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
In April, 1918, a letter addressed to a man in Santa Barbara,
California, who had a name quite similar to the first man above
mentioned, fell into the hands of A. P. L., because the wrong recipient
had opened it. It was found to be a letter from the secretary of the
I. W. W. organization at Los Angeles, setting a definite date for a
meeting at Los Angeles where Mr. H—— was to be present and address the
assembled multitude. The Chief of A. P. L. at Santa Barbara notified
D. J. in Los Angeles. At the same time, Santa Barbara was requested to
locate the new reverend, Mr. F. H——, whose whereabouts now were unknown.
There now came into the case a Miss E——, a prominent young woman who
had been a canteen worker and Red Cross nurse in France. Her family
were friends of the H—— family, but Miss E—— was a friend of the United
States Army above all things. She learned that the second reverend was
at Modesto, California, and that Mr. H—— would leave Santa Barbara on
Sunday, April 7, for Los Angeles; that he would stop at the Alexandria
Hotel, and would address the meeting on April 8.
This information was turned over to D. J. at Los Angeles.
It was decided to arrest all the foregoing alphabetical gentlemen.
About twenty members were assigned to the work and these arrests were
duly made at 9:00 P. M. on the night of April 8. Certain residences of
the above parties were searched and an immense amount of literature and
pamphlets on pacifism and radical Socialism were discovered. Most of
the books were seized.
The first mentioned Mr. H—— was hard to catch, the deputy marshal
being obliged to chase him through the streets of Los Angeles for
several blocks. H—— had to spend his night in the county jail. The next
morning he telephoned to his mother that he had “spent the night with
some friends of his, the Marshalls.” At least, he had a sense of humor,
because the only “Marshals” he knew were the deputy United States
marshals at that time, and he had indeed been their guest temporarily.
All the defendants, excepting two incidentally connected with the
case, were convicted of violation of the Espionage Act. The wealthy
pacifist millionaire was fined $27,000. The vitriolic clergyman first
mentioned, and his ally, the clergyman of the second part, were fined
$5,000 apiece. Two lesser fines of $500 and $100 were imposed also.
The second reverend doctor was arrested on information furnished by
Santa Barbara A. P. L. to the Los Angeles office. Other persons of
ultra-pacifist tendencies in Santa Barbara have been kept constantly
under surveillance. So it would seem that in peaceful Santa Barbara all
is not always peace—unless it is the right sort of peace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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