Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-02-22
Senate Committee is Accused of Mis-
statement and Exaggerstion.
SERVICE GROWS BUT SLIGHTLY
Cost for the Year Little Over
Million and Half.
MEN OF PROMINENCE CONVICTED
NO Complaint Against Use of wilkes
Men Until They Made IL Pos
sible 70 Punish BiR
Offenders.

Roosevelt today added another stirring
chapter to the secret service controversy
in a vigorous and lengthy reply to the at
tacks made on this branch Of the govern
ment In report made recently by Senator
Hemenway Of the senate committee on APP
propriations. Senator Hemenway in his
report upholding the Limitation in the scope
Of the secret service, asserted that II never
had been the intention of congress to build
up a ''spy" system and with evident ref
erence to this part of the report, the presi-
dent declared that if the limitation of the
secret service had been in force when the
sensational land frauds were unearthed g
few years ago. senator, a representative
and various men of wealth and high po-
lItical Influence. who at that time were
convicted, would all have escaped punish
ment. The presidents letter is addressed
to Acting Chairman Hale OF the senate ap
propriations committee Characterizing as
Inaccurate and misleading in various i'm
portant respects' both Senator Hemenway's
report and the debate which 1t aroused in
the senate, the president presented mass
Of facts and figures in defense OF the secret
service during the seven years of his ad-
ministration. Some of the presidents data
is based upon Information supplied by At
torney General Bonaparte and Secretary OF
the Interior Garfield In support of the
efficiency of the secret service Ia the de-
lection OF crime.
Text of the Letter.
The presidents letter, dated February g.
follows:
Il have seen the report presented by
Senator Hemenway on behalf of your COM
d..
matter. The report is inaccurate and mis-
leading In various important respects. and
/ desire to make certain corrections In
reference to statements which appear
therein and in the subsequent debate.
Until last year the secret service a
small body or sixty or seventy men in the
Treasury department under Chief wiIkie.
was probably the only body of public serv-
ants engaged in purely criminal investiga-
tion. The secret service men were assigned
at different times to different departments
j. TO investigate crime and criminals. They
were thus assigned on different occasions.
for instance, to the State and Navy de-
partments, but, above all, to the Interior
department and the Department of Justice
During the seven years OF my admlnistra-
tion they were instrumental in bringing to
justice great numbers OF criminals. / ap-
pend herewith the occasions on which they
were furnished by the request OF the at
torney general to the Department Of Jus
toe during the year 1907 and the first six
months of 1908. They rendered invaluable
assistance in securing the conviction OF
many criminals of desperate character and
of many other offenders of great wealth
and of social and political prominence. In
rot one single instarce during these seven
years has II been shown that their action
jeopardized any man who was not con-
nected with Illegal transactions. In no
single instance has 1t been shown that it
took any but proper steps against a
criminal No presense has been made that
they did net do their work against crinb-
nails efficiently. ] desire to put ON record
my emphatic belief that the secret servics
under Chief Wixie has neen composed OF
men of an exceptionally high grade OF
character and capacity, who have rendered
exceptional service to the public end that
Chief Wikie himself In a very trying and
responsible position, has shown qualities
OF the highest kind and has been one of
the main standbys OF the government No
other man in the government employ is 50
dreaded and hated by lawbreakers and
they especially desire to see his activities
and those OF the men under him restricted
in every way.
Congress Hampers Justice.
Congress last year forbade by law the
use Of the secret service men TO put a
stop TO crime aside from counterfeiting
and thereby not only hampered justice in
other departments. but deprived the secre-
tary OF the treasury, the official guardian
of a billion and half OF the nations
actual money. Of the power effectively TO
exercise that guardianship.
Moreover the congress provided no sub
stitute whatever for the secret service In
consequence. the Department OF Justice
was obliged TO develop as speedily as pos
sible its corps OF special detectives 10 take
the place OF the secret service agents. which
II had previously used, and the nucleus OF
this force was made up OF officers formerly
employed In the secret service and trained
in its methods. / call your especial atten-
tion to the fact that II the Department Of
Justice had not taken this action there
would have been complete failure 10 en-
force the law against many types of Grim
inals, and as Il was in the early months
of the present fiscal year. during the Morse
prosecution in New York and In connection
with certain other important cases. serious
Inconvenience and anxiety were caused to
the prosecuting Officers by this action of
congress In depriving them Of the aid of
The experienced operatives of the secret
service on whom they had been accustomed
TO rely. l call your attention to the fur
ther fact that the Department Of Justice
had never taken any steps to organise
this force as long as It could get men de-
tailed TO II from the secret service. In
other words. the action OF the congress
in reference to the secret service would
have caused the grossest miscarriage Of
justice had Il not been in large part nuri-
fled by the prompt action OF the Depart-
ment OF Justice on its own Initiative ana
without any further legislation OF apy
kind BY congress-. in providing a specie.
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