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
A client went to the office of his attorney, and after their business
was concluded, tarried for a chat, in which he dropped the information
that he had heard a pro-German say: “Every American child should have
its neck wrung as soon as it is born. The German army could rule
the United States better than Wilson—and it will, too.” The lawyer
obtained from him the name and address of the offender, and the names
of witnesses who heard his remarks. After the client had gone, the
attorney, being a member of the League, made out a report on a blank
form supplied by the Department of Justice, and sent it to the Captain
of his company, signing it with his number. The lawyer’s duty ended
here, for he belonged to one of the occupational units and was pledged
to give information but not to investigate. The Captain took the report
to League headquarters, where the officials approved it and sent it to
the local office of the Department of Justice, Bureau of Information.
It was O. K.’d there as a matter worth looking into, whereupon the
League called upon its other arm, the investigators. They went out to
obtain affidavits to corroborate the hearsay information first turned
in by the lawyer. In this roundabout way was secured evidence to be
placed before the Attorney General. You can never tell, even if you are
a pro-German and have to spill over, when you are also going to spill,
upset or overturn the legumes known in common parlance as the beans.
A naturalization department was organized on the initiative of the
St. Louis office, which was followed in other divisions. On May 18,
Congress repealed the law prohibiting the naturalization of aliens
if they had filed declarations of intention not less than two or
more than seven years before the United States entered the war. That
is, citizenship was possible under these conditions, providing the
applicant established his good moral character, his attachment to
the Constitution, his belief in organized government, his ability to
speak English and the genuineness of his wish to become a citizen and
renounce forever all allegiance to any foreign Power. About eight
hundred persons in the St. Louis district, according to local press
data, sought to avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the new
law. Their applications called for a thorough investigation in each
case. This work the League volunteered to take off the shoulders of the
Bureau of Naturalization. The inquiries put in the questionnaire are
interesting as official tests of loyalty. The most important of them
are as follows:
Has applicant affiliated himself directly or indirectly with any
organization or propaganda in any way opposed to the position
taken by the United States in regard to the war, or with known or
suspected agents of the enemy?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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