JFK+50: Volume 7, No. 2412
PROTECTIVE LEAGUE PURGES PLOTS, INTRIGUE & TREACHERYChicago, Illinois (JFK+50) One hundred years ago, August 25, 1917, the Chicago Daily Tribune alerted readers to "the powerful right arm of America's secret service," The American Protective League*.
According to the Tribune, the APL had 200,000 secret agents covering the United States and a million operatives in the field.
The APL was the brainchild of advertising executive Albert M. Biggs. The story on page one of the CDT stated that the League had purged the country of...
"...plots, intrigue and treachery."
The resources of the APL were described as unlimited while the qualifications of the agents and operatives were simply to be a "red blooded American" and "100% patriotic."
*The American Protective League was created on March 22, 1917 & designated as an auxiliary to the Bureau of Investigation (later FBI) under the Department of Justice.
The APL was composed of private citizens working with Federal law enforcement during WWI. They identified German sympathizers and worked to counteract radicals, anarchists, anti-war activists and left-wing organizations. At its peak, the APL had 250,000 members in 600 cities.
SOURCES
"200,000 U.S. Secret Agents Cover Nation", The Chicago Daily Tribune, August 25, 1917.
"The Boys in the Band," Our Destroyed German Heritage: Yankee Doodle do or die, www.exulanten.com/
APL Membership Card
Image by Swartik
