Evening star., 1927-05-04

ally grown into a very useful Organ1
zation for crime detection. Finally
in Roosevelts time, it became so trou
blesome to keep up the old fiction thai
the chief of the secret service bluntly
asked Congress to appropriate s125,
600 for the years expenses and tC
remove all restrictions whatever or
the employment of operatives, so that
he and his chief, the Secretary of the
Treasury, might use the money in any
way they considered necessary.
1.-The committee on appropriations
wouldn't do it, and instead amended
the sundry civil appropriation bill sc
as to confine the activities of this
overgrown secret service. I didn't
know anything about it until 1 re
ceived letter from the President in
which he said: of course, the pro
vision about the employment of the
secret service men will work very
/ great damage to the Government in
| its endeavor to prevent and punish
crime. There is no more foolish out
cry than this against spies; only crimi.
nails need fear detectives
Il. IL. Attacks Congress.
This was Greek to me until !
showed it to Jim Tawney, the chair
man of the committee, and he told
me what it was all about. OF course,
stood with the committee, as did
the other House leaders. For the first
time President Roosevelt did not sub
NIT his annual message to me, and
when it came I was dumfounded to
read in it an assault on Congress,
especially on the House, because of
| this secret service amendment. 1t
created such a storm of indignation
among Republicans and Democrats
alike that for the first time in 40 years
| it was proposed to refuse to receive
the Presidents message.
''It was I who, for time, STAYED
off that radical action. though in the
end it was adopted. I did not then
know that the President blamed me
| for the amendment and had me in
mind when he wrote the message.
Instead of following his usual course
and taking counsel with the leaders
of the House, he had listened to the
chief of the secret service-not a safe
or reliable source of knowledge about
the motives of Congressmen-and had
been Influenced by him. The secret
service had constructed a fantastic
story to the effect that the appropria-
tions committee, and in its turn Con-
gress itself, had been guided by me as
Speaker. What were my motives?
The secret service was ready with an
answer. 1t seemed that my supposed
animosity to that organization was
the result of an article written by
you, Busbey, before you became secre-
tary to the Speaker. Plain as a pike
staff. You, as my secretary, infiu-
enced me, influenced the appropria-
tions committee. the committee infiu-
enced the House, and the House ins
f1uenced the Senate. 1t was like the
house that Jack built How as
shrewd a man as Mr. Roosevelt could
fall for such tissue of nonsense is
beyond me.
Roosevelt Believed Story.
"At any rate, he believed it, and
was very wroth, though I did not yet
know how angry he was. The mem
bers of the House We're furious, but
l counseled moderation. As soon as
the message had been read I called to
the Speakers desk the Republican and
Democratic leaders and told them that
the House could not afford to do so
offensive a thing as to hurl the Presi-
dents message precipitately back at
him because he had offended it. My
suggestion was that the House ad-
journ without taking any action.
This was done, and there was a
further conference of leaders in the
Speakers room, at which it was de-
cided to appoint a special committee
to decide on the action to be taken.
/ appointed three Republicans and
two Democrats, none of them men,
bers Of the appropriations committee
and none of them unfriendly to the
President, with Roosevelt Republi-
can, Perkins of New York. as chair
man. In less than a week the COM
mittee made a unanimous report
which. instead of refusing to receive
the message, asked the President to
furnish the House with any informa-
ton in his possession which would
justify the language he had used.
The report was agreed to without
| division.
Declined to Make Peace.
president Roosevelt still had it in
his power to make peace with the
House. But he declined to do so. He
was stubborn. While quick to demand
| n III
weakness never to make one himself.
Instead, he rubbed in his original as
sault in a most surprising manner.
"At the moment when Perkins was
on his feet asking recognition to make
this report, you as my secretary came
up to me and informed me that the
| Presidents secretary was on the tele.
| phone peremptorily demanding that !
come up to the White House to con.
fer with him about it. You said you
told Mr.. Loeb that I was in the chair
and about to receive the committee Is
report. but he replied that Mr.. Roose.
welt insisted on seeing me before Mr..
Perkins could make it. When you
told me this I was on my feet with
the gavel in the air, and Perkins was
on his feet with the report.
II don't suppose any man would
expect me TO do anything but what
| did. / didn't answer you. simply
brought down the gavel and recog
niZed Perkins. Then told you to &C
back to the telephone and tell Mr.
Loeb that Mr.. Perkins was presenting
his report and that / would go to the
White House when the report had
i been disposed of.
''Of course, Mr.. Roosevelt knew per