Agent Burger had even written up fictional scenes, which were
shared with the program’s producers. In one of these scenes,
Ramsey shows Ernest Burkhart the gun he plans to use to kill
Roan, saying, “Look at her, ain’t she a dandy?” The broadcasted
radio program concluded, “So another story ends and the moral is
identical with that set forth in all the others of this series....[The
criminal] was no match for the Federal Agent of Washington in a
battle of wits.”
Though Hoover privately commended White and his men for
capturing Hale and his gang and gave the agents a slight pay
increase—“a small way at least to recognize their efficiency and
application to duty”—he never mentioned them by name as he
promoted the case. They did not quite fit the profile of college-
educated recruits that became part of Hoover’s mythology. Plus,
Hoover never wanted his men to overshadow him.
The Osage Tribal Council was the only governing body to
publicly single out and praise White and his team, including the
undercover operatives. In a resolution, which cited each of them
by name, the council said, “We express our sincere gratitude for
the splendid work done in the matter of investigating and bringing
to justice the parties charged.” The Osage, meanwhile, had taken
their own steps to protect themselves against future plots,
persuading Congress to pass a new law. It barred anyone who was
not at least half Osage from inheriting headrights from a member
of the tribe.
Soon after Hale and Ramsey were convicted, White faced a
momentous decision. The U.S. assistant attorney general, who
oversaw the federal prison system, had asked White if he would
take over as warden of Leavenworth prison, in Kansas. The oldest
federal penitentiary, it was then considered one of the country’s