Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-02-22

allce with the Facts. | submit to you
| herewith q substantially, although not
| entirely, accurate statement of the
number of men employed on Secret
Service work or criminal investigation
| work during the year that has just
| passed, as compared with the years
| 19Dl1SO2 Owing to the very brief peri
| cd which | have had to get at these
| figures, it was impossible to get them
with entire accuracy. but they are not
| out of the way moro than Il score or SO
| in either direction.
'According 10 these figures it ar-
pears that in the ncighborhood of 1900
| mon of this type were employed seven
| years ago and somewhat over 1900 now,
| that ~, instead OF having trebled in
number in accordance with one OF the
state ments made above. instead OF
| having Increased 20 fold in accordance
with the other statement, they have
increased but a little over one-half, a
| little over 30 per cent. Moreover, of
this increase. considerably over half
Was in the number of men used in Sc
curing the punishment of vioiatOrS of
the Internal revenue laws, matter
wholly outside of that discussed by any
Of the gentlemen who have objected to
the use of the Secret Service. The re-
naming increase is due to such causes
as the natural growth of the postOf
flee department, the appointment Of
Individuals to enforce the pure food
and meat inspection laws, the more
rigorous enforcement of the safety APP
pl.anca act. tho suppression OF the Ii
uuor traffic among the Indians, the
protection of the public lands and
timber and the like.
II call your especial attention to the
fact that the great majority of these
men are not primarily or mainly or
indeed ordinarily engaged on Secret
Service or criminal investigation or in
,pection work at all. l have employed
.hese terms merely because they were
so employed by members of your COM
nlttce and others in the course of the
lebatr in the House and Senate; but
they are entirely misleading insofar
as they give an impression that the
chief work of the men mentioned was
If the character assigned it by Senator
Hemenway and others in the quota
ions given above and in similar state
mentS.
Gas for the amount expended the
statements in the debate in both
houses are so exaggerated as to bear
no reference whatever to the actual
hgurns Thus it was stated that two
thirds of The money appropriated for
the department Of justice was spent in
criminal investigation AS a matter Of
fact the attorney general reports to
nc that the appropriation so spent
construed on the most liberal possible
basis, was in reality IL per cent, 50
that the statement in question was a
3O-fold cxaggcratjon. In the same way
il was stated that S10,000,000 Cor as one
gentleman pat it, that $4,000 00O) rep
resented the amount expended for this
Secret Service work, while the totals
of another set of figures amount to
S32, 900. 900 a. money which could have
been expended for such work.
"a table carefully compiled covering
all the departments shows the amount
actually expended during the first six
months If the present fiscal year. in all
work that can by any possibility be
considered to come under this heading,
as a little less than 1854, 000-an esti-
mated total for the entire fiscal year
of approximately $500, 000-which goes
to show that the statements referred to
contain only from ) to Il per cent of
warrant in fact.
Senator HemenWay quoted the Secre-
| tary of the interior the authority for
| the statement that but one Secret Ser
vice man was ever detailed to the inte-
rior department. This statement of Sen
| ator Hemenway is completely nislead-
ing The Secret Service men were used
| in the interior department cases at the
request of the secretary of the interior,
| hut for convenience in operation they
| were assigned to and paid by the depart
ment of Justice. AS this has been set
| forth with the utmost clearness again
and again in the reports of the interior
department: as the prosecutions had to
| be carried on by the department of JUS
| tice it was desirable that the Secret Ser
| vice men should work with and under
| the department of justice officials.
THE facts in reference to the detec-
! ton and suppression of the land frauds
| and the punishment of criminals engaS-
| ed in them have been made public again
! and again: but in view of the report OF
your committee it is as well to refer to
| them once more. Secretary Hitchcock
| became convinced that there were wide
| spread frauds in his department and that
| his own force was unable to deal with
them. Through the department of JUS
tice he had a number of Secret Service
lucrative assigned to work on the inte-
rior department cases together with one
| Secret Service operative who was as
signed direct to the interior department
Mr. Hemenway speaks as if the attorney
| general and the secretar of the lnte'
rior had not known of such assignments
as a matter of fact every such assign
ment was made on the written request
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