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to do with, to either condone or participate in any sense whatsoever, any plagiarism at all.

Is that a fair statement?

Mr. CASEY. That is my testimony, Senator, yes.

Senator BROCK. Thank you very much.

The CHAIRMAN. Would you like to bring the other two witnesses

up?

You said two, didn't you?

Mr. CASEY. Two or three.

The CHAIRMAN. Would you like to call them up?

Senator PROXMIRE. I presume this will not complete Mr. Casey's testimony?

The CHAIRMAN. No; I imagine he simply wants to release them. Suppose we take a 10-minute break. The reporter is getting a little weary, I think.

(Recess.)

The CHAIRMAN. Let the committee come to order, please.

Now, have a seat, give your name and occupation for the record; we shall appreciate it.

STATEMENT OF LEO CHERNE, RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AMERICA

Mr. CHERNE. Thank you, Senator.

I am Leo Cherne. I am executive director of the Research Institute of America, chairman of the board of the International Rescue Committee. In both capacities I have had an opportunity to know Mr. Casey rather extensively. It so happens that the Research Institute of America was the first serious employer of Bill Casey some months or a brief period of time, I don't know precisely at this point whether it was as much as a year after he graduated from law school.

He was added to the staff of the Research Institute as a young tax lawyer. He learned tax law at the Research Institute. Within a brief period of time he developed such a significant understanding of this most complex field of government that his area of responsibility were rapidly enlarged.

By the end of 1938, I, his employer, was deeply involved in assisting the War and Navy Departments, the Army and Navy Munitions Board to be precise, in the completion of the final industrial mobilization plans for World War II. This effort flowed from the fact that we at the Research Institute were persuaded after the Munich Pact that war in Europe was likely.

The Assistant Secretary of War, Louis Johnson, got in touch with us to request our assistance in two things. Assisting them to perform certain tasks in connection with industrial mobilization and especially to make public to the labor and business community particularly for the first time the details of industrial mobilization such as would be needed in the event of a wartime emergency.

As a result of my increasing involvement with the details of industrial mobilization, I am pleased by Bill Casey's very rapid understanding of complex areas of government regulation; I asked him to take over charge of the entire staff of the Research Institute.

Before the end of 1939, Mr. Casey had already participated in a massive study, one which Senator Vandenberg characterized as monu

mental importance to the Senate Finance Committee, a study of pension plans, profit-sharing plans, and incentive taxation in the field of pay plans.

The Senate Finance Committee conducted an investigation of those areas with a view to modifying the Federal tax laws towards adding further incentives. I mention that one because the area that Bill Casey was then involved in, as it turns out, 18 years later with 18 years' further experience, is the area of expertise involved in this multivolume loose-leaf service in which plagiarism had occurred.

Let me say in that connection, I will return briefly to Casey, that the Research Institute has many times the number of subscribers enjoyed by the Institute of Business. I am happy to say that because we are, in fact, in competition with each other. It does, in fact, make this testimony a litle awkward for me because I am in effect testifying on behalf of a competitor.

But in connection with the performance of the kinds of business services that are involved in the Fields case, let me say that the Research Institute has at no point paid for a manuscript of the total size of the Fields manuscript, a sum in excess of $2,500 for the total use of such a manuscript.

Let me also say that it is inconceivable to me, not that plagiarism occurred, but on the question of punitive damages which means the existence of willful misconduct, malice, personal participation, or wanton disregard, it would be most inconceivable to me that one who is one of the country's leading specialists in this particular field of law would, in fact, have the slightest incentive, either himself or to encourage anyone else, to take 211⁄2 or 5 or 15 pages of an obscure manuscript. I refer to Casey.

Now, the work which the Research Institute did in the field of industrial mobilization led very rapidly after the declaration of war in Europe to the institute's preparing a very large loose-leaf service in the entire field of war controls.

William J. Casey was in charge of that operation. The most massive we had ever undertaken. He recruited for that purpose distinguished European experts in the fields of price control and priorities. Price control especially being an area of the United States that had no particular reason ever previously to have contact with.

Europeans regrettably in their post-World War I experience had ample reason a number of times to attempt to control inflation via price controls. I mention this as an indication of the enormous creativity that Casey evidenced at a very early period in his exposure to Government regulation.

As a result of that creativity he began increasingly to be called upon by agencies of the Government, War Production Board, Office of Price Administration, to assist them, consult with them, consult in connection with the preparation, for example, of the extremely complicated controlled materials plan.

By 1943 Bill Casey felt that having played a strong role he did in articulating for the business community, Government, labor, public, generally, the whole field of war controls, he felt that his personal course of conduct obligated him to enlist directly in the war. He did so in 1943 and, not surprisingly, within weeks was selected by General Donovan to be the assistant to David Bruce and to be the personal

liaison for David Bruce in contact with the French underground. The CHAIRMAN. That was Wild Bill Donovan?

Mr. CHERNE. That is correct. OSS. As a result of again the very quick mastery of that undertaken, as he had mastered those at the Research Institute that I previously described, within months he was selected by General Donovan to be the director of all European Theater Intelligence operating out of London.

In that connection he again assembled an extraordinary group of specialists. A group including one of the most distinguished authorities presently in the field of international law, Professor Milton Katz, who, I understand, is here and can speak more directly to Casey's operation of that critical office, others like Arthur Schlesinger, others like Lazar Tepper of the International Ladies Garments Union, a most remarkable assembly of bankers, economists, intelligence experts, lawyers.

This in one of the most sensitive of all areas of activity. Incidentally, let me say before he did enlist he had already been employed as chairman of the board of directors of the Research Institute guiding the work of some 40 lawyers all of them specialists in the whole range of generalized regulations affecting business.

On his return from the war he returned to the Research Institute. Some measure, incidentally, of the stature of the role he played for the Research Institute, when he left his successor as chairman of the institute board of eductaors was Leon Henderson, who in accepting that responsibility indicated that he felt, having retired from OPA, this was the most effective way he could further advance the war effort.

When Bill Casey returned to the institute he returned now to take a very substantial part in the institute's work in connection with reconversion of the economy, the new obligations, the needs of the management which had been made sophisticated by the war, but Casey was restless.

He took increasing leaves of absence. I think the leaves of absence are significant. The first one was for the purpose twice of assisting in requests that he participate in the panels which within the Truman administration defined the needs out of which arose America's postwar intelligence apparatus.

The next leave of absence occurred in connection with the request of Bill Basey that he play a part in shaping the apparatus which administered the Marshall plan. This whole range of Casey's commitment to public service, in my opinion, has not emerged and if the public is in fact to understand both the capacity of the appointment to an office as serious as this as well as the quality of commitment such a man would bring to it, I do think that I am bringing to this distinguished committee details which have far greater consequences, of enormous importance and one which may begin to shed some further light on whether or not the questions which have been raised about certain marginal activities of Bill Casey's are quite as relevant as they very understandably on first blush appear to be.

Let me say, incidentally, that his sensitive concern, especially for those who in any country have been deprived of freedom, in totalitarian countries, Communists and Facists have led me twice to turn to Bill Casey, first for a period of 2 years as a member of the Board

of International Rescue Committee and then the International Rescue Committee participated very actively in Vietnam in 1954 assisting in the resettlement of some of the 900,000 who fled from North Vietnam to South Vietnam.

Our programs of assistance were terminated in 1960. At President Johnson's requests made of a number of voluntary activities that they enlarge their activities in Vietnam. We returned in 1964 to find, as you gentlemen know far better than I do, a picture as complex as it is tragic in order to assist in determining what it is that the International Rescue Committee might meaningfully do in that tragic morass, Iagain turned to Bill Casey in 1965.

He went to Vietnam, intensively studied the needs, the refugees, the orphans, returned to the IRC with his recommendations. Those recommendations led to very substantially more effective and larger programs, humanitarian in nature. Because of his recommendations we requested him to accept the chairmanship of the International Rescue Committee, this last fall he was elected president of the International Rescue Committee.

Again some measure of the nature of the man, I recall very vividly two episodes. I will take the latter one first and then I will conclude and answer any questions you may have.

Organizations like the International Rescue Committee have always had great difficulty of attracting public support for finance. Their overseas undertakings and others. As a result, we have to choose the things we undertake to do to help people. Something less than a year ago we had an intensive full-day examination of all of our programs and I specifically recall Bill Casey's recommendations to his colleagues that above all else we enlarge the assistance we provide to those fleeing Greece, those fleeing Haiti, and those political refugees fleeing totalitarian countries in Africa.

Again I feel it is relevant in an effort to determine what kind of man is nominated to a public post. Now, the other episode which I would not have thought of bringing to the attention to the Committee except for the heated language that occurred in a room where a deposition was taken that I misheard for the first time today.

I must honestly say, in 33 years of knowing Bill Casey, frankly, I have never heard him so aroused as he was on this occasion. In fact, I know him for quite the opposite. It was on August 22, 1968, 2 days after Soviet tanks moved into Czechoslovakia, within hours of that Tovement, incidentally, Bill Casey phoned me and asked if he could e of any help to the committee. If so, he was prepared immediately to fly overseas. I indicated I was flying to Vienna and it would be helpful if he flew to Munich; from Vienna I could survey the situation of outoming refugees across the Czechoslovakia border in Austria; in Munich, Casey was to do the same for the border between Germany and Austria.

Casey spoke to a number of people including Willy Brandt; he said the German border was sealed tight; no function the International Rescue Committee could perform and he said he thought he would join me, which he did. The day after he arrived the news in Austria was that the frontier was open and traffic was in fact proceeding both ways. With the knowledge that the frontier was open and recalling the role

that the International Rescue Committee was able to play during the Hungarian revolution in 1956, I made the decision that we would make an effort to get into Czechoslovakia, established contact with some of the student groups involved and see if we might be of help. Normally we do not enter a country from which a refugee flow does or may occur. We went to the frontier, secured, checked entry permits from the Czechoslovakian officials. At that point on the frontier we were some 3 miles from Bratislava. We proceeded to within 1 mile of Bratislava when our path was blocked by Soviet tanks.

The circumstances made me anxious, feeling-I think you may understand. As to what happened at that point, we were approximately 100 yards beyond a watchtower and in that watchtower two Soviet soldiers were on duty. There appeared to be an automatic weapon and one of the Soviet soldiers was peering down on our car with binoculars and that increased my anxiety.

In any event I sought now to try to get permission to proceed or go back to Austria and talk to the Soviet major who spoke English. I tried to establish some conversation with other of the Soviet soldiers who either didn't or chose not to speak English. We were there what seemed to be an interminable period of time and I must now say that to me the most irritating part of that entire period of time was Bill Casey. Because as my agitation increased and there was nothing in the posture of the guard tower or the behavior of the Soviet tanks designed to diminish my anxiety, he was sitting in back of the car reading an Allen Drury novel. I finally couldn't contain my impatience and went up to him and said, "Bill, for God's sakes, can you tell me how you can read at a time like this?" To which he responded, "Can you tell me anything else I might usefully do?"

Now, let me say, knowing him for 33 years and during that interval of time there has been an interval of time in which I have been irritated with his behavior. He left the Research Institute in order to compete with the organization I then headed and still do.

I have no reason to value or welcome that fact. I have had no financial association with him. Our politics have always diverged. But in 33 years I have known Bill Casey nor do I know anyone else who has known or work with him who has confronted a capacity for a complex undertaking as great as his, a passion for government or a student of government as astute as Casey is or an integrity equal to his.

I literally in 35 years have never known Bill Casey to say anything to me or to anyone I have known which wasn't true.

The CHAIRMAN. Did I understand that you head up the Research Institute?

Mr. CHERNE. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. For how long have you done so?

Mr. CHERNE. Since January of 1936.

The CHAIRMAN. And you have been so engaged ever since?

Mr. CHERNE. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. I remember a great deal of your work back preparing for World War II.

Mr. CHERNE. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you remember a radio program they used to have called "Town Meeting of the Air?"

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