New-York tribune., 1909-01-05
DEFENDS SERVICE.
Continued from first page.

themselves wish 10 be investigated by secret
service men, and il was turther stated:
sEuf IL this IS not considered desirable
special exception could be made i'm the law.
prohibiting the of she Secret Service
force in investigating members of Congress.
Il would be far better to do this than TO
DO what actually was done. and strive to
prevent or at least to hamper effective ac-
ton against criminals by the executive
branch Of the government: and
Hhereas. the plain meaning OF the above
words is that the majority of the Congress
men we're in fear OF being investigated by
Secret Service men and that Congress as
whole was actuated by that motive in en-
acting she provision in question: and
Whereas. your committee appointed 10 con-
slider these statements of the President and
TO report 10 the House cannot find In the
hearings before committees nor IN the rec
or6s Of the House or Senate any justlnca,
tion Of this impeachment of the honor and
integrity Of the Congress; and
Whereas your committee would prefer. in
order TO make an intelligent and compre-
hersive report just TO the President as wen
as to the Congress. to have all the lnforrna-
fion which the President may have TO
communicate: now. therefore.
Be ii resolved. That the President be re
ouested TO transmit 10 the House any evi-
dence upon which he based his statements
that the "chief argument in favor OF the
provision thet the Congressman did nor
themselves wish be investigated by Sc
Cret Service men, anG also to transmit 10
the House any evidence connecting any mem
her Of the House Of Representatives OF IHe
Goth Congress with corrupt action IN his
official capacity. and to inform the Ho0s e
NEet6eT
the runishnent of any such individual oy
the courts has reported any snch {o aIoss
delinQuencies TO the House OF heprese
tives.
,o,n,- e+ loss 70 understand the con-
,,,,6inr- -ortjcn Of the resolution. have maoe
no charges Of corruption against Const - 70
srstns+ sny member Of t:ae present House II
rae -roof of such corruption affecting any
member OF the House in any matter as 10 "!Ci
the federal government has JuTlsocson' ! a +bn
would at once be brought, as was zone IN lhe
cases of Senators Mitchell and Burton. ano KEEP
resenfatives Williamson. Hermann and DTlggs'
ST different times since have been President
Tl7fs would simply be doing my duty in the exc
crltio- and enforcement Of the laws without
respect TO persons But I do not regard ~ as
x.-ifhin the province or the duties Of the Presi-
dent 70 report 70 the House alleged delinQuen-
cies'- Of members. or the supposed corrupt &C
ton" IF a member fn his Official capaclty: Inc
membership Of the House is by the Constitution
placed within the power of the House alone
In the prosecution Of criminals and the enforce
naept Of the laws the President must resort 10
the courts OF the United States.
WHAT WAS SAID ABOUT CONGRESSMEN.
In the third and fourth clauses Of the pre-
smble e is stated that the meaning of my words
IS that the majority Of the Congressman are in
fear Of being Investigated by Secret Service
men and that Congress whole was actu-
sted by that motive in eTacting the provision
in qresticn, and that this is an impeachment Of
the honor and integrity Of the Congress These
statements are not / think IN accordance with
the fects- The portion Of my message referred
70 runs follows:
a g 6T0eIQ01e1I
IN the measure providing for the Secret Ser
Vice which provided that there should be
ro detail from the Secret Service and no
transfer therefrom- II is not too much 10
say that this amendment has been of benefit
onlv and could be Of benefit only. TO the
criminal classes. II deliberately introduced
<or fhe purpose OF diminishing the effective
ness Of var against crime II could not nave
been better devised TO this end It forbade
the practices that had been followed To a
zreate- or less extent by the executive heads
of various departments for twenty. years. p
To these practices ove the securing Of
the evidence which enabled to drive great
lotteries cut Of business and secure $50
nfl in fines from their promoters These
practices have enabled US 10 discover some
of the most outrageous frauds in connection
z1th the theft Of government land and gov
eminent timber by great corporations and
br individuals. These practices have en-
shled us TO get some Of the evidence indis-
rensshle In order TO secure the conviction OF
inc vealthiest and most formidable crlTnl-
7als with whom the government has TO deal,
both those operating in violation Of the anti
trust law and others The amendment IN
question was Of benefit to no one excepting
10 these criminals, and II seriously hampers
the government IN the detection OF crime
and the securing OF justice. Moreover. II
not only affects departments outside OF the
Treasury. but il tends to hamper the Secre
tarv Of the Treasury himself In the enoT1
70 utilize the employees Of his department so
as 70 best meet the requirements Of the
public service Il forbids him from pre-
venting frauds upon the customs service
from Investigating Irregularities in hrancn
nints and assay offices. and has seriously
crippled him II prevents the pronoIon OF
er7nloves IN the Secret Service, and this fur-
+her disco,Irages good effort. In its present
form the restriction operates only to the ao-
vantage Of the criminal. Of the Wrongooer.
The chief argument in favor Of the pro
vision was that the Congressman DID not
themselves wish 20 be investigated py
cref Service men Very little OF such IN
vestiesffon has been done in the past buI
II Is true that the work Of the Secret ser
vice agents was partly responsible for the
Indictment and conviction or senator anu
Congressman for land frauds in oregon
Do not believe that II is in the pubic IN
terest to protect criminals in any pfaiCh
o. the public service, and exactly as we nav nav
again and again during the last seven YEAR,
Prosecuted and convicted such criminals VINO
were in the executive branch of the govern
rnent go in my belief we shoulo ne CIV
zr,-le means to prosecute them II found IN
the legislative branch But if this rs noo
considered desirable a speclal ekcep'IOii
could be made in the law prohpluhs III
rsA ~ the Secret Service force in inVesuea'-
ing members Of the Congress IT FVoulo De ,d IL
better 10 do this than 70 DO ~haI q. a. I,
vas done and strive to prevent OF ~ 80
e. banner effective action against crhninaiS
sv fhe executive branch of the government
A careful reading Of this message will show
that ! said nothing 10 warrant the sIaIelile.i' a..
that tire majority of the Congressman 49, 49,, M
fear of being investigated by the secret SerFlee
-n.r cr ..,I,a, CONGRESS as a whole was act
,stas ~ ,Fat motive I did not make any
such statement in this message Moreover,
have never made any such sfaIenlehI sppI'
Congress as a whole nor. with few lneVllaVae ".
EXCEPTIONS about the members Of congress III
any message article of speech; Ol . ,IIe ~,
trarv I esve always not only deprecated ou'
Tlgorouslz- resented the practice or lhdisc
rate attack upon Congress anc lhoisoi m iLi. = @
condemnation of all Congressman, wise ana ana @ uri
wise. III and unfit good and bad ahke- no or
realizes more than ] the importance of co-opera
uon between the Executive and Cohgie o
n one holds tbe authority and dignity of the
congress II the United States in higher respSCl
thsn I DO I have not the slightest synnpaihS
1cfn T11Pn good