Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-22
ROOSEVELT TO HALE
CONTINUED from First Pase.)

Of secret service within the Department Of
Justice itself.
Committee ia Inconsistent
your committee in its report states that
1t has been the intention Of the congress
to build up a spy system. The next SEN
tence, however, advocates the building up
Of precisely this spy system in the De-
partment OF Justice. Not only have l
again and again requested that the secret
service be placed under the Department Of
Justice. but the chief Of the secret service
has himself specifically requested on diff
ferent occasions that the same course be
followed. AS regards the general policy
which should be followed. therefore. your
committee has declared for the policy, the
adoption of which | have urged. and all
difficulties would be met by providing spe-
officially and amply for carrying out that
policy. Chief wilkle should be transferred
to the Department Of Justice and put at
the head of the force therein organized.
But in your report. and the subsequent
debate, direct and indirect attacks are made
upon the secret service. with a curious
persistency and a curious Indifference to
the fact that your committee recommends
that a precisely similar secret service to
the one attacked be now established in the
Department of Justice and be observed that
no limitation is proposed for the new secret
service, so that the limitation is only inn
posed upon the secret service which has
already shown its efficiency and has al
ready become an object Of terror to Grim
inals. Senator Hemenway states that there
are more than 1900 men now in the secret
service and in inspection work, and that
in the last few years the number has
trebled and that If they were to march
through the streets of Washington they
would make an army While 1t was also
stated IN the same debate that at the close
Of President McKinley's administration
there were only 100 such men on the
payroll. whereas it was alleged that we
now have over 1000. and that the appro-
priations on that account for last year
amounted to about $4,000, 600
Statements Are Not True.
These statements are not in accordance
with the facts. l submit to you herewith
a substantially, although not entirely ac-
%curate. statement Of the, number Of men
employed on secret service work or
criminal investigation work during the
year that has just passed. as compared
with the years 19O1-02. Owing to the very
brief period which I have had to get at
these figures 1t was Impossible to get
them with entire accuracy, but they are
not out OF the way More than a score or
so in either direction. According to these
figures 1t appears that In the neighbor-
hood OF 1900 men OF this type were en-
ployed seven years ago. and somewhat
over 1900 now; THAI A,s instead OF having
trebled the number in accordance with one
statement made above. instead Of having
tnoraavaI oaarlv tu,anfy faIH In onoOrIanaa
with the other statement, they have in
creased but a little over one-half, a little
over 80 per cent. Moreover of this increase,
considerably over half was in the number
of men used In securing the punishment Of
violators Of the internal revenue laws, a
matter which Is wholly outside of that
discussed by any of the gentlemen who
have objected to the use OF the secret
service. The remaining increase is due to
such causes as the natural growth of the
Postoffice department. the appointment Of
individuals to enforce the pure food and
meat inspection laws. the more ~rigoBDus
enforcement Of the safety appliance act,
the suppression of the liquor traffic among
the Indians. the protection Of the public
lands and timber and the like.
Inspectors' Work Not secret.
II call your especial attention to the fact
that the great majority of these men are
not primarily or mainly. or indeed ordinarily
engaged on secret service or. criminal in
vestigatioh or inspection work at all. /
have employed these terms merely because
they were so employed by members OF
your committee and others in the course OF
the debates In the house and senate; but
they are entirely misleading insofar as
they give an impression that the chief work
of the men mentioned was OF the character
assigned 1t by Senator Hemenway n
others in the quotations given above and
in similar statements. As regards nineteen
twentieths of these men the proportion of
their time given to secret service work or
criminal investigation is altogether insigni-
ficant and is only al occasional incident to
their ordinary duties. To speak of these
men as having become an army or as
1900 men engaged in secret service and
similar work is comically out OF accord with
the actual facts. The increase was 100 men,
Of whom but a score or two are habituaily
engaged in secret service work. AS for
the amount expended the statement In the
debate in both houses are so exaggerated
as to bear no reference whatever to the
actual figures. Thus it was stated that
two-thirds Of the money appropriated for
the Department OF Justice was spent In
criminal investigation. AS a matter of fact,
the attorney general reports to me that the
appropriations so spent, construed only on
the most liberal possible basis, was in
reality / 7-1O per cent, so that the statement
was a thirty-fold exaggeration. In the
same way II was stated that Sl0.OO0,OO0. or
as one gentleman put 1t. that s32,OO0.0O0
represented the amount expended for this
secret service work. whiie the totals Of
another set of figures placed S32,O00,o00 as
the amount which could have been expended
for such work. A table carefully compiled,
covering all the departments, shows the
amount actually expended during the first
six months OF the present fiscal year, In
all work that can by any possibility be
considered to come under this heading. as
a little less than s764,OOO. making an esti-
mated total for the entire fiscal year OF
approximately 100000, which goes to show
that the statements referred to contain
only from 5 to II per cent Of warrant in
fact.
Another S~Iisleadins Statement.
Senator Hemenway quoted the secre-
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