Medford mail tribune., April 21, 1957, Image 37

The FBI's fingerprint files, a small part of
a" 'ts records, fill this gigantic drill hall.
storehouse of information on his citizens.
a census taker, or a surveyor for the Federal
Reserve Board, or some other person seeking
information about the family comes around,
his wife feels free to exaggerate the income
figure. She will boast that her husband is
in the $6,000-$7,000 bracket, instead of leav
ing him in the $4,000-$5,000 bracket, where
he is supposed to be.
The unfortunate part is that investigators
trying to trap racketeers or other law evaders
often have trouble getting information which
might convict them. The various Federal
agencies nominally work with each other.
But in many cases, the information gathered
by one agency is not readily available to
investigators of another agency.
For instance, even agents of the Internal
Revenue Service cannot get information from
the Social Security Administration, for which
the IRS acts as collector, without presenting
a written case giving strong evidence that
someone with fraud in his heart is at work.
And no one in the Federal government has
access to your income-tax return outside of
the Internal Revenue Service itself except
representatives of Congressional committees,
working under prescribed safeguards.
Virtually all the information you give to
the Federal government is for a specific
agency to use for a specific purpose, and
it is protected by many safeguards.
Through what agencies does Uncle Sam
obtain his vast treasure-house of information?
In countless ways, year in and year out,
Uncle Sam is gathering information, or
having it sent to him. A lot of it deals with
such impersonal things as the weather, but
much of it has to do with people you and me.
Through the Internal Revenue Service,
the Federal government each year receives
at least 60 million income-tax reports from
individuals. In addition, the IRS receives
some 200 million forms a year from corpora
tions and employers, giving information on
social security payments and other data re
quired by law.
Through the Federal Bureau of Investiga
tion, the Central Intelligence Agency, the
Secret Service, Army Intelligence, and the
intelligence divisions of the other armed
services, Uncle Sam is ferreting out infor
mation about thousands of citizens suspected
of crimes ranging from filching a spare tire
off an Army truck to high treason.
The FBI each year gets the fingerprints
of additional millions of persons. If you're
an American citizen, over 18, the chances
are good that the FBI has your prints.
Through the Federal Reserve System,
which hires independent agencies to make
surveys of consumer buying habits and credit
practices, Uncle Sam gathers data about the
economic life of the nation.
Through the Bureau of the Census, he gets
detailed information about the nation's pop
ulation every decade. Besides counting heads
every 10 years, the census bureau takes
censuses of trade and manufacturing, agri
culture, transportation, and mineral indus
tries every five years.
"The Bureau of Census is well described
as the fact finder for the nation," director
Roger W. Burgess points out. "It also might
be called the record keeper for the nation,
for the statistical reports which are the prin
cipal product of the bureau's fact-collecting
activities provide a record not only of the
number of American people but of the
changes in the characteristics of the popula
tion and of the farms, factories, stores, and
other businesses in which Americans make
their livings."
From census statistics, you can learn every
thing from the amount of rickrack braid
made in the U. S. (211,117,000 yards in 1947),
to the number of women bill collectors
(3,450 in 1950).
The U. S. Civil Service Commission is
another great information-gatherer for Uncle
Sam. Each year millions of Americans fill
out a Federal employment form. This means
that, except in the case of a few who would
risk penalty of perjury, the answers are
given accurately. If you ever applied for a
Federal job, in all likelihood Uncle Sam still
has the form somewhere.
Much of the information Uncle Sam
gathers may seem useless to persons unaware
of how it is used. Some of it is useless, after
a time. But a lot of it is extremely helpful
to those who must keep their fingers on the
pulse of the nation's economic and sociolog
ical progress. Without accurate information,
gathered and collated authoritatively, de
fense planners would work in a mental fog.
Without necessary information, Uncle Sam
could not hire the skilled scientists and
technicians he needs. Without his knowledge
about you Uncle Sam would never be
able to meet the nation's current needs or
future problems.
Confronted with the facts about how much
the various Federal agencies know about him,
the average citizen might well ask: "Can't I
have any secrets of my own these days?"
Family Weekly, April 21, 1957 9
; your roses
; may be begging
i for help !
H Know these signs of distress then give quick first-
aid treatment for all these insects and diseases
with ORTHO Rose Dust.
S rS:;:; iMMi Contains: -n
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BLACK SPOT is a fungus disease
spread by wind and tain. Bad
infestation even causes leaf drop.
Captan, ferbam, sulfur control it.
JAPANESE BEETLES are vicious
leaf chewers, but the DDT and
lindane in ORTHO Rose Dust
knock 'em out.
POWDERY MILDEW turns leaves,
buds and stems of plants a sickly,
powdery gray. Experts recom
mend sulfur for powdery mildew.
ROSE SLUGS are small, green
pests that look like caterpillars
and chew all of the leaves but the
veins. DDT controls rose slugs.
ROSE RUST is generally revealed
by yellowish or powdery pustules
on undersides of leaves. Ferbam is
the recommended control for rust.
FOR BIGGER BLOOMS
0RTH0-GR0 Liquid
Plant Food contains
organic fish, nitro
gen, phosphoric
acid and potash in
balanced fertilizer.
'ft
THRIPS, 116 of an inch long,
puncture buds, causing them to
become discolored and fail to
open. DDT and lindane stop them.
NEW "SQUEEZE DUSTER," TOO!
Just squeeze and watch ,('?,
it puff. Big re-fillable K, - ;
plastic squeeze duster
contains 10 oz. ORTHO
Rose Dust. Easy to
use with one hand.
TM REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.: ORTHO
(ORTHQI)
Ikomi
California Spray-Chemical Corp.
Richmond, Calif., Washington, D.C.
----at'