◆ SpookStack

heehee Fae Ahent FF RIVES ADS Birseeeem Oe stolcn automobiles across state“! : Hines and other crimes that vic- .- “- lated federal laws. . In 1956 ine FBI announced that the $2,775,395.12 Brink's rob- ber; in E. ston had been solved after a six-year investigation. Eleven men were named by the FE! as participants. Of the Joot, $1,216,211.28 was in cash—the biggest cash haul in the nation’s history. . : 2m its crime laboratory, tiny scraps of evidence often were developed into irrefutable proof of guilt. But the FBI was inter- ested also in clearing innocent persons, and its laboratory tests finserprints in ils files and the Humber increased daily. Police throughout tne country sent fin- &erprinis there for. recording "~~ and for identification Those in the civil identification section were used i9 identify Bodies of unknown persons, victims of _ amnesia atid the like. FBI, Hoover Synonymous To the general public, the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover were synonynious. It was he who raised it from a hack-ridden Government bureau to the ra- Hion’s lop Jaw enforcement agen- cv. The road wusn't easy and criticism was plentiful. Politi- / Mahs went afior his scaip. See- tions oof the mress sometimes were eriticil and so, too, were Fome judges. . But whatever the criticism, Hoover seemed always to emerge unscathed. he served under five Presidents and a dozen Attor- hey Generals. Many awards went to hin. for public service. Trore ingiuded the Presicent's awara fer “cxceptionally mievi- terious civilian service’ iw the 7Overnmment that President Dwight D. Eisenhower bestowed on him in 1958 The sccomrany- ing citation said kis “brillant leadership hes ecentributed in- meanurabie to the preservation and strength of the Nation, its Constitution and laws." President Harry S. Truman Personaliy presenicd the Medal for Merit to Hoover. The cita- tion with it said: “Under his able leadership, the Federal Bureau of Investiga- tion pci only has become a powerful instrument of law en- forcement in peacetime, but throughout th. war rears safe- Buerded the internal security of the Un'ted States, rendering in- effective espionage and ¥revent- ing sabotage.” ; Turred Down Lucrative Offers After the war. King George VI appo:nted Hoover an honorary Knight Commuander of the civil division of the Mast Excellicnt Order of the British Empire, That wre in recognition of his “Guastanding contranuticon to the Allied victory in the ficld cf in- teHigence and security.” In -1954 Attorney General Berber: Brownell Jr. awarded id that on numerous occasions, : There were sore 150 million » Hoover a Certificate of Merit ‘fn recognition of his 30 years’ ‘service as FBI director. That “same year, for “outstanding ‘+ service to his country,” he re- ceived the Cardinal Gibbons Medal from the National Alumni Association of the Catholic Uni- versity of America, Hoover was the recipient of many other awards -- honorary -- a degrees, cold medals, citations -and plaques. The work of the FEr wis the subject of a book, movie scenarios and radio pro- rams. paying positions, too, As FBI , director Hoover's salary was $22,000 a year. It was reported in 1951 that he had been offered the post of commissioner of busebal!) which carried a $75,000 annual salary. "Two years latcr he durned down - nA Af * ae eifoen 1 We ace fae aaik offer of $160,006 a@ yea 107 1¢ years to become head of the International Boxins Club. New York City invited him in 1555 to be police commissiencr at . $25.900. Hc declined. When "oover tock charge of ~~ - -the FBI as director in 1924, it was a sickly, inept, politics-rid- den agency. The agents couldn't ‘carry weapons. Having no auto- mobiles, they traveled by street -car. Their chief aims were to catch white slavers, automobile and violators of the anti-trust and bankruntcy laws. He Revitalized Agency Hoover teak that unpromisin, outfit and molded it into a mode for law enforcement agencies no. only in the United States but abroad. He created methods, sysloms cud institutiens which reformed and revitalized all verms of police work. Yolitical patronage was sbol- isned. High standards for FBI ugonts were sei up, both physi- cal and educational. They hed tu be lawyers or accountants and were required to have ability and aggressiveness, They had to keep fit and keep their shooting eye sharpened through constant practice, The director established the FBI National Academy for train- ing selected law cnforcement officers in sc:entific law enforce- ment. He constantly warned them against using third degree or other illegal methods of get- ting evidence. “The test tube is mighther than the rubber hose,” he ooserved, | Hesver started from seratch —_—- anc Guilt up the valuable finger- - print file. The National Crime Labora-+ tory, another Hoover creation, worked magic with scraps of evidence, Increased .\uthority Giver The vast FBI fachitics were fvailable vs oi) law e. raent #gconcics. is National seid. my, for instance. cuaducied sevoral courses 2 year far police oflicers Tom. ali p.urts of the United States. The fingerprint file served | as a clearing hous ~~" departments. - rector, his agency coud: oe There were offers of higher- ~ “| called Lindbergh Law tha: “bers of national banks, _ Tector..- diked to get things done ca Hoover did not b Z ubout overnight. Fos: 27 decade after he becam to fight the growing seo gangsters because’ of Jurisdiction, «+ |. 5; e Lindbergh baby sam ing in 1532 brought dem the Federal Government: come a gang buster, Th was followed by many 1 napings. Con the FBI jurisdiction in suc After . the: Lindberg _- Congress gave the Fel: “ authority, In 1934, It en the agency to ‘act ‘aga all types of illicit. in transportation and again jor crimes of almost ever Soon the FBI was with enforcing more tha? Federal laws, as comparaa— 20 whet. Hoover became High Score for Convic _ an 1957, convictions in investigated by the FRI 10-year high—1i1214. . number, 94.6 per cent™ guilty. Of accused perzgui! elected to go to trail, the'é Uon rate was $67 per cen Jonn Edgar Hoover we January J, 1895, in Wags about five blocks fromm ‘theme tol. His father waz an off c* the Carst and Geodetic sc and hi: mother was a gs niece oi a one-time Swiss © General to the United Sta While attending high: sci young Heover we:ked as, &-month messenger in.-: brary of Congress. ‘That’ ei start of his government that was to last for many)ge Ail his lif? he Hked st Once in a baseball gas” missed a fly ball and that ¢ was permanently recorded: flat nose. Sta He wanted to play if but the coach wouldn't + give him a tryout—he weighed around 100 pe. Hoover then took up debs and Jed his team to four ¢ Pionships. _ Won Scholastic Honors: ‘He atso went in for: mii training and became a capt of cadets. His co:spany won" best rating of the corps. He + Graduated as valedictorian... his class in 19.3. Class” called him “Speec” beea: hurry, As an adult he wes 5+ 11 inshes tall and weighed: pounds. . oe Hoover entered George Wr ingian University, where he ecived hi Bach-loz Fi & “ws in WIT. He wes an studs nt. er ee Tt was in 1917 that he firse a job with the Depertmen: . MOQ,