Leach Cites Problems Of U.S.A.F. Secretary

"A major problem of a Secretary of the Air Force is the division of his loyalties between his superiors and the service which he heads," W. Barton Leach '21, Story Professor of Law said yesterday. He should solve this problem, Leach stated, by being a loyal subordinate, while, at the same time, making a forceful presentation of the interests of his service to Congressional investigating Committees.

Leach delivered his ideas of what a Secretary of the Air Force should be and do, in a talk to Army and Navy ROTC students. He spoke in the second person, as if to an appointee for the post. Leach ventured the opinion that his observations, were 98 per cent applicable to the Secretaries of the other service departments.

A reserve Brigadier General of the Air Force, Leach has been adviser to all Secretaries of the Air Force since the war. The only interruption in his service came when Secretary Talbot fired him. "We just couldn't see anything eye to eye," Leach said.

Leach says he has seen cases "pretty near lying," when agreeing with the Presidential budget and appearing to be "a member of the President's team" is given undue emphasis. Opposition to an administration budget may win "significant frowns," he said, but he has never known officials to be relived of their duties for it.

Leach accented the need for personal relationship between the Secretary and members of the relevant committees in Congress. Some, he said, are too shy to make these contacts. Others may be put on the defensive by the physical resemblance of the committee room to a court of judgment. Leach felt that the successful Secretary must overcome these difficulties to establish a working partnership with Congress.

In the question period, Leach listed the services in order of their influence in Congress. The Marines, he said, have the strongest support. They are followed by the Reserve Officers Association. In an aside, he noted that he felt the Reserves "are designed for nothing more than Indian Wars."

The Navy is followed by the Air Force, whose strength in Congress Leach attributed to the work of Sen. Stuart Symington (D-Mo.). Leach said he couldn't account for the fact that the Army holds the worst position in Congress.