The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-02-04
PRESIDENT REPLIES
ON SECRET SERVICE
Reiterates That 1t Is Mistake to Dis
criminate in The Exercise of This
Particular Arm of The
Government.

Washington, ID. c., Feb. 4s-Declaring
that 'if the government is to act with
full efficiency against criminals, 1t must
have some force Of secret service agents
who can act against criminals any
where" President Roosevelt, in state
ment made public from the White
House last night emphatically reiterat-
ed his opposition to restrict the field of
usefulness of the secret service.
aThe position of the administration
is.' said the president, that it Is
against sound policy to discriminate In
favor Of criminals by discriminating
against the use Of the secret service to
detect and punish them"
The statement was called forth by
misleading statements appearing in
some of the afternoon papers" to the
effect that the work OF the secret SER
vice has not been hampered aud that the
investigation of cases outside the de-
lection OF counterfeiters and the protec
ton of the president has not been cir
cumscribed by restrictive legislation at
the last session of Congress.
The Statement.
Tie complete text of the statement is
as follows:
AT no time has the president or any
administrative officer claimed that the
restrictive legislation of the last session
affected the secret service division Of
the treasury department in the matter
Of suppressing counterfeiting or pro.
tecting the president. As a matter Of
fact, the Limitation did not apply in the
slightest degree to the normal functions
of that service and the claim that the
secret service was not hampered in look
ing after counterfeiters is admitted, but
the assertion that the restriction was
harmless to the governments interests
is not correct.
seThe effect of the limitation was ma
tcrially to circumseribe the field OF use
fnlness in which the trained agents Of
the secret Service had hitherto been ad-
yantageously employed. Under the limi-
tatlon il became impossible to use these
investigators in the class of cases in
which they have been conspicuously
successful for many years.
The phraseology of the restrictive
legislation Is such that any person who
was employed in or under the secret ser
vice division during 1909 for even so
short a period as an hour, became dis
qualified for promotion or employment
in any branch of the government SER
vice where either his compensation or
expenses would be payable from any ap
preparation in the sundry civil act.
"The limitations tied the hands Of the
secretary of the treasury and made it
impossible for him to continue the en-
ploYment of these men in any cases of
or wrong doing in those
Of the treasury department de
voted to the issuing, redemption and
of the obligations, securities
and coins of the government.
1t is the contention of the executive
branch of the government that it should
be permitted to use the best means of
criminal cases, and when
legislation is enacted that deprives the
executive branch of particularly desir
able and effective investigating force.
the governments interests which are
the interests Of the people, are injured
and the only gamers are the evil doers
who may thereby escape detection and
punishment.
THE question is, is it right or wise
Or proper specifically to discriminate
against one particular division of the
investigation forces and
prevent its employment where it might
be used to great advantagei Il is an
evasion of the question to answer that
IN one particular and circumscribe field.
eounterfeiting and protect
ng the president. its activities are not
effected by the limitation.
@ff the government is to act with
iull efficiency against criminals, it must
have some force Of secret service agents
Dy preference under the department of
usfice, who can act against criminals
anywhere, and the position of the ad
IS that it is against sound
public policy to discriminate in favor Of
,riIninals BY discriminating against the
ise OF the secret service to detect and
,unish them"