Early in the summer a system of nightly A. P. L. patrols was established in the down-town section of Minneapolis. Operatives worked in squads of two or three men, some of them giving attention to draft evaders, others to the work-or-fight order, and others to bootleggers. Scarcely a night passed without a record of one or more important arrests, and the entire personnel of the League became intimately acquainted with the down-town business and social structures.
In the conduct of these nightly patrols a special headquarters was established in a down-town public building. The captain in charge directed operations from this place. Not only was he able to keep the railroad stations, hotels, cafés, saloons and other public places under continuous surveillance for slackers, but he also had forces constantly available to meet any emergencies which arose during the evenings. Squads frequently were dispatched from this headquarters to various points of the city to give attention to special cases.
One of the first draft evasion cases investigated by the Minneapolis Division is a great short story ready-made. It concerned a young man prominent in labor circles. He had been an avowed opponent of all the national war measures, and was particularly bitter in his condemnation of the Selective Service Act. It was reported on good authority that although he was within the draft age he had declined to register and intended to resort to any device necessary to evade service.
The first inquiry was made at the Board of Health, where it was ascertained that no record of his birth was on file. Attention was next called to the poll books, and it was found that the age he had given when registering as a voter placed him safely within the provisions of the draft act. His school enrollment record was investigated and it was found that the ages given in the various grades made him amenable to the draft. He had three insurance policies, and the original applications which he had signed showed him to have been less than thirty-one years old on June 5, 1917. The last step was to search for the marriage record of his father and mother. They were found to have been married in a small town near Minneapolis in November, 1885.
When the young man was summoned to headquarters he admitted the authenticity of all these records, but insisted that he knew he was past thirty-one on June 5, 1917. He refused to state on what information he based this assertion, and was held for prosecution. One final attempt was made to clear his status, and with considerable effort his mother, who had divorced his father more than twenty-five years before, was located. At the end of an unsatisfactory interview lasting nearly an hour she finally broke down and in tears admitted the boy had been born out of wedlock and that she had been responsible for the falsification of the records in order to indicate his legitimacy. She said that she had withheld this secret even from the subject, not divulging to him until a few days before the day of registration and then only because he seemed so bitter over the fact that he must register. Her appearance was so venerable and her determination to assist him so emphatic that there appeared little chance of successful prosecution, so the man was released. Headquarters never received any further reports of un-American activities on his part.
A later case of interest involved an admitted deserter, both from the German and the United States Army. Whether he is guilty of other offenses has not yet been determined. On September 12, 1918, the day of registration for men up to forty-six years of age, two operatives on duty were struck by the peculiar actions of a man who appeared to register. They managed to get near him without attracting suspicion. In stating his occupation he said he was an iron moulder. They noticed that his hands were soft and white. When he left the registration place, one of the operatives followed him. The other telephoned to the plant where the man had said he was employed and learned that he was not known there. The individual was “shadowed” to a lodging house, but had departed while the first operative was telephoning. The house was put under surveillance, and after a period of five days the operative gained entrance and searched his room. Among his effects were blank checks from banks in various cities, photographs in German army uniforms of a man recognizable as the subject, and various letters and pamphlets in German, some of which were suspicious. Under the carpet in the room was an official United States Army discharge blank.
The fact that this paper had been so carefully hidden caused further suspicion, and the watch was maintained for another five days, when a man appeared at the house seeking to rent the room which had been occupied by the subject. He described the particular room. On instructions from the operatives, the landlady let him have it. When he entered the room he started packing the effects of the subject, and shortly afterwards left the house with the subject’s two suitcases. He was stopped outside and questioned. He said a man had given him $5.00 to go to that lodging house, to rent that particular room, to get his belongings and to meet him at a certain place the following morning, where he agreed to give him $50. This man was held over night and was sent out the next day to make the appointment arranged by the subject. The subject was there and was taken into custody. After a gruelling examination he admitted being a deserter from the United States Army. He later confessed that he was a German alien and said he also had deserted from the army in Germany. He would not account for his activities in the months which had elapsed between his desertion from the Army and his capture in Minneapolis. He had a considerable sum of money, but could not prove he had done any work. He was turned over to the military authorities.
Topping all other humorous experiences was that encountered by one of the most efficient of the Minneapolis District A. P. L. Captains. He had orders to arrest a deserter who bore a Polish name ending in “-ski.” After a long search he was informed that this man lived in one of the slum sections, working all day and arriving at his lodging place generally about 1:00 a. m. He could not learn where the man worked and so was compelled to locate him at his room. Going there to make inquiries one night, he was told that the man was there. Having been informed that the fellow was dangerous and fearing that he would become alarmed and flee if he was not taken into custody immediately, the captain went into his room. Asking if he were “So-and-so-ski,” the man said he was. He was told to get up and dress and come along. Although he was surly he showed no resistance and accompanied the captain outside. The captain felt, however, that this docility might be assumed, and thought he would take no chances. The place was about a mile from the jail. The captain had an automobile, but did not feel it would be safe to take the prisoner in the seat with him. He therefore compelled him to straddle the hood on the car, and on this ungainly perch, with the temperature 20° below, the unfortunate suspect was driven to the court house. Arriving there, the prisoner scratched his head and asked:
“What yuh bringin’ me down here for?”
“Why, because you didn’t register for the draft. You know what.”