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qeetra t coy ef OFFICE WEMORANDUM UNITE. STATES COVEHMLENT TO : MR. TOLSON DATE: 4/23/48 SUBJECT: Congressman Hankin of Mississippi telephoned. He introduced a bill in Jamary, 1947 to make the FEY an independant agency. He has not been able to get appropriate action that pleased him and he stated that the Congress of the United States shauld have a source of information go that it can be Nept informed as to world needs — ~ with an atomic bomb hanging over the heads of everybody it is a shame that the Congress can not find ot what is going on — = and he imows that the hands of the FM are tied. He wanted to know the present salary of the Director, and I told his, He stated that his original bill would contime the Director's salary as it was then - $10,000. He is going to get a petition to bring this bell to a vote and on the floor he will move that the Director's salary be increased to $15,000. He stated that he had no doubt that the bill would pass if he can get it oot m the floor. I informed him that, as the Director had told him personally ami as I had assured hin several times, he could not indicate any approval or disapproval mee bt ade te SE. DI abadbat hat he 21) aoete on Une part of the Director or anybody 40 VAS fOhe He Svavou Wiew ie Viwer ay understands this; that thie 1s a matter that he is sponsoring personally; that he thinks the Government needs this; that, as he said on the floor before, John Edgar Hoover is the most important official of the Federal governmneat. He said that he wanted to tell me that if the Republicans hdd any dam sense they would nominate he for President and I told him that if the Democrats had any sense they would too. He seemed surprised that the Director had no active political affiliation and I told him facts that the Director had been born and raised in the District ia. He wanted the Director to lnaw of his nlane. A hhe shd fae ERT St es