ine fashion. With the committee's concurrence, he planned no
public announcement. From his vacation quarters in Key West, Truman
added a final encouraging word: "I am sure that everything will work
out as it should."[14-132] The order opening recruiting to all races
went out on 27 March 1950.[14-133]

[Footnote 14-132: Memo, President for SA, 27 Mar 50,
FC file; Memo, SA for President, 24 Mar 50, sub:
Discontinuance of Racial Enlistment Quotas, copy in
CSGPA 291.2.]

[Footnote 14-133: Msg, TAG to Chief, AFF, et al., Fort
Monroe, Va., WCL 44600, 27 Mar 50, copy in FC
file.]

Despite the President's optimism, the Fahy Committee was beginning to
have doubts about just how everything would work out. Specifically,
some members were wondering how they could be sure the Army would
comply with the newly approved policies. Such concern was reasonable,
despite the Army's solemn commitments, when one considers the
committee's lengthening experience with the Defense Department's
bureaucracy and its familiarity with the liabilities of the Gillem
Board policy. The committee decided, therefore, to include in its
final report to the President a request for the retention of a
watchdog group to review service practices. In this its views clashed
directly with those of Secretary Johnson, who wanted the President to
abolish the committee and make him solely responsible for the equal
treatment and opportunity program.[14-134]

[Footnote 14-134: Memo, Clark Clifford for President
(ca. Mar 50), Nash Collection, Truman Library.]

Niles, anxious to settle the issue, tried to reconcile the
differences[14-135] and successfully persuaded the committee to omit a
reference in its final report to a successor group to review the
services' progress. Such a move, he told Kenworthy, would imply that,
unless policed, the services would not carry out their programs.
Public discussion about how long the committee was to remain in effect
would also tend to tie the President's hands. Niles suggested instead
that the committee members discuss the matter with the President when
they met with him to submit their final report and perhaps suggest
that a watchdog group be appointed or their committee be retained on a
standby basis for a later review of service actions.[14-136] Before
the com