◆ SpookStack

DECEMBER io, by Irving Ferman NATIONAL FOLICE could infect the A organism of a government of Jaw, : despite the anti-bodies in our Bill of Rights and in our system of checks and balances. Our most effective anti- body always is the focusing of an. in- formed public opinion. This is why we should be grateful for Mr. Whitehead’s “excellent new book: Whitehead writes iepNeienmmines see The FBI Story, by Don Whitehead (Random House; $4.95). - ee about the FBI's almost-half-centuty his- tory in highly readable style but his chief virtue is the sensitive historio- aphic-sense“he displays. The FBI has been ctiticized most sharply for its collecting intelligence data on non-criminal conduct of Com- munists and Fascists. Whitehead shows that the FBI's activities in regard to subversives were not self assigned. He discloses forthe first time in print that President: Roosevelt called J. Edgar Hoover to his office’ on the summer morning of August 24, 1936, to express concern over the activities of Commu- nists and Fascists. It was the President, and not Mr. Hoover, who stressed the need for developing a broad intelli- Bence-picture of these activities. Even then, Mr. Hoover emphasized that he had no specific authority to make such general investigations. However, the authority was found through the instra- mentality of Cordell Hull and the State Department which. under law, could request, investigations from the Justice Department. . ~ Mr. Hoover, in an instructional letter to his agents issued on September 5, 1936, very carefully outlined the scope of the Bureau's new investigatory as- © signment: The Pureau desires.to obtain from all possible. sources information concern. ing subversive activities . being con- ducted in the United States by Com- munists, Fascists and representatives or advocates of other organizations or Broups advocating the overthrow or replacement of the Government of the United States by illegal methods. ‘No investigation should he initiated into cases of this kind in the’ absence of. The FBI and Civil Liberties 7 Operations of the FBI, as developed ol | specific, authorization “from the Bu- Whitehead, thérefore, makes it clear that the FBI has been delegated clear authority to perform its intelligence functions. But has.it acted, as FBI critics maintain, in Gestapo-like fashion?. I would answer unequivocally .in. the negative. Le . The adoption of ‘the Truman Loyalty Program in 1948, and the Eisenhower Security Program in 1953 has’ vastly extended the activity of the FBI, and the Bureau since has been under . attack because of its insistence that its inform- ints_remain_confidential, and_not—be- . Civil Liberties Union remember vividly Mr. Hoover. Personnel selection, the - functioning of its academy, its integra- tive use of chemistry, physics, metal- lurgy, ‘electronics, and engineering in developing crime laboratory techniques are all dealt with. Whitehead also de- | votes space to a little known -aspect of FBI work: its Civil Rights Training Schools in which 22,000 local police officials have been oriented and indoc- trinated on this touchy and vastly im-.. portant question. a Some of my mentors in the American , the horrendous vigilantism’ of the’: World War 1 organization whose 250,000 members were permitted t wear badges inscribed “American Pro-~ tective League, Auxiliary to the US Department of Justice.” These sel styled sleuths were used by the’ Justice subject to confrontation and cross- examination. On this, Whitehead quotes’ what Hoover advised the Truman Loyalty Review Board early in the formulation of its operating policies: . . . Our responsibility is limited to the securing of facts. I stated that the FBI was the investigator, not the prose- cutor, judge or jury. I informed the Boatd that we planned to make our Special Agents available to testify to those matters of which they had per- sonal knowledge and that we would list the names and addresses of those persons interviewed who did not object to their identities being known, I stated that whenever an FBI Agent interviews a person who says that he is giving information in strict con- fidence, his confidence must -be re- spected. . T pointed out that.as an alternative, we could explain our mission to each person and explain that he might be called as witness and be required to testify in public and then report only such information as was furnished without any restrictions as to source. * J advised the Loyalty Review Board’ that this was a matter of policy for the Board to detcrmine. Whitehead’s reporting of the Hoover view establishes a framework in which criticism of the present security proceed- ings might be more responsively direct- ed than it has heen in the past. Whitehead properly devotes about one-eighth of his book to the internal oof.” . Department to conduct “slacker” raids, one of which involved rounding up some 50,000 citizens in New York.. When a proposal was made. by the American Legion in 1940 to use ‘thei Posts as investigative units (and this ° would have most certainly led to a revival of the vigilantism of World War I) it was intelligently rejected by the Justice Department. By contrast in our World War II experience, the FBI's handling of the draft-evasion problem with particular reference to the conscientious objectors led the Ameri- can Civil Liberties Union in 1943 to comment: : : The striking contrast between the state of civil liberty in the first eighteen’ months of World War I and in World | War I offers strong evidence to support the thesis that our democracy can fight even the greatest of wars and ‘still maintain the essentials of liberty. .- As Whitehead accurately sums it up: The FBI represents the penple’s effort to achieve government by law. It is an.‘ agency of justice. And the FBJ iti the future will be as strong or as weak the people demand it to be. No mor No less. moe . Notes on Contributors - CHARLES CURRAN is a regular contribu: tor to The Spectator, Encounter and other British periodicals.’ IRVING FER- MAN is director of the District of Co lumbia office of the American Ciy I