The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-05-19

@uwUW tHe WHlUe 6ouSe, When the customers get to the FB1, however, they take an hour and a quarter. You can be put through the works in an hour if you're in hurry, but if you are, you'll have to miss few of the gimicks.
 Doors open at 0:30 a. m., and there is usually crowd waiting. It's like that until afternoon. The wonder iS that the bureau Is go organized that all these sightscers can go through the mill without tanning monkey wrenches into all the wheels.
 The tour has been running long enough to be well organized, and exhibits are 10 arranged that rub- bernecks can see all, or practically all, without getting in anybody's road.
 All ages and sexes are in the crowds and they go for this big. Old men glow, mouths ajar, women and girls get their own particular kinds Of thrills and little boys literally lap t up. Once in q while some tight Tipped lady will refuse to look at q somewhat shuddery inoulage cast of q dead criminals head or hand, but when the guide comes to the Ale of records on notorious dead criini- nalS, including Dillinser, and then asks If any of the crowd has any relatives in the file that they'd like to have looked up, it's 6 panic. MILLIONS
 OF NAMES
 The show starts Ir All exhibit room where the general workings of the FBI arc explained. There are big colored maps, lights that blink, and q SpeCdometer with three -inch numbers that clicks every time a new iingerprint card is placed in the file. Tnege cards arc coming ib at the rate Of about 10000 day now and the total fiie number today clocks in the 10 millions.
 Tho crowds get to walk through the fingerprint file room. occupying an entire floor Of the Justice build ing which covers q whole city block. Visitors get to Zee how the flngcrprints are classified ard there's q nice fresh case on the me- charical sorting machines, q card which has been sent in from, say Cincinnati, showing some Teller who has been picked Up there by local gendarmcS, mugged and finger printed, and sent into FBI head quarters for checkup on whether he has previous experience in being fingerprintcd in other bailiWicks. They can give you the answer, us- ually, in about three minutes.
 There are four main divisions to this fingerprint file, civilians who haven't done anything but be finger printed for Identification purpoges, army and navy folk, criminals, and women. The women, you're told, don't commit as many crimes as the rrier but they commit worse ones when they do.
 In another wing iS the name file and the nickname file. Millions of names, just names. The nicknamCS como in handy, 1t seems, in case somebody hears one bank robber call another "Whitey,' as they dash away with the loot. FBI checks through It's "Whitey' Ale and gets list of suspects. The tourists get laughs when the guide pulls open 6 drawer in the lady nickname dc. pertinent and reads of, as . typical exhibit, "Bleching Bessie
 DETECTING A LA TEST TUBE
 Scientific crime detection is given it's spectacular bow when the tour- istS are shown the exhibit room Of the FBI lab, it's pride and pct. There's portable X.ray machine that shows c hacksaW blade con. ceaied in the sole Of Siloe, an ultraviolet light that reveals the invisible ink laundry mark on q collar Yes, the tour is educational, too, for it's is news to most of us that the laundrieS have been putting over this fast one, identifying the wash by mysterious hieroglyphics that can't be seen with the naked eye.
 Visitors don't get to see J. Edgar Hoover unless they catch him com ing or going but it's worth your time, anyway.
 And oh, yes. There's a gymnasium and an indoor target range in the basement where the G-men keep in trim when they're in town.