Evening star., 1936-08-23
Capital Sidelighte
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Visitors to the Capital these days are
taking a special interest in the "G-men's
School" operated by the Department of
Justice. A succinct statement regarding
this school was given before the House
Appropriations Committee by j. Edgar
Hoover, director of the Division of In
vestigation. Both he and the Attorney
General emphasized the necessity for the
very careful training Of agents. I'VE
have q training school," he said which
we maintain for all new appointees.
They attend this school over a period Of
eight weeks. The trainees are required
to attend school morning. afternoon and
night. In other words, 1t is very in
tensive course Of training. 1t includes
firearm training. They are given scien-
tific instruction in the crime laboratory
and in the identification division. We
have lectures selected from our own ex-
perts and from experts affiliated with
other Government units
We have established In the new
Department of Justice Building a pistol
range where firearms training is con-
tinued. do not want 1t to be believed
or felt that we are trying to develop a
group Of so-called trigger men. We
lay particular emphasis not only upon
the fact how to shoot, but when to shoot.
The use Of firearms Is q matter to which
we have had to resort very seldom, and
notwithstanding all of the statements
which have appeared in the press to
the effect Of orders being issued to shoot
to kill, no such orders have ever been
issued. We have only killed in the last
year four desperadoes-WIbur Underhill.
John Dillinger, Babe Face Nelson and
Pretty Boy Floyd. These men were
killed, each one Of them, either actually
engaged in gunflre with us or drawing
a gun to fire. We have never killed
single one Of those men until he has
drawn a gun to shoot at one Of our
agents"
The G-men's School has a very COM
prehensive course-it runs all the way
from sand-box to shooting machine guns
on the Quantico range. including riding
electric horses and plenty of foot work
on the roof under the sweltering sun.
The Sand-box is used to show various
kinds of raiding operations with the
trainees figuring on how many men are
needed and how they should be placed.
~
Now that the entire country is inter-
ested as never before in stream pollu-
ton, both as economic waste of a very
important national resource for all sorts
Of industry. but even more so from the
public health standpoint. there is
new handbook on the subject available.
This is book Of hearings on the subject
resulting from a resolution introduced
four years ago by Senator Lonergan of
Connecticut. The greatest authorities
In the country at those hearings dis
cussed the problem of stream pollution
from all angles and advocated a Federal
policy, with the cooperation of local
sanitary boards to correct this situation.
Representative Louis Ludlow, Demo-
crat of Indianapolis Ind, who is credited
with being the first man to go directly
from the Capitol press galleries to seat
election. His is normally and historically
a strong Republican district and this
year the Republicans have pitted against
him an unusually strong candidate.
Born on farm, Ludlow tramped bare
footed. with his shoes under his arm ito
save the weaD into town to get job
in q newspaper Office. He developed into
one Of the best known and hardest
working washington correspondents,
noted particularly for his LEG work" in
long swinging strides during the days
when correspondents walked from one
Eeh fN onathAr
ering their news. He wrote several
human interest books-"From Cornfield
to Press Gallery" an autobiography CIV
ing sidelights on the Nations big men;
IN the Heart of Hoosierland," q story
Of the Indiana pioneers; Senator Solo
mon Spiniedink," q satire on political
dunkum, and America Go Bust" an
expose of governmental bureaucracy. He
Press Club-and now he is chairman of
an important subcommittee Of the
Appropriations Committee.
Feasibility of q tax on labor saving
machinery as q means OF paying social
security costs, study Of which question
was called for in q resolution adopted by
the House of Representatives at its
recent session, Is now engaging the
activity of the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Department of Labor. The resolution,
introduced by Representative PalmiSano
of Maryland, who favors tax on labor
saving machinery to support the men
and women thrown out of employment
thereby, directs the Secretary Of Labor
to submit to the next session Of Con-
0ress a list of all labor saving devices
installed since 1920 and an estimate of
the number Of persons out Of work as
q result. The report will constitute. in
q measure, it is stated, an authoritative
estimate on the total productive capacity
Of the country.