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
By way of general summary, it may be said that a well-defined
organization long existed in our country, districted with the usual
German exactness. German Naval Intelligence had charge of destruction
of our shipping, naval sabotage, etc. Boy-Ed, naval attache at
Washington, was to have handled this. The notorious Rintelen, who
seemed to have operated independently in New York, confined his
activities rather to the making of bombs to be concealed on ships, to
the incitement of strikes, munition embargoes, etc. Dr. Scheele, one
of the three most prominent spies in America, was relied on to devise
means of burning ships at sea. His method of bomb manufacture is spoken
of later.
What is equivalent to our Military Intelligence Department in Germany,
in turn took up the question of sabotage in our ammunition works, and
of getting contraband stuff into Germany. Scheele, who was taken in
custody by the United States, declared that this country was divided
into military districts, and that supplies of arms and ammunition were
gotten together. He even declared at one time that he knew of 200,000
Mauser rifles stored in a German club in New York City. He was taken
there by Government officials and located the place where the rifles
probably had been stored, although they had in the meantime been
removed.
Von Papen, military attache at Washington, had much the same work
for the army that Boy-Ed had taken on for the navy. He often appears
in the revelations of the German spy system, as in the plot against
the Welland Canal, and the Vanceboro bridge, for which Werner Horn
was arrested. Von Papen had the charge of the Bridgeport Projectile
Company, which was intended to disorganize our manufacture of
munitions. He had some sort of charge of Scheele, the German chemist
spy, who is, perhaps, the best known example now remaining on American
soil of the German espionage system.
Special commissions to spread disease germs were sent to this country,
as perhaps A. P. L. reading will have indicated. A good deal of this
work failed because so many of the German spies were interned early in
the war, and there has been no good opportunity since to replace these
men properly, the war having traveled too fast when once America was in
it.
But what, perhaps, has shocked and horrified Americans more than
anything else (and it cannot be too often iterated) was the knowledge
that long before this war Germany had a vast system of spies all
through America. This system of international spies was originated
almost a generation ago by the Prussian War Office. There were supposed
to have been about 30,000 spies in France before this war was declared.
England also was well sown with such persons in every rank of life. We
had our share.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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