Chapter 807: Chapter 604: Public Opinion Offensive_1
At the urging of the United Kingdom, the actions of the World Alliance speeded up.
On August 25, 1924, the World Alliance issued a notice to the Arican Governnt, demanding that the Arican Governnt end the wars in the Philippines and Central Arica within three months, and bring peace to these two regions.
During the three-month period, the Arican people must not dispatch any more troops to the Philippines and Central Arica, and should progressively withdraw the Arican army stationed in both regions, as well as evacuate their navy.
If the United States could not et the above conditions, then, at the end of three months, by late November 1924, the World Alliance would formally intervene with military force in the wars of these two regions.
This notice was not only handed over to the Arican Governnt but was also widely reported by major European dia, spreading to Arican dia and the civilian population.
Such a threat-like notice also firmly clarified the stance of the World Alliance. The Arican Governnt naturally understood the purpose behind this notice, but by then, they had no room for retreat.
Or rather, they had to choose a more reasonable plan, one with minimal loss for themselves, to satisfy the Arican public who were already inford.
Let’s not speak of the Philippines for now, for most of the ti, it was a loss-making venture for the United States, its greatest utility being rely a stepping stone in Arica’s Pacific strategy, a military base on the Pacific Coast.
Compared to this, Central Arica is quite significant for the United States and is not far from the Native Land.
If the European powers were to take control of Central Arica, the several Southern coastal states of the United States would be threatened, a fact that would be unbearable for the Arican people.
Even more critical is that if the Panama Canal were to be lost in this incident, then Arica’s hopes would be virtually extinguished.
The importance of the Panama Canal to the United States was as significant as the Kiel Canal was to the German Empire.
But the Kiel Canal only saved a few hundred nautical miles of travel, whereas the Panama Canal saved an entire South Arican journey.
If the Panama Canal fell into the hands of other countries, the economy and developnt of the United States would plunge into darkness, an eventuality that the Arican Governnt could not accept.
With this attitude, the Arican Governnt contacted the World Alliance and several key countries within the World Alliance, conveying the stance of the Arican Governnt, which was an unwillingness to withdraw from Central Arica.
No matter how firm the Arican people’s stance was, a country was destined not to be able to combat the union of several countries.
Australasia and the United Kingdom gave a faint smile and brought out the strategy used during the Irish War, which was to control public opinion and unleash a barrage of propaganda.
Previously, the Arican people did not refrain from undermining the British during the Irish War, widely publicizing the British’s brutal rule in Ireland, and portraying the British as a great villain.
Now, it was ti for the British to retaliate. The United Kingdom and Australasia showed no rcy, buying up a large amount of news agencies in Europe and the United States, continuously reporting on the war in Central Arica, and depicting the Arican army as an evil villain.
On August 31, 1924, in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Lampard was an ordinary Arican worker. Like other workers, their most content mont was the ten minutes spent reading the newspaper at breakfast, not only providing relaxation but also keeping them abreast of fresh happenings in society.
Picking up today’s newspaper, Lampard’s face showed mild surprise, looking with bewildernt at the largest headline—The Evil War.
Quietly reading the content of the newspaper, Lampard’s face beca particularly expressive, captivated by the news editor’s fine literary style, drawing him into this narrative.
The story that started the news article recounted the life of an ordinary family in the nation of Nicaragua in Central Arica, also an ordinary worker like Lampard.
But due to the presence of an Arican base within Nicaragua, these Arican soldiers would from ti to ti harass the Nicaraguan common people, committing all manner of atrocities.
Because of the Arican soldiers, many Nicaraguan families went from happiness to devastation, and even when sick, they lacked the funds for dical care, ultimately succumbing to illness.
The story concluded with a summary by the news, posing a thought-provoking question: “If this is the real reason behind war, would you still support this evil conflict?”
Although it didn’t affirm the veracity of the story, the news included several photographs from the Nicaraguan war, including a few that depicted emaciated, starving Nicaraguan children with pronounced ribs.
This was where the newspaper showed its cleverness—it didn’t explicitly verify the story, but let the people guess, allowing them to profoundly imrse themselves in the narrative, to consider from the perspective of Nicaragua.
“Damn, this can’t be true, can it?” Lampard’s face beca uncertain, for he too understood that the world was not so lustrous and the struggle between nations was not so harmonious.
“What’s the matter?” Lampard’s wife looked toward her husband with curiosity.
“Just read this for yourself, I can’t believe this is real. What exactly has our country done?” Lampard said, incredulous.
Scenes like this unfolded in many Arican households, casting a pall over the atmosphere on the last day of August.
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However, this was not significant; the morning news had no influence on the workers heading to their posts, after all, earning money was the major event.
But it was only when these workers who had all watched the news gathered together that public opinion had the best opportunity to fernt.
A factory on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
“Hey, Orleans, did you see today’s news?” The person beside Orleans looked at him with a mysterious expression and asked.
“Of course, did you also see that report?” Orleans nodded, ready to voice his own doubts.
“Do you think what was in the news is true, Orleans? Did our country really do so many cruel things?” Before Orleans could ask his questions, the person beside him beat him to it.
“I hope not.” Orleans replied hesitantly, his mood reflecting his uncertainty: “Aren’t those soldiers just regular Aricans? They wouldn’t do such things, would they?”
“Then how do you explain the influenza matter?” The person continued to ask curiously.
Orleans was at a loss for words, without any thought of rebuttal.
Putting aside the veracity of this news report for the mont, the last influenza outbreak, having co from an Arican laboratory, was certified by the World Alliance, and the Arican governnt had paid a substantial amount in compensation.
If it were not true, the World Alliance wouldn’t fra us without reason! Besides, the Arican governnt’s acceptance of that loan was enough to reveal its guilt.
With the influenza incident as precedent, even if they were law-abiding, patriotic Aricans, now they couldn’t guarantee that their governnt and military wouldn’t commit such acts.
“What are you chatting about?” Another person joined in, eager to take part in the conversation.
“We’re talking about today’s newspaper, Sherlock. Didn’t you see today’s paper? You really missed out on big news,” the person beside Orleans said with a laugh.
“Are you referring to that report? I saw it too,” the person nad Sherlock nodded and added.
“Do you think it’s true? Sherlock.” Orleans asked, quite curious.
“I think it might be. If it weren’t true, the World Alliance wouldn’t have issued a formal warning.
You know, the World Alliance is made up of five powers: the United Kingdom, Australasia, France, Russia, and Italy; they wouldn’t specifically target us, right?” Sherlock shared his thoughts.
“Damn, looks like the news is true then,” the person beside Orleans said indignantly: “We can’t support this wicked war; do you have any good plans?”
“Why not ask Mr. Dyke what he thinks? If it’s about organizing a protest, I’m willing to spend my free ti on it,” Orleans nodded and suggested.
Mr. Dyke was the person in charge of the factory workers’ association, beloved by these workers, and held the highest authority within their ranks.
Protests by ordinary workers were typically organized by these workers’ associations, as there weren’t many who held enough prestige to organize a factory-wide protest.
If the morning’s news report was just the start of Aricans’ controversy over this war, then as ti fernted, this controversy gradually reached its peak.
The United States, as a country not established long ago and also the largest immigrant nation in the world, still had many unstable elents within.
Though a large part of the immigrants had co to identify with this strong nation, many were still dissatisfied with the governnt and the state.
Driven by both dostic and international forces, the discussion about this war had reached its climax, and many who were unhappy with the governnt began to erge, even launching massive protests.
On September 1,1924, the first protest about this incident appeared on the streets of Los Angeles, involving over 500 workers from several factories, drawing the keen attention of the Los Angeles governnt.
But this was just the beginning. Within a re week, the frenzy had swept through several U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, from the West Coast to the East Coast.
If at first, the protests were a covert plan by so factories, with ti, the protests beca more organized and larger in scale.
By September 7, 1924, the number of protesters in the United States had exceeded 100,000.
In all major cities, Aricans demanding an end to the war could be seen carrying banners.
Their angry shouts condemned even the Arican police who maintained order as accomplices of the governnt.
Both the current President Coolidge and President Wilson during the influenza epidemic were labeled as madn by the protesting Aricans, accused of leading the United States towards the abyss.
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