Page:The web (1919).djvu/397

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These cases do not exhaust the files of Rensselaer. There are more of the same sort, but these give a good idea of the sort of problems which tested the courage, ability and resourcefulness of A. P. L. operatives and chiefs throughout the war.

Elkhart, Indiana, is present or accounted for in almost every branch of the service. The Chief says: "We found most of our cases pro-German, with some spite work. Elkhart Division handled a total of 600 cases of all sorts, of which 117 were concerned with alien enemy activities. A number of reports were investigated which charged certain German sympathizers with offering up prayers in church for the Kaiser and the success of the German arms. There would seem to be no use in praying for the Kaiser now."

One of the most American parts of Indiana is good old Brown County, long famous because there is no railroad within its confines. The Chief reports: "This has been a quiet sector. Our people are native stock, absolutely loyal and patriotic. A few late-comers of German origin began to talk too much, but when they found they were being watched, they stopped. It is good to live in an old-fashioned American community such as we usually read about in books."


MICHIGAN

Perhaps not many people in the United States have heard of Midland, Michigan—it is one of the many new names on the war map. But the Midland report—in many ways the best report turned in by any A. P. L. chief in the entire country—bulked large and was very thorough indeed; in short, it was a day-by-day record and report of activities in a town engaged in making deadly gases and other chemicals for use in the war. Midland is the site of the Dow Chemical Company's chief plant, a concern which manufactured acetone for airplane dope, mustard gas, T. N. T. and a number of other special products for the Government. As a consequence it seems to have been a magnet for alien enemy workmen and American laborers with pro-German sympathies. Something broke loose almost every day; on some days, two, three or even four cases came up. Altogether the Midland report is an extraordinary document—indeed the most ver-