Last Feb. 19, therefore, Gen eral McChristian ordered that both data banks at Fort Hola bird be destroyed. The data banks at Fort Hood and Fort Monroe were destroyed later. One printout from each was kept for possible court pro ceedings.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pyle's article prompted several Congressional inquiries, including one from Senator Ervin. Mr. Jordan, in a letter to the Senator on Feb. 25, said the Army had restrict ed reporting “to incidents which may be beyond the capability of local and state authorities to control and may require the de ployment of Federal troops.”

Thaddeus R. Beal, the Under Secretary of the Army, said in another letter to Senator Ervin on March 20 that spot reports on outbreaks of violence would continue but that they would be kept only for 60 days.

Three Army directives, last April 1, June 9 and Dec, 15, in creasingly tightened the restric tions on collecting and report ing information and on the use of data banks. They flatly pro hibited the use of computers to store information on civilians.

Last summer, Colonel Downie, the Pentagon's counterintelli gence chief, visited various group headquarters and field offices to see that files on civil ians were destroyed. Former agents said, however, that some agents had evaded the order by hiding files or taking them home as “personal” papers. Gen eral McChristian also ordered the counterintelligence detach ment to cleanse its microfilm of information on civilians.

Things were quiet then until last month, when Senator Ervin opened the issue up again by charging that Continental Unit ed States intelligence had spied on Senator Adlai E. Stevenson 3d, Representative Abner Mikva, and former Gov. Otto Kerner, all of Illinois.

Senator Ervin's allegations were based on statements by John M. O'Brien, a former staff sergeant who had served with the 113th Group in Chicago. He made them again under oath in a suit brought by the A.C.L.U. in Chicago. But Secretary Resor categorically denied the charges.

Scrutiny of the Army's intel ligence operations is far from over. Mr. Resor has ordered a further investigation of Mr. O'Brien's allegations. The A.C.L.U., which has lost two suits to the Army in the lower courts, will argue again before the Court of Appeals here next Wednesday that the intelligence operation was unconstitutional. Senator Ervin's subcommittee. and possibly some House com mittees, will delve into the op eration in hearings during the coming Congressional session.