The Web

This authorized history recounts the formation, organization, and wartime activities of a vast volunteer civilian auxiliary that worked with the Department of Justice and Military Intelligence during the First World War. It traces the group's origins in responses to espionage and sabotage concerns, describes its methods of surveillance, vetting of military applicants, and detection of deserters, slackers, and subversive agents, and presents official documents, statements, and first-person accounts illustrating cooperation with federal agencies. The narrative emphasizes patriotic motivation, organizational growth, operational scope, and the tension between civilian zeal and governmental oversight as it documents a large-scale semi-official domestic security effort.