The pool-room was found with its complete telephone and telegraph outfit, which was not connected with any outside line. The money which Kaiser saw in this pool-room was paper cut from a New York Telephone directory to the size of a dollar bill. This paper was placed in stacks of probably four or five inches thick, with a hundred dollar bill placed on top and a hundred dollar bill on the bottom. The “money” lay around in great profusion. K—— stated with bulging eyes that he saw “at least a million dollars in this room.” At least, the A. P. L. saved him $25,000 by taking him for a Cincinnati German spy!
CHAPTER IX
THE STORY OF DAYTON
Aircraft-Center Well Cared For—Midnight and All’s Well—Some Stories of the A. P. L. and the Melting Pot—Possible and Impossible Citizens.
The thriving city of Dayton, Ohio, is one of the best known towns of the size in the Union. In some way the idea has gone abroad that Dayton is up-to-date, modern and advanced alike in industrial, civic and social ways. There surely is no reason to alter that belief from the story of the A. P. L. turned in from Dayton. An additional interest attaches to the report from this industrial capital because of the fact that it has always been a sort of a capital of industrial enterprise, and has been known as one of the points of manufacture of Government aeroplane material.
The large foreign element gave rise to 661 disloyalty cases and made necessary 269 instances of persuasiveness in Liberty Bond matters. For the War Department there were handled 1,681 slacker cases and 1,078 other cases under the Selective Service Act, with 387 cases of deserters and 241 character and loyalty examinations. The total number of investigations was 6,118. Many of the local “case stories” show that Ohio still has her claim to be called a center of pro-German sentiment, but the A. P. L. did fine work in the reclamation of such citizen material as was worth reclaiming—some of it was not worth while. The American Protective League has been the best and almost the first real Immigration Board this country ever knew, and the one great need of America to-day is a wise and wholly fearless combing out of the aliens.
Mr. George S. Blanchard was first Chief of the Dayton Division. In the early days of April, 1917, he was talking with a friend from St. Louis and during the conversation asked him what he was doing toward the progress of the big war. His friend replied that he had gone into the American Protective League, which had just been organized in St. Louis. The remark set him to thinking that probably an organization of this kind could be effected in Dayton. The League at that time was in a very primitive state. That is to say, the desire to assist the Department of Justice was there, but neither the League nor the Department of Justice had yet been able to work out the best method by which inexperienced citizens could assist in Federal investigations. Mr. Blanchard visited the divisions of the League at Columbus, Ohio, Chicago, San Francisco, New York City and other places, and called a number of times for conferences at National Headquarters. The mode of conducting operations as determined by experience and observation of the work carried out by other divisions and as directed by National Headquarters was as follows: Alien Enemy; Pro-German; Draft Board Matters; Vice and Liquor; Military Coöperation; Food and Fuel; Suburban; War Risk Allotments; Headquarters; Flying Squadron; Character Investigations.
The general direction of the work was made by the Chief. The work was then carried out by ten different divisions, each governed by a Captain with as many Lieutenants and operatives as his work demanded. Later came the general division of all workers into two classes—Investigation and Information. The captains, lieutenants and active members were taken from the investigators. In October, 1918, Mr. Blanchard resigned as Chief of the Dayton Division to enlist in the Motor Transport Corps of the United States Army, being succeeded by Mr. Frank Schwilk, who carried on the work very successfully.
During a war drive, an operative, No. 161, called on a Mr. B——, who had refused absolutely to give a cent, although financially able to contribute. Operative reports: I questioned him as to why he would not give, and he replied:
“Why should I give? I don’t live here anyhow. My body belongs to God and He told me not to give.”
“That’s all right,” replied the operative, “but you have citizenship here, have you not?”