Page:The web (1919).djvu/372

 boasted that he had strikes called in every shop to which he was sent." This man was put under surveillance by the New York office of the American Protective League under charge of being a dangerous alien enemy, and was properly dealt with.

There were no instances of violence in Chautauqua County arising out of the war situation. The community was at all times right side up. Those who have sought to belittle or impede any war activity were effectively stilled.

Schenectady, New York, organized its division on March 1, 1918, with one chief, two captains, four lieutenants, and eighteen operatives. The division conducted sixty-seven investigations for character and loyalty; forty-two under the Espionage Act; twenty-six cases of propaganda, and fifteen of draft evasion. The division was commended by the War Department for showing a high standard of efficiency; also by the Federal Reserve Bank at Albany. Schenectady has a large foreign population, among whom may be found quite a good proportion of radical Socialists. These people were expected to make trouble when we went to war, especially as two of the largest local industrial concerns, the General Electric Company and the American Locomotive Company, were engaged on munitions and other war work. There was no overt act, however, but on the contrary, the people of the city proved intensely patriotic, over-subscribing every loan.

Rochester, New York, reports routine work for its division, but had a good many operatives ready for any emergency that might arise. The record-cases do not represent the amount of work actually done, but yield the following figures: Character and loyalty reports, 190; selective service, 4; training camp activities, 2; liquor and vice, none; war risk insurance, 1; sedition and disloyalty investigations, 25. Rochester would seem to have been much more pacific—not pacifistic—than at first would be expected.

Albany, New York, offers an instance of a phenomenon more or less frequently recurrent during the war—namely, the apprehensiveness of the feminine mind as regards mysterious flashlights in the stilly night. The informant stated that for some time she and her neighbors had been watching flashes which came from a certain house at night and kept up for a long time. She was very much excited. Two oper