The total members sworn in numbered 491 on November 30, 1918. The active list at that date included 326 officers and operatives and sixty members of the so-called “Eye and Ear” division, consisting of men not able to render continuous service, but so situated that they were in a position to communicate to headquarters reports of anti-American activities and other Federal offenses. Among the active members were scores who had tried in vain to enter the Army or Navy, and who, failing to find any other essential war service open to them, found an outlet for their patriotic energy in the ranks of the American Protective League. Notwithstanding this, the League report shows that twenty-four members resigned during the thirteen months to go into the army; five to enter the overseas service of the Y. M. C. A. or Red Cross; and eighteen to accept other Government service.
In the pursuit of their duties, operatives and officials of the Minneapolis Division, A. P. L., arrested several well-known criminals, and encountered scores of desperate offenders of various kinds. It is a tribute to their courage and efficiency that there was not a single case of extreme violence. Men who were recognized everywhere as dangerous were apprehended as easily as persons who had offended unwittingly. In its work, the League employed all of the scientific as well as the ordinary devices utilized in the detection and conviction of violators and evaders of the law. Dictaphones and disguises were used, and miles were covered and hours spent in skillful “shadowing.”
While the files of the Minneapolis Division contain records of many cases of extreme importance, including participation in two investigations which led to the internment of alien enemies, the conviction of eleven offenders against the espionage laws, the capture and conviction of numerous deserters and the successful prosecution of other offenders, Chief Davis and his associates take greater pride in the results of constructive work of another type. This included the re-establishment with their boards of 4,479 delinquents under the selective service regulations, and the apologies and promises to mend their ways obtained from men and women who, in some cases, had deliberately, but in most instances unwittingly, extended aid and comfort to the enemy. It is estimated that at least two hundred men and women, who had been guilty of spreading false reports or of other conduct of an unfriendly nature, were shown the fallacy of their actions in such a manner that they voluntarily surrendered their previous ideas and embraced Americanism with more—or less—zeal.
For the protection of active members, who frequently encountered emergencies requiring authoritative action, and often were obliged to make immediate arrests to insure the detention of persons guilty of serious offenses, an arrangement was made whereby a large percentage of the operatives were formally deputized as special officers of the Minnesota Public Safety Commission. This gave them sufficient police authority to cope with any situation which arose. But for this, it would not have been possible for the organization to make its record of important arrests. This authority permitted the carrying of arms for protection, and although instances where “gun play” was required were few, the U. S. Department of Justice and the Minnesota Public Safety Commission had no occasion to regret the authority and responsibility conferred upon these men. They were enabled, by virtue of this authority, to enter many places, which otherwise might have been closed to them, in time to correct conditions which, if neglected, would have given rise to serious difficulties.
The Minneapolis Division American Protective League was the first local division to attempt a large-scale slacker round-up. The results and experience of the Minneapolis raids were responsible for similar activities in other cities, which put into the Army hundreds of men who otherwise might have evaded military service. The first organized slacker “raid” in Minneapolis took place on March 26, 1917. One hundred and twenty operatives were employed in hauling the drag-net through the cheaper hotels in the Gateway lodging house district. Approximately one hundred men were taken to the temporary detention place, and twenty-one men—deserters, unregistered enemy aliens and men whose draft status could not be determined—were sent to the county jail.
On April 6, two hundred and fifty operatives, with two hundred National Guard escorts, visited saloons, cafés, pool rooms and dance halls, starting at 8:00 p. m. and continuing until 10:00 p. m., and picked up 1,150 men in various places. The Chief and a corps of assistants conducted the questioning throughout the night. There were still two hundred men in custody when breakfast was served Sunday morning. Long distance telephone and the telegraph were employed to determine the status of the non-residents. Twenty-seven men were locked up. Other less extensive raids were conducted through the spring and summer of 1918 and at different periods, squads of operatives being stationed at the various railroad stations to search for draft evaders. As many as twenty prisoners were taken in these stations in a single day, and it was seldom that a day passed which did not yield two or more deserters or delinquents.
One morning a dapper individual who arrived at one station was asked if he had his draft card.
“Certainly,” he replied, reaching confidently into his pocket. The smile gradually disappeared from his face and he delved into pocket after pocket without finding the necessary credentials. Finally he gave up in despair and admitted he did not have his card. He was an exception to the rule, however, and did not become indignant. He said, “Take me along—I deserve it.” At headquarters he proved to be “Chick” Evans of Chicago, national open golf champion of the United States. He had come to Minneapolis to participate in a golf foursome for the benefit of the Red Cross! He waited fully two hours until a telegram was received from his Board in Chicago stating that he was in good standing.
Another spectacular raid conducted by the Minneapolis Division was on the show lot of the Ringling Circus. Thirty men were taken into custody on charges of draft irregularities, and nearly all of these were inducted into the army. It was reported that resistance might be offered, and precautions had been taken in the arrangements for the raid. No difficulty was encountered, however, and later in the day the proprietor of the circus complimented us on the manner in which the round-up had been conducted.
A different type of raid was undertaken at the request of commandants of the various Army detachments in and near Minneapolis. They complained that a number of imposters in army uniforms were bringing discredit to the soldiery and requested that these be apprehended. There were so many soldiers on leave in Minneapolis at all hours that it had been found extremely difficult to identify the imposters, and so it was decided that with the coöperation of the various commandants a literal drag-net process should be resorted to on a given evening. Forces of operatives were stationed at opposite extremes of the central business district. More than two hundred men participated, squads being formed, and one squad being stationed at each end of each street. The operatives stopped every uniformed man who was encountered and demanded his pass. An even dozen uniformed men who did not have passes were picked up and turned over to Army and Navy authorities, who attended in automobiles. For a long time there was an entire absence of reports of offenses on the part of imposters in service uniforms.