The sun., 1909-01-05

ment in land cases. particularly In Col
orado and Nebraska.
The convictions OF hundreds of. CON
spirators who were selling fraudulsnt
naturalization papers.
Exposure OF contract frauds. such az
the cases OF Greene and Gaynor, located
by the secret service.
Convictions obtained under the laws
against peonage.
The destruction Of the Honduras Ma
tional Lottery Company. successor 10 the
Louisiana Lottery Company.
Successful prosecution OF SILK ano
opium smuggling cases
Assistance rendered to the Department
OF Justice in the beef trust investigation
Locating the responsible parties In the
cotton leak scandal.
The following are the Presidents gen.
eral conclusions as to the merits and use
fulness Of the secret service:
The facts given above show beyond
possibility Of doubt that what the Secre
tary OF the Treasury ard had both writer
prior to the enactment OF the obnoxious
prov ision, and what ] have since writer
In my message to Congress. state the fact'
exactly as they are. The obnoxious pro
vision is Of benefit only to the crimina
class and can be OF benefit only to the crimi'
nal class. II IL had been embodied In the Law
at the time when I became President al
the prosecutions above mentioned. anc
many others Of the came general type
would either not have been undertaken
or would have been undertaken with tht
Government at great disadvantage
and many, and probably most, OF tho chiel
offenders would have gone scot free Instead
OF being punished for their crimes.
Such q body as the secret service. such
a body OF trained investigating agents,
occupying a permanent position In the
Government service. and separate from
local investigating forces in different de-
partments, lie an absolute necessity II the
best work Is to be done against criminals
II Is by far the most efficient instrument
possible 10 use against crime. Ol course
the more efficient an instrument Is the
more dan gerous IL Is II misused. 10 the
argument that a force like this can De
msused 1t is only necessary to answer
that the condition Of its usefulness II handled
properly is that Il shall be so efficient as
to be dangerous II handled improperly.
Any instance Of abuse by the secret
service or other investigating force in the
departments should be unsparingly pun
ished, 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 instance
OF abuse has occurred. ] wish 10 empha-
size my more than cordial acquiescenoe
In the view that this Is not only the right OF
Congress. but emphatically It's duty. TO
use the secret service in the Investigation
of purely private or political matters would
be A gross abuse But there has been no
single instance Of such abuse during my
term as President.
In conclusion | mos; earnestly ask. in
the name Of good government ard decent
administration, in the name Of honesty
and for the purpose OF bringing 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 Serate committee.
under the lead Of the late Senator Allison.
having before IL a strongly worded protest
from Secretary Cortelyou like that he sent
to Mr.. 1aNney. accepted the Secretary
views, and the senate passed the bill In the
shaoe presented by Senator Allison. IN
conference. however. the House ,oi ferees
insisted on the retention Of the provision
they he'd inserted and the Senate yielded
The CHIEF of the secret service Ia paid
A salary utterly inadeuuate to the impor-
tance Of his functions and to the admirable
way in which he has performed them. !
earnestly urge that II he increased to $1,000
Der annum ! also urge that the secret
service be placed where 1t properly belongs
and made a bureau In the Department OF
Justice. as the chief OF the secret service
has repeatedly requested: but whether this
i dore or net II should be explicitly pro-
yided that the secret service can be used to
detect and pulsn crime wherever 1t Is
found