The San Francisco call., 1909-01-05
Work of Secret Service
APPENDIX ID
Hon. William B. Allison.
Chairman committee on appropria-
fH

May Dy LVVO'
Hon. William B. Allison.
Chairman committee on appropria-
tions, United States senate.
Ny Dear Senator-WhiIe the, sundry
slderatlon in the committee or the
Whole house on the state of the union,
the following amendment was adopted
10 the paragraph making the appro-
feiting':
No part of any money appropriated
py TINS act shall be used in payment OF
son detailed or transferred from the
secret service division of the treasury
department, or who may at any time
during the fiscal year 1909 have been
employed in or under said secret serv-
ice division
Among, other funds appropriated by
the sundry civil act, to which this
collection of revenue from customs and
for the prevention and detection of
frauds on customs, both of which are
under the control and direction of the
secretary of the treasury.
provides:
Each head of a department may
from time to time alter the distribu-
tion among the various bureaus and
omces of his department of the clerks
allowed by law as he may find it
necessary and proper to do"
Under the authority granted by this
section the secretary of the treasury
from time to time has detailed men
from the secret service division to
their expenses while so engaged have
been paid from the appropriation for
this purpose. Under the amendment to
which have referred above, it would
appear that l am prohibited from max
ing Such details and from paying the
men so detailed from any appropriation
under the sundry civil act.
This would seem to be an abridg-
orb nytnn Aad IN no
retary OF the treasury by section 166,
and discrimination against the sec
retary of the treasury which is dis
tinctly in favor of the violator of the
federal statutes, inasmuch as it
restricts the secretary in using every
possible force to combat frauds upon
the customs.
But this is only one phase of a
matter which seems to me to be of
vast and far reaching public import
ance. The secret service division has
for many years. Its field force is COM
posed of investigating officers of the
highest skill, men familiar with all of
the tricks and subterfuges of high
and devotion to the governments inter
ests have never been successfully
assailed.
Their peculiar fitness for criminal
Investigations requiring the highest
order OF intelligence has commended
them to the heads of other depart
mentS, and from time to time Tor many
years the secretary of the treasury has
received requests from the heads of
other departments who wished to avail
themselves of the services of these
agents.
The appropriation for suppressing
counterfeiting provides that the money
shall be used for that purpose and for
no other except the protection of the
president. The field agents of the Sc
cret service division who are paid out
of this appropriation are per diem en-
ployes, and it has been considered
that there would be no improperly in
discontinuing the services of these men
in the work of suppressing counter
feiting, stopping their per diem pay
ment from the appropriation for sup
pressing counterfeiting - practically
placing them upon leave of absence
without pay-and while so detached
and separated, allowing them to be
employed by another department, say
under the attorney general, for the in
vestigation of specific violations of the
criminal statutes of the United States.
While thus employed they have been
designated as Special employees" of
the department of justice and have re-
ceived compensation (equal to that
which they were receiving in the secret