The Web

CHAPTER X
THE STORY OF DETROIT

It often has been said that the shipping of the Great Lakes, all of which passes through the Detroit River, is greater in annual tonnage than that which goes through the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal. A continual procession of ore ships and carriers of other freight passes by the water front of Detroit, going and coming on the clear, blue, rapid flood of the river which may be called the “neck of the bottle” of the Great Lakes.

Obviously, such a situation, collecting the riches of an empire, is one offering its own purely geographical menace. An unwatched enemy could sit on Detroit River front and destroy untold billions in property in the course of a month. But no such enemy did any such thing in this war.

Speaking of Detroit itself, without reference to its geographical situation, it is to be said that it had as many munition contracts as any city in the United States—Detroit contracts for war material and munitions ran over $400,000,000. These great war plants attracted the attention of men hostile to this country. No one can tell how much harm was wished against such enterprises by aliens who only awaited their opportunity. The point is that this twenty miles of water front of Detroit, these miles of railroad tracks for switching facilities, these many great buildings where manufacturing went on, were kept free from any destructive enemy activity. That is a great story of itself, and far greater than it would have been had it to record some great disaster—interesting and thrilling, but none the less a disaster. Detroit had no disasters. Instead, it had the A. P. L.

Detroit division began operations in the Spring of 1917, and at first was financed by the payment of a one dollar initiation fee by each member. This continued until December, 1917, when it was seen that this division could not go on unless better financed. A meeting of officers of prominent manufacturers of Detroit was held, and these assured the division better quarters and competent finances. A committee went to Washington to see the Attorney General, with the result that the offices of the Department of Justice and those of the League were established close together.

Mr. Fred M. Randall, the first Chief, resigned in May, 1918, and was replaced by Mr. Frank H. Croul, former Commissioner of Police, who took the oath of Chief not only for Detroit but also for the County of Wayne. He started in by reorganizing the work.

Since the Detroit contracts for war material were so enormous—Detroit claims they were greater in volume than for any other city in the country—a division was organized under the name “Plants Protection Department.” A thorough covering of each plant was made and a captain of the A. P. L. was stationed in each factory, where he had entire supervision and reported direct to the Plants Protection Department at the League’s main office. That this system worked well may be shown by the records. Detroit was practically free of any destruction of war material. Several attempts to blow up plants were frustrated. It was not unusual for a man to be brought in from the plants for an interview, and many such cases were turned over to the Department of Justice and District Attorney’s office. The dynamiter and other alien enemies were held down hitless.

A Pro-German Department was organized with captains, lieutenants and operatives under charge of an Inspector. The Inspector assigned all complaints, took all reports and returned them to the Record Department where the original papers were attached, and then forwarded them to the Pro-German Committee room where they were examined and passed upon.

A third department was called the Selective Service, its work being to attend to the local boards of Detroit, of which there were twenty-seven, exclusive of those in the district and Wayne County. A unique manner of handling delinquents was inaugurated—and why all states did not adopt the same system is a mystery. This bureau was kept open to receive delinquents twenty-four hours a day and handled thousands of draft cases.

Department No. 4 handled all personal cases, such as applicants for war service or for commissions. Department No. 5 had the soldiers’ allotment cases. The last of the departments was the Emergency. This department held a group of experienced and reliable operatives who held themselves in readiness to obey any call, whether during business hours or in the cold, gray dawn. Four shifts were worked by squads, six hours each, so that no matter what time a telephone rang there was someone on the desk. Emergency Department was of great service to the local draft boards, from whose shoulders A. P. L. took all the responsibility. It very often apprehended men who were ready to make a quick getaway.

In connection with Plants Protection work, there was a system whereby the plant sent to the main office each day a personnel card saying that such and such a man had applied for employment, that he had registered in such and such a town and that his classification was as shown on the card. Then the central office would write to the man’s local board asking about him. If he was wanted, a complaint was made out against him and the Emergency squad was ordered to locate him and take him at once to the Bureau of Delinquents. The number of daily notices sent in by different boards all through the United States several times ran into three figures.

Often the Department of Justice would want emergency help to cover a suspect who was on his way to Detroit under charge of some D. J. agent. Detroit operatives would meet the train and keep surveillance until the party left the city. In the matter of raids on dance halls and theatres for evaders and slackers, the Emergency Division also gave great assistance to the police. It often took to the central headquarters hundreds of men who could not show proper credentials.

A. P. L. Detroit Division took under charge also the tremendous tonnage of the Detroit River. Operators boarded every boat going up or down the river, and each man on that boat was examined as to his credentials and citizenship. A man might be allowed to go on his trip under guarantee of the captain, but in the meantime if there was any doubt the wires were kept hot further along the Lakes to see if the man was wanted. Several were apprehended in this way at ports of call on information furnished by Detroit.

Another A. P. L. custom was to investigate each actor’s card as he appeared at any theatre, and if there was any doubt, wire his board giving his description and asking for his status. Several alien actors were landed in that way—who were bad actors. They could not get away because they were booked. A. P. L. never waited, but always was on hand at the first performance of a company. These investigations furnished several theatrical men for Uncle Sam’s Army.

The division worked to protect the Government and to protect the people also. There were a number of cases where a man and wife were reconciled; where a man and woman had been living together without marriage and where a marriage was performed; where a soldier’s dependents were in destitute circumstances and did not get the allotment. Domestic tragedies such as these ran into hundreds, and quite often the division was able to straighten them out. Many a man was considered a slacker who had tried every means of getting into the Army. Many a man looked healthy, though the Army regulations disqualified him. Such men were, as a rule, sensitive as to their physical condition. The division made things clearer and made them easier in many cases.

There were many ways in which the division proved itself useful on a common-sense and practical business basis. For instance, a soldier, gone to France, left his home in charge of a friend who had agreed to rent it, keep up the improvements, and so on. A. P. L. found that the friend had collected the rent for months, but did not keep up the improvements and did not pay the taxes. It was found he had collected several hundred dollars and had not paid out anything. He happened to own a house of his own, so he mortgaged that and paid over the money he had collected. A. P. L. arranged with one of the banks to act as trustee for the soldier. The taxes were paid and the rents are now being placed to the credit of the soldier. If it had not been for the A. P. L., the soldier would have found his property badly depreciated on his return.

This gives the barest, and, indeed, a most vague idea of the many and well-organized activities of this division. As a machine of protection it was deadly efficient. No place in the country had more to lose than had Detroit. It was a vulnerable point. It was the armor and weapons, offensive and defensive, of the A. P. L. which guarded it. The manufacturers of Detroit furnished cash for the A. P. L. The individual citizens of Detroit did not pay a cent, nor did the United States Government. Recognizing this unselfish work of thousands of its citizens, the Detroit Patriotic Fund Committee in July, 1918, made an unsolicited grant of sufficient funds to keep the division going for another year.

Detroit Division had a total of 30,056 complaints entered on the files. Of members there were enrolled in all 3,903. To each of these in good standing there was given an engraved testimonial, his sole pay for months of time given free to his country:

The total of 30,056 investigations were distributed as follows:

Department of Justice cases: Alien enemy activities, male 500, female 400, total 900; Espionage Act, disloyalties and sedition, 2,000; sabotage, 1,000; anti-military, etc., 250; propaganda, (a) word of mouth, 5,000, (b) printed matter, 25, total, 5,025; radical organizations, I. W. W., People’s Council, etc., 100; bribery, 150; naturalization applicants, 550; impersonating officers, 25; other investigations, 1,000, total, 1,575; total Department of Justice cases, 11,000.

War Department cases: Counter-espionage for Military Intelligence, 800; Selective Service Regulations, 15,756; work or fight order, 300; character and loyalty, (a) civilian applicants for overseas, 500, (b) applicants for commissions, 400, total 900; camp desertions and absent without leave, 600; total, 18,356.

Other branches of the Government: Food and Fuel Administrations, 200; Treasury Department, War Risk insurance allotments, etc., 500. Grand total of investigations listed January 1, 1919, 30,056.

Detroit Division assisted the Bureau of Delinquents and the Police Department in several raids for slackers at which about 5,000 or 6,000 men were examined for registration cards. Those who had registered and qualified are not included above. They would number about 5,000 more. The division also gave material assistance to the police and fire departments, especially during the armistice days, when from four hundred to five hundred operatives were on special duty.

It would be rather bootless to delve deep into the individual records of a city where the totals are so large, but a few of the Detroit cases might be given in passing. One of these had to do with an alleged attempt of a draft board official to obtain money from a registrant for keeping him out of the service. That complaint came in at noon. By four o’clock of the same afternoon Lieutenant No. 610 had the facts. That was Saturday, and Monday was Armistice Day. Tuesday morning the matter came up before a judge of the Federal Court. A thirteen months’ sentence at Leavenworth penitentiary was imposed the third day after the complaint came in.

This accusation was that a clerk, S. W—— (the name is unpronounceable) of Board No. 6 had told a registrant, G——, apparently of the same nationality as himself, that for a certain sum he would keep him out of the draft. He was to appear between noon and one o’clock on November 9 and make the payment. Operative says he told G——’s employers to pay him the nine dollars due him, and he took the numbers of the bills. “I told G—— to come with me to Local Board No. 6,” he says, “and see this clerk whose name I did not know, and if he took the money to report to me on the first floor of the building. In the meantime I informed one of the members of our Delinquent Board of my intentions, with a view to forestalling any later accusation that the money had been ‘planted’ by the clerk. In a little while G—— appeared and said he had paid the money to the clerk, who demanded that he bring in some more money the following Monday, as that was not enough. I then went to Local Board No. 6 with G——, who pointed out this clerk as the one who had taken the money. I took this clerk into a side room, accompanied by the others. He acknowledged he had the money and that it had been given him by G——. I told him to turn it over to a member of the Board of Delinquents, and we verified the bills with the description and numbers on the list already made out. I then took the suspect to the Special Agent’s office, where we obtained a signed confession from him. He was taken before the District Attorney and held for the grand jury. The grand jury met November 11 at 2:00 P. M. and returned an indictment. On Tuesday morning he was arraigned before the judge, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to Leavenworth penitentiary.”

Detroit had an interesting alien enemy case in that of Fred G——, escaped petty officer of the Germany Navy who had been working in Detroit for six months under the name of Walter B——. He was an attendant in a sanitarium and somehow seemed a little worth suspicion, although nothing he said could be looked on as much out of the way. The man who reported the case was used as a stool pigeon. At length they met in a hotel under the pretense of an invention which would be useful to any one of the nations in the war. A dictaphone was put in the room where they were to meet, and four A. P. L. operatives were in the next room at the other end of the instrument. There were three such meetings, and finally sufficient evidence was secured to warrant D. J. in arresting the man. The final play was made the next Saturday night, when he was arrested at the hotel and locked up until Monday. This man had first papers issued to him under the name of Walter B——, as a Hollander, and when brought before D. J. on Monday, he maintained that he was a Hollander and had left home at an early age owing to brutal treatment from his father. After one and a half hours’ work he finally broke down and gave up his story. He admitted that his real name was Fred G——, that he was in the German Navy and had been on the commerce raider Emden when that ship was driven with several others into Guam by the Japanese fleet. He was taken sick and transferred to Mare Island, California, after internment. After his recovery in California he escaped, he said, by swimming the channel to the mainland. He began to beat his way on freight trains to various parts of the country. He was employed in New York for a time as messenger in a bank. Then he drifted to Detroit, worked at various occupations in automobile factories, etc., and was a motorman on the street cars. This man finally opened up and gave the Department of Justice a line of information which, had the war continued longer, would have proved of the greatest importance. He was ordered interned by the United States Government. In this case the division was able to see the actual results of its work. There have been many other cases which might have turned out as well in the dénouement, but this one seemed to begin with nothing and ended with good and visible results.