The Oskaloosa herald., 1909-01-07
PRES. ROOSEVELT
ON CIVIL SERVICE
TAKES BACK NOTHING SAID IN
FORMER MESSAGE.
CONGRESS is NOT AssAILED
In Document Delivered to Both Houses
Today he Says he intended no
Reflection on Any Hon,
est Man.

House today. 1t denies the state,
ment made in the House resolution o.
inquiry that he had charged any mem
Der OF the resent congress with co.,
ruption or that the majority of con
sl'essmen wee in lear of inyestiga
ton by detectives. He gives the
names of former senators and repre-.
sentatives convicted in connection
with land frauds, and reiterates the
declaration made in his annual mes
sage that the limitation placed by
congress on the operations of the
Secret Service could be of benefit only
to the criminal class.
or the work done Ly the Secret
Services the President refers 10 the
land, naturalization, lottery, silk, Of
ium, ink and other frauds. He rec
ommends that all the government de.
tettive services he consolidated inco
a; single bureau to be attached to the
Department of Justice and that Cher
Wilkes salary be Increased from
$4,000 TO $4,000 year.
He denies strennouslyif the, allega-
ton made in certain quarters that
he ever used the Secret Service il
jury private % political matters. ..
Evidently he charges that agita-
ton against the Secret Service was
begun with an article written by L.
w. Busbey, private secretary tc
Speaker Cannon fol- a Chicago n~ws-
paper.
Altogether the President presents
a strong, tho Ugh calm, argument that
he was exlerlg RICH; in making the
criticisms that enlivened his message
at the opening of the session.
Il am wholly at a loss" he says,
TO understand the concluding por
ton Of the House resolution. | have
made no charges of corruption against
congress or any member of present
House. If had proof of such cor
ruption affecting any member of the
House in any matter as to which the
T Federal government has jurisdiction ),
action would at once be brought, as
was done in the cases of Senators
Mitchell and Burton, and Representa-
tiyes Williamson, Hermann and
Briggs. at different times since l have
been President. r. l,.a sa. !.
e IA careful reading of my mes
sage will show that said nothing to
warrant the statement in the House
resolution that the majority OF the
congressman were in fear of being
investigated by the Secret ServiceI
man f,F Efhaf a uae
actuated by that MOTIVE
In support of his statement that the
chief argument in favor of the move
ment to restrict the Secret Service
was alleged fear of some members
that they might be Investigated, the
President refers the House to the re
port of the debate last May on that
subject, as given in the Congressional
Record. He says responsibility for
the action taken by the House rested |
on the Committee on Appropriations. |
under the leadership of Chairman
Tawney, Rpn,, Mimi Smith, (Rpn
Iowa., sherley, (Dem. KY and Fitz
gerald, (Dem. N. nY.) ~F' .@. ~ I
The beginning of this agitation, the
President says, was 5000 word let |
ter sent to the Chicago Inter-Ocean
in 1904 by L. w Busbey, private sec.
rotary to Speaker Cannon. At the
time this letter assailing the Secret
Service was published, President
Roosevelt points out, these govern
ment detectives were working on the
great land frauds in the west and
aiding in the beef trust investiga.
ton.
"But all of this" continues the
presidents message, is of insignifi
cant importance compared with the
main, the real issue. This issue is
simply does congress desire that the
government shall have at its disposal
the most efficient instrument for the
detection of criminals and the pre-
vention and punishmet of crime, or
does 1t not? The action of the House
last May was emphatically an action
against the interest of justice and
against the interest OF law abiding
people, and in its effect of benefit only
TO lawbreakers. Is the House now
willing to remedy the wrong?
The President quotes from letter.
he sent to Speaker Cannon April 80,
protesting against interfering with
the Secret Service, in which he said:
There is no more foolish outcry than
this against spies; only criminals
need fear our detectives" Ii
The message reviews the operations
of the Secret Service men since 1901
They uncovered system for the
acquisition and fencing OF
public lands. in this work one of the
was assassiated. In Ne /,
braska go men were indicted for land
frauds, ard 80 so far tried, rs have
been convicted The government has
secured the return of 100000 acres
of grazing land and of 1000 acres OF
mineral land in Colorado. 1t suing !
for 10000 additional acres.
or the land frauds, the President
says: mo more striking instance
ran be imagined OF the desirability I
Of having a central corps Of skilled !