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Show Jokers Hinder War Work, According to Head of FBI Compares Prank to Act of Sabotage; Cites Typical Incidents; Urges Vigilance Vigi-lance Against Carelessness. Sabotage has yet to develop as a serious menace in this war, bat aggravated horseplay horse-play and practical joking, which often accomplish ac-complish the same results, are costing our war effort substantial sums every day in material destruction and wasted manpower, according to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Bits of metal which snarled the gears of an important drill press in a munitions plant, dropped there inadvertently by workmen playfully tossing chunks of scrap at one another, an-other, proved no less a hindrance to war production than if they had been placed in the dark of night by German agents, Mr. Hoover explained. Similarly, a fast freight derailed de-railed because of a spike laid on the tracks by three curious youngsters who "just wanted to see what would happen," loses just as much valuable time and equipment as if the job had been done by professional wreckers. "The only distinction to be made between deliberate sabotage and such acts vof thoughtlessness as these is one of criminal intent" Mr. Hoover explained. "The effect on our war effort is exactly the same. In either event equipment equip-ment is damaged, production is halted halt-ed and even lives may be lost. "We cannot, of course, afford to relax our vigilance against genuine sabotage. But at the same time we need to be increasingly on our guard against those acts of prankishness, thoughtlessness and pure stupidity which can result just as disastrously to our war program. The clever saboteur cannot always be blocked. But there is no excuse for carelessness. care-lessness. " Little Actual Sabotage. Actual sabotage has been held far below the level which might reasonably reason-ably have been expected under the circumstances of this war, the FBI director declared. Since January, 1940, the FBI has investigated 11,534 cases of reported sabotage, less than 10 per cent of which yielded evidence evi-dence of such a crime, even of a technical nature. These investigations investiga-tions have resulted in the conviction of 485 persons under the federal sabotage, sab-otage, train wrecking and related statutes. And in only a handful of these cases was there a willful intent in-tent to damage government property proper-ty or to impede the war effort. There have been no major acts of sabotage in this war comparable to the great Kingsland fire or the Black Tom explosion of the first World war, Mr. Hoover said, nor any whatever" what-ever" that could be traced to foreign origins. The greatest threat of enemy-inspired sabotage was thwarted When the FBI captured the eight Nazi agents who reached American shores by submarine last year. But constant vigilance by all the law enforcement agencies in the country would be incapable of cop- i ing with the costly pranks and thoughtlessness of the unconscious saboteur, Mr. Hoover declared. In a war plant at Congerville, III., jamming of electrical controls and similar acts of damage resulted in the loss of an estimated 1,000 man-hours man-hours of labor. Investigation by special spe-cial agents of the FBI revealed that an employee was "mad at" associates associ-ates because they had hidden his hammer on numerous occasions and he wanted to get even with them by jamming the electrical controls. At Decatur, Ala., a steel plant employee caused considerable delay in the tremendously important work there by tampering with the oxygen tanks. He opened the valves on several sev-eral occasions and at another time playfully turned his torch on the leg of a fellow workman who dropped everything to avoid being burned. This worker stated that his only reason for committing these acts was "just to have some fun." Several workmen at a shipyard in Richmond, Calif., were burned severely se-verely by mustard oil placed on them by a fellow workman as a practical joke. Investigation by special spe-cial agents of the FBI revealed that the shipyard crew had been "having fun" by putting hot welding rods and lighted cigarettes in each other's oth-er's pockets. Railroad Men Fear Joker. Railroad men live in fear of the practical joker, and they base their feeling on the knowledge that many of their number have been killed in wrecks caused by obstructions placed on the tracks by playful, youngsters or thoughtless adults. Shortly before the "Delta Eagle," a Missouri-Pacific passenger train, was due, three crossties were found on the main line at a point near Macon Lake, Ark., by railroad employees. em-ployees. The train was flagged to a stop and the obstructions removed in time to prevent a crash. Special agents of the FBI began an investigation and located James Howard, 17, who admitted placing the crossties on the track and stated that his only motive was to "see the train jump the track." Howard, subsequently, sub-sequently, was sentenced to serve three years and eight months for violating the federal train wreck statute. In August of this year a train was derailed at Grand Rapids, Mich., and a fireman was killed. Investigation by special agents of the FBI revealed re-vealed that three small children were seen placing stones on the track at the point of the derailment a short time before the wreck. In numerous such instances, children have stated that their only reason was "just to see what would happen." |