Major General Smedley Butler, an interesting read

[flvegan]

A very politically active coworker enlightened me to this today. It's called "War Is a Racket" and here's a link:
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Every marine can tell you about Smedley Butler

but they don't know about this

[BoX o BooX]

2. We were taught to revere General Butler in the Marines.

I think they hoped we wouldn't find out what he REALLY thought.

[jody]

3. Butler was a die hard Republican who hated the corporate takeover

of America.

[Postman]

4. Butler was also recruited by corporate America to lead a coup...

against FDR back in the 1930's.

Rightwing corporate America believing that FDR was implementing too much social reform for the average American.

Butler exposed the plan in testimony before a Congressional Committee. Two books that I know of cover this story, "The Plot To Seize The White House" by Jules Archer and Trading With The Enemy by Charles Higham.

It was also reported in the New York Times back at the time of the plan. Closed door testimony was taken but never fully disclosed to the public until it was reprinted in the book "The Plot To Seize The White House"

[flvegan]

7. I understand that some of the alleged folks involved

fled to Europe when this came out.

[Postman]

8. I don't know where you got that from.

The people and organizations behind the plot were the Morgan's , DuPont's, American Liberty League (consisting of the Pitcairn family, Mellon Associates, Rockefeller Associates, Hutton Associates, GM, Pew family, Robert Welch founder of John Birch Society.

Others named in the book.

[jody]

5. Also read "The Plot To Seize The White House" by Jules Archer

Butler played the key role in thwarting a coup which would have installed a fascist government in the U.S.

[htuttle]

6. Another interesting tidbit about Butler

In the lead up to WWII, shortly after the election of Roosevelt, a number of Wall Street financiers approached Butler and asked him to lead a coup against FDR.

Instead of going along with them, he reported it to Congress. Here's one account from a fairly random link:

In 1934, Smedley Butler told a Congressional committee that several Wall Street brokers, represented by one Gerald C. MacGuire, had approached him, seeking his leadership for another group of veterans to march on Washington—this time, an armed force that would make it clear to Roosevelt that it was either Wall Street's way or the highway. America had seen its own attempt at a Fascist coup.
http://www.corporatemofo.com/stories/030928warracket.htm

It was after this experience that Smedley Butler wrote War is a Racket.

In the movie 'Seven Days in May', Kirk Douglas' character was loosely based on Butler's role in defeating and exposing the aborted 'coup'.


on edit:

wow, GMTA. I took too long to type this.