The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-22
STAID BUSINESS
 MEN GET THRILLS
 IN MAKING RAIDS
H. K. Miner Discusses Work of Local American Pro-
 tective League
TELLS OF THE TRIPS
 MADE FOR SLACKERS
Some of the Experiences of Birming- ham Men Rival Those of the
 Heroes of Dime Novels

Rivaling in thrills some of the mos
 daring exploits of Nick Carter. Dicl Deadeye and other heroes of the dim' novel age, have been some of the ex periences of agents of tn American Pro. tective league. operating through the Birmingham division of which II. Key Miner is chief, and R. S ". Browne assistant chief.
 Shortly after war was declared against Germany the American Protective league was organized with the sanction of the department of justice and as an unoffi- cial branch thereof. The national or ganization has branches in almost every community in the United States which cooperate with agents of the department Of justice, the army, the navy, the post office department and the treasury de- partment. It is the only organization en- gagged in a similar line of work recog- nized by the department of justice.
 Local divisions are called upon to as- sist in making Investigations of desert- CTS, slackers, pro-Germans, disloyalists, spies and in fact all other persons guilty of violation of the laws of the United States or who give comfort or aid to the enemy, or interfere with army, or the navy, or the successful prosecution of the war.
 The Birmingham division includes among its 800 members some of the Iead- ing business and professional men of Birmingham, conservative iaw-abiding, loyal and patriotic men who place the interests of their country above all other considerations. Included in the mem bership, also, are large number of working men who are giving equally of their time and their energy in this period of the nations peril. They work with out pay and go whenever and wherever they are called, regardless of the per- sonal sacrifice involved or the difficult job upon which they are summoned
 THRILLS IN RAIDS
 Lust imagine staid business men mak- ing investigations or raids on order of the department of justcee said Chief H. Key Milner of the Birmingham division, in discussing the work of the American Protective league, and the results ob- tained by it in this district Thrills equal to any described in magazine stories have been experienced by our agents i'll ferreting out deserters, slack CTS and other law violators. The siic- cess attained in every instance shows marked ability and talent in this line on the part of our agents Assistant Chief R. S. w. Browne sometimes leads these parties, and at other times the leadership is intrusted to some other member of the organization.
 "A few of the trips made by these parties will demonstrate the kind of work they do and the danger confront ing them. One of these trips took the party to Tuscaloosa county in search of deserter The party left Birmingham in the afternoon, and arriving in the neighborhood of the deserters home, about 20 miles from Tuscaloosa, around a. n., they alighted from their auto- mobiles and proceeded on foot to the house where the deserter was supposed to be hiding.
 '.The house surrounded, one of our men knocked on the door and ex- plained to the man who answered the purpose of the call. He and his fami- ly strenuously denied that any deserter was there. He refused permission to search the house While the barley was going on at the door one of our men stationed back of the house heard a scraping noise suggestive of the lifting of a board in the floor Look ing underneath the house, by the aid of his electric flash he saw a mans