Los Angeles had a practicing physician who fled from Germany to escape the rigors of its military laws. When war broke out between this country and Germany, this suspect—for he very soon became a suspect and was placed under the espionage of A. P. L.—planned to turn a pretty penny by the practice of sabotage, not upon property, but on personnel. There were some cowards in this country of so yellow a type that they were willing even to have their eye-sight tampered with that they might escape the draft. This monster in human guise assisted such depraved beings, sometimes perhaps to the permanent loss of their eye-sight—they took their own chances. This man got a sentence of ten years in the penitentiary and a fine of $5,000. A woman accomplice was sentenced to eleven years penal servitude.
A German, von B——, was a close friend of R. B——, the two rooming together. The latter was with the National Guard of California in the Mexican trouble, was mustered out, but registered for the draft, being exempted on the grounds of having a dependent wife and child. After he had received his exemption, B—— was told by von B—— to get into the Aviation Corps at San Diego, and that he would show him how. The exempted man was admitted to the Aviation Corps in the United States Army, went to Berkeley for three months’ training, and then was transferred to San Diego. He is a German and his wife is also. These two men were reported to have made a great many mysterious trips together. Subject was interned on presidential warrant, it being obvious that neither he nor his room-mate meant well towards the United States.
Can a leopard change his spots? The answer would appear to be that he cannot—if he is a German leopard. For instance, one William S——, a German small grocer in Los Angeles, was doing a good business and living very well. He had a son enlisted in the Aviation Corps of the United States Army at the outbreak of the war. There was no reason why he, himself, should not have remained loyal to this country, which had been kind to him. But although he had been away from Germany for a score of years, he was foolish enough to retain all the German spots. He said that Wilson was a Kaiser and that the people ought to kill him; and he uttered a good many additional sentiments of like sort against this country and its Government. He was so bitter in his pro-German attitude that he lost practically all of his customers. As a result he began to worry, not only for the Imperial German Government, but for himself. And then one night he died—which closed the case for A. P. L. and opened it for a Higher Court. Since it has been shown in many instances that the River Jordan has not been able to wash out the German spots, the query is whether the River Styx is any more able to do so? That is the question in which all admirers of German Kultur and its practices are interested.
The A. P. L. in Santa Barbara
There is an unsettled rivalry between the two types of beauty, blonde and brunette, which never will be concluded so long as women live and men admire them. So also, one supposes, time will not last long enough to determine which is the more beautiful and lovable spot—Monterey in Northern California, or Santa Barbara in the South. You can start a riot over that question on any railway train on the Pacific slope. One man will be ready to shoot anybody who does not agree that the Seventeen Mile Drive out of Monterey is the most beautiful region in all the world, bar none. It is—it is! Who can deny it? But who, also, can deny even at the point of a gun that the Santa Barbara coast is also the most beautiful spot in all the world? Besides, the latter community has scientific records as ground for the assertion that Santa Barbara has the finest mean temperature on the North American continent, and hence is the one ideal dwelling spot for human beings. It is—it is!
But, very naturally, so fair a region as that of the California slope must have attracted all sorts and conditions of men, evil men as well as good, designing transients as well as those calling California home. For this reason Santa Barbara also had her organization of the A. P. L.
One of the colony of wealthy men who had built palatial homes in and around Santa Barbara was a certain millionaire who had what might be called advanced ideas or free thinking tendencies. Early in the year 1917, Mr. H—— associated himself actively with the pacifist movement. He had, as a co-agitator, a reverend doctor who was pastor in a church at Santa Barbara. They both printed pamphlets in opposition to the war, and finally came out with a book which was a very violent denunciation of war in general. The two gentlemen divided the authorship of this book, H—— doing the first part and G—— the second. Reverend G—— had the advantage of also being able to deliver sermons from the pulpit. He denounced the United States Government and referred to the American flag as a “worthless rag.” After we had declared war with Germany these men kept on with their activities, hence A. P. L. took their cases under advisement with instructions from the Los Angeles Department of Justice. There were hundreds of operative reports turned in on these two men.
After a time another book, published by H——, came out—a very violent arraignment of the Government for its stand in the war, and very hot anti-draft literature. These publications attracted to H—— and G—— a large number of the weak-minded people who affiliated themselves with the “Fellowship of Reconciliation”—a society which ought to go strong in Berlin, now that the war is over.
Reverend G—— was expelled as the pastor of his church, following a very seditious letter which he wrote, saying that he had relegated the American flag to the flames, expressing sympathy with I. W. W., and opposition to the draft. It has always been understood that the climate of California attracted a great many people, and the state has always seemed to be prolific of great differences of opinion among those people, but when it comes to a minister of the gospel uttering such things as these, it is going a little strong even for the most free-thinking country in the world.
The H—— case kept on attaining proportions, and heavy shipments of literature were made into Santa Barbara and distributed out of that city to various points. All of these shipments were followed and full reports were made. In the latter part of 1917, another reverend doctor, F. H——, and one C. H. B——, became active associates with the foregoing. Pacifist meetings in Los Angeles were raided, and all these parties managed to get themselves arrested on a charge of disturbing the peace.