The Sentinel=record., 1911-12-06
SECRET FUND
 CRITICISED
REP. HAMliN SCORES PREsi. DENT AND SECRETARY OF
 STATE FOR ExcESsES.
Says the Secret Fund Has Become a Very Haven Of Official Piracy Requiring Over s2oo.o0o
 Every Year.

Washington. Dec. 5.-~Critieisms Of the president and secretary ot esate for their interpretation of the stat ute governing the secrdt fiyld for
 he state Jepartment was made hy eepresentative Hamlin of Missouri in , speech In the house today, Mir. Ham in Is chairman of the committee or state department expenditures, which has been making an investigation or th matter.
 p-mlnsnt officials had expended st.
 retIy s7s2.ssi averaging $l22,0oo q rear, when the secret fund appro-
 rated for such a purpose was only ss0000 a year. He called upon the ao,se to amend the statute to pre-
 CD. the fund becomiag rthe very i.4yen Of official piracy"
 As remedy MT IIamlin urg~d ,ae passage of his bill to create Ii .1in; commission Of three senators s.ld three representatives to whom ne president shall make an itemized felprt Oil the first Of each December on expenditures of the money given i'm for the preceding fiscal year "tof ,nlerRencies arising in the diplomatic consular service" The bill makes mis- use of the fund hieh crime and mis llemeaner and an impeachable of- tense. The committee, 1t proposes. should hold in confidence all infur nation necessary to be secured
 T have found enough out about itiA secret fund. declared Mr. Ham tn. to make me anxious to know Tow many thousasd dollars have been expended each year on portraits. pleasure trips. dollar diplomacy, in- creased salaries and other things that congress never contemplated should be paid from the secret fund
 Last year we spent nearly s20o.000 when there were no war clouds of the horizon. The president while bearing the olive branch in one hand. with the other was putting out tho money from the treasury at the rate of $4S3 day, including Sundays. We are told the mos>ey went for secret purposes. but where 1t went only God and the little crowd at the White House and state department knew
 During the last six fiscal year. he continued, the state department has used money from eighteen fDnus besides the emergency fund and GOV cred the expenditures ny blanket certificate of security
 Among the funds so used. Mr. Iiamlln mentioned contingent ax penses Of foreign missions. saterna tional seismological association. IE ternational prize court conference af London, St, Johns River lltsatioa. celebration of discovery of Lake Champlain. sioooo spent from ire champlain fund to enable this conn try to participate in the celebration being covered by secret vouc her
 Mir. Hamlsn said if this money was actually used for that celebraticrh "it probably went for railroad fare. t.,cttc, hhi.is hhii.ss. as.easehll4 Ais4 Aaaaa.el- tirgs, wine and the like.
 'Yet', sain he. Instead of furnish ing vouchers the president causes the secretary of state to make ceftltt- catS solemnly declaring that the na. tlre and object os this expenditure b iecmed inexpedIent to make known. This is a monstrous proposition anu is fraught with great danger so the pablIs treasury"
 Tic said that such a construction would open a llmItless Held 'hy wnien 1t would be possible to make this fund the very haven of officIai plr- acy.
 Referrtng to the mystery of last sunimer over the denartment's astuai expenditure from the vulgar eyes ot the public.
 Tn that order said Mir. Hamllu. 'the president atrogates to himself sreater authority over expenditures .han is possessed hy either house af congress-. The odor is not pleasant. Every questionable or sagnici1iis transaction Investigated by our com. mittee has led directly into the nlys tery of this so.called secret fund