The daily gazette., 1876-04-19
I'he Beauties of the Detective System.

the past few months can fail to have
been struck with the prominent part
played by the detectives, or so-called
especial agents." in all the operations
of the government. No affair of I'M
portance appears to be transacted with
out their Intervention. They turn up
constantly in the most unexpected
places. They appear before the inves-
tigating committees as sharing the
confidence and enjoying the intimacy
OF persons in the highest official sta
tion. The whole system of govern
ment, in fact, appears to be as complete.
ly honeycombed with these creatures
as that of Russia under the most sus-
picious and absolute of Cars, or of
France under the administration of a
Richelieu or Fouche. Twenty
years ago nothing of the kind was
known in this country. Like many
other evils the policy of carrying on
the government blythe aid of detectives
and spies is an of-shoot and legacy of
the war. The employment of spies
for purely military purposes IS as old
as the history of the human race, and
civilization, as it has failed to put
stop to war, has not dispensed with
the necessity for employing them Even
military men, however, while employ.
ing spies and protiting by their infor-
nation, do not regard the employment
itself as an honorable one. The cap
tured spy is considered out of the pale
of the humane aud honorable treat
ment which is due to prisoners of war
taken openly with arms in their hands,
He is not even entitled to soldiers
death, but is ignominiously hung like
Il common criminal. The reason is
obvious. The success of the spy ne
cessarily depends upon the use of arts
and means which are not esteemed
honorablc-deception, falsehood, trea-
cherry, habitual and systematic, both
in word and act. A detective whose
name figures in the recent congress
sional investigation was a successful
Union spy during the war, and, it is
said, in order better to accomplish his
purpose at one time actually enlisted
in the Confederate army and rose to be
orderly sergeant of his company being
all the while in secret communication
with the federal commanders. The
political spy is everywhere and in all
ages, in the pages alike of history and
of fiction, by those who employ him
and those whom he deceives and be-
trays, regarded with just adherence
and contempt. Unhappily, during the
painful years of our civil strife, there
was no lack of spies of both classes, and
when the war ended such had been the
decentralization produced by the en-
ployment of such agencies that the
system was still kept up under the
pretext that the revenue service and
interests of the government demanded
it. An army of Especial agents" was
accordingly organized and retained in
connection with the different bureaus
and divisions of the Treasury Depart
ment for the purpose, as alleged of de-
tecting and preventing frauds upon the
internal revenue, smuggling and coun-
terfeiting, besides exercising general
espionage over all the accounting and
disbursing officers of the government.
Not to be behind hand every other de.
partment had its detectives, those of
the postotlice occasionally being ab lie
to vary the monotony of looking after
stolen mail-bags and dishonest letter.
carriers" business in the South before
elections and hunting up "kuklux."
The chiefs of these Especial" agencies
of the treasury, like Jayne, &c. soon
became a recognized and formidable
power in the administration, eyercis-
ing an influence that can hardly he ex-
aggersted over the head of the depart
ment itself. We find them even en-
joying the entree of the White House,
and, If not admitted to the counsels
and confidence of the President. freely
sharing those of his immediate official
household. Thus it appears that when
Gen. BabcOck wanted to know who
were attacking" him through the
press, on account of his supposed con-
nection with the "District ring" he
has recourse to Col. Whitley, chief OF
tie special agents of the Treasury
for the detection of frauds upen the
currency! When the same prosecuted
gentleman desires to know the nature
and extent of the lease" in the hands
of the prosecution against him in con-
nection with the st. Louis whisky
ring, he has recourse in like manner
to detective Bell. This much appears
by the admission of Gen. Babc0ck and
his friends. We say nothing as to the
grosser charges against him OF being
connected through the same suspicious
instrunentalities with the Washington
safe burglary, "or with the''spoliation
OF evidence in the whisky case. One of
the very difficulties now experienced
in getting at the truth il regard to
these and other subjects of present in
vestigation is occasioncd by the fact
that much of the testimony is neces-
sarily derived from thu" especial agents"
themselves. Experience has shown
that testimony from such sources is
universally received with suspicion
the popular sentiment upon the SUBJ
ject finding expressionin the common
saying about "setting thief to catch
thiet."
Is is not high time that the use of
agencies so corrupting and demoraliz.
ing should be as far as possible dispen-
sed with, and, that those who are en-
ployed TO do this necessary dirty work
of government should be relegated, as
in other countries, to their proper posi-,
tion? Two things may be assumed as
certain; that the employment of spies