Evening star., 1941-11-06
All Help al Banquets
Attended by President
NowAre Fingerprinted
Several Interesting
Records Already Found
By Secret Service
BY JACK STINNETT.

/ ny JANn y
The Secret Service is slowly tight
ening the net of protection around
President Roosevelt as America be-
comes more and more involved in
the tragic world situation.
The latest development is the
fingerprinting of all the hired help
at every banquet or public gather
ing the President attends. First
hint of the new order came when
the President made his Navy Day
speech at the Mayflower Hotel. A
week before. Col. Edmund w. Star
ling, chief of the White House Secret
Service detail, and his staff moved
in to give the employees thorough
going over, including questioning
and fingerprinting.
This not only applied to the
hotels regular help but all the "spe-
cials" called in for the big banquet.
A week later, when the President
accepted his annual invitation to
the National Press Club Presidents
dinner, the Secret Service showed
up Immediately to fingerprint the
entire staff and made arrange
ments to have all extra walters, bus
boys and captains appear for the
routine several days before the
party comes off.
Willard Submits, Too.
The Willard Hotel, which houses
several floors of the British Pur-
chasing Commission and frequently
takes care of distinguished visitors,
had been through the ordeal before
the Mayf1ower or the Press Club.
The secrecy with which the finger
printing is being done prevented
the story from leaking out.
Even now, the Secret Service will
not discuss this latest development
in guarding the President, but it is
known that, among themselves, they
are pretty pleased with the results.
In the first place. the Capitals
wholesale fingerprinting has turned
up several persons with interest
ing" records and at least three
whose records put them definitely
under suspicion as possible sub
versive individuals" These, OF
course, are weeded out before the
President makes his appearance.
In a world at war. the business
of guarding the President has be-
come one of the most narrowing
assignments in Washington-not
entirely because of increasing
threats of danger-but because
President Roosevelt is one of the
most informal Presidents of mod
ern times He abhors the idea OF
being a prisoner OF the Secret
Service. He likes to come and 60
as he pleases, to see whomever he
wishes and without having his
callers subjected to thorough
going over before they are admit
ted to his Office.
He Likes to Go Out.
Since the Secret Service is
charged specifically, by law. with
seeing that no harm comes to the
President, his informality is to
them a hardship. The close guard
maintained at the White House is
now UIctty 1OutAAlC AAC
doormen. guards, Secret Service
and White House police know their
duties and it's a thousand to one
that no One-Eyed Connally is going
to crash his way into 1900 Pennsyl-
vania avenue-but when the Presi-
dent goes out and he often does,
it's another story.
Those many week ends when the
President goes to Hyde Park for the
only rest and relaxation he gets
these days: those occasional junkets
to defense centers. and even the
across town trips to banquets call
for elaborate preparations. 1t
isn't that any one really fears that
some attack might be made on the
President or that some embarras-
sing situation might arise. It's just
that precautions have to be taken
to see that such things are practi-
cally impossible.