Step
Object number2016.38.3 a-e
Date1939-1945
MediumMetal
Credit LineIn memory of John F. Leahy
DescriptionSet of five pole steps or spikes. Spike head variety.DimensionsHeight x Width x Length (a): 1.5 × 0.75 × 10 in. (3.8 × 1.9 × 25.4 cm)Height x Width x Length (b): 1.5 × 0.813 × 9.875 in. (3.8 × 2.1 × 25.1 cm)
Height x Width x Length (c): 1.5 × 0.813 × 0.938 in. (3.8 × 2.1 × 2.4 cm)
Height x Width x Length (d): 1.5 × 0.813 × 9.875 in. (3.8 × 2.1 × 25.1 cm)
Height x Width x Length (e): 1.5 × 0.813 × 10 in. (3.8 × 2.1 × 25.4 cm)
Historical NotesWiretapping equipment. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent John Francis Leahy used this equipment to test and tap phone lines, investigating cases of industrial sabotage in Pittsburgh during World War II. Technically, Leahy’s actions were illegal. The 1934 Communications Act federally outlawed phone taps; the U. S. Supreme Court upheld this ruling in 1939. But in 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt issued a secret executive order allowing wiretapping for “subversives” and spies. The FBI, which maintained a field office in Pittsburgh since 1914, used the order to investigate suspected enemy agents in western Pennsylvania, a fear that was especially high during the early years of the war, c. 1942 - 43.
Related institution
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(founded 1908)
Previous owner
John Francis Leahy
Terms
On View
Not on view
C. and E. Marshall Company
1939-1945
Welch Allyn, Inc.
