Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-11
WHEN CUT OF TOWN
Every PrecautionT Taken to Insure the
Presidents Safety.
ALWAYS GUARDED BY DETECTIVES
But Frequently Their Task is Not
an Easy One.
On THE SOUTHERN TRIP

Written for The Evening Star.
The care with which President Mckinley
is guarded when away from Washington
is known to only a few people in the coun-
try. The silent, observant men who are
assigned to protect the chief executive nat
urally 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
any one 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 unintentional.
The men who do this work are from the
secret service bureau. Nobody at the White
House asks for them, as the President
would probably be offended if he learned
that any one thought he had to be pro-
tected from 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 coun-
tcilcil iliohSS III CfftuldtlOn Ill thdt SSCtioi
They 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 min
gle with the crowd, apparently as eager to
get a glimpse of the chief executive as the
throngS of curious people in the corridors
and on the streets. They have to know
everything about the program of the day
where the President is going, what time
he will be there, who is expected and how
best to get there themselves along with
him. The last IS generally the most i'm
portatt question to the detectives-eXactly
what to dc to be along with the President
when he starts out on the street. They
may have to bride the driver of the Presi-
dents carriage to get seat beside aim;
they may have to bluff the driver; they
may be unable to do either, and have to
walk behind the carriage for miles. All the
same they go with him.
When He Is at Home.
Up to the time of the war with Spain not
SO much care was taken in guarding the
President. He went many places without
a detective or policeman in sight He does
so in Washington yet, as the amiable and
shrewd chief of the secret service is not
always aware of the Presidents intention
to take an unexpected walk or ride. The
war with Spain, of course, increased the
possibilities that some crazy Spaniard or
Spanish SymDathizer might watch an OPP
portunity to 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 COB
bled 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 Gordon of watchful men on
the first floor they are forced to tell some
body what they want, and that exposes
their purposes. They generally harm
less, but no chances are taken with them.
For weeks before Guiteau shot President
Garfield he went to the White House al
most daily to attempt to see the President.
He was not arrested but was given the
usual Jolly and put off as easily and
smoothly as possible. Whether that treat
ment resulted in his determination to kill
the President whether his intention had
been that from the start is not known.
On the Southern Trip.
On the Presidents recent trip to the
south there were two secret service men
Presidents train and secured quarters at
the hotel where the party would stop. They
made themselves familiar with the program
for the two days the President was to be
in the city, and then began finding out
everything to be learned. Wherever the
President appeared they were near him.
So were two local detectives assigned by
the police department of Atlanta After
addressing the Legislature of Georgia the
President was to receive the public
The President walked down the marble
stepS of the state house TO hold the recep-
ton. An immense crowd swarmed from
rear and front to shake hands with the
President. who had stopped at the last step.
He was protected from the jam by one of
The local detectives and by one of the Sc
crct service men. v'hie the others watched.
The President did not have time to finish
the reception. and literally had to be push
ed through the surging. eager throng the
members of which had little thought wheth-
er they tearing off woman's dress
or a mans coat or cuffs In such a jam
the watchful detectives are frequently car
ried off their feet, but when the President
emerged from the throng they were stlll
near him.
In the afternoon the event was a floral
parade which the President was to review
from a stand several miles from his hotel
The secret service sleuths found no way Of
riding, and when the Presidents carriage
rolled UP to the stand the spectators, if
they had been watching would have seen
two well-dressed men walking at the back
of the vehicle. The next day when the
President went out to review military pa
rade 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 a
place. on the stand. He did not have a pass,
place With
out passes and without causing any dis
turbance. The routine was the same
throughout the trip, and the business was
done so neatly and quietly that few people
with the party inquired who they were.
They found little, however, on which to
base report.
On the Special Train
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 Oh, 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
| rext morning the walters were in bad hu-
NOR from loss Of sleep. After that the de-
tectives found other quarters at night.
For long time during the war with
Spain three or four city detectives and
a secret service man were on duty at the
White House This was during the period
when the President continued his tri-Week-