The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1909-01-04

in order to detect criminals and to pre-
vent and punish crime. The amend
ment was carried in the committee of
the whole.
Il am well aware, however, that IN
any case of tais kind many members
who have no particular knowledge OF
the point at issue, are content sim
ply TO follow the lead of the COM
mittee which had considered he mat
ter, and l have no doubt that many
members of the House simply followed
the lead of Messrs. Tawney and Smith,
without having had the opportunity to
know very much as to the rights and
wrongs of the question.
Il would not ordinarily attempt in
this way to discriminate etwee MEM
bers of the House. but as objection has
been taken to my language, in which
/ simply spoke of the action of the
House as a whole, and as apparently
there is a desire that | should thus
discriminate, / will state that 1 think
the responsibility rested on the COM
mittee on appropriations. under the
lead of the members whom I have
mentioned.
Tan ney's Mistake.
Incidentally / may say that in my
judgment there is ample legal au-
thority for the statement that the law
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 a few days
ago in which the Secretary of the
Treasury himself admits that the pro-
visions under which the appropriation
has been made ave been violated year
after year for a number of years in his
own department.
Il append herewith as, Appendix A
the letter referred to. 1t makes no
such admission as that which Mr..
Tawney alleges. 1t contains on the
contrary, as you will see by reading
it. an emphatic protest against any
such a%bridgnlent of the rights dele
gated to the Secretary of the Treasury
by existing law and concludes by as
sorting that he is quite within his
!. rights in thu employing the service of
these agents and that the proposed
! modification Which Mr.. Tawney sue
1CNhGN III q ihS tAilpo6h NCoiN ~
distinctly to the advantage of viola
tors of criminal statutes of the United
States
81 call attention to the fact that in
this letter of Secretary C%ortelyou to
Mr.. Tawney. as in my letter to the
Speaker Z quoted below, the explicit
statement is made that the proposed
change will be for the benefit of the
criminals. a statement which I simply
reiterated in public form in my mes
sage to the Congress this year, and
which is also contained in effect in the
report of the Secretary of the Treasury
ITO the Congress.
TT Issue is slMpiy. does
esfre that the government shall have
ifs disposal the most efficient in
gncpt for the detection of crimi-
aud the prevention and punish
of crime or does II net. The ac-
of the House last May WIS en-
caIIy an action against the inter-
justice and against the interest
y-abiding people, and in its effect
heit only to Ia~wbrenkers.
am rot now dealing with motives;
tever may have been the motive
Induced the action of which I
this was beyond all question
fleet of that action. Is the House
willing to remedy the wrong?
)nIy Criminals Need Fear.
a long time ! contcnted myself
with e~ndeavoring to persuade the
House not to permit the wrong. speak
ing informally on the subject with those
members who. | believed, knew any
thing of the matter, and communicate
ing officially only in the ordinary chan
nels, as through the Secretary of the
Treasury.
ain n letter to the Speaker on April
30, protesting against the cutting down
of the appropriation vitality necessary
ff the Interstate ommerc Commission
was to carry inso effect the twentieth
s~rctfon Of thc Hepburn law. ! added;
'rhe provision about the employment
Of thc secret service men VIII work
very great damage to the government
in It's cndcavor to prevent and punish
crime. There tx no mere foolish out
cry than this uEninst "spies;' only GRIM
innls need fear our detectives q lit
close copy of the whole letter, marked