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
During the spring of 1918 there were rumors in the city of Dayton
that Mr. B——, a hardware merchant, American born but of German
parentage, was very pro-German in his talk and attitude, and as
I had known the man for some years, I made it a point to get his
viewpoint as to the war and his opinion regarding the United
States entering the war. Mr. B—— was very guarded in everything
he said, but would always intimate just enough to arouse the
anger of a good American citizen, and while he would not make any
statements that could be considered as absolutely unpatriotic or
dangerous, yet it was evident that at heart he was pro-German
and was quietly spreading propaganda in favor of Germany. I
talked to him until I found that I was getting a little too warm
around the collar and would have to move on. One morning I was
quite interested when B—— advised me that he was going to enter
a certain Officers’ Training Camp and would leave on a certain
fixed date, two weeks later. I pumped him as well as I could to
get all the facts, which within an hour’s time I communicated to
headquarters. The information was communicated to headquarters
of the Officers’ Training Camp and B—— was advised by the proper
officer that he need not report. What reason they gave him I did
not know!
I called on B—— about a week later and expressed to him my
surprise that he was still here and asked why he had not gone to
camp. He replied that he was too busy to get away and would wait
until a later period. This excuse, of course, was all right with
me, but he did not know that some one had been on his trail and
kept him from becoming well acquainted with the inside workings
of training camp activities, and removed the possibility of his
slipping across his German propaganda.
Dayton sends in another story, worth pondering and remembering by every
American. This book is written for Americans. The story will show what
other races we sometimes harbor. The man’s name is given.
Captains No. 145 and No. 245 were given an assignment entitled “Frank
Weiss, alien enemy; Refusal to Register.” The story, as told by them,
is as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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