1957 Nation's Crime Hits Record, Hoover Says WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 [(UP)—FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover said Wednesday more major crimes were committed in the United States in the first six months of this year than in any similar period on record. HOOVER SAID reports from 3,023 police departments across the country indicated there were 1,399,670 major crimes in the six-month period. That would be an average of about one crime every 11.2 seconds. The FBI chief said this rate represented an 8.4 per cent increase over the rate for the first six months of last year. "If the current trend continues for the remainder of this year," Hoover declared, "1957 will be the sixth consecutive year in which more than two million major crimes will have been reported to the FBI and the second consecutive year in which the crime total will have reached the 2 ½ -million mark." Federal crimes are reported separately and were not covered in this report. Hoover said that while the bulk of the nation's crimes occurred in cities, rural crime is increasing more rapidly than city crime. Rural crime jumped 13.2 per cent in the six-month period compared with a 7.2 per cent rise in the cities. The report made these major points: —During the period in question one major crime was committed for each 122 persons in the nation. —A crime of murder, man- slaughteer, rape or assault to kill was reported every 3.9 minutes. -—In that period 37 people were feloniously slain and 272 other felonious assaults were committed, 57 rapes occurred, 4,775 larcenies were committed, 801 cars were stolen, 172 robberies and 1,620 burglaries took place.