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

Joint Congressional Committee, Pearl Harbor Attack: Reports 833
imposed in them fulfi ll the duties of their respective offi ces
under the constitution and laws of the United States?
Th e subsidiary and specifi c questions are:
1. Did the high civil, military, and naval authorities in
Washington secure in advance of 10:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) December
7, 1941, information respecting Japanese designs and intentions
suffi cient to convince them beyond all reasonable doubt
that war with Japan was immediately imminent?
2. If so, did they give to General Walter C. Short and Admiral
Husband E. Kimmel, the commanders at Pearl Harbor, clear
and defi nite orders, immediately prior to the Japanese attack,
instructing them to be fully alert for defense against such an
attack?
3. Was Hawaii adequately equipped for its defense against a
Japanese attack in accordance with the known circumstances?
4. Did the commanders at Pearl Harbor take the appropriate
measures required by the orders issued to them from
Washington, by the duties of their respective offi ces, and by the
information in their possession and the resources at their disposal,
to maintain the security of the possessions of the United
States as far as that responsibility was invested in them? 12
Th e Minority Report objected to the trouble the committee
had in obtaining documents. Th e proposal presented to Congress
just before the death of FDR in April 1945, to prevent all disclosure
of U.S. cryptanalysis activities, had failed to pass, thanks
to the charges of censorship raised by Ferguson. 13 However, the
members of the Joint Congressional Committee still encountered
obstacles to obtaining documents crucial to their investigation.
12Ibid., p. 496.
13Senate Bill S.805. See Congressional Record, April 9, 1945, p. 3196, and
Congressional Record, April 11, 1945, p. 3267.