The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1908-09-18


in the employ of the United States
secret service is that of successfully
passing the preliminary examination,
submitting to a personal interview
with Chief Wilkie and showing his
nerve and ability during a month of
testing out in the real business of de-
tective work for Uncle Sam.
Here is the civil service slip that
must first be filled out:
Sec. 70. Secret Service-Applica-
ton for positions in the secret service
of the treasury department should for
ward, addressed to the secretary of
the treasury and marked personal
form 3O4, properly executed, and such
evidence as to their experience, train
ing, qualifications and personal char
acteristics as they may be able to
obtain, without any reference to their
political or religious affiliations, which
may be considered as proof of their
fitness for employment in this serv-
ice. This examination shall be con-
fined to experience and personal fit
ness. Applicants should give the
names and addresses of the persons
to whom they refer as to their char
acter and qualifications for employ
ment in this service"
If the answers are satisfactory the
next test of the applicant is made
and he is permitted a personal inter
view with Chief Will1ie, who is able
after a few minutes conversation to
size up a mans possibilities pretty &C
curately. If he seems to be likely
man he is put on the eligible list, and
when the appointment division certi-5
fies him he is assigned 30-day try
out in actual service in the 26 dis
tricts into which the United States is
divided. If the man makes good he
goes on the rolls permanently, and in
the course of his career there is no
telling what great and important cases
he may be asked to help unravel.
Chief Wilkie is proud of the char
acter of the men he has under him.
In speaking concerning the matter he
said:
THE men of our service are gath
red from greatly differing sources.
We have college graduates, mostly the
sons of criminal lawyers, who seem to
have the appetite of their fathers
bred in the bone; musicians, stenog-
raphers, linguists, bank clerks, identi-
fication experts, telegraph operators,
commissioned officer of the army, and
non-commissioned or petty officers of
both the army and navy, newspaper
men, a couple of sheriffs, one or two
wardens and in one case an ex-mayor.
.While all of our men must measure
I'D to a certain standard, believe eX-
perience has shown that our best oper-
ators are those who have done work
in the claims department of railroad
or performed similar duties for life
insurance company.
"You see, what is needed in the Sc
cret service is initiative and ability
to look far ahead and take into ac-
count all possibilities. 1t requires no
little intelligence to work up a case
without putting your foot into it and
to weave together the strands so that
they can be presented as legal evil
dence. The former experience of the
railroad and insurance men who have
come into the service makes them ex-
pert in such matters.
There have been two or three in
stances in which failure to exercise a
little caution has upset all the we'll
laid plans of the bureau. There was
the case of Robyns out in Omaha, at
the time of the Spanish war. To I'M
derstand 1t you must know that the
department takes the ground that we
are organized for the suppression of