of the captain, but in the meantime if there was any doubt the wires were kept hot further along the Lakes to see if the man was wanted. Several were apprehended in this way at ports of call on information furnished by Detroit.
Another A. P. L. custom was to investigate each actor's card as he appeared at any theatre, and if there was any doubt, wire his board giving his description and asking for his status. Several alien actors were landed in that way—who were bad actors. They could not get away because they were booked. A. P. L. never waited, but always was on hand at the first performance of a company. These investigations furnished several theatrical men for Uncle Sam's Army.
The division worked to protect the Government and to protect the people also. There were a number of cases where a man and wife were reconciled; where a man and woman had been living together without marriage and where a marriage was performed; where a soldier's dependents were in destitute circumstances and did not get the allotment. Domestic tragedies such as these ran into hundreds, and quite often the division was able to straighten them out. Many a man was considered a slacker who had tried every means of getting into the Army. Many a man looked healthy, though the Army regulations disqualified him. Such men were, as a rule, sensitive as to their physical condition. The division made things clearer and made them easier in many cases.
There were many ways in which the division proved itself useful on a common-sense and practical business basis. For instance, a soldier, gone to France, left his home in charge of a friend who had agreed to rent it, keep up the improvements, and so on. A. P. L. found that the friend had collected the rent for months, but did not keep up the improvements and did not pay the taxes. It was found he had collected several hundred dollars and had not paid out anything. He happened to own a house of his own, so he mortgaged that and paid over the money he had collected. A. P. L. arranged with one of the banks to act as trustee for the soldier. The taxes were paid and the rents are now being placed to the credit of the soldier. If it had not been for the A. P. L., the soldier would have found his property badly depreciated on his return.
