who authorized him to go in and have access to the Foreign Service files, and I would like to have that supplied for this committee.

Mr. HUMELSINE. That is part of our investigation. We can supply that to the committee.

ACCESS TO THE PERSONNEL FILES

Senator FERGUSON. I would like to have a report on everyone who had access to these files, whether a Foreign Service officer, returned here from an assignment, or just returning here would have access to the personnel files.

Mr. HUMELSINE. We can secure that information for you.

Senator FERGUSON. He, and others,

Mr. HUMELSINE. My understanding is that is one of the things we are investigating, that an individual does not have access to his own file, even when he works in the division.

Senator FERGUSON. How do you keep them separated, then?
Mr. HUMELSINE. How do we keep them separated?

Senator FERGUSON. How would you keep Service from having access to his own file?

Mr. HUMELSINE. I understand they follow a device, and this again is hearsay, I understand they follow a device that, when a person works in a division of Foreign Service personnel, an officer, that they take the jacket which covers him, and they use a procedure of putting initials on it, and scotch tape over it so that if that is torn open at all, it destroys that pencilled notation there, and you know that it has been opened and if there is an occasion for a file to be opened, it has to be opened by the division chief, or some person of responsibility.

Senator FERGUSON. How difficult would it be to make a new file? Mr. HUMELSINE. A new file?

Senator FERGUSON. With new scotch tape, and new initials.

Mr. HUMELSINE. How difficult?

Senator FERGUSON. Yes.

Mr. HUMELSINE. I don't know, it would depend on how voluminous the file was, it would depend.

Senator FERGUSON. The cover is the only thing that you tape, you don't tape each paper?

Mr. HUMELSINE. That is right, we don't tape each paper.

Senator FERGUSON. All he would have to do to make the new jacket-one thing you would have to determine about the files that we are talking about, these are personnel files, they are not loyaltysecurity files?

Mr. HUMELSINE. That is right.

Senator HUMPHREY. That is what I want to get clear.

Mr. HUMELSINE. I want to make a firm distinction. These are personnel files for the purposes of personnel administration and so forth, administrative action and all of that; and, the loyalty files are entirely separate, in an entirely separate building and have nothing to do with these; and, the loyalty files are under the charge of the Security Division of the Department of State.

Mr. Service never worked in the loyalty-security file section.

A LATTIMORE LETTER

Senator FERGUSON. Do you contend that the lady's testimony in relation to a Lattimore letter is false? 1

Mr. HUMELSINE. I don't know anything about it.

Senator FERGUSON. You don't know?

Mr. HUMELSINE. I just heard that charge. We are in the process of looking into it.

Senator FERGUSON. You don't know anything about it?

Mr. BOYKIN. We are in the process of investigating that right

now.

Senator FERGUSON. Have you talked to the girl?

Mr. BOYKIN. No, sir, I have not.

Senator FERGUSON. That is all.

1 This refers to testimony by Helen B. Balog on February 4 before the Permanent Sub committee on Investigations of the Senate Committee on Government Operations.