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Diss rela es cor &. review by Age Tak vein 4 ETB Missing G-Men | FS eimewmrmactaa JAMES A. WECHSLER i on en It became the bleak duty of Senate Majority Leader Mans- field to assure the Senate on Monday that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and his men are very much on the job in Birmingham. Contrary to “reports in the press" about. the “lack of interest of the FBI" in racist crime, Mr. Mansfield said, he personally had “no doubt” that the FBI and its dircctor were ‘“doing every-" thing in their power to see that the culprits are found and - punished.” ; ; / ; a I am sure he is right. There must, after all, be a limit to the Deo immunity from criticism that Mr. Hoover can claim. A distin- 62 p guished performance is overdue. . _ : . : In ithe past eight years, Birmingham. homes and churches have been bombed 21 times, according to official tabulation. If one goes back to 1947, the number of blasts is 40. The figures are probably an understatement. The crucial fact is that not one af these cascs has been solved. Time and again it has been reported that FBI agents were diligently cooperating with local police in an effort to find the criminals. The record has. been total failure. . - st - oo % - #. - . Se Perhaps this tlvie things will be different; Mr. Mansfield’s plaintive defense reflects the degree to which Mr. Hoover is om the spot. One can only pray that the assassins of these innocent children will be caught. But one must add that, regardicss .of ‘the outcome of this search, the FBI’s Southern performance has been a disgrace, oe ieee “——_iy lesser mortal than Mr. Hoover would long ago have - ‘been damned by press.and politicians alike for the continuous story of failure. The FBI's ability to escape such condemnation . js an_almest unplausible triumph of. public relations in which | even the faintest harsh word about J. Edgar Hoover has been loosely equated with treason. . rr a o. : The bomb that destroyed four children.In Birmingtiam should have finally sha(tered the Hoover myth. But, Mr. Mansfield's (_ testimonial was a reminder that such legends die hard. ’ : : ry :e ¥ . ae, tion tt The question, of course, is. not whether the FBI will finally YS fr break Hs scoreless streak. The children are dead. : : ; x The question is why the FBI has so systematically failed to infiltrate the racist mobs and thereby anticipate—and’ prevent | =-at least some of the terrorist frenzy ‘that reached its mon- "+ gtreus climax in Birmingham on Suhday: a ra - That issue was. bluntly. raised this week'in a telegram from’ | ‘ADA’s Josebh Raut to President Keniiedy—a communication, ; O00 RPI Neen geet ee non Ee een