This form of propaganda, spread by word of mouth, was the most insidious and most widely spread of all forms. It was of course, made the more easy by the excited state of mind of the people during war times. You will remember that you yourself bought more newspapers than you ever did in your life—you looked for new headlines, new sensations, all the time. At home, your wife also was eager for sensations, for the news, for the gossip. It was ready for her and every member of her family, and her neighbors and neighbors’ families. The spread of a rumor is not governed by the laws of evidence; and hearsay testimony rarely is given twice the same—it always grows. Into this form of German propaganda came spite work against German-Americans who themselves were loyal. A great deal of League activity had to do with running down rumors against persons declared to be pro-German. Sometimes these things were found baseless; and again enough pro-Germanism was found to warrant a stern rebuke. Sometimes, public speakers, well trained in their tasks, put out propaganda which at the time seemed an innocent statement of facts. To the Lake Placid Club of New York came a certain “Belgian officer” who spoke very good English, and who purported to be able to tell all about the war. He made a long speech, regarding which many members of the local Red Cross complained bitterly to the American Protective League. This man’s talk, while purporting to be that of an ally of this country, was really German propaganda. He denied or justified German atrocities, deplored Red Cross knitting, declared it would take ten million Americans to beat the Germans; that they were going into a hell of vermin, dirt and disease; that our army as yet was difficult to find. There was a German orchestra at the Club, supposed to have come from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They all applauded vociferously when the speaker made such statements as, “After the war there will be a day of reckoning.” Further details, which proved that this speaker really was spreading German propaganda, led to his being traced to New York. He was found to have worked at different times in Iowa, Kansas, and elsewhere. The last report was that he was supposed to have sailed for his native country.