Michelle Fabian, age 11, of Keen, N.H., for her question:
WHO PROTECTS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES?
Protection of the president of the United States is the main job of members of the United States Secret Service. This organization is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
In addition to the president, members of the bureau also offer protection for the vice president, the president elect and the vice president e lect. Others receiving protection include former presidents and their wives, widows of former presidents, children under 16 of former presidents and major presidential and vice presidential candidates during election years.
Secret Service members guard visiting heads of foreign governments and, at the direction of the president, other distinguished foreign visitors. In addition, they also protect U.S. representatives performing special missions in other countries.
The Secret Service directs the Executive Protective Service and the Treasury Security Force.
The Executive Protective Service, formerly called the White House Police, guards the White House, the Executive Office Building, its annex and the billions of dollars in currency and other securities that are stored in the Treasury vaults.
In addition to the personal protective services, the Secret Service also works to stop the counterfeiting of U.S. currency and stamps and the forgery of government bonds, checks and securities.
Congress created the Secret Service in 1865 to fight the counterfeiting of U.S. currency. The service began protecting the president in 1901, after the assassination of President William McKinley.
A director heads the Secret Service. He is appointed by the secretary of the treasury. Secret Service headquarters are in Washington, D.C. The agency has district offices in major United States cities and in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There is also an office in Paris, France.
Applications for positions as Secret Service agents must be college graduates in good health and must pass a civil service examination. Those who are accepted receive training in the protective and investigative functions of the agency.
If the president takes a walk, plays golf or goes to the theater, Secret Service men always accompany him. When the president is driven in his limousine, Secret Service agents precede and follow him, alert for danger.
If the president stays in a hotel, he usually takes over an entire floor. An elevator is reserved for the presidential party.
When the president is traveling by train, the Secret Service makes sure that the switches en route are spiked and guarded. The train crew is specially selected and the locomotive and coaches are checked. An advance train tests the safety of the route.