Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-01-05

q desire that Il should thus 8discr!m-
mate l will state that l think the re-
sponsibility rested on the committee
on approximations under the lead Of the
members whom 4 have mentioned. = = Ss 2
\ Replies to Request Fer. Evidences.
K Now as to the request of the con.
gress that I2giye the evidence for my
statement that the chief argument in
favor Of the provision was that the
congressmen did not themselves wish
to be investigated by secret service
man. M \ ~ 45tSS 5s s$S..s3 ssj
The part Of the Congressional Record
To-; which / have referred above G.:
tirely supports this statement. Tw,
distinct lines Of argument were ~.
lowed IN the debate. One c0ncer1:c''
the question whether the law war
ranted the employment Of the secret
service in departments other than the
treasury, and this did not touch the
merits OF the service in the least. The
ether line Of argument went to the
merits Of. the service, whether lawfully
Or unlawfully employed, and here the
chief II not the only argument used
was that the service should be cut
down and restricted because it, mem
hers had "shadowed" or investigated
members Of congress and other officers
of the government. If we examine the
debate in detail 1t appears that most
of what was urged In favor Of the
~vr~ov1 ,,nor< Tab t%hn Pnx,,, ~ %H,A alnn-
pie statement that the committee held
that there had been a violation Of
law by the use of the secret service
for .othee purposes than suppressing
counterfeiting land one or two other
matters which can be disregarded) and
that such language was now to be
used as would effectually prevent all
such violation Of law" hereafter. Mr..
Tawney, for instance. says, 1T was
for the purpose of stopping the use OF
this service in every possible way by
the departments Of the government
that this provision was inserted" and
Mr.. Smith says, Nov, 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. argument against the en-
Of the secret service was con-
fined to- the statement that it was Ia
violation Of law" OF course such q
statement Is not In any way an argu-
ment In favor Of the Justice of the
It is not an argument for
the provision at all. It. is simply a
statement Of what the gentlemen max
ing 1t conceive to have been the law.
There was both by implication and
direct statement the assertion that 1t
was the law and ought to be the law,
that the secret service should only DO
used to suppress counterfeiting and
that the law should be made more
rigid than ever in this respect.
4, No Restrictions On Service.
/ Incidentally Imay say that in my
Judgment there Is ample legal author
ity for the statement that this appro-
priation law to which reference was
made imposes no restrictions whatever
upon the use 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 his
possession "a letter from the secretary
of the treasury received few days
ago" in which the secretary Of the
treasury himself admits that the pro-
visions under which the appropriation
has been made have been violated year
after year for number Of years In
his own department" I append here
With. a. Appendix A. the letter re
ferred to. tAppendix A IL a letter from
Secretary Of the Treasury Cortelyou to
IL chairman Of the committees on mp
preparations Of the house Of represent
atives, dated April %, 1908, protest.
ing against the proposed law ;abridg-
ing the right Of the secretary Of the
treasury to detail secret service men
to work In other divisions Of his de-
partment. Such abridgement, he de-
clared, would be distinctly to the ad-
vantage Of violators OF criminal stat
utes 81 the United states."l It makes
10 such admission % that which Mr..
TAwney alleges. It contains, on the
contrary, as You viii zee by reading It,
IN emphatic protest against any such
abridgement Of the rights delegated to
the secretary OF the treasury BY ex-
isting law" and concludes by assert
ing that he ''is quite within his rights
IN thus employing the service Of these
agents. and that the proposed modi6-
cation which Mr.. Tawney succeeded in
carrying through would be distinctly
to the advantage Of violators Of crimi-
nal statutes Of the United States" I
can attention to the fact that In this
letter Of Secretary Cortelyou to Mr..
Tawney, AZ In my letter to the speaker
Quoted below, the explicit statement
Is made that the proposed change will
be for the benefit Of the criminals, q
statement which ! simply reiterated In
public form IN my message to- the con
gress this year and which Is also con-
tanned III effect In the report Of the
secretary OF the treasury 70 the con-
gress. us :i4s # s5Es
sPrivats, Conduct" sf Msmbsrs.
a careful reading of the Consression-
n Record viii also show that practical