316. Memorandum From the Secretary of the 303 Committee (Jessup) to Director of Central Intelligence Helms 1
SUBJECT
- Art Hartman
At a lunch with Arthur Hartman of State on Monday, March 16 the following emerged:
- 1.
- I would describe Hartman as an entirely serious foreign service type with superior intelligence accompanied by some propensity for modesty and humility. He is Dep/Dir for Coordination for William I. Cargo’s Planning & Coordination Staff—17 strong.
- 2.
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On OPRED he stated that this was very much the President’s personal crusade, that he had a strong belief that bureaucracy must be pruned continually or it will spread like crab grass. A book which had [Page 705] impressed Nixon very much is Peter Drucker’s The Age of Discontinuity which has trenchant observations on the evils of bureaucracy.
He said the President sometimes exhibited impatience as when he finally ordered by phone a 33% reduction at Clark Field in the Philippines. He stated that the President on his European visit had unfortunately gone to several large Embassies where the Ambassadors had ordered a full turn out including dependents; and this had given Nixon the idea that there were enormous numbers of Americans everywhere, particularly in Embassies.
Hartman said many Ambassadors were no help in the reduction business; he cited Graham Martin as a glaring example of empire building. He cited Saigon as being virtually dishonest with their figures purposely leaving out Tonsanut Airbase.
Comment: Hartman and some of his colleagues may find the President’s bent for reduction (if indeed this allegation is accurate) an excellent vehicle for State purists to put the squeeze on agencies satellited on to State overseas.
- 3.
- Hartman acknowledged that most of his difficulties with Under Secretaries Committee papers were caused by his State colleagues who were opaque to the interests and positions of other government agencies. He stated that they still did not have an agreed statement on the Dutch request for Nuclear Subs for the President (6 months old) and Laird now wanted to dissociate the Pentagon from whatever went forward from Richardson.
[Omitted here are brief notes on several miscellaneous items.]