Page:The web (1919).djvu/99

 *many had a vast system of spies all through America. This system of international spies was originated almost a generation ago by the Prussian War Office. There were supposed to have been about 30,000 spies in France before this war was declared. England also was well sown with such persons in every rank of life. We had our share.

Dr. Scheele told the Department of Justice when he was taken in charge that for twenty-one years before the outbreak of the European war he had been stationed in Brooklyn as a representative of the German government. His "honorarium," as he called it, was $125 a month. He had been a German major, yet owned a drug store in Brooklyn. A couple of months before war was declared by Germany, he was told to get rid of his drug store—that is to say, to mobilize in America for the German purposes in the coming war. He said the drug store was doing very well. Others of these fixed spies got salaries about like that of Scheele, a retainer of $1,000 nominal salary being more frequent. In charge of all these lesser regular spies, who had been absorbed in the American citizenship, were the consuls and the high diplomatic officials of the Imperial German Government in our country. It would be a very great deal to hope that this system has been actually extirpated. That it did exist is true without any doubt or question.

Any A. P. L. man whose work was identified with the larger eastern cities will note many points of contact of the A. P. L. with D. J. and M. I. D. in the testimony brought before the Overman Committee. It is, of course, not too much to say that A. P. L. was at the foundation of much of that testimony itself. Many of the facts above brought out are of record in the A. P. L. files.

In yet another line of Government work, the League has been very useful—that of coöperating with Mr. A. Mitchell Palmer, Custodian of Alien Property, whose statements, made elsewhere than in the committee, constitute a rather valuable extension of the committee's information.

Reference was made before the committee to the Bridgeport Projectile Company. Mr. Palmer some time ago announced that he had taken over 19,900 of the 20,000 shares of the capital stock of that concern, and that there