Secret Is the Word for OSI
Chemical & Engineering News · 1956
OPERATING UNDER A SECRET DIRECtive and making progress reports that are classified for security reasons are things not usually associated with a government agency dealing with unclassified information. Yet this is the way the Commerce Department's Office of Strategic Information operates, OSI director Erwin Seago told a House subcommittee last week. OSI has been severely criticized in many quarters for attempting to censor unclassified information. Last year at the ACS Minneapolis meeting, Seago's explanation of the functions of OSI drew protests from the audience (C&EN, Oct. 3, 1955, page 4162). ► Congress Investigates. Last week the House Subcommittee on Government Information, headed by Rep. John E. Moss (D.-Calif.), held hearings on the information policies of the Commerce Department and its Office of Strategic Information. In his testimony, OSI director Seago said that the functions of his department are these: • To provide a central clearinghouse to guide science, industry, and business on a voluntary basis ...