Gilpin observer., 1908-09-17

The only pull that can land a man
In the employ of the United States
secret service is that of successfully
passing the preliminary examination
submitting to 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. 79. 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 Wilkie, who is able
after a few minutes conversation to
size up mans possibilities pretty ac-
curately. If he seems to be a likely
man he is put on the eligible list. and
when the appointment division certi-
fies him he is assigned a 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
cred 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, couple Of sheriffs, one or two
wardens and in one case an ex-mayor
While all of our men must measure
up to certain standard, | believe ex
perience has shown that our best oper
ators are those who have done work
in the claims department of a 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 1t 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 sIch matters.
There have been two or three in
stances m which failure to exercise
little ca.tion has upset all the we'll
laid plvns Of the bureau. There was
the cast OF Robyns out in Omaha, at
the timu OF the Spanish war. To un-
derstaIi1 1t you must know that the
department takes the ground that we
are o,e anized for the suppression OF
countnieit money, we shall not. even
in the interests of Justice. have a hand
in ita making or its floating. Well.
this K,>byns trouble came along when.
in aG Sltion to our regular work. we
had our hands pretty full with look
ing after Spanish spies and other Sc.
cret matters connected with the war.
"Rohyns was a German. and what
we needed In his business was a man
who could speak the language. I
pickse up young fellow who could do
this and sent him out west. He
wasty the kind Of operator I wanted,
but ~ was the best I could get at the
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