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
There were all sorts of curious cases which came up in Boston as in
other cities, which show alien artlessness or slacker subterfuges much
as they appear elsewhere, as well as a certain occasional informality
in regard to the observance of the ordinary civil laws. For instance,
one does not recall the name of Edward Burkhart as one of the occupants
of the Mayflower on its arrival; neither does Mr. Burkhart seem to have
been fully possessed of Puritan principles, for it was alleged that he
had been dishonorably discharged from the U. S. Navy, was dishonorably
living with a woman who was not his wife, and had dishonorably failed
to register for the draft. As Mr. Burkhart was hiding out somewhere,
an A. P. L. operative was put on his trail. He went to the house where
Burkhart was living and told the woman in the case that she was doing
wrong in covering up the whereabouts of Burkhart. He added that he
believed the man was in the house or would come back to the house, in
spite of all she had said. That was at three o’clock in the afternoon,
and the operative concluded to sit in the house and wait to see what
would happen, all exits being guarded by other operatives. Nothing did
happen until 9:15 that night, although the house was searched. At last,
up in the attic, a small blind space was found where the electric light
wires went up to the roof. A flash light here illuminated the dark
interior—and disclosed Mr. Burkhart resting rather uncomfortably on the
cross beams, where he had been since early that afternoon—something
of a Spartan, if not much of a Puritan. It was found that he was
twenty-five years of age and not thirty-seven. It was also found that
he had the classification card belonging to another man, whereupon he
was accused of failure to file his questionnaire. On December 30, he
was brought before the Grand Jury, found guilty and sentenced to East
Cambridge jail.
Another gentleman, Mr. Ralph E——, when he filled out his
questionnaire, swore that he was a married man and had a wife and child
dependent upon him. It was discovered that the woman was not his wife.
The man consulted the partner of the A. P. L. inspector—the two being
members of the same law firm—in professional capacity. Here, therefore,
was a question of ethics involving the privilege of a confession made
to an attorney and also the oath taken to the A. P. L. The two law
partners called in Mr. E—— and gave him good advice about the crime
of perjury. As the man did what he could to square up matters, it was
decided to let that part of his case drop. He was not sent to prison.
Mr. Herbert C—— had an ambition to go across as a member of the
American Red Cross and had good recommendations. A. P. L., however,
discovered that he was an alleged dope fiend. He did not go with the
Red Cross.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account