Another operative in Toledo fancied himself very much in the rôle of Sherlock Holmes. In one case assigned him, he was trailing a subject who turned and started toward the operative. The latter stated in his report: “When I noticed the subject coming toward me, I immediately jumped over a hedge and hid behind some bushes.”
Toledo did some business in the slacker raids, having examined some 2,000 men in one drive.
Youngstown, Ohio, reflects a very sensitive social condition which existed during the war in every community which owned a considerable foreign born population. The Chief comments on this quite frankly:
A feature of our work was the demand, made by people in all stations, that the Federal Government, of which we were supposed to be a direct agency, should look after the enforcement of laws concerning health, morals and even family relations. A remarkable fact in connection with these investigations was the utter inability of a certain class of German origin to forget their German ties and to live up to their oath of allegiance to America, which they took, many of them, fifteen or twenty years ago. In one case it was frankly admitted by the subject that he had never thought about Germany going into a war with America when he applied for naturalization papers. We have developed the fact that many households in America have been, are and always will be nothing but a part of Germany in our midst.
Youngstown turns in 157 cases of alien enemy activities, and 459 of disloyalty and sedition. There were 213 cases of anti-military activity and 674 cases of propaganda, not mentioning 183 cases of I. W. W. and other radicalism. In the report of this division, the Department of Justice work quite overshadows the War Department activities, because there are only 213 investigations under the Selective Service Act and 67 for character and loyalty, although there were 141 investigations of desertions and absences without leave.
There was a certain man in the vicinity of Napoleon, Ohio, who put up a really stubborn fight against Americanism. The Chief of the division says:
I got a telephone message that one hundred Germans, armed with guns, were gathered in an alien enemy’s house and wanted to fight. As county president of the League of American Patriots, I called out five hundred members, and with fifteen A. P. L. members, we started for the place after nightfall. We traveled the eighteen miles in cars, but as we were approaching, the Germans saw our headlights and dispersed, except for a few who didn’t get away. We got three men, and found some ammunition and one gun in a wheat field. We were shot at, but none of us were hurt, although the report got noised about that we had fifteen killed. A carnival was being held in a little town nearby, and when we got back at 2:00 A. M., the ladies were waiting with hot coffee and sandwiches for us, so we didn’t call it a bad night’s work. We nailed an American flag to the house of that enemy alien, and it is still waving there. The next day the Department of Justice was on hand. We traveled into three counties to get a man who said that some Germans had guns and would use them. It was said that these guns were to aid Germany in case she could effect a landing in this country.
About seventy per cent of the inhabitants of Henry County are of German descent, and many remained in sympathy with Germany even after we went into the war. We could do little with them. Our League of Patriots tried nineteen cases in Henry County, relieved a bank cashier of his position, got a State road superintendent dismissed and brought a good many other pro-Germans out into the open. The A. P. L. assisted in getting much of the evidence against the road superintendent, who was heard to say: “If this country goes into the war with Germany, one million Germans will rebel, and I will be one of them.” Thus far, the million Germans seem less disposed to rebel since the eleventh of last November.
Yellow Springs, Ohio, is another instance of simple, honest, heel and toe hard work. The division assisted in all the war activities, and helped out the Department of Justice in divers instances in collecting testimony.
Wooster, Ohio, says: “Our principal activities had to do with conscientious objectors. We tried to deal with these people in accordance with the law, and also in accordance with the regulations promulgated by the President. We had some amusing cases with members of the Ammish church, including their Bishop, who was accused of advising men not to comply with the draft order. This man caused the county boards a great deal of trouble. He would not come in and talk with the military authorities, but the A. P. L. brought him in. You have to know these people to appreciate the obstructions they will put around all draft matters.”