Fairman Asks for Wartime Law Plan

Congress should provide for continuation of civil government in the event of a nuclear attack on the United States, Charles Fairman, professor of Law, told the Government Operations subcommittee Tuesday.

If a military government was needed after an attack it should be set up under laws enacted by Congress, he declared.

Fairman thus said that it was a mistake for President Ensenhower arbitrarily to proclaim a state of mock martial law during the Civil Defense "Operation Alert" last June.

The declaration was probably thrown together in a hurry, Fairman said. The government at the last moment realized that the President would have to take almost complete control after the utter devastation of a bombing, he believed.

As the President could not operate under existing legislation, the attorney general decided upon "limited martial law." It would provide a bridge between state and national government, Fairman said.