Statement About Legislative Proposals Concerning Explosives

RECENT months have brought an alarming increase in the number of criminal bombings in the cities of our country. In recent weeks, the situation has become particularly acute, as telephoned threats and actual bombings have sent fear through many American communities.

Schools and public buildings have had to be evacuated; considerable property has been destroyed; lives have been lost. Clearly, many of these bombings have been the work of political fanatics, many of them young criminals posturing as romantic revolutionaries. They must be dealt with as the potential murderers the, are.

Under existing law, the transport of explosives across State lines is, under some circumstances, a Federal crime. I am proposing an extensive strengthening and expansion of that law. In the proposals being sent to the Congress, it is asked that:

--Anyone involved in the transport or receipt in commerce of explosives, intending their unlawful use, be made subject to imprisonment for 10 years or a fine of $10, 000 or both. The current maximum penalty is a single year in prison or a $ 1 ,000 fine or both.

--The maximum penalty be doubled to 20 years in prison or a $20,000 fine or both if anyone is injured as the ultimate result of such transport of explosives.

--Penalties for bomb threats be raised from 1 year in prison to a maximum of 5 years of $5,000 fine or both.

--Incendiary devices be included in the category of "explosives," bringing such devices under the anti-bombing provisions.

--Use of explosives to damage or destroy any building, vehicle, or other property owned or leased to the Federal Government be made a Federal crime.

--Possession, without written authorization, of any explosive in such a building be made a Federal crime.

--Use of explosives to damage or destroy any building or property used for business purposes by any person or firm engaged in interstate commerce, or in any activity affecting such commerce, be made a Federal crime.

--Possession of explosives with the intent to damage either Federal property or property used in its business by a person engaged in interstate commerce also be made a Federal crime.

--The individual engaged in the transport or use of explosives in violation of these provisions be made subject to the death penalty if a fatality occurs.

Our purpose in bringing these crimes under Federal jurisdiction is not to displace State or local authority. Federal investigations and prosecutions would begin only after the Attorney General has determined that intervention by the National Government is necessary in the public interest. Our purpose is rather to assist State and local governments in their efforts to combat the multiplying number of acts of urban terror. I am also asking that Law Enforcement Assistance Administration funds be specifically designated for special training programs for State and local law enforcement agencies to aid them in coping with this latest threat to the public safety and to the maintenance of a free and open society.

The anarchic and criminal elements who perpetrate such acts deserve no more patience or indulgence. It is time to deal with them for what they are.