The evening times., 1899-02-25
Silent Men Who Are Nearly
Always About Him.
NJ .mters of the Secret Service
Force Constantly Vigilant.
Incidents Connected With Mr.. Me-
kinIey's Recent Southern Tour.
MinSling With the Crowds.
From the Boston Journal.l


are assigned to protect the Chief Magis-
trate naturally make no display of their
business, and the chances are that the
President himself knows not who they
are They do not make themselves known
TO him or to anyone else unless absolutely
necessary. Yet they are within speaking
distance of him on all occasions when he
appears in a crowded place or is riding
. along a crowded thoroughfare. That is
what they are paid for. They are to keep
their eyes open for suspicious characters
! and TO protect the President against harm
! of any kind either Intentional or uninten-
/ tional.
The men who do this work are from
the secret service bureau. Nobody at the
| White House asks for them, as the Presi
dent would probably be offended if he
| learned that anyone thought he had TO be
| protected from a people who love and like
| him. Chief Wilkie of the Secret Service
assigns the men and holds them to account
! for their work. Their time is not wholly
! lost, as they ascertain facts of Importance
TO the Government wherever they go. In
all cities visited by them they encounter
the local detectives and learn whether there
. is counterfeit money in circulation in that
section. They are awake and watchful
nearly all the time. They see all that is
going on and hear about all that is said.
| In the hotels where the President stops
they mingle with the crowd, apparently as
eager 10 get a glimpse of the Exec
utive as the throngs OF curious people in
the corridors and on the streets They
have 10 know everything about the pro-
gramme of the day-where the President is
going, what time he will be there, who is
expected and how best TO get there them
selves. along with him. The last is gen.
orally the most important question TO the
! detectiyes-exactly what to do 10 be along
with the President when he starts out On
the street They may have TO bribe the
driver of the Presidents carriage 10 get
seat beside him; they may have TO blum
the driver; they may be unable TO do eth
er and have TO walk behind the carriage
for miles. All the same, they go with MIN.
I'd 10 the time of the war with spain
not so much care was taken in guarding
the President. He went to many places
! without a detective or policeman In sight
/ He does so in Washington as yet, rs the
amiable and shrewd Chief OF the secret
Service is not always aware OF the Presl-
dents intention TO take an unexpected
walk or ride. The war with Spain, OF
course increased the possibilities mat
some crazy Spaniard or Spanish sympa-
thizer might watch and do the President
/ harm on some of his visits out OF the city.
Such person could do no harm at the
White House as cranks and suspicious
! people never get access TO the President at
! the Executive Mansion. They are promptly
gobbled up when they appear around the
| building Cranks who go to the White
| House on any business nearly always tell
their stories TO the doorkeepers or ushers
at the front door, or before reaching the
| second story.
| If they manage to get through the cor
don of watchful men on the first floor they
are forced to tell somebody what they
| want and that exposes their purposes.
/ They are generally harmless, but no
! chances are taken with them. For weeks
! before Guiteau shot President Garfield ne
went to the White House almost daily
! to attempt to see the President he was
not arrested but was given the usual
.iollv" and put off as easily and smoothly
! as possible Whether that treatment Ie-
suited in his determination to kill the
| President or whether his intention had
been that from the start is not known.
On the Presidents recent TRIP 10 the
| South there were two secret service men
| aIone They went to Atlanta ahead OF the
| Presidents train and secured quarters al
! the hotel where the party would stop. They
made themselves familiar with the pro-
eramme for the two days the PRESIDENT
| was to be in the city, and then oesan
finding out everything to be learned
Wherever the President appeared they
| were near him So were two local detec-
lives assigned by the police department
| of Atlanta After addressing the Legis-
| lature of Georgia the President was TO
receive the public.
The President walked down the marble
| steps of the State House to hold the re-
ception. An immense crowd swarmed from
| the rear and the front to shake hands with
the President who had stopped at the
/ Iya cd
| by one of the local detectives and by one
| of the Secret Service men. while the others
watched The President did not have time
| to finish the reception, and literally had TO
be pushed through the surging, eager
| throng the members of which were tear
| ing off a woman's dress or mans coat
or cuffs. In such jam the watohful de-
tectives are frequently carried off their
feet, but when the President emerged
from the throng they were still near him.
In the afternoon the event was a floral
! parade which the President was to review
| from stand several miles from his hotel.
| The Secret Service sleuths found no way
of riding. and when the Presidents car
riage rolled up to the stand the spectators.
If they had been watching, would have seen
| two we'll ll-dressed men walking at the back
| of the vehicle The next day, when the
President went out to review the military
parade, one of the men was perched- upon
| the seat with the driver, while the other
| was walking. One remained on the ground
| In front of the stand, while the other took
| place on the stand. He did not have a
| pass, but they knew how to get a place
| without passes and without causing any
disturbance The routine was the same
| throughout the trip, and the business was
done so neatly and quietly that few people
with the party enquired who they were.
They found little, however, on which to
| base a report.
| On the night when the Presidential party
! left Atlanta for Tuskegee the two men had
made no arrangements to go on the train
| They did not care to announce who they
| were. They got on, nevertheless found
| sleeping quarters in the front of the dining
| car, utilized the blankets TO be found and
went to sleep. When the force of dining
! car men turned into this section for. the
night they found two strange men there,
| leaving no room for some of the dining
car people to sleep. Some comment was
| made but the mysterious men quietly kept
| their places and slept comfortably The
next morning the walters were in bad
humor from loss of sleep After that the
detectives found other quarters at night.
| For long time during the war with
Spain three or four city detectives and a