The San Francisco call., 1909-01-05

service division) from the appropria-
tion miscellaneous expenses of United
states courts or some other appro-
priation properly available for their
payment This practice has given the
attorney general and other heads of
departments the services of such agents
as might from time to time be required
Tor periods varying from one day to
several months, and upon the grounds
of economy, efficiency and convenience
has proved extremely satisfactory to
every kone concerned. 1t has enabled
the attorney general to conduct inves-
LEGATIONS in connection with the vio-
lations of the trust laws, of laws relat-
ing to the public domain, and to
lottery enterprises, with gratifying re-
suits.
The attorney general is not provided
with any permanent investigating force
of his own and is barred from the
employment of private detective agen-
cies by an act which reads as follows:
That hereafter no employe of the
Pfnkerton detective agency, or similar
agency, shall be employed in any gov
! ernment service or by any officer of the
District of Columbia. supplement to
the Revised Statutes. vol. 2; 1egisla-
tion 1S92-1S95, .. I'D.
The requirements of his department
are of so uncertain and, varied a nature
that at times during the year four or
flve men can take care of the work.
rs or 80 may be required for short per-
1ods. 1t would seem to be impractical
BILE to require that he should have to
employ these men haphazzard, and it
is self-evident proposition that no
competent man would be willing to
accept employment for a few weeks
with no certainty as to how much
time might. elapse before he would be
needed again; and if q permanent force
were to be maintained by the depart
ment of justice it would necessarily
have to consist of the maximum mum
Der of men that would be needed at
any one time, though the records show
tfrat there are many periods Of the
year when only few men are neces-
sary to conduct the work.
So 1t has developed that the practice
of borrowing men from the secret serv-
ice has been found the best solution of
the problem. Within the last two years,
ployes have been most active in the in
vestigation and prosecution of land
frauds, there has developed an opposf-
tion to the loaning of these trained in
1t has been asserted that the appropria-
tion for suppressing counterfeiting
specifically provided that the men en-
ployed for suppressing counterfeiting
should be employed for no other pur-
pose whatever, and that therefore the
loaning of these agents was a direct
violation of law. The act for suppress
ing counterfeiting reads as follows:
For expenses incurred under the
authority or with the approval of the
secretary of the treasury in detecting,
arreSting and delivering into custody
of the United States marshal having
Jurisdiction, dealers and pretended
dealers in counterfeit money, and per-
sons engaged in counterfeiting treas
ury notes, bonds, national bank notes
and other securities of the United
States and of foreign governments. as
well the coins of the United States
and of foreign governments, and other
felonies committed against the laws
of the United States relating to the
pay and bounty laws. including $1,000
to make the necessary Investigations
of claims for reimbursement of ex-
penses incident to the last sickness and
burial of deceased pensioners under
section AIS of the revised statutes.
the act of March 2. 1895. and for no
other purpose whatever, except in the
protection of the person of the presi-
dent of the United States. S1I5. 900:
Provided, That no part of this amount
be used in defraying the expenses of
any person subpenaed by the United
a United States court or preliminary
examination before any United States
commissioner, which expenses shall be
paid from the appropriation for fees
of witnesses, United States courts"
1t seems to me that careful read
ing of this act discloses that the phrase
"and for no other purpose whatever
applies, and can only apply to the ex-
penditure of the money and does not
and can not apply to a prohibition
against employing the agents elsewhere
so long as they are not reimbursed