malcontents. The Chief adds, however: "It should not be gathered from this that our population as a whole was not heart and soul for America. We rarely met anything vicious in the way of disloyalty. Hollanders are ultra-Calvinistic, unemotional and not easily stirred to enthusiasm, and it was sometimes difficult to reach their hearts with feelings of patriotism and love for the land of their adoption."
Washtenaw County, Michigan, had the reputation of being the worst pro-German community in the Eastern Division of Michigan. Fully four percent of the people were pro-German. Large districts are nothing but old German settlements, "infested with that worst brand of citizen—the second or third generation German." The Chief instituted a series of Star Chamber courts which put a wet blanket on this gentry and changed Washtenaw County into one of the quietest communities in the State. The A. P. L. men were not known to one another, but they were in all strata of society. They uncovered several rampant cases of Bolshevism and conducted a good many character and loyalty investigations. They investigated also 144 alien enemies who applied for naturalization. The total number of alien enemies investigated ran above 700, so it may be seen that this organization was kept pretty busy.
Ludington, Michigan, looked into fifty cases of disloyalty and sedition, and investigated six hundred cases of oral propaganda. The Chief says: "We investigated about two thousand cases; delivered upwards of two hundred speeches for the Red Cross; nullified three strikes of workmen—one on the railroad, and the other two in plants doing government work. Over seven hundred men were involved." Ludington also reports the case of a German reservist who was traced from this point to France, from there to Winnipeg, thence to Seattle, thence to Chicago. The suspect was finally apprehended in Chicago and interned. Real sleuthing!
Benton Harbor, Michigan, is adjacent to strongly German neighborhoods. There were 1,000 men who signed up for League work, each man contributing one dollar to the common fund. The county was split up into five districts, each manned by a lieutenant and several operatives under him. A general secrecy obtained as to the membership, and the division was very active and efficient.
