RICHARD HELMS, DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210112-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 21, 2014
• Sequence Number: 112
• Publication Date: June 30, 1966
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release @50-yr 2014/02/21 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210112-3
/---
1
,. . ,) 1. ote 30, 1966::'-
.. - ? ? ? ,. . :.: -
, ... CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOU
. .
- - .-:-., :, .4.:::.....,,,.,,..-..,,, 4,...,...?,4 :,:v.,..?.,
' . ' .' '''. '... ? ' ? .\.. kind to the CIA but I have been Most in- '
??? terested in the almost universally favor-
/ able response which Mr. Helms' appoint-
:: ?
; , -:-.;-:: ? ,;-?:,?` .i. *. , ..,.
. /, ment has received. I wish to insert in
?2e7'-', ? . the RECORD at this point a selection of
? f!"': . these articles. '
, r . ' ? . I do not agree with those who are criti-
. - 0
? .". . i rector; but I do agree with the universal '? , cal of Admiral Raborn's tenure as Di-,
....c?-? ? ?? '''' 41- ? - l
H
M
i
acclam over r. ems' appointment.
. .
?? ? The articles follow:
: (Prom the Pittsburgh Press June 20, 1066)
SE
. ?EXCELLENT Cxo:cr:
I '
1 -::::CHARD HELMS, .DIRECTOR -0F the Government's top career intelligence
..
,? . ? President Johnson chose well in elevating
i CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE officer, Richard M. Helms, to directorship of
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
RIV.7::RS of South Carolina asked Dick Helms is an .exceptionally able public
as givon permission to address the -servant. The words customarily used to de-
1 :-,- for 1 minute, to revise and extend. ? scribe hini?"brilliant," "dedicated," and
???.narks. and to include certain press ? ."unblased"?are accurate. . .
? v. ' . ,".? .:.:-s.1 . Going from the Navy into the Office of
. "Ii'. RIVERS of . South Carolina. Mr.' . Strategic-Services (the CIA's predecessor) in
1043; Mr. Helms has spent the years since ,
Si-caker. on Tuesday; the Senate con- 'continuously in Government intelligence.
fic:ned the nomination of Mr. Richard_ -
, rising through the ranks and until only little
: Helms to succeed Adm. William F. Ra- ? more than a year ago ho was named deputy
le.- . ? born as Director of Central Intelligence, director of the CIA under the now retiring-
. ' At, his confirmation hearings the Senate ?Admiral William P. Reborn.
V,-?.
z ? Committee on Armed Services welcomed Thus, he knows inside-out the faults, ?
i'.
;Nil'. Helms' appointment enthusiastically
strengths, plans and machinery of this most
.,
?? " an:i unanimously approved his nomina- complicated, controversial but all-essential
Goverhment agency. His record commends
Lon. I, too, wish to welcome Mr. Helms and fits him to take over the reins.
to this position.. I look forward to a close He knows that one of the greatest needs
aw;aciation with him in my capacity as of the CIA today is a better public image? ?
c.'.irman of the House Armed Services not that It is nearly as bad as some claim.
CIA Subcommittee. ? " , But it needs to be better, for it is an agency ?
During the past 14 months, my close essential to the welfare of our country. ..
a.-4Loc:iation with Admiral Raborn has Many in the Scripps-Howard newspaper
. . be-.::: one of the most pleasant aspects of organization have known Dick Helms since
? ? in:. duties as chairman ? of the Armed tohfenaptrieo-nWaier
adnverdtatsyisngwhfoernnhkee
wInascliadinriecothlisr
: ' Services Committee. I, and a number.. Times, a sister newspaper. p ?
-.... of my colleagues, have already paid trib- . Our Wager is he can turn in the perform-
t .ute to the admiral's record of distin- once required.
guished service as a career naval officer -? -
..? ? and more recently as Director of Central i [From the Washington:- Post, Tuesday, June
... . Intelligence. He responded to a call ?? 28, 1966)
?? ? from the President and Performed his. .CIA CHANGING OF GUARD?AGENCY BEING
job splendidly. ? We all extend him every ? .? VINDICATED BY SENATE
?
good wish for the future. ? (By William S. White)
Mr. Speaker, a number of distinguished . The changing of the top guard at the
Americans have held this position which . Central Intelligence Agency is proceeding
. is so important to the security of. our smoothly notwithstanding CIA's inbuilt ca-
country.. I think it is entirely fitting now pacity to evoke more than its shore of a kind
that a man who has' gained distinction. of querulous suspicion and criticism.
;
,. through the professionalism acquired
? . through a career in intelligence work in-
cluding the holding of several senior po-
sitions within the Agency should now be
:-.? appointed the head of that Agency. Mr.
!'? Helms' professional competence was rec-
. ? ognized 14 months ago when he was ...moreover, it has become clear that the de-
?
?
?
Richard Helms, who Is to be the Agency's
director in succession to his ? resigned chief,
Adm. William F. Reborn. has been given the
'unanimous approval of the leadership of
both parties in the Senate.
Deputy Helms thus becomes Director Helms
under a powerful and, practically speaking,
an unchallengeable Senate sponsorship.
. ? named by President Johnson as Deputy mand of the Senate
14245
The whole point is that, the Russell CIA
Committee has never known a leak of na-
tional security information; the Foreign Re-
lations Committee is widely known for just
such leaks. Its effort to move in on the CIA
is not being rejected by a Senate majority
only because of the essential bankruptcy of
its argument that CIA meddles in the mak-
ing of foreign policy, but mainly because
some of its members simply cannot keep
from talking too much about some things
that should not be talked about at all.
(From the Washington Post, Konday, June
27, 1966]
The net of it is that this agency as an
institution Is in the process of a massive
vindication by the Senate. This is bracing '
Dews, indeed, to the poor old CIA, which
can never speak of its many successes and
can never even try to defend its few failures.
/t is happy news, too, for Admiral Reborn,
whose services to this country?from his
development of the Polaris missile program -
to his conduct of the CIA?has been rarely
matched.
To be sure, Reborn leaves his post?for a
resumed retirement long since promised him
by President Johnson?under criticism here
and there. Still, he can take comfort in the ?
kr).o-^-4L-Pke that the one mean who really ought
"t4? _Abe quality of his work, the Presi-
dent, is genuinely sorry to see him go. .
The President has sent to Reborn a private
letter of farewell that should convince the
open-minded that the ?Admiral did a good
. job, indeed. "In your leaving," the President
told Reborn. "you take with you not only my
gratitude but that of your fellow countrymen
who have been served so well by your unique
powers of leadership and understanding."
If this isn't a "well done" from the Com-
mander-in-Chief to a faithful old sailor, no-
body could write one.
That the President has sent it reflects, to
be sure, more than personal appreciation for
a man who has done a particularly hard tour
of duty.* It also reflects his grave concern
that all men in the' most critical and most
criticized arms of government?intelligence.
-defense. State Department?are of necessity
asked to bear burdens of such pressure as to
? make high careers less and less attractive and
Sometimes hardly even bearable.
Highly -qualified men are hard to find-
-and keep?even in times far less demanding
than these, the days of the running sore of
the war in Vietnam.
Foreign Relations Com-
Director of Central Intelligence. mittee for a part in congressional supervi-
. . It has been recognized again in his mon of the CIA is going exactly nowhere.
elevation to the top position in the CIA. The most realistic estimate is that if and
I am sure that it is encouraging to those when this proposal is pushed to a showdown
who have worked with Mr. Helms over on the Senate floor it will do well to attract
t]:c years and who are perhaps his as much as 20 per cent of tho vote.
? CIA is already supervised by a' select and
strongest advocates to see him named tO bipartisan Senate group, headed by. Senator
tl.is position.. Mr. Helms' intelligence RICBARD RUSSELL of Georgia, which demon-
career began in 1943 when he first served strably holds the confidence of a vast ma-
with the Office of Strategic Services. He ? jority of the Senate. So the Russell Commit-
. has served continuously in its Successor teo will continue to be the sole supervising
? organizations. . group: and that is that.
? I have been extremely impressed with ? All this state of affairs is understandably
Mr. Helms in his numerous appearances most pleasing to the CIA, which has long
before our CIA Subcommittee. I am sure been the top villain in all the bureaucracy
it is a comforting thought to Admiral
to a small minority in Congress. These mon
simply cannot accept the hard reality that a
.Raborn, as he, leaves his Position, to tight secrecy over clandestine operations is
know that the job is indeed in good the unavoidable price exacted by the kind Of
hands. .The press has not always been world in 'which we live. ? ' ?
? ?
?
CIA'S NEW CHIEF A DETERMINED PRO
(By Marquis Childs)
Those' who occupy the seats of the mighty
in this Capital are more often than not
showy figures expanding like tropical flowers
in the public glow. They measure their
success by clocking the time they get on
national television.
Just named to 1111 one Of these seats is a
Man whO falls completely outside the, pat-
tern. It is doubtful if one American in a
thousand could identify Richard M. Helms,
who will be director of the Central Intel-
ligence_Agency. And, if be has ever ap-
peared on television, it has been by the
sheerest inadvertence.
Even more remarkable in this hothouse
. atmosphere is that this is the-way her In-
tends it to be. As a pro in the intelligence
business himself, Mr. Helms has every inten-
tion of making the agency a professional
? operation. The dUemma of secrecy for a
vastly expandligence opera , sem
. ing a democracy in which the very Word
secrecy inspires the itch to break it down,
? is his to resolve.
Although it was not known at the time,
. the White House on a previous occasion seri-
ously considered putting Mr. Helms in the
position to which he has now been named.
The argument was tpat, since the CIA is a
? ?
? ?
? . ?
? . .' ?
Declassified and Approved For Release @50-Yr 2014/02/21 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210112-3
? ?-$
: ? 1
Declassified and Approved For Release @50-Yr 2014/02/21 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210112-3
14246 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE
professional outfit. It should be headed by
. a pro with along background in the business.
? Instead, the President named a retired
Admiral, William F. Rallorn, Jr. Reborn was
a high] y successful organizer and admin-
istrator in putting through the Polarts?sub-
Marine program. But, with no background .
In intelligence, he proved an unhappy choice .
as commanding officer on the bridge of the .
phantom ship of state which tife CIA repre-
sents. For six months or more, Mr. Helms
has been directing operations and Admiral '
Raborn's presence has been less and less felt.
. The power of the CIA is a fact of con-
, temporary life. It is embodied in the huge .
white structure completed five years ago at
.- Langley, Va.. across the Potomac and oc-.
cupled by at least 6000 of CIA's employes.?
, Perhaps another 10,000 or 15,000?the totals
?? are -secret?operate in .every corner of the ?
world.
? Part of Mr. Helms' task is to apply dis-
cipline and restraint to an organization that
many _critics feel is overgrown and overly
? . eager. The CIA's moving into its great
?white headquarters was. in the view of these
same critics, a grave error, in that it adver-
tised an agency that by its very nature '
should have abjured 'advertising.
? Although he directed CIA's covert, or black,
operations, Mr. Helms fits none of the stereo-%
types of the spy thriller and the innumerable
spy films of recent years. Slender, soft-
spoken, modest in demeanor, married for 20
? years and the father, of one son, he is not
even a distant relative of James Bond. ?
His sparse official record released by the
White House when he was appointed is also
modest. Educated partly in Europe, at a
German high school and a famous boys school
in Switzerland, he speaks French and Ger-
man fluently. ? Graduated from Williams Col-
lege, ha was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his
junior year. He worked in Europe for two
years for an American news service and from
? 1937 to 1942 as national advertising manager
for the Indianapolis Times. -
. Mr. Helms, who is 53, got his grounding in
intelligence in.the wartime Office of Strategic
Services, where he served as a Navy lieuten-
ant (jg). From then on, his career has been .
curtained by secrecy. He 'is said to have had
a lot to do with the U2 spy planes, which were
? extraordinarily successful in prying into the
Communist preserve until a U2 was shot
down over Sverdlovsk in 1960. That put an ?
end to the summit conference -with the
? Soviet Union. ? ?
- Today?and this is, part of the challenge'
confronting Mr. Helms?spying, along with
. almost everything else; is being transformed
. ? by revolutionary new technology. The Samos
satellite replaced the U2 and, as it courses
through outer space, it sends back for analy-
sis by CIA technicians photographs as de-
tailed as those taken from the plane at 60,000
feet. '
? ' ? The new director also is confronted by the
bad press the CIA had had. Books and maga-
zine articles have assailed and ridiculed the
agency. The best known of the books, The
Invisible Government, fired the wrath of-the
'CIA with the accusation that at times it has
exposed the "cover" of agents whose useful-
ness was thereby ended. ?
What irks Mr. Helms and his associates is
that these attacks fail to point out that the
CIA ia a counter to the far greater and more
powerful intelligence operations of Commu-
nist Russig"and China. That is the Helms
concept-7-a professional agency . operat1ng
? withoUt publicity in a tough professional
sphere.
when Richard Helms was named to replace
Admiral William Reborn, 61, as director of
the CIA. And, as usual, there were ,count-
less cloak-and-dagger theories to explain the
switch. President Johnson compounded the
conspiracy theories by burying the news in
a clutch of routine personnel announcements.
Actually, Reborn had an understanding
with Johnson, when he took the job 14
months ago, that he would stay only a year
or two; thus his departure was hot unex-
pected. A retired line officer with a flair for
administration, he brought to the sprawling
spookery in Langley, Va., modern manage-
ment techniques for analyzing, projecting
and distributing the inchoate mass of in-
formation that pours In on the agency from
every corner of the world. ?
Unlike his immediate predecessors, John
McCone and Allen Dulles, Reborn sought no
policymaking role, was far less concerned
with the substance of intelligence, and his
detached air drew criticism.
Dick Helms, 53, has made his career in
? what Washington calls the "Intelligence com-
munity." A 'Williams College graduate and
a newsman before joining the Navy in 1942,',
he served as an 0S8 officer during the war
and signed up with the CIA at its founding
in 1947. He rose to?become deputy director ?
for plans?meaning covert operations?under
McCone, and has since handled the agency'S
delicate relations with Congress while simul-'
. taneously directing most of the CIA's pure-
'Intelligence functions as Raborn's first dep-
uty. He thus became the first professional
ever to head the agency, and about that at
least there Was no mystery.
(From the Washington Star; June 24, 19661
GOOD NEWS FOR THE CIA
June 3O,'1963
?
As it turned out, Admiral Raborn's rela-
tions with Congress proved far from happy
and his complete inexperience in intelligence
work and foreign affairs were serious handi-
caps. Ho was a good man in the wrong job.
Mr. Helms is a career intelligence officer
who has had primary responsibility for much .
of the C.I.A.'s administrative work in tho last
few years. He is experienced, sophisticated
and knowledgeable. Moreover, he is highly
regarded by the C.I.A. corps which has been
riven by internal quarrels.
Good as the appointment is, it does not
lessen the desirability of tighter Congres-
sional supervision over this crucial agency.
Legislators expert in foreign affairs should
share with members of the armed services
and appropriations committees the duty for
overseeing an organization whose work di-
rectly affects?and sometimes even makes?
foreign policy..
The combination of a more effective direc-
tor and more effective Congressional watch-
dogs could do much to heighten public con-
fidence that the vast powers of CIA. will not
be abused.
(From the Washington Star, June 10. 1966
}Wass IS NAMED CIA CHIEF AS AD74 MAL
' RADOM/ RESIGN s
(By Garnett D. Hdrner)
William F. Reborn Jr. is resigning as Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency director after less
than 14 months on the job. .
President Johnson announced Raborn's
resignation yesterday along with the pro-
motion of a career professional in the - ? .
Intelligence field?Richard M. Helms?to suc-
ceed him.
Helms, 53, who got into the spy business .
while in the Navy during World War IX.' has
been with CIA since it was created 10 years
ago and has been deputy director under
Reborn.
The President gave no reason for the resig- ?
nation of Reborn, a 61-year-old retired vice
admiral, except that he wants to return to -
his home in California. But there have been 1_
recurring rumors of unhappiness at high
levels within the administration about Ra-
born's direction of the CIA. .
ANNOUNCES CHOICES
At a press conference in his office, Johnson
also announced he intends to nominate:
Dr. Samuel M. Nabrit, president of Texas
Southern University, as a member of the
Atomic Energy Commission to succeed Mrs.
Mary I. Bunting, who resigned some time
ago. Nabrit is a brother of Dr. James M.
Nabrit Jr., now U.S. deputy representative I
to the United Nations, who plans to return ?
to his post as president of Howard University
here in the fall.
Dr. Gerald P. Tape, for reappointment as
a member of the Atomic Energy. Commis-
. sten. He has been a member of the AEC
since 1963.
Reset H. Hyde, a Republican first named to
the Federal Communications Commission by
President Truman in 1952, for reappointment
to the FCC. The President also said he plans .
to designate Hyde as FCC chairman.
Nicholas Johnson, now serving as federal ?
maritime administrator, to fill a vacancy on
the FCC created by the May 1 resignation -.
of E. William Henry. former FCC chairman.
DEPUTY PROMOIT.D
' Winthrop Knowlton. now deputy assistant
secretary of the treasury for International
affairs, for promotion to assistant secretary.
He would replace Merlyn N. Trued, who re-
signed recently.
The President also named Henry D. Owen,
a member of tho State DepturtIDCIICS Policy
Planning Council for 11 years, as chairman
of the council. He succeeds Walt W. Rostow,
recently named a special assistant to the
President.
Raborn's resignation as CIA director came
in the midst of an attepapt by the Senate
For the Central Intelligence Agency, which
has been going through a difficult period, the
appointment of Richard M. Helms to succeed
William F. Raborn. as director is a heartening
development.
? The new director, who has served as
Raborn's deputy for the past 13 months, is
the first thoroughgoing professional Intel-
. ligence agent to be given the top job in the
agency. He has been with the CIA since it
was formed in 1947, having previously served
in the Office of Strategic Services during
World War II. He is widely respected
throughout the government intelligence com-
munity and enjoys excellent relations on
Capitol Hill.
The appointment amounts to belated rec-
? ognition in the White House that intelligence
work is a highly specialized activity demand-
ing the best in professional talent. Reborn,
a retired vice admiral, was handicapped as
director by his lack of previous experience in
intelligence work and in the field of foreign'
? affairs. In recent months, criticism of the
CIA in Congress has become increasingly out-
? spoken and morale within the agency itself
has suffered.
.? ? The change in leadership does' not mean
that all the problems of the CIA will disap-
./ pear. Criticismin Congress, and pressure for
tighter supervision by congressional com-
mittees, is likely to continue. It is to .be
? hoped, however, that increased confidence
within the agency itself may lead in time
? to greater public and congressional con-
fidence in the activities of this vita! arm of
the government..
(From the New York Times, June 2..0, 19661
[From Time, June 24, 1966)
A PRO FOR CIA
Central Intelligence Agency, which
trie: ,:ot too successfully to stay out of
the r.,:ws, makes it big when it has something
that it *ants to tell.. So it was last week
NEW CHIEF FOR THE C.I.A.
The Central Intelligence Agency needed a
change of leadership, and President Johnson
"has picked the best avsi::. hie man In Deputy
Director Richard Helms. Admiral Reborn,
tho retiring director, was chosen in 1064 be-
cause he had done an outstanding Job in de-
veloping tho Polaris missile and, in the proc-
ess, had established excellent relations with
Congress. It did not hurt that he was a
Texan who campaigned for Mr. Johnsen. ?
Declassified and Approved For Release @50-Yr 2014/02/21 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210112-3
Declassified and Approved For Release @50-Yr 2014/02/21 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210112-3
_
Atm" 30, 1966
ati
?
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE 14247
? Foreign Relations Committee to put three
of its members on a special congressional
watchdog committee for the CIA headed by
Sen. RICHARD B. RUSSELL, D-Ga.
There wore no official indications whether
? the approaching battle in the Senate over the
' proposal to enlarge the watchdog group had
anything to do with Raborn's resignation. ,
CONTROVERSIES AROSE
There has boon criticism of Reborn in
' some quarters on the grounds that as a mili-
tary man ho was not familiar with CIA cloak- ?
? and-dagger operations and that there had
been morAle problems in his administration
of the-agency.
In recent months, the CIA has become in- .
volved in an increasing number of contro-
versies. Two court Suits, the Senate dispute
and a red: Of newspaper and magazine arti-
cles have :ill raised questions about the
agency's oecrations.
? emn..i: Is magazine, in its April Issue,
charged filet Michigan State University had .
? provided a "cover" for CIA operatives in
Viet Nara. .
Univereity officials acknowledged that CIA
men were employed in the project, but said
7:ot knowingly hire any CIA men--
ni-,d we found out about their role, we
time the Michigan State con-
eroversy 'erupted, the Star disclosed that an
Estonian immigrant had filed a $110,000
slander eelt, in U.S. District Court in Balti-
more agi);not a fellow immigrant whom the
CIA icientlfied as one of its agents. .
Eerik /Trine, who `Jed the suit, alleged that
Jrui Rau:. the CIA employe, was instructed
by the ie .eligenee egency to warn Estonian
immigra,? ? e in this country that Heine was a
"dispai re. 1 Soviet Intelligence operative, a
NCB a
Both : ie CIA r.lni Rates have contended
that Rri??? w:is acting as a government, offi-
cial and therefore was immune to slander
sults. Tee court has not yet ruled on
whether li41 defense can be accepted.
Membe-s of the Senate Foreign Relations
Comenit tee, led by Chairman J. W. FULBRIGHT,
D-Ark., have voiced concern about allege-
. Lions that the CIA Is playing an increasing
. role in Influencing foreign policy. ?
Another controversy developed after For-
. eign Af:eirs. a prestigious -quarterly, pub-
' lished an article on-"The Faceless Viet Cong,"
written by George A. Carver Jr. It was sub-
sequently learned that the author was a full-
time CIA employe, but the magazine, in a
short biography, did not identify him as
such.
Last month, the widow of a retired Marine
colonel eied an $800,000 damage suit in U.S.
District Court in Norfolk, alleging that her
husband committed sucide because of drugs
administered to him while he was being in-
terviewed for a CIA position. . ' ?
"There is no basis for the charges," the
CIA said. ? "No. drugs or medicines were ever
administered to him at any time during his
. contacts With agency officials."
Reborn was named in April last year by the
President to succeed John A. McCone, a Re-
- - publican West . Coast industrialist; as CIA
' director.
' Johnson pointed out yesterday that Raborn
was retired when he asked him to come to
. Washington to serve "for a period that would
? be agreeable to him." He said he told Ra-;
born at the time that he hoped Helms could
succeed him at the end of his tour of duty.
Johnson opened his press conference yes-
terday with an announcement of the first as-
signment of funds to projects around the
country under the new rent supplement
housing program. ? .
He said $600,000 has been set aside to pro-
vide for more than? 1,000 units of "modest
but decent housing" in Boston, Cleveland,
New Orleans, New York, Omaha, Philadel-
phia, Providence, San Antonio, Saginaw,
Mich., Pasco, Wash., the Watts area of Los
Angeles, and the Delta area of
Congress appropriated the first money last
month under the program approved Is:-. year.
Johnson again yesterday urged the Si::,atc to
approve appropriations to carry the ?ereerarn
forward in the fiscal year beginning July 1.
In response to questions, the President in-
dicated that he hopes for a .compromise to
win Senate passage of the controversial open
housing provision of the pending civil rights
bill.
"We do have difficulties," the President re-
marked. "We are trying to resolve them .
and get a oni .that can be approved by a
majority of the Congress . . . We are hope-
ful we will get a good civil rights bill as near
our recommendation3 as possible. We don't
always get all we ask for." ?
? ?
[From the Washington Star, June 19, 10661
C/A CHIEF HELMS IS FIRST CAREER MAN To
DIRECT. AGENCY
"I know we've been critized a lot," the new
director of the Central Intelligence Agency
said yesterday, "but I don't believe a lot of
it to be at all fair.
"All told, I think we have done a fine job
over the years."
Richard McG. Helms, a career man with
CIA since -its founding nearly 20 years ago,
gave this appraisal in a telephone interview.
Colleagues in the normally supersecret
agency were happy to add their words of
praise for the 53-year-old former newsman
who now heads one of the U.S. government's
biggest and most important organizations.
? President Johnson announced at a news
conference that retired Adm. William F. Re-
born, the Polaris submarine developer who
took over as CIA chief following John A.
McCone's departure a year ago, has decided
to go back to his California home.
Helms was raised to CIA's No. 2 spot under
Reborn with the idea of grooming him for
the top. $35,000-a-year job when the ad-
miral departed, Johnson said.
The 6-foot-l-inch, brown-haired and
brown-eyed Helms is, in a sense, the first
career intelligence man to be promoted to the
top of the CIA. His most widely known
predecessor, Allen W. Dulles, had long experi-
ence in Intelligence work, but was also a
lawyer before going on the CIA roster in 1951.
BRILLIANT, DEDICATED
? Those who know him describe Helms as a
brilliant, dedicated, unbiased person?"the
finest product of the CIA."
He was assistant to Richard ?BLssell when
Bissell was director of plans and then re-
placed Bissell in 1062, the year of the Bay of
. Pigs, when Bissell resigned.
As assistant and then director for plans,
Helms supervised the so-called "black opera-
tions" of CIA?the action branch of -the
agency.
He was considered a protege of Bissell, who
although criticized for aspects of the Bar of
Pigs operation, was recognized as a brilliant
operative himself and is credited for many
successful CIA operations?including the 112
spy plane flights over Russia.
ANONYMOUS ROLE '
"Although he (Rabor'n), had no desire to
return to Washington," the President added,
"he agreed to come and serve for an in-
definite period. He has done that. Now he
desires to return to California."
Helms was named deputy director at the
same time Rabern was picked to head the
agency. Helms had been- deputy director
for plans since early 1962, when he suc-
ceeded Richard M. Bissell Jr. .
No. 108-20
His anonymity may serve him well in
handling the CIA's current problem with
Congress. The Senate Foreign Relations
Committee has been seeking to have its mem-
bers named to a Senate subcommitee that
oversees the agency's operations.
Efforts at a compromise leave been unavail-
ing, and Reborn Friday told Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman J. Wn.tamit Fermeracier,
fl-Ark., he would refuse to give members of ?.
FULBRIGHT'S group any information about the
sources of CIA information or the methods
the agency uses.
Helms, a native of Saint Da*.:?I's, Pa., In
suburban Philadelphia. gradur.te:l from \VII-
liam.s College in 1935 with Phi neta Keppa
honors and other achievements Including his
class presidency and editorship of the college
newspaper.
In 1935-37 he was a United Press corre-
spondent, and from 1937 until 1042 he was
national advertising manager for the Indian.'
apolis (Ind.) Times.
His government intelligence work began
after he joined the U.S. Navy in World War
U. As a lieutenant junior grade, he Went
with CIA's- wartime predecessor?the Office ?
of Strategic Services?in August 1943.
After his Navy discharge in 1946 he joined
the War Department's Strategic Services Unit,
From there he went to the Central Intelli-
gence Group, which in 1947 was formed into
the CIA with Helms as a deputy director.
During such time as he gets off, Helms likes
to spring about a tennis court, go for walks
and read.
Mr. ALBERT. Mr. Speaker, will the
gentleman yield?
Mr. RIVERS of South Carolina. I am ?
delighted to yield to the distinguished
majority leader.
Mr. ALBERT. Mr. Speaker, I desire
to associate myself with the remarks of
the gentleman in oommending the Presi-
dent of the United States for appointing
this distinguished career public servant
to this most important position.
Mr. RIVERS of South Carolina. I
. thank the gentleman.
Mr. CTF-r--\T-D R. FORD. Mr. Speaker,
will then?---)man yield?
Mr. RIVERS of South Carolina. I ant
glad to yield to the distinguished mi-
nority leader.
? Mr. GERALD R. FORD. It has been
. my privilege to know Richard Helms for
a number of years. I first became ac-
: quainted with hint when I was on the
Defense Subcommittee on Appropria-
tions and he was a witness before the
subcommittee. I grew to know him bet-
ter as a member of the Subcomtnittec on
Appropriations which had a special in-
terest in the Central Intelligence Agency.
Mr. Helms is a career man of the high-
est caliber, a man who has, by his ability
and his record, reached the top of this
Important vital Agency of the United
States.
I also commend the President for rec-
onunending Richard Helms to the im-
portant position of Director of the Cen-
tral Intelligency Agency. I am sure tho
Agency is in good hands under his lead-
ership. . ?
Mr. RIVERS of South Carolina. _ I
thank the gentleman from Michigan. I
agree with him. This is one of the finest
appointments the President of the
United States has ever made in the in-
terest of the security of this great Nation.
Mr. HOLIFIELD. Mr. Speaker, will
the. gentleman yield?
What role Helms played in this and other
operations is not publicly known. Various
books and articles ditical of CIA operations
mention Helms only in passing?as an un-
biased, capable and efficient operator.
Declassified and Approved For Release @50-Yr 2014/02/21 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210112-3
Declassified and Approved For Release @50-Yr 2014/02/21 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210112-3
14248
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE
Mr. RIVERS of South Caroling. I am
happy to yield to the distinguished gen-
tleman from California.
Mr. HOLIFIELD. I wish to add my
remarks and my approval of the remarks
that have been made today in regard to
_ both the distinguished career of Admiral
Raborn and the appointment of Mr.
Helms as head of the CIA. I wish
also to compliment the President on the
? appointment of Richard Helms to be Di-
rector of the CIA. I have the utmost
confidence in the appointment and be-
lieve that Mr. Helms will make a dis-
? tinguished and valuable contribution to
our Nation's safety and security.
Mr. RIVERS of South Carolina. I
thank the gentleman.
Mr. Speaker, in future days the CIA
will come under criticism by certain
elements of the press, as it has in the
past. This man needs our backing. He
needs the backing of everyone in the Ex-
ecutive Department and he needs the
backing of America, because we must not
see the importance of this great agency "
eroded and downgraded by people wh
avg ulterior motives toward our Nation
? COTTON RESEARCH AND
, PROMOTION
Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I call up
the conference report on the bill (H.R.
12322) to enable cottongrowers to estab-
lish, finance, and carry out a coordi-
nated program of research and promo-
tion to improve the competitive position
of, and to expand markets for, cotton,
and ask unanimous consent that the
statement of the managers on the part
of the House be read in lieu of the
report.
The Clerk read the title.of the bill.
The SPEAKER. Is there objection to
the request of the gentleman from North
Carolina?
There was no objection.
The Clerk read the statement. ?
(For conference report and statement,
see proceedings of the House of June 29, '
966.)
? Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I move
the previous question on the conference
report.
The previous question was ordered.
The conference report was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the
table. -
? As this report indicates, we have
reached the end of a very long road.
After June 30, 1966, for the 'first time in
49 years, there will be no Government
unit whose sole task 'will be the process-
ing of alien property matters arising
from the wartime seizure of property.
Some alien property work remains which
cannot be completed by June 30, 1966,
principally because it is affected by lipga-
tion or proposed legislation. ? These re-
maining matters will be completed in the
future by the part-time work of person-
nel of the Civil Division of the Depart-
ment of Justice. But this does not de-
tract from the fact that as of April 30,
1966, the staff which has completed the
processing of about $900,000,000 in vested
property will have closed all but about 50
of the more than 67,500 claims which
were filed, all but about 450 of approxi-
mately 62,000 accounts, and it will have
pending only about 30 of the more than
7,000 cases which it has litigated.
The imminent closing of the Office of
Alien Property is another step in our
determination to find the most efficient
way to serve the American public. In
the War Claims Act of 1948, as amended,
Congress has authorized thousands of
American citizens to file c,:aims against
the net proceeds of vctcd property
which are maintained in the War Claims
Fund. Since the casts of the Office of
Alien Property are deducted from the
proceeds of vested property, closing the
Office will soon mean the end of deduc-
tions of its administrative costs, thereby
leaving more funds for the claimants to
share. And the public generally will
benefit by the absorption into other
necessary work of the mere handful of
knowledgeable and dedicated. employees "
who have brought this fruitful work
? virtually to its close.
LYNDON B. JOHNSON.
? THE WHITE HOUSE, June 29, 1966.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE
? OF ALIEN PROPERTY FOR FISCAL
YEAR 1965?MESSAGE FROM THE
PRESIDENT , OF THE UNITED
STATES
The SPEAKER laid before the House
the following message from the Presi-
-dent of the United States; which was
read and, together with the accompany-
ing papers, referred to the Committee
on Interstate and Foreign Commerce:
To the Congress of the United States:
I am pleased to transmit the Annual
Report of the Office of Alien Property for
Fiscal Year 1966 as required by Section 6
of the Trading with the Enemy Act. It
is the 23rd report of proceedings under
that Kct.
THE PRESIDENT'S ALLEGED LOSS
OF POPULARITY?EXCERPTS
FROM THE SPEECH DELIVERED
TO THE NAVAL RESERVE OFFI-
CERS' ASSOCIATION OF CINCIN-
NATI, JUNE 20, 1966, BY THE HON-
ORABLE JOHN J. GILLIGAN -
(Mr. ALBERT asked and was given
permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his re-
marks.)
Mr. ALBERT. Mr. Speaker, our dis-
tinguished colleague, the gentleman from
Ohio [Mr. GILLIGAN] has made an ex-
cellent speech before the Reserve Offi-
cers' Association of Cincinnati on June
20, 1966. I ask unanimous consent to-_
include with my remarks at this point in
the RECORD excerpte from that speech.
The SPEAKER. Is there objection to
the request of the gentleman from Okla-
homa?
There was no objection.
The excerpts referred to follow:
EXCERPTS FROM THE SPEECH DELIVERED TO THE
? NAVAL RESERVE OTTICERS ASSOCIATION 07
CINCINNATI, Jtmic 20, 1080
Much is heard today about the plummet-
? lag popularity of President Lyndon Johnson,
as reflected in public opinion polls being
June 30, .1.6.6
taken around the country, and such noted
writers as Walter Lippnaann have ascribed .
the President's alleged loss of popularity to ."
our involvement in the conflict in South Viet .-?
Nam. For instance Mr. Lippmann recently
wrote, "The polls, pins the California- pri- .?
;nary elections have shown that the Presi-
dent no longer commands the great majority
which elected him in 1964. This is the fact ,
of the matter; there is room for much differ-
ence of opinion about why this has hap-
pened and what it means.
"Certainly the gross figures of the polls do '
not reflect a simple alignment of opinion
for and against our part in the Vietnamese
War. The current majority disapproves of
the President's conduct of the war."
I think it is fair to say, as Mr. Lippmann
does, that a great many Americans are uia-
happy with the war in Viet Nam; and, in-
deed, we would be a pretty sorry nation if .
our people did not have the most profound
distaste for war and imperialistic adven-
tures. It would seem evident that the Presi-
dent takes the blame for the ,fact that the
war has .not ended, indeed, that it ever :
started, and that it cannot be prosecuted to a
quick and easy conclusion. But I think that
acknowledging that fact is not quite the
same thing as saying, as does Mr. Lippmann, '
-"there is no easy solution available to the
President or to us. The President has mis-
conceived and misjudged the war, and the
consequences, whether he leans now to the
Hawks or the Doves, will he bloody, embar-
rassing and sterile. While the war goes on,
the mood of the counl:y grows angrier, and '
the hope of dealing with our truly gigantic
problems by reason, good will and. concen-
sus is vanishing."
It would appear to me that such learned
and erudite men as Mr. Lipprnann, as well
as some of the other critics of the President,
Would have developed-somewhat greater his.. -
torical perspective by contemplating the role
that other Presidents have played at times
of national crisis, and what happened to '
their popularity at the time.
For instance we are accustomed to look
back at the Civil War through the rosy
glasses of history and sentimentality and
think of that era as a rather romantic period
of gallantry ? and grace. All of us have ?
learned from the cradle all the stories about
the gentle and beloved Abraham Lincoln,
Who was enshrined in the hearts of all of
s countrymen. Nothing, of course, could
be further from the truth.
In November, 1864, Abraham Lincoln won ?
reelection to the Presidency by a very nar-
row margin and his opponent, General Mc-
Clellan, ran on a "peace platform-, in which
he promised that if he were elected Presi-
dent. a speedy armistice would be negotiated
with the Southern States, and the seceded
states would be given the right to determine
whether op not they wanted to return to
the Union, and whether or not they wanted
to abolish slavery.
It was widely .held and argued that all of
the slaves of the South were not worth the
life of ? one Union soldier, and instead of
the rather peaceful, but noisy, clemonstra--
the peaceniks of today, there were
bloody draft riots in New York
' when hundreds of men (largely recently
arrived Irish immigrants) burned and looted
and pillaged in the most violent sort of pro-
test against being drafted Into the Union ,
Army. .
? When we realize how narrow was Lincoln's.
? margin of victory in that fateful election,
we would do well to recall that only the,
? people in the North were voting, and that
if the Southerners had been able to cast
ballots in that election, Lincoln would have
. been disastrously defeated.
If there had been Gallup Polls in 1884,
.. Lincoln would have cut a very sorry figure;
and if the term, concensus, had been part
Declassified and Approved For Release @50-Yr 2014/02/21 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210112-3