Show chiea SAYS HOUS M message to lower branch on secret service BIG STICK FALLS ALLS ON FOUR champions of brov s on to limit scope of invest gators are raked over the coals by roosevelt federa sleuths defended by executive washington president roosevelt Roosevel ts s big stick crashed down upon the heads of representatives tawney of minnesota smith of iowa sherley of kentucky and fitzgerald of 0 new lork ork when the execl tive sent a special message to the house of representatives berating those solons for being champ ons of 0 the successful move to place I 1 citations mitat lons ions upon the scope ot of the secret service the pres dent also declared that the interpretation of tl ti e house of the secret sern service ice clause in h a last mes message sage waa was misu der stood and had there been any evidence which would point to the n feces e ces eity sity of an investigation of mem members bers such h e idenie wo vo id long ago have been turned over to the proper authorities ahe message vas in answer to the res alution transmitted from the house I 1 in n wl ich the representatives asked for ev evi I 1 dence upon which mr roosevelt based his statements that the ch et ef argument in favor of the provision was that the congressmen did not themselves then the selves wish to be investigated by secret service men for the anan as club the message in part I 1 am who ly at a loss to understand the concluding portion of the resolution I 1 have made no charges of corruption against congress nor aga ast any member of the present house it if I 1 had proof of such corruption affecting any member of the house in any matter as to which the federal government govern nent ent has jurisdiction ac alon would at once be brought as was done in the cases of senators mitchell and burton and represent representatives athes wll wil liabson herrman and driggs at d affer ent times since I 1 have been president e nt tl TI Is would simply be doing m my y duty in the execution and enforcement of tho law jam s without respect to persons but I 1 do not regard it as within the province or the duties of the pre ident to report to the house alleged del of members or the supposed corrupt a ac tion of a member in his official capac ity the membership of the house Is by the const tut on placed within the power of the house alone in the prose cution of criminals and the enforcement of the laws the president must resort to the courts of the united states in the tho third and fourth clauses of the preamble it Is stated that the meaning ol 01 my words is that the majority of the congressmen are in fear of being imes by secret service men and that congress as a whole was actuated by that motive in enacting the provision in au question estion and that this is an impeach ment of the honor and integrity of the congress these statements are not I 1 think in accordance w th the facts M sunder stood he says tl TI Is allegation in the resolution there fore must certainly be due to an entire failure to understand my message the resolution continues that the president be requested to transmit to the house any an evidence upon which he based ils As statements tl at the chief argument in favor of the pro provision Islon was that the congressmen did not themselves wish to be investigated by secret service men this statement which was an attack upon no one still less upon the congress Is sustained by the facts it if aou 5 ou will sarn urn to the con ConTess lonal record for may I 1 last pages paces sa to Inc inclusive lusile iou 5 ou will find the debate on this subject mr tawney of minnesota mr smith of iowa mr air sherley of kentucky and M mr fitzgerdld of new ew york appear in this debate as the special champions of the provision referred to par sons eons bennet anet and driscoll were the lead era of those who opposed the adoption n of the amendment and upheld fhe tiie right of the government to use the most effifie efficient a means poss ble in order to detect crim finals and to prevent and punish crime the amendment was carried in the corn com cittee of the whole where no votes v of r the individual members are recorded so I 1 am unable to discriminate by mention ing the members who voted tor for and the members who voted against the provision but its passage the journal records was greeted with applause I 1 am well aware however that in any case of this kind many members who have no particular knowledge of the point at issue are con tent simply to follow the lead of the committee which had considered the n at ter and I 1 have no doubt that many mem mern bers of the house simply followed the lead of tawney and sn ith secret service Is defended after soundly remonstrating with rep tawney sn ith sherley and fitzgerald tz gerald for their stand at the last sess on in favor of placing limitations upon the duties of secret service opera tives the president set about to defend the operations of that branch of the federal government and declared that the scope of the department should be ex wide in order that all criminals might be brought to justice and that there might be no unjust d he ile also pointed out numerous instances where the powers of the department had brouil t justice upon the heads of crimi nals and cited cases within the memory of the present administration mr boose roose velt elt also declared that none of the mem me m bers of the house had ever been invests tl gated as set forth 1 in various allegations the gist of which was appended to the message asks reversal of act on concluding the president said in conclusion ion I 1 most ar nestly ask in the name me of good government and decent administration in the name of I 1 one ty and tor for the purpose of bringing to justice violators of the federal laws wherever tl ey may be found whether in public or private life that the action taken by the house last lear ear be reversed when nhen this action was taken the senate committee under the lead of the late senator alit son having before it a strongly worded protest from secretary cortelyou ike 1 ke that he had sent to mr tawney accepted the secretary s views and the senate passed the bill in the sl ape presented by senator allison in the conference how ever the house conferees insisted on the retention of the provision they had la in seated and the senate fielded liet fled the cl let lef of the secret service is paid a salary utterly inadequate to tl it e imbor tance of h s t f notions and to the aamir able way in wl ich he has performed tl em ern I 1 earnestly urge that it it may be increased to 6 per annum I 1 also urge that the secret service be placed where it erly belongs and made a bureau in the departs ent of justice as the chief of th secret service has repeatedly re quested but wheal er this Is done or not it should be explicitly provided that the secret service can be sed to detect and punish crime wherever it Is found THEODORE ROOSEVELT |