The Federal Loyalty Program: Background and Problems

Since the promulgation on March 21, 1947, of Executive Order 9835 “prescribing procedures for the administration of an ‘employees’ loyalty program in the executive branch of the government,” there has been widespread discussion concerning the nature of disloyalty, its probable extent in the federal service, and the desirability of the loyalty program.One point of view, among some members of Congress and elsewhere, is that this loyalty program does not go far enough to meet what is regarded as the serious menace of foreign (that is, Russian) directed or inspired subversives in the government. A sharply contrasting attitude, also voiced by a few Congressmen and by others, is that the menace is exaggerated for various reasons and that the program constitutes a “witch hunt” aimed at liberals generally and a dangerous attack upon civil liberties. Between these two extremes are gradations of opinion accepting the principle of the program but with reservations of varying intensity as to some of its standards and procedures, and with a watchful eye on its operation and on its effect within the federal service and outside.