Santaquin, Utah, sends the best and most satisfactory kind of a report: “I am proud to state that this little town has been loyal to the core. We have not found a single slacker or disloyal case. Investigated one or two cases of men asking for military service and found them O. K. In all the drives for bonds and thrift stamps, we have ‘gone over the top,’ and we hope to continue with the same good spirit and loyalty.”
Moab, Utah, has a local chief of a calm turn of mind. He says that most of the talk he heard was just that of some ignorant people who didn’t know the difference between war and peace times. The Chief adds that he saw only three or four parties who refused to buy bonds. “I had a talk with them, and they bought willingly,” he adds!
From Fillmore, Utah, the Chief reports: “Not much to do in this out-of-the-way place. We watched every person who came into town. No telling when we might not have been of service in apprehending some person badly needed.”
Smithfield, Utah, reports: “We had only twelve in our organization. Our community is only two thousand—a farming community of good quiet citizens. We support the constitution; over-subscribed for Liberty Bonds, Red Cross, and War Savings Stamps. If you realize what a rural community like this is, you know there is not much to do. We have done what we could with the local boards in draft matters.”
ARIZONA
Tucson, Arizona, is the land of sunshine and appears to have been very peaceful. The Chief reports that there were plenty of war activities going on all the time, but none of these were of a nefarious sort. There apparently was nothing wild or woolly about an A. P. L. job in Tucson during war times.
Cochise County, Arizona, was once somewhat famous for loading up a railroad train with undesirable citizens and then telling the engineer to steam ahead. None the less, this last year or so Cochise has had absolute peace and quiet. Ever so often, of course, a dissatisfied citizen would go over to Mexico, subsist on red beans for a while, and then try to get back. He would usually find the getting back a trifle more difficult than the going over. About 1,000 investigations were made, most of them referred to the Department of Justice at Bisbee and Douglas. About forty-five or fifty men of the live-wire type did the work. There was always an element of danger present, though nothing ever broke.
Naco is directly on the border between Mexico and the United States. Douglas, not far distinct, is a busy town of which smelting is the big industry. The historic town of Tombstone is the county seat. Bisbee is one of the largest copper camps in the world. There were good men and true with the A. P. L. in all of these towns, and they did fine, loyal service for the flag.
WYOMING
An artless report comes from Weston County, Wyoming: “We had a number of people here who were pro-German, but all such cases were quieted with a little assistance. One man said that he was in hopes that he could eat another good meal in his own country, Germany. When he got through talking to all the people who waited upon him, he went home and committed suicide.”