Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-22
ATTACKS HIS CRITICS
President Defends Employ
ment of Secret Service.
REPLIES TO Committee
Declares Report to Be Inaccurate
and Misleading.
CHARGES MUCH EXAGGERATION
Denies That Force Has Been In
creased, as Alleged, or That. Cost
Is as Great as Claimed.
REPLIES TO COMMITTEE
CHARGES MUCH EXAGGERAT10N

PreSlO6nt Roosevelt mas TeplleO Ill
vigorous statement to the attacks on
the employment of the secret service
! outside Of the work of trailing counter
feiters, in areport made recently by
Senator Hemenway of the Senate COM
mittee on appropriations. Senator Hem
enway asserted that it never had been
the intention Of Congress to build up a
| spy" system and the President declares
that IL the limitation Of the use OF the
secret service had been in force when
the land frauds were unearthed q few
years ago, a senator, representative
and various men of wealth and high poll
tical influence. who at that time were
convicted, would have escaped punish
ment.
The Presidents letter is addressed to
Acting Chairman Hale Of the Senate ap-
preparations committee.
Characterizing as 'inaccurate and mis-
leading in various important respects
both Senator HemenWays report and the
debate which 1t aroused in the Senate,
the President presented facts and figures
in defense of the secret service in tue
seven years of his administration.
The Presidents. Letter.
The Presidents letter, dated February
IS, follows:
Il have seen the report presented by
Senate Hemenway on behalf of your
committee in reference to the secret
service matter. The report is inaccurate
and misleading in various important re-
spects, and desire to make certain cor
rections In reference to statements which
appear therein, and in the subsequent
debate.
Until last year the secret service.
AH<S1 ~ IT,.
the Treasury Department, under Chief
Wilkfe. was practically the only body of
public servants engaged almost purely in
criminal inv estigation. The secret service
men were assigned at different times to
different departments to investigate crime
and criminals. They were thus assigned
on different occasions; for instance, to
the State and Navy Department.; but,
above all, to the Interior Department and
the Department OF Justice.
During the seven years of my admin
istratton they were instrumental in bring
ing to justice great numbers of crimi-
nails. l append herewith the occasions
on which they were furnished by the re-
Department of Justice during the year
1907 and the first six months of 1908.
They rendered invaluable assistance in
securing the conviction Of many crimi-
nails of desperate character, and of many
other offenders Of great wealth and OF
Excellent Secret Service Work.
In not one single instance during these
seven years has it been shown that their
action jeopardized any man who was not
connected with illegal transactions. In
not a single instance has It been shown
that they took any but proper steps
against criminal. No pretense has been
made that they did not do their work
1T
put on record my emphatic belief that the
secret service under Chief Wilkie has
been composed OF men of an exception
ally high grade Of character and capacity,
who have rendered exceptional service to
the public. and that Chief Wilkie him.
self, in a very trying and responsible
position. has shown qualities of the high
est kind and has been one OF the main
stand-bys of the government No other
man in the government employ is so
dreaded and hated by lawbreakers, and
they especially desire to see his activi-
ties, and those of the men under him,
restricted in every way.
Congress last year forbade by law
the use of the secret service men to put
a stop to crime aside from counterfeit
ing. and thereby not only hampered JUS
tice in other departments, but deprived
the Secretary Of the Treasury, the OFF,
cial guardian of a billion and a 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.
I'm consequence, the Department of
Justice was obliged to develop as speed
ily as possible Its own corps OF special
detectives to take the place OF the secret
service agents which 1t had previously
used: and the nucleus Of this force was
made up Of officers formerly connected
with the secret service and trained In Its
methods.
Government Hampered.
Il call your especial attention to the
fact that II the Department Of Justice
had not taken this action there would
have been a complete failure to enforce
the law against many types of criminals;
and as it was, in the early months OF
the present fiscal year. during the Morse
prosecution in New York, and In con-
nection with certain other important
cases, serious inconvenience and anxiety
were caused to the prosecuting officers
by this action OF Congress In depr1Ving
them Of the aid of the experienced opera
tives Of the secret service on whom they
had been accustomed to rely.
II call your attention to the further
fact that the Department Of Justice had
never taken any steps to organize this
force SO long as 1t could get men detail
ed to 1t from the secret service. In
other words, the action OF the Congress
in reference to the secret service would
have caused the greatest miscarriage of
Justice had it not been In large part
nullified by the prompt action OF the De-
partment Of Justice on it's own initia-
tive. and without any further legislation
of any kind by the Congress, In prov1d-
ing a species Of secret service within the
Department OF Justice itself.
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