Imperial Valley press., 1918-12-21

apprehended, dangerous Germans in
! termed, explosions and other sabotage
/ prevented, and enemy ferreted out for
use against the armies abroad, was
given to the public today in Attorney
General T. w. Gregory's annual re-
port. Through great corps of De-
partment of Justice civil officers, Sc
cret agents, and citizen volunteers,
this big job of policing has been ac-
complished, said the Attorney Gen.
eral, with a minimum disturbance to
the normal life of communities, and
and with constant effort to avoid
encroaching on freedom of speech, ac-
tion and political criticism.
Referring to enforcement of the
espionage act, Mr. Gregory said:
"This department throughout the
war has proceeded upon the general
principle that the constitutional right
of free speech, free assembly, and Pc
tion exist in war time as In peace
| time, and that the right Of discussion
of governmental policy and the right
of political agitation are the most
fundamental rights in democracy"
At the same time, the Attorney
General explained, the Department
had tried to deal severely with pro-
paganda having for deliberate pur
pose the disintegration of the coun-
try's war strength.
"One of the distinct achievements
of the American people" he said, "has
been the maintenance of order, the
comparative failure of enemy actlvl-
ties and. speaking broadly, the gen.
eral self-control and self-restraint eX-
hibited throughout the country in
critical situations.
The Attorney General disclosed
that only 5000 enemy aliens have
been arrested on presidential war
rants and examined with a view to
interment camps administered by the
army. The balance were paro!led.
Most enemies interned were German
men, and there were Comparatively
few German women and Austro-Hun-
garians. About 100000 Germans have
been registered in the nationwide
census-26O,OOO men and 100000 wo-
men.
Up to last July 1, Department Of
Justice investigators had rounded up
23,439 young men who sought to
escape the draft, and had caused their
induction into the service. More than
100000 cases of men who for some
reason or other had failed to file
questionnaires or to appear for physl-
cal examination were investigated.
Looking forward to peace condl-
tions, the Attorney General makes a
number of recommendation for re-
form of judicial processes. Although
he referred to the difficulty of push
ing antitrust prosecutions during the
war since the government itsel has
been in the business Of suppressing
competition, he made no suggestions
for new antitrust legislation which
Congress is expected to undertake
soon.
War activities claimed the principal
portions of the report, and after re-
ferring to the growth of the Depart
ment's secret service to six times its
size in 1916, and the efficient organi-
zation of the American Protective
League of 250,O0O citizen volunteers,
Mr.. Gregory said:
"It is safe to say that never in its
history has this country been so thor
oughly policed as at the present time.
"When it becomes possible, through
the lapse of time, to disclose fully the
activities of these various secret serv-
ice, their work will stand out as one
of the substantial achievements of the
war"
Hints of an American espionage
system were given in the statement
that the secret service "have given
protection not only to the civilian
population but to the armed forces,
and some of their activities have also
resulted in direct damage to the enemy
forces abroad"
Great stress was laid on the suffi-
cheney of normal civil processes land
the needlessness of attempting to in
woke the use of military tribunals in
this country"
at has been the view of this De-
partment," the Attorney General said,
"that every act of arbitrary and un-
necessary interference with the life,
habits, and occupation of the citizen,
would lessen efficiency, disturb order,
and weaken public confidence in the
American standards of justice"
He added that he had emphasized
this view on other government depart
ments, resulting "on number of oc-
casions in preventing encroachments
upon the jurisdiction of the civil trl-
bunals of the country"
This was considered significant in
view of the United States ability to
maintain the normal functioning of
ordinary government machinery to
much greater extent than other bellig-
erents.
The governments internment pol
icy also has been more lenient than
those of England and France, the At
torney General stated, and the eff
cacy of the methods and principles
are evidenced by the good order gen.
orally maintained.
Systematic disloyal propaganda
became failure during the first year
of the war;" he said. "Shortly after
our entry into the war this propa-