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THE EVENING STAR A-3 Woshington, D. C., Soturday, September 21, 1963 baial FBI Piecing Together Church-Bombing Clues By MIRIAM OTTENBERG construct the ¢rime in terms Star Stat Writer jot 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 tn other debris collected at the Alahama — 19 in Birmingham scene of last Sunday's church alone — since January 1959, the jbombing in Birmingham, Ala. church bombing ts only the uit scientific work has not fifth such case where FBI ached the stage where agents have been told to make the FBI can say definitely a full Investigation. whether the explosives were Since ihe latest bombing, planted in the church or Negro leaders have been ask- thrown 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 unde: 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 i ‘that way when It passed the Search Debris “oombing, sections of the Civil ts Act of 1960 FBI laboratory sie are seeking more than how explosives — per ed the Federal Violation church. . _+ Under this act, it's a Fed- t hey are testing the verai Violation to carry ex- votnce & sus what ives across State lines with raid in Identifying him ie them to destroy ‘could be @ book of matches, a Property. for the purpose of cigarette from which saliva Mterfering with its use for could be recovered and typed educational, religious, charl- or a beer can with finger table, residential, business or prints on tt. civic purposes. Although the More than a score of agents act 1s broad, the Justice De- imported from al! over “he partment has specifically told jcounty to supplement the Bir-'the FBI that no FBI Investl- mingham FBI office have fol- gation should be launched lowed a methodical pattern in'without special departmental their erime scene search to pre-’ authorization serve the chain of evidence. ‘ That directive applies even The scene of the bombing where local authoritles 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 cectsion, If there ts scratch an identifying mark onjno local request, the FBI pre- jet find; noting on theirjsents the facts of the bomb- net coples of the map the location ing to the department but jot the flnd and the time of its'doesn’t go ahead with the jn- ‘discovery. \vestigation without department These notations are then! approval. copied onto the master map’ In an aggravated case like with the name of the agents the church bombing, the FBI who recovered the fragments immediately launched a full in case they ace later called to’'scale investigation and told testify. jthe department what It was Placement of the fragments. dolng. Of course, official ap- on the map fs also part of the!proval was promptly forthcom- slow procesa ‘of trying to re- ing. a 1 DASHES SY SeARcieo —§ opt, SERIALIZED__....FILED SEP 2 8 1963