Evening star., 1901-09-07
Attempt on Presidents Life Merits
Death.
ACTING ATTORNEY GENERALS VIEW
Conking's Recommendation Wheh
Garfield Was Shot.
EXCLUSION OF ANARCHISTS.

When questioned as to what punishment
the federal statutes provided for the at
tempt on the Presidents life Mr. James
NJ Beck. acting attorney general. said this
morning:
while have not given any special exS
animation to the federal statutes bearing
on the subject, yet I know OF no statute
which makes 1t a criminal offense to att
tempt the life Of the President. That there
ought to be such legislation is perfectly
clear. There are statutes which make pun.
ishable personal violence to minor Off.
cials, such as internal revenue agents but
1t is passing strange that, notwithstanding
the fact that two Presidents have beer1
assassinated and attempts have been made
upon the lives of two more. no law has.
ever been passed to place an attempt on
the life Of the President on the same plane
as high treason. Where such attempt had
no reference to the presidential Office ana
was committed within the territorial limits
or a state there might be some question az
to the power Of Congress to legisate, but
where 1t Is clear that the attempt has been
made not upon the individual but upon
the President for the purpose Of promoting
anarchy, and thus subverting the govern
ment, the right OF the federal government
to protect it's chief executive seems too
clear for question. II the President should
De spared to the American people II Is to
be feared that the assassr can be con-
victed for no higher crime ti.sn assault
with Intent to kill: Having regard for tho
immense consequences which follow the
assassination Of a President an attempt
upon his life. whether successful or un-
successful, ought. in my judgment, II be
punishable as high treason with death"
No Law to Exclude Anarchists.
When asked as to whether there wer6
any federal laws by which anarchists could
a 6ad Pvov, hte "a
II they were here. Mr.. Beck replied:
Il know of no federal statute which pre-
vents anarchists as such from entering this
country and remaining here II he is an
alien and has been convicted Of any in
famous crime, or falls within any other
prohibitory feature of the immigration stat-
utes, he can be excluded, but there is no
statute which excludes them as anarchists.
The power of Congress to exclude an
archists when aliens is undoubted for In the
Chinese exclusion cases the Supreme Court
held that the power of the government was
plenary to absolutely exclude all aliens,
even though such exclusion confiicted with
existing treaties, and the power to exclude
for any reason which commends itself to
the judgment Of Congress. The executive
department Of the government, however 10
powerless to act without congressional leg.
islation"
COnkling's Recommendation.
AHc suggestion OF MI. Beck, the acting
attorney general, that personal violence to
the President Of the United States should
be punishable by death brings to light b
letter which Roscoe Conkling wrote to the
Department Of Justice the day after the
shooting OF President Garfield, twenty years
ago. Mr. Conkling took the position that
attempts on the life Of chief executive
should be punishable by death.
FavOrs Larger Secret Service
Assistant Secretary Allies OF the treasury,
when asked whether he thought Congress-
could enact laws that would reach the ans
archists In this country. said: "Undoubts
edly something could be done, but believe
that the secret service should be greatly
enlarged and given supervision over groups
or bodies Of men who plot against the form
Of our government and against the ofiicial4
OF the government. The secret service force
Is SO small that it is unable to do but little
more than keep down counterfeiting. Oc-
casionally We have to use the force to
watch government officials. Recently we
had to detail men from the force on the
mint robbery at San Francisco, and again
on the Nogales case. The bureau was ere.
ated for the purpose Of looking after coun-
terfe1ters, and We stretch our authority
perhaps in assigning the men on any other
matters. So 1t is perfectly apparent that
the secret service force should be greatly
enlarged and its scope extended SO as to
keep in hand the very class of men from
which the assassin Of the President camel
Congress could make laws that would give
to the bureau authority to handle these
classes. At present the appropriation for
the bureau is only 100000 each year"