The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-01-29
THE
WASHINGTON
SCENE
Federated Press)
By HENRY ION

- SNSi otSd L tpot
When high government official
talk about using the sovereignty Q
government to save government" o
declare that "the preservation of tn
spirit and faith of the nation does, an
will, furnish the highest justification
for every sacrifice that we may max
in the cause of national defense
there is one chap around town VIII
puffs out his chest even further an,
says. THAT means me"
That chap is J. Edgar Hoover, direc
tor of the federal bureau of investi
cation and technically an underling o
Attorney General Robert H. Jackson
Not generally realized as yet is the
fact that Hoover, who apparently rec
ognizes no superior except the lords
of the press, has built up for himself
a great private army OF secret police
subject to his sole direction.
The extent to which this army flour
ishes is best indicated by the amount
of money appropriated to its use. Fol
the present fiscal year the FBI has
had, to cover defense work and ordi
nary work. s13,736,S0 and it is ask
ing for supplemental appropriation
This huge sum compares with 81,
500, 900 per year for the period through
1884 and of $6,250,00 for the years
from 1885 through 1889.
Another way of estimating the size
of Hoover's establishment is by CON-
pairing the present appropriation with
the sums spent by the federal bureau
of investigation during the last war.
In the fiscal year of 1917, the year
the U. S. entered the war, the FBI
spent for defense work and regular
criminal detection, s617,534. The next
year it was s1,746.223 while the year
following it was $2,272,657
That was during war time. Now,
while the U. S. is at peace, the FBI
asks for and gets about $1,000 900 for
what it calls defense work which is
over and above the routine duties of
the bureau.
Yet Hoover tells congress, in the
attorney generals report, that there
has been negligible amount of sabo-
tage during the present World War
in contrast to similar period in the
first World War"
But while Hoover tells congress one
thing he apparently tells the presi-
dent another for ON what other evil
dence would the President have based
his statement, in his annual message
to congress this year, that, 1.-THE first
invasion of this hemisphere would not
be the landing of regular troops. The
occupied by secret agents and their
dupes-and great numbers of them are
already here, and in Latin America. :?
The stock answer of the FBI is that
the agents are being watched. Yet
it's records are confidential, subject to
review by no one, and it is on the
basis of confidential records that the
FBI asks for it's enormously expanded
appropriation.
Actions taken by the FIJI do leak
out, however, and nothing as yet in
Debates that it is the influx of spies
or saboteurs that is causing Hoover
to get huge sums of money for his
secret police.
In September, 1889, for instance,
the FBI announced policies for local
police forces to follow. One of the
policies called for notification of the
FBI any time the local police issued
a permit to any group for a public
meeting, indoors or out.
The purpose apparently was to per-
NIT the federal government to scruti-
nize every public meeting in America
that might be held.
Just recently there was another
demonstration of the kind of activity
engaged in by the FBI A letter, writ
ten to the national labor relations
board, intimated action should be
taken against an employee who had
az studied anthropology, and (2)
visited Mexico during the presidential
In his message to congress the
President stressed, as one of the four
essential freedoms, the freedom from
want. Yet when workers in the Vul-
tee plant in California sought to bet
ter lousy $40 week wage, the de-
partment of justice, acting upon adj
vice of the FBI, called the strikers
1upes of Communists"
For the next fiscal year the FBI
proposes an expenditure of $16,450,000 |
Of which s7,700,000 is for crime detec-
ion and sS,750,00O is for national de-
tense work.
In other words, ]. Edgar Hoover |
wants almost twice as much for his
bureau in peacetime as the entire de-
)artment of justice received in 1919. |