Evening star., 1938-07-26
ANTECR|ME WAR
GA|NSEMPHAS|zED
keenan,, in Forum Speech,
Tells of Effectiveness of
Justice Department.

Attorney General, spoke last night or
1.-THE Federal Governments Law En-
forcement Activities" in an address
on the National Radio Forum, ar
ranged by The Star and broadcast
over a coast-to-coast network of the
National Broadcasting Co. The text
of Mr. Keenan's address follows:
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen
On the wall Of the magnificent stone
ediflce that houses the Department
of Justice in Washington is carved
the following inscription: Justice Is
the great interest of man on earth
wherever her temple stands, there is
a foundation for social security. gen.
eral happiness and the improvement
and progress of our race"
It is one of the aims of democratic
governments to achieve justice in a
true sense. That no man should be
condemned without being given day
in court and without being proven
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt are
the basic principles of criminal JUS
tice, as We view it. In these very vital
matters, countries with other forms of
government radically differ from our
own. Under relationships a person
may hear his next-door neighbor
scream in the middle of the night and
never see him again. without knowing
what fate befell him.. This type OF
law enforcement may, indeed. bring
about more speedy and efficient sup
preston Of crime, but honest citizens
are not very comfortable in such a
community
We, too, try to achieve speedy JUS
tice, but the safeguards that we, with
good reason. place around the inno-
cent sometimes bring irritating delays
IN securing conviction of the guilty.
We must remember, however, that
this is part of the price we pay for
the invaluable gift of democracy. The
law enforcement activities of the Fed
eral Government are carried on in
conformity with democratic ideals
that we have inherited from our fore
bears.
Distinct Steps Involved.
In discussing law enforcement We
must bear in mind that this function
is divided into several activities.
There is, f1rSt-the enactment of ap-
propriate legislation by the Congress;
second-the investigation of the crime,
the detection and apprehension of the
offender; third prosecution, and
fourth-punishment.
The first of these powers-that of
legislation-rests with the Congress;
the others with the Executive Let me
refer first to the investigative work.
Various departments of the Gov
ernment have bureaus for the purpose
Of investigating specific offenses. For
example. the Secret Service of the
Treasury Department guards the
Presidents life and protects the cur
rency system, the Customs Agency
Service enforces the tariff laws, the
Intelligence Unit Of the Bureau of
Internal Revenue, headed by Chief
Trey, investigates offenses against the
tax laws. The Narcotic Bureau is
doing its best to stamp out opium
traffic in this country, the Coast
Guard protects our shores and the
Alcohol Tax Unit deals with Federal
liquor law violations. The Post Office
inspectors. headed by Chief Inspector
Aldrich, handle offenses against the
mails. The Department of Labor,
with its border patrol and its immi-
grafton inspectors, prevent the un-
lawful entry of aliens. And there are
other similar bureaus in various Gov
ernment departments to investigate
violations of specific statutes.
F. B. I. Has Wide Range.
The principal investigative agency
Of the Federal Government, however,
is the Federal Bureau of Investigation
OF the Department of Justice, of which
most of you have heard much. It
has charge Of investigating all Fed
eral crimes, except those that have
specifically assigned to the other
agencies to which I have referred.
Thus violations of the kidnapping
Act, the Bank Robbery Act, the Ma
tional Motor Vehicle Theft Act, the
National Stolen Property Act, the
Bankruptcy Act, the statutes relating
to extortion, the anti-racketeering
statute. the antitrust laws, are only
few of the countless types of crimes
that are within the scope of the
activities of this great bureau.
The next step in the administra-
ton OF the criminal law is the prose-
cution of the offender after he has
been apprehended This is a func-
ton which is centered in the Depart
ment of Justice, irrespective of which
agency investigated the offense. It is
carried on by the criminal division
OF the department and "a United
States attorneys in as many districts.
Finally. If the perpetrator of the
crime has been detected, apprehended
and convicted, comes the administra-
ton Of punishment. This duty is
performed by the Bureau of Prisons
of the Department of Justice. which
administers all Federal penal and cor
rectional institutions.
On March 4, 1888, when the present
administration came into office, the
Nation was confronted with an
appalling crime problem. Modern in
ventions, especially the automobile,
had become facilities in the hands
OF the criminal Interstate rowing
desperadoes were opera ting practically
unchecked. State police could not
cross State boundaries, county officers
were restricted by county lines while
municipal police departments could
not function outside of city limits.
Criminals, however, felt no qualms of
conscience about crossing such boun-
daries.
Kidnapping Wave at Crest.
After many years of law violation
during the prohibition era, crime svn-
dicates found their source OF income
cut OF overnight with the repeal of.
prohibition and panic-stricken, they
turned to crimes of violence. Kidnap-
hgs were common occurrences: bank
robberies and plunder became lucrative
pastimes for post-graduates in crime
1t was fortunate for this country