The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-01-04

was $1s5eoo:: ina !. tbs ols iasessi-
gallon they saved to the government
over 100000 4 year. Thanks to the.
restriction imposed hy Congress Il IS
now very diiiicalt for the Secretary Of
The Treasury TO use the Secret SER
Vice freely even in bis own depart.
ment for instance TO use them 70 re:
peat what they aid 50 admirably In
the ease o. this Ink contract TIE
government Is furth Ter crippled by The
law forbIding II to employ detective
agencies OF course the government
can detect the most dangerous crimes.
and punish the worst criminals. only
by tie use. either OF me Secret Ser
vice or Of private detectives. to ham.
per It in using the one. and forbid It
to resort to the, other. can invre to
. q =.
the benefit of none save the criminals.
Tha facts above given show beyond
possibility OF doubt that what the Sec
retary of the Treasury and 1 had both
written prior.to the enactment OF the
obnoxious provision. and what have
since written in my message TO the
Congress, state the facts exactly as
they are. The obnoxious provision Is
OF baneft only to the criminal class
and can be Of bepeat only TO the Grim.
inal class. II It had been embodied
in the law at the time when / became
President all the prosecutions above
mentioned. and many others OF the
same general type. would either not
have been undertaken or would have
been undertaken with the government
at great disadvantage; and many.
and probably most, Of the chief of.
tenders would have gone scotfree In
tsead OF being punished for their
crimes.
Such a body as the Secret Service.
such body of trained Investigating
agents, occupying 4 permanent POSI-
ton In the government service. and
separate from local investigating fore.
es in different departments. Is IN alb.
solute necessity II the best work Is 10
be done against criminals. II Is by'far
the most efficient instrument possible
to use against crime OF course the
more efficient an instrument is. the
more dangerous it is II misuscd. To
the argument that force like this
can be misuseh Il is only necessary
to answer thnt the condition of It's
usefulness If handled properly is that
II shall be so efficient rs 10 be, Ian.
Eerous II handled Improperly. Any
instance OF abuse by the Secret Ser
vice or other investigating force In the
Departments should be unsparingly
punished; and Congress should hold
itself ready at any and all times to
Investigate the executive departments
whenever there Is reason to believe
that any such instance OF abuse has
occurred. / visa to emphasize my
more than cordial acquieSccnce, In the
view that this Is not only the right Of
Congress, but en!phatically Its duty.
To use the Secret Service in the In
vestiEation Of purely private or polIti-
cal matters would be a gross abuse.
But there has been no single instance
OF such abuse during my term as Pres.
ldent
In conclusion, / most earnestly ask.
! in the name OF good government and
decent administration, In the name
Of honesty and for the purpose Of
bringing to justice violator of the fed.
crai 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. un-
"a