Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-01-13
Uncle Sans e &
e e Secret Service
Work of Government Detective Bureau Which Is Bone of
Contention Between Congress and the President
Sketch of John {. WIkie, Chief of SleuthS

All of these things and some others
made congress forbid the further lend
ing out of HaWkshaws. There are
stories and cartoons to the effect that
a governmental spy system has grown
up in Washington. This the admini$-
tration denies, but at any rate there
will be an investigation.
Wilhe Started as Reporter.
The head of the secret service start
ed life as reporter. He is John r.
Wilkie of Chicago, son of famous
newspaper man in his day who was
Wilbur f. Storey's chief editorial writ.
er on the Chicago Times. Young Will
kie started as a fire and police report
er and was so Intensely in earnest in
the role that ne bought fireman'S
helmet and outfit and went to all the
fires to help out, receiving much chafr-
ing therefor both from the real fire.
men and the other reporters. He show
ed the same spirit in his police report
ing and in at least one instance sue
ceeded in unearthing a sensational
crime. A store burned in a manner to
show that it was fired by incendiaries.
The proprietor was out of town at the
time, but came in on a train soon aft
er. In rumnaging about through the
ashes Will1ie came upon a charred
photograph, evidently taken Of the
owner of the store when q much
younger man, but on the back OF
which was a Philadelphia address ard
a name different from that by which
the merchant was then known. On
being confronted with this witness
from the past the man supposed the
jig was up, broke down and confessed
that he had set fire to his own store.
using a time fuse that would allow
him to get out of town. This was not
the only piece of sherlocIholmesinG
done by the young police reporter.
Every available moment he was loung-
ing around detective headquarters
picking up ideas.
Some time later the elder Wilkie was
placed in charge of the London bu.
reau of the Chicago Times, and the
son accompanied him, each of them
sending several columns of cables and
letters every week. One day Storey
fired the elder Willxie by cable, and
the son went to the head of an Ameri-
can commercial agency in London,
where he remained almost two years.
Returning to Chicago, he re-entered
the newspaper field and soon became
city editor OF the Tribune. Frank e.
Vanderlip was financial editor of the
paper at the same time, and the two
became chums. When Lyman ]. Gage
was made secretary of the treasury
he took Var lerlip along as private Sec
rotary and in a short time made him
assistant secretary of the treasury.
Vanderlip remembered his friend Will
kie, tried him out on some work for
the government and succeeded in get
ting him APPOINTED chief of the secret
service. This is the story Of John E.
wilkes rise as l have from the lips
of a newspaper man who used to work
with him as a police reporter While
much of it has seen the light, think
it has never been printed before in all
its details. +
"Secret )rvice" True to Name.
In Office Mr.. Nilkie is one of the
most democratic and easily accessible
of all government employees. There
are two rooms in the treasury building
with the legend Secret Service" over
the door. anybody can walk right in
and will usually find Chief Wilkie in
his shirt sleeves going over reports or
considering some knotty case. In the
same room IS his assistant, w. H. Mo-
ran, and in the adjoining room are
number of clerks. Nothing mysterious
about all this, but the most prosaIc
and matter of fact routine Of every