A Loose Bandage - McKinley Lives!
- Thread starter Beck Reilly
- Start date
Concur with Straha. This is a very interesting TL. I can sse how Hearst's ego would get out of control. He was also very much interested in film, working with Selig and Pathe and IIRC he produced Perils of Pauline. You might thing about implication for the development of motion pictures with him as President.
A couple of more days until I'm done with Pt. 14. In the meantime, I was bored and produced a list of Presidents through the current times. However, I'll probably only take TTL until the early 1960s.
Bully for TR! 
Looks very interesting. It seems the Democratic Party no longer exists by 2004.
Looks very interesting. It seems the Democratic Party no longer exists by 2004.
G.Bone said:
There's a term limit. It's just a different one than in OTL. Three terms instead of two. However, convention remains that, except in emergencies, a President only serves two terms.
A Loose Bandage Pt. 14
October 1911 – December 1911
- As most had expected, the Supreme Court issues a split decision,
five-to-four, ruling in favor of President Hearst's executive
officers. Some high-level Congressmen scream that Hearst has packed
the Court, causing Senators across the nation to vainly attempt to
avoid scrutiny from their fellow Congressmen. After all, they approved
Hearst's appointments, doesn't the blame, at least partially, lie with
them?
In Washington, Hearst is delighted. The ruling in the Union Pacific
Railroad v. United States case opens the road for Hearst, effectively
granting him the power to create new laws without consultation from
either Congress or the members of his Cabinet. Where does one start,
though? So much to do and so little time to do it. Well, to begin,
Major General Bell, the Army Chief of Staff, is still screaming for
more troops.
Hearst's third executive order is nearly a word-for-word reproduction
of the failed Selective Service Act. The United States now has a
draft.
- There is a public outcry across the nation against the Selective
Service System, which, despite its nominally unbiased nature, is
proving very easy to avoid – that is, assuming you have the cash. By
early November, the first ranks of eligible, lower-class men between
the ages of eighteen and twenty-one are entering boot camps across the
nation.
At this same time, the first anti-draft riot since the Civil War is
ignited in a suburb of New York City. The riot, led by Socialists who
fear that the draft will negatively impact workers rights and who know
that some families are not going to be fed if their men are at war, is
but the first of many. Meanwhile, newspapers owned by Hearst across
the nation continue to ooze cheer and optimism over the course of the
war in Mexico, completely ignoring the negative domestic impacts.
By the end of the first month, around Thanksgiving of 1911, North
America is being hit hard. Riots tear across the United States,
ripping through poor neighborhoods and threatening to spill into
wealthier neighborhoods if not contained. The economy is slumping,
despite a seemingly never-ending flow of optimistic reports from the
Secretary of the Treasury, a former Senator and entrepreneur from
Michigan.
- Meanwhile, in Mexico, American soldiers battle increasing hardships.
The damn Mexicans, thinks General Frederick Funston, commander of the
US Army in Mexico, are getting too good at scattering like rabbits
after killing a squad of Americans. American forces in Mexico have
been driven northward by increasingly shaky supply lines, forced to
abandon their tenuous hold on important southern cities like Veracruz
and even Mexico City, itself.
In Mexico City, President Huerta rides into the capital of his nation
to survey the damage done by the Americans. He is greeted by thousands
of cheering Mexicans who has suffered under the conditions imposed by
the American occupation and is surprised to find that almost all
support him. Surprised – but delighted. What a handy political tool;
as long as the Mexican people direct their anger at the United States,
his position will remain rock-solid.
Conditions in the Mexican desert are brutal. American soldiers find
themselves without enough to eat or enough clothing to weather the
vicious cold of the night. Their supply stocks, however, are
increasing the further north the troops move, due to the shortening of
supply lines as much as to the nationalization of the railroads.
Driven back into the northern tier of states, morale is dropping
amongst the troops.
- On the other hand, anger is rising within their ranks, as well.
Their anger has found a rather unlikely target, however. Instead of
President Hearst, the soldiers of the American military are livid with
the Socialists. How dare men like that creep Debs and his lackeys
criticize this conflict? How dare they blame the individual soldier,
labeling them with the most horrible descriptions? At least Hearst is
taking measures to support his warriors.
In the White House, William Randolph Hearst fumes about the
Socialists, as well, blaming them for the continuing string of
setbacks in Mexico. How dare they interrupt his plans? For God's sake,
these people shouldn't be able to call themselves Americans. To
compound his problems, the recent elections have given the Republicans
complete control of Congress.
Hell, in a month, Hearst thinks glumly over a glass of whiskey, some
of these damn Socialists were going to have a say in running this
nation. There is even a rumor that they were planning to call for
Hearst's impeachment. If only there was some way to keep Congress
adjourned…
"What Really Happened on December 7, 1911?"
The Chicago Tribune: December 7, 1986
Journalist Allen A. Gore has recently published what many historians
are already referring to as the definitive biography of our nation's
most controversial President. His work, titled "The House the Hearst
Built: The Life of America's Dictator," will hit bookshelves across
the nation this weekend.
However, for all its glowing praise, the book has attracted the
attention of historians across the nation not for its intricate
details, but for its broad speculation. The premise of the most
controversial theory, that presented in the Twenty-fourth Chapter is
simple enough: that the fire which destroyed the old Capitol Building
in Washington City, effectively launching the United States into a
year of dictatorship and despotism, was ordered by none other than the
President, himself.
For years, most historians have held that the fire was set by the man
accused and executed for the crime, twenty-seven year old Norman
Thomas, a Socialist firebrand and drifter originally from Ohio. Caught
by US Marshals while fleeing the city, Thomas was quickly arrested,
tried, and lined up before a firing squad for his crime. The truth,
Gore believes, is much more complicated than that.
"The truth is that this young man was put up to burning the old
Capitol Building by federal employees working under the infamous
Attorney General, Alexander Mitchell Palmer," Gore contended in an
interview. "Attorney General Palmer was utterly ruthless and
intelligent, yes, but he was nothing if not loyal to his master,
William Randolph Hearst. He would not have ordered the burning of such
an important landmark if the order had not come from Hearst, himself."
When asked about the sources he used, Gore responded that he had seen
several documents, some dated and signed by Palmer, others belonging
to a memoir written by one of the federal agents supposedly involved
in Thomas's release from a Philadelphia jailhouse, just one week
before that fateful Sunday night in December of 1911.
"My source, who has requested to remain anonymous, confirms the
legitimacy of everything written by his father, the agent supposedly
involved in releasing Thomas," Gore told reporters from the porch of
his home in Tennessee. "I have done research in the capital and have
spent hours sorting through piles of documents. I have no doubt that
what the source told me is true.
"On November 29, eight days before the fire, two federal agents
working for the Department of Justice visited the Eastern State
Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," Gore continued, quickly
summarizing the events that led up to the fire. "The two agents, one
of whom was the father of my source, secured the release of a
twenty-seven year old Socialist charged, coincidentally or not, with
burning down a Hearst newspaper building in the same city.
"By December 5, Thomas was in Washington City, drinking at the bar of
a high-class hotel named the Willard. Sources from the time say that
Thomas ran up quite a bar tab at the hotel. This only leaves more
questions: how could a man freshly released from prison have afforded
such an expensive couple of days?" Gore asked a crowd of reporters.
"The answer is simple, he was paid by the administration to light a
fire in the Capitol Building the night before Congress was to convene
for the first time in eight months. Unfortunately for Thomas, he was
captured by authorities as the building continued to blaze," Gore
finished.
"How was he caught so fast? Because Attorney General Palmer knew
exactly where to look, that's how. Regrettably, Thomas was summarily
executed only two weeks later and never had the chance to tell his
story. We may never know the truth, but I believe whole-heartedly in
the theory postulated in my book," Gore assured reporters before
retreating back into his home.
On the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Capitol Fire, the citizens of
the United States continue to argue as to the source of the blaze. One
thing, though, is certain: the Fire was but the beginning of a
disastrous period of United States history.
October 1911 – December 1911
- As most had expected, the Supreme Court issues a split decision,
five-to-four, ruling in favor of President Hearst's executive
officers. Some high-level Congressmen scream that Hearst has packed
the Court, causing Senators across the nation to vainly attempt to
avoid scrutiny from their fellow Congressmen. After all, they approved
Hearst's appointments, doesn't the blame, at least partially, lie with
them?
In Washington, Hearst is delighted. The ruling in the Union Pacific
Railroad v. United States case opens the road for Hearst, effectively
granting him the power to create new laws without consultation from
either Congress or the members of his Cabinet. Where does one start,
though? So much to do and so little time to do it. Well, to begin,
Major General Bell, the Army Chief of Staff, is still screaming for
more troops.
Hearst's third executive order is nearly a word-for-word reproduction
of the failed Selective Service Act. The United States now has a
draft.
- There is a public outcry across the nation against the Selective
Service System, which, despite its nominally unbiased nature, is
proving very easy to avoid – that is, assuming you have the cash. By
early November, the first ranks of eligible, lower-class men between
the ages of eighteen and twenty-one are entering boot camps across the
nation.
At this same time, the first anti-draft riot since the Civil War is
ignited in a suburb of New York City. The riot, led by Socialists who
fear that the draft will negatively impact workers rights and who know
that some families are not going to be fed if their men are at war, is
but the first of many. Meanwhile, newspapers owned by Hearst across
the nation continue to ooze cheer and optimism over the course of the
war in Mexico, completely ignoring the negative domestic impacts.
By the end of the first month, around Thanksgiving of 1911, North
America is being hit hard. Riots tear across the United States,
ripping through poor neighborhoods and threatening to spill into
wealthier neighborhoods if not contained. The economy is slumping,
despite a seemingly never-ending flow of optimistic reports from the
Secretary of the Treasury, a former Senator and entrepreneur from
Michigan.
- Meanwhile, in Mexico, American soldiers battle increasing hardships.
The damn Mexicans, thinks General Frederick Funston, commander of the
US Army in Mexico, are getting too good at scattering like rabbits
after killing a squad of Americans. American forces in Mexico have
been driven northward by increasingly shaky supply lines, forced to
abandon their tenuous hold on important southern cities like Veracruz
and even Mexico City, itself.
In Mexico City, President Huerta rides into the capital of his nation
to survey the damage done by the Americans. He is greeted by thousands
of cheering Mexicans who has suffered under the conditions imposed by
the American occupation and is surprised to find that almost all
support him. Surprised – but delighted. What a handy political tool;
as long as the Mexican people direct their anger at the United States,
his position will remain rock-solid.
Conditions in the Mexican desert are brutal. American soldiers find
themselves without enough to eat or enough clothing to weather the
vicious cold of the night. Their supply stocks, however, are
increasing the further north the troops move, due to the shortening of
supply lines as much as to the nationalization of the railroads.
Driven back into the northern tier of states, morale is dropping
amongst the troops.
- On the other hand, anger is rising within their ranks, as well.
Their anger has found a rather unlikely target, however. Instead of
President Hearst, the soldiers of the American military are livid with
the Socialists. How dare men like that creep Debs and his lackeys
criticize this conflict? How dare they blame the individual soldier,
labeling them with the most horrible descriptions? At least Hearst is
taking measures to support his warriors.
In the White House, William Randolph Hearst fumes about the
Socialists, as well, blaming them for the continuing string of
setbacks in Mexico. How dare they interrupt his plans? For God's sake,
these people shouldn't be able to call themselves Americans. To
compound his problems, the recent elections have given the Republicans
complete control of Congress.
Hell, in a month, Hearst thinks glumly over a glass of whiskey, some
of these damn Socialists were going to have a say in running this
nation. There is even a rumor that they were planning to call for
Hearst's impeachment. If only there was some way to keep Congress
adjourned…
"What Really Happened on December 7, 1911?"
The Chicago Tribune: December 7, 1986
Journalist Allen A. Gore has recently published what many historians
are already referring to as the definitive biography of our nation's
most controversial President. His work, titled "The House the Hearst
Built: The Life of America's Dictator," will hit bookshelves across
the nation this weekend.
However, for all its glowing praise, the book has attracted the
attention of historians across the nation not for its intricate
details, but for its broad speculation. The premise of the most
controversial theory, that presented in the Twenty-fourth Chapter is
simple enough: that the fire which destroyed the old Capitol Building
in Washington City, effectively launching the United States into a
year of dictatorship and despotism, was ordered by none other than the
President, himself.
For years, most historians have held that the fire was set by the man
accused and executed for the crime, twenty-seven year old Norman
Thomas, a Socialist firebrand and drifter originally from Ohio. Caught
by US Marshals while fleeing the city, Thomas was quickly arrested,
tried, and lined up before a firing squad for his crime. The truth,
Gore believes, is much more complicated than that.
"The truth is that this young man was put up to burning the old
Capitol Building by federal employees working under the infamous
Attorney General, Alexander Mitchell Palmer," Gore contended in an
interview. "Attorney General Palmer was utterly ruthless and
intelligent, yes, but he was nothing if not loyal to his master,
William Randolph Hearst. He would not have ordered the burning of such
an important landmark if the order had not come from Hearst, himself."
When asked about the sources he used, Gore responded that he had seen
several documents, some dated and signed by Palmer, others belonging
to a memoir written by one of the federal agents supposedly involved
in Thomas's release from a Philadelphia jailhouse, just one week
before that fateful Sunday night in December of 1911.
"My source, who has requested to remain anonymous, confirms the
legitimacy of everything written by his father, the agent supposedly
involved in releasing Thomas," Gore told reporters from the porch of
his home in Tennessee. "I have done research in the capital and have
spent hours sorting through piles of documents. I have no doubt that
what the source told me is true.
"On November 29, eight days before the fire, two federal agents
working for the Department of Justice visited the Eastern State
Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," Gore continued, quickly
summarizing the events that led up to the fire. "The two agents, one
of whom was the father of my source, secured the release of a
twenty-seven year old Socialist charged, coincidentally or not, with
burning down a Hearst newspaper building in the same city.
"By December 5, Thomas was in Washington City, drinking at the bar of
a high-class hotel named the Willard. Sources from the time say that
Thomas ran up quite a bar tab at the hotel. This only leaves more
questions: how could a man freshly released from prison have afforded
such an expensive couple of days?" Gore asked a crowd of reporters.
"The answer is simple, he was paid by the administration to light a
fire in the Capitol Building the night before Congress was to convene
for the first time in eight months. Unfortunately for Thomas, he was
captured by authorities as the building continued to blaze," Gore
finished.
"How was he caught so fast? Because Attorney General Palmer knew
exactly where to look, that's how. Regrettably, Thomas was summarily
executed only two weeks later and never had the chance to tell his
story. We may never know the truth, but I believe whole-heartedly in
the theory postulated in my book," Gore assured reporters before
retreating back into his home.
On the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Capitol Fire, the citizens of
the United States continue to argue as to the source of the blaze. One
thing, though, is certain: the Fire was but the beginning of a
disastrous period of United States history.
G.Bone said:
There's not much for them to do. The Europeans are basically going about their own business (to the extent that they know how, anyways). This is but a temporary dictatorship, as the election is in a little less than a year. Try as Hearst might, not even his packed Supreme Court is going to have the guts to cancel the election. Obviously, Hearst is going to claim victory, as will his opponent. Fun times ahead...
A Loose Bandage Pt. 15
December 1911 – January 1912
- Even as the last of the Capitol Building continues to burn, United
States Marshals close in on Norman Thomas, the Socialist troublemaker
who is claimed to have been seen igniting the fire. With his capture,
President Hearst pats himself on the back for his good luck.
The Capitol Building is gone and its destruction to force Congress
back into "temporary recess" hardly without notice. Much of Congress
is too stunned by the obliteration of the symbol of American democracy
to fiercely complain and most of the country simply wants some level
of law and order returned.
Sure, some of the more intelligent Congressmen complain and argue
bitterly, but their complaints fall on deaf ears (the majority of the
public is treated to rampant speculation as to the cause of the blaze
by the Hearst papers: everyone from the Socialists to the Mexicans to
the Republicans are blamed for the fire) and most are passive, at
best. Besides, they, too, want order returned to the suffering nation;
if Hearst is the man to provide that, well, so be it.
Moreover, the man theoretically responsible for the fire is a
Socialist, and a relatively prominent one as well. How perfect. And,
what's better, the public was thirsting for revenge. Not just for the
destruction of the Capitol, but for the dozens of charred, ruined city
blocks in Boston and New York, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. The
anti-draft riots of November, despite lying only two months in the
past, remain fresh in the minds of everyone. What's at the forefront
of the nation's memory, however, is not the rioting masses, but the
smaller groups who led these riots – the Socialists and, yes, even a
few aging Anarchists.
- On January 7, 1912, on the one-month anniversary of the Fire,
President Hearst issues the Capitol Fire Decree, declaring that:
"Until further notice, as pursuant to Constitutional law, the United
States government hereby fights it permissible to, in the name of
restoring law and order, restrict when necessary the rights to freedom
of speech, including the freedom of the press, the freedom to organize
and assemble, peacefully or otherwise, the privacy of letters, mail,
and telegraph, order searches and confiscations and restrict property,
even if this is not otherwise provided for by present law.
As per Constitutional law, from this moment until the end of the
declared state of emergency, a state of martial law exists. A curfew
will be in effect in all major cities between the hours of seven p.m.
and six a.m.; any and all persons caught breaking this curfew can and
will be arrested by the United States Armed Forces. These persons, and
all others violating the laws of the United States shall be tried
under special military tribunals. Personal freedom [used in reference
to habeas corpus] is hereby suspended until such a time when threats
to this nation are removed from society. Pursuant to the ruling of the
Supreme Court in ‘Ex Parte Milligan,' all civilian courts are hereby
suspended until further notice."
- Reaction to the Capitol Fire Decree is mixed. Socialists,
anarchists, and other radicals across the nation erupt into a fury,
threaten to incite riots in all major cities. Some of the more extreme
radicals even go so far as to speak of a coup against the President.
Much of the nation, however, is indifferent. After all, only the
criminals and the Socialists have anything to fear from the Decree,
right? Besides, no one deludes themselves into thinking for a second
that the Supreme Court, the supposed balance to Executive tyranny,
will do anything but bow down to the nation's first dictator.
The reaction in northern Mexico is immediate. The soldiers of the
United States Army almost universally applaud the President's action.
Damn Socialists have been hurting the nation long enough, it's about
time they were made to pay for their criminal behavior. Finally a
politician who is willing to get things done. By the end of the week,
the first trainloads of experienced troops are shuffled northward out
of northern Mexico, heading for another occupation duty – this time,
in America's cities.
From staging areas in Texas, raw conscripts of the recently enlarged
United States Army are marched into northern Mexico to assume
occupation duty from the northbound regulars. Some of Hearst's
remaining aides (and there aren't all that many; most of the civilian
aides of long since jumped ship back when Hearst first adjourned
Congress, replaced by military officers and law enforcement officials
where possible) argue for the US to completely extract itself from
Mexico.
Hearst, though, has other ideas. What better breeding place is there
for anger than Mexico? Soldiers who return from Mexico find themselves
hated by the public and scorned by their neighbors. If only the anger
felt by these soldiers towards their fellow Americans can be harnessed
for use by the government...
- By the end of the month, almost all of the major cities are in the
process of being occupied by relatively large contingents of American
soldiers. The arrests start almost immediately and the jailhouse
populations swell drastically. Socialists rabble-rousers, anarchists,
and regular criminals find themselves jammed together in stinking
hellholes. However, despite the relative progress, the Army finds
themselves strangely unable to properly exercise control the
population.
The contingents of soldiers in the cities are simply not large enough
to control their ever-burgeoning populations, despite the fact that,
with the strong European opposition to the Hearst administration,
immigration to the United States has come to a virtual stop and many
of the cities' previous occupants flee to the countryside, if they
can. Something else is going to be needed if the government wants to
control the unruly population effectively.
December 1911 – January 1912
- Even as the last of the Capitol Building continues to burn, United
States Marshals close in on Norman Thomas, the Socialist troublemaker
who is claimed to have been seen igniting the fire. With his capture,
President Hearst pats himself on the back for his good luck.
The Capitol Building is gone and its destruction to force Congress
back into "temporary recess" hardly without notice. Much of Congress
is too stunned by the obliteration of the symbol of American democracy
to fiercely complain and most of the country simply wants some level
of law and order returned.
Sure, some of the more intelligent Congressmen complain and argue
bitterly, but their complaints fall on deaf ears (the majority of the
public is treated to rampant speculation as to the cause of the blaze
by the Hearst papers: everyone from the Socialists to the Mexicans to
the Republicans are blamed for the fire) and most are passive, at
best. Besides, they, too, want order returned to the suffering nation;
if Hearst is the man to provide that, well, so be it.
Moreover, the man theoretically responsible for the fire is a
Socialist, and a relatively prominent one as well. How perfect. And,
what's better, the public was thirsting for revenge. Not just for the
destruction of the Capitol, but for the dozens of charred, ruined city
blocks in Boston and New York, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. The
anti-draft riots of November, despite lying only two months in the
past, remain fresh in the minds of everyone. What's at the forefront
of the nation's memory, however, is not the rioting masses, but the
smaller groups who led these riots – the Socialists and, yes, even a
few aging Anarchists.
- On January 7, 1912, on the one-month anniversary of the Fire,
President Hearst issues the Capitol Fire Decree, declaring that:
"Until further notice, as pursuant to Constitutional law, the United
States government hereby fights it permissible to, in the name of
restoring law and order, restrict when necessary the rights to freedom
of speech, including the freedom of the press, the freedom to organize
and assemble, peacefully or otherwise, the privacy of letters, mail,
and telegraph, order searches and confiscations and restrict property,
even if this is not otherwise provided for by present law.
As per Constitutional law, from this moment until the end of the
declared state of emergency, a state of martial law exists. A curfew
will be in effect in all major cities between the hours of seven p.m.
and six a.m.; any and all persons caught breaking this curfew can and
will be arrested by the United States Armed Forces. These persons, and
all others violating the laws of the United States shall be tried
under special military tribunals. Personal freedom [used in reference
to habeas corpus] is hereby suspended until such a time when threats
to this nation are removed from society. Pursuant to the ruling of the
Supreme Court in ‘Ex Parte Milligan,' all civilian courts are hereby
suspended until further notice."
- Reaction to the Capitol Fire Decree is mixed. Socialists,
anarchists, and other radicals across the nation erupt into a fury,
threaten to incite riots in all major cities. Some of the more extreme
radicals even go so far as to speak of a coup against the President.
Much of the nation, however, is indifferent. After all, only the
criminals and the Socialists have anything to fear from the Decree,
right? Besides, no one deludes themselves into thinking for a second
that the Supreme Court, the supposed balance to Executive tyranny,
will do anything but bow down to the nation's first dictator.
The reaction in northern Mexico is immediate. The soldiers of the
United States Army almost universally applaud the President's action.
Damn Socialists have been hurting the nation long enough, it's about
time they were made to pay for their criminal behavior. Finally a
politician who is willing to get things done. By the end of the week,
the first trainloads of experienced troops are shuffled northward out
of northern Mexico, heading for another occupation duty – this time,
in America's cities.
From staging areas in Texas, raw conscripts of the recently enlarged
United States Army are marched into northern Mexico to assume
occupation duty from the northbound regulars. Some of Hearst's
remaining aides (and there aren't all that many; most of the civilian
aides of long since jumped ship back when Hearst first adjourned
Congress, replaced by military officers and law enforcement officials
where possible) argue for the US to completely extract itself from
Mexico.
Hearst, though, has other ideas. What better breeding place is there
for anger than Mexico? Soldiers who return from Mexico find themselves
hated by the public and scorned by their neighbors. If only the anger
felt by these soldiers towards their fellow Americans can be harnessed
for use by the government...
- By the end of the month, almost all of the major cities are in the
process of being occupied by relatively large contingents of American
soldiers. The arrests start almost immediately and the jailhouse
populations swell drastically. Socialists rabble-rousers, anarchists,
and regular criminals find themselves jammed together in stinking
hellholes. However, despite the relative progress, the Army finds
themselves strangely unable to properly exercise control the
population.
The contingents of soldiers in the cities are simply not large enough
to control their ever-burgeoning populations, despite the fact that,
with the strong European opposition to the Hearst administration,
immigration to the United States has come to a virtual stop and many
of the cities' previous occupants flee to the countryside, if they
can. Something else is going to be needed if the government wants to
control the unruly population effectively.
Wow. You are the fastest person I know to ever write up a TL and post it on a website at the same time. Some writers I know didn't put it on a website until they were at Part 50 or 51.
As for your TL- shades of Germany are prominent to the point that I'm expecting a secret service to be established within the military order. Of course that would be contrary to the Consitution, which has been walked over with a black leather boot. Was Hearst that ego-maniac in OTL?
As for the quality- four stars out of four stars.
As for your TL- shades of Germany are prominent to the point that I'm expecting a secret service to be established within the military order. Of course that would be contrary to the Consitution, which has been walked over with a black leather boot. Was Hearst that ego-maniac in OTL?
As for the quality- four stars out of four stars.
I've gotta applaud your efforts, Beck Reilly. I posted under a different alias at the old board(PM Nixon, before my computer went temporarily kaput), and my Mexican Occupation TL was a true pain. It is refreshing to see someone putting in so much effort into a TL, and doing such a good job.
Now about the TL: it ought to be interesting to see how this all ends. I wonder if this will affect America's entry into a possible WWI in this TL?
Now about the TL: it ought to be interesting to see how this all ends. I wonder if this will affect America's entry into a possible WWI in this TL?
A Loose Bandage Pt. 16
February 1912 – April 1912
- A blast rips through the chilly afternoon air in bustling
Washington, DC, destroying half of the Department of War. The
explosion kills both Secretary of War McReynolds and Army Chief of
Staff J. Franklin Bell. Both die instantly as the building collapses
around them and President Hearst vows revenge from his heavily-guarded
sanctuary within the White House.
The death of the highest ranking military officer and his civilian
commander stuns the nation once again. The alleged – it is impossible
to tell his true identity, as the bomber blew himself up in the
process – Socialist has done more damage to his cause than even Norman
Thomas. The nation is outraged. Everyone, even the rejected members of
Congress, want revenge upon the Socialists for their sins.
The Socialists are, in the eyes of the nation, hurting the nation
badly. From the sabotage of the war effort, to the destruction of the
Capitol Building, and now to the murder of the Secretary of War and
the Army Chief of Staff, the public has had enough of the Socialists –
the so-called champions of the people.
- President Hearst responds immediately to the blast.
Major General Frederick Funston is recalled from command in Mexico,
replaced by Leonard Wood, to take command of the Army, replacing the
murdered General Bell. Funston has proven himself to be an ardent
supporter of the President's results, if not his means, and Hearst
trusts him as far as he trusts any of the military officers. A certain
former Senator from Michigan, a failed automobile manufacturer named
Henry Ford, is shifted from the Treasury Department to replace the
slain McReynolds. Ford is replaced at Treasury by a virtual unknown,
personally loyal to Hearst.
Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer announces the creation of
the Federal Security Service (FSS). FSS Troopers (as their units are
mostly motorized, they carry the name passed on by the cavalry) are
soon drawn from the Army and from law enforcement across the nation,
comprising their most rapidly ant-Socialist members and recruits. By
mid-March, the FSS will have nearly ten thousand men under its command
and will assume the duty hunting "political criminals" within the
cities occupied by the Army. The FSS, it is planned, will grow to take
over many of the Army's civilian concerns, thus relieving much of the
pressure on the Armed Forces. Unlike average law enforcement, the FSS
Troopers will be as heavily-armed and as well-trained as the average
soldier.
- State politicians across the nation are growing increasingly worried
over the federal government's increase in power. Almost three-quarters
of US state Governors at this time are Republicans and, while they are
concerned, there really is not much they can do. Hell, most are
practically under house arrest due to the large military presence in
all of America's major cities.
Even worse for these scared Republican politicians across the nation,
the American people simply do not care. Either through laziness or
through sheer ignorance, the majority of the nation's citizens are
indifferent. While a sizable minority are opposed to the federal
government's actions, an equally sizable minority supports the
President's mandates whole-heartedly. And, with the Army throwing its
full support behind William Randolph Hearst, the situation is
impossible.
- By mid-March, the government has finally hit its groove. Suppression
of the population is at an all-time high, not that the ignorant
peasants could give a rat's ass. Military and law enforcement spending
is at an all-time high, as well, although not many outside of the
inner circles of government knows for absolute certainty at this time.
The economy, with the exception of war-related industry, is at an
all-time low, not that one could tell from the Hearst newspapers
(virtually the only newspapers printed at this time).
A small amount of progress has been made in even the war in Mexico,
where US forces have retaken the city of Monterrey from the Huerta
government. US deaths, though, are also at an all-time high. The
United States is pissing through nearly five hundred soldiers a month,
at this point. And, what's better for Hearst's regime, the misdirected
anger continues to rise within the ranks at the Socialists,
anarchists, and other ungrateful hell-raisers in the United States.
What's best, the latest troop rotation is about to begin.
- With the latest batch of embittered soldiers returning from the
deserts of Mexico, the President finally issues a long-awaited order
in late March, criminalizing the entire Socialist Party and ordering
the arrest of all of its known members. The people don't bat an
eyelash at the President. They've been expecting the order for a long
time and, frankly, many don't care. As one historian would later note,
"the levels of human indifference are, in some ways, more shocking
that the levels of brutality." However, while they might not care,
they certainly do take notice.
On April Fool's Day, 1912, the FSS launched the first raids in its
short but illustrious career. Around the nation, nearly
fifteen-thousand heavily Troopers of the Federal Security Service
crash through the doors of the nation's cities, arresting nearly
fifty-thousand Socialist Party members. The next day is a repeat of
the last, and the day after that a repeat of the one before until the
raids officially end two weeks later.
By the ides of April, the US government held nearly four-hundred
thousand men who's only crime was belonging to a certain political
party. With cooperation from local law enforcement, many of whom
feared the wrath of the federal government, President Hearst had
single-handedly completed a seemingly perfect takeover and
consolidation of power. By the end of April, the first consolidation
camps were being set up in the countryside to hold the political
prisoners captured in the April Fool's raids.
- Meanwhile, from his home outside of New York City, former Vice
President Theodore Roosevelt began sending out letters to politicians
and military officers across the nation who are upset by the Hearst's
dictatorship. From the writing desk of Theodore Roosevelt, the first
organized opposition with potential military-backing to the Hearst
regime begins to form.
February 1912 – April 1912
- A blast rips through the chilly afternoon air in bustling
Washington, DC, destroying half of the Department of War. The
explosion kills both Secretary of War McReynolds and Army Chief of
Staff J. Franklin Bell. Both die instantly as the building collapses
around them and President Hearst vows revenge from his heavily-guarded
sanctuary within the White House.
The death of the highest ranking military officer and his civilian
commander stuns the nation once again. The alleged – it is impossible
to tell his true identity, as the bomber blew himself up in the
process – Socialist has done more damage to his cause than even Norman
Thomas. The nation is outraged. Everyone, even the rejected members of
Congress, want revenge upon the Socialists for their sins.
The Socialists are, in the eyes of the nation, hurting the nation
badly. From the sabotage of the war effort, to the destruction of the
Capitol Building, and now to the murder of the Secretary of War and
the Army Chief of Staff, the public has had enough of the Socialists –
the so-called champions of the people.
- President Hearst responds immediately to the blast.
Major General Frederick Funston is recalled from command in Mexico,
replaced by Leonard Wood, to take command of the Army, replacing the
murdered General Bell. Funston has proven himself to be an ardent
supporter of the President's results, if not his means, and Hearst
trusts him as far as he trusts any of the military officers. A certain
former Senator from Michigan, a failed automobile manufacturer named
Henry Ford, is shifted from the Treasury Department to replace the
slain McReynolds. Ford is replaced at Treasury by a virtual unknown,
personally loyal to Hearst.
Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer announces the creation of
the Federal Security Service (FSS). FSS Troopers (as their units are
mostly motorized, they carry the name passed on by the cavalry) are
soon drawn from the Army and from law enforcement across the nation,
comprising their most rapidly ant-Socialist members and recruits. By
mid-March, the FSS will have nearly ten thousand men under its command
and will assume the duty hunting "political criminals" within the
cities occupied by the Army. The FSS, it is planned, will grow to take
over many of the Army's civilian concerns, thus relieving much of the
pressure on the Armed Forces. Unlike average law enforcement, the FSS
Troopers will be as heavily-armed and as well-trained as the average
soldier.
- State politicians across the nation are growing increasingly worried
over the federal government's increase in power. Almost three-quarters
of US state Governors at this time are Republicans and, while they are
concerned, there really is not much they can do. Hell, most are
practically under house arrest due to the large military presence in
all of America's major cities.
Even worse for these scared Republican politicians across the nation,
the American people simply do not care. Either through laziness or
through sheer ignorance, the majority of the nation's citizens are
indifferent. While a sizable minority are opposed to the federal
government's actions, an equally sizable minority supports the
President's mandates whole-heartedly. And, with the Army throwing its
full support behind William Randolph Hearst, the situation is
impossible.
- By mid-March, the government has finally hit its groove. Suppression
of the population is at an all-time high, not that the ignorant
peasants could give a rat's ass. Military and law enforcement spending
is at an all-time high, as well, although not many outside of the
inner circles of government knows for absolute certainty at this time.
The economy, with the exception of war-related industry, is at an
all-time low, not that one could tell from the Hearst newspapers
(virtually the only newspapers printed at this time).
A small amount of progress has been made in even the war in Mexico,
where US forces have retaken the city of Monterrey from the Huerta
government. US deaths, though, are also at an all-time high. The
United States is pissing through nearly five hundred soldiers a month,
at this point. And, what's better for Hearst's regime, the misdirected
anger continues to rise within the ranks at the Socialists,
anarchists, and other ungrateful hell-raisers in the United States.
What's best, the latest troop rotation is about to begin.
- With the latest batch of embittered soldiers returning from the
deserts of Mexico, the President finally issues a long-awaited order
in late March, criminalizing the entire Socialist Party and ordering
the arrest of all of its known members. The people don't bat an
eyelash at the President. They've been expecting the order for a long
time and, frankly, many don't care. As one historian would later note,
"the levels of human indifference are, in some ways, more shocking
that the levels of brutality." However, while they might not care,
they certainly do take notice.
On April Fool's Day, 1912, the FSS launched the first raids in its
short but illustrious career. Around the nation, nearly
fifteen-thousand heavily Troopers of the Federal Security Service
crash through the doors of the nation's cities, arresting nearly
fifty-thousand Socialist Party members. The next day is a repeat of
the last, and the day after that a repeat of the one before until the
raids officially end two weeks later.
By the ides of April, the US government held nearly four-hundred
thousand men who's only crime was belonging to a certain political
party. With cooperation from local law enforcement, many of whom
feared the wrath of the federal government, President Hearst had
single-handedly completed a seemingly perfect takeover and
consolidation of power. By the end of April, the first consolidation
camps were being set up in the countryside to hold the political
prisoners captured in the April Fool's raids.
- Meanwhile, from his home outside of New York City, former Vice
President Theodore Roosevelt began sending out letters to politicians
and military officers across the nation who are upset by the Hearst's
dictatorship. From the writing desk of Theodore Roosevelt, the first
organized opposition with potential military-backing to the Hearst
regime begins to form.
This is pretty damn good.
I've always wanted to see a plausable TL where the US government becomes a dictatorship.
I've always wanted to see a plausable TL where the US government becomes a dictatorship.
Mikey said:
Don't be too happy. It's not going to last for more than two or three more parts.
And, before anyone complains about the takeover being implausible, I'd like to remind everyone that it was the power of indifference and hate which led to Adolf Hitler assuming power in Germany. I believe that, given the right circumstances, indifference and hate for a particular group could have led America down a similar road.