FBI

"Wanted by the FBI." To the murderer, or the bank robber, these are the most frightening words in the world. When the criminal hears them, he knows that six thousand trained persons are after him. Why should he be so afraid? There are hundreds of cities and thousands of villages where he can hide. There are large forests and deserts where he can lose himself. Besides, he's usually rich with stolen money. Money can make it easier to hide. With money, the criminal can pay a dishonest doctor to operate on his face and make him hard to recognize. Money can pay for a hideout in some far-off place. But the criminal knows what happened to public enemies such as John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Machine Gun Kelly. They had plenty of money and good hideouts. Yet one by one they were found by the men of the FBI. They know every trick the criminal knows and many more. If he makes just one mistake, they'll get him. That's why the man who is hunted can't sleep. That's why he becomes nervous, why he jumps at every sound. When he makes a mistake, he'll no longer be "wanted by the FBI". He'll have been caught. The FBI began on May 10, 1924. Attorney General Harlan F. Stone chose J. Edgar Hoover, a young lawyer in the Department of Justice, to head the new agency. "What we need is a wholly new kind of police force," he said. "Criminals today are smart. They use stolen cars and even planes to make their gateways. They have learned to open any lock. The criminal would have discovered science. We can't beat them with old methods. We have to train officers to work scientifically." J. Edgar Hoover quietly went ahead with his plans. He picked his men carefully. They had to be between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five. He wanted only men with good manners and good character. When working as his officers they would have to meet all kinds of people. Hoover wanted men who could handle a teacup as well as a gun. He chose men so carefully that he made the FBI the hardest service in the world to get into. The FBI cannot help in every police problem. It can look into only certain crimes against the government. Solving all other crimes is the duty of local police forces.

Short Answer Questions

1. Before J. Edgar Hoover worked with the FBI, was he a policeman?
2. Why was the FBI going to stop old methods?
3. What does "men who could handle a teacup as well as a gun" mean?
4. Is the FBI the hardest service in the world to get into?
5. What is the duty of local police forces?

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