did not attend in uniform, and were not on an order basis. And under these circumstances, no clearance with 1st Army intelligence was indicated.

Senator THURMOND. But you exercised sound judgment in being certain to get the right speakers and not to allow controversial subjects to enter into the discussion, and you were satisfied with the manner in which they were presented.

General WILLIAMS. Yes, sir. I assumed personal responsibility for the presentations and had no cause for regret after the meetings had been conducted.

SPEAKERS AT NEW YORK MILITIA ASSOCIATION SEMINARS

Senator THURMOND. Did Congressman Henry C. Schadeberg, of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, participate?

General WILLIAMS. Yes, sir, he addressed the first of the upstate meetings which we held in the city of Buffalo, N.Y. His remarks were primarily centered around the difficulties with which the House Committee on Un-American Activities was faced at that time because of public misunderstanding of their purpose and their manner of proceeding.

Senator THURMOND. And I believe you spoke as president of the Militia Association, did you not?

General WILLIAMS. Yes, sir.

Senator THURMOND. And a retired Army officer also participated in the program.

General WILLIAMS. Yes, sir.

ATTENDANCE AT MILITIA ASSOCIATION SEMINAR

Senator THURMOND. Am I correct in assuming that only members of the New York National Guard or the Militia Association attended this seminar?

General WILLIAMS. That is correct.

MILITIA ASSOCIATION SEMINARS HELD THROUGHOUT NEW YORK STATE

Senator THURMOND. I understand this seminar was followed by others throughout the State and that the summer seminar program terminated with the Militia Association's annual meeting on the 8th and 9th of September, 1961, in which Mr. John Lautner and Mr. Frank Barnett participated. Is that correct?

General WILLIAMS. That is correct.

MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING OF NEW YORK MILITIA ASSOCIATION

Senator THURMOND. Could you give us an outline of that portion of the annual meeting which dealt with national strategy, the cold war, and more specifically, with Communist propaganda and sub

version?

General WILLIAMS. Sir, I believe you have in the record the minutes of this entire meeting, which included the entire text of each speech that was made.

Senator THURMOND. We will use that, General. That will save time. General WILLIAMS. Yes, sir.

DISCUSSION ON NEW YORK POST EDITORIAL ATTACKING MILITIA
ASSOCIATION SEMINARS

Senator THURMOND. General, I want to reaffirm the fact that you insured that only highly qualified personnel lectured on communism and that only official members of the National Guard or Militia Association attended these programs. Is that correct?

General WILLIAMS. This is completely correct, as stated.

Senator THURMOND. My purpose in emphasizing the "quality_control" of these educational programs is that I could not comprehend why the New York Post attacked this program on the 25th of May, 1961. I would like to read the editorial that appeared in that paper:

New York's State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, hardly overburdened with problems of grand strategy involving the deployment of armies and warships, has discovered a popular new battle terrain on which to exercise its surplus functions. It plans to play war games in the ideological area by supporting a series of seminars ostensibly dealing with the danger of communism. Its first campaign will be an engagement in Albany designed to get funds for the charade. The field of anti-communism has become a game in which any number can play regardless of their political literacy. Thus, the Militia Association of New York, a private organization of military officers, is sponsoring an "education" program under the auspices of a dubious outfit known as American Strategy, Inc. Financial support now comes from private sources, but the State Division of M. & N. Affairs would remedy this logistics problem by tapping the public treasury as an official body and emerging openly as a command post.

Any connection between AS, Inc. and the Birch Society is not being advertised. But clearly the spiritual connection is unmistakable. Needless to say, the enterprise bears no serious relation to the Communist problem. But that doesn't seem to bother the players.

We trust that when the Division of M. & N. Affairs invites the legislature to subsidize the game, the answer will be loud, clear, and negative. New York needs no new adventure in knownothingism.

We have had several other examples brought out during testimony before the subcommittee of how specific news media opposed to education of Americans on the threat of communism, have systematically compromised and smeared conscientious efforts to fill these urgent needs for education on communism. The New York Post leveled the attack on members of American Strategy, Inc., who had provided lecturers and reference materials for such seminars as the one held at C. W. Post College and subsequent seminars conducted in your command.

The New York Post promoted the idea that your affiliation was with a

dubious outfit known as American Strategy, Inc.

and that the

connection between AS, Inc., and the Birch Society is not being advertised.

It is my understanding that the Military and Naval Affairs Division had a careful check made by the G-2 of First Army to insure that you were not dealing with "dubious" personnel, nor with personnel who had "connections with the Birch Society." Colonel Joyce, would you please describe the control and checks you conducted prior to the initiation of the National Guard educational programs on communism?

Colonel JOYCE. Well, you mentioned the check with G-2 First Army. As a matter of fact policy, our headquarters clears all indivi

duals who will speak to any National Guard units, or who requests use of the National Guard facilities in order to determine their position-I should say in order to determine that they are cleared-they have been cleared by First Army intelligence for whatever activity they be interested in.

may

I believe you are talking here about, or leading up to the briefing you mentioned earlier of the Governor and certain members of his cabinet in Albany. The New York Post, for some reason or other, I believe erroneously directed erroneously claimed that the entire purpose of this briefing was to obtain funds for this program, and that was not true. The program was primarily to brief the members of the legislature in New York on the activities of the Military and Naval Affairs, Division of Military and Naval Affairs.

Senator THURMOND. The New York Post stated:

New York needs no new venture in knownothingism.

It was my understanding that you had checked the experience and knowledge of the men who lectured to your personnel prior to the approval of this program.

Colonel JOYCE. Yes, sir.

Senator THURMOND. Certainly I consider Congressman Schadeberg an expert in this field, don't you?

Colonel JOYCE. Yes, sir; by all means.

Senator THURMOND. The Army officer who also participated had concluded 20 years of experience and study in the Army dealing with every facet of Communist subversion, infiltration, propaganda and agitation in numerous oversea assignments and in the United States. I believe the slanted propaganda attack on the National Guard by the New York Post is indicative of the effectiveness of pro-Communists and apologists for communism. The New York Post must have felt that this program might upset their propaganda lines of sweet lullabies of coexistence with communism. Do you see any other explanation for this editorial in the New York Post?

Colonel JOYCE. No, sir; I think that is a very good summary.

DISCUSSION ON NORMAN THOMAS ATTACK ON NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD

Senator THURMOND. General Williams, have you seen the Internal Security Subcommittee's report entitled "The New Drive Against the Anti-Communist Program?"

General WILLIAMS. I cannot identify this by title.

Senator THURMOND. In this document the New York National Guard is discussed, and the contact with American Strategy, Inc., through a retired Army Officer, is outlined as having stimulated this educational effort on communism for the New York National Guard and the Militia Association. I think you are to be congratulated for having pursued this problem. I know that you will continue this important phase of training. The obvious smears in newspapers of that type are a matter of deep concern to me. They are too uniform to be accidental or to be attributed to misunderstandings. This point was forcefully driven home in our research of your activities when we found on November 22, 1961, that Norman Thomas singled out the New York National Guard for attack. This shows the slant of this

misinformation. This was reported in the Bergen County (N.J.) Record, which I quote:

Governor Rockefeller's top military aide denies that he invited radical rightists to lecture before National Guard or other State military units.

Norman Thomas, longtime Socialist leader, made the charge yesterday in New York City.

Maj. Gen. Almeria C. O'Hara, head of the State's Division of Military and Naval Affairs, said Thomas evidently referred to seminars sponsored by American Strategy, Inc.

O'Hara said he had the organization investigated and found it anything but radical or extremist. He told a reporter the lectures were educational and concerned Communist infiltration and propaganda.

What is your reaction to Mr. Thomas' criticism of these activities? General WILLIAMS. Well, sir, as I understand the situation, the only activity engaged in by General O'Hara was to include some information on the nature and scope of the Communist threat to the Governor and members of his cabinet and selected commanders, on the occasion of this briefing which was held on or about May 19, 1961. The subsequent seminars held by the Militia Association of New York were only related to General O'Hara's activities by coincidence. They were not directed by General O'Hara, and the subject matter was not referred to him for approval prior to the time it was disseminated.

However, the same retired officer, a former member of the G-2 staff of 1st Army, was used in all of these meetings. He was the person who spoke before each of the meetings concerned-the Governor's briefing, and each of the briefings that were held by the Militia Association. We know that this same individual was entirely cleared and knowledgeable in the field.

As far as American Strategy, Inc. is concerned, the people associated with this corporation, all, I believe, Reserve officers, have participated in a great number of seminars, primarily in the metropolitan New York City area. They have not participated elsewhere in the State to the best of my knowledge with the exception of the five seminars conducted by the Militia Association of New York. I think that there was an effort on the part of the writer for the New York Post-or was it Washington Post, sir?

Senator THURMOND. This was the New York Post.

General WILLIAMS. The New York Post-I think this writer was attempting to do two things. One, to create what I understand is called a "journalistic funny," and the other was to downgrade and besmirch any activities that the National Guard might engage in to attempt to educate the public in these matters, as being a matter not directly of their concern. This is my personal reaction, sir.

Senator THURMOND. Now, it seems that Norman Thomas charged General O'Hara with inviting radical rightists to lecture before the National Guard or other State military units.

There is no foundation in that, is there?

General WILLIAMS. To the best of my knowledge there is absolutely no foundation to that statement.

Senator THURMOND. And therefore the editorial in the New York Post is untrue, it is not?

General WILLIAMS. I believe it to be untrue, sir.

Senator THURMOND. And why do you think Mr. Thomas expressed criticism?

General WILLIAMS. Mr. Thomas has been one of the foremost advocates of socialism in the United States for a great many years. It seems to me, based on my personal education, that there is certainly some tie-in between socialism and communism. The statements that Mr. Thomas made, I think, were based on his leaning in the Communist direction. If any American citizen, whether he be connected with the military or some other activity, engages in any effort to educate the public as to the truths of the Communist threat, that those people who favor communism will try to downgrade these individuals by holding them up to ridicule and hoping that such people, not wanting to be held up to ridicule, will cease to engage in this educational activity, or the promotion of it.

FALSE CRITICISMS IN NEWSPAPERS

Senator THURMOND. Is it not surprising, General, that newspapers like the New York Post pick up that type of false criticism, and present it in news columns, and editorials?

',

General WILLIAMS. Yes, sir. And of course it gives those of us who have been exposed to some education on this subject reason to suspect that perhaps our press has been in some measure infiltrated by the Communists, or Communist sympathizers.

NECESSITY FOR MILITARY PEOPLE TO BE INFORMED ON THREAT OF

COMMUNISM

Senator THURMOND. In other words, General, you feel it is part of your duties to see that your personnel are properly informed on the threat of communism, don't you? The Communists are the enemy of the free world and of the United States, are they not?

General WILLIAMS. Yes, sir.

Senator THURMOND. And we must understand this enemy to comprehend the threat. The military people particularly must understand this threat.

General WILLIAMS. I personally think that it would be highly desirable if our military people were better informed on this subject, if for no other reason than that they would be better prepared to carry out their military mission in proper spirit and with a will to do at such time as they might be called upon to execute this mission. I recall during World War II the Department of Army put out a series of very excellent films, the series I believe was entitled "Why We Fight." It was necessary to indoctrinate our troops after they had been called into Federal service as to the reason why they were being called upon to go overseas and fight.

And I think that this was too long delayed and that perhaps our people should be educated today, before they are called out to fight, as to the reason for the war that we are engaged in now on a cold war basis-so that if we get into a hot war, we won't have to start a too-late indoctrination of our military personnel.

Senator THURMOND. General, it would be important, for instance, for the National Guard and Reserve personnel, and active duty military personnel, too, to see films like "Operation Abolition," which