Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1915-06-17
SILENT WORKERS
UNCLE SANS SLEUTHS ARE NOT
OF THE STAGE SORT.
Secret Service Simply Selects Man
Who Naturally Looks the Part
He Is to Assume.


Washington-"Head work and leg
work are more important than green
goggles and false whiskers," for the
modern sleuth, according to William ].
Flynn, chief of the United States Sc.
cret Service, better known as Uncle
Sans BLACK Cabinet"
AS a rule disguises are not used by
those in the service. If the matter in
hand, for instance, requires the collec-
ton of information from workmen,
man is chosen who looks the part
without disguise. He simply wears
such clothes as workmen wear and ef-
fects the manners and speech of the
men with whom he mingles. On the
other hand, if the work requires con-
tact with people in a better-dressed
walk of life, or with foreigners or ne.
groes, an operative of the same class
is chosen.
The United States Secret Service Is
under the direct supervision of the
Secretary of the Treasury. The only
thing that can land man in it's EN-
ploy is passing the preliminary exami.
nation, submitting to q personal inter.
view with Chief Flynn and showing
ones nerve and ability during a month
of testing work for Uncle Sam. II
man makes good after the preliminary
test he goes on the roll permanently.
The men are gathered from greatly
different sources. There are college
graduates, mostly sons of criminal law
yers, musicians, stenographers, lir-
guists, bank clerks, identification eX-
perts, telegraph operators, commits,
stoned and non-comn,issioned officers
of the army or navy, newspaper men,
a couple of sherffs, one or two war.
dens and an ex-mavor.
Some of the best work of secret SER
vice operatives in recent years has
been accomplished by men formerly in
the claims department of railroad or
life insurance companies.
The secret service headquarters In
Washington occupies a very unpreten-
tions suite of Offices on the first floor
of the treasury department. Here are
the private Offices of Chief Flynn.
whose salary is $4,000 year, and the
assistant chief, William Moran, regard.
ed as the greatest expert in the detec-
tion of counterfeits and counterfeit.
ers.
There is clerical division employ.
ing not more than dozen persons; an
x,y1,n
kept on file the records of all known
counterfeiters and other undesirable
citizens, and large storeroom where
confiscated count erfeitng outfits seiz.
ed in raids are allowed to accumulate
pending their destruction according to
law. There is sa"ing in the service
that "once counterfeiter always a
counterfeiter."
The secret service was created pri-
marily to catch counterfeiters and pro-
tect the person of the president. In
1861 there was car.ed in one of the
appropriation acts $4,000 for sup.
pressing the counterfeiting of coin
Annually thereafter provision was
made for the same purpose, and em-
bracing the counterfeitlng of paper cur
rency.
The United States is divided into Sc
cret service districts, each district
having headquarters conveniently To-
Gated in charge of skilled operative.
who has under his direction from time
to time as many assistants as the
criminal activities in his locality de-
mand.