The Irish standard., 1909-02-27
ASSA|LS HEMENWAY'
Roosevelt Attacks Report on
Secret Service.

Secret Service.
BRANDS IT AS INACCURATE
Adds Indiana Senator to the Ananias
Club in Letter Scoring Senate CON-
nnittee'a Action Refers to tho
Morse Case.
Washington. Feb. 22.-President
Roosevelt yesterday added another
stirring chapter to the secret service
controversy. in vigorous and lengthy
reply to the attacks made on this
branch of the government in report
made recently by Senator Hemenway
of the senate committee on appropri.
ations.
Senator Hemenway in this report
upholding the limitation in the scope
of the secret service, asserted that
ii never had been The intention of con-
gress to build up a spy" system and
with evident reference to this part
of the report, the president declared
that if the limitation Of the use of the
secret service had been In force when
the sensational land frauds were I'm.
earthed few years ago, senator.
representative and various men Of
wealth and high political influence,
u,h@ ut hot
would all have escaped punishment.
The presidents letter is addressed to
Acting Chairman Hale Of the senate
appropriations committee.
Presents Mass Of Facts.
Characterizing as inaccurate and
misleading in various important re-
specte," both Senator Hemenway's
report and the debate which 1t
aroused In the senate, the president
presented a, mass of facts and figures
in defense of the secret service during
the seven years of his administration.
Some Of the presidents data is based
upon information supplied by Attorney
General Bonaparate and Secretary of
the Interior Garfield
The presidents letter, In part, fol.
lows:
u have seen the report presented
by Senator Hemenway on behalf of
your committee in reference to the &C.
cret service matter The report ia
inaccurate and misleading in various
important respects. and I desire to
make certain corrections in reference
to. statements which appear therein
and in the subsequent debate
Praises tho Secret Service.
Following several hundred words Of
praise Of the secret service depart
ment the president jumps into the
subject Of limitation, saying:
Congress last year forbade by law
the use of the secret service men to
put stop to crime aside from counter
feitlng and thereby not only ham
pered Justice in other departments. but
deprived the secretary of the treasury.
the official guardian of a. billion and a
half of the nations actual money, Of
the power effectively to exercise that
guardianship. Moreover. the congress
provided no substitute whatever for
the secret service. In consequence.
the department Of justice was obliged
to develop BIS speedily as posssible it's
corps Of special detectives to take the
place of the secret service agents
which It had previously used. and the
nucleus Of this force was made I'D Of
officers formerly connected with the
DDS.
Il call your especial attention to the
fact that il the department Of JUS
tice had not taken this action there
would have been a complete failure to
enforce the law against many types
of criminals: and az it. was, in the
early months 1t the present fiscal
year. during the Morse prosecution
in New York. and in connection with
certain other important cases serious
inconvenience and anxiety were
caused to the PROSECUTING officers. hy
this action Of congress"
Talks About Spy System.
your committee in it's report states
that It has never been the intention
Of the congress to build up spy sys.
tenn. The next sentence, however, ad-
vocates the building up Of precisely
this spy system in the department Of
Justice. t.".
In Your report, and the subsequent
debate, direct and indirect attacks are
made upon the secret service. with
curious persistency, and curious
Indifference to the fact; that your com
mttee recommends that precisely sim
liar secret service to the one attacked
be now established In the department
Of iustic.
Hemenway Statement Misleading.
Senator Hemenway quoted the SEQ.
rotary OF the interior rs the authority
Tor the statement that but one secret
service man was ever detailed to the
| Interior department. This statement