New-York tribune., 1909-01-24
so SAYS THE SECRET
SERVICE CHIEF.
Il Verbal Strategist Who GiUes
Harmless Amssoers to Dangerous
Leading Questions.
By James B. MORROW.


strategy to keep the other side guessing and so
he throws pail thick as night over his meth
ods and their ramihcations- Meanwhile he stands
out the sunlight himself smiling through his
eyeglasses and giving harmless answers TO dan
Eerous questions. That topic Is forbidden, and
cannot discuss it, ne Will say Beyond the omen
fact that two Secret Service operatives accompany
the President every time he leaves the White
House on foot. Wilkte is courteousIy but hope
lessly silent The threats OF crazy men and the
plots Of sssassins never made public because
threats and plots communicable going out in
wave lines by some kind Of telepathy or teleg-
raphy 10 other darkened heads and nurderous
hearts
Are you and your men, asked supposed 70
keep informed about anarchists?"
Before the Civil War there WAS scaroelv anv
trouble over coUnterfeiting" Mr.. Wilkie said run
ming away, as thought, from the question. Along
about 1855. however. when the country was flooded
with paper currency, TIE making of spurious money
became common that Congress was compelled
to vote an appropriation for its suppression Some
Of the of General Lafayette C Baker the
famous leader of the Secret Service organized for
purposes of war. were employed TO catch the coun-
terfeiters- Thereafter appropriations were made
from time TO time. until the Secret Service. It
is known became a division Of the national
Treasury, with chief, assistant chief and
force of clerks We at headquarters are paid from
funds regularly appropriated for the support Of
the Treasury. The operatives In the field. the
contrary. maintained by special appropriations
which huctuate between $1,000 and $4,000 a year
and which of course. can be stopped at the pleas
ure Of Congress The duties of q Secret Service
operative are not defined by law, and he IS o.
where recognized in the statutes. A lump sum is
voted for two specific purposes-the suppression
OF counterfeiting end for protecting the person of
the President Congress has never made ap-
preparation TO pay US for watching anarchists
Having made his escape without refuge in open
fabrication. Mr. wilkie swung low shoe
the other. threw back the edges Of his coat
until I could the whole front OF his fancy vest,
and artfully smoked a short meerschaum pipe that
almost half amber.
What kind Of do you employ, where do you
find them and what pay DO they receiver" In
quired
First. operatives required to have led
wholesome lives from the cradle up-otheruise
they would be torn 10 pieces the witness stand.
They must have patience. enthusiasm, persistency
and initiatfve-nane the qualities any order you
choose, because they all of the same inpor-
tance- 4 IN the Secret Service must be capa-
bic. without help Of any SORT of gathering up OBJ
scure threads. one az time. and weaving them
into the fabric of invincibe fact II an expedent
fails he must Try another and not become discour-
aged even though his quarry is always out Of sight.
He is put to work among his friends or in a
region where he is known. Results with him,
therefore depend entirely personal effort. I'm
ike police detective. he has no hidden sources OF
information Moreover, he is unconscious OF infu
ence, political. social financial He viii follow
the facts no matter where they lead.
rs counterfeting getting 10 be infreQuent
criRe7"
Three years ago sent letters eight thou
sand bankers asking them TO let know IL they
finding any considerable amount of bad
money. We tabuleted the replies and learned that
about so 10 the million Of paper currency and
about $50 to the million of silver coins
counterfeit. Since then, because Of hard times,
there has been slight increase In spurious silver,
but not enough 10 be menace
why has the increase been in silver"
For the reason that coin is easier TO counterfeit
than paper A get all the tools and
material he needs for a few dollars. He buys
tin and little antiInony with which to harden it
A small room. with a stove TO heat his metal and
dry his moulds, is rented for q week. and he gets
right down business. manufacturing, perhaps.
sl5e. After the counterfeits made they are
given thin coat Of silver. At the end of week
the packs his outfit In trunk and moves to
another neighborhood another city. Paper
money is counterfeited by the process known
photo-engraving. The old way which slow
and troublesome and which required great skili
to copy a bill by cutting it into a plate Of
steel.'
Where Go counterfeiters obtain their paper?'
We decline TO enter into details in certain in
Stances Mr. Wilhde replied. Sometimes as we
ali know 8 mere suggestion is the cause Of an
outbreak Of crime. A number Of years ago photo
engraving apparatus was purchased for the Elnira
: OF New York Mr.. Roosevelt, and the apparatus
was put out Of service, but until number OF
criminals had learned how TO use IT. When they
left prison they quickly took to counterfeiting Con-
seQusntly / don't to say too much about
paper. Banknote paper used by the government
contains silk threads of different colors Counter
feers often paste two sheets Of japanese paper to-
gether putting bits Of silk between them Usually
however they don't go that trouble They ap-
preximate the government quality as closely as
possible and trust to luck
, Are your operatives ever employed to catch
snugglers and tot stop Chinese from secretly en-
tering the United States?
Our men have been lent TO every department Of
the government"
What partzdid the Secret Service take In the
spznish-Anerican War;
1T located the Spanish bureau OF information
IN Canada and caught every spy who sent to
this country We were given $4,000 by Congress
for the expenses Of our emergency force, and
turned sS2 600 back into the Treasury
Has Secret Service operative ever been killed
while duty?''
.-one Of our men met his death Colorado last
year while engaged on land But loud vio-
lence is not part Of our common pracuce or eA-
perience. We do shooting and we break GOWN
doors II we are hunting band OF criminals
study their habits and discover their habitat
Some night when they are all together quietly
take cur stations IN the vicinity BY and by NO
comes A couple Of operatives folio" MN ioi
block and taking him into CUSTODY LEAD MN
10 a place agreed upon No. 2 and No. and No 4
are trailed and caught in the~same way, after
which oteratiyes and counterfeiters meet at the
headquarters of the band and make an inventory
OF all that is found
VIII YOU tell me what you know about William
J. Burns the famous detective who has been WORK
ing on the graft cases in San Francisco!
Burns co,aes from Columbus Ohio. where his
father was a police commissioner He joined the
Secret Service twenty-five years agos and served