The Web : $b The Authorized History of the American Protective LeagueHough, Emerson
History
The Web : $b The Authorized History of the American Protective League
Hough, Emerson
American Protective League; Propaganda, German; World War, 1914-1918 -- Secret service -- United States
The original Mr. S——, who had acted as a voucher for P——, had stated
that he could get money to the enemy, through the War Department. His
father had stock in a concern which was taken over by our Alien Enemy
Custodian. The not very mysterious Mr. P—— removed during June, 1918,
leaving New York without notifying the Chief of Police, as is required.
He was located doing business in an office in down-town New York
City as a broker, although his name was not listed in the telephone
directory. He was apparently trading under the name of L. P. & Company.
The A. P. L. has found that his mother is living in Germany and is
reported to be wealthy. P—— has pretended that he was a traveling
salesman, which he was not. He endeavored to avoid meeting people
whom he knew while residing in northern New Jersey. His residence was
located in another state.
This case also shows how much sometimes may be discovered by way of a
tangled skein, even if no one is shot at sunrise. Mr. S—— was visited
at his office by an A. P. L. man, who did not make himself known. He
was very much exercised over the fact that the place of his business
was known. He requested that his personal and business relations should
not be linked up together. Mr. P—— is still in business in New York, no
doubt waiting for the next war.
Northern New Jersey was the field for many reports of mysterious
signal lights along the seacoast. Most of these stories had small
foundation, but at least one of these would have come to something had
not the Armistice cut off the investigation. In this case, operators
were sometimes out for hours watching for the flashlights, and once a
squad of military reserves lay on watch practically all night around a
suspect’s house. They discovered night signaling with a search-light
and calcium-light at different places over the Northeastern part of
Bergen County, and there seemed to be evidence of a system of signaling
extending from the Hudson River in New Jersey, across Bergen County
up into the Ramapo Mountains and the Greenwood Lake district in New
York. The observers used surveying transits for spotting the lights,
and by means of this instrument, were able to obtain the angles of the
lights. These angles were then plotted, and the intersection points
gave approximately the location of the light. This work resulted in the
location of three individuals, but at about this time the Armistice
ended the signals and the apparent necessity for watching them. There
had been discovered, however, some real foundation for a signal light
scare in this district.
Ridgewood had another strange case—a German who claimed to be so sick
that he could not live long—who wanted to go back home in order to die
in the dear old Fatherland. Medical examination showed that he probably
would die sometime, but the A. P. L. examination led to the refusal
of his passports, it being believed that he might carry something to
Germany besides fatal disease.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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