February 22, 1942

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. McCLOY:

I am leaving for San Francisco at 5:00 tonight and will arrive in San Francisco about 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. I will appreciate your calling General DeWitt and explaining to him the purpose of my trip so that he will understand it fully. If you have not done so, I suggest you call J. Edgar Hoover and ask for his cooperation and full assistance to General DeWitt.

I talked with General DeWitt at 1:15 p.m. today, and he is most anxious that the legislation providing sanctions be pushed. I talked to the Judge Advocate General and he has approved the draft in the form I worked out with you the other night.

General DeWitt feels that the court should not have an alternative to fine or imprison, but that the statute should make imprisonment mandatory. He feels that would have a more salutatory affect. He also feels that the maximum imprisonment ought to be on the felony side rather than on the misdemeanor side because you have greater liberty to enforce a felony than you have to enforce a misdemeanor, viz. you can shoot a man to prevent the commission of a felony.

It might be well to send the bill up to the hill in the more drastic form and let them cut it down in committee, if they insist.

I called J.C. Ingrebretsen, who represents the Los Angeles and Southern California Chambers of Commerce here. He is a good man and has a very profound influence, with the Pacific Coast particularly with the California delegation. He is very interested in the general problem and will help us push the legislation if we so desire. He can be trusted absolutely.

In the event for any reason you wish to contact him, his office phone number is REepublic 6080 and his home phone number TAylor 7771. He suggests that Costello or Tolan, or both, of the House would be good sponsors and that Hiram Johnson and Wallgren would be good sponsors on the Senate side. If you desire it, Ingrebretsen can get these people to drop identical bills in the hoppers of both Houses at the same time. For your convenience I attach hereto an alternate draft of bill, making it a felony, which I am sure General Cramer would clear without difficulty or/delay.

Karl R. Bendetsen