Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1909-01-07

| fines were collected by the govern
ment In the lottery cases Again, the
ink contract fraud in the bureau Of
engraving and printing On bureau OF
the treasury Department. was investi-
gated by the secret service and the
guilty parties brought to justice. Mr..
Tawney stated In the debate that this
was not investigated by the secret serv-
ice, but by clerk "down there" con
veying the impression that the clerk
was not I'm the secret service. AS a
matter of fact, he was In the secret
service. His name was Moran, and
he was promoted to assistant chief
for the excellence of his work In this
case. The total expense for the office
and field force of the secret service
last year was $4,000, and by this
one investigation they saved to the
government over 100000 year.
Thanks to the restriction imposed by
congress, 1t Is now very difficult for
the secretary of the treasury to use
the secret service freely even In his
own experimentation instance, to use
them to repeat what they did~so adj
mirably In the case Of this ink con-
tract. The government is further Grip
pied by the law forbidding 1t to EN-
ploy detective agencies. OF course the
government can detect the most dan
criminals only by the use either of the
secret service or Of private detectives.
To hamper 1t In using the one and for
bid 1t to resort to the other can inure
to the benefit of none save the crimi-
nails.
Secretary CorteIyou Sustained.
The facts above given show beyond
possibility Of doubt that what the sec
rotary of The treasury and l had both
written Srior TO the enactment Of the
obnoxious provision and what | have
since written in my message to the
congress state the facts exactly as
| they are. The obnoxious provision is
of benefit only To the criminal class
and can be Of BENEFIT only TO the Grim
| inal class. If IL had been embodied in
| the law at the time when | became
president. all the prosecutions above
mentioned and many others Of the
same general type would either not
have been undertaken or would have
been undertaken with the government
at a great disadvantage, and many
and probably most of the CHEZ offend
ers would have gone scot free instead
of being punished for their crimes.
Such body as the secret service,
such a body Of trained investigating
agents, occupying a permanent posi-
ton in the government service and
separate from local investigating forces
in different departments, is an absolute
necessity if the best work is to be
done against criminals. 1t is by far
the most efficient instrument possible
to use against crime. OF course the
more efficient an instrument is the
more dangerous it is If misused. TO
the argument that force like this
can be misused it is only necessary to
answer that the condition Of its use
fulness if handled properly is that II
shall be so efficient as to be dangerous
If handled improperly. Any instance
Of abuse by the secret service or other
!
should be unsparingly punished, and
congress should hold itself ready at
any and all times to investigate the
executive departments whenever there
is reason to believe that any such In
stance of abuse has occurred. | wish
to emphasize my more than cordial ac
quiescence in the view that this is not
4 .l.t 4,
phatically rs duty. To use the secret
service in the investigation of purely
private or political matters would be
Il gross abuse. But there has been no
single instance of such abuse during
my term as president
The Presidents Appeal.
In conclusion. l most earnestly ask
In the name Of good government and
decent administration. in the name of
honesty and for the purpose OF bring.
ing TO justice violators OF the federal
laws wherever they may be found
whether in public or private life. that
the action taken by the house last year
be reversed. When this action WAS
taken the senate committee. under she
lead of tho late Senator Allison. hav-
ing before 81 Il stroneiy wcidcd protest
/ (Appendiy ~ ir0m Secretary Cartol-
you like that he had sent 10 Mr. 1aw-
ney. accepted the sccrctary's views.
and the senate passed the bill in the
shape presented by senator Allison.
In the conference however. the house
conferees insisted on the rctentior of
the provision they had inserted. and
the senate yielded. lAppcndix ID con-
sists of a letter from Secretary Cortel-
you to the late William p. Allison
chairman of the senate committee on
appropriations. dated May . 1908. In
It the secretary protests vigorously
lgainst the amendment TO the sundry
fivil bill prohibiting the payment OF
ANY person detailed or transferred
from the secret service division" he
gives reasons for such details and i'm
an appendix cites instances in which
the secret service men have been de-
tailed effectively in cases outside the
treasury department
The chief of the secret service Is
paid a salary utterly inadequate Ga
the importance of his functions and
TO The admirably way in which he
has performed them earnestly
urge that Il be increased 10 $4,000 per
nnnum 7 also urge that the secret
service he placed where II properly
belongs and made a bureau IN the
department of Justice. as the chief OF
the secret scrvicc has remarkably re