291.2 (5 Apr 50).]

The matter came up again in the next Congress when Senator Herbert H.
Lehman of New York offered a similar amendment to the universal
military training bill.[15-60] Commenting for his department,
Secretary Marshall admitted that defense officials had been supporting
such legislation since 1943 when Stimson asked for help in protecting
servicemen in the civilian community. But Marshall was against linking
the measure to the training bill, which, he explained to Congressman
Franck R. Havenner of California, was of such fundamental importance
that its passage should not be endangered by consideration of
extraneous issues. He wanted the problem of federal protection
considered as a separate piece of legislation.[15-61]

[Footnote 15-60: Memo for Rcd, Maj M. O. Becker, G-1,
13 Mar 51, G-1 291.2.]

[Footnote 15-61: Ltr, SecDef to Havenner, 27 Mar 51,
SecDef files.]

But evidently not just yet, for when the NAACP's Mitchell, (p. 394)
referring to Marshall's letter to Congressman Havenner, asked
Rosenberg to press for separate legislation, he was told that since
final congressional action was still pending on the universal military
training and reserve programs it was not an auspicious moment for
action on a federal protection bill.[15-62] The department's
reluctance to act in the matter obviously involved more than concern
with the fate of universal military training. Summing up department
policy on 1 June, the day after the training bill passed the House,
Rosenberg explained that the Department of Defense would not itself
propose any legislation to extend to servicemen the protection
afforded "civilian employees" of the federal government but would
support such a proposal if it came from "any other source."[15-63]
This limitation was further defined by Rosenberg's colleagues in the
Defense Department. On 19 June the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Legal and Legislative Affairs, Daniel K. Edwards, rejected Mitchell's
request for help in preparing the language of a bill to protect black
servicemen. Mitchell had explained that discussions with congressional
leaders convinced the NAACP that chances for such legislation were
favorable, but the Defense Department's Assistant General Counsel
declared the department did not ordinarily act "as a drafting service
for outside agencies."[15-64] In fact, effective legislation to