Will you please have your agents investigate a man living at 71

Catherine Street, Springfield, Massachusetts, known as August X——,

and report the result of their investigation to me?

The final result of this investigation was that the subject was

interned, having been proved to have been a former soldier in von

Kluck’s army of invasion in 1914, who had been taken prisoner by the

French, had escaped from France to the United States and drifted to

Springfield, where he got employment in a machine shop. “I have always

wondered,” says the Chief, “from whom the War Department received the

first information regarding August X——, and wonder if again we have a

case of _cherchez la femme_.”

DELAWARE

This state is not one of the largest in the Union, and its report

is not one of the largest in the world, but it foreshadows a very

satisfactory state of affairs, both past and future.

Mr. Robert Pennington was State Inspector for Delaware. He worked by

means of three county associates and a full set of captains, one for

each representative district of the State. A great deal of routine work

was handled, much of which had to do with applications for commissions,

overseas service, etc., as well as a certain number of sedition and

disloyalty cases. Some Red Cross rumors were run down, and at least one

important investigation was made of a man who was putting out machinery

better adapted for mixing explosives than for grinding alleged dental

powder. These machines were to be shipped to Switzerland to a point

near the German border. Some draft evaders, deserters and slackers were

rounded up duly. Many investigations were made by the various chiefs

and reported direct to Washington. The State Inspector had almost daily

requests from the Department of Justice in Washington in the matter of

draft deserters.

RHODE ISLAND

Providence, R. I., had a good active organization of 275 members, all

loyal and hard-working Americans. They did yeoman service in assisting

the local branch of the Department of Justice, whose offices were so

crowded with work at times that the help of the League was sorely

needed.

The A. P. L. in Wakefield, R. I., was small but busy, like all the

rest of that great little State. Much of the League’s activity in

this district had to do with covering the rough and broken seashore,

a region largely occupied by well-to-do Germans. Some of these alien

inhabitants were found to be out-and-out disloyalists, over sixty such

cases being investigated.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

The lack of any extended reports from this state would indicate an

absence of many of the tortuous problems that assailed her larger New

England neighbors. Manchester, N. H., reports that the local division

coöperated with almost every governmental activity in the State,

including the Department of Justice, draft boards, Red Cross, Four

Minute Men, and other branches too numerous to mention. We may write

almost identically the same comment for Maine and Vermont.

CHAPTER II

THE STORY OF THE NORTH

Nature has not put upon the face of the globe any region more fit or

more inviting for human occupancy than the temperate zone of North

America. The soil is fertile, producing with fair tillage all the forms

of food needful for the full development of the human species. The

climate is precisely that which calls for sufficient human exertion in

the unescapable battle of life, but not enough to debar men from a rich

surplus of things beyond the mere living, which in the tropics is all a

man asks, or in the Arctics is all a man may hope. Lastly, its natural

transportation is easy and abundant. The rugged, virile, enterprising

and successful population of that region is Nature’s offering to the

problems of the world’s future, and it is safe prophecy that in this

region of America always will be produced many of the world’s greatest

thinkers and greatest doers; because here, surely, is a splendid human

environment.

But man, like other species, is a product of two forces, environment

and heredity. What was the heredity of the temperate zone? Of the best,

the strongest, the most enterprising. The Colonies, New England and the

upper South, sent their strongest sons west in the early days. Later,

the restless populations of Europe, of Irish, Teutonic and Scandinavian

stock, began to swarm into that favored region, a good part of which,

then known as our West, lay unoccupied. The Civil War prevented what

we might call the Americanization of the Northwest, which attracted

heavy immigration of North-European stocks. But all the men moving out

along the forty-second parallel as a meridian line of latitude were of

strong, well selected human stock. That was the original ancestry of

what we might call our “North.”

We rudely may group this region as that lying along the Mississippi,

the Missouri and their upper tributaries. Here lies one of the great

future countries, one of the anchoring grounds of humanity. Beyond

doubt it will eventually offer support to a vast population. The great

population-centers, the great civilizations of the world, always have

been along the great river valleys.

In the North, then, we see a rich region, rich in soil, in forests, in

minerals. Consider what ore Minnesota and Michigan, by means of natural

transportation, have sent to Ohio and Pennsylvania for manufacturing!

Consider what millions of feet of rich pine Michigan, Wisconsin,

Minnesota have given the world! And consider, if you can, the wealth

which has come out of the soil of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa,

Minnesota, the Dakotas and all the rest of what we call the North! The

earth has known nothing like it. Here was won the great war of the

world, in which Peace overthrew Militarism, let us hope, for all time.

Here grew the sinew which America put into this war, and it is in great

part because of her rich river valleys that America to-day is the hope

of all the world in the day of peace.

Naturally, if we should consider all these things, consider the

persistence of racial types, consider the natural contest of all these

strong men for the wealth of a rich new region, we could in advance

predict that here in the North, there would be presented bitter phases

of that combat which the enemy fought on this side of the Atlantic.

OHIO

Typical among the thriving industrial cities of the Middle West

is Akron, Ohio, a city of 150,000 inhabitants, well known for its

prominence in the rubber industry and other lines of manufactory of

great use to the Government. The A. P. L. division in such a city might

naturally be expected to have something to do. The Akron division

began in the brain of a somewhat solitary agent of the Department of

Justice, W. A. Garrigan, who was sent to Akron to serve his country all

alone, equipped with one perfectly good aegis of the law, but not much

else. There were men all about who were more or less actively engaged

in helping Germany—men who were spreading Socialistic propaganda

hindering the draft; men failing to qualify, knocking the Liberty Loan,

and doing everything else they ought not to do and leaving undone the

things they ought to do. Mr. Garrigan found that the Government had

not appropriated money enough for his office rent, much less enough

to employ men to keep in touch with the Akron conditions. He needed

men. Then overnight the Akron division of the A. P. L., beginning

with two hundred men, sprang into existence, as it did so magically

and mysteriously all over America. Mr. Elihu Harpham, manager of

a local manufacturing concern, took the position of Chief. He had

able assistants, and always these men worked in close touch with

the Department of Justice, even in its most delicate and dangerous

enterprises.

Akron, according to all reports, had an exceptionally large number

of draft slackers—men who had registered here and disappeared before

the numbers were drawn. It was estimated at one time that 3,000 men

had registered in Akron and never been heard of again. It was indeed

a Port of Missing Men. Akron Division took this matter up, and in its

first year’s work rounded up 6,856 men. The word passed among all the

employees of Akron’s great factories that it was not a good thing for

a man to be around without his draft card in his pocket. Many hundreds

of men who were delinquent came in voluntarily to their draft boards.

Perhaps the figures will tell the tale as well as words:

Slackers 6,856

Alleged false questionnaires. 255

Interned alien enemies 17

Pro-Germanism 245

Socialistic propaganda 98

Sedition 124

Food regulations 94

Liberty Bonds and Stamps 86

Soldiers absent without leave 51

Alien enemy investigations 159

Character investigations: War Department, Red Cross,

Y. M. C. A., etc. 34

Miscellaneous 4,847

------

Total cases handled first year 11,866

Delinquents and deserters sent to Camp Sherman, Chillicothe,

Ohio, by this office 870

In the comprehensive report submitted by the Akron division, Chief

Harpham says:

We started out in a small way to assist the Akron office of

the Bureau of Investigation, but expanded rapidly and soon had

thoroughly equipped offices, complete card filing systems, and

a sufficient force to keep our records and carry on our work in

an efficient way. We now have a membership of two hundred and

eighty-three, enrolled from the ranks of representative citizens

who have given untiring efforts to the work. I know of no single

case that has not been handled to the entire satisfaction of the

Department of Justice, and without any display of officiousness.

It is very gratifying to those who have performed service to

receive these expressions of appreciation. I shall never be

able to convey to our members the keen appreciation of their

loyal support which has made our success possible. It has been a

pleasure for me to serve as Chief and to know that we have been a

part of the powerful organization which has contributed so much

toward the winning of the war.

Of these men who did the work—and it is work to handle nearly 12,000

cases—all were unpaid volunteers. Other members of the business

community contributed money, although classified as inactive members.

Such laborers in the ranks must be content to go unsung and unhonored,

although they truly helped to win the war.

Columbus, Ohio, is another solid, steady-going town which may be

depended upon to do the sensible thing and the loyal thing—albeit at

times in rather violent fashion. A Lutheran minister of Columbus was

reported for pro-German talk and was found to be of German parentage,

although himself American born. He acknowledged he had never allowed

an American flag in his church, and had never uttered a prayer for

this country or its army. An operative told him to be careful about

his praying for “our country,” lest he should be understood as meaning

Germany and not the United States. The community forced him to leave

his charge—none too soon, for the sentiment toward him was rapidly

becoming dangerous.

A Columbus restaurant employed a German-looking cook who seemed to

have considerable money, and who acted rather suspiciously. A. P. L.

traced his history, covering two or three positions which he had held,

and at length called him in to headquarters for a general going over

of the third-degree sort. He was found to have acted as cook in the

army cantonments at Chillicothe, and was discovered to be a German

alien without permit or any papers allowing him in this country. Among

his papers there was found a photograph of himself in the uniform of a

lieutenant in the German army, also his order for mobilization in the

German army in 1913. He is now interned.

That the Columbus division of A. P. L. was at all times busily engaged

in winning the war on this side is amply proved by its report:

Slackers 135

Delinquents and deserters 366

Alleged false questionnaires 83

Bootlegging 107

Pro-German 375

Socialistic propaganda 83

Vice complaints 235

Soldiers absent without leave 8

Alien enemies 48

Character investigations 192

Toledo, Ohio, had 162 cases of disloyalty and sedition to investigate,

and 600 cases of word-of-mouth propaganda. Many of the reports turned

in by zealous operatives are worth reprinting.

A slacker was brought into Toledo headquarters minus his card, but he

protested that he had registered. He declared himself to be drunk,

said that the registrar was drunk, that it was funny they couldn’t

find his card, but if they would go to Detroit and find his friend

Heine So-and-so—street address unknown—Heine would tell them he had

registered. Not considered conclusive.

Another operative in Toledo fancied himself very much in the rôle of

Sherlock Holmes. In one case assigned him, he was trailing a subject

who turned and started toward the operative. The latter stated in his

report: “When I noticed the subject coming toward me, I immediately

jumped over a hedge and hid behind some bushes.”

Toledo did some business in the slacker raids, having examined some

2,000 men in one drive.

Youngstown, Ohio, reflects a very sensitive social condition which

existed during the war in every community which owned a considerable

foreign born population. The Chief comments on this quite frankly:

A feature of our work was the demand, made by people in all

stations, that the Federal Government, of which we were supposed

to be a direct agency, should look after the enforcement of

laws concerning health, morals and even family relations. A

remarkable fact in connection with these investigations was the

utter inability of a certain class of German origin to forget

their German ties and to live up to their oath of allegiance to

America, which they took, many of them, fifteen or twenty years

ago. In one case it was frankly admitted by the subject that he

had never thought about Germany going into a war with America when

he applied for naturalization papers. We have developed the fact

that many households in America have been, are and always will be

nothing but a part of Germany in our midst.

Youngstown turns in 157 cases of alien enemy activities, and 459 of

disloyalty and sedition. There were 213 cases of anti-military activity

and 674 cases of propaganda, not mentioning 183 cases of I. W. W. and

other radicalism. In the report of this division, the Department of

Justice work quite overshadows the War Department activities, because

there are only 213 investigations under the Selective Service Act and

67 for character and loyalty, although there were 141 investigations of

desertions and absences without leave.

There was a certain man in the vicinity of Napoleon, Ohio, who put up

a really stubborn fight against Americanism. The Chief of the division

says:

I got a telephone message that one hundred Germans, armed with

guns, were gathered in an alien enemy’s house and wanted to fight.

As county president of the League of American Patriots, I called

out five hundred members, and with fifteen A. P. L. members, we

started for the place after nightfall. We traveled the eighteen

miles in cars, but as we were approaching, the Germans saw our

headlights and dispersed, except for a few who didn’t get away. We

got three men, and found some ammunition and one gun in a wheat

field. We were shot at, but none of us were hurt, although the

report got noised about that we had fifteen killed. A carnival

was being held in a little town nearby, and when we got back at

2:00 A. M., the ladies were waiting with hot coffee and sandwiches

for us, so we didn’t call it a bad night’s work. We nailed an

American flag to the house of that enemy alien, and it is still

waving there. The next day the Department of Justice was on hand.

We traveled into three counties to get a man who said that some

Germans had guns and would use them. It was said that these guns

were to aid Germany in case she could effect a landing in this

country.

About seventy per cent of the inhabitants of Henry County are of

German descent, and many remained in sympathy with Germany even

after we went into the war. We could do little with them. Our

League of Patriots tried nineteen cases in Henry County, relieved

a bank cashier of his position, got a State road superintendent

dismissed and brought a good many other pro-Germans out into

the open. The A. P. L. assisted in getting much of the evidence

against the road superintendent, who was heard to say: “If this

country goes into the war with Germany, one million Germans will

rebel, and I will be one of them.” Thus far, the million Germans

seem less disposed to rebel since the eleventh of last November.

Yellow Springs, Ohio, is another instance of simple, honest, heel and

toe hard work. The division assisted in all the war activities, and

helped out the Department of Justice in divers instances in collecting

testimony.

Wooster, Ohio, says: “Our principal activities had to do with

conscientious objectors. We tried to deal with these people in

accordance with the law, and also in accordance with the regulations

promulgated by the President. We had some amusing cases with members of

the Ammish church, including their Bishop, who was accused of advising

men not to comply with the draft order. This man caused the county

boards a great deal of trouble. He would not come in and talk with the

military authorities, but the A. P. L. brought him in. You have to know

these people to appreciate the obstructions they will put around all

draft matters.”

Coshocton, Ohio, had fifteen citizens who were suspected of being

disloyal, and thirty who talked too much. Members worked when the

thermometer was twenty below zero, trying to catch parties who were

tearing down and mutilating Liberty Loan posters.

A quite usual form of report comes from Washington Courthouse,

Ohio—and it is one of the best sorts of reports: “Assisted in the sale

of Liberty Bonds and Stamps to the amount of $150,000; rounded up

slackers, and did investigation work for the Red Cross. We had much

automobile travel. In the eight hundred cases that we investigated, our

men traveled more than twenty-five thousand miles by auto, half of this

mileage being covered by one man.”

INDIANA

Indianapolis, Indiana, attributes much of its success to the care with

which its membership was selected. All new members were brought in by

other members who were acquainted with them, and were in a position to

know of their loyalty. The Chief says: “Our men conducted themselves

with dignity, tact and discretion, bearing in mind at all times that

they were representing the Government and the League. We believe that

much of our success in keeping down propaganda, sabotage and other

Hun depredations was due to the secrecy which guarded the identity of

our officers. Indianapolis had a total of 209 cases of disloyalty and

sedition.”

Indianapolis caught one deserter 1,200 miles from home. He deserted

from the Rainbow Division at the port of embarkation and headed

west. He was found, working under an alias, in a camp forty miles

from Casper, Wyoming. This case was started within fifty feet of the

Indianapolis headquarters, through overhearing a chance conversation

in which a woman said that a friend of hers was corresponding with a

man she thought to be a deserter. The suspect at first denied he was

the man wanted, but finally confessed, and was delivered to the proper

authorities. The whole case was finished inside of two hours, the order

for the man’s arrest going by wire to Casper from the Department of

Justice. Another man deserted from Camp Sherman, Ohio, and without

coming back home to Indianapolis, went to Hastings, Michigan. Here,

through a woman who passed as his wife, he had gotten a novelty

concession at the County Fair. Indianapolis A. P. L. got in touch with

M. I. D. of Washington. Everything was waiting for the gentleman on his

arrival at Hastings. He is again in the Army—or was at the time of the

Armistice.

Though wireless scares are most frequent on the seaboard, almost every

city can boast several of them. An Indianapolis operative thought he

had discovered certain wireless antennae on the property of a family

with a German name. A pole was found fastened to the roof of a shed,

wires being used to connect it with the attic of the house. It was

noticed that the attic had close-drawn blinds, whence lights were

occasionally seen. The whole thing simmered down to an outfit put up by

some young men to practice telegraphy.

Indianapolis also became interested in a man who claimed exemption on

account of heart trouble. He weighed 225 pounds, and stood six feet

and one-half inch, though he was only twenty-five years old. It was

arranged to have this man examined by an out-of-town physician. This

resulted in his being brought before the medical board in Cleveland,

where he was found fit for military service. There was no direct

evidence that he had been taking any depressant for his heart, although

the facts were thought to point that way. It was said that some doctors

gave slackers medicine to give them temporary “heart disease.”

Michigan City, Indiana, had a very busy A. P. L. division whose

activities were sometimes curious. For instance, the town boasts

a somewhat well advertised mayor, Fred C. Miller, who has made

Michigan City famous as being the proud possessor of the only alien

mayor in the United States. Miller openly violated the President’s

proclamation barring alien enemies from Washington, D. C. He was

held until a thorough investigation could be completed, and during

this investigation A. P. L. furnished D. J. with a report showing

that twenty-one of the city officials and employees of Michigan City

also were alien enemies! It would seem that America has not yet been

discovered at the foot of Lake Michigan. The loyal minority of the

population, during the mayoralty campaign, turned over information to

A. P. L. to the effect that one hundred and forty-four alien enemies

had failed to comply with the President’s proclamation obliging them to

register. A number of these were placed under bonds. Indeed, with the

assistance of the League, the U. S. Marshal’s office registered a total

of 2,200 male and female alien enemies. A. P. L. developed the evidence

on which one Herman Kauffman was interned at Fort Oglethorpe. This

division also caused something over one hundred and fifty draft evaders

to be taken before the local board as the result of a three months’

drive under cover, which combed all the factories and railroad yards.

At Peru, Indiana, A. P. L. worked in combination with the “Loyal

Citizens’ Vigilance Committee of Miami County,” an earlier organization

of loyalty lovers which embraced about three thousand members of the

hundred percent-loyal class. Mr. F. D. Butler was chief, and Mr. W.

F. Schrader, head of the Vigilance Committee, assistant chief of A.

P. L. The two organizations appear to have had amiable and efficient

relations. There is something in the character of the Peru Vigilance

Committee which seems to be reminiscent of the old “Know Nothing”

party which had existence before the Civil War, and whose general

platform was that of America for Americans. Does this Indiana Vigilance

Committee, indeed, foreshadow a revival of some such political movement

at a later date? It seems to have retained some of the tenets of the

old Know Nothing party, which also worked in absolute secrecy, and had

its grips, pass words and countersigns.

One may recall that it was an Indiana poet who wrote the line, “The

Booger man will get you if you don’t watch out.” At least, between A.

P. L. and the Vigilantes, a good and sufficient scare seems to have

been thrown into the disloyal element around Peru.

There is grit, shrewdness and loyalty all combined in the report of the

Chief of Rensselaer, Indiana, division. It is too good to change and

the cases cited are given in the Chief’s own words:

I am also sending you a few sketches of our work; if you can use

them in the history of the League it will be appreciated. I am

very much interested in the history.

_First Case_: There were numerous complaints and rumors of

pro-Germanism and disloyalty in Northern Jasper County. Our

operatives, got a great many affidavits against a certain Lutheran

minister, and an enemy alien named Herman S——, who had been

bragging that no one could make him register. Accompanied by an

operative, I took my car one Sunday and we went out to S——’s house

and the following conversation took place:

Q. Herman, why haven’t you registered as the law requires you to?

A. Well, I supposed that my father had taken out his papers and I

did not need to register.

Q. Well, how did it come that your brother Paul registered; he

must have understood the law?

A. S—— flushed up, but did not answer.

Q. Well, Herman, you had better come in to-morrow and register.

A. But I have some oats that have to be harrowed, and I can’t come

in.

Q. Well, all right, if you would rather harrow your oats and not

register and spend the remainder of the time of the war in a

Federal prison, you harrow the oats.

He registered Monday.

On this same expedition we stopped to see the Lutheran minister as

private citizens, and told him that the people of Jasper County

wanted no more German preaching and no more German teaching in the

schools; also they would like to see Old Glory floating from the

mast-head. We told him also that this was the last time that he

would be notified. In about three hours we returned that way and

stopped again. Old Glory was floating at the mast-head; the German

school books had disappeared, and there has been no more German

teaching nor preaching.

_Second Case_: The Local Board gave the name of Harrison L——,

who had registered in Carrolton, Green County, Illinois, but

had not reported for physical examination at Rensselaer. He was

living with his parents nine miles south of this city, and he

should have reported to the Local Board of Rensselaer for physical

examination. I went out as a deputy sheriff to find out the reason

why. I first called at the post office at McCoysburt, where they

got their mail, and found that he had received his card calling

him for examination. I then drove out to the farm and found the

young man, and he claimed that he had not received the card. I

finally told him that he would have to go with me. He replied that

he would have to see his father. We went out into the cornfield

where Mr. L—— was picking corn, and when I told him my business,

he exploded. He called Mr. Wilson a Czar, and the United States

Government almost everything he could lay his tongue to, and then

I asked: “Mr. L——, what are you, a German? About five more words

of your talk and I will take you along, too.” He had no more to

say of a violent nature, but evidently felt very hostile.

I brought the boy in. He passed the physical examination and was

placed in Class I. I told him that probably he would be called to

entrain in June. I tried to get him to tell me whether or not he

would be here to entrain, and he said: “Yes, sure, I have learned

my lesson and will be in.”

In the meantime, Mr. L——, Sr., had been talking wildly and saying

that he would rather see his son dead than in the Army of the

United States. He also said that if anybody came out to get his

son and make him go over there and fight the rich man’s battles,

they would have to take him over his dead body.

I finally got in touch with Mr. P——, whose son married L——’s

daughter. He went over to see L—— and told him that if the boy was

not in by nine o’clock on the day of entrainment, the officers

would have to come after him. L—— replied that if they did come

out there, he had a double-barreled shot-gun loaded with buck-shot

and would let the first man that stepped on the place have it.

Nine o’clock the next morning I took one of my operatives and a

good 30-30 rifle and went out there; drove in the gate as fast as

I could make it, and caught the old gentleman in the barn.

L—— had mislaid his shot-gun, but his wife found it, and was

approaching him with it. After quite a tussle, we convinced Mrs.

L—— that she had no use for a gun, and I took it away from her.

In the meantime their loyal, patriotic son had started for Monon,

about six miles from the farm, to get some mower repairs. I left

my operative on the premises, and started after young L—— in the

car. I found him about three miles from the farm, jogging along

with his thoughts dwelling on the hardships of war. I stopped him

and told him he would have to go with me, and he said: “Well, what

will I do with the horse and buggy.” I replied that that was not

worrying me, that I wanted him. He tied the horse to the fence,

and I took him in the car and went back to the farm. I told him

that if he would go like a man, I would give him five minutes to

change his clothes and get in the car and go with me to entrain.

He was ready in three minutes and thirty-five seconds. I took

him to Fort Benjamin Harrison and turned him over to the Provost

Marshal. This man was inducted into the Army, and has been in

France shooting Huns.

These cases do not exhaust the files of Rensselaer. There are more of

the same sort, but these give a good idea of the sort of problems which

tested the courage, ability and resourcefulness of A. P. L. operatives

and chiefs throughout the war.

Elkhart, Indiana, is present or accounted for in almost every branch of

the service. The Chief says: “We found most of our cases pro-German,

with some spite work. Elkhart Division handled a total of 600 cases of

all sorts, of which 117 were concerned with alien enemy activities.

A number of reports were investigated which charged certain German

sympathizers with offering up prayers in church for the Kaiser and the

success of the German arms. There would seem to be no use in praying

for the Kaiser now.”

One of the most American parts of Indiana is good old Brown County,

long famous because there is no railroad within its confines. The Chief

reports: “This has been a quiet sector. Our people are native stock,

absolutely loyal and patriotic. A few late-comers of German origin

began to talk too much, but when they found they were being watched,

they stopped. It is good to live in an old-fashioned American community

such as we usually read about in books.”

MICHIGAN

Perhaps not many people in the United States have heard of Midland,

Michigan—it is one of the many new names on the war map. But the

Midland report—in many ways the best report turned in by any A. P. L.

chief in the entire country—bulked large and was very thorough indeed;

in short, it was a day-by-day record and report of activities in a

town engaged in making deadly gases and other chemicals for use in the

war. Midland is the site of the Dow Chemical Company’s chief plant, a

concern which manufactured acetone for airplane dope, mustard gas, T.

N. T. and a number of other special products for the Government. As a

consequence it seems to have been a magnet for alien enemy workmen and

American laborers with pro-German sympathies. Something broke loose

almost every day; on some days, two, three or even four cases came up.

Altogether the Midland report is an extraordinary document—indeed the

most veritable and illuminating day-to-day record of all which the

League has produced. This blotter form of report supplies a remarkable

narrative of the chances and near-casualties which the presence of a

munitions plant brought to a normal American community. It is too bad

such a report cannot be given in full, but it runs to 12,000 words,

spans ten months of time and covers one hundred and fifty-seven cases

of investigation. This splendid report came out of a wholly unexpected

quarter. We hear much of the romance of big business. Perhaps when the

reader shall have discovered how many men were waiting day-by-day to

wreck and ruin one big business, it will not always seem to have been

so romantic after all. We may make at least a brief resumé of things

which happened in and around Midland. Names cannot be given, but it may

be stated in advance that practically every case investigated was that

of a man who had a German, Russian or European name.

Carl L—— was a German Lutheran minister at Midland, and seems to have

been much like his brethren of the cloth in that denomination. He

remarked to a friend, “Why, you do not seem to realize that Germany

will soon control the world.” When the Lusitania was sunk, he said,

“The people who went on that ship should have been blown sky-high.”

Preacher L—— is still preaching at Midland.

Alex B—— is a retired citizen of Midland. He was born in Germany, came

to this country penniless, yet acquired sufficient wealth upon which

to retire. This country is full of Germans of similar description, who

have remained just as German as they ever were. This was the case of

Mr. B——. In discussing the war, he said, “You can’t get your troops

over there because our submarines will sink them.” By “your” he meant

American troops, and by “our” he meant German submarines. He was of

the belief that the German was a far superior race to ours. Natürlich!

Gewiss! Das versteht sich!

S. F. S——, another employe, was found taking pictures of one of the

buildings devoted to the making of sulphuric acid, including the

railroad approaches. United States asked him please not to take any

more such pictures.

A can containing a pint of giant powder was found in a car of coal

which was being hoisted into the boilers at the power house of the

Dow Chemical Company. Two Germans, J. O. M—— and Carl S——, were heard

talking of prospective trouble at the Dow Company. The former said, “I

have a bottle planted near the gate that they will hear from.” Both men

were watched, and their plot seems to have been aborted.

John S—— once claimed he was German, then claimed he was Russian.

He could not speak nor write Russian, but was familiar with the

German language and associated only with Germans of the hostile

type. He attended the German-Lutheran church and was very insolent

toward Americans. Whether German or Russian, he was discharged by

the Dow Chemical Company. He found his solace in conversation at the

German store, run by two Germans, all enjoying themselves very much,

conversing and settling the war.

Ernest W——, reported as an alien enemy in the pay of the German

Government, a sailor on the Great Lakes in the summer time. Reported to

the steamship company of Cleveland which used to employ him.

C. B—— works for the Dow Chemical Company. Operative reports he said

United States was to blame for the war and that Germany had told the

people of the United States not to board English ships. All of which

sounds familiar—if not convincing—to an American. Ja wohl!

John W——, reported pro-German, had expressed himself as opposed to

the United States in the war. Since we declared war, has been more

discreet. A common case.

H. S——, in the army cantonment, but reported to have stated he would

desert as quickly as he got to France. His officers duly notified.

E. L. K——, a foreman in the wood shop of the Dow Chemical Company,

reported to be willing to bet $100 that the United States would never

whip Germany. Too bad someone did not take him up several times! Ach!

das thut uns leid!

A. B. B——, reported by some patent attorneys to have appeared at

their office desiring the Russian patent for a dinner pail which would

be capable of containing several sticks of dynamite hidden in coils.

A compartment for a clock was also called for. This would be a fine

thing for a workman to take into a building such as this Government

enterprise. The attorneys did not care for confidential relations with

such a client. Close watch was kept for three weeks, but the client did

not come back.

John G—— said when the Lusitania was sunk, “What in hell were the —— ——

on that boat for, anyway—were they not warned to keep off?” Which again

sounds familiar. Indeed, that was the attitude of practically every

German or pro-German in America, no matter whether naturalized or not.

Alma, Michigan, is a pleasant and quiet city, but you can’t tell where

a big story will break. Drama is no respecter of geography. Which is

by way of saying that one Herman R—— is reported by Gratiot County

Division to have been raised on a farm in this locality. During the war

he went to Spokane, Washington, and joined the I. W. W. He was indicted

among others in the Haywood trial and disappeared while waiting for

trial. Gratiot County Division was directed to look him up.

A visit was made to the sister of R——, who herself appeared as much an

I. W. W. as need be. Through persistence, however, they learned where

Herman was approximately. It was concluded that the brother and sister

might correspond, so the mails were watched. Sure enough, on the third

day there came a letter from Spokane addressed to another sister, and

bearing the Spokane postmark. Then a brother of Herman was visited,

and from him and from his unmarried sister a snapshot was obtained of

Herman and his pal, each holding an I. W. W. paper facing toward the

camera, which sufficiently well identified them and their tendencies.

Later on both Herman and his pal were located, apprehended, tried,

convicted, and sentenced in the Chicago trial.

Ottawa County, Michigan, has in its population a large percentage of

people of Dutch descent. There are also many immigrants from Holland,

some naturalized, others not. Most of these people have an inborn

hatred for England, which was mistakenly called pro-Germanism. A

correct understanding of the psychology of these people was no easy

matter to arrive at, but the A. P. L. handled most of them in such a

way as to convert them into patriots rather than malcontents. The Chief

adds, however: “It should not be gathered from this that our population

as a whole was not heart and soul for America. We rarely met anything

vicious in the way of disloyalty. Hollanders are ultra-Calvinistic,

unemotional and not easily stirred to enthusiasm, and it was sometimes

difficult to reach their hearts with feelings of patriotism and love

for the land of their adoption.”

Washtenaw County, Michigan, had the reputation of being the worst

pro-German community in the Eastern Division of Michigan. Fully four

percent of the people were pro-German. Large districts are nothing but

old German settlements, “infested with that worst brand of citizen—the

second or third generation German.” The Chief instituted a series of

Star Chamber courts which put a wet blanket on this gentry and changed

Washtenaw County into one of the quietest communities in the State.

The A. P. L. men were not known to one another, but they were in all

strata of society. They uncovered several rampant cases of Bolshevism

and conducted a good many character and loyalty investigations. They

investigated also 144 alien enemies who applied for naturalization. The

total number of alien enemies investigated ran above 700, so it may be

seen that this organization was kept pretty busy.

Ludington, Michigan, looked into fifty cases of disloyalty and

sedition, and investigated six hundred cases of oral propaganda. The

Chief says: “We investigated about two thousand cases; delivered

upwards of two hundred speeches for the Red Cross; nullified three

strikes of workmen—one on the railroad, and the other two in plants

doing government work. Over seven hundred men were involved.” Ludington

also reports the case of a German reservist who was traced from this

point to France, from there to Winnipeg, thence to Seattle, thence to

Chicago. The suspect was finally apprehended in Chicago and interned.

Real sleuthing!

Benton Harbor, Michigan, is adjacent to strongly German neighborhoods.

There were 1,000 men who signed up for League work, each man

contributing one dollar to the common fund. The county was split up

into five districts, each manned by a lieutenant and several operatives

under him. A general secrecy obtained as to the membership, and the

division was very active and efficient.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, was a busy center of activity, and one of

the best-handled divisions in the United States, 3,907 cases being

investigated, exclusive of about 500 minor cases in regard to German

language, Liberty Loan, War Savings Stamps and other miscellaneous

cases. Of the grand total, 2,357 cases were investigated under the

“work or fight” order. A. P. L. at Grand Rapids had a busy season, and

did its work well. It deserves as many pages as it is given lines.

Iron River, Michigan, had the usual routine. One case, slightly

unusual, had to do with one Victor F——, a Swede fifty-eight years

old, naturalized in America. He reluctantly admitted a pro-German

tendency, but as he had a large family, the local chief was disposed

to leniency. The Chief says: “I had previously learned that this man,

with his family, was worth about $8,000. I had him agree to purchase

$2,000 worth of Liberty Bonds at once and to leave them in the custody

of the local bank until the end of the war. He also contributed $300

to the local war chest, and agreed to aid soliciting committees among

his neighbors. He has kept his promise in these respects, and has kept

silent about the war.”

Manistee, Michigan, is in one of the most pro-German counties of

the State. A number of German agents had a sort of representative

at Manistee. There were seventy-eight residents who swore fealty to

Germany, although only twenty-one of these remained loyal during the

closing days of the war. Not infrequently times became a trifle heated

at Manistee. German sympathizers once shot at the Chief of the A. P.

L., who had just apprehended several German suspects who were accused

of making blue-prints of pumps going into United States battleships.

The organization was active throughout the war, and was on its toes at

all times.

Mount Clemens, Michigan, is in Macomb County, a large proportion of

whose inhabitants are of German origin. A flying field is located near

Mount Clemens. Hence a special officer of the Department of Justice was

in charge. Most of the work had to do with pro-Germanism, ninety-seven

of such cases being investigated. There were seven cases of alien enemy

activities, two of sabotage, fifty-six connected with selective service

matters, thirty of character and loyalty, and seven of food-hoarding.

No grass grew under the feet of this division.

ILLINOIS

There ought to be at least one good stiff report from some town located

near a big Army cantonment. Rockford, Illinois, entry point for

Camp Grant, has submitted a report which meets every specification.

It must be understood that from 30,000 to 75,000 troops came under

the jurisdiction of Rockford Division each couple of months or so

throughout the war. Rockford is a great manufacturing point and for

some time has been a center of I. W. W. activities, a considerable

number of I. W. W. clan being found among the laboring classes there.

The League watched these people very closely, secured stenographic

reports of their club speeches, etc., and thus got some strong

Government evidence.

After war was declared, these agitators became very violent, and

carried on an active campaign against the Selective Service Act. On

one occasion they conducted an all-day meeting and picnic at Black

Hawk Park, which was nothing but an organization meeting so timed as

to interfere with the draft registration. We locked up three men, at

which the other members of the two local unions thronged the streets to

the jail and demanded the release of the men. We put an additional one

hundred and thirty-five members of the I. W. W. in jail, and standing

room only was available. Special interurban cars were chartered,

eighty persons being removed to adjacent counties. The jail was pretty

badly wrecked. The leader of these men got two years imprisonment, it

being proved also that he was an alien and subject to deportation. The

Immigration Bureau has secured a warrant for his deportation, and he

will go abroad permanently at the expiration of his sentence. Federal

Judge Landis sentenced one hundred and eleven of these men to one

year in the Bridewell at Chicago. This case has been referred to in

the report of Mr. Colby, D. J. agent at Chicago, as one of the most

important in the Western country. A special agent was sent out by the

Department of Justice to Rockford, with the result that an office was

established there to carry on the joint work more efficiently.

After Camp Grant was located at Rockford, the A. P. L. had much more

work to do. While the buildings were going up, about 50,000 men passed

through the employment bureau, from 7,000 to 10,000 being employed

in the work. All classes of men were attracted to Rockford, and the

local division was busy in keeping watch over them. Thirty-five I. W.

W. members were taken from the camp laborers and handled in different

ways—always with encouragement to go away and stay away. Two alien

enemies were found among the laboring men at Rockford. They had come to

America surreptitiously after the war began in Europe and had worked at

various cantonments. They finally admitted they were German subjects,

and were interned for the war. After the cantonment was completed and

the troops began to arrive, the divisional activities of the A. P.

L. centered largely in the detection of violations having to do with

the morale of the troops. Five operatives were put to work on liquor

cases, all working together under cover. Twenty-six men were sentenced

for supplying soldiers with liquor, getting an average of ten months’

imprisonment each.

The most notable case handled in Camp Grant, or in any other camp, was

that which resulted in the court-martial of twenty-one negro soldiers.

Louise S——, a white woman visiting a white soldier at Camp Grant, was

set upon and assaulted by fifteen to twenty-one negro soldiers on the

night of May 19, the crime being committed on the reservation at Camp

Grant. At nine o’clock that evening Major General Charles H. Martin,

in command at Camp Grant, telephoned to the local chief to meet him

in town. He said his officers had been unable to make any headway on

the case, and asked that it be taken up by the Department of Justice.

The League put men on the case, and in three days had twenty of the

culprits in custody, ultimately securing confessions implicating all

the others who were held. All of these men were tried by court-martial;

fifteen were convicted and dealt with, five were let go, and one

was declared insane. The assistance of the civilian authorities and

auxiliaries to the military arm was so distinct in this case that

General Martin wrote a frank letter of thanks, in which he said: “I

am free to confess that until your entrance into the game, we had

not progressed very far, and I wish to make it of record that it was

principally due to your able and efficient service that we finally

succeeded.”

The nature and extent of the activities of the Rockford division may be

seen from the following summary: alien enemy activities, 95; citizens’

disloyalty and sedition, 50; sabotage, 5; anti-military activities, 13;

propaganda, 13; miscellaneous cases, 211. The Navy Department asked

assistance in 55 cases. Investigations made by the War Department

covered 21 for Military Intelligence; 242 under the selective service

regulations; 164 slackers; 45 character and loyalty applications;

90 liquor cases; 44 cases of vice and prostitution; 25 cases of

desertions, and the collection of over 200 maps and photographs for M.

I. D. The Department of State also reaches out as far as Rockford, and

the quietly efficient League handled forty-six passport cases alone.

The Treasury Department had ten cases under War Risk, and the United

States Shipping Board asked for two investigations on character and

loyalty.

In the nature of things, the activities of A. P. L. being so wide, so

impartial, and at times so energetic and aggressive, friction of social

or business sort was sure now and then to arise. The only wonder is

that there was not a great deal more of it. Sometimes this grew out

of spite work and personal jealousy, and again resulted in clashes of

a wider and more distinct sort, resulting in something like community

cliques.

Mattoon, Illinois, had this sort of a tempest in a teapot from

some such causes. That town has a Merchants’ Association, and this

association, for reasons into which it is not necessary to go here,

but which perhaps had a personal basis in some measure, saw fit to

fine certain members of its body who had contributed money for the

organization of A. P. L. This caused considerable hard feeling. The

Chief, P. A. Erlach, asked permission to explain the purposes of the

League to the Merchants’ Association. This permission was not granted.

The Chief held a conference with Judge MacIntyre, who suggested that

the members who had been fined by the Merchants’ Association might be

subpoenaed and brought to the court room, not for trial, but for the

purpose of clearing the situation, which did not seem to be good for

the community or the government. The Merchants’ Association hired a

lawyer to represent them, and a very warm session was held, out of

which, of course, nothing was derivable except hard feeling. In the

mutual recriminations, one member of the Merchants’ Association was

alleged to have remarked at a certain time: “After this war is over,

the Germans will be the aristocrats of the world”—a belief which seems

to have lacked confirmation. All these matters, however, did not

succeed in destroying the usefulness of the A. P. L. in Mattoon, where

it did a great deal of hard and conscientious work.

Probably the most interesting Mattoon investigation is that of one

O’H——, son of a wealthy farmer, who claimed exemption on account of

agricultural occupation. He was alleged to be living in town and

engaged in keeping books. The League went into the history of the

family and produced proof that certain other paternal ancestors of

O’H—— had been engaged in the so-called Charleston Riots during the

civil war, when a band of men known as “Copperheads,” among whom was

an ancestor of O’H——, had fired upon several Union soldiers with fatal

results in several instances. The Mattoon Chief of A. P. L. submitted

to the Adjutant General at Springfield, Illinois, a full brief of

the investigation of the case of young O’H——, also transcripts from

Government records covering the Charleston riots. Young O’H—— was sent

to Camp Zachariah for training.

Pastor Russell had certain followers in Mattoon, religious fanatics of

the sect known as Truth-Believers. They did not believe in anything

but the Truth, certainly not in Liberty Loans, War Savings Stamps, or

any war funds or activities. Two members of the sect were arraigned,

but the Federal grand jury did not indict them because one was a woman

and the other concluded to go into the employment of the Government at

Washington.

Near Mattoon is a settlement of the peculiar sect known as Ammish,

whose religion tells them not to bear arms. They opposed the selective

draft, and although it was determined to exempt their young men from

actual drill, the community preaching became so bad that a stiff

investigation was made, after which there was no more trouble.

The secret of the Mattoon fashion of investigation is not told, but a

number of case-reports close with the words: “There has been no further

complaint from the party.” This covers the case of several citizens who

did not buy as many Liberty Bonds as they might, or were too free in

their talk about Germany as compared with this country.

Joliet, Illinois, has certain mills which harbor a large foreign

element, Austrians and others. Several arrests and one internment put

a quietus on German propaganda work among these people. “We worked

through local foreign priests in whom they have confidence,” says the

local chief, and he adds: “We feel now that this hotbed of Austrianism

is a fertile field for the so-called Bolshevist movement, as the sort

of people most frequently dealt with are very susceptible to this

propaganda. They feel that they can express themselves freely, now that

the war is over, and they are pleased at this opportunity. We believe

that there is still much work ahead before the Bolshevist movement

ceases to be a menace in these parts.”

Bloomington, Illinois, cites as its stand-out case the capture of

a German sailor, who was interned with the _Princess Irene_, the

German boat at Hoboken, and had broken parole. The Chief says: “We

had considerable other work to do in conducting investigations and in

stopping the propaganda of loud-mouthed Germans.”

Rock Island, Illinois, is one of the most famous arsenal towns in the

country, the Ordnance Department having erected large works there

many years ago. All such posts were danger foci during the war. Rock

Island Division investigated 382 disloyalty and sedition cases, and 138

cases of propaganda. The selective service regulations required 548

investigations. There were also the usual number of cases taken on for

the Housing Committee (it was a big problem to house Rock Island’s war

population), the Red Cross, the U. S. Commissioner, the U. S. Marshal,

the County Sheriff, the Liberty Loan committees and war charities.

Certainly a very satisfactory record for a place where something might

have blown loose had enemy wishes come true!

Epworth, Illinois, worked in close touch with the State Council of

Defense. The Chief reports: “Our community was loyal during the Civil

War, and when this work came on, we gladly put our shoulder to the

wheel again. A few said things quite out of place, but you can believe

we were never Germanized here. Our worst enemies were those who would

rather part with their sons than with their coin—though they did

neither willingly. We examined some applicants for overseas service.”

Alton, Illinois, just across the river from St. Louis, had some

investigations for Military Intelligence, and some overseas

investigations. The division had occasion to assist the Special Agent

of the Department of Justice in St. Louis a number of times when quick

action was needed.

WISCONSIN

Justly or not, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had the reputation of being about

the most German community in the most nearly German state of the

Union. No sweeping conclusions need be advanced as to either side of

this proposition herein, for evidently, all said and done, Milwaukee

is Milwaukee, and is well known throughout the country. There was a

time, even previous to our entering the war against Germany, when

salesmen traveling out of Milwaukee were unable to sell their goods to

the retail trade throughout the Middle West. They were obliged to go

back to their houses and to say that the city which they represented

was in bad repute. Just or not, these were the facts, and in time the

better-class business men of Milwaukee, most of whom have not lacked in

loyalty, began to see that some remedy must be found for this prejudice

existing against their city.

During the Civil War the Germans of Wisconsin, descendents of the

heavy German immigration of 1848 and the years immediately following,

had a splendid representation in the Northern army. The sons of these

men are among the most prominent business men in Wisconsin and of

Milwaukee to-day, and it were worse than wrong loosely to accuse them

all of disloyalty to this country. Upon the other hand, Milwaukee,

being a heavy German settlement, did not lack in wrong-headed persons

who retained their allegiance to a flag other than our own. These did

the usual amount of talking—perhaps more than the usual amount. For

them the Milwaukee Division of the American Protective League had

the same remedy that has been found efficient in other communities

comprising a large foreign element or an element with foreign

sympathies. It went to work quietly and steadily, showing good judgment

and good sense, as well as good patriotism. Mr. B. K. Miller was Chief

of the Milwaukee Division. The membership was made up of substantial

men of proven loyalty. The following table tells the story of their

work:

Alien enemy cases 10,000

Sedition and disloyalty investigations, and violations

of the Espionage Act 2,400

Character and loyalty reports 700

Liquor and vice cases 75

Internments 40

Selective Service cases 6,500

War Risk Insurance cases 68

Sparta, Wisconsin, from the spelling of the suspect names in the

report, appears to be located in the heart of darkest Germany. One

Mr. H—— of that vicinity declared that a letter written to his father

in anything but the German language would be an insult. He was

interviewed, and it is believed that he has changed his idea by this

time. Another local pro-German volubly declared that the Y. M. C. A.

was a “damn fraud.” He is also thinking it over. Gus L—— would not

allow a card with the admonition, “Speak English,” to be placed in his

store. It may affect his application for his second papers. Carl B——

was called on for a subscription to the Red Cross, but turned down

the callers flat. He said he had never sworn obedience to the United

States and never would, adding: “They can take me back to Germany or

any place they like, and I don’t care a damn how quick.” Such a man,

it would seem, ought to be obliged in the matter of such preferences.

A preacher, Rev. E——, seemed to talk German propaganda rather than the

Holy Scriptures. He was indicted. August Y—— made seditious remarks

in the open, and was reported to the Department of Justice. Henry B——

was reported for threats he made against his neighbor for taking part

in the War Work campaign. Several alien enemies who were applying for

citizenship were held while their records were looked up. Joe M——

believed the Y. M. C. A. to be a “graft,” and thought our boys were

sent to France to be butchered. Duly interviewed about it. O. W. S——,

cashier of a bank, wrote a letter in which he stated his bank would not

take any Government certificates. He gave as his reason that he was

short of help, as one of his men was being held in the army against his

will and “against the wishes of the community.” He was spoken to.

Neillsville, Wisconsin, apparently, was up on its toes. It reports the

investigation of an alien German Lutheran minister; utterances against

the President and the Government, and the discovery of socialistic

campaign literature for evidence in the Socialist trial at Chicago. It

searched the community for the Socialist paper called “The Voice of the

People”; investigated the Russellite sect and looked up the record of

118 petitioners for naturalization; investigated juries in the trial

of a murder case growing out of an attempt to evade the draft, in

which several people were wounded and two killed, and investigated a

Socialist candidate for sheriff who made contributions to a fund for

printing radical literature. The foregoing civil activities were done

in the interest of the Department of Justice. Neillsville, for the War

Department, investigated a woman who was trying to get information

about the Edgewood Arsenals; assisted the U. S. Marshals in arresting

draft dodgers, and investigated civilian applicants for overseas

service and applicants for commissions. The Chief apologizes for not

having done more!

Oshkosh, Wisconsin, had one hundred and eleven men—lawyers, doctors,

bankers, manufacturers and workmen—on her A. P. L. rolls. The

investigations throughout the war period totalled 343. There was much

outspoken Germanism in this district before the United States went into

the war, but after that, it died down. One old German, when confronted

by the operatives, said: “Vel, I dell you vat I dink; it is so; I dink

vat I dink. How can I helb id? But I _say_ not von dam vord—nefer!” A

safe rule. “Since the war ended,” says the Chief, “known sympathizers

with Germany have been as quiet as oysters here. When Germany has been

a republic for twenty years or so, I hope some of these imported old

bigots will soften.”

Racine, Wisconsin, has a population of 50,000. In a slacker raid it

gathered in 3,000, including a number of real dodgers and deserters.

Two companies of State guards and Spanish war veterans, organized into

thirty-five squads, carried out the League’s orders to perfection.

Berlin, Wisconsin, reports: “Berger carried this county for Congress.

We had some German propagandists who said that America could not win

the war. We quieted them. Most of our work had to do with Liberty

Bond campaigns, Red Cross, exemption claims, and Food Administration

matters.”

Eau Claire, Wisconsin, makes a clean-cut report on the activities

of that division, being in touch constantly with the Agents of the

Department of Justice and ready to act at once at all times. D. J.

complimented this division on its compilation of evidence. The Chief

says: “Among our cases are several which proved vexatious. We succeeded

in silencing such disloyalists as we had. Notwithstanding the fact that

the war is over, we know there yet lies ahead of all good citizens an

enormous work of education in righting and keeping right the obligation

of the individual to the Government.”

MINNESOTA

The City of Duluth, at the head of the Great Lakes, lies close to

the edge of the great Northern wilderness whose fastnesses might

well beckon the evader as well as the explorer or the discoverer.

Her geographical situation makes Duluth a sort of Mecca for dodgers,

drifters and deserters, and a good part of the A. P. L. work at that

point—and hard work it often was—consisted in running down these

unwilling patriots who preferred the seclusiveness of a logging camp,

trapper’s shack, or even a logging drive, to bearing arms under their

country’s flag.

Olsen is a name somewhat indefinite in the upper Minnesota country,

but it was claimed by a deserter from Camp Dodge who originally

registered from Ely, Minnesota. The entire Olsen genealogical tree was

combed over, and many shacks housing Olsens here and there in the woods

were examined, but the right Olsen was not found. At last an operative

hit upon the expedient of spreading word that this particular Olsen was

wanted to sign a receipt for some property that had been left to him.

The proper Olsen came into town, was arrested at once, and sent to Fort

Snelling—the victim of several kinds of misplaced confidence.

There came into Duluth a rather pitiful story of a young girl of East

Texas engaged to a U. S. soldier who was taken prisoner and sent to the

interior of Germany. The prisoner sent out a letter to his sweetheart

which stated that he was well treated. He also said that he was sending

her his watch as a souvenir, lest she might never see him again. The

girl took the watch to a jeweler. Inside of the works there was a note

which said that everything the prisoner had written in the letter was

not true, that his nose and ears had been cut off by the Germans, so

that he felt himself unfit even to be seen by her again. The girl

herself lived at Nacogdoches and had met her Northern sweetheart in a

Southern camp.

From Ashland, Wisconsin, there was reported to the Duluth office the

name of one J——, a deserter. He was traced out into the woods, found

in the garret of a shack whose owner disclaimed all knowledge of him,

hauled down and out and sent to Fort Snelling, all in jig time.

From Erie, Pennsylvania, there came to Duluth warning that there

probably would be on a steamer due to land at that point a deserter

from the service. The boat was met, the deserter was found, and within

thirty-six hours he was on his way to Fort Snelling to repent at his

leisure.

One O——, an Austrian or Russian, a mill hand, was found in bed when an

operative went after him as a draft evader. He was so indiscreet as

to say, “To hell with America.” At that time the operative landed on

him with a stiff right, and O—— went down for the count. The short and

simple annals of Mr. O——’s case read: “He was dragged to jail with his

toes up, put in a cell with his toes still up, and left alone with his

toes up. The next day he was sent to Fort Snelling as a deserter.”

All the way from Great Falls, Montana, came a deserter who thought he

could hide himself in the North woods around Duluth. As a matter of

fact, he succeeded in doing so for more than a month although he was

traced here and there in the forest. He located on a river-drive where

he worked for a time. This Mr. C—— always went armed and was reported

as dangerous, but this did not act as any deterrent for A. P. L. men.

The evader was classified as having strong I. W. W. affiliations. He

was chased far in the woods, but will have to come out some time. When

he does, he will find the Duluth A. P. L. ready to welcome him.

The totals for Duluth might be expected to run high. Accordingly we

need not be surprised to find that Duluth reports 1,293 investigations

of disloyalty and sedition; 3,287 men taken in slacker raids; 41

investigations for propaganda, and 186 naturalization investigations.

Freeborn County, Minnesota, submitted a very optimistic report: “The

loyal folks were so plentiful that if any pessimist happened to say the

wrong thing about the Red Cross or the Liberty Loans, he was promptly

reported. A few fines of $500 each in the district court soon stopped

all disloyalty talk. The Non-Partisan League was watched closely but

we got nothing disloyal at their meetings and could find no openly

disloyal acts. They have an unusual proportion of persons of German

extraction in their membership. At the beginning of the war a good

many farmers tried to keep their sons at home, often using strongly

colored affidavits. Some honestly felt that the duty to furnish food

was greater than the duty to fight, which attitude sometimes led to

unfounded accusations against them.”

Wilkin County, Minnesota, watched Non-Partisan League activities

closely. Members of this none too loyal organization talked less freely

when they learned that they were being watched. The community had some

clergymen with strong German tendencies, but these also experienced

a change of heart. One German alien, registered at Omaha, Nebraska,

who had left without permission, was arrested until the Department of

Justice at St. Paul could take him over. The fact of his arrest created

a large silence among the pro-Germans of the region.

Grant County, Minnesota, has a little report. “A few minor

investigations of false statements about deferred classifications were

made. We got the facts. Our County is small, no large settlements, and

everyone knows practically everybody else, so there was little for us

to do.”

Winona, Minnesota, sends in the best kind of a report—with few or no

figures under most lettered heads. Winona has about 20,000 inhabitants,

and is a small farming community with a floating population. Much

of the work of the division was in stopping local gossip and loose

talking. The League did, however, locate one deserter, who was duly

turned over.

MISSOURI

The tracing of a deserter may take a hundred pages in a file. A certain

man registered in St. Louis, but never turned in his questionnaire. He

was classified by the Adjutant General of Missouri as a deserter, and

A. P. L. was requested to find him. Search revealed him in James City,

Pennsylvania. The chief of police of a nearby town found the man in

bed. The deserter, whose name may be called Bates, resisted fiercely.

It was stated of him that he was the first man the chief of police ever

arrested who succeeded in breaking a pair of handcuffs. He fought all

the time until he was put in jail. Mr. Bates, it is to be hoped, fought

equally well in the army. He certainly got his chance to do so.

D. W. B——, from St. Louis, was once in the 108th Infantry, but

vanished therefrom, leaving his uniform in New York with a friend. One

paragraph, the last page in the file, will cover the case of Mr. B——:

“As subject was apprehended in Buffalo, the commanding officer at Fort

Niagara was communicated with, and he detailed a sergeant to come to

Buffalo on December 17. The sergeant took B—— into custody and conveyed

him to Fort Niagara, where he is at present.”

Kansas City, among other cases, turned in a love letter written by a

local young lady to a Japanese, Heroshirmo, at present living in Japan.

The letter begins: “Dear Heroshirmo: How I want to write to you pages

and pages of something, I am not sure what. I want to tell you first

about the beautiful summer that has just passed, how beautiful the

trees and flowers were, how infinite and blue the sky”—but perhaps that

will be enough.

The A. P. L. noticed the post-mark and thought that this sort of

correspondence ought to be looked into. It should. The Japanese had

once stopped in Kansas City as a member of a Commission on its way to

Washington, and had visited local friends. No international plot was

unveiled in this case. Just the trees and flowers were discovered to be

beautiful and the sky very blue. To be sure, the writer being a woman,

the letter had a postscript: “Just because I have been sick, would you

like to send me a genuine Japanese kimona? I must tell you that all of

the first page of your last letter except the first few lines were cut

out by the censor. D——n the war.”

Jefferson City, Missouri, has jurisdiction over several counties but

the division consisted of only twenty-one members. These men were of

great value to the Department of Justice at Kansas City. The sparsely

settled nature of the country around Jefferson City meant a great

deal of automobile travel. The Chief says he has traveled as high as

ninety-five miles in his own car on one case. This meant a vast amount

of work for the small membership of the League at that point. It

acquitted itself admirably.

Clinton, Missouri, faithfully performed a large volume of routine work

such as comes to most of the divisions—some three hundred cases in all,

under various headings. The Chief concludes: “Our activities have been

abundant. We mean to continue our organization here until there is no

further need for it. Our personnel is made up of the best men in this

county. Our system of warning by red-white-and-blue cards has been

adopted in many States and by the National Council of Defense.”

Monett, Missouri, had some trouble from the fact that drafted men were

at first able to obtain alcoholic beverages there. This was stopped by

the local League. There was considerable propaganda by word of mouth

in this locality which was choked off. One deserter defied all local

officers to capture him and take him back to camp. Nevertheless he was

taken, returned to camp, court-martialed and sentenced to a term in

the federal prison. As a whole, the people of this community are law

abiding 100-percent Americans. Hence the League’s work was light.

Fayette, Missouri: “Thirty investigations resulted in reclassifying

twenty-five men. We arrested three camp deserters and two men for

disloyal acts. Found three men hoarding sugar and made them take it

back. In some cases we just warned parties that their conduct had been

reported to be reprehensible, and evidence was produced by them to

prove their later love and loyalty to the United States.”

IOWA

Des Moines, Iowa, the very prosperous capital of the prosperous

state of Iowa, had an A. P. L. man attached to the Intelligence

Service of the Army. He spoke German fluently and in order to

investigate conditions inside a neighboring camp, he pretended to be

a conscientious objector, thus being confined to barracks with other

conscientious objectors, some real and some camouflage. A picked War

Department Committee, including the Governor of the State, was combing

out these objectors and ran across the A. P. L. man. The latter was

unable to explain, and had to go through as a conscientious objector

and listen to a good lecture to boot!

Des Moines had another case of a fine looking young man who weighed

about 175 pounds and who sported a clever little military mustache. He

was caught in a slacker drive and on the following morning hesitatingly

handed the agent a telegram sent by his father, which read: “I have

told you that damned eye-brow on your upper lip would get you into

trouble. Tell the Government I say you are only twenty—you look older,

but act younger. If you wish to please your father, enlist in the

Navy.” The son enlisted.

Iowa City, Iowa, is a university town, a good, peaceful and thrifty

community and one of the most useful in the West. The foreign element

in that district has been rather Bohemian than German, but the

population has the usual admixture. There are two precincts populated

by Mennonites, whose religion is work and not war. One of these good

folk refused to buy Liberty Bonds but sold enough walnut logs from

his farm to make several thousand gun stocks. This man was finally

persuaded to buy as many dollars in bonds as his logs made gun stocks.

Some conscientious objectors from Camp Dodge were sent out to farm

among these Mennonite brothers and thus escaped the draft, whereas

local loyal farmers’ sons had to go to the front. This created bitter

feeling. Most of these dodgers were recalled.

Oskaloosa, Iowa, had its own share of local wrangles over League war

activities. One suspect was brought up under charges of disloyalty by

reason of many reports coming in against him. He was indicted and the

local Chief says: “I have no doubt of his conviction had he not died

since.”

Hardin County, Iowa, had an organization which kept this community

decent and orderly and up to the front in all of the war activities.

The chief was a member of the Bureau of Military Affairs for Hardin

County, which had charge of all the war work. He was also on the

County Committee of Four on Military Instruction, whose duty it was to

instruct and train drafted men. Other members of the A. P. L. were on

the Legal Advisory Board and also were of assistance to the drafted

men. A steady-going and firm-stepping community.

Corning, Iowa, worked in the usual unostentatious way with the Food and

Fuel administrations, etc. Two indictments were brought against a man

who blocked war activities, the fines going to the Red Cross.

Green County reports: “All quiet in this section. Very few Germans in

our county. None showed disloyalty except one old German woman who

wrote to her son, a missionary in China. Her family promised to keep

her loyal. We examined into the German Lutheran schools and German

language assemblages. Nothing of much consequence.”

Decorah, Iowa, is another peaceful community in a peaceful State.

Little or no trouble was met here. “The A. P. L. was organized rather

late,” says the report, “owing to the fact that we had a most thorough

and efficient Defense Council at work.”

Indianola, Iowa, is also a place of peace. The League had been

organized only a short time when the Armistice broke, and there were

but few activities. “Indianola has a rural population,” says the Chief,

“with a very small percentage of foreign born. No trouble of any

consequence.”

SOUTH DAKOTA.

Aberdeen, South Dakota, must have been a good talking point for German

propagandists, because it reports 122 cases of propaganda by word of

mouth, and 128 cases of propaganda by printed matter. The division was

called on to take active part in the I. W. W. labor troubles, and this

part of its work is described at some length in the Chief’s report:

Thousands of I. W. W.’s drift here at harvest time. Their jungles

sometimes contain as many as one thousand men. They take charge

of whole trains, and force railroads to carry them wherever they

wish. They have forced the city authorities in small communities

to send them a specified amount of food, and have defied the

authorities of larger cities to control them. By their methods

of sabotage, murder and arson they have terrorized certain

sections of this state and destroyed millions of dollars’ worth

of property. In the summer of 1917 the annual influx started.

The A. P. L. was called on for assistance, and decidedly

effective measures were adopted. Home Guards and citizens were

organized—later called by a D. J. officer “the Klu Klux Klan of

the Prairies.” Anyhow, this section of the prairies was soon

clear. In consequence, a strike was declared by the Minneapolis

branch of the I. W. W. and some of their gunmen were sent out.

The property of the Chief of Police at Aberdeen was burnt. In

less than two weeks four of these men were under arrest and two

of them are now serving sentences in the Federal Penitentiary at

Leavenworth. The methods adopted by this branch of the A. P. L.

have proved efficacious. Thousands of dollars’ worth of property

have been saved.

As Aberdeen is located in one of the Non-Partisan League districts,

and as reports have come from nearby towns denoting a large percentage

of pro-Germanism, it may be well to quote further from the report of

this division. The Chief says that one family living in Hecla, strongly

pro-German, declared they would never be taken alive. The A. P. L. took

over the case. One man was shot resisting arrest. Five members of the

family were arrested and two were convicted, while one remains to be

tried. “This stopped pro-German utterances in that community,” says the

Chief, “and materially aided in the sale of bonds.”

In December, 1917, Fred H—— of Aberdeen was interned for pro-German

utterances. His wife turned state’s evidence on members of the local

German club where members had been fined for speaking the English

language. Four of the leading spirits of this club were taken into

custody, one of them the publisher of three German language newspapers

of wide circulation which were openly pro-German. This man had sent

to von Bernstorff $10,000, ostensibly to be used for the German Red

Cross—all of it raised from readers of his publication through the sale

of the “iron ring.” This man was sentenced and fined $500. An associate

editor of the same string of papers was interned also. One of the

parties was president of the South Dakota German-American Alliance, and

published a German language paper at Sioux Falls. He was charged with

writing a letter which reads as follows:

I have never given any declaration of loyalty and never will do

it, nor subscribe to any Liberty Loan. The name is to me already

an emetic because hypocritical and misleading. That a man perhaps

buys bonds for business considerations, I can understand, but I

myself couldn’t do it without thinking that my $50 or $100 might

perhaps buy the explosive which American accomplices of the allied

plunderbund might throw on the house of my mother.

The writer of the above, as head of the German-American Alliance,

raffled a picture of the crew of the _Deutschland_ after our

declaration of war, and sold souvenirs from the boat, remitting the

funds to New York German centers. He was sentenced to ten years in the

Federal penitentiary.

The active Chief of Aberdeen also caught H. M. H——, a former

lieutenant in the German Navy and an ex-instructor in the Naval School

at Hamburg, who was also active in the German-American Alliance. He got

five years in the Federal penitentiary for urging young men of draft

age not to enlist. Another alien enemy whose papers show that he once

had wealthy connections in Germany, although he was engaged in making a

scanty living at baling hay, was reported as a Prussian and believed to

be dangerous. Yet another, William B——, was picked up in Aberdeen and

told a tale that sounded like one by Deadwood Dick. He said he lived

in the mountains of California with his uncle, who was a smuggler. He

was found to be communicating with the I. W. W., and was sent to a

detention camp. Another arrest was made, of Ed. R——, a wealthy farmer

who stated he would rather see his daughter in a house of prostitution

than a member of the Red Cross. He was sentenced to five years in

the penitentiary, and this has discouraged the expression of such

sentiments near Aberdeen.

Now, if there were nothing else whatever printed in these pages,

the foregoing would show the necessity for such an organization as

the American Protective League, even in communities far away from

manufacturing centers and not supposed to be governed by the foreign

element. The report of the Chief of the Aberdeen Division affords

grave reading and matter for grave consideration. In that one little

community, which does not turn in memoranda of all its cases, there

were 312 Department of Justice cases, 156 War Department cases, and

three Navy Department cases. Seventeen persons were arrested or

interned. Perhaps the most noteworthy of the recommendations made by

the local Chief is this: “It has been the experience of this branch

that the communities reached by the German language publications have

been decidedly disloyal. It is our opinion that action should be urged

upon Congress to discontinue the foreign language press in America.”

These last are words of gold. They ought to be remembered by every

man holding office in the United States and by every man seeking the

suffrages of real American citizens. The time for mincing matters with

these gentry has gone by.

NORTH DAKOTA

Fargo, North Dakota, hands in a report which varies in one important

particular from those received from neighboring districts. The division

was not making trouble enough for the rampant pro-Germans in Fargo, so

the League turned around and investigated some of its own officers.

None the less, the report tells of a story of accomplishment, there

being 101 disloyalty and sedition cases, 109 cases under the Selective

Service Act, and eight cases of enemy sympathizers who threatened the

life of the President.

KANSAS

It will be no surprise to those who know Kansas to learn that this

ultra-progressive, prosperous, energetic State was unswervingly loyal

throughout the war, and had few cases of any kind to report. A few

sentences quoted from the reports of several representative little

towns will serve to show the Kansas war temperature varied from normal

but slightly, if at all.

Oswego, Kansas, reports succinctly: “One hundred percent patriotism—no

aliens.”

White City, Kansas, says: “Ours is a community of loyal citizens. We

spoke to a few about talking too much. Nothing serious.”

Council Grove, Kansas, proved to be a great deal quieter than it used

to be in the days of the Santa Fé trail. The Chief says: “We had a few

pro-German sympathizers whose cases we turned over to the Department of

Justice to investigate.”

NEBRASKA

The A. P. L. Division at Omaha, Nebraska, was organized at a rather

late date, July 1, 1918. The Armistice shattered the activities at a

time when there were three hundred members of the League, each man

ready to do what was asked of him. The Omaha Chief reports sixty cases

of disloyalty and sedition, and several thousand investigations made in

conjunction with D. J. as a result of the slacker raids, as well as 700

in connection with the Department of Labor.

The Chief at Hastings, Nebraska, says: “I did not know the work

would be so extensive, or that there would be so much to do. We have

investigated some cases for Omaha, and have done a great deal of work

on draft cases for the state and county boards. We have been glad to do

this work, and I am thankful that I could help my country this much.”

Callaway, Nebraska, has a grievance: “I had one genuine case of

seditious utterance, but we did not get the evidence. This man was

elected State Senator by the Non-Partisan League. He worked against the

Liberty Bond drive. Fortunately, this year our Senator is not of his

sort politically.”

David City, Nebraska, reports the usual routine work. One pro-German

was taken into custody for making seditious remarks, and was bound

over to the grand jury for trial. The local Chief reports that his

organization is being held intact against any future emergency.

CHAPTER III

THE STORY OF THE SOUTH

The South is, in its percentage as to population, the finest, cleanest,

truest and most loyal part of the United States to-day. It holds more

of the native born Americans, fewer of the foreign born, and fewer

alien enemies than any like extent of our National possessions. The

only pure-bred American population, sufficiently so to entitle it to

a distinct origin-color of its own on the government census maps,

lies along the crest of the southern Appalachians. There, in parts of

Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, lower Virginia,

there are Americans who for generations have known no admixture of

any foreign blood. You will find illiteracy there, poverty, small

industrial development. That has come about by reason of a topography

which has left transportation undeveloped. The people have been held

back from the westbound progress of the nation almost as though caught

by the cleats of the great flume through which poured our early

Scotch-Irish, Indian-fighting, wilderness-conquering ancestry. But

it is the finest of gold that those cleats have caught—a clean-bred,

persistent type, of the highest honor, the highest courage, the highest

intellectual quality, the highest physical qualities. Here and here

alone you will find a true American type, come down with little change

from our Colonial days. Would God that every state in the North and

West had these men as the real inheritors of America, and not the

snarling mob of foreigners who in the last few decades have come to be

called American citizens. We have seen in some part how loyal these

last have been, how much they cared for the flag of America.

The stock of our Highlands has furnished us many strong men, many of

our greatest leaders, our greatest statesmen. Above all, it is fierce

fighting stock. It has been held back by lack of education. These stark

mountaineers are far more illiterate than were their grand-parents.

To-day, in a Cumberland cabin, you may find a Latin grammar, or a

tragedy in the original Greek, of which the owner will say, “I kaint

read none of hit. Grandpap fotched it across the mountings when he

come.” “Across the mountains” lay the Carolinas and Old Virginia, seats

of the most cultured and aristocratic life this country ever knew, and

equal to the best of any land. When we lost that, we lost the flower

of the American civilization. We never shall replace it. There is no

America to-day. There never can be, unless the seed of the old American

stock—never lacking in leaders—one day shall raise its voice as of old

in councils where it will find hearkening.

The South is a wide country, covering a certain diversity of nature,

but it remains singularly like throughout its borders. Politically it

is still the slave of the color question, whose end no man can see.

That same question restricts the South largely to agriculture. Of late,

Northern money and methods have been reaching out for the raw wealth

of Southern mines and forests, even farming lands. It is in respect

of these later slight changes in the character of the southern life

that the A. P. L. has found its main function there. Had it not been

for imported labor, the A. P. L. would have had no alien and seditious

cases, no propaganda and no disloyalty to report, because it is

absolutely true that our Southern States, which once thought themselves

constitutionally justified in secession, to-day are more loyal to the

American flag man for man, town for town, state for state, than any or

all the remaining states in this Union.

This is true; and yet it is also altogether true that a few Southern

States furnished more cases of desertion or draft evasion than thrice

that number of states in any other portion of the Union, even though

with heavy foreign-born population. How can these two statements be

reconciled?

It is easy, and the level-headed A. P. L. chiefs time and again have

made it plain in their reports. A large percent of the selective

service work had to do with brave young fighting men to whom liberty

and personal freedom made the breath of their nostrils. Many of them

were ignorant—more is the pity. While we have coddled the treacherous

European immigrant, we have forgotten our own children. Better had we

thrown the maudlin Statue of Liberty into the sea, or turned its face

about the other way!

The young Southerner who could not read grandpap’s Latin book, or any

other book, who saw no daily paper and knew nothing of the outside

world, knew only that he did not want to fight in a war of which he

knew nothing and in which he did not think he or his had any stake.

Nobody had threatened him, no men had stolen anything of his, he did

not know where Germany was, and he had never seen a German to learn

to hate him. Why should he fight? He concluded he would not fight. He

would just hide till this war was over, because it was none of his war.

Very much of the A. P. L. work in the South had to do with getting into

the young man’s comprehension that our Flag was in danger; that our

women and children had been killed by men that did not fight like men

but like brutes. Once that got into the mountain man’s mind, the day

for desertion was past and gone. There are no braver or more skilled

fighting men in the world than in these Southern hills. There are

none more loyal. They did their part and were ready to do it wherever

called. They helped win the war for America as well as those from

richer states. Now that the war is over, let America forget Europe’s

sordid sycophants, the grinning reservists of the “unbeaten” German

Army, and turn attention to these, her own children—no cuckoo product

without an ancestry to claim, who have no love for this country beyond

their love for this country’s easy money.

MARYLAND

Largely Southern in its population, traditions and political

sympathies, yet Northern in its aggressive spirit and industrial

enterprise, the city of Baltimore perhaps is entitled to be called

“American” more than any other big city on the Atlantic seaboard. It

has always been American, and in this war has only proven anew what

has always been known by those who knew Baltimore. A hundred years or

so ago, in the War of 1812, its citizens fought and fell gloriously

in defense of their city before the British. A beautiful monument

commemorates their heroism. In this war, there was no city in the

country more loyal to our Government and our Allies.

Let it not be thought, however, that the enemy was inactive in

Baltimore. Trouble, active and potential, was present at all

times. That it did not flare up into open destruction was no fault

of the trouble-makers. Like all ports of entry, Baltimore has a

considerable foreign element. Thousands of foreigners were employed

in its shipbuilding plants, on its docks, and in the Bessemer steel

works located near the city. Of pro-Germans and alien enemies there

was a plenty. Many of them, indeed, remembering the landing of the

_Deutschland_ at Baltimore before the war, would have welcomed and

aided a wholesale submarine raid by the enemy—were this possible.

However, this did not come to pass, nor did many other things come to

pass that were justifiably feared. The pro-German, the alien enemy,

the agitator, the Bolshevist were held safe at all times. Baltimore’s

many industries were guarded well. Happily, that industry which has

given her world-wide fame—the oyster industry—required no protection,

and it is a pleasure to record that the nation’s supply of sea-food was

uninterrupted during the war.

A prolific source of trouble for the Baltimore Division lay in the

city’s proximity to the national capital. The overcrowded condition

of Washington during the war forced a huge overflow of population

into Baltimore, and thus doubled the amount of work that otherwise

would probably have been required. This work was tackled with energy

and efficiency by the Baltimore Division, which was one of the very

largest for a city of its size in the country. When the Armistice came,

there were 2,500 operatives engaged in the multifold activities of the

League. The following report does not begin to tell the full story of

their achievement:

Alien enemy cases 110

Sedition and disloyalty 685

Character and loyalty 309

Draft evasion 546

Deserters 225

Liquor and vice 100

Food Administration 3

Miscellaneous 110

Baltimore Division organized and was on the job during the very first

month of the war. Its first Chief was Mr. Edmund Leigh, who solved the

many knotty problems of organization and finance which arose in the

early stages of the League’s growth. Mr. Leigh was succeeded by Mr.

William J. Neale in August, 1918, who acted as head of the division

until November, 1918, when Mr. Tilghman G. Pitts became Chief.

VIRGINIA

Norfolk, Virginia, was fortunate in having as its chief a gentleman

very prominent in all the war charities, and also of such generosity

of nature that he paid all the expenses of the League out of his own

pocket.

Conditions might have been much worse at this seaport locality, for

only eight cases of alien enemy activity are listed, and five cases

of disloyalty and sedition. This division, however, was able to do a

great deal of work for the War Department, and among other matters

found one illicit still and made four I. W. W. investigations. Another

phase of the work was supplying the M. I. D. officer at the Army Supply

Base—Quartermaster’s Terminal—near Norfolk, with many photographs of

alien enemies and slackers. The Division had operatives in Army and

Navy headquarters, among workmen, etc., and had such men included in

its personnel as bookkeepers, timekeepers and others whose work was

much appreciated by Military Intelligence. The chief had twenty-one

assistants, all good men.

White Sulphur Springs, Virginia, had one typical pro-German case.

Adolph S——, a baker of this town, held certain opinions which would

not strictly classify as American. When asked to purchase War Savings

Stamps, he expressed himself as follows: “To hell with your War Savings

Stamps. If Uncle Sam didn’t have money enough to finance the war, why

did he go into it? When the American soldiers get to France, you’ll

find they won’t do anything but run like hell.”

He said a great deal more in similar vein, which “was hardly

suitable,” says the Chief’s report, “for polite ears.” In the U.

S. District Court, at Charleston, S—— confessed to a violation of

the Espionage Act, was fined $100 and sentenced to two years in the

penitentiary.

Lynchburg, Virginia, reports that it was rather quiet. One thing it did

was to draw the fangs of an organization which was formed to punish

such pro-Germans and war obstructionists as the law did not touch.

The A. P. L. has always done its work hand in hand with the law,

and throughout the war has resolutely set its face against anything

savoring of lynch law.

Considerable local trouble arose from returned negro soldiers,

discharged from service, who stated that they had saved the world from

Hun oppression and were entitled to recognition. These statements had

effect on the ignorant population, and it is firmly believed by the

Chief that the “South has a problem on its hands in this connection

which will require considerable time, effort and patience, if not

bloodshed, to solve.” Any one acquainted in the least degree with the

great problem of the South will realize the gravity and sincerity of

this comment.

WEST VIRGINIA