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THE EVENING STAR A-3 Washington, D. C., Saturday, September 21, 1963 kk FBI Piecing Together Church- Bombing Clues By MIRIAM OTTENBERG construct the erime in terms Star Staff Writer of the force and direction of FBI laboratory experts are the blast. now working around the clock: Although there have been on a mass of fragments and japproximately 46 bombings [n other debris collected at the Alahama — 19 in Birmingham ‘scene of last Sunday's church al one — since January 1959, the .bombing in Birmingham, Ala. church bombing 3s only the | But selentific work has not fifth such case where FHI lyet reached the stage where agents have been told to make the FBI can say definitely a full investigation. whether the explosives were Since ine latest bombing, planted in the church or Negro leaders have been ask- jthrown from a passing car. ing why the FBI hasn't delved That was the FBI's comment into the other Alabama cases. on a statement In Birmingham/Here is the explanation given yesterday by United States At-' by Federal authoritles: torney Macon L. Weaver that: The Justice Department has Investigation showed a “high!taken the Position that the order explosive” planted under primary jurisdiction for inves- the steps of the Sixteenth Street tigating the bombings re- Baptist Church caused the fatal mains with local authorities _Dlast. and that Congress wanted it Search Debris ithat way when it passed the , ‘pombing sectlons of the Civil The FBI laboratory sieuths Rights Act of 196¢. are seeking more than how the explosives Penetrated the Federal Violation church. U , a4 nder this act, it’s a Fed- They are tes ir the debris ieral Violatlom to carry ex- plosives across State lines with intent to use them to destroy perty, for the purpose of ifor any evi Suna omignt “place a suspect on the scene or taid in identifying him later. This could be a book of matches, a Pe we PR : Cigarette from which saliva interfering With its use for could be recovcred and typed educational, religious, charl- or a beer can with finger table, residential, business or prints on It. :civic purposes. Although the More than a score of agents act is broad, the Justice De- imported from al! over ‘he partment has specifically told ‘county to supplement the Bir-'the FBI that no FBI investi-+ |mingham FBI office have fol- sation should be launched lowed a methodical pattern in ‘without special departmental their crime scene search to pre-' authorization. serve the chain of evidence. i That directlve applies even The scene of the bombing where local authorittes request has been drawn off and an FBI investigation. mapped. As the agents comb Where local officials request through the debris, they pick help, the FBI informs the Jus- up with tweezers any fragment: tice Department to get an im- which might be material, mediate decision. If there 1s scratch an identifying mark onine local request, the FBI pre- ‘thelr find: noting on theirlsents the facts of the bomb- |eopies of the map the location ing to the department but jot the flnd and the time of its doesn't go ahead with the in- Idiscovery. vestigation without department These notations are then.approval. copied onto the master map In an aggravated case like with the mame os the agents the church bombing, the FBI _{who recovered the fragments immediately launched a full im case they are later called tao'seale investigation and told testify. ithe department what It was Placement of the fragments. dolng. Of course, official ap- on the map is also part of the! ‘proval was promptly forthcom- slaw process ‘of trying to re- Ing. 1 £7 BSPESEL SY SEARCHED ____ wepreD SERIALIZED... FILED SEP 2 8 1963 FBI— BIRMINGHAM 1 4