The San Francisco call., 1909-01-05

claimed to be necessary. They were ut
terly repugnant to the spirit of civil
service reform, and to remedy the eVll
congress recognized them by making
specific appropriations for them. In
this way was the secret service bureau
and its chief given an official status
though never created by act of con-
gress-
The appropriation for the mainten-
ance of the bureau is now $16,5O0
year, and congress in addition to this
makes an appropriation of $125,000 a
year for the suppression of counter
feiting, but supulates that the appro-
priation shall be used for no other pur
pose whatever. The stipulation was
necessary to prevent the use of the
money in shadowing every conceivable
crime that can be suggested by the de-
tectiYe mind, and for that reason it is
repugnant to Mr.. Wilkie and his sub
ordinates. and also, perhaps TO the
secretary of the treasury and other
cabinet officers who sympathize with
the shadowing business. The treasury
department has appealed in vain to
the appropriation. 1t is appealing to
this congress. but its appeal will be ig-
nored.
The limitation will remain, because
congress does not intend to have a
Fouche or any other kind of minister
OF police to be used by the executive
departments against the legislative
branch OF the government. 1t has been
been so used recently. The secret serv-
ice has been very active generally, and
not so active against counterfeiters as
in the old days, when the appropriation
was less than half what it is now.
The notorious Brockway, king OF
counterfeiterS, was run down years
ago, and there has not been an import
ant capture of any counterfeiting outfit
in the last half dozen years. The secret
service men have been busy protecting
the president, Investigating frauds
against naturalization, hunting down
anarchists, shadowing men suspected
matters, which may be very important
but absolutely out of the line of duty
of the secret service bureau.
The postoffice investigation has in
spired other departments to go into
the same business. and the secret serv-
ice bureau feels that its detective bus
iness is becoming invaded. The reputa-
ton made by Fourth Assistant Post
sleuth of the times has aroused Chief
Wilkes men to look to their laurels.
They desire to run down all the rascals
in the government service and show
that they are the real and only thief
catchers in the country.
They want Wilkie to be the Fouche
recognition Of the national detectives
licensed TO shadow every man, what
ever his station, whom they may sus-
pect of any crime. That is just what
congress Will not Tolerate, and congress
is the law making power which creates
and abolishes offices. The legislative
branch OF the government will not
tolerate the meddling of detectives,
whether they represent the president,
cabinet officers or only themselves.
There will be no Fouche in Washing
ton, because Fouche was used by Ma
poleon to intimidate everybody else in
the French empire and grew so power
full that he intimidated the emperor
himself by reason of the state secrets
he held.
Chief wilkie is not the first man at
the head of the secret service who
wanted the power of a Fouche. Twenty
years ago the secret service became a
scandal in Washington through it's
presumption. Its detectives assumed
the right TO shadow congressman and
find out how an amendment agreed to
in conference failed to appear In the
bill as il was sent to the president.
The failure to incorporate the amend
ment in the enrolled bill was suspi-
cious Of jobbery, and ii was investi
gated by congress. but congress re-
sented the secret interference OF the
secret service men, who for weeks
shadowed some of the most respected
members of the house and senate in
an effort to convict them of having
guilty knowledge of how the amend
ment failed. When ii was discovered
that the secret service men were shad-
owing congressman there was a storm
of Indignation at the capitol and the
bureau came near being abolished and
the appropriation for the suppression