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* THE EVENING STAR A-3 Weshington, D. C., Saturday, September 21, 1963 * 7 FBI Piecing Together 7 Church-Bombing Clues By MIRIAM OTTENBERG construct the crime in terms Star Stati Writer of the force and direction of FRI leboratory experts are; the blast. now working around the clock! Although there have been on @ Mass of fragments andjapproximately 46 bombings in _Jother debris collected at the’ Alabama —. 19 in Birmingham scene of last Sunday’s church alone — since January 1959, the - bombing in Birmingham, Ala. church bombing is only the But selentific work has not:fifth such case where FBI yet reached the stage wherelagents have been told to make Ithe FBI can say definitely)a full investigation. ‘whether the explosives were| Since the latest bombing, planted in the church or:Negro leaders have been ask- thrown from a passing car. jing why the FBI hasn't deived That was the FBI's commentjinto the other Alabama cases. on a statement in Birmingham /Here is the explanation given yesterday by United States At-, by Federal authorities: torney Macon L. Weaver that; The Justice Department has investigation showed a “highitaken 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 blast. jand that Congress wanted it . ithat way when it passed the The Foe tence ctegens| bombing sections of the Civil the ee Ray GEMS Rights Act of 1960. are seeking more than how the explosives penetrated the: Federal Violation church. t . : | Under this act, it's a Fed- They are testing the debris:e.o) violation to carry ex- for any evidence that might . place @ suspect on the scene or [Plosives across State lines with aid in Identifying him late, This "e0t to use them to destroy ‘could be a book of matches, a ‘Property, for the purpose of ‘cigarette from which saliva,imterfering with its use for could be recovered and typed educational, religious, chari- cr a beer cah with finger ‘table, Tesidential, business or Prints on it. iclvic purposes. Although the More than a score of agents act is broad, the Justice De- imported from ali over ‘he|partment has specifically told jcounty to supplement the Bir-!the FBI that no FBI investi- mingham FBI office have fol-jgation should be launched ilowed & methodical pattern in; without special departmental 'their crime scene search to pre-~! authorization. . serve the chain of evidence. | That directive applies even The scene of the bombing where local authorities request has been drawn off and an FBI investigation. mapped. As the agents comb| ‘Where local officials request through the debris, they pickjhelp, the FBI informs the Jus- up with tweezers any fragment!tice Department to get an im- which might be material, | mediate cecision. If there is scraich an identifying Mark anjno local request, the FBI pre- itheilr find; noting on theirjsents the facts of the bomb- copies of the map the locationiing to the department but of the find and the time of its'doesn't go ahead with the in- discovery. jvestigation without department These notations are then, approval. copled 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 are later called to:scale investigation and told testify. the department what it was Placement of the fragments'doing. Of course, official ap- on the map ts also part of’ the|proval was promptly forthcom- rf [slow process ‘of trying to re-1ing. | y f i /- fis? ivf 1