The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-04-14
Four We'll Known Men
 Warned to Leave the
 City Within "A Hours
(continued from Page Five,

employers. who were loyal and true Englishmen. to the United States on
 business. While here on the 1egiti-
 mate business of my employers and
 while on my way back to London on
 board steamship St. Louis. this unfor
 tunate war broke out. The St. Louis
 was taken to Liverpool, where I was
 detained as a prisoner of war and
 was taken to London. While there, my
 action and antecedents were subjected
 to the most rigid examination. and thereupon I received a proposition
 from the British authorities to the
 effect that if l would leave Great
 Britain and agree not to go back to
 Germany, I would be permitted to do
 so; otherwise I would be interned. As
 no possible good could be accomplished
 to myself or anyone else by me being
 interned in England, I accepted my
 freedom upon the conditions stated
 This concession was made not only
 because of my relatives, some of whom
 were even then in the British army,
 but also because of my friends and
 my long residence in London. I have
 the papers to show that I left England
 with England's consent I have faith
 fully kept my promise
 SOUGHT OTHER EMPLOYMENT
 When I came back to this country,
 had naturally lost my other position, and
 sought other employment. I had been
 here only a short while, when I obtained
 an opportunity to come to Birmingham
 under the employment of Loveman, Jo-
 seph & Loeb. I have been here in that
 employment, occupying a responsible po- stion there, from that time until this. Since this country went into the war
 with Germany, I have been under ob-
 servation by government officials.
 have been thoroughly aware of this
 from the beginning. My room has been opened more than once. My private cor respondence has been read, and every act of mine has been subject to the most lsconstant surveillance. I have repeated ly had conversations with MT Bell. the district attorney, and with Mir. Murray the special agent of the government. have obeyed every suggestion of theirs and never, by thought, word or deed haveI violated the laws of this country in any particular whatsoever. If l had done so I would have been arrested The fact that l never was arrested is proof that no evidence existed. They have known from the beginning my an 1 tecedents. When the registration act was ! passed" registered and stated every fact in connection with my case stated then and have repeatedly stated
 
 the German government in waging this war did not meet with my approval. ] took out my naturalization papers, in- tending, in good faith, to be loyal American citizen, and such 1 have ever been. have had no communication direct or indirect, with the German gov ernment or any officer or agent Of It. Eff I had been a dangerous enemy alien, being here more than three years, some opportunity at least would have arisen ! in that time to have manifested 1t An some way Not a single industrial es- tablishment in Birmingham has been touched in that three years. There are other Germans here and persons of Ger man descent. The absolute safety ol the industries of Birmingham engaged | in war work is some evidence at least that neither they nor I have been un- faithful to our duties to this country The circumstances of my so-called arrest are these:
 CALLED BEFORE COMMITTEE "On yesterday I was called before 2 committee of citizens. They told me that | had been under observation 1oi sometime, and without hearing word from me or giving me any opportunits for exe7ianation, they read to me a statement in effect that l must leave Ri,minghayn in "A hours. I, of course told tre,n that I would do so, as I had no wish either to break the laws of the 1 United States or to offend any Of the good citizens of this city. l assumed l! these men were good men and acting li I good faith, and still assume the same But I insist that if they had had legal evidence whatsoever tending to show that l was violating or had violated any l of the laws of this country, that evl- dencc should, and doubtless would, have been submitted to the legal authorities in nr.1a,. that I might he tried and. ii