The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-05

greater or less extent by the executive heads of various departments for 20 years 1 To these practices we owe the secur- ing of the evidence which enabled us to l drive great lotteries out of business and secure quarter of million of dol ] lars in fines from their promoters. These l practices have enabled us to discover some of the most outrageous frauds in 1 connection with the theft of government :, land and government timber by great cor l porations and by individuals. These prac- i tices have enabled us to get some of the evidence indispensable,ih order to securlI the conviction of the wealthiest and mosG l formidable criminals with whom the gov l ernment has to deal, both those operat- 1 ing in violation of the antitrust law and l others. The amendment in question was 1 of benefit to no one exceptng to these l criminals, and it seriously hampers the government in the detection of crime and the securing of justice Moreover, it not only affects departments outside of the i treasury but it tends to hamper the sec retary of the treasury himself in the ef l fort to utilize the employees of his de- partment so as to best meet the require ments of the public service. It forbids him from preventing frauds upon the cus- toms service, from Investigating irregu- l larities in branch hints and assay of- 1 fees, and has seriously crippled him. It prevents the promotion of employees in 1 the secret service, and tlis further dis l courages good effort. In Its present form l the restriction operates only to the ad- vantage of the criminal of the wrong l doer.
 "The chief Argument in favor of the provision was that the congressmen did not themselves wish to be investigated by secret seNice men. Very little of 1 such investigation has been done in the | rt hut te tr-tIa hQt 10 0f secret service agents was partly respon- l sible for the indictment and conviction l of a Senator and Congressman for land | frauds in Oregon. I do not believe that 1 it is the pubic interest to protect crim- l inals in any iranch of the public service, l and exactly IS we have again and again l during the Jast seven years prosecuted 1 and convictd such criminals who were l in the executive branch of the government | so in my belef we should be given ample l means to pDsecute them if found in the legislative ranch. But if this is not considered desirable a special exception could be mde in the law prohibiting the use of the iecret service force in investi- | gating members of the Congress-. It
 would be fir better to do this than to do what actully was done, and strive to | prevent ol at least to hamper effective action against criminals by the executive branch of the government"
 ao Such Statement.
 A carefl reading of this message will show tha I said nothing to warrant the statementhat the majority of Congress
 men were in fear of being investigated by
 the secrt service men," or that Con-
 gress as a whole was actuated by that
 motive." I did not make any such state
 ment inthis message. Moreover l have
 never ride any such statement about
 Congress as a whole, nor, with few I inevitab5 exceptions, about the members
 of Conress, in any message or article
 or speeh. On the contrary I have all
 ways mt only deprecated but vigorously
 resentet the practice of indiscriminate at
 tack uon Congress, and indiscrimfnate
 condemnation of all Congressmen. wise
 and uryise, fit and unfit good and bad
 alike. No one realizes more than I the | importnce of cooperation between the
 execut,e and Congress, and no one holds
 the authority and dignity of the Congress
 of the United States in higher respect
 than ldo I have not the slightest sym
 pathywith the practice of Judging men.
 for god or for i'll, not on their several
 merit but in mass, as members of one
 partiular body or one caste, To put to-
 gethe all men holding or who have held
 a paticular office, whether 1t be the of-
 flee f President, or judge or Senator, | or nmDer or the 11OuSe Ol nepISSShtd-
 tives and to class them all, without re-
 gart to their individual differences. as
 goot or bad, seems to me utterly inde-
 fensble; and it is equally> sble
 whther the good are confounded with
 the bad in a heated and unwarranted
 championship of all, or in heated ana | unurranted assault upon all. I would
 neiler attack nor defend all executive
 offers in mass whether Presidents, , go-rnors cabinet officers, or officials , of ower rank; nor would I attack or ae na all legislative officers in a mass. I'll safety of free government rests very
 lately in the ability of the plain, every da citizen to discriminate between those pplic servants who serve him i'll. He ] canot thus discriminate if he IS per- sl Jed to pass judgment upon man, not
 wh reference to whether he Is ht or | lrit public servant, but with reference . : tt whether he Is an executive or iesis-