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
An interesting case was that of Harry W——, who was brother of another
Mr. W—— sentenced to the workhouse for violation of the Espionage Act.
Harry did not register, but was picked up in the City Council Chamber.
He desperately tried to convince the A. P. L. men that he was too
old, but the operatives got his birth record and proved that he had
wilfully evaded registration. Indicted and sentenced to one year in the
workhouse.
A deserter from Camp Sherman, in December, 1917, was located wearing
civilian clothes as late as September, 1918. He was hidden by a certain
woman, who had secreted his uniform and who had supplied him with
liquor repeatedly. We learned that this was an illicit relation. The
woman had furnished the man with money from time to time. The A. P.
L. took her case up with the District Attorney. The woman is awaiting
indictment of a charge of furnishing liquor to a soldier and harboring
a deserter. Her lover is back in camp.
The division had a good case on certain German sympathizers believed to
be sending certain information to the enemy. A dictaphone was installed
in a hotel room which they occupied, and the place was watched day and
night for a week. Just at the time when it seemed that some information
was going to be reported, a parrot which the people had in the room
started to chatter and beat them into the dictaphone. Nothing was
discovered at that time and the Chief reports, “I regret we cannot
print what came over the dictaphone by the parrot.”
Adolph R——, a German of the Germans, was within the draft, but
resisted in every possible way, and said he would kill any members of
the League who came after him. He even called up individual members and
told them he was going to shoot them. When an order came he told the A.
P. L. man that he would pay no attention. A detail was sent after him
and he was escorted like a little lamb to the barracks. He has been a
good German ever since.
The League found that it had in its ranks as an operative a resident of
the city of Cleveland, who had been there all his life but was a German
alien and not registered. This fellow was arrested and interned for a
short period, though soon paroled.
The Cleveland division of A. P. L. took a very prominent part in the
Debs case, and furnished abundant men and machines on the Sunday that
Debs was arrested in Cleveland. It also helped to assemble the evidence
on which Debs was indicted.
Washington was on the hunt for a dangerous enemy alien by the name of
Henry H——. Information came that he was working for a photographic
concern in Cleveland, but he could not be located. Four months later
a complaint of pro-Germanism came in against a man of the same name
working for a city directory company. He had changed his occupation but
not his nature, and hence was arrested.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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