The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1909-01-22
u. S. Government Spends S2O00O,000
a Year For Secret Service
Assertion That This Amount Paid Out in 1908 Will Form the Basis Of Rigid neS-
gOn Into the Uses Which Such Sum Has Been Representative TaWlg
Says Country VIII Be EtOniShe by What Committee Will Reveal.

Washington, D. G. - The Senate
Committee on Appropriations which
is carrying out the Senate's instruc-
lions to investigate the operations OF
the Secret Service and other detective
bodies employed under the Admins
teation, already has obtained sufi-
cient information to show that in the
last year sums of money aggregating
about $40, 900 900 have been expend-
ed in secret investigation under the
direction of the President. This
knowledge will be used by the Senate
committees subcommittee of inquiry
as the basis for rigid examination
into the uses to which such vast
amount of money has been put. Much
of the money expended was not APP
propriated specifically for making in
vestigations of a secret character, but
was taken from lump sums placed at
the disposal of the Executive to meet
contingent expenses.
The criticism of the lavish way in
which Government funds, have been
used for purposes of investigation is
becoming very pronounced among
Senators and Representatives, and
they think it is about time to call a
halt. Where all the $20,000,000 was
spent is source of wonder at the
Capitol.
In spite of reports to the contrary
it is denied that there is any real
basis for the belief that in undertake
ing to investigate the workings of the
Governments secret agencies the Sem
ate and House are making a first step
a. he dfr0okf0Y, of. Y1eir, &,.O,, 70
the President. The purpose of these
inquiries, it is asserted, is to ascer-
tain and prevent further abuses by
the Executive and not to place obsta-
cles in the way of the President in
performing his legitimate constitu-
tional and legal functions.
There is good reason to believe that
the Senate investigation will result
in an effort to define in unmistakable
terms the relations between the Ex-
ecutive and the legislative branches of
the Government and to make clear
that moneys appropriated by Con-
gress shall be used only for the pur-
poses for which they were specifically
appropriated.
"The enormous ramifications of the
system of Federal espionage which
has grown up largely under the Ad-
ministration, extending even to the
domestic affairs of citizens" are
shown by figures quoted by Represen-
tative Tawney, of Minnesota, chair
man of the House Committee on APP
preparations.
During the last session of Congress
the Administration, which is now
complaining because $4,000 was
taken off the usual appropriation for
the Secret Service division of the
Treasury Department, called for very
large appropriations for other secret
investigations, and these appropria-
tions were actually made by Congress.
The several amounts reached the
enormous total of $S,126,000.
While it is only fair to say that a
part of this large sum was not ex-
pended for Investigations essentially
secret in character an enormous
amount was intended to further the
secret police and investigation work
of the Government; the rest was for
various inspection work.
Representative Tawney and other
members of the House Committee on
Appropriations declared that large