Then there was the case of Madam P——, reported to be the wife of a Russian count who is now a citizen of Germany and an officer in the German army. Subject arrived in America by way of Scandinavia, by way of Germany. She pronounced herself as frankly pro-German in a talk with the A. P. L. operative, who speaks very good German and who claimed to be in sympathy with Germany. In public, Madam is more guarded. She confided to the operative that she is getting mail from her daughter in Munich through the president of the Norwegian-American Steamship Line, who arranged with the captain for the forwarding and receiving of letters. The Department of Justice got all of this as well, as did the Postmaster General in Washington.
In Pasadena you might run against a count or countess or baroness almost any way you looked. There was the Baroness P——, wife of a Philadelphia man, who spends her winters in a Pasadena hotel. Very pro-German before we went to war, but more quiet since then. She is watched whenever she is in Pasadena. It’s getting so a lady can do hardly anything at all without those vulgar, dreadful people knowing all about it!
The A. P. L. in Whittier
This division had thirty-three sedition cases, in spite of the glorious climate of California. For instance, information came that one Jack H—— and his wife were pro-Germans. They were running a fake jewelry business in Los Angeles. An A. P. L. investigation discovered that the gentleman had two names; that he left the Pacific Coast in 1910 with another gentleman and that they conducted a fur business in New York, where they failed handsomely and went into elegant bankruptcy. Suspect was alleged to have been convicted of perjury and sentenced to two or three years in the Federal prison at Atlanta, Georgia. It was developed further that he was given a stay of execution under bond of $10,000. The bond was forfeited and subject came to Los Angeles, where he resided with his purported wife and did business under the name of Jack H——. Upon said information, duly secured, the gentleman with the alias was arrested, returned to New York, and re-sentenced to three years in the penitentiary. His wife is still trying to find out where A. P. L. learned all about these things. Tut, tut! Cannot an honest jeweler be allowed to get away from his past in the wilds of the Far West?
Whittier is reported to be a quiet Quaker community. It has a population of approximately 25,000, being, in effect, a suburb of Los Angeles. The local division had forty-three men. Whittier always has boasted that it is a place where crooks do not congregate. There are Whittier oil fields, which are the second best on the Pacific slope, but there were no I. W. W.’s in this territory, and no pro-Germans of any very outspoken sort, no depredations, but for the most part calm, as becomes a Quaker capital.
The A. P. L. in Orleans
Perhaps you do not know where Orleans, California, is located? And perhaps you did not know that a branch of the A. P. L. was located in Orleans? That, however, is the case. There were just three members of the Orleans A. P. L., and, since there were but three, why not break the more or less inexorable rule about names and just give them in this case? J. A. Hunter was Chief at Orleans; C. W. Baker was Secretary; and P. L. Young was the third member.
The Chief reports:
In this small and isolated community, this seemed to be all the organization necessary. These men were selected as the best representatives of the community, and all subscribed to the A. P. L. oath. The local headquarters are at Orleans, with no further executive and office force necessary. Expenses were nominal and were defrayed by individual members. Orleans is an isolated point, 102 miles from a railroad, communication with the outside being by auto stages. It was easy to watch all travel through the district, and the few aliens, only two, who were resident were easy to keep track of. There is no telegraphic or telephone communication with the outside, so all reports had to be made by mail. We looked after the work necessary in our district, rendering such assistance as we were able and were asked to do. We had no trouble at any time with the local authorities.
[Signed] J. A. HUNTER, Chief.