The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-01-04

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u. S. Court To-day. In this case Presl-
alone. In the prosecution Of criminals
and the enforcement Of the laws the
President must resort to the courts
Of the United States.
In tho third and fourth clauses OF
the preamble it Is stated that the
meaning OF my words Is that "the ma.
jorlty OF the congressman are in fear
OF being investigated by secret ser
vice men" and that Congress as
whole was actuated by that motive In
enacting the provision In question"
and that this is an impeachment OF
the honor and integrity OF the Con-
gress. These statements are not, !
think. in accordance WITH the facts.
The portion of my message referred
TO runs as follows:
''I.ast year an amendment was In,
corp0ratcd In the measure providing
for the Secret Service. which provided
that there should be no detail from
the Secret Service and no transfer
therefrom. It Is not too much to say
that this amendment has been OF bene.
fit only. and could be Of benefit only.
to the criminal classes. If deliberate.
ly introduced for the purpose Of di.
minishlng the effectiveness Of war
against crime II could not have been
better devised to this end. 1t forbade
the practices that had been followed
TO q greater or less extent by the es'
eclltive heads OF various departments
for twenty years. To these practices
We owe the securing OF the evidence
which enabled us to drive great lottcr.
les ont Of business and secure q guar.
ter ola million Of dollars In fines from
their promoters. These practices have
enabled lis to discover some OF tie
most outrageous frauds in connection
with the theft OF government land and
government timber by great corpora
tfons and by individuals. These prac
,ices have enabled rs to get some OF
the evidence indispensable in order
to secure the conviction OF the wealth
lest and most formidable criminals
with whom the government has to
deal both those operating In violation
Of the antitrust law and others. The
amendment in question was Of benefit
to no one excepting TO these criminals.
and It seriously hampers tho govern
mcnt in the detection of crime and
the securing Of justice. Moreover, It
not only affects departments outside
Of the Treasury. but 1t tends to ham
per the Secretary Of the Treasury him
self in the effort to utilize the en-
ployes Of his department so MS to hest
meet the requirements OF the public
service. It forbids him from prevent
Ing frauds upon the customs service,
from investigating irregularities In
branch mints and assay Offices. and
has seriously crippled aim. 1t prevents
Secret Service. and tlris further dis.
courages good effort. In It's present
form the restriction operates only to
the advantage OF the criminal, the
wpngdoer. 5
"The chief argument In favor OF the
provision was that the congressman
did not themselves wish to he investi.
gated by Secret Service men. Very
little OF such Investigation has been
done in the past; but It is true that
the work Of the secret service agents
was partly responsible for the indict.
ment and conviction Of n Senator and
Il Congressman for land frauds In Ore
gon. do not believe that 1t Is In the
public interest TO protect criminals In
any branch of the public service. and
exactly as we have again and again
during the pnst seven years prosecnt'
ed and convicted such criminals who
were in the executive branch Of the
government so In my belief we should
be given ample means to prosecrltos
them Il found in the legislative branch.
But II this Is not considered desirable
n special exception could be made In
the law prohibiting the use OF the Sc,
cret service force In investigating
members Of tho congress. 1t would
be far better to do this than TO do
whata actually was done, and strive
to prevent or at least to hamper Of.
fective action against criminals by
the executive branch OF the govern.
ment."
A careful reading OF this message
will show that I said nothing to war-i