Mr. Schiff: For nearly a century, the FBI has
been fighting the hard fight. The Historian at
the FBI is Dr. John Fox...
Dr. Fox: "Congress, in 1908, stopped the
Secret Service from doing investigations and the
Department of Justice was left with a problem.
It needed an investigative force and so Charles
Bonaparte, the Attorney General, created one that
summer."
Mr. Schiff: It was July 26th, 1908. Dr. Fox says
initially, the responsibilities of this new agency
were varied...
Dr. Fox: "You had a mix of criminal violations;
there were some national security concerns."
Mr. Schiff: Dr. Fox says the small force was authorized
by Congress to cover about two dozen crimes...
Dr. Fox: "Peonage violations, which was
an early Civil Rights crime; certain White Collar
crimes like Corruption in the Federal Government;
Land Fraud; Neutrality Act violations."
Mr. Schiff: Later came gangsters, bank robberies
and terrorism. The work goes on. I'm Neal Schiff
of the Bureau and that's what's happening at the
"FBI, This Week."