Special Section: THE WARREN COMMISSION REPORT

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presidential trip is considered on duty at all times. Such agents are forbidden to drink beer, wine or liquor. But the Commission says: "After the President had retired to his hotel, nine agents who were off duty went to the nearby Fort Worth Press Club at midnight or slightly thereafter, expecting to obtain food; they had had little opportunity to eat during the day. No food was available at the Press Club. All of the agents stayed for a drink of beer, or in several cases, a mixed drink. According to their affidavits, the drinking in no case amounted to more than three glasses of beer or 1½ mixed drinks, and others who were present say that no agent was inebriated or acted improperly.

"The last agent left the Press Club by 2 a.m. Two of the nine agents returned to their rooms. The seven others proceeded to an establishment called the Cellar Coffee House, described by some as a beatnik place. There is no indication that any of the agents had any intoxicating drink at that establishment. Most of the agents were there from about 1:30 or 1:45 a.m. to about 2:45 or 3 a.m.; one agent was there from 2 until 5 a.m.

"Each of the agents had duty assignments beginning no later than 8 a.m. that morning. In Dallas, one of the nine agents was assigned to assist in security measures at Love Field, and four had protective assignments at the Trade Mart. The remaining four had key responsibilities as members of the complement of the followup car in the motorcade [the car behind the President's]. Three of these agents occupied positions on the running boards of the car, and the fourth was seated in the car."

Under agency regulations, Chief Rowley could have fired the men."However," says the Commission, "he felt that any disciplinary action might have given rise to an inference that the violation of the regulation had contributed to the tragic events of November 22. Since he was convinced this was not the case, he believed that it would be unfair to the agents and their families to take explicit disciplinary measures." To which the Commission commented: "It is conceivable that those men who had little sleep, and who had consumed alcoholic beverages, even in limited quantities, might have been more alert in the Dallas motorcade if they had retired promptly in Fort Worth. However, there is no evidence that these men failed to take any action in Dallas within their power that would have averted the tragedy."

Experimenting with Risk. The Commission recommends a thorough overhaul of the Secret Service. It urges that the agency aggressively seek information about potential dangers to the President, instead of waiting for tips to dribble in. It suggests that the agency should make trade agreements to swap information with all other federal security agencies, and that it should work more closely with local police departments. It also urges Congress to pass a law making assassination of a President or Vice President a federal offense so that the FBI could bring its full forces to bear immediately and prevent any of the Texas-type "embarrassment and confusion" that can result when local police take charge.

Actually, the Secret Service has been streamlined somewhat since Nov. 22. It has taken on experts in such fields as psychiatry and data processing, is experimenting with methods of