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Pov of Warren G. Harding
20-November-1921
"Schmidt v. United States, on the front page of several newspapers. It seems that in some quarters, the suspension of Germans' political rights has not been particularly well received, much less the decision by some of the states most hostile toward them to strip those rights away almost entirely" said Charles Evans Hughes as he showed me one of the newspapers printed that morning.
"I knew this could end badly, but there was only so much we could do to control what the governors and their state legislatures decided, especially now that the Democrats have suffered a mortal blow at the polls on account of Wilson's war. How bad is the situation in the streets? Or can we settle this simply by bringing some pressure to bear so that the Supreme Court declares those laws unconstitutional as soon as possible?" I asked, raising a hand to my temple.
"It is rather more complicated than that, Mr. President. We cannot simply apply Guinn v. United States. The Fifteenth Amendment does not directly address discrimination of this kind, since we are not dealing with exclusion on the grounds of race or color. The Fourteenth Amendment would have greater bearing here, along with the question of who qualifies as a citizen entitled to full rights. Moreover, many of those affected by these anti-German laws are immigrants who have not yet been naturalized. The states might amend their laws sufficiently to allow their American-born children to vote while continuing to exclude the parents who retain German citizenship" Charles explained as he approached my desk.
"A splendid way to destroy their own electoral base. But of course, those fools can afford such things because scarcely anyone is thinking of voting for the Democrats just now. Everyone associates them with the party that sent millions of men to die in the trenches and brought home corpses, invalids, and men missing their arms or legs. We shall have to bring pressure to bear to get those laws repealed once and for all. All they will accomplish is to foster resentment among German Americans, and this stupidity could end up costing us several northern states" I said, looking at Charles with considerable annoyance.
"It would be improper to put direct pressure on the justices of the Supreme Court, Mr. President. But if we cannot find another way to hasten the proceedings, we shall have to use every lawful avenue and all the political influence at our disposal to bring the matter before them as soon as possible. The longer Germans spend telling themselves that this country does not regard them as true citizens, the more likely they are to turn against us. And that is precisely what we must prevent" Charles replied, nodding slowly.
"And what of compensation for the veterans, Mr. President? That question remains unsettled, and it could place an enormous burden on the federal Treasury. To that we must add the expenses associated with the thousands of ships built or acquired during the war. Now that we have no immediate use for them, we are still shouldering tremendous costs that must be reduced if we are to enact the tax cuts needed to combat the economic depression" said Andrew Mellon, who had remained silent until then.
"We cannot pay such a bonus to millions of soldiers. There simply are not sufficient funds to provide for so vast a number of beneficiaries. If we attempted it, we could find ourselves with no room left in the budget for years. If both houses pass such a bill, I shall veto it. We cannot plunge the country still further into debt over Wilson's war. That scoundrel ought to pay for it out of his own party's coffers instead of leaving the government to shoulder the burden after his war ended as it did" I said with evident irritation, shaking my head.
"We also need to secure the subsidies and authorizations necessary to sell some of the ships" Mellon continued. "We do not want them ending up as scrap. We paid far too much for them during the war, and naturally, now that the need for them has diminished, they are worth nowhere near their original cost. We must make it easier for private companies to purchase them, relieve ourselves of their upkeep, and recover whatever we can. The notion held by certain senators and representatives that we must recover every last dollar invested is wholly unrealistic. Many of those vessels are not even modern or efficient enough to be particularly attractive to merchants or shipping companies."
"I shall see what I can do, but many in Congress refuse to accept that the government must take a loss on the sale of those ships. The absurdity is that, if they refuse to sell them for less than their original price, they will end up rotting in our harbors until they are fit for nothing but scrap, should we cease maintaining them. Sometimes I cannot imagine what goes through the minds of certain senators and representatives. They make decisions that defeat their own purposes, then behave as though they have safeguarded the public purse" I replied, shaking my head again.
"Thank you. Let us hope both houses understand that before we lose millions more" said Mellon.
"The only encouraging news is that the naval disarmament talks appear to be progressing reasonably well. Many of the nations involved seem willing to halt construction on certain ships or reduce their fleets. Let us hope the Germans and the Japanese honor their promises to withdraw some of their vessels from service, for then we shall be able to do the same. We must put an end to the drain this war has imposed on our Treasury and bring the country out of this depression before more unemployed men fall into the hands of the criminal gangs spreading throughout the nation" I said as I sat down again and looked at the other members of the Cabinet.
"I do not know how much assistance we can provide, but France needs substantial food relief. Repeated crop failures, compounded by the contamination of the fields and the destruction wrought by the war, have left much of its agriculture in a disastrous condition. In some regions, they can scarcely produce enough to feed the population, leaving them wholly dependent on whatever relief and imports they can obtain. We may have to send still more food, because their latest harvests have been too poor to meet even their most basic needs" Charles said as he handed me several documents concerning the French food situation.
"That will depend on Congress. We can try to purchase food from our own farmers to sustain their production and then ship it to France, but we cannot keep up that assistance indefinitely. France must get back on its feet. Enough time has passed since the war ended that they ought to be able to meet at least the basic food requirements of their own people" I said, narrowing my eyes as I examined the figures.
"There is also the risk that the French may become unable to repay the enormous debt they owe our banks. A default on that scale would probably force us to intervene to save several financial institutions holding French debt. We are speaking of billions of dollars. And with our present policy of reducing expenditures and taxes, the government would have little room to absorb such a blow. Under the wrong circumstances, we could face a veritable financial catastrophe" Charles warned, pointing to several figures in the documents.
"Charles is right. There is a very real danger in what may lie ahead. If France reaches the point of having to choose between repaying its loans and feeding its people, it will stop repaying those loans without much hesitation. We could then face a banking crisis unlike anything we have ever seen, Mr. President. I would therefore recommend yielding on this point and seeking approval for a substantial shipment of food. We must ensure that France can continue to meet its obligations, or we shall find ourselves facing the consequences here at home" Andrew said with a faint smile.
"More expenses on account of that war. Every difficulty we face comes back to the damned war Wilson dragged us into. And scarcely had we withdrawn from Europe before that peace they promised began to fall apart, particularly with that German Herzog in the Baltic, who shoved the peace treaty where the sun does not shine" I muttered through clenched teeth as I began drafting the request I would send to Congress for approval of aid to France.
"I have heard that this same Herzog is preparing a grand display of political influence and engineering prowess. He intends to have his aircraft flown around the world and has sent several of Germany's aviation heroes to undertake the journey. He wants to demonstrate that German-Baltic engineering can produce aircraft reliable enough to circle the globe, while also securing permission from various countries to fly over their territories" Charles said, looking steadily at me.
"Good for them, I suppose" I replied, raising my eyes to Charles.
"According to the Ukrainian envoys at our meetings on naval disarmament, the Herzog has a range of excellent aircraft that he intends to sell abroad. Apparently, he hopes to turn the attention the journey is receiving from the international press into orders from foreign buyers. We might attempt to forestall him by organizing something similar, provided we act quickly" Charles said.
"If they have already set out, they must be months ahead of us. It is too late to try to beat them in that race. Still, something of the sort might help create employment in our own aircraft industry in the future. For the present, however, we have far more pressing concerns. We must first put the country on a sound footing before this depression grows worse. We need to settle the sale of the ships, secure the tax reductions, and retain sufficient reserves to meet whatever fresh misfortune may come our way" I said as I signed a sheet of paper.
"Mr. President, forgive the interruption" said the attorney general.
"What is it?" I asked, looking him directly in the eye.
"I am afraid I have unwelcome news. I have received information from Chicago's chief of police concerning a situation that is, at the very least, suspicious. The senior officers of the local police are rather perplexed by what is happening in that city" he replied, handing me a folder.
"What has happened? Another shooting? A robbery? Has someone important been murdered?" I asked, somewhat agitated by the news.
"No. And that is precisely the difficulty. For more than two weeks, practically no crimes connected with organized criminal activity have been reported. There are no more disputes over territory, clashes between gangs, or any of the incidents that characterized the city until recently. Nor are reports coming in from patrolmen about speakeasies, bootlegging, or disturbances involving the gangs. In scarcely two weeks, Chicago has recorded an extraordinary decline in violent crime associated with those organizations" the attorney general explained.
"But that is good news. It means people are returning to work and the authorities are finally doing their duty. Perhaps business is beginning to recover, and people would rather earn an honest living than become a burden on society" Andrew Mellon said with a smile.
"I do not believe it is that simple" the attorney general replied. "A city plagued by dozens of clashes between gangs, numerous reports of illicit liquor production and distribution, threats, robberies, brawls, and murders does not suddenly become so peaceful without a reason. Stranger still, no new cases involving those organizations are appearing before the local courts."
He opened the folder and pointed to several reports.
"My theory is that someone has brought the gangs to heel. I do not know how. Until recently, numerous sizable criminal organizations were fighting one another, and weakening them had proved exceedingly difficult, particularly given the lack of cooperation from the municipal administration. But something has happened. A single organization may have succeeded in imposing its authority over the rest."
"That is a rather far-fetched theory" I said, shaking my head. "Although I admit it is peculiar for a city so steeped in violence to become quiet overnight. Nevertheless, if the city is peaceful, I have no intention of spending a fortune from the federal Treasury to investigate why fewer people are being murdered."
"Mr. President, this could be a very serious matter" the attorney general insisted. "Every gang in Chicago may have agreed to submit to a single leader, bringing their disputes to an end. Or perhaps one organization has eliminated or absorbed the others. If that is what has happened and we allow them to continue growing, rooting them out later will be far more difficult."
I spent a few moments looking at the folder.
"Send a few federal agents to find out what is happening, but keep the inquiry modest. We must reduce the cost of government, and I will not spend a fortune investigating a city precisely because its inhabitants have stopped killing one another" I replied with a grimace.
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