was invariably suppressed—that an alien suspect's sudden and mysterious shifts and changes, his suspicious and watchful conduct, his evasive acts, all had to do with nothing more than the fact that the man had a mistress or so in another part of the city. The woman in his case very often was not the woman in the case at all, for there was no case, so far as the League was concerned. But countless men were quietly warned. Often with tears they implored the secrecy which was given them. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men in America whose private lives are known to the League and not known in their own families. There is yet to be known the first case where any advantage ever was taken of the unintended victim caught in the general meshes of the Web; but it may be interesting for any of those of guilty conscience who by chance may read these lines, to know that their lives are filed away, cross-indexed, for future reference in the vast archives of the Department of Justice at Washington!
The extent of these "woman cases," as they were known, is very considerable, and the per cent of suspect spy cases which simmered down to a petticoat basis is a very large one. A great part of the work of the League was done in finding the woman, if not in searching for her specifically. The League brought up from the deep-sea soundings of its steel meshes all the sordid and unworthy phases of human life on the part of both men and women. But while combing out the discards of human intrigue, the League often found the evidence it really sought. This was without fail used mercilessly and coldly.
One case, handled by the Central Division in Chicago, we may call the Otero case. Word came from El Paso that a certain prominent Mexican, a revolutionary and political leader with aspirations for a very high office in that republic, had come into the United States and was headed north, probably for Chicago. Nothing was known about him and his purpose excepting that his name was given. The League at once began making inquiries about Senor Otero. It was found that he was traveling in a special car. Obviously, therefore, he was a man of money. Ergo, he would go to a good hotel, and he probably would make a reservation in advance. Inquiries were made by telephone at all
