Evening star., 1916-01-02

Bielaski played so we'll for the printers
that he was. transferred, still as a
laborer, to the Department of Justice.
not because of general merit, but sole
ly for the reason that the ball team of
that department wanted his services.
In course of time, now clerk, having
taken civil service examination. Bic
laski was put to work in the division
of examiners. The word detective is
obnoxious in Washington. Detectives
for the government are operatives, in
vestigators or examiners. The exam
iners of the Department of Justice
Travelled over the country and scruti-
nized the accounts and behavior of the
United States attorneys and marshals
and of the clerks Of the federal courts,
all of whom lived on fees and some of
whom were not averse to increasing
their fees contrary to law or ethics.
The examiners were detectives, none
the less. although they yad knowl-
edge of bookkeeping. Meanwhile the
opinion was growing that the Depart
ment of Justice, the prosecutor of law
breakers, ought to have a force of it's
own to make Investigations and not
to be compelled, on occasions frequent
ly occurring, to ask the Secretary of
the Treasury for the loan of an opera
tive from the secret service.
About that time--Mr. Roosevelt was
President-memb mbers of Congress were
greatly incensed and even thrown into
a panic, some were bold enough to say,
by a very confidential and mysterious
report that they were being profess
sionally observed by the secret serv-
ice. Their lives, SO they were told,
were being investigated, both at home
and in Washington. When they went
forth after dark, they We're assured, a
shadow" noted their goings and COM
ings and all the stops intervening. II
they called or were called on, names,
and if not names. then descriptions,
were carefully written down and trans
mitted, presumably. to Mr.. Roosevelt.
What the members of Congress heard
was not true. except in the cases of
those who were publicly charged with
doing unlawful acts Nevertheless
Congress refused to appropriate any
more money for the secret service un-
less it's activities were confined entire
ly to the prevention of counterfeiting
the capture of counterfeiters and the
protection of the person of the Presi-
dent of the United States.
Since that time, about six years ago.
the secret service has been somewhat
reduced and new detective force has
been rapidly built up in the Depart
ment of Justice. Flynn, chief of the
secret service. is probably being used
now on work in nowise connected with
counterfeiting, because he is the ablest,
most resourceful and most successful
detective in the employment of the
national government.
*
New laws. Furnishing white slavers.
regulatory of corporations and so
forth, helped to bring about the Gre
alton of. great detective bureau in
the Department of Justice. Bielaski,
under Bonaparte and Wickersham, At
torneys General in Roosevelt's cabi-
net, developed with the bureau He
went into the field and has had expert
ence in bank and trust cases in clos
ing bucket shops and in trapping per-
sons engaged in the white slave traf-
hc.
The bureau of investigation, Depart
ment of Justice, of which Bielaski is
chief, has several divisions and Is even
more mysterious than the secret serv-
ice. 1t has men in all large cities and
special men in smaller places, who are
open to call by the government They
are not known to one another and IL
any of them tries to exploit himself
in the newspapers he is dismissed sum-
marily. The pay of investigators be-
gins at $3 day, with money for ex-
penses Experienced men of the high
est class receive $12
The bulk of the work in the bureau
four or five years ago was in conaec-