I am most familiar with the late Gen. Butler and his work. Did you know he won the Medal of Honor twice? And, yes, he was spot-on accurate in his assessment of the interests he fought for.
One more thing, Gen. Butler was a loyal American. His testimony was instrumental in putting down a coup against FDR. The traitors included members of the American “aristocracy” who wanted to overthrow FDR. Names and organizations associated with the plot included DuPont, Morgan/Stanley and General Motors. Not many people know the story:
A review by Dale WhartonDale Wharton is a retired computer programmer who writes two-page (900 word) book reviews as a hobby. He was a seaman in the US Navy at the end of WWII. He received his B.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri in 1949.The Plot to Seize the White Houseby Jules Archer
Hawthorn Books: New York
244 pp.
EXCERPT…
… Why would a cabal of capitalists--conspirators of enormous wealth-- approach such a man? Because they knew veterans revered him; he never ordered anything done he would not do himself. Grunts, noncoms, and combat officers believed Butler was their friend. Forty times, envoys of Wall Street tried to persuade him to lead a coup d'etat.
The instigators wanted a putsch commander who could mobilize 500,000 soldiers overnight. These would make up a paramilitary force, to take form as the American Liberty League. Its pattern was a French veterans' group, the Croix de Feu. (The backers studied then rejected two other models of veterans' organization that fascists had used in taking power: Mussolini's blackshirts and Hitler's brownshirts.)
The reason for the plot was the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), a member of the same ruling circles as the cabal itself. March 5, 1933--the day after his inauguration--FDR embargoed the export of gold and declared a national bank holiday. He told the "Hundred Days Congress" to enact a New Deal into law. In striving against the Depression, FDR awakened hope in the American people, but he appalled bankers and industrialists. Who would pay for this New Deal? The rich feared changes to the US system of finance, a rise in taxes, possibly even (Heaven forbid!) socialism.
Rumours of the plot reached Washington, where the Committee on Un- American Activities (CUAA)--was already exposing fascist intrigues. Its cochairmen were John McCormack (D MA) and Samuel Dickstein (D NY). CUAA got in touch with Smedley Butler: did the general have anything to tell them? After prying out all the plans he could, Butler asked a friend, an experienced newsman, to confirm the whole incredible scheme. The reporter visited twice with an agent of the conspirators (a wounded Marine vet) and set down his findings…
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