particular person, that wouldn't cause you to put someone in "O" and "P"? It is only when the FBI says put the person in "O" or "P"?
Miss KNIGHT. Only when a request is specific.

Mr. Coleman.

How about category "R", if you will put that in the record.

Representative Ford.

May I ask a question first, what is the criteria for the determination as to whether or not a person is a Communist?
Miss KNIGHT. Well, the criteria are based on the information that we get from the investigative agencies regarding his activities and membership in the Communist Party.
I think that it would help you very much if, for instance, I would spell out what the lookout file actually is and how it operates in the Passport Office and just what the categories mean to us. This would only take a minute and I think this would clarify things.

Mr. Coleman.

I have picked out the categories that I think you would have to consider, and that is the reason I put the question to you.
Miss KNIGHT. The purpose of the file is rather important because it is twofold. Its principal role is to identify the applications which require other than routine adjudication in determining an applicant's eligibility for passport services. The second role of the file is to identify certain incoming applications and to insure expeditious action on them.
As background, I think it is important to know, that prior to 1955 the lookout file was part of a master index comprising 20 million 3 by 5 inch cards.

Mr. Dulles.

20 million?
Miss KNIGHT. 20 million. Within this voluminous file were 600,000 pink slips. Now these were known in those days as "catch cards," and these were withdrawn in 1958 to establish the nucleus of the present lookout file.
The reason for doing so was quite obvious. It was impossible and totally impracticable to clear every passport application across a 20 million card file which was expanding at the rate of 1 million cards a year.
Cards at that time were being made for every applicant and his relatives who were listed on the passport application. Every individual whose name appeared in any investigative report which was sent to the Passport Office, whether or not the individual applied for a passport; every individual who appeared before an investigative committee of Congress, whether or not he applied for a passport; as well as persons whose names appeared in such situations as gambling raids, lottery winners, and so forth. These were all in the passport file, and part of the master index.
File experts from the General Services Administration estimated at that time that 30 percent of this master index was misfiled.
By a program of refinement in 1959 and 1960, the lookout file was reduced to 415,000 cards. We felt we were reasonably safe in disregarding catch cards on persons who were a hundred years old or over. So these were eliminated from the files.
From the standpoint of accuracy in identification, the cards that remained still left much to be desired in the file.
Now again I would say these were not "cards" in any sense that they had physical substance. They were 3 by 5 inch slips of tissue-thin pink paper. They were very mutilated and many of them were totally illegible.
Many of them were of no significance since they contained no identifying data, such as place or date of birth, no full names, no reason for the inclusion in the file. As far as we could determine they were not related to anything in the Passport Office.
So further culling and screening reduced this basic fie to the present size of 250,000 cards.
This project was very----

Mr. Dulles.

Is that two or four?
Miss KNIGHT. 250 now.

Mr. Dulles.

250. It is different.
Miss KNIGHT. We had reduced it to 450,000 and we culled it some more and it is now 250,000.

Mr. Dulles.

That is a reduction from the earlier 450,000?

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