The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-03-18
BY J. EDGAR HOOVER (DirectOr Federal Bureau OR
 Investigation

-. Written for the United PresS)
 Washington, March 18-(UP) - Seven thousand four hundred and seventy-seven cases of reported sabotage were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from Jan. 1, l940 to Feb, 1, l94S. The results disclosed S58 instances of technical sabotage to our indus trial facilities.
 Personnel failure was the main reason behind these acts of sabo- tage, The majority can be grouped under carelessIless, industrial acci- dents. malicious mischief, and per- sonal grievances-problems which are ever present during times of peace. But in war, when the lives of our armed forces are dependent upon production, each of these acts constitutes blow struck at the very heart of our national being.
 Tn those cases where the perpe- trator of an act of sabotage tn- tends to damage @ machine or ta- cility and thereby Is conscious Of his acts, he is guilty of a crime. Four hundred and twenty-four in- dividuals have been sentenced for such criminal acts to prison terms totalling 994 years, months, and 8 days as a result of FBI activity.
 In TO case was sabotage com mitted by an individual acting at the direction of or under orders from an enemy nation. The "dark invaders of the first World War have been unable to operate in the United States because of two main factors; the preparatory work done by the FBI in its survey of 2,286 war plants prior to our entrance into the war with the consequent protection of vulnerable points against the saboteur and espionage agent, and the ever constant vig- ilance exercised by the men of the FBT to constantly examine all cases of reported sabotage, thereby ferretirg out foreign agents sent to this country to organize sabotage cells.
 That this program which is de- pendent upon the prompt reporting of all cases to the Federal Bureau Aof Investigation has been success full is evidenced by the fact that Germany landed saboteur agents in the United States fully equipped to organize a program of destruc- tion in Americas centers of produc- btion. It is logical to presume that she would not have taken this risk if there had been organized groups in the United States upon whom she could have depended,
 With regard to personnel failure, several cases present some interest ing facts. An aircraft factory com- 'pletes an air conditioning room for testing motors valued at $l0,0OO each. The test is started on two motors--a discordant note enters into the accustomed hum; this soon becomes a racket. The test is stop ped immediately - sabotage? No the FBI agents discover that care- less workmen left sand, gravel, and ElieCes of metal in the air condition ing duct and this was drawn into the motors.
 Heavily armored tanks have com pleted their run down the assembly lire; they are ready for delivery An attempt is made to start the motors, but they will not run. When the motors are opened the interior is found flooded with water The agents assigned to the case obtain confession from a work man who turned a water hose into the exhaust because he wanted a longer rest period for lunch.
 Seven hundred employees of a large machine factory are served a large turkey dinner on Christmas Eve. Disaster strikes when over five hundred are ill with food poisoning. Has a foreign agent been success fui? No! The turkey was prepared ore evening. cooled overnight and was not heated to a sufficient de- gree at serving time to kill the streptcocci and staphylocccci germs which settled from the atmosphere. No deaths occurred but consider able delay was occasioned.
 In other cases dissatisfied ships carpenter saws the steering mech