Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 31

June 4, 1972 31 fUl 1 'j fe I- Rebuttal of Mounting Criticism of the FBI almost 500,000 scientific examinations and its computer information center handled an average of 90,000 inquiries a day during 197L 1 are investigating a man who will work with you and be with you for days and nights or weeks at a -time; you have to be able to consider him almost as a member of your family. I ask not for average personnel but for those above average in character, education and personal appearance. Personal "appearance excludes hippies. permit no hippies in the bureau. I can guarantee Rooney asked him, You dont allow, any gay activists in the FBI, do you? Hoover replied, Wedont allow any types of activists in the FBIgay or other- wise.

Each agent handles 30 cases at a time, Hoover said, although 18 would bo a more desirable number. And he said the caseload is growing as crime continues to increase- Hoover reported the volume of crime in the U.Srrose 176 per cent from 1960 to 1970, a rate 14 times faster than the population growth during the same period. Although 'criminal and civil operations occupy most of the FBIs attention, internal security activities continue to mount, Hoover. said. There is every reason to expect these matters will place an increasingly heavier burden upon our inves-- tigative staff.

It is for these investigations that the FBI comes under the most criticism. Critics generally feel the FBI has intruded too far into the private life of citizens. Hoover said the FBIs responsibilities are to develop i'evidence for legal pro- ceedings as well as to enable government officials responsible for the safety and welfare of the citizenry to take appropriate corrective or preventative action. He warned of the dangers of new left terrorisnv-antiwar demonstrations, student agitation, the U.S. Communist party, the Progressive Labor party, the Socialist Workers party, racial extremism, the Black.

Panther party, thejtudeqt National Coordinating Committee the Klan-type organizations, urban and penal unrest, urban guerrilla warfare, bombings, espionage and counter intelligence and the Soviet bloc. He said Communism is behind many of these movementsand noted tttrUiLCom-rnunisT party is littemptinglo change its public' image and to gain acceptance as a legitimate political party. 1 As for foreign nations where the FBI stations 43 agents, Hoover said, Al- By JIM JOHNSON Exactly tw(Mnonths lEdgar Hoover delivered testimony before, a congressional subcommittee that pro-- vides detailed information as to what services FBI performs on behalf of the American public. 1 There' is no question that it is a onesided view of the FBI and was, in fact, encouraged and supported by Rep. John J.

Rooney, chairman of the House" Subcommittee on Appropriations. Nonetheless, it was Hoovers opportunity to offer extensive rebuttal to mounting critjcfcjtn of the FBr by some members of-Congress and persons of a liberal bent across the nation. The 7-page transcript of Hoovers closed-door testimony March 2 was released April 27. four days before his death at the age of IT. The description of the FBIs activities came during hearings on the FBIs proposed $336,300,000 budget for fiscal 1973.

-Rooney, a New York Democrat, opened the session by saying, I would like tq say to him (Hoover) that he seems to thrive on the barbs of these left-wing foul balls who have been trying to lay a glove on him. Hoover replied, I have a philosophy. You are honored by your friends and distinguished by your enemies. I have, been very distinguished. Hoover then began testimony intended to substantiate the FBIs mammoth budget by documenting the growmg and increasingly complex problems of fighting crime and subversion in the nation.

He described the FBIs functions in nine basic areas: criminal investigation, domestic coordination and dissemination of secunty data, specialized security, identification, scientific crime detection, crime statistics, centralized crime information and computerized criminal history. These functions are carried out by nearly 20,000 employes, 8,631 of them agents 'and 11,226 clerks. Hoover painted a verbal picture of FBI employes as dedicated end hard-working. More than 4,000 of the agents, he said, have been with the FBI more than 10 years and that 2,973 have served 20 years or longer. One is 85 years old and -has been an agent 50 years, Hoover noted.

1 We have stressed to our special that the most im- agents in charge portant investigation is of an applicant for, employment in the FBI, Hoover said. Delays Hoover said in the internal security field, the FBI as of March 2 was operate ing 34 telephone surveillances and six mi- crophone surveillances, all of which were "legally authorized by the attorney genera al Hoover emphasized that none was oh elected officials. He said no member of. Congress had ever had his phone tapped by the FBI, despite claims of some. Rep.

Robert L. F. Sikes, of Florida: asked why crime has increased when law enforcement has been stepped up and ad-; difional money spent in the fight against crime. I attribute thaf-primarily to the per-missiveness which dominates some homes where some children are raised today with little or ho discipline, Hoover replied. Spare the rod and spoil the child.

certainly has become true' in many instances, Hoover added. He said lack of discipline should be. corrected at the family level. The church and the school can play a part in if but they cannot do the job that parents should do. Hoover accused the courts of leniency and blamed some attorneys for delaying justice in the courts.

There has been a concerted effort made by some lawyers to raise all kinds of trivia in their objections, postponements and various other motions. When I was in law school I was taught you were an officer of the court at all times and should bring out the truth so justice might prevail; That seems to have beW forgotten by some criminal lawyers today, Hoover explained. Since Hoovers death May 2, President Nixon has appointed L. Patrick Gray III an interim director of the FBI- On the surface at least, it appears few changes will be made in the way of FBI operations. Gray did indicate, however there would be a clear difference in manner and style between him and but-thatHoovers basic ideals would-be followed.

Further comments on Hoovers testimony will appear here next Sunday BART Cost Ballooned By Inflation By HARRE W. DEMORO Tribune Staff Writer bargain or port, plus bond Interest. opening pa, last yenr cent in Ai and rai T. Abo nent Iditioni feotol latoia tcos Workpgi A J. EDGAR HOOVER The FBI secured 13,357 convictions for a 94 5 per cent conviction rate, located 33,863 fugitives and recovered 32,076 stolen autos.

1 In addition, the FBI disseminated 340,451 items of criminal intelligence information to other agencies, received 6.7 million sets of fingerprints for processing, and made 2,444,860 fingerprint mdentifica- Hons. 1 1 -rr- The FBI maintains the largest fmger- print file in the world. It contains 196 million sets that belong to an estimated 80. million persons. The FBI crime laboratory processed Save BART Bill Passed By Assembly By 10 SAIZMAM Tribun.

C.piul gr? Tribune Cep OTmrnved in Opening BART Director William Reedy: 'Every one is justified' By harre demoro Pph jn Tribune story I b. r. Bavsi Berkeley. Officials Set jo Op Transit Vest emi Trf lov Suit. Seeks To Block Transit uummz alt' 50 tu Ik in 'R1 ps STATUE OF THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE LOOMS BEHIND though shifting political winds periodical-' ly cause an individual Communist nation to deviate somewhat to the left or right of set course, there has been ho indica-" tion that any has abandoned its resolve to undermine the security of the United States through espionage and subver- sion.

One the FBIs vital functions is gathering-statistics? The -amount- isstag gering. During 1971, Hoover said, 828,059 investigative matters were received by the. FBI. That figure is expected to climb to 950,000 by 1973. in bridge tolls, -was more than the amount needed.

It Is not news that BART still hasriotr opened one mile of track to paying customers, and that the bonds and bridge funds were insufficient. The successful bond election was held Nov. 6, 1962. On Nov. 29, a taxpayers suit challenging the election was filed in Contra Costa, County.

While settled in BARTs favor on June 10, 1963, it delayed even preliminary work for six months, and thus pushed any starting date well into 1967. As events were to prove later, it would be the first of many delays. Lesshardtopinpoint-in-actual-time- lost is the result of numerous route location battles with cities. While BART had, in general, outlined its preliminary routes and station sites to cities and counties long before the electron, few persons believed the bond issue would pass. With the funds in hand and BART ready to build, many cities decided they didnt lik.e the plans.

Some examples: Oakland wanted a station near Jack London Square. Time was lost studying that, as well as a proposal from Hayward that the tracks go directly to the state college. Fremont quarreled with BART officials about sites. More time was lost. A bitter quarrel developed in Berkeley and it is here BART may be held at fault by historians over the ele.

vated structures proposed by the district. This finally was settled when Berkeley 1 decided to pay the extra cost of the addi-, tional subway mileage, i I i- San Francisco battled BART over sub-" way station designs." Only recently have agreements been reached with Richmond, Daly City and Concord over station designs. There are still issues unsettled in San Francisco. Further delays were caused when bids, for the Oakland subway came in higher than expected. The project was redesigned and broken into smaller, contracts reducing the from $61.5 million'to $47 million.

While these delays were occurring, something else was taking place. Infla NEWS HEADLINES TELL MAJOR FACTORS IN DELAYING BART In one of his rare moments of anger, BART Director William Reedy recently declared that the delays in opening the rapid transit system were not the fault of-the district board of directors. On that issue, Reedy said, Im willing to eat crow, if facts prove otherwise. Every one (delay) is justified. The final answer to Reedys challenge-can only be giver by historians the coming years, will have the perspec-' tive to evaluate all of BART, including its board of directors.

In other with all fairness to Director Reedy of San Francisco, and his fellow board members, it is too early to assess the blame. But it is not too early to recall the dates BART proposed to the voters for opening the railroad, and to look at the events since those promises were made. At this point, the question, How Late? can be answered question, Why? The Composite Report, a detailed engi- neenng and financial document issued in 1962 as the blueprint for the railroad, was the basis for the election at which 61.215 per cent of those casting ballots approved a $792 million bond issue to finance most construction. A casual reading of that document does not, provide specific opening dates forfthe various routes. But in its Major Findings, it reveals: The start of construction is planned for 1964, and more than four-fifths of the system is expected to be com-.

Ine small society 10: iirlikfe pleted and open to traffic by January 1, "1969. These sections would provide service between San Francisco and Oakland and Daly City. By July 1, 1971, the balance of the system will be completed. Page 51 of The Composite Report contains revealing statistics. They indicate the number of rapid transit cars required per year.

There is no better gauge of when the engineers really expected the railroad to open than this chart, because rapid transit cars are intended to carry riders. 1 According to the list, 10 cars were to be in service by January 1, 1966. It is That this small number-oLcars-waS- Jikely- intended for tests. But, BART was to have 60 cars by January 1, 1967, more than enough to open a portion of the system. In other words, prior to the end of 1966, BART would have had enough cars for passenger service.

list calls for 250 cars by January 1, 1968, an additional 80 by January 1, 1969, and a total of 450 by July 1, 1979. Obviously, BART was planned to begin initial service sometime in 1966, and this was orchestrated in an enthusiastic press release issued at. about the, time of the election. Surely, the engineers envisioned initial operation at least by the early part of 1967. This writer remembers well the enthusiasm of BART directors and employes in those early days.

One got the feeling the $792 million bond issue and $133 million by Brickman ALL HAvfe. group farel lature would approve a method of raising the $150 million BART" needed and that action would come during the 1967 session, thus minimizing the delay. But it was not until March, 1969 three years after the inflation allowance had been used up that legislators finally agreed on the half-cent sales tax, now temporarily being levied. The legislative delay, by far, the most critical roadblock, had a serious effect on" production and installation of automatic control, the components that have resulted in the latest delays. BARf awarded a $26 million contract to West-inghouse Electric Corp.

in 1967 for the equipment. As Westinghouse geared up, BART geared down. Work had to halt be-cause the stations and tracks along which Jhe automation had to be installed, and the trains, couldnt be finished because of the inaction by the legislature. There were other delays, such as malfunctions to test cars built by Rohr Industries, but in the final analysis the lag in car production probably produced better rolling stock because of the additional time available for perfecting components. The crucial question now is not who is.

to blame as much as whether1 the public will use the system. Perhaps, the problems of the past can be at least partly forgotten if the passengers decide that BART was worth waiting for. Harre Demoro is The Tribunes transportation writer. tion, attributable in part at least to the war in Vietnam, jwas escalating costs faster-than anticipated by the writers of The Composite Report. This inflation probably would have harmed BART even if there was no significant delays.

But its effect was a disaster because of the many delays. The longer it took to design and build BART, the more it would cost. BART General Manager B. R. Stokes, in a speech in 1967 before the Common- wealth Club, noted that as of that date 15 of BARTs 33 stations had been relocated, mostly due to local pressure.

The $792 million bond proposal included the normal 10 per cent contingency and a 20 per cent factor for anticipated inflation, Stokes said. By mid-1966, Stokes continued, the inflation allowance already had been used up. He blamed the taxpayers suit, sky- rocketing inflation, and protracted nego- tiations with various communities. Despite these problems and a' looming deficit that eventually was more than $150 million; the BART directors did not cheapen the system promised voters and, in some cases, even improved it, which contributed to the higher costs. On Sept 26, 1967, legislative analyst A.

Alan Post reported to Assemblyman John F. Foran, D-San. Francisco, that BART costs vent up $78 million just because of improvements. These included some $41 million for larger and better stations, and $6 million for improved landscaping. It seemed certain that the State i1-.