Evening star., 1940-05-02
New Espionage Unit

New Espionage Unit
Creation by Attorney General
Jackson of Neutrality Laws Unit
Of the Department of Justice, to
which the Federal Bureau Of Inves-
tigation and United States attorneys
will be responsible in connection
with arrests and prosecutions under
the neutrality, espionage. sabotage
and similar laws, has been inter-
preted by some Of the Washington
correspondents as an administration
slap at the F. B. I. and its director,
J. Edgar Hoover. This reaction is not
surprising, for there have been in
sistent demands Of late-mostly Of
left wing origin-for curb" on Mr..
Hoover's G-men. Following the re-
cent arrests in Detroit of seventeen
persons who had been indicted for
enlisting volunteers for the Spanish
Loyalist Army, there was launched
what appeared to be a carefully or
ganized, campaign of innuendo and
falsehood, obviously designed to
shake public confidence in the F. B. /.
and to smear" its chief. There have
been numerous indications that
Communists were extremely active in
some Of the attacks.
It is difficult to see how the exist
ence Of such a unit as Mr.. Jackson
has set up would have altered the
course OF events in the much publ
cized Detroit cases. Mr.. Jackson and
other departmental officials have
made 1t plain that the disputed
arrests were not initiated by Mr..
Hoover, but were the result Of direct
orders issued by the then Attorney
General, Frank Murphy, now a men,
Der Of the Supreme Court. No facts
yet have been produced to sustain
charges that civil rights OF those
arrested were violated in any respect.
At the request of Senator Norris,
Attorney General Jackson conducted
a reinvestigation OF the allegations
against Mr.. Hoover's men, but the
findings have not been made public.
1t Is to be hoped, in justice to the
F. B. I. as well as to the public, that
the report on this inquiry will be an
nounced soon.
Unless Mr.. Jackson's investigation
has substantiated the charges Of dis
regard of constitutional rights voiced
by critics Of the Detroit raid or has
uncovered other evidence Of illegal
or improper activity by the F. B. l.,
the necessity for establishment of
new agency to supervise the work of
the G-men in so-called spy cases is
not apparent. That the Neutrality
Laws Unit not only will coordinate
the prosecutive activities Of district
attorneys In such cases but will give
the stop and 90 signs to the F. B. I.
IN the arrest Of spies, saboteurs and
similar criminals is obvious from the
press release announcing the new
unit. The statement was made that
prosecutions or arrests under such
statutes (sedition, neutrality, espio-
mage, etc. will be authorized only by
this unit" It may well be that CO.
ordination Of the widely scattered
prosecutive branches of the depart
ment is desirable, but surely the
smoothly operating F. B. I. requires
no additional coordination. Nor has
any evidence come to light to date to
show that the F. B. I. needs the advice
OF some new and inexperienced super
agency In the Department of Justice.
Surely, Mr.. Hoover is better qualified
to Judge when spy or a seditious
conspirator should be arrested than
a new co-ordinator, brought from
another department. And if the set
ting up Of the supervisory organiza-
ton Is just gesture to appease
radical elements which have been
clamoring for Mr.. Hoovers scalp,
the move is ill-advised, to say the
least; for the inevitable effect would
be to undermine public confidence in
an agency which has come to stand
as a symbol Of fortnight, non
political law enforcement. That
would be playing directly into the
hands Of the Communists, the bunds-
men and the other foes of relentless
counter-espionage.