The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-01-08

the use of the secret service for purposes
other than those intended putting his
statement in the form of a question, and
in the same form further stated that the
private conduct of members of congress.
senator's and others ought not to be in
vestigated by the secret service, and that
they should not investigate member Of
congress who had been accused of con-
duct unbecoming gentleman and a
member of congress- In addition to these
assertions couched as questions, he made
one positive declaration. that This secret
service at one time was used for the pur-
pose of looking nito the personal con-
duct of a member of congress- This ar
gument Of Mr.. Sherley, the only real ar
gument as to the merits of the question
made on behalf of the committee on ap-
preparations, will be found in columns i
and of page $3.50, and column 1 of page
5557 Of the Congressional Record. In COL
umn 1 of page 5556 Mr.. Sherley refers to
the improperly of permitting the secret
service men to investigate men in the
departments, officers of the army and
navy and members of congress-; in COL
umn l, page 5557, he refers only to mem
bers of congress. His speech puts most
weight on the investigation of members
of congress.
What appears in the record is filled
out and explained by an article which ap-
peared in the Chicago Inter-Ocean of
January 3. 1904 under a Washington
headline. and which marked the begin
ming or this agitation against the secret
service. 1t was special article of about
S,oOo words, written, as I was then in
formed and now understand by Mr.. L.
w. Busbey, at that time private secretary
to the speaker of the house. 1t con-
tanned an utterly unwarranted attack on
the secret service division of the treas
ury department and it's chief
AT the time of this publication the
work or the secret service, which was
thus assailed. included especially the in
Vestlsatlon of great land frauds in the
west and the securing of evidence to
neip the department of justice in the
beef-trust investigations at Chicago.
winch resulted in successful prosecutions
Efforts to Kill Move
Found to Be Unavailinq
These methods proved unavailing to
prevent the wrong. Messrs. Tawney and
smith, and their fellow members on the
appropriations committee paid no heed to
the protests; and as the obnoxious pro-
vision was incorporated in the sundry
civli DILL 1t was impossible for me to con-
slder or discuss it on it's merits, as
should have done had 1t been in a sep
arate Dill. Therefore 1 have now taken
cuSslng 1t in my message to congress: and
as all efforts to secure what I regard as
proper treatment of the subject without
recourse to plain speaking had failed,
nave spoken plainly and directly, and
have set forth the facts in explicit terms
Since 1901 the investigations covered
by the secret service division-under the
practice which had been for many years
recognized as proper and legitimate, and
h4
highest law officers Of the government
have covered a wide range of offenses
against the federal law. BY far the most
important of these related to the public
domain. as to which there was I'M
covered far-reaching and widespread
system of fraudulent transactions involv.
ing both the Illegal acquisition and the
illegal fencing of government land; and
In connection with both these offenses
the crimes of perjury and subornation OF
perjury. Some Of the persons involved
IN these violations were of great wealth
and of wide political and social influence
Both their corporate associations and
their political affiliations and the lawless
character of some of their employees
made the investigations not only difficult
but dangerous. In Colorado one OF the
secret service men was assassnated,
Instances in Which
Secret Service Starred
''In connection with the Nebraska prose
cution the government has by decree Sc
cured the return to the government OF
over million acres of grazing land
in Colorado of more than 1900 acres OF
mineral land, and suits are now pendine
involving 10000 acres more.
'An these investigations in the land
cases We're undertaken in consequence
of Mr.. Hitchcock, the then secretary
of the interior, becoming convinced tina,
there We're extensive frauds committed
in his department; and the ramitications
or the frauds were SO far-reaching that
he was afraid to trust his own officials
to deal in thoroughgoing fashion with
them. One of the secret service men &C.
cordingly resigned and was appointed
In the interior department to carry or
this work. The first thing he discovered
was that the special agents division OF
corps of detectives of the land office OF
the interior department was largely un.
der the control of the land thieves: and
in consequence the Investigations above
referred to had to be made by secret
service men.
''If the present law, for which Messrs
Tawney, Smith, and the other gentle.
men l have above mentioned are respon.
sble, had then been in effect, this &C.
tiUH WOulu nave Deen Impossible, anC
most Of the criminals would unquestion.
stance can be imagined of the desirable.
ity of having a central corps of skilled
investigating agents who can at any time
be assigned, if necessary in large num-
bers, to investigate some violation of the
federal statutes, in no matter what
branch of the public service. In this par.
ticular case most of the men investigated
IN in
executive branch Of the government. But
in Oregon, where an enormous acreage
of fraudulently alienated public land was
recovered for the government, a United
States senator, Mr.. Mitchell, and a mem.
Der Of the lower house. Mr. Williamson
were convicted on evidence obtained by
men transferred from the secret service
and another member of congress was in.
dicted.''
Chief Asks for Reversal
of Action Of Solons
The president then gave a number OF
other instances, all of which tend tc
point out the efficiency of the secret
service. and he concludes:
I'm conclusion, l most earnestly ask, in
the name of good government and de.
cent administration. in the name of hon.
esty and for the purpose of bringing
to justice violators of the federal laws
wherever they may be found, whether in
public or private life, that the action
taken by the house last year be reversed
When this action was taken, the senate
committee, under the lead of the late
Senator Allison. having before It q
strongly worded protest from Secretary
Cortelyou like that he had sent to Mr..
Tawney, accepted the secretary's views;
and the senate passed the bill in the
shape presented by Senator Allison. In
the conference, however, the house con-
ferees insisted on the retention of the
provision they had inserted, and the
senate yielded.
1.-The chief of the secret service is
paid a salary utterly inadequate to the
Importance of his functions and to the
admirable way in which he has per-
formed them. / earnestly urge that 1t