A Shift in Priorities

[Whumbly]

Save me a row seat while I get the popcorn. This is gonna be good.

[Peabody-Martini]

York has arranged for whatever happens to happen in front of the national press. For McAdoo and the rest of the powers that be this could become those "Even if you win, you still lose" deals.

[ANARCHY_4_ALL]

Originally Posted by rast

– Then, another bicycle scout came dashing in: armoured vehicles were approaching on the road from Greenville. –

Funny I live pretty close to Greenville, S.C. I could def foresee this happening ITTL or OTL.

[Monty Burns]

Originally Posted by Bmao

I'm surprised that nobody has told McAdoo to step down from the presidency for the good of the nation, whether it be someone from his cabinet, from the House of Representatives, the Senate or from whatever, in order to prevent a bloodbath from taking place and turning York into a martyr. Even Hearst, master of 'propaganda' that he is, would realize what the press would make of York being killed. Apparently, everyone in the administration has their heads in the sand and are completely brain dead and comatose.

Well, to defend McAdoo in this case: imagine you're a racist and yet democratically elected president. Now 2 million armed people from an allegedly "inferior" race think you're the Antichrist and want you "removed", which means nothing else than killed. Nobody puts the Antichrist in prison...

They just don't know what to do, so they're going for the last option any failing regime has used so far: violence.

Originally Posted by Bmao

As for York's part, I find it extremely dumb that he'd force this kind of march on Washington when the Democrats as a political party are dead. McAdoo's going to be out a year from now in any case, so it seems kind of pointless to use violence of this sort.

He's obviously a religious fanatic - or outright mad (is there actually a difference between such religious fanatism and madness?).

Originally Posted by Bmao

I feel extremely embarrassed as an American, not necessarily at the fact that turmoil has occurred these past half decade of TTL, but more the utter level of incompetence and irrationality that has been displayed. Worse, America's fall is more egregious because it doesn't seem particularly plausible in the way its occurred; you've got to take the worst case plausible scenario and the most irrational, bull-headed response in several instances in succession for it to occur, compared with Britain where it suffered a horrendous loss in the Great War plus the quick fall of the Empire which ultimately led to the Orwellian dystopia we see today.

On the other side, the US needed utter incompetence plus bad luck to arrive there in merely 20 years. If the TL had 40 years available to get the US in this position, it could have done with better luck and less incompetence...

And then we have the fact that many decisions of McAdoo would actually make sense to someone of the time: his policies against the recession were supported IOTL as well, large trusts developped IOTL as well, armament as a mean of economic recovery and showing power is still used today, over-leveraging in the economy is a problem we faced repeatedly and face today, and turning to foreign policy and war in times of internal problems never got out of fashion. It's just that under normal circumstances, the administration should have been right in their decisions at least in some cases.

Anyway, taking the time and effort rast needed to screw the US in such a way speaks for the quality and stability of the political system of the time.

[Expat]

The one bit of sanity I would expect from the administration at this point is a recognition (at least from Hearst) that they should be careful with the media presence along the march. It might be too late to control the spin, but they should at least be prepared for the backlash when the pictures show up across the country.

How does a dying party in power behave in a Democracy? It's kind of to their credit that they're ready to leave office at the will of the people. But they still might try to put a capstone on their vision of what America is. And that could turn out really ugly.

[Rooster Cogburn]

The really sad part about this is, the economic crash (which by this point is probably worse than OTL) will most likely come once the Republican takes office. I think Rast might be leading us to a possible third party win in 1940. If there is a 1940 election anyway

[Expat]

Well, my 1000th post on AH.com is on deck, and this is clearly the thread I spend the most time in. I've got a double-helping of Rast-approved bios for your enjoyment. I want to thank Rast for generously allowing me to express myself through this incredibly complex world he's created. Cheesiness over, here they come!

[Expat]

In 1918, William Faulkner was too short to join the US Army. Finding it easier to lie about his nationality than his height, he joined the British Royal Flying Corps instead, and took off for training in Toronto. The war ended before he could see any action, but the folks back in Mississippi wouldn’t be any worse off for a few heroic fibs. Faulkner spent most of 1919 finding excuses to don his dress blues and recounting tales of dogfights, bailouts, and injuries received in battle.

When the trouble in Mexico reared its head and trained pilots were needed, many pressured Faulkner to enlist with the USAAC; surely they wouldn’t check the height of a confirmed veteran. But Faulkner had decided that he probably preferred talking about a fake war than fighting a real one. Instead he sought admission to the University of Mississippi under a program for veterans. Unfortunately, the defense budget was funneled elsewhere as the war picked up, and veteran’s services were first on the chopping block.

Faulkner tried his hand at short fiction, poetry, and newspaper work with moderate success. One of his pieces (about an elderly and doubtful “veteran” of the battle Shiloh recanting his wartime experiences in a tavern) was published in The Atlantic Monthly. Weeks later, a producer for CBS Radio Chicago approached him to see if he would adapt the piece as a radio play. It seemed a rival station was doing The Red Badge of Courage and they wanted something new to trounce the competition. He had four days to present a script.

Writing most of the script on the train ride from Mississippi to Chicago, Faulkner found himself taking to the format. Reaching Chicago, he rushed to CBS with the draft. He was paid and booked for five more scripts before he even checked into his hotel. Before long he was contributing bit parts and even learning the production side of radio theater. The end of the year saw his first directorial effort come to fruition, and a two-season contract signed. Faulkner was to write 20 original plays and adapt 40 more with the company, technicians, and producers of his choice.

Perhaps the best thing about his career in the radio was that it kept him from drinking. He never drank when he was working and radio kept him constantly busy. Though like many “artistic types” of the day, Faulkner was discovering the efficacy of cocaine on creative endeavor. Still, those who knew him said the habit was well-managed compared to his old alcohol binges.

Widely syndicated and extremely successful, Faulkner's radio plays soon drew the attention of Hollywood. The confusion around the transition to sound film saw the studios scrambling for steady hands. Their gaze naturally fell on the world of radio, and a number of radio personalities were poached for film work. Faulkner was somewhat shy about the prospect, but the money was too good to pass up. Approached to write and direct, Faulkner agreed only to write at this stage.

He did a script a year from 1925-28, increasing his pace to an astounding 6 scripts in 1929-30. His writing was characterized as mature, surprising, and tender. He was noted early on for his ability to write for women, and no less than four women won Academy Awards for his films between 1929-1936.

Faulkner had been slowly learning the director’s trade for half a decade before he agreed to helm a project. The studios agreed to give him an impressive degree of artistic latitude on his works, citing their desire for prestige pieces to compete with “the snobby stuff from Europe.” Thus Faulkner began what he called his “Southern Cycle.” Four films directed over five years, loosely connected by setting and some minor characters, covering more than 150 years of history, from before the Revolution to the present. The fictional Tallahoosa County Mississippi was the setting, and over 10 hours of finished film would result.

All but one of the films was an out-and-out success, and all recouped expenses. The battle scenes in the third film, The Unvanquished, were particularly singled out as haunting, reverential, heart-breaking, and real. Even Europe was agog at Faulkner’s genius, though European critics were often left confused by his (to their eyes) mercurial portrayal of negroes- sometimes heartwarming and wise, sometimes servile and bestial.

The effort of the nearly-non-stop five year production left Faulkner in poor health, mostly the result of increasing cocaine use in the last two years. His wife (and latest star) Paulette Goddard moved him into an exclusive rehabilitation clinic where he would remain for most of 1936.



Yevgeny Zamyatin was one of the few Bolsheviks who saw the sense in defecting before the party began the Great March East. He agreed to play up the propaganda value of his defection for the few political points it was worth, then faded into the chaotic background of the new Russia. While he was no friend of the Peasant’s Party, he did appreciate the new system’s ability to take criticism and to allow each man to live his own life in his own way. As such, his satire grew less biting as the years went by and became more comical. His comic take-downs of men in power became a favorite style in Russia. The style even began to find its way into daily Russian life, until by the 1930s, it was common for this mock-insulting "Zamyatin style" of comedy to be found from the lowliest peasant's birthday celebration to official state events. In addition to propagating this good-natured ribbing and writing copious short stories, Zamyatin headed a thriving translation business, bringing Western literature to the bookshops of St. Petersburg.



EM Forster was a conscientious but timid man, not at all suited to life in Britain during the Civil War. Shortly after the Churchillian coup, much of the Bloomsbury Group abandoned the country en masse following the death of their compatriots Lytton Strachey, Dora Carrington, and Ralph Partridge when their house was mistakenly firebombed by the Socialists.

Like many other Britons of means, they settled in and around Amsterdam and tried to get back into their pre-war pursuits. Forster found himself growing melancholy with the news of each passing day. He knew a victory for either side would probably not bring him ease. Forster sought ways to become more outspoken in his beliefs without becoming political. The Union of Ethical Societies (a Humanist organization transplanted to Amsterdam) was the perfect outlet. He wrote noted pieces under their masthead lauding the simple values of tolerance, good temper, and sympathy.

Under the more tolerant influence of the continent, Forster even found some peace with his own homosexuality, living openly but quietly in Amsterdam with his lifelong partner, Pieter De Vries, a physician almost 20 years his junior. 1935 would see the publication of Maurice, a tale of homosexual awakening Forster had been working on for almost 25 years.



Wallis Lindbergh (née Warfield) developed an early reputation for the kind of cunning social intelligence that many of her era saw as a woman's surest path to success. Well-educated and driven, she still came from an old-fashioned background that saw it as a woman's duty to cement family alliances. Her first husband, Earl Winfield Spencer, was a naval aviator killed in the Mexican troubles. Posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Wallis accepted the medal on his behalf at a ceremony in Washington.

At this same ceremony, two actions occurred which would have profound affects on her future: she made her first public speech (to glowing reviews and much re-printing in the press) and met her future second husband, Captain Charles Lindbergh, who was likewise being decorated on the day with the Medal of Honor. Already a decorated veteran from age 20, Lindbergh (25 when Wallis met him) had continued flying missions throughout the first phase of the Mexican troubles. Lindbergh had been on a mission to provide artillery coordinates over a rebel stronghold in the Sierra Nevadas when heavy weather closed in. Rather than abort, Lindbergh flew in low and came under intense fire from the ground. He continued to relay coordinates even as his plane went down. Once on the ground, he held out for 10 hours with only his personal side arm, despite injuries to his side and left eye (in which he would gradually lose sight over the next several years) and gaining the attention of snipers on at least three occasions.

For decorum's sake Wallis did not approach Lindbergh at the time, but was struck by his looks, prospects, and heroic reputation. The courtship began three months later and before a year went by they were married. Lindbergh's friends expressed many private reservations to the marriage, seeing such a change in the man that accusations of bewitchment were a common thing. He dismissed their concerns, even breaking off acquaintance if pushed too far. Needless to say, he gave short shrift to the not-infrequent accusations of Wallis' sexual affairs. She was now also used to being courted by the press, and indeed had a syndicated column as well as engaging in many public speaking tours. But her personal drive for attention could only take her so far in the current climate. She still found time to have two children (both girls, paternity uncertain) before complications from a third pregnancy resulted in her no longer being able to conceive.

Lindbergh, a major by age 31 and unable to gain clearance for flight operations, decided to stay with the army rather than transfer to the air force. His reputation and Wallis' considerable influence gained him the military governorship of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. With little outside oversight and an assumption of armed resistance by the locals, there was much a Caribbean garrison could get away with. Wallis quickly became the power behind Lindbergh's throne.

Wallis made a deal with American sugar companies for an undisclosed sum. Sugar on the island was nearly eradicated, and villages that relied on the crop destroyed, their occupants driven into the capital. Those who had no employment were used by the Lindberghs on their own sprawling estate in a situation which approached chattel slavery. The movements of the natives were closely monitored, strict, arbitrary and confusing curfews resulted in frequent deaths for violation. Even religious services were officially banned for the natives. At the same time, Wallis continued to find new ways to pad the nest from the assignment, all behind the back of Lindbergh, who was never much inclined to look into her affairs and never gave any sign that he was aware of the extent of her manipulation of him and his position.

The result of this behavior could’ve been pulled straight from Shakespeare: Lindbergh’s motorcade was stormed one day on it’s way from the air base to his compound. The sheer press of men overwhelmed the escort and tipped the car. Leaving the major swinging from the nearest tree, the mob swelled towards the governor’s compound to give Mrs. Lindbergh the same treatment. Luckily for Wallis, the escort had managed to radio before being torn apart by the mob.

Wallis had the house and outbuildings sealed off by the time the insurrection reached her gates. She, 15 soldiers, and 10 servants (minus 27 initially killed attempting to open the gates to the rebels) would hold out for the 18 days it took the marines to re-invade and establish order on the island. Their survival was a shock to the marine commander, as they had been unable to make contact with the outside world during this time. Though the men were officerless, Wallis’ commanding presence was enough to keep order through the siege.

Wallis would emerge a hero. The entire nation saw images of her in every newspaper and movie house walking with her children behind her husband’s coffin down Pennsylvania Avenue. They heard her voice from the radio calling for more support for the military and a reassertion of American power in her own, true dominions abroad. She gave her full endorsement to George Patton’s presidential bid, and it wasn’t long before people began to speculate on her entry into politics. The announcement was not long in coming: an official resident of Florida since her first marriage, Wallis Lindbergh would run in 1936 for the governorship of Florida on the Republican ticket.



Frida Kahlo began the study of medicine from a young age. Before she was 14 she could change a dressing and sew a strait suture. The constant humanitarian crisis that was life in Mexico in the 1920s gave her ample opportunity to study her craft. She began work as a medic in a neutral Red Cross hospital (sponsored by the German mission; her command of that language secured her position) but Kahlo longed to transfer to an army hospital. A dedicated proponent of Panchism, she nevertheless continued her studies at Real y Pontificia Universidad de México rather than join the Frente in the hopes that further specialization would better help the cause. But it wasn’t long before the war took that decision out of her hands.

While the war sparked, flared, died, and rekindled, Kahlo studied and tended the wounded. But the approach of Patton’s army in 1932 finally brought the war home in a real way when most of her family were killed in the armored blitz into Mexico City. Leaving university, Kahlo volunteered for service in a mobile hospital. Conditions were barbaric, though there was always plenty of morphine, or at least opium. Kahlo would remain in the field in a state of near-constant toil until well after the armistice was signed. She kept a diary of her experiences, the recording of which seemed to occupy most of her time not spent in surgery. She frequently included poetry in these pages as well. After the war a friend of her father’s offered to publish the diaries for her. The oft-tender, oft-frank depiction of life in a field hospital was well-received in Mexico and was even successfully translated into French, German, Portuguese and Italian.

Since 1934 Kahlo has been working as a surgeon in the General Hospital of Mexico, Mexico City. She occasionally writes more poetry and is planning the release of her first volume of pure verse within the next year or two, depending on her muse.



After the Great War, famed escape artist Harry Houdini became known as much for his skepticism as he was for his feats of daring-do. Decrying the sham spiritualists who preyed on the grieving families of Europe (and increasingly in the US as Mexico began to rage) Houdini made de-bunking these myth-makers a part of his regular act. Before long, though, he found a new target: eugenics. Specifically, the growing field of so-called "science" that attempted to support the enforced suppression of “inferior types.”

Houdini began to speak against the eugenics establishment in public, even incorporating brief lectures into his stage show, and joining pre-Tea Party types at popular rallies to save the American Melting Pot. His criticisms grew more pointed as time went on and as certain politicians- prominently the president and vice president- stepped forward to support eugenics. Soon the establishment began striking back at Houdini with a concerted rumor campaign in the Hearst papers. They particularly drew attention to his German (actually Hungarian) Jewish background. Houdini frequently fired back as the situation grew ever more personal. The world witnessed these epic egos clash on an almost weekly basis as the 1920s turned into the 1930s. Houdini and Hearst traded barbs for years, until the Trans-Atlantic War gave Hearst the leverage he needed to have Houdini truly brought under suspicion on a bogus charge of espionage.

Deemed a flight risk, Houdini was to be kept in lockup while the authorities checked into his affairs. Had the thing been done quietly, it’s likely nothing much would have happened. Houdini would have emerged from prison, humbled but unharmed, and the feud would likely have continued. But Hearst just couldn’t resist himself.

An entire double spread supplement appeared in papers across the nation, detailing how no expense would be spared in making sure this “notorious cat-burglar” did not cheat the public out of his reckoning. Walls, locks, surveillance, dogs, armed guards- “No living man- not even our infamous prisoner himself- could escape such a perfectly-conceived prison as we have built.”

It took him 16 hours to escape, though his absence wasn’t noticed for another 6. Houdini later reminisced that it was the most difficult performance he had ever given. Not because of the locks or the walls, but because he knew he would have to leave his beloved country behind.

Houdini announced his presence in Switzerland a month hence, decrying the powers-that-be which had forced him to flee and demanding of them to close the investigation on his character at once. The Swiss for their part refused extradition, especially with no real charges forthcoming.

Having frequently toured Europe, Houdini soon fell into his old pattern of magic and debunkery. His opposition to eugenics was of common currency to most Europeans, and so he dropped it from his daily repertoire, though he still supported the cause through special events and as a board member on several social charities.

1933 saw him retire from the stage at the age of 59. He appeared in several UFA short films (speaking fluent but accented German) and attempted to set up a guild similar to his Society of American Magicians, first in Germany and then in Italy. In 1935 he accepted an invitation to emigrate to the Heymshtot where he was finally successful in his efforts. The Jiddisch Kischefmacher Ferband would blossom into a strong and venerable institution under Houdini’s direction.



Dorothea Lange was a successful photographer by the time the Dust Bowl settled over the American Midwest. A desire to capture this great upheaval on film led her to the region in 1935. She spent several months on the migrant trail from Kansas City to the Great Salt Lake documenting the struggles of the common man.

On April 28th 1935 outside of Cheyenne Wyoming, Lange was riding with a deputy in a police car on her way to interview a local sheriff. Suddenly the car was boxed in by other vehicles ahead and behind. The deputy covered Lange with his body as the car was riddled with bullets. Members of the Barrow gang went to check on their kill and were surprised to find the photographer alive under the newly-decaying peace officer. They took her prisoner and drove her back to the Barrow Brothers. Always a vain pair, they decided it might be nice to have their own personal photographer.

Thus it was that Dorothea Lange spent the next three months documenting the life of the Barrow Gang. She witnessed holdups and bank robberies, ambushes for local police- and also a more surprising side of things. The Barrows numbered no more than 30 armed men, some of them very rough-looking characters indeed. And yet they supported nearly 300 migrants making their way to California. With no real highways in American and most of the state roads controlled by communities that wanted nothing to do with homeless farmers, most of the dispossessed had to make their way across the trackless wastes of America’s new central near-desert. The Barrows fed them, guided them, gave them a kind word, and sent them on their way before a new group found them- and there was always a new group. It was a regular Underground Railroad.

Lange lived with the gang until she ran out of film. The Barrows smuggled her across the Canadian border before letting her go. Lange’s disappearance and then seeming cooperation with the Barrows (she’d been present at many robberies) had made her a celebrity and decided person of interest to the US government. She carefully made her way to Toronto where she found several eager publishers for her work. Only after ensuring the publication of her photos did she contact the American authorities, telling them she was ready to talk.

Detained for almost a month as she was “debriefed,” it was determined that Lange was guilty of no crime, and certainly kept against her will for the duration of her abduction. Still, they were angry with her for not handing over her photographs as evidence. It was too late to keep a lid on them, unfortunately; most papers outside of the Hearst ring were running entire supplements of Lange’s work.



Ty Cobb was not a beloved man by any stretch of the imagination. The general public knew him as a great baseball player (and therefore, to them, a great man,) but also knew of his cruelty. Even given the low standards of the day, most considered him a blatant racist, though others noted his contempt extended beyond all bounds of race, color, or creed. Ty Cobb hated everybody, or at least wanted you to think so. In reality, it was a professional strategy to put the opposing team off their ease whenever he joined the game. Unfortunately for Cobb, after his retirement in 1928, he found that reputation isn’t something easily shed for those in the public eye.

Cobb decided politics might be his chance to clear the air. The implosion of the Georgia Democratic Party left the field wide open for many new players. Cobb used his irascibility to his advantage, decrying the current system and pressing hard for the Republican nomination. He had a lot going for him: he was seen as supportive of the old (re: racist) system without having any connection to the KKK. He was known to be a shrewd investor, making himself quite rich, well beyond his baseball salary. And even more, the qualities for which he was feared and reviled in the sports world were seen as assets in the political arena. Though Huey Long’s Share Our Wealth Party had initially been hopeful of their ability to absorb the Georgia political machine, Cobb’s very presence was enough to put them off their game. For the first time since 1868, the Georgia Democrats would field no candidate for governor in the upcoming election.



By 1933, Iva Toguri’s family had had enough of life in Los Angeles. Despite the lack of conflict between Japan and America, prejudice- even violent prejudice- had been on the increase for all non-whites since the Action La Salle bombings (well, much longer really, but the bombings broke the camel’s back.) Not wanting to leave their country entirely, they did what most of their neighbors were doing: they would move to Hawaii.

As Toguri’s parents were quite well off, they found it easy to connect with the Republican elite of Honolulu and quickly plugged into society there. Iva played her part, attending parties and acting the obedient daughter. But she was beginning to learn about a different side of island life from her classmates at the University of Hawaii. They took her to the barrios to meet the ill-treated poor Asian and Portuguese working class. They showed her (from the safety of a distant ship deck with a pair of binoculars) the mistreatment of field hands by the mounted plantation bulls. They also took her surfing, where she learned a philosophy of goodwill that was spreading throughout the islands.

The more engaged members of the surfing community were trying to reconcile their lifestyle with the cruelty of the plantation system. Most wanted to do something, but abhorred violence. Toguri often found herself at the center of these discussions. They came to some basic conclusions. They could act or they could not act. Not acting would be immoral, unthinkable. So, if action was necessary, it could be either violent or nonviolent. Violence was overwhelmingly voted down by the pacifist students. There wasn’t much of a track record for nonviolence in the modern world. It had been attempted fairly recently in Korea, with terrible results. However, most of these elite Nisei were able to convince themselves that free America was not oppressive Japan; they would give it a try.

Toguri helped organize the first “Stroll Through the Fields” on August 9th, 1935. They would head to the plantations, bringing musical instruments and food. They would play and sing and announce their solidarity with the workers. What could go wrong?

When they entered the Dole plantation from the hillsides, the plantation bulls began shouting at them. When they began handing food to the stunned workers, the bulls ignored the well-dressed “strollers” and began beating any employee caught taking the food. When some of the strollers tried to physically pull the bulls off the workers, they too received a beating. But, when Toguri simply stood in between one bull and a stunned woman on the ground, he stopped with his club raised. When she refused to move, he swung the club above her head but did not hit her. When she didn’t flinch, the bull cursed and moved on, and Toguri stooped to help the woman.

Things had gone disastrously wrong. They’d come here to help, but only ended up causing these people harm, possibly costing them their jobs. But Toguri’s own experience showed that nonviolence could work. New strategies were clearly needed, but the principle of nonviolence couldn’t be abandoned. She needed to find a way...



The United States and Germany shared many rivalries during the 1920s and 1930s. Perhaps the friendliest were between the two undisputed masters of animated film: Winsor McCay and Lyonel Feininger. Both were unbelievably prolific despite their cephalopodinal lifestyles; in addition to animation, Feininger was a painter and a professor of the Bauhaus school, while McCay continued his comic strips and vaudeville tours. Both contributed to the advancement of cel animation from its crude beginnings in the 1900s to a high standard by the dawn of the 1930s.

One disservice the pair contributed to was the pigeonholing of the medium in the fantasy genre. Both were dedicated fantasists who saw cel animation as the best way to bring their vision to a wide audience. But since the quality of their work blew the rest of the competition out of the water, almost all studios interested in animation were soon only interested in fantasy films (the only notable exceptions being small units dedicated to childrens “funnies” at Warner Brothers and RKO.)

The other exception to the omnipresence of fantasy animation was found outside the mainstream entirely: the small but profitable De Signy Studios of Las Vegas made what it termed “specialty products for the curious and discerning gentleman.” To wit, pornographic cartoons. A staff of 15 produced about two hours of product a week, ready for consumption on the blue theater circuit. While fantasy themes were sometimes explored, they in no way let themselves be limited to any one topic. The theaters loved the ‘toons. They were safe, no one got hurt, and they could be as dark and depraved as anyone wanted without being illegal. Truly, De Signy Studios was a tribute to the power of human imagination.

[wietze]

Well done Expat, a good way to do your 1000th post

Love the bios.

welcome to the 1000nds

[Peabody-Martini]

I loved the bit where Houdini with the full weight of the US Federal Government bent his imprisonment managed to hold on to him for 16 hours.
Hearst should have realized that by making a spectacle of the situation he would bring out the best in Houdini who was very much up to the challenge.

Its still my hope that the idea of nonviolent resistance takes hold in Hawaii and spreads elsewhere. They might be against the plantation system but the first stirrings of the environmental and effective anti-war movements are there. A new incarnation of the labor movement as well. If so may Iva Toguri have a much better life ITTL. If you are interested in pursuing these ideas in this era another name you might want to look up is Desmond Doss, there some interesting possibilities there, considering where he lived.

Its also its good that the Warner Bros. cartoons were not butterflied, its truly amazing how well those hold up. Those German animated fantasy films sound like they would be a real trip.

[Expat]

I went back and forth on Houdini, afraid it was cliche, but then it just seemed so likely!

Desmond Doss is a great find! Makes me wonder how southern pacifist Christians are relating to the St. Alvin movement.

I should've put in a few notes since it's a long post and some of the writing is unclear. So about animation, yes, a small Warner Brothers Merry Melodies-type shop still exists. We'll say Tex Avery's there, but Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones are exactly the kind of people who'll get sucked into making fantasy films (What's Opera, Doc alone qualifies Jones.) So a lot of the best talent's been poached for the fantasy features market. Also I seem to have neglected to include De Signey's first name of Walt (the French name makes for a classier business.)

And also if it's not clear, Russia's developed the Roast as a cultural trait.

Glad you guys like this. My personal favorite thing was having Maurice published 50 years early. Hurray, human dignity!

[Josephus]

Cleveland Steamboat Willie?

[rast]

Good order and discipline in an army are more to be depended upon than ferocity.
(Niccolò Machiavelli)

“The Encounter on the Fairplay Road in the early afternoon of Friday, September 13th, 1935, was the crucial event of the so-called Saint Alvin Caper. That it happened at all, was owed to the distrust of Brigadier General Lloyd R. Fredendall concerning the accuracy of aerial reconnaissance reports. Fredendall, the General Officer Commanding 4th Infantry Division, had sent his divisional reconnaissance battalion forward in order to verify the data delivered by the aviators.

“The armoured cars of Charlie Company, commanded by Captain William F. Dean, had been tasked to advance in direction Sandy Springs – Townville – Fair Play. They had departed from Williamston before lunch; had pressed ahead without major break – and where now nosing through Twelvemile Creek. Sergeant Tony Prescott later remembered:
‘It was summer and there wasn’t much water in that creek. We had waded through it in inverted wedge formation and were slowly advancing uphill. I think I was the first, who noticed the trails of smoke in the western sky. But before I even could report it, we came out of the valley and unto the plateau – and there they were: a vast amorphous mass of people, tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands...’

“There seems to have been a short moment of hesitation and inaction on both sides. Then, the marchers started to move. In a broad arc, they advanced towards the creek, step by step – hand in hand and singing. All testimonies agree that no signs of menace sprang from them – and that none of them visibly carried a weapon. To the soldiers, however, it must have appeared like a dark wall closing in.

“That Captain Dean never issued an order to open fire has been amply proven. But he also did not issue any other order or beat the retreat. His crew later testified that he just was standing in the turret and staring at the crowd. – Who opened fire first never could be ascertained with certainty. Most researchers agree, however, that it must have been the armoured car on the extreme right, the one closest to the approaching marchers, commanded by Corporal Ezra Lowell. But it must be annotated that Mr. Lowell and his crew members have always repudiated this finding.

“As soon as the first car opened fire with its twin machine guns, all the other weapons of the two leading platoons – except those on the vehicles of Captain Dean and Sergeant Prescott – fell in. After what seemed an eternity to some – and only ten seconds to others – Captain Dean shouted: ‘Cease fire!’ via radio. This was immediately obeyed, but the damage had already been done.

“Charlie Company had fired a total of 3,758 rounds at distances between two hundred and five hundred yards. At such distances, machine gun bullets are not stopped by the first body they penetrate. However, the ensuing panic produced more casualties than the machine gun barrage, although most fatalities were due to the hail of bullets. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that the marchers, although their organisational framework was quite efficient, had no medical services available able to cope with a case of mass casualties. What was there had been designed to care for sore feet, digestion problems and sanitariness.

“While Captain Dean’s armoured cars were swiftly descending back into the valley and re-crossing Twelvemile Creek, scenes of utter suffering were taking place right before the eyes – and the lenses and microphones – of a plethora of media representatives. The approximately one thousand persons killed immediately provided the bloody-red background for the drama of more than 5,500 injured people, men, women and children, crying for help and writhing in pain.

“It was an incredible mess and a carnage far exceeding the Time Square Bombing and all other acts of barbarism committed during the recent troubles in Mexico and the Caribbean. About forty percent of the victims were white – and these would feature prominently in the newsreels. As would Alvin York, hobbling around on his crutches dispensing words of comfort and benison.

“The total count would amount to 2,212 dead and 4,468 injured persons, about fifty-five percent of them of female gender and thirty-one percent of them under the age of fourteen. Nothing about this slaughter could be whitewashed, the national and international audience could see the armoured cars drive up and open fire. They could watch how unarmed persons were being butchered; and they could witness the pain and the despair of those still alive. That Captain Dean had been relieved from command, and a courtmartial was to be held, did nothing to diminish the public uproar.”

From: ‘Bury my Soul at Twelvemile Creek’ by Dorris Alexander ‘Dee’ Brown, New York, 1970

[paulo]

How you spell 'perfect storm' to the government ?

[trekchu]

Oh bloody hell.

[Nivek]

Originally Posted by paulo

How you spell 'perfect storm' to the government ?

Sh@t will hit the fan, in that way.

That remember me V of Vendetta... only here the soldier were more coward to hold fire... blood have been spiled and the history demand more blood....

President Patton sound like a savior right now

[Peabody-Martini]

What GPMG and HMG fire does to the human body is not pretty. To have that happen in front of the national press, there is no way to keep that off the front pages of newspapers across the country. IOTL the 1970 Kent State shootings involved 13 people and had a huge impact on public opinion. This event is several thousand times worse, there is no way to spin this. The march may have been stopped for now but there is no victory for the people who stopped it.

On a slightly lighter note. Expat there are some people in history like Desmond Doss who you can't make up because no one would believe it. I saw his obituary a few years back and had to read it twice to make certain I had it correct.

[zeppelin247]

oh shit, well thats America going to be even more screwed, I mean now a lot more people will be supporting St. Alvin or just rioting across the nation and Jack Reed now has a lot of propaganda to go with, one thing is for sure, is that I doubt McAdoo will be staying the rest of his term as president

god help America

[wietze]

Originally Posted by trekchu

Oh bloody hell.

indeed.

considering they are not certain which armoured car started it, maybe a MG/Gun hidden in the bushes, to trigger 'events' and make martyrs? or am I being too cynical about (notso) saint alvin. After all he makes good use of his wheelchair as promotional item (he already can walk again) and the man has a shady past after all (what are the lives of a few followers in the light of gods bigger plan with him...).

[Expat]

This is unprecedented territory for the US. My gut tells me people's religious convictions will kick in and demand some form of drastic action. On the legislation front, I can't think of anything that would cover this sort of tragedy. Patton can shout for military reform, and that might appease some. We might see further appeals to godliness in the government.

But of course this is just a reaction to what we've just read. We haven't seen York's march react. Maybe whatever they do next will solve the problem the "quick way," and/or lose them the public's sympathy.

If a couple million people riot, how is that any different than a revolution?