CHAPTER VI

MAINTAINING LAW AND ORDER

The matter of maintaining law and order during the period of the war placed far more than the peace-time responsibilities upon those officers, elected and appointed, who were obligated, by the oaths of their offices, to bring to justice all wrong-doers who could be apprehended through the exercise of diligent effort.

The peace-time officer of the law is charged with the performance of specific duties, outside of which his authority is, to say the least, limited. His duties are defined clearly by statutes based upon many years of experience in government.

During the war these duties were only a part of the officers' obligations; for, as the country was plunged into the conflict, numerous bills were rushed through Congress, resulting in laws whose purpose was to throttle enemy propaganda; stamp out the spy menace; deal with the enemy alien who in the true sense was an enemy of the United States; nab the deserter and place him back in the army; arrest the slacker and turn him over to the military authorities; and for many other war-time offenses. Each one of these laws was untried and untested, and sometimes subject to more than one interpretation, all of which made more difficult the work of the constable, the sheriff and the prosecuting officials, county or federal. It was a situation that demanded honest patriotic effort, clear thinking and quick, fearless action.

The highest ranking prosecuting official Wayne County had in the service of the government was the Hon. Ed. S. Wertz, who on March 1, 1915, more than a year before the United States entered the war, was made United States' Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, a territory embracing forty-one of the counties in the northern part of the state, of which Wayne is one. Mr. Wertz, who was born and reared at Dalton, and who was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, resided in Wooster at the time of his appointment, and continued his voting residence in Wayne County, his family residing in Wooster throughout the period of the war. As United States' Attorney he, was the highestranking prosecuting official of the Department of Justice in this District, which had two main headquarters; that at Cleveland, where Judge D. C. Westenhaver presided on the Federal bench; and that at Toledo, where Judge John M. Killetts sat on the bench. Mr. Wertz divided his time between the two cities. Aiding him in his work were five assistant United States Attorneys, who co-operated with the machinery of the

law in each of the various counties, and also worked through the special organization of The American Protective League, additional information concerning which is given a few pages farther on.

Mr. Wertz was in direct charge of the task of the work of the Department of Justice in the Northern District of Ohio. The Bureau of Investigation, over which he had supervision, was in charge of Special Agent Charles DeWoody, who directed the work of the American Protective League. All of the laws enacted for the purpose of aiding in the winning of the war were enforced through the Department of Justice. While the chief of these laws were the Selective Service Act and the Espionage Act, there were numerous others of lesser importance, including the Trading with the Enemy Act, the Act calculated for the protection of the President, and the Sabotage Act. Mr. Wertz and his department were also responsible for the protection of grain elevators, shipbuilding plants and manufacturing plants engaged in government war work-special marks for the incendiary spy. He was also the attorney and advisor for the Emergency Fleet Corporation, having charge of acquired vessels on the Great Lakes, and transferring their title to the Government. After the Government assumed control of the railroad systems of the country, Mr. Wertz, in this district, was responsible for the protection of all railroad property under government administration.

During the year and a half of the war the Department of Justice investigated thousands of complaints upon information furnished by patriotic citizens of the country. More than three thousand slackers and deserters were turned over to the military authorities in this northern Ohio district, although a comparatively few of them came from Wayne County, which was peculiarly free from anti-war agitators.

The Northern District of Ohio had been recognized for years as one of the most important subdivisions of the Department of Justice, and its war record kept it at the top. Mr. Wertz secured the indictment and conviction of the first Socialist of national prominence arrested during the war for violating laws enacted for the successful prosecution of the war. This man was C. E. Ruthenberg, of Cleveland, who had been the Socialist candidate for U. S. Senator from Ohio. At the same time Charles Wagenecht, who had been a Socialist candidate for Gov. ernor of Ohio, and Charles Baker, a state organizer for the Socialist party, were indicted and convicted. All of them were charged with hindering and interfering with the Selective Service Act. These cases were appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, where they affirmed, and thus, upon prosecutions inaugurated by Mr. Wertz, the highest court in the land held constitutional the Selective Service Act.

While these cases, tried during the early part of the war, attracted nation-wide attention, there was one other case, during the year of 1918, that eclipsed them in importance. It was the arrest and conviction of Eugene V. Debs, who on four occasions had been the Socialist candidate for President, and was a man with an international reputation. Mr. Debs was arrested on a charge of making seditious utterances in a speech at Canton, Ohio, indicted by the Federal Grand Jury, convicted in court, and sentenced to serve ten years in the federal prison at Atlanta, Georgia. The supreme court affirmed the conviction and Debs went to prison in April, 1919.

A great part of the work of the Department of Justice never reached the general public. It was carried on secretly. One instance will show that the Department was ready for any contingency that could have arisen, and that ample protection had been taken to forestall any "monkey-business" on the part of enemy aliens. In every city in the district where the population exceeded 20,000, a place of confinement "accommodating" from 200 to 500 persons had been selected and would have been available upon an hour's notice. At the same time, in each of these centers of population, a large number of patriotic citizens were pledged to aid in the suppression of any anti-American demonstration. The activity of German spies was a threat that could not be disregarded, and these preparations were made because of this menace. Had the enemies of this country attempted, in any one of these cities, to start anti-draft riots, or other anti-war agitation, they would have been clapped into jail by scores.

In its work of executing the Draft Act, the Espionage Act, the Sabotage Act, and other special laws, besides the regular statutes under its jurisdiction, the Department of Justice, in this district handled more cases in the January 1918 term of court than had been disposed of during the two previous years. The increase was largely because of the special war work, although, taking advantage of abnormal times and abnormal conditions, the confirmed crook in all of the different lines of activity showed a tendency to become bolder,

This propensity to crime was not so apparent in Wayne county as it was in some of the larger population centers, not only of northern Ohio, but in all the nation. It was probably because Wayne county is largely a rural community where everybody knows everybody else, where we are one big family, and where, even under conditions that are far from normal, no man, except a stranger, can long follow a career of wrong-doing undetected. The true patriotism of the people of Wayne county is reflected clearly in this proclivity to unanimously obey laws. This same condition also is testimony demonstrating the efficiency of

the officers of the county charged with law enforcement, headed by the County Sheriff.

Milton C. Miller was Wayne county's war Sheriff. Having three sons who were officers in the army, Sheriff Miller naturally was not disposed to overlook an effort on the part of anyone to evade military duty. No Sheriff in the nation did better work in aiding to give the slacker and the deserter his just punishment, although it must be admitted he had poor territory in which to work.

The chief trouble-makers in Wayne county were a part of those of the Amish-Mennonite faith, who, pointing to their church doctrines, declared they were not in favor of war, and, as residents of a land that guaranteed free exercise of religious beliefs, could not be forced to fight. Many of them were openly defiant. Some refused to respond to orders to report for duty issued by the Local Draft Board, and had to be brought in by officers. Those who carried the "conscientious objector" theory to the farthest limits, balked at everything, in fact, except taking the highest price offered for everything they could produce on their farms.

The increase of crimes that had nothing to do with war regulations was not noticeable in Wayne county, as it may have been in the larger cities. In fact the number of ordinary crimes committed here was less than usual. The county jail for the most part, had but one, two or three prisoners. Officers attributed this principally to the fact that wages were so high that it was easier to make an honest living than to rely upon dishonesty as a means of subsistence. There were no crimes of "necessity" during the war, and especially during the closing months of the war.

Besides the work of turning slackers and deserters over to the proper authorities, Sheriff Miller, and the local workers of the American Protective League did some very effective work in dealing with men who refused to invest their cash in war securities. The "conscientious objector" as a rule, was a hopeless proposition, but scattered over the county there were men who for various reasons decided that they could slip through without assisting to bear the burdens of the war. Persons whose tasks made it necessary for them to visit the court house regularly recall the many occasions when Sheriff Miller would be engaged in a heart-to-heart talk with some man who seemed to be uneasy. The Sheriff's absolutely honest patriotism made it impossible for him to recognize any justification for any man to refuse to buy Liberty Bonds, and while there was nothing abusive in his makeup, his earnestness carried a conviction that threats could not have done. There were few cases, indeed, where men with money, who had turned down solicitors, left the Sheriff's office without agreeing to subscribe for their full share.

And, rubbing up against the Sheriff's sincerity, the majority of these men departed with a changed view of circumstances, having absorbed some of the Miller 100-per-cent.-plus brand of patriotism. No officer, anywhere, did his duty better than did Sheriff Milton Miller.

Judge L. R. Critchfield, as the highest officer in the county's machinery of government, also had a part in this matter of law enforce ment. While the majority of cases were handled through the federal courts, yet there was a certain part of the work that was conducted wholly in the county.

Soon after the "Work or Fight" ruling was announced, for instance, Judge Critchfield called a meeting of all of the justices of the peace and constables of the county, and in response to this call, they gathered in the Common Pleas Court room on Saturday, June 15, 1918. Judge Critchfield assured these officers that the court would stand back of them in every way in the work of stamping out pro-Germanism in all its forms.

"The sheriff has three sons in the army," Judge Critchfield said. He is patriotic, brave, courageous, and ready to do his duty. Don't be afraid to report to him the name of any person whom you suspect may be conspiring against our government. When you find a suspicious character, you don't have to be too particular, nor too polite. Be absolutely sure in your own mind that the fellow is straight before you dismiss him.”

Judge Critchfield and Sheriff Miller both discussed the tramp nuisance at this meeting. Under the "Work or Fight" order any man who was caught idling could be taken into custody, and, unless he could explain the situation, he could be sent into the army, if he was of draft age, or to prison if he was older. Judge Critchfield, in this address praised the loyalty of the people of Wayne county, pointing out that the county had always gone over the top in Liberty Loan, Red Cross and other campaigns. "You men represent the peace of the community," he stated. "The exercise of proper care on your part, and on the part of all others in your capacities will give us an effective organization in this county. You don't need to worry about the other fellow's township. Just take care of your own. Some of us who may feel that men higher up are doing greater patriotic service than we are, should remember that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and that it is only when the details are carefully attended to that the big project can be successful."

The problem of the idler was solved in Wayne county through this action. The tramps disappeared as if by magic, and there was, in truth, no loafing. It was more than three weeks before the combined vigilance of the constanbes of the county brought about an arrest.

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