Evening star., 1939-05-18
Vital Interests
OF j. ). Peri|ed,
Hull Warns
House Group Told Of
Dangers in Supply
Bill Hearing
BY the Associated Press.


Secretary of State Hull has in
formed Congress this countrys vital
interests ARE being threatened in
an increasing number of places and
to an increasingly alarming degree"
Secretary Hull testified before a
House Appropriations Subcommittee
during hearings on the annual sup
ply bill for the State, Justice and
Commerce Departments. Based on
the subcommittee's findings, the full
committee recommended S121 ,399 ,l20
to run the three departments during
the year starting July !.
A transcript of the subcommittee
testimony was made public when
the bill was presented to the House.
Situations which few years ago
we would have considered as in
credible and as impossible of existing
in our relations with other states"
Mr.. Hull testified, "are with us today
as a reality and have to be dealt
with in the most concrete fashion
every day"
Conditions Are Worse.
Asserting the burden on the State
Department was increasing, the
Secretary added:
THE conditions which we have
to face in the world today are very
much worse than those which con-
fronted us when I was last before
you. I did not mislead you then
and am now equally earnest when
| say that the responsibilities of this
department will greatly increase
during the coming years-and this
entirely independent of the question
as to whether there will be peace or
war"
Despite Mr.. Hull's statement, the
committee trimmed 81 ,402,423 from
the amount the State Department
asked, recommending s18,225 200 for
the department. use. The sum
recommended still was S1,326,350
more than the current years figure.
For all three departments, the bill
was S2,970083 below the budget
estimates, but exceeded the depart
ments current appropriations by
S26 ,69l ,315. approximately 0,000, 900
of the increase was earmarked for
taking the 1910 census, a two-year
task estimated to cost about
s45 100000.
Hoover Testifies.
During hearings on the Justice
Department appropriations, j. Edgar
Hoover, director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, told the
subcommittee $4,000 of the 14,067
public enemies in the United
States are at large and are con-
stantly perpetrating new crimes"
About 1000 of these criminals are
in penal institutions, Mr. Hoover
testified. He displayed charts show
ing that every day there is an aver
age of 2,258 larcenies, 8l4 burglaries,
SIG automobile thefts, 162 robberies,
122 aggravated assaults, 20 murders,
% rape cases and IL negligent man
slaughters.
In the period from 1881 to 1888,
Mr.. Hoover said. there have been
decreases in murder, negligent man.
slaughter, aggravated assault, rob-
berry, burglary and marked de-
crease in automobile theft. He said
rape and larceny had increased.
Examination of 127.O78 finger
prints of applicants for law enforce
ment and other public positions
throughout the United States in the
first nine months of the present fs-
cal year, Director Hoover said. dis
closed 1l,949 of the applicants had
| OOlice records
Espionage Cases Increase.
Other high lights of his testimony:
The F. B. l. filed its ten-millionth
f1ngerprint last February.
The largest number of arrests Is
at the age of 81.
A huge increase in espionage cases
has been noted in the last two years
at the F. B. l., which makes all in
vestigation of foreign espionage
agents. From an average of IS
cases yearly in the five years preced-
ing 1888, the number rose to 534 in
1898 and the estimate for 1889 is
772.
With our present personnel" Mr..
Hoover said, lit is not possible to
give prompt attention to these
cases."
The F, B. I. chief said his agency
had been unable to accede to War
and Navy Department requests to
establish Offices in Puerto Rico,
Hawaii and Alaska, in addition to
stations in the Panama Canal Zone
and the Philippines.