Evening star., 1935-02-24

Federal Bureau OF lnVeSClga-
tion, group of special agents,
with fingerprint equipment,
magnifying glasses and other para
phernalia, entered room at the De-
partment of Justice where crime"
had just been committed.
On the floor OF the disordered room
lay a body, one arm outstretched to-
ward a pistol. Nearby was safe, its
door open and its rifled contents
spilled out upon the floor.
Chairs were overturned, drawers of
q desk were pulled out and other fur
nishings were in marked diSarray.
The group paused for moment in
apparent bewilderment as its men,
bers surveyed the scene.
"All right, gentlemen" said the
veteran officer, you are confronted
with a murderous bank robbery. Get
busy and investigate it,
Such Grimes" as this are being
committed and investigated regularly
in the new Department of Justice
Building-all for the sake of better
law enforcement.
The corpus delicti is Oscar" limp
and helpless dummy, who has been
murdered" and kicked around re-
peatedly by student-agents attending
one of the StrangeSt institutions in the
world-the Bureau of Investigations
scientific crime detection university"
The fake murder-robbery inveStiga-
ton is but one of series of test
leases" which neWly-appointed agents
must study, analyze and report upon
before they are adjudged ready to fare
forth in quest of kidnapers. murderers,
bank robbers and other public enemies
on the list "fugitives wanted"
THE alumni of this university num-
- Der approximately 600 men. They
are the quiet, straight-shooting &c
men" whose activities in recent years
have thrown CONSERVATION into the
ranks of organized crime as no other
single agency before them has done.
Out Of this school, organized in a
small way several years ago, have
come such heroic foes of gangland as
Agents Herman E. Hollis and w. Car
ter Baum, who lost their lives in
smashing the machine cunning Dill
linger gang. Cowley was in personal
charge of the squads which shot and
killed both Dillinger and Pretty Boy"
Floyd, and he and Hollis shot it out
with Baby Face" Nelson in the fatal
gun battle at harrington, Ill. Baum
lost his life in the battle with Dillin-
gers gang at the Little Bohemia Inn.
"Our men are not gunner and So
called trigger men," J. Edgar Hoo
yer, director of the bureau, explained.
"But every one of them is trained in
the use of firearms. They have never
received any 'shoot-to-kill orders, but
II any gangster raises a gun against
them, they have blanket orders to
shoot first and shoot straight"
These men, more than 83 per cent
Of whom have had previous legal
training or were expert accountants
before entering the field of law en-
forcement, are being taught how to
shoot straight in special pistol gall
lery in the basement of the new JUS
tice Building and on the rifle range
at the Quantico Marine post.
Two weeks are spent in actual trig-
ger practice with revolvers, machine
guns, high-powered military rifles,
automatic shotguns and gas guns.
Each agent is expected to qualify as
q marksman, sharpshooter or expert
before he goes into the war against
the underworld forces Of outlawry.
The firearms course includes prac-
tice in running gunfire." Expert
ence with the Dillingers and Nelson's
and Floyds and Barkers has shown
that such training may come in handy
when the chase is on. To qualify in
running gunfire an agent must be
able to hit moving target while fir-
ing from q rapidly moving automo-
bile. Running gun battles" simu-
lating actual fire on the crime front
are held at stated intervals on the
Marine reservation.
A training stunt that is even more
spectacular is a raid" staged on a
certain vacant house near Quantico
by the students. On the hypothesis
that the house is known to be hide
out Of dangerous Federal fugitives.
the hovices are shown how to plan
and carry out a raid with view to
capturing the occupants. Roads are
s'hlocked off," q Gordon Of agents Is