John Elbert Wilkie (1860 – December 13, 1934) was an American
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
and
Chief of the United States Secret Service from 1898 to 1911.
Journalist
At age 19, Wilkie joined the staff of the ''
Chicago Times'' as a reporter. His father, Frank B. Wilkie, was an
editorial writer at the newspaper; the two traveled to Europe and served. Upon returning to the United States, Wilkie joined the staff of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'', where he initially served as financial editor and later city editor.
[NEW SECRET SERVICE CHIEF.; Sketch of John E. Wilkie, Who Succeeds W.B. Hazen.]
''The New York Times'', February 28, 1898, Accessed January 7, 2009. While at the ''Tribune'', Wilkie hired satirist
Finley Peter Dunne
Finley Peter Dunne (born Peter Dunne; July 10, 1867 – April 24, 1936) was an American humorist, journalist and writer from Chicago. In 1898 Dunne published ''Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War'', a collection of his nationally syndicated Mr. Dooley ...
.
On August 8, 1890, while working for the ''Tribune'', Wilkie wrote a pseudonymous article that first described the
Indian Rope Trick
The Indian rope trick is a magic trick said to have been performed in and around India during the 19th century. Sometimes described as "the world’s greatest illusion", it reputedly involved a magician, a length of rope, and one or more boy as ...
. Featured on the front page of the paper's second section, it was soon picked up by newspapers throughout the United States and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and it was translated into nearly every European language. Soon
a number of people claimed to remember having seen the trick as far back as the 1850s. Four months later, the ''Tribune'' printed a retraction noting the story had been "written for the purpose of presenting a theory in an entertaining form."
[ Teller]
'The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick': The Grift of the Magi
''The New York Times'', February 13, 2005, Accessed January 7, 2009. However, the notice of the hoax garnered little attention, and the myth of the Indian Rope Trick persisted for years. When ''
The People's Friend
''The People's Friend'' is a British weekly magazine founded by John Leng on 13 January 1869 as an offshoot of ''The People's Journal'' and currently published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. Its tagline is "The famous story magazine". It was ori ...
'', a British weekly magazine, contacted the ''Tribune'' in order to contact individuals mentioned in the story, Wilkie wrote a personal note: "I am led to believe that the little story attracted more attention than I dreamed it could, and that many accepted it as perfectly true. I am sorry that anyone should have been deluded."
By 1893, Wilkie had moved to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to work on behalf of an American railroad and steamship office. He returned to the United States in 1897 to go into private business. Sometime in these years he began working with the United States Secret Service, though those who knew him personally were not aware of the fact until he became Chief of the bureau.
Secret Service
In early 1898, Wilke was appointed Chief of the United States Secret Service, succeeding William P. Hazen. Wilkie's task as Chief was to oversee the protection of important national officials, paramount of which was
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
, foreign dignitaries visiting the United States, as well as combating the
counterfeiting of currency. Hazen's tenure had ended in disarray: in 1894, the Secret Service had taken on the responsibility of protecting the President, invoking the ire of the
Anti-Federalist
Anti-Federalism was a late-18th century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Con ...
lobby; meanwhile a major counterfeiting operation had forced the government to withdraw an entire currency issue. Hazen had been demoted and Wilkie selected to lead the office against the growing counterfeit problem.
The decision to appoint Wilkie was made by
Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
Lyman J. Gage
Lyman Judson Gage (June 28, 1836 – January 26, 1927) was an American financier and Presidential Cabinet officer.
Biography Early life
He was born in DeRuyter, New York, educated at an academy in Rome, New York, and at the age of 17 bec ...
, who wanted to experiment with placing a newspaper man at the head of the bureau.
Wilkie directed
counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...
efforts during the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
.
President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's active lifestyle initially put him at odds with the Secret Service; Wilkie eventually convinced the new President that the annoyance was in the interest of the country, his welfare, and the good of those assigned to protect him following the assassination of his predecessor William McKinley.
Later career
Wilkie also served as assistant to the president of the
Chicago Surface Lines
The Chicago Surface Lines (CSL) was operator of the street railway system of Chicago, Illinois, from 1913 to 1947. The firm is a predecessor of today's publicly owned operator, the Chicago Transit Authority.
History
The first streetcars in Chi ...
and vice president of the
Chicago Railway company.
In fiction
Wilkie is featured prominently in the 2014 novel ''
The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy
''The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy'' is a historical fiction novel written by Jacopo della Quercia. The plot follows President William Howard Taft, scientist Robert Todd Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln's son), Secret Service Chief John W ...
'', where he is portrayed as a loyal but combative subordinate to President
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
. (There is also a major twist in the story about his real identity.) Many elements of the U.S. Secret Service from the era, such as their weapons and commission books, are featured, as are several U.S. Secret Service agents. An online-only chapter of the book also depicts Wilkie at work in his office at the
Treasury Building
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in ...
, which is described in detail.
He is also a character in
S.M. Stirling's
Tales of the Black Chamber trilogy, an alternate history of World War II in which he remains chief of the Secret Service under a third
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
administration.
References
John Elbert Wilkie obituary.Time magazine
*Norman Ansley. The United States Secret Service. An Administrative History. ''The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science'', Vol. 47, No. 1 (May - Jun., 1956), pp. 93–109
*Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones (2002). ''Cloak and Dollar: A History of American Secret Intelligence''. Connecticut: Yale University Press
*Wilkie, John. The Secret Service in the War. ''The American-Spanish War: A History by the War Leaders''. Connecticut: Chas. C. Haskell & Son, 1899
*WILKIE, FORMER HEAD OF SECRET SERVICE, IS DEAD. Surface Lines Official in Recent Years. ''Chicago Tribune'' Dec 14, 1934
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkie, John
1860 births
1934 deaths
American male journalists
United States Secret Service agents
Directors of the United States Secret Service
Chicago Tribune people
People from Elgin, Illinois