Chapter 809: Chapter 605: The United States’ Response_1
If governnts around the world were to rank the most headache-inducing event they face, most would likely choose protests over war.
For European nations, handling public protests is extrely challenging. Discontented citizens can lead to more severe civil unrest, and in so cases, even the overthrow of governnts.
To unquestioningly follow public opinion may contradict the views of so officials in European nations, after all, the views of the people are not always correct.
In such circumstances, controlling public opinion becos vitally important, as people tend to follow the crowd blindly and are easily swayed by certain opinions.
If it were genuinely the will of the people, it would be one thing, but when changes in public sentint are influenced by foreign powers, it becos a difficult choice for so nations.
This tough decision now falls on the Arican Governnt, which has caused President Coolidge and other officers considerable headaches.
Setting aside how the public feels, these two wars are definitely not conflicts to withdraw from lightly.
But if the commitnt to the wars is maintained, then how should the governnt address the ire of the Arican People? Would steadfast prosecution of the wars truly turn the governnt into the villain as portrayed in news reports?
Especially for a governnt elected by its people, losing public support ans not just that President Coolidge might not be re-elected but also that he could potentially face impeachnt by Congress due to a significant drop in public approval.
September 8, 1924, at the White House.
President Coolidge looked grimly at the few people in the eting Room, his voice hoarse as he inquired, “Gentlen, do we have any good solutions now?”
As the numbers of protesters grew, the Arican Governnt had to consider the public’s attitude.
Regardless, it was impossible for the Arican Governnt to completely ignore public sentint. After all, the United States is a Republic, and governnt stability relies on the support of its people.
If this were a monarchy like Australasia, the prestige of the Monarch could withstand the pressure for a while.
Were Australasia faced with this situation, Arthur alone could cope, buying the governnt enough response ti.
But clearly, the Arican Governnt does not have such a person who can bear the pressure of the people singlehandedly to afford the governnt more reaction and response ti.
“President Sir, I believe that the first thing we need to do is to reduce the number of protesters as much as possible,” stated the United States Secretary of State, stepping forward to relieve President Coolidge’s concerns.
“How can we reduce the number of protesters?” President Coolidge turned his gaze to the Secretary of State, asking his own question.
“President Sir, we should quickly appease the people and make it clear that this war is not an unjust war,” said the Secretary of State. “At the sa ti, we should highlight the importance of Central Arica to us. Losing Central Arica would imperil the Panama Canal.
Should the United States lose control of the Panama Canal, it would be a heavy blow to our economy, industry, and all sectors, not to ntion an adverse outco for the people as well.
Only when they understand the consequences of losing Central Arica will they stop joining protests against us, and only then can this crisis be initially resolved.”
President Coolidge nodded, quite satisfied with the suggestion of the Secretary of State.
“Can the Propaganda Departnt respond promptly, print so news that proves the justice of our war, and declare the significance of Central Arica to the entire United States and all Aricans?” President Coolidge turned his stern gaze to the Propaganda Departnt and asked.
“We will do our utmost to complete the task, Mr. President,” replied the head of the Propaganda Departnt, giving an ambiguous answer.
“I need a definite answer,” President Coolidge did not avert his gaze, looking steadfastly and seriously at the Propaganda Departnt.
“President Sir,” the head of the Propaganda Departnt stood up, sowhat reluctantly, explaining, “Printing these papers takes ti, and it is impossible to cover the whole United States in a short period.
Moreover, President Sir, we cannot prevent other Newspaper agencies from printing news; we are behind in this respect.
While we influence the people, other newspapers will also affect many more.”
Freedom of the press is relatively high in the United States, but this freedom cos with a downside; it allows industries and enterprises to fall under the control of capital.
Take the dia and newspapers that print the news, for instance. Newspapers are an indispensable source of external information for people, and newspaper sales in the United States remain high.
This has led to a serious problem: every state has its own newspaper industry, and even within a single urban city, the competition is fierce.
The current war in Central Arica has beco big news in the United States, and the capitalists would certainly not pass up the opportunity to print such news.
For the Propaganda Departnt to try to contend against all Arican newspaper dia with its efforts alone is virtually impossible.
There’s no way around it, it’s this damned freedom. If the governnt interferes too much with these newspapers and dia, it might just add fuel to the public’s dissatisfaction, especially in the current situation.”
“Damn it,” President Coolidge felt anger but was powerless.
Because what the Propaganda Departnt said was the truth, even President Coolidge couldn’t change reality.
They hadn’t been able to directly supervise and restrict all the newspapers, but doing so was bound to provoke criticism from these outlets and could potentially escalate the current situation.
The Arican Governnt already had a poor reputation, and if it did sothing extre, it was uncertain how the people would react.
“Does anyone have a better idea?” President Coolidge asked as he rubbed his forehead.
“President Sir, the spread of such news throughout the United States isn’t normal. There is likely interference from other countries behind it.”
“This ans that in terms of public opinion, we have to contend with several countries. With the advantage already in their hands, it’s hard for us to fight back,” another confidant of President Coolidge stood up and said.
“Instead of considering how to gain ground in public opinion, we should think about how to minimize losses for the country and governnt while also regaining as much trust and support from the people as possible.”
“Do you have any suggestions?” President Coolidge sighed, speaking as if resigned to his fate.
“The Panama Canal is definitely sothing we cannot lose. It’s vital to the fate of the entire United States and the support of all Aricans; we must protect it at all costs,” the person continued:
“But on top of that, we have no choice but to make so concessions. Australasia has long coveted the Philippines, and we are out of reach there.
Why not sell the Philippines to Australasia in exchange for Australasia’s withdrawal of support for El Salvador?
As for the United Kingdom, without Australasia’s support, we can take on Britain alone.
If I rember correctly, relations between Honduras and the United Kingdom aren’t good. As long as we promise British Honduras to them, I believe Honduras would be interested in joining us against Britain.
This way, we’d have an ally in Central Arica, and the losses wouldn’t be so great.”
“Mr. Erick, do you really think the Australasians would give up their cooperation with the British over a single Philippines?” The United States Secretary of State could hardly bear it and sarcastically rebutted.
The situation was already clear, the Aricans were at a disadvantage.
If Australasia continued its firm support for the British, they were likely to gain both the Philippines and El Salvador.
While accepting the Arican proposal would prevent war, it would only an obtaining a Philippines that was effectively already secured, which wasn’t much of a gain for Australasia, especially since it would an damaging relations with Britain, obviously not worth the loss.
A conclusion so obvious, Australasians would understand; the likelihood of them accepting the Arican terms was virtually zero.
Caught off guard, Erick clearly felt embarrassed, but still replied sheepishly, “We have to try. Doing nothing will only make the situation worse.”
President Coolidge, feeling extrely weary, rubbed his forehead again and stopped the bickering between his confidants, saying helplessly, “Do our best to get Australasia to stop supporting the British.
If necessary, we can let them have El Salvador. Compared with El Salvador, it’s the entirety of Central Arica that’s more important.”
“Yes.” Hearing President Coolidge’s statent, the two stopped arguing and turned their attention back to the current situation in Central Arica.
On September 9, the United States Ambassador to Australasia conveyed President Coolidge’s thoughts, wanting to exchange the Philippines for Australasia’s neutrality in this incident.
When this proposal arrived on Arthur’s desk, it was already noon on the ninth.
Arthur found it sowhat amusing because the Arican concessions were made out of desperation. The Philippines was already effectively under Australasia’s control, making this concession nothing more than a nominal gesture.
Clearly unimpressed by such terms, Arthur decided to end the talks with the Arican Ambassador.
“Your Majesty!” The Arican ambassador hastily stood up, continuing to press his conditions: “If Australasia maintains neutrality in this affair, the United States will no longer intervene in El Salvador’s situation, accepting your country’s occupation and managent.”
El Salvador was still quite far from Panama, and it didn’t have a strong presence among Central Arican nations.
For the Aricans, losing El Salvador was acceptable, certainly far better than losing all of Central Arica.
Arthur just smiled and shook his head, speaking to the expectant Arican Ambassador, “Clearly, Mr. Ambassador, these terms are not enough to compromise our friendship with Britain.”
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