Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-05
MIRTH CAUSED BY
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
CONTINUED from Page onel


went TO the merits of the service, whether
lawfully or unlawfully employed, and here the
chief if not the only argument used that
the service should be cut down and restricted
because its members had 'shadowed' or in
vestigated members of congress and other Of
tcers of the government.
If we examine the debate in detail it ap-
pears that most Of what was urged in favor
Of the amendment took the form of the simple
statement that the committee held that there
had been a violation of law by the use of
the secret service for other purposes than
suppressing counterfeiting (and one or two
other matters which be disregarded), and
that such language was now to be used as
would effectually prevent all such violation
of law hereafter.
Quotes TaWney
Mr. Tawney for instance, says: 1T was
for the purpose of stopping the use of this
service in every possible way by the depart
ments of the government that this provision
was inserted and Mr.. Smith says: Now that
was the only way in which any limitation
could be put upon the activities of the secret
service Mr.. Fitzgerald followed in the same
vein and by far the largest part of the ar
gument against the employment of the secret
service confined to the statement that
it was in violation of law OF course such
statement is not in any way an argu-
ment in favor of the justice of the pro-
vision at all. 1t is simply a statement Of
what the gentlemen making it conceive to
have been the law. There both by impli-
cation and direct statement the assertion
that the secret service should only be used
to suppress counter lg; and that the law
should be made more rigid than ever in this
respect.
incidentally I may say that in my judg-
ment there is ample legal authority for the
statement that this appropriation law to
which reference was made imposes no re-
strictions whatever upon the of the
secret service men, but relates solely to the
expenditure of the money appropriated Mr..
Tawney in the debate stated that he had in
q 81 he of
the treasury received a few days ago. in
which the secretary of the treasury himself
admits that the provisions under which the
appropriation has been made have been vio-
lated year after year for a number of years
in his own department
Il call attention to the fact that in this let
ter Of Secretary Cortelyou to Mr. Tawney
as in my letter to the speaker, the explicit
statement is made that the proposed change
will be for the benefit of the criminals a
statement which 1 simply reiterated in pub
TIC form IN my message to the congress this
year, and which is also contained in effect
in the report of the secretary of the treasury
to the congress.
"a careful reading of the Congressional
Record will also show that practically the
only arguments advanced in favor of the
limitation proposed by Mr. Tawney's com
mlttee' beyond what may be supposed to be
contained by implication in certain sentences
In the abuses which were not specified. were
those contained in the repeated statements of
MI. Sherley. Mr.. Sherley stated that there
the use OF the secret service for purposes other
than those intended putting his statement
in the form Of a question, and in the same form
further stated that the private conduct Of
members of congress, senator's and Others
ought not to be investigated by the secret
service, and that they should not investigate
member Of congress who had been ac-
cused of conduct unbacoming a gentleman
and a member of congress-
In addition to these assertions couched
as questions, he made one positive declara-
ton, that this secret service at one time was
used for the purpose Of looking into the per-
sonal conduct Of members Of congress-