Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-21
SPIES on GOVERNMENT CLERKS
The Pet Bugaboo Of the Departments al
Imaginary Terror Almost
Exrrerrs oy TIE prpAnrNrSIs ARR SeT szAp-
ewEs NJ DxrEsrIvEs. AZ 70 MANY OF rus~ M
AsINr, uSLrss rHsr HAvk ervEx esssSDs roR
sesrtcToS-soNE cvaIor. fAcrs

sesttctoN-soNE cCRIors facts
1T is the only aisagreeable feature Of NV
employment" said an ola Treasury clerk. Ito
i"ei that l am Away. being watched aud that
can never leave tho department building or my
house with any confidence that nv footsteps
ar not dogged by secret service detectives in
search OF information as to NV habits"
thE SrAR writer mSrysled Iauch at this ana
devoted some time 10 a search for Information
on the subject Al length he came across a
high executive Official with thorough knowI-
edge Of Il. who CHANGED TO be in q particularly
good humor.
''of course" said the Official. laughing. ssthe
secret service people would not tell Won sbout
their private affairs: IL was no use gone 20
them. The fact is. however. that of the i 400
employees IN the Treasury at least LOCO ara
firmly convinced that they followed about
pretty nearly all the time by government de-
tectivss. employed expressly for that purpose.
to see that they behave themselves aud 20 re-
port everything they do that IL naughty
to the authorities of the department.
III money counter takes glass
of beer in a saloon he imagines that the man
who picks his teeth on the other side Of the
screen IN the doorway is lurking there 20 watch
the motions OF his elbow. II the young lady
who helps work the hash mach ins in the re-
dempton division INDUCES in a Irritation at an
evening party il Is with faint though haunt
ing dread lest tho "ocked-eyed violin PLAYER
may possibly be observing her a, 20 much an
hour. drawn on vouchers against the secret ser
vice fnnd. IN the youth Who does up silver in
bags OF $1,000 each invests % in poker chips
he cannot help suspectng that the newly-intro-
dueed acquaintance on She opposlts side of the
table. who keeps straddling the blind 30 pro-
vokingly. ~ an officer in disguise detailed 20
shadow HIM. In short. this detective bugaboo
casts gloom of dread aud distrust over the
big building AZ the northwest end OF Pennsyl-
vanla avenue"
ONLY IN SPECIAL cAsKs
"And. pray, how much truth is there in the
bugaboog"
Scarcely bit IL is nearly all n delusion
from beginning to end Employees of ths
Treasury are never watched by the secret SCR
vice unless in the cases of specified individuals
whose behavior has aroused suspicion m the
minds OF their chiefs. In such an Instance tho
person in authority goes TO the officer in charg,
of the secret service and saws: SO-and-So In
my department is drinking hard or gambling,
l m afraid wish you'd look him up and
ma out just how much dissipation he IL
lndulging IN Mhereupon u detective i.
detailed TO shadow that employee Cor few days
and learn precisely what he does with hi.
time and money. The number and KIND Of
drinks he takes each twenty-four hours ara
duly scheduled. II he plays The races AT
pool rooms the facts in that regard are noted
down; IN case poker any other vice i his
weakness the hours devoted to IL are recorded
Finally. the detective makes up an elaborate
report on the case from hls notes and submits
II 10 his chief. who IN turn HANDS IN over for in
spection bs tue head Of department responsible
for the employe. The head OF department. being
now supplied with facts to act a. On. summons
the delinquent and. "a most cases warns him
somew has IN this fashion:
- 'Ar. SO-and-so. IL has been brought 70 NV
knowledge that you are drinking a good deal.
and that you gamble on horses to an extent be-
yond yoar means. There In no necessity for
discussing the ethical aspect OF these practices.
Ii Is sufficient 90 Say that they interfere with
your usefulness in tne treasury Ii Won wish
to retain your place here, they must be stopped
at once and for good. That is ali have TO say,
sir. Good day
III the case is a very bad one. OF course. dis
missal may be the penalty W! ,hout warning.
however. you can readily understand that a
few such events as this in a big ofice might
well create general and permanent feeling Of
anxiety on the part OF employees lest they were
being watched, with view 10 discovering aud
reporting their little peccadilloes. The very
nyst0rlousness OF the means by which sach in.
formation was obtained in the spec is instances
where discharges and warnings have come un-
expectedly-like lightning from clear skis
calculated TO excite dread. At the same time
there Is very little reason Tor such fear The
secret service never pays any attention TO the
doings OF a government servant unless as las
been sald, upon the express request of that
servants superior in Office; aud the Latter does
not address such a request TO the secret service
cher unless circumstances have given rise TO a
reasonable suspicion against the employe A
mans bad habits are more than apt 70 afford
their own evidence TO hIs EMPLOYER in office
hours Hls appearance may suggest the
notion that he Is dlssipating or, more ~ lily
still, his work will not be done with It's al
cleanness and precision. Then again. il he
wastes hls money vices the butcher the
baker, and the boarding house mistress or
landlord are apt TO suffer. and they do not hest
tate 10 address complaints to the department.
As rule no attention is paid to such COM
plants, but II they come la so frequently
as to be annoying, ths secret service NAV be
requested 20 look the man up and hnd out how
he spends the cash that he doesn't pay to his
tradesmsn and other creditors. Ii he Is found
to make n practice OF taking a drink before
breakfast, two more before going 20 work two
more at lunch time and four or hive more in
the evening. with half a dozen cigars at odd
times through the day. good part OF bis in
come VIII be accounted for. This form Of stim-
uiation, too, IL very apt 70 accompany a taste
for playing the races. Anyway a prina facis
case Is made ont against him and some Cue
morning lie finds himself bounced What I
have been saying will apply as well TO other
governmental departments as to the Treasury"
OLD CLERKS TAKE RISKS
But the class of men employed in the de-
partments is SO high that presume there are
very few black sheep among them," suggested
the newspaper man.
THAT is, happily very true" replied the
Official. as he lighted fresh cigar and offered
The STAR reporter another from the same box.
And yet viii tell you a very extraordinary
fact-namely. that the men who are found
drinking hard are, as a rule, the Oldest and
most valued employees. rather than the new
and comparatively untried ones. And the only
reason L can think OF, to account for the cir
cumstsnce, is that the seasoned and valuable
men feel more confident of the security OF their
positions and take risks which the fresher
fellows would hesitate at That the
fact il / have stated il am
assured, not only from my own observations.
but also from the testimony Of detectives of
my acquaintance employed BY the secret sery-
ice. And. by the way. it is worth mentioning
that it is not part of the business OF the secret
service to watch government employees. The
secret service Is organized aud maintained for
one object only-to suppress counterfeiting.
Nevertheless il is usually willing to lend its
brains and men for other work-to run down a
fugitive national bank cashier, for instance
on condition that all expenses are paid by tho
parties benefited To shadow an employe Of
the government here in Washington costs moth
ing, no travelling expenses being involved. and
nothing is charged The secret service simply
does it As favor, and only in cases where IL 10
asked"
TROUBLED IY BLAcKxAuERs
80, from what you say, i presume that there
is actually very little spying done upon the de-