New-York tribune., 1908-12-21
SECRET SERVICE
MAY BE ABOLISHED
PRESIDENT CONSIDERING
PL.4N OF CONSOLIDATION.
PIT Al DetectiUe Bureaus of Coz
crRment Under Department
of Justice.
of Justice.
tFron TIE Tribune Bureau. ]

washington. Dec. 20.-The President has
,,,5e- consideration plan 10 abolish the Secret
service and consolidate all the detective bureaus
- the government under one mana cement. The
new bureau will be in the hands of the Depart
-,snt Of Justice. This action. If taken, will be
-. direct result Of the agitation over the Secret
service. and will. he believes. save the Treasury
: great many thousands of dollars annually.
r,s+ how and when he will make this recon-
--e,6ation TO Congress has not been decided,
t,,. the President may incorporate it in a spe-
,fs1 message or transmit it in the reply he is
,-snsr1ng for Congress on the Secret Service
subject
The name Of she new bureau Will be the De-
.,s-rr7ent OF Criminal Investigation. and it viii
i,l,,5e those officers and divisions now vari-
,,slv knozn as the Secret Service, Postofice In
,-ss-isstioa Service. Customs Inspection Service.
,r.s-nal revenue special agents. pension exam
;,srs and Land Office agents. The bureau will
,sxe chief. who shall have general supervision
,,s- the work Of all the branches. and the coun-
-, viii probably be divided into four great dis
.s.,. NJ headquarters. which shall be known
=. Northeast. Northwest. Southeast and South
,+ Each one of these districts Will have
.r,h chief OF deputy. who Will have direct charge
r. ire work in his field. and who Will be under
~ 6i-ecrion Of the chief at Washington. BY
..-,s cent-alizing and dividing the work the
Resident has been assured that the cost of con-
srr+ine 81 the criminal Investigations for the
r,ans-trneut OF Justice Will be reduced approx
--..s7- ore-balf Instead OF being directed from
bsIf dozen different offices, each with its chiefs
s,6 deputy chiefs, its clerks and secretaries and
5,ookkeepers. the work can be managed by one
head in washington. The suggestion TO COM
,i,e TIE various Offices in this manner has been
r,s5e from time TO time 10 members of Con
g-sss chief Wilkie of the Secret Service as long
srn IS 1893 having presented the matter to the
Committee on Appropriations Of the House
~ The. President succeeds in persuading Con-
s-ess 20 make the change he will have accom-
rIished = xreet deal in the interest Of sinplic-
itv and economy said Treasury official to-
6sv As things are now the men in the vari-
cus detective bureaus employed by Uncle Sam
fairly fall over each other at times Take the
city Of New Orleans. an example I have
saen the time not very long ago when there
uer. men employed by the Customs. Secret
Service Internal Revenue. Postoffice Inspection
sr6 Pension Once all working there upon cases
q the same time. They were there for weeks,
and Il there had been one bureau looking after
Ire investigating work five men might have
done the work that il required more than
dozen 70 accomplish
IT often happens that the chief Of the Sc
cret Service receives word that one OF his men
h needed at such and such a place The de-
tective Is dispatched 10 the place at once, and
sets 10 work on the case. After he has got
down To the facts he learns that II Is not
couuterTeiting case at all, but an internal reVe-
rue matter As the law prevents him from
taxing hold Of anything but counter1eldnS
cases ne must drop the work and return 10 his
teado1lar-ers in Washington or some other city
II the mean time he wires the facts TO ms
Grief and the chief Of the Secret Service nou-
fes the internal revenue commissioner tnat
there Is case for him such and such a
town BY the time the internal revenue agent
gets there the lawbreaker has had plenty OF
tine to clean up his work and make his es-
cape This is by no means an exaggerated case
but che that Is duplicated very often during
the course Of q year. As the Department OF
Justice has ultimately to take up all the viola
tons OF the federal laws ii Il only common
tpnse 10 place all the criminal investigators
under the direction Of the Attorney General
Political influence. It is said has operated
largely against the adoption OF the centraliza-
ton scheme in the past. The Postmaster Cen
s-al has always been reluctant to part with his
force OF inspectors and the Internal revenue
Commissioner has clung TO his special agents
with the utmost tenacity because they repre-
sent z potent political power in many scattered
districts throughout the country.