The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1909-01-09
WHAT ROOSEVELT
SAID TO CONGRESS
Continued from Page Three.1

the matter, and / have no doubt that
many Members of the House simply
followed the lead of Messrs. Tawney
and Smith, without having had the
opportunity to know very much as TO
the rights and wrongs of the question.
l would not ordinarily attempt in
this way to discriminate between
members of the House, but as obiec
ton has been taken to my language,
in which 1 simply spoke of the action
of the House as a whole, and as ape
parently there is desire that I should
thus discriminate, I will state, that
think the responsibility rested on the
Committee on Appropriations, under
the lead of the members whom have
mentioned
A careful reading of the Congress
ional Record will also show that prao-
| tically the only arguments advanced
in favor of the limitation proposed by
Mr.. Tawney's committee, beyond what
may be supposed to be contained by
implication in certain sentences as to
I abuses which were not specified,
were those contained in the repeated
statements of Mr.. Sherley. Mr.. Sher-
ley stated that there had been pro
nounced abuses growing out of the
use of the Secret Service for purposes
other than those intended," putting
1 his statement in the form Of a queS
| ton, and in the same form further
fhoE 10 ~
Members of Congress, Senators"
, and others ought not to be investi-
gated by the Secret Service, and that
they should not investigate MEM
sber of Congress" who had been accus-
ed of conduct unbecoming a gentle
man and Member of Congress" IN
addition to these assertions couched
as questions, he made one positive
| declaration, that "This Secret Ser
vice at one time was used for the
purpose of looking into the personal
conduct of a Member of Congress"
/ This argument of Mr.. .Sherley, the on
ly real argument as to the merits of
the question made on behalf of the
Committee on Appropriations, will be
found in columns 1 and 2 of page
5556, and column 1 of page 5557 of
the Congressional Record. In column
1 of page 5556 Mr. Sherley refers TO
the improperly of permitting the Sc
cret service men to investigate men
in the departments, officers of the ar
my and navy, and Senators and Con-
gressmen; in column 2 he refers to
officers of the navy and Members of
Congress lin column 1, page 5557, he
refers only to Members of Congress.
His speech puts most weight on the
investigation of Members of Con
gress.
But all of this is of insignificant i'm
portance compared with the main, the
real issue. This issue is simply, Does
Congress desire that the Government
shall have at it's disposal the most eff
cient instrument for the detection OF
criminals and the prevention and pun
ishment of crime, or does it not? The
action of the House last May was EN-
phatically an action against the inter
est of justice and against the Interest
: of law-abiding people, and in its effec
of benefit only to lawbreakers.
Such a body as the Secret Service
such body of trained investigating
agents, occupying a permanent posi-
ton in the Government service, ant
separate from local investigating for
ces in different departments, is an al
solute necessity if the best work is T.
be done against criminals. 1t is b,
L far the most efficient instrument pos
sible to use against crime OF cours