From Erie, Pennsylvania, there came to Duluth warning that there probably would be on a steamer due to land at that point a deserter from the service. The boat was met, the deserter was found, and within thirty-six hours he was on his way to Fort Snelling to repent at his leisure.

One O——, an Austrian or Russian, a mill hand, was found in bed when an operative went after him as a draft evader. He was so indiscreet as to say, “To hell with America.” At that time the operative landed on him with a stiff right, and O—— went down for the count. The short and simple annals of Mr. O——’s case read: “He was dragged to jail with his toes up, put in a cell with his toes still up, and left alone with his toes up. The next day he was sent to Fort Snelling as a deserter.”

All the way from Great Falls, Montana, came a deserter who thought he could hide himself in the North woods around Duluth. As a matter of fact, he succeeded in doing so for more than a month although he was traced here and there in the forest. He located on a river-drive where he worked for a time. This Mr. C—— always went armed and was reported as dangerous, but this did not act as any deterrent for A. P. L. men. The evader was classified as having strong I. W. W. affiliations. He was chased far in the woods, but will have to come out some time. When he does, he will find the Duluth A. P. L. ready to welcome him.

The totals for Duluth might be expected to run high. Accordingly we need not be surprised to find that Duluth reports 1,293 investigations of disloyalty and sedition; 3,287 men taken in slacker raids; 41 investigations for propaganda, and 186 naturalization investigations.

Freeborn County, Minnesota, submitted a very optimistic report: “The loyal folks were so plentiful that if any pessimist happened to say the wrong thing about the Red Cross or the Liberty Loans, he was promptly reported. A few fines of $500 each in the district court soon stopped all disloyalty talk. The Non-Partisan League was watched closely but we got nothing disloyal at their meetings and could find no openly disloyal acts. They have an unusual proportion of persons of German extraction in their membership. At the beginning of the war a good many farmers tried to keep their sons at home, often using strongly colored affidavits. Some honestly felt that the duty to furnish food was greater than the duty to fight, which attitude sometimes led to unfounded accusations against them.”

Wilkin County, Minnesota, watched Non-Partisan League activities closely. Members of this none too loyal organization talked less freely when they learned that they were being watched. The community had some clergymen with strong German tendencies, but these also experienced a change of heart. One German alien, registered at Omaha, Nebraska, who had left without permission, was arrested until the Department of Justice at St. Paul could take him over. The fact of his arrest created a large silence among the pro-Germans of the region.

Grant County, Minnesota, has a little report. “A few minor investigations of false statements about deferred classifications were made. We got the facts. Our County is small, no large settlements, and everyone knows practically everybody else, so there was little for us to do.”

Winona, Minnesota, sends in the best kind of a report—with few or no figures under most lettered heads. Winona has about 20,000 inhabitants, and is a small farming community with a floating population. Much of the work of the division was in stopping local gossip and loose talking. The League did, however, locate one deserter, who was duly turned over.

MISSOURI

The tracing of a deserter may take a hundred pages in a file. A certain man registered in St. Louis, but never turned in his questionnaire. He was classified by the Adjutant General of Missouri as a deserter, and A. P. L. was requested to find him. Search revealed him in James City, Pennsylvania. The chief of police of a nearby town found the man in bed. The deserter, whose name may be called Bates, resisted fiercely. It was stated of him that he was the first man the chief of police ever arrested who succeeded in breaking a pair of handcuffs. He fought all the time until he was put in jail. Mr. Bates, it is to be hoped, fought equally well in the army. He certainly got his chance to do so.