The Web

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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.