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Offic Memoranduny UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT Telsos -' ad TO! 6Me. Polson “fe DATE:May 13, 1954 Vaan iM hy > SUBJECT: Tele. Roos. On May 10th in the morning, Maureen Gothlin of the United Press advised Mr. McGuire that her office had received a rumor that the Director was to call a press conference at 2:00 p.m. that date to announce his retirement and to announce his successor as Mr. L. V. Boardman. Mr. McGuire informed Miss Gothlin there was no foundation to this rumor and as a matter of fact the Director was not even in the | caty but was out working. Shortly thereafter George Gaylin of Acme Newspictures called to request a photograph of Mr. Boardman as they did not have one in their files. That evening Bill Hutchinson told me that he had received a tip that the Director was going to announce his retirement. I told Bill that this was asinine and that some rumor- monger was at work. Around 10:40 on Monday night, May | 10th, Jack Adams of the Associated Press called me and stated that the Associated Press hac received a query from the Star as to whether they had any information that the Director was to retire. Checking back, the Associated Press learned that a "hysterical woman” called the Star shortly before 10:30 | p.m. and stated she had heard such a report on the radio. The Associated } Press checked radios as they monitor newscasts and could find no trace of any such report. Adams apologized for even calling. He thought that we should know that there was a rumor out. I told Adams that this was asinine, that the Director was out of the city on official business and was celebrating his 30th anniversary by working. I further told Adama that I would judge that someone was trying to stir up trouble, that we had heard this rumor elsewhere. Adams stated that certainly at appeared to him that there was some malice back of this. y 7 a In each of the above-mentioned instances, there was real concern expressed over the rumor. Bill Hutchinson, partic rly, said that he, of course, knew that it could not be true, that would be tragic indeed if the Director were to retire at this time as, in Bill's opinion, the peak of the Director's career still lies ahead. To this, I thoroughly agreed with him. Jack Adams was particularly disturbed by the fact_that somebody should be peddling such a story: woe Voy It is rather difficult to understand {he,méntality of any as person who could be so nitwitted and evil-minde &o spread such a “f/f baseless and malicious rumor. Bill Hutchins stated that he thought” \ if we had any further inquiries that the em@rt thing ‘would be/fuet sit 1) tight and thgt- fi fan days when the so-called press conference did n come off &hd the sisdglled announcement did not occur, whoever was responsible for this rumor would find the matter backfired on him. I told him that this was a good idea but that this rumor was so unfounded and so untrue that if any responsible person asked, it was felt that they are -\ LBN : rcw ca een eee awi nn aps ee