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. Offic Memottndum - TO : Mr. d. Edgar Hoover DATE: Yarch 5, 196i — _ rector, Federal Bureau of Investigation’ . ~ FRO _ Peyton Ford ; nar il eputy Attorney General A: Moke -- sy “HIGHLANDER FOLK SCHOOL eS _Information Concerning a a a "This will refer to your memorandwm of February 26, blast reply to my memoranda of February 19, 1951, regarding correspondence from Mr. Myles Horton, Director of the. Highlander FOLK School, Monteagie, Tennessee, and from Mr. Albert E, Barnett of the Can School of Theology, Emory University, Georgia. With the letter from Mr. Myles Horton I transmitted a draft of a proposed reply for your comment. In your memorandum under acknowledgnent you_siate in cone nection with this proposed letter to Mr. Horton "I cannot accede, to \ £1 the proposal of having our Agents_ ; conduct. interviews at the High- \ lander Folk School which would require our Agents to submit written interrogatories at all times in all matters upon which the FBI may ~ be seeking information from the Highlander Folk School." You add, furthermore, "I_cannot a accede to any restriction w which would pro= hibit the FBI from interviewing any person it saw aw fit" and add further that "rather than accede to any such restrictions, I would prefer to ‘instruct our Agents to refrain from any contact with any member of the Highlander Folk School staff." I note further from a letter which you addressed to Mr. Roger N. Baldwin, Chairman, Na~ tional Commi ttee, American Civil Liberties Union, under date of February 26, 1951, you advised him that since your contacts at x the school have either been misunderstood or have become a source of irritation to Mr. Myles Horton, director of the school, you issued instructions to discontinue any direct contacts with BeERT RREN resentatives of the school, “a : Sear - In this connection I want to draw careful attention to R Zio draft of the proposed reply r to_Mr «Horton — which - T _forwarded with my ¥ memorandum of February 19 and to point ont. that I did not suggest +yat~ you “secede “ES” ths “request of “of ur. Rorton, My firat point was —- tha w that there ‘Should normally be no serious objection to having agents of the Bureau make their contacts at one central point; that is, the director of the school. This would not mean that further contacts may not be necessary or desirable. My second assumption in pre- - naring this draft was that if during the interviews it was desired to make stenographic recordings of the guestionsa and answers, or to answer questions propounded by the preparation of affadavits, I ‘Tcould see no objection to that course of action. In fact, it would -geem that there might be considerable advantage to the Bureau. My er ed Aes fos amy ry = SPVilo ses ays letter did not contemplate that you accede to “the request that you submit written questions in advance with regard to the seeking of information. . + RECORDED - 129 | 6/-7//- S¥ Lae bo a siiit 18 1961 * : £ f eecong creases Bes nas ere: eur tote oes