Needless to say, Philadelphia had her own share of causes celébrès. One of the most unique and interesting of these was that of the Philadelphia Tageblatt, a German daily newspaper prosecuted under the charge of seditious and disloyal utterances. In the fall of 1917, a raid was conducted by D. J. and A. P. L. upon the headquarters of this paper, at which time many files, books, papers, and so forth, were seized, with the result that warrants were issued for the editor and all his staff. When they were called for trial, members of the division were again used for the purpose of investigating the jury panel, as well as for the procurement of evidence essential to the case. In one item, this work took the form of securing through banking members, proofs of certain signatures without which the Government's case would have been crippled.
These men were tried for treason, but were discharged for lack of evidence. They were subsequently prosecuted under a charge of conspiracy to hinder voluntary enrollment and for violation of the Espionage Act. On the latter charge, they were found guilty. Louis Werner, the editor, and his associate, Martin Darkow, got five years' imprisonment each, Herman Lemke two years, Peter Shaefer and Paul Vogel, one year each.
The Tageblatt had been warned often against its unseemly utterances, but to no avail. It was a sheet of no great consequence, and about fifteen years ago was anarchistic. Then it turned to Socialism. When war was declared, it was outspoken against the Allies. After the declaration it became more cautious, but its columns were full of propaganda. It had no telegraph or cable service, but its policy was dictated by the selective choice of its editorial staff. Louis Werner was a naturalized citizen born in Germany. Darkow was a non-registered alien enemy and wrote the editorials. The president was Peter Shaefer, the treasurer Paul Vogel, and the business manager Herman Lemke. The trial for treason lasted only ten days. The second trial, for conspiracy, was more successful from the viewpoint of the law. Upon the stand, both Werner and Darkow were insolent. They will have time to think over all these matters in quiet for a while.
Red Cross frauds attracted some attention on the part
