UNCONVINCING TESTIMONY
On Sunday "Gran'pa Jim," relieved of all worry, felt "quite himself
again," as he expressed it, and the old gentleman strutted somewhat
proudly as he marched to church with his lovely granddaughter beside
him, although her uniform was to-day discarded for a neat tailor-suit.
Mary Louise had always been a favorite in Dorfield, but the past week
had made her a heroine in the eyes of all patriotic citizens. Many were
the looks of admiration and approval cast at the young girl this
morning as she passed along the streets beside the old colonel.
In the afternoon, as they sat in the cosy study at home, the girl for
the first time showed her grandfather the disloyal circulars, relating
how indignant the Liberty Girls had been at encountering such dastardly
opposition.
Colonel Hathaway studied the circulars carefully. He compared the
handwritings on the different envelopes, and when Mary Louise said
positively: "That man must be discovered and arrested!" her grandfather
nodded his head and replied:
"He is a dangerous man. Not especially on account of these mischievous
utterances, which are too foolish to be considered seriously, but
because such a person is sure to attempt other venomous deeds which
might prove more important. German propaganda must be dealt with
sternly and all opposition to the administration thoroughly crushed. It
will never do to allow a man like this to go unrebuked and unpunished."
"What, then, would you suggest?" asked the girl.
"The police should be notified. Chief Farnum is a clever officer and
intensely patriotic, from all I have heard. I think he will have no
difficulty in discovering who is responsible for these circulars."
"I shall go to him to-morrow," decided Mary Louise. "I had the same
idea, Gran'pa Jim; it's a matter for the police to handle."
But when she had obtained an interview with Chief of Police Farnum the
next morning and had silently laid one of the circulars on his desk
before him, an announcement of her errand, Farnum merely glanced at it,
smiled and then flashed a shrewd look into the girl's face.
"Well!" said the Chief, in an interrogative tone.
"Those treasonable circulars have been mailed to a lot of our
citizens," said she.
"I know."
"They are pro-German, of course. The traitor who is responsible for
them ought to be arrested immediately."
"To be sure," replied Farnum, calmly.
"Well, then do it!" she exclaimed, annoyed by his bland smile.
"I'd like to, Miss Burrows," he rejoined, the smile changing to a
sudden frown, "and only two things prevent my obeying your request. One
is that the writer is unknown to me."
"I suppose you could find him, sir. That's what the police are for.
Criminals don't usually come here and give themselves up, I imagine, or
even send you their address. But the city isn't so big that any man,
however clever, could escape your dragnet."
"Thank you for the compliment," said the Chief, again smiling. "I
believe we could locate the fellow, were such a task not obviated by
the second objection."
"And that?"
"If you'll read this circular--there are two others, by the way, mailed
at different times--you will discover that our objectionable friend has
skillfully evaded breaking our present laws. He doesn't assert anything
treasonable at all; he merely questions, or suggests."
"He is disloyal, however," insisted Mary Louise.
"In reality, yes; legally, no. We allow a certain amount of free speech
in this country, altogether too much under present conditions. The
writer of this circular makes certain statements that are true and
would be harmless in themselves were they not followed by a series of
questions which insinuate that our trusted officials are manipulating
our funds for selfish purposes. A simple denial of these insinuations
draws the fangs from every question. We know very well the intent was
to rouse suspicion and resentment against the government, but if we had
the author of these circulars in court we could not prove that he had
infringed any of the existing statutes."
"And you will allow such a traitor as that to escape!" cried Mary
Louise, amazed and shocked.
For a moment he did not reply, but regarded the girl thoughtfully. Then
he said:
"The police of a city, Miss Burrows, is a local organization with
limited powers. I don't mind telling you, however, that there are now
in Dorfield certain government agents who are tracing this circular and
will not be so particular as we must be to abide by established law in
making arrests. Their authority is more elastic, in other words.
Moreover, these circulars were mailed, and the postoffice department
has special detectives to attend to those who use the mails for
disloyal purposes."
"Are any of these agents or detectives working on this case?" asked the
girl, more hopefully.
"Let us suppose so," he answered. "They do not confide their activities
to the police, although if they call upon us, we must assist them. I
personally saw that copies of these circulars were placed in the hands
of a government agent, but have heard nothing more of the affair."
"And you fear they will let the matter drop?" she questioned, trying to
catch the drift of his cautiously expressed words.
He did not answer that question at all. Instead, he quietly arranged
some papers on his desk and after a pause that grew embarrassing, again
turned to Mary Louise.
"Whoever issued these circulars," he remarked, "is doubtless clever. He
is also bitterly opposed to the administration, and we may logically
suppose he will not stop in his attempts to block the government's
conduct of the war. At every opportunity he will seek to poison the
minds of our people and, sooner or later, he will do something that is
decidedly actionable. Then we will arrest him and put an end to his
career."
"You think that, sir?"
"I'm pretty sure of it, from long experience with criminals."
"I suppose the Kaiser is paying him," said the girl, bitterly.
"We've no grounds for that belief."
"He is helping the Kaiser; he is pro-German!"
"He is helping the Kaiser, but is not necessarily pro-German. We know
he is against the government, but on the other hand he may detest the
Germans. That his propaganda directly aids our enemies there is no
doubt, yet his enmity may have been aroused by personal prejudice or
intense opposition to the administration or to other similar cause.
Such a person is an out-and-out traitor when his sentiments lead to
actions which obstruct his country's interests. The traitors are not
all pro-German. Let us say they are anti-American."
Mary Louise was sorely disappointed.
"I think I know who this traitor is, in spite of what you say," she
remarked, "and I think you ought to watch him, Mr. Farnum, and try to
prevent his doing more harm."
The Chief studied her face. He seemed to have a theory that one may
glean as much from facial expression as from words.
"One ought to be absolutely certain," said he, "before accusing anyone
of disloyalty. A false accusation is unwarranted. It is a crime, in
fact. You have no idea, Miss Burrows, how many people come to us to
slyly accuse a neighbor, whom they hate, of disloyalty. In not a single
instance have they furnished proof, and we do not encourage mere
telltales. I don't want you to tell me whom you suspect, but when you
can lay before me a positive accusation, backed by facts that can be
proven, I'll take up the case and see that the lawbreaker is vigorously
prosecuted."
The girl went away greatly annoyed by the Chief's reluctance to act in
the matter, but when she had related the interview to Gran'pa, the old
colonel said:
"I like Farnum's attitude, which I believe to be as just as it is
conservative. Suspicion, based on personal dislike, should not be
tolerated. Why, Mary Louise, anyone might accuse you, or me, of
disloyalty and cause us untold misery and humiliation in defending
ourselves and proving our innocence--and even then the stigma on our
good name would be difficult to remove entirely. Thousands of people
have lost their lives in the countries of Europe through false
accusations. But America is an enlightened nation, and let us hope no
personal animosities will influence us or no passionate adherence to
our country's cause deprive us of our sense of justice."
"Our sense of justice," asserted Mary Louise, "should lead us to unmask
traitors, and I know very well that somewhere in Dorfield lurks an
enemy to my country."
"We will admit that, my dear. But your country is watching out for
those 'enemies within,' who are more to be feared than those without;
and, if I were you, Mary Louise, I'd allow the proper officials to
unmask the traitor, as they are sure to do in time. This war has placed
other opportunities in your path to prove your usefulness to your
country, as you have already demonstrated. Is it not so?"
Mary Louise sighed.
"You are always right, Gran'pa Jim," she said, kissing him fondly.
"Drat that traitor, though! How I hate a snake in the grass."