THE STORY OF KANSAS CITY
The Gate City of the Great West in the War—If K. C. Ever was Wild
and Woolly, That was Long Ago—Let Us Have Peace, if We Have to Get
It With a Gun—All Quiet Along the Missouri.
Kansas City claims and has claimed for a long time the title of Gate
City to the Great West. This is hers by legitimate right and has
been ever since wheel-power first went west of the Missouri River.
Independence, Missouri, which we may call the mother of the modern
Kansas City, was for years, early in the last century, the jumping-off
place for all the great western transcontinental trails. That way lay
Oregon, on the upper fork. The left fork of the main traveled road led
to Santa Fé. The men bound for the Arkansas Valley passed by here, and
the old fur hunters said good-bye to civilization at this point even
before the wagon had replaced the pack saddle on the Santa Fé trail.
Here began the wagon-road that later was railroad, and all the time,
from the wildest to the tamest days, whether in staid 1842, or in wild
1882, Kansas City was the Gate of the West, letting in and passing out
a wild and tempestuous life in the days of the Homeric West.
Time was when Kansas City was bad, and had her man for breakfast with
the best of them. But always the worst was farther West, and Kansas
City sat tight. She did not care for the movies of the future, but
quickly went in for law, order and business. So she has grown up, by
very virtue of her geography, her situation, and her history, into an
immense commercial center, solid, law-abiding and prosperous.
There was no reason to expect any great outbreaks of violence in
Kansas City at this date of her history, nor do we find any; but the A.
P. L. was there as it has been in every other great city of the Union
throughout the war. That it was active may be seen by a glance at the
totals. In D. J. work, forty-five cases of alien enemy activities,
1,237 cases of disloyalty and sedition, and eight cases of propaganda
cover the list. The War Department offered more work, the selective
draft alone involving under its several heads 3,182 cases. There were
410 investigations connected with character and loyalty; 227 cases
of investigation of civilian applicants for overseas service. Raids
to obtain evidence for illegal sale of liquor to soldiers brought
visits to fifty-three doubtful saloons, and twenty-five convictions of
violators. Kansas City is dry, so far as the Army is concerned, as may
be witnessed by an editorial of September 17, 1918, in the Kansas City
_Star_—which also shows why it is dry:
The sale of liquor to soldiers has been going on in Kansas City
for months. Officers at Leavenworth and Funston have complained
of it. The consequences have been apparent to everybody. Yet the
police—Governor Gardner’s police—did nothing. It took a voluntary
organization to get the evidence and force the arrests. The
law-breakers whom the police—Governor Gardner’s police—could not
find, were run down by the volunteers of the American Protective
League. They discovered the most open and flagrant violation of
the law. It was no trick for amateurs to get evidence and find the
people who deserved arrest.
A tough North-end colored saloon was visited by A. P. L. operatives
late one Saturday evening. A large crowd was encountered. Most of them
had been drinking heavily and were in rather a noisy condition. The
A. P. L. men first encountered a large colored fellow. He explained
that he was past the age, but that he had served in the 21st Kansas
(colored) in the Spanish War, and produced his papers to prove his
assertion. A colored fellow was encountered who refused to show his
card. He said he had one, but stated he would not go to headquarters
and that it would take a fight to get him there. Whereupon this
ex-colored soldier stepped up and informed him that if there was to
be any threshing done, he asked the first opportunity, and that no.
2 would show his card or he would take it off him. He was supported
by two or three other colored men, with the result that every man in
the crowd brought out his card. This story is given to illustrate one
fact—no matter how tough and disorderly the crowd, eighty-five percent
at least still had manhood enough left to be loyal.
In another saloon a big fellow was leaning on the bar. He was notified
that operatives outside were looking at the cards, and he said: “I
have my little old card right here,” slapping his breast, “but the man
who sees it will first have to walk over my dead body.” Operative B——,
who had entered the saloon a few minutes before, was leaning on the
bar facing the fellow and when he finished his tirade, he said quietly
and very low: “Let me see your card, please; I am from the American
Protective League”—and he showed his star. Instantly the fellow
replied: “Oh, certainly, here it is”—accompanied by a roar of laughter
from everybody in the saloon.
A man was reported by neighbors as having taken down a flag that was
put on his house. It was said that he read the reports of German
victories in the early part of the war on the front porch to the
neighbors and gloated over them. He also said he knew how far to go,
what to say and when to quit. A. P. L. operatives had a quiet interview
with this party. He was well educated, held a good position, and was
desirous of arguing the question. At that moment he was reinforced by
his wife, who immediately ordered the operatives out of the house, with
the statement that no one could accuse her husband of being disloyal.
She was very determined and unusually long of wind. His change was
immediate. He took his wife to a back room. Evidently he runs the
house, for she did not reappear. He assured us he had made a mistake,
and, in fact, termed himself a plain d——d fool. He promised to be loyal
and said that he invited checking up.
It was the experience of the Eastern District of Kansas City that
about twenty percent were American-born citizens of German descent,
or naturalized Germans who looked upon the war as simply a question
of taking sides, instead of a question of loyalty. A. P. L. pointed
out to these the need of being loyal, what they owed this country, why
they should be subservient to the law—and what was going to happen to
them if they were not. This twenty percent either was made into good
citizens or it remained a class of people who said nothing and did no
harm. The five percent of bad stuff represented the actual Germans
who were interested in the success of the Germans, and the slackers,
deserters and men who had violated the law and had to be apprehended.
A typical Kansas City case was commented on in the “Spy Glass,” the
national A. P. L. paper:
Fred W. S—— was born on March 29, 1888, entered military service
in Crefeld, Germany, October 15, 1909, in the 53rd Infantry
Regiment of the 5th Westphalian Division, Co. 6, and received his
discharge on September 25, 1911. His military book in addition
to giving his record as first-class marksman, shows that he was
recommended for corporal. In April, 1913, he secured a furlough
to North America, but was subject to call in March, 1915. Claims
he came to this country to visit his brother. Interviewed, S——
was frank. He stated that he made it a rule never to talk, but
that prior to the United States entering the war, he had let some
remarks slip to his fellow workmen, which he had regretted, as
these remarks had caused him a great deal of trouble since then.
He showed us his registration card. He stated that he had applied
for his first papers and that he was ready and willing to take out
his last papers the moment he was permitted, and that he wanted
to become an American citizen. He had four brothers in the German
Army, and has not heard from them for three years. This was given
as an explanation for his mistake in making a few remarks at the
beginning of the war. He asserted that he would live up faithfully
to every rule, would attend strictly to his business and would
report whenever desired. He declared that he had bought First,
Second and Third Liberty Loan Bonds. He also stated that he had
given to the Red Cross. Conclusion: He has violated no law and do
not believe he intends to violate any. Kept under observation.
Here is another story which illustrates that curious psychological
bluntness and one-sidedness of the German intellect. The widow of Fred
E——, deceased, who had a drug store, was asked for a subscription to
the hospital fund. She said: “I won’t give any money to the Research
Hospital, but maybe, if you take the old name back, I will give to the
German Hospital, but not to the Research Hospital.”
The manner in which she said this and the spirit demonstrated by her
attitude showed that she was thoroughly pro-German. Operative No. 60
called on the party, and says in his report:
We charged her with disloyal talking. She stated that she had
done no disloyal talking, and in fact had taken good care not to
talk against the Government in any way; furthermore, that she
had a son in France and if she was against the Government she
certainly would not have allowed him to go. We then asked her
about her statements regarding the Research Hospital. She stated
she had spoken to her lawyer about it and he had told her it
was not so necessary to change the name of the Hospital as it
would be to change the name of a business. She thought the name
should remain “German” because the Germans had in the beginning
founded the Hospital. We stated that there were no Germans over
here to found it. “Well,” she said, “I mean German-Americans.” We
then stated there were no German-Americans here, either, but all
Americans. She began crying and said that no one could understand
her position, that she had sisters in Germany and nephews fighting
in that Army, while her own son was in the American Army fighting
against them. She stated that the dirty stories about the German
army were all lies. We told her that it was our duty to demand
that she should not do any talking. We were convinced that she is
very pro-German and that the only way to prevent her from talking
would be to put her where there are no other people except Germans.
This is a very fair statement of one of the greatest problems of
America to-day. What shall be done with the hyphen? It must go, else
this war will be fought again.
While the war was yet young, a tip was received from the draft
board that a certain young man had failed to appear when called.
Investigation showed that he had deserted his wife, leaving her in a
destitute condition. He had three sisters in the city, consequently
A. P. L. assumed he would at some time communicate with one of them.
By certain means, operatives established a watch on the mail as it
was delivered, locating him at different times in Oklahoma, Colorado,
Arizona and other western points. One day a telephone call was received
stating that one of the sisters had been heard to converse with him
over the ’phone; that he had arrived in town at 2:30, and at 4:00
would be at a certain place to visit a sister. A. P. L. men arrived at
that place. In a few minutes a man of the draft-evader’s description,
wearing a cowboy hat and typical cowboy attire, came swaggering up the
steps. When taken, he put up a somewhat original and unique story:
You see, I am hard of hearing and have a bad heart. I am not at
all yellow. I am ready to fight at any time, and have always been
ready, but it occurred to me that as I could not fight on account
of my hearing and bad heart, I ought not put the officials to the
trouble of examining me. You see, it would take a lot of time to
examine me, so I thought the best plan was just to save them that
trouble, and as I was going west anyway, etc.
Operatives then locked the cowboy up for the night, and the next
morning took him before the Department of Justice. He was very
repentant, and while adhering to the same story, was anxious that
something should be done to keep him out of the Army. This matter was
explained quietly to the Department man who met him, and upon being
advised by the cowboy that he was hard of hearing, had a bad heart,
etc., the latter said: “I feel awfully sorry for you, but you see,
you are delinquent. You have laid yourself liable to the law and a
penitentiary offense. Now, we usually are considerate and give a man
a chance of going to war, but you tell me you are hard of hearing and
have a bad heart, and of course, under those circumstances, we cannot
send you to the Army. That is too bad, and I suppose the decision of
the court will be that it is the penitentiary for you.”
A very pale, excited listener immediately said: “Mister, now I think
you misunderstand me. A man who goes through what I went through
yesterday, being arrested and being locked up with a lot of bedbugs
all night, has a fairly good heart. In fact, I believe I have entirely
recovered my hearing, and am all over the heart trouble. If you will
only let me go to the Army, I will waive all examination.” He went.
In one day A. P. L. received three different complaints that a spy
was working in the north-eastern part of the city. He was supposed
to be German through and through, though he had never said anything
pro-German. He was generally considered to be a wise fellow who worked
and did not talk. Every Saturday night he met a bunch of spies in his
basement, one tall and one short, both dangerous looking. They always
carried a secret basket of mysterious contents. Neighbors were very
much aroused. Insisted that the Department do something, quick. A. P.
L. placed operatives on a Saturday night, the night on which these
mysterious meetings all occurred, and watched the long and short men
come with their deadly baskets. Shortly after, a light appeared in
the basement. Curtains were at the windows and the windows were up,
so the operatives crawled up closely and quietly and listened to the
conversation, which was about as follows, in mixed German: “I played
the ace.” “No, you didn’t, you led with a king!” “You don’t know
anything about playing pinochle.” And so forth. S’nuf, Mawruss. The
mysterious basket contained beer bottles!