New Britain herald., 1917-11-20
SOLDIERS ARREST
IN HOB0KEN raid
Enemy Aliens Are Hunted Out in
Thorough Search Of River Front

|
hours after the publication of the
| presidents proclamation that alien
| enemies must not be found within 100
yards of docks, piers. and water
armed, last night raided River street,
| Hoboken, where it runs along the
| army piers, and seized more than 200
| men suspected of being enemy aliens.
A few of them were released, but
most of them were taken on boats at
once to Ellis Island.
| The work was done quietly and ef-
! fectively. The Hoboken police knew
! nothing of the roundup until more
than an hour after it was over, when
friends or relatives of the seized men
importuned the police for informa-
| ton as to what had become OF those
| the soldiers took in charge.
The detachment of about fifty SOL
| diers landed at one of the government
| piers about o'clock. They separated
| in sections of four, and with rifles on
| shoulders started to search the street.
| The soldiers went into stores, roOming
houses and stopped men on the street,
but the greater numbe of those seized
were found in saloons. These were
the saloons which the war depart
ment had ordered closed. Instead Of
closing the prOprietors had continued
business, forsaking the sale of intoxi-
cants, but doing a thriving trade In
near beer"
The soldiers asked every man
whether or not he was citizen.
Those who satisfied the soldiers that
they were citizens were permitted to
60 All others were marched to one
Of the larger piers, where those who
said they were citizens were told to
send for relatives or friends who could
produce citizenship papers or other
proofs that the men in custody were
not alien enemies. Those who could
not give proof or who did not claim
to be citizens were hurried away to
Ellis Island.
Rules Disregarded.
Many Of the men seized were vio-
lating the old zone regulation under
which they should keep half a mile
away from the piers. No alien ene-
mics or persons who could not satisfy
the authorities that they were loyal
have been employed on the piers since
they were taken over for the use Of
the army. Those alien enemies round
ed up last night were in the prohibit
ed area through disregard Of the
governments regulations, and the
prompt action of the army was in
tended, 1t is supposed, to show all
alien enemies that no further daily
ing with the government regulations
is to be permitted.
The visits Of the armed soldiers to
the saloons caused CONSERVATION
among the patrons. Sharp orders
that no one was to leave the places
until permission was given increased
the tension. Patrons were interviewed
one by one, and those who were to
be held, were lined up outside and
guarded until all were marched to the
pier.
A number Of alien enemies were
found in boarding houses along the
waterfront street.
Despite the warnings Of the govern
ment authorities, Germans have con-
tinued to haunt their old resorts along
the Hoboken river front. Some of the
Germans who have lived in the water
front boarding house since the days
before the United States seized the
German liners, have stayed there in
! defiance of regulations from Wash
| ington.
The roundup had been completed
! when Hoboken Police Headquarters
| began to be besieged with women and
men who wanted to know what had
| happened to acquaintance who had
been seized by the soldiers. The DO
lice knew nothing of it, and it was
only after patrolmen had been sent
along River street and to the piers
that the police were able to answer
inquiries. Several of the men who
were seized were released after they
were able to give satisfactory evil
dence of their citizenship.
| United States Marshals and Secret
Service agents hitherto have conduct
ed the round-ups Of Germans and sew
eral weeks ago, when about 100 Ger
mans were seized for violation of the
barred zone regulations it was the In
| telligence Department of the Navy
with the New York police, which die
the work. Last nights roundup was
| the first to be made by soldiers, and
it was presumed that it was done
at the direction of the Intelligence De
partment of the Navy.
Besides the Germans seized by sol
diers in Hoboken, twenty-nine Ger.
mans who had been employed in ship
yards and piers along the jersey
waterfront between Jersey City anC
Hoboken were arrested last night by
Immigration Inspector r. H. Taylor
with a squad of guards detailed from
Ellis Island. The party was accom-
! panied on its rounds by a United