Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

778 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
Kramer: Yes, sir. . . .
Vice Chairman: And all of the fi les were in their proper order
and in their proper place and kept there in your safe?
Kramer: Th at is correct, sir. I might further amplify that
answer, sir, to this eff ect, that the so-called numerical fi le, after
a series of messages were numbered for dissemination, a copy
was invariably and immediately inserted in that numerical fi le.
Messages were never removed from that numerical fi le for reference
or for any other purpose. Th at numerical fi le had two
primary purposes, one to have a solid fi le of what had been
translated and disseminated and, two, the primary purpose was
to have something to which the translators could turn in case of
references to back traffi c when future messages were received.
We had a very complete and involved cross-index system on 3
by 5 cards, covering every originator in the Japanese diplomatic
service. By that I mean every consulate, every embassy, every
legation that originated messages had their own serial numbers
for their series of messages. . . .
From this basic numerical fi le there was no occasion that I
know of where anything was removed or destroyed from that
fi le with the exception of the fact that if it was determined later,
probably a few days or a week later, that we had two identical
messages, one of which was a duplication of another, when
that was discovered the latest numerical fi le number would be
canceled as a duplication of the earlier one. . . .
Vice Chairman: Well, could anybody have gone in there and
fi lched or stolen all of the messages relating to the winds execute
message and you have known nothing about it?
Kramer: I don’t see how that would be possible, sir, with this
possible exception, that the combination of the safe in which
these were kept, there was a copy of that combination in a double-sealed
envelope in some of the front offi ces. If that envelope
had been opened someone else would, of course, be able to