The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1901-10-04
CRITlClSES DETECTIVES.
Says Uncle Sans Secret Service
is not What it Should Be.
Minneapolis Journal:

Lawrence NJ. Kircher, who was
identified with the government S
secret service twenty years ago,
but who resigned his place to
ass list contractors in getting govern
ment work, is at the Hotel Nicollet
today.
Mr.. Kircher has some radical
opinions regarding the secret service
branch of the national governm ent
and he is not afraid to express them.
He makes bold to declare that the
entire department is hopelessly in
adequate. Favoritism obtains in
the department as nowhere else in
the federal service and to be a
government detective' man must
stand very close to the throne.
Said Mr.. Kircher:
The department has been repre-
sented as one Of great Importance.
Well, it has about thirty or thirty
five men to cover the entire United
States. The appropriation, think,
is in the neighborhood of $4,000.
The ''detectives are costly politicians
who have been valuable to Con-
gresham This or Senator That.
The records of some of the secret
service men would not look we'll in
print.
AS matter of fact these men do
nothing but look up counterfeiters
in different parts of the country.
Their work is easy, for they are
permitted to spend money freely,
and, of course, it isn't hard to
catch criminals when you have
unlimited money to spend.
Inotice that Former Chief William
P. Hazen of the secret service has
criticized the precautions taken at
Buffalo to safeguard the person of
President Mckinley. Only three
men were detailed for the work,
and, as Mr.. Hazen has pointed out,
they might as well have been in
New York city. They obligingly
stepped to one side when the assassin
came forward, extending a bandaged
hand, thing no injured man would
do. But the detectives were only
there to draw their salaries. They
should have stood by the presidents
side and never lost their ground. 1t
would not have required much fore
sight to have picked out a degener-
ate like Czologosz and hustled him
out of the building.
The entire system is ridiculously
inadequate. I say this as man
who knows what he is talking
about. I left the service of my own
accord twenty years ago, so / have
no quarrel with the department.
But happen to know some of the
men who are employed in the SER
vice and their presence there is a
disgrace to it.
If it is wise to have watchful,
alert men,, ready to send over the
country on important secre t missio n
for the government, it would be
Just as well for congress to pay
some attention to the personal char
acter of such men. They are often
trusted with information which a
dishonest man might find readily
negotiable.
I think congress should greatly
enlarge the department and equip it
with men of brains rather than pull.
CONGRESSMAN Loren Fletcher was
asked what he thought of Mr.: Kir-
cher's views but said he knew little
of it's personnel or management
aside from the conspicuous fact that
it was q hard body to understand.
The congressman expects to see an
overhauling Of the department be-
fore long.
u E. WALKER.
Physician and Surgeon.
Office over Peter son-Stitser block
Hon ,,-l2 q, m. 2:OO.5:2