TV fact must not be over-
4 fell looked that meeting the spy,
Ad d the saboteur, and the sub-
® verter 1s a problem that must
be handled on a nation-wide basis. An
isolated incident in the Middle West
may be of little significance, but when
fitted into a national pattern of similar
incidents, it may lead to an important
revelation of subversive activity. It is
for this reason that the President re-
quested all of our citizens and law-
enforcing agencies to report directly to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation
any complaints or information dealing
with espionage, sabotage, or subversive
activities. In such matters, time is im-
portant. It is unfortunate that in a few
states efforts have been made by indi-
viduals not fully acquainted with the
far-flung ramifications of this
problem to interject super-
structures of agencies between
local law enforcement and the
FBI to shift what might be r
vital information, thus delay-  F
ing its immediate reference to yi
the FBI. This cannot be, if
our internal security is to be
best served. This is no time
my thanks and appreciation, as well as
that of every other patriotic law-
enforcement officer in America, to the
farsighted and wholly American labor
leaders, who, knowing the truth and
sincerity of our efforts, have stood
shoulder to shoulder with us against the
vile attacks of forces which have at-
tempted to undermine our efforts.
So far, we have been able to avoid
much of the violence which character-
ized the early days of the World War of
1914-1918. However, this does not
mean that any of us can relax our vigil-
ance for a single instant. The skilled
suboteur carries out his acts with cun-
ning and cleverness. Schools actually
exist for these despicable subverters,
wherein they may be taught the most
terrible means of creating destruction.
Incendiary bombs have been
devised no larger than a cigar,
which will create disaster.
. Plans have been discovered to
Te, place chemicals in boilers,
a with the idea of creating whole-
sale destruction.
The immediate task 18 to
marshal and co-ordinate every
for red tape or amateur han-
dling of such vital matters.
There must be a direct and
free flow of contact between
the local law-enforcement
INTERNATIONAL NEWS PHOTO |
RT Eo
Xx Edward John Kerling, reputed ringleader of the four Nazi sabo-
teurs who landed with a quantity of explosives, from a submarine near
Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to these, four German saboteurs
who landed at Amagansett, Long Island, were arrested by the FBI,
and all are being tried as spies.
protective facility. Industries
once open to visitors, with
little attention given to the
background of key employees,
should now scrutinize all
comers and entrust secrets of
agencies and the FBI. The
job of meeting the spy or sabo-
teur 1s one for experienced men
of law enforcement.
We appreciate everything
which the well-meaning citizen
may do for us. He can be of
tremendous aid in the field of
observation, but not of ac-
tivity. Sooner or later, the
spy, the saboteur, the dyna-
miter, or the subverter will be
exposed and observed by the
honest American citizen. It 1s
then that the alert American,
alive to the evils of the foe
who has shown his hand, will
decide whether to report his
unusual, or seemingly subver-
sive, actions.
To this challenge there 1s
only one answer. In justice
to himself, to his country,
and to the person under suspicion, the citi-
zen should report anything which seems to
him to be out of the ordinary, and once
having reported it, clear his mind and his
conscience of the matter. It is then the
task of experienced men of training and
good judgment to function, protecting the
innocent and identifying the guilty.
Much has been accomplished in recent
months, but the task has only begun. The
FBI, for instance, at the request of the War
and Navy Departments, inaugurated long
ago a program of surveying protective
facilities of manufacturing plants engaged
in the production of defense materials.
SEPTEMBER, 1942
THE SPY,
THE SABUTEUR,
THE SUBVERTER
By J. Edgar Hoover, Director,
Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are thousands of factories in America
which we need in time of war. Already sub-
verters have sought to impede our program.
They do not want American industry pro-
tected. The FBI has been accused by these
willful obstructionists as being anti-labor,
in an effort to stir up dissension and unrest.
Everybody knows this is a malicious false-
hood, and nobody knows it better than the
propaganda-purveyors themselves.
In making plant survey, we are con-
cerned only with our nation’s safety. Air-
plane plants, munition works, and other
vital industries must be made impervious
to attack. Here and now, I want to give
production only to persons
whose Americanism 1s
thoroughly established. Gulli-
bility must cease. These are
times when too much trustful
innocence may be repaid by a
stab in the back. Remember
that the craven propaganda-
purveyors of ism forces are not
concerned with the future of
America but with the power,
the secretiveness, the aggres-
sive greed of their unholy
foreign cause. And their ad-
vice should be taken exactly
for what it is worth.
For such statements 1 shall
he charged as standing for the
abrogation of civil rights. Such
falsehoods are self-evident. I
hold that for every right there
is a duty. I insist that no one
can claim civil rights and at the
same time work for the overthrow of the
civil liberties which we all cherish. The
subverter is not content merely to discard
freedom of thought. He wants to kill free-
dom in any form in which it exists. He
sneakingly seeks the thralldom of our
America. This means that we must not
relax in our vigilance.
Every city, for instance, should survey
its utilities to insure a maximum of protec-
tion. Think for a moment of the chaos that
would ensue if a city’s water power were
shut off, even for a day. The demoraliza-
tion of cities by means of water famine has
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