YOU ASKED FOR IT, PROFESSOR GOLDMAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000300110002-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 5, 1998
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: February 24, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-R
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
BULLETIN
e. 709,751
CPYRGHT
S. 687,065
From E ?'I" CPYRGHT
rose B Tel 1964
Date:
CPYRGHT
You Asked for It, Professor Goldman
By WILLARD WEST
Of the Editorial Page Staff
President Johnson recent-
ly named a Princeton Uni-
versity history professor,
Dr. Eric F. Goldman, as his
-tea man. His principal duty
i-vitl be to channel the "best
i hinlzing" of the country to
t lie President.
ti Dr. Goldman humbly ad-
ritted that at the moment'
me hasn't any really bright
!r ideas, but he invited one and
all to write letters to him
if they have any. He said
the letters could be sent
either to Princeton or' the
White House.
We've drafted one but are
a little timid about sending
it and haven't yet gotten
around to signing it. The
letter follows:
Dear Dr. Goldman;
It's our belief that the gov-
ernment needs a fresh insight
into the problems it faces, es-
pecially in foreign affairs. We
seem to have a fixation on how
to solve these problems, and
too often come up with the in-
correct solution. For a while
it was called "brinkmanship"
and now it's "ClAmanship"
but the solutions always seem
to create more problems. .
My proposal is that the
scientists should take over the
State Department. And, the
best way to do this is to let
them set up their computers
and circuitry and apply the
sound principles of data pro-
cessing.
As a professor, you are, no
doubt, well versed in the ad,
vances made by data proces-
sing in science and business,
r.
FEB 2 4 1964
177
J..I l
l: i
and now the Internal Revenue
Service.
For example, in space ex-
ploration our satellites are
now flashing back to us
enough information each day
to fill 422,306 I,B 1 ?cards, This
is a formidable amount of
knowledge and it is rapidly
being processed in our success-
ful assault on the heavens.
In lesser fields, data pro-
cessing each day brings new,
wonders. One computer is now
making progress in translating
Chinese to English.
Are we not at the point
where such machines could
take over the overworked and
harassed State Department?
Some newspaper friends
point out that we now have a
risis a week. These crises
eem to confront us each Mon.
lay morning. and last through
he week, usually being solved
the wrong way-by Friday.
Ithough sometimes they go
hrough the weekend.
Data processing certainly
ould deal with these matters
aster. The scientists probably
ould set up a machine, per-
aps a 5-Day-Cycle Cataclysm
It= C3 C= C3 A
o,o a000 0
(30?G -
DD DD QOH
INSTANT WEEKEND
CRISIS ANALYsIS,
tna yzer. Feeding all avail-
ble information into such a
omputer might bring the
ight solution within minutes.
A Weekend-Cycle Solution
issector would free untold
hundreds of state Department
employes for rest on Saturday.:
and Sunday and give them an
opportunity to get to the job M Monday morning refreshed
nd unhampered.
Last week our dilemma was
n island-Cuba. Why not a
ata processor, the Instant In-
ular Retaliator? It could deal
vith a whole hutch of problem
lands: Zanzibar, Cyprus, Bor-
eo, Great Britain. Isthmuses,
ke Panama, could be process-
d in the same machine.
We have Cyprus all this
eek but the IIR might.have
rlved the whole thing last
1-scientific approach, could
developed. There could be
5-Year Peninsular Speculator
take up the questions of
let Nam, Laos, Cambodia,
c. And a Harmonic Land-
ass Calculator for Russia,:
ina and our latest problem,
ance.
There are many other pos-
te ways of data-processing
r foreign policy. But it is' I
alized, of course, that you i
st want your. letters to be',
ief since there will be so;
ny other ideas coming tog
u.
Just one thing more. Isn't
e Post Oifice.carrying its--a-u-.7
ation a little_too far, by, tak?;
away the corner mail.;
Yours truly,
FOIAb3b
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00149R000300110002-8