Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-21

present. Moreover. operative must be
thoroughly conversant with every detail
connected with the manufacture OF coun-
terfeit coins and currency and be able to
take the witness stand and testify as an
expert on questions as to the genuineness
OF exhibits. The law of arrest is one Of
the studies Of the service.
~
1.-THE duties OF the secret service will
prove -congenial only to men who love a
| life of adventure and to whom the solution
OF difficult problems brings sense of salts
| faction, not to be weighed in dollars and
| cents. which amply repays them for weeks
OF hardship, privation and effort under
| tremendous disadvantages. Such men must
| be equally at home on the East Side of
! New York and in the mountains of Ken
| lucky; must be ready to assume at short
| notice the role of tramp, insurance agent,
peddler. railroad man. sport or other dis
| tinctive character. dressing the part appro
| priately and maintaining its individuality
| consistently under suspicious eyes for
| weeks at a time. Quick wit, bodily activ-
| ity, keenness of vision. patience, dec sion
| In emergencies. mastery of details and an
! ability to put two and two together are
all essential to the stock in trade of the
| successful secret service operative"
~
| That secret service work Is pre-enlinently
an occupation for young men is attested by
l
| tives IL under thirty-flve years. whereas
many Of the best men in the corps are I'M
der thirty years of age. Manifestly the ir-
resistible fascination of the work does more
to hold its votaries than any hope Of fnan-
| cial reward for the pay is modest. new
| recruit in the service starts out as assistant
| operative at So per day and II he proves
| worthy is promoted in due course to the
| rank Of operative at IS per day. AS an
| operative his pay may increase to 81 per
day, but this comes only as the reward for
! q long interim of arduous and dangerous
work. The secret service man must aban-
don all thought of fixed habitation with
social and family ties, since he may be or
dered from New York to Texas or.fnpm the
mountains of Tennessee to San X@ncisco
| at an hours notice. and 1t is impossible to
| predict in advance how long he will re-
| main at any given place To be sure. the
operative In charge Of a district of the Sc
| cret service-the country is divided into
| twenty-five such districts-can be moder-
ately certain OF being stationed in one city
for a year or two but the field force OF
this secret police is constantly on the move.
Chief John E. Wilkie. whd has done so
. much to bring the secret service to Its
present admirable state of efficiency, is well
: fitted by temperament and training for
, the position which he holds Mr.. Wilkie.
. who is forty-six years Of age. Is a native
= of Illinois and was graduated from the
, Chicago High School~As young man he
took up newspaper work and was twice
sent abroad as the representative of his
paper before he was twenty-one years OF
age In 1893 he went to London and en-
gagged in the banking and steamship busi-
ness. but returned to the United States
three years later. Then he took up the
Q work OF criminal investigation. which had
: always had an attraction for him. and in
Q the winter of 1893 Secretary Gage selected
him for chief Of the secret service, a posi-
3 ! ton which he has held ever since.