"...At 4:45 PM on July 28th, Douglas MacArthur's infantry, cavalry, and tank units appeared on Pennsylvania Avenue, employing tear gas and smoke bombs to suppress the protesters. After 10:00 PM, almost all the makeshift shelters in the camp were set ablaze. Flames leaped 50 feet high, spreading to the nearby woods and drawing unsuspecting firefighters from six local stations to battle the blaze."
"It is reported that the majority of the protesters were World War I veterans, accompanied by their families, numbering over twenty-five thousand. They had gathered in the capital, Washington, waiting for and requesting relief from the government. According to incomplete statistics, the entire crackdown resulted in at least several hundred injuries, two veteran deaths, and at least three children and infants suffocating from tear gas."
Under the impact of the Great Depression, all walks of life were deeply affected.
This naturally included the veterans who had served in World War I. The compensation promised to them by the American government was their only hope for survival in the current Great Depression.
During World War I, in addition to their daily salary of one dollar per person, American soldiers who participated in the war received an extra 25 cents as an overseas living allowance. However, this salary was not distributed to the soldiers during the war.
After the war, because the American government could not afford this expense, it enacted and passed the "Adjusted Service Certificate Law" in 1924. The government first issued a bonus certificate to the World War I veterans, promising that the owed salary would be paid in cash after 20 years, calculated at one dollar per day of service, compounded with interest.
This law, which delayed salary payments for twenty years, was full of shrewd calculations from the start.
However, the onset of the Great Depression plunged the already impoverished veterans into desperation.
To get their compensation, these veterans brought their wives and children, wore their old military uniforms, and carried faded American flags. They either marched in silence or spontaneously conducted drills and sang war songs.
Starting in January of this year, they had tirelessly made their way to Washington to begin their protest activities.
However, these protesting veterans never expected that what awaited them was not a welcome from the government, but a ruthless crackdown.
And throughout this entire crackdown, besides President Hoover who gave the order, the most conspicuous figure was undoubtedly Douglas MacArthur, who would later be known as a better "actor" than a general.
This was the same four-star General who, in a later speech to Congress titled "Old Soldiers Never Die," famously declared, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."
Throughout the suppression, he showed no mercy, even deploying tanks and cavalry in a surprise attack to destroy the camps of the veterans and protesters, rendering them completely homeless.
Douglas MacArthur himself, far from being affected by this incident, actually advanced his own career, later becoming the Chief of Staff of the Army.
As the media sarcastically put it: "They sent many of the equally disenfranchised poor to a tragic death, thus earning themselves a place in the history books."
...
"We're here, Mr. Collin Roper."
From the front passenger seat, the leader's words pulled Colin's thoughts back from the news in the newspaper.
Closing the newspaper, he turned his head to look out the car window.
A massive sports stadium brought a look of slight surprise to his face.
Clearly, he had not expected the boss these men spoke of to be located at the famous Polo Grounds.
Inside the stadium, the New York Yankees were hosting the first game of the World Series. The stands were packed with a dense crowd of spectators.
"Boss, he's here."
Colin, led by the man in charge, walked through a narrow corridor and arrived at a rather spacious viewing area.
A middle-aged man in a custom-tailored suit, with drooping eyes and a prominent scar on his face, sat in the very center of this section, smoking a cigar. Around him were several men in hats, their clothes bulging conspicuously—bodyguards, or rather, underlings.
To be able to occupy such a prime viewing spot at the Polo Grounds, the home of the New York Yankees, the man was obviously no ordinary figure.
And considering the way he had sent people to invite him, there was no doubt that the man's identity was not a simple one.
Hearing his man's announcement, the middle-aged man withdrew his gaze from the baseball game on the field and turned to look at Colin.
Colin's calm and composed demeanor made the middle-aged man pull at his drooping eyelid in slight surprise.
He then took a drag from his cigar, rose slowly, and extended his other hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Collin Roper. I hope my men didn't startle you?"
The middle-aged man's words clearly had a hidden meaning.
Colin, however, deliberately pretended not to understand the implication and extended his own hand, touching it lightly. "Clearly, they didn't."
Hearing Colin's reply, the man gave him another deep look with his drooping eyes before gesturing to a seat in the viewing area. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Charlie Luciano. I'm a businessman."
Charlie Luciano?
Hearing the name the man introduced himself with, the corner of Colin's eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
Evidently, the name Luciano was not unfamiliar to him.
Charlie Luciano, or rather, 'Lucky Charlie'.
This man, dressed in a custom suit and looking like a wealthy merchant, was a notorious figure in American history. He was known as the father of modern organized crime in America, and the First Global Mafia Congress he presided over laid the foundation for the American Mafia's prosperity for the next 50 years.
In fact, Luciano himself was the prototype for the old godfather in the film "The Godfather."
He was also the cousin of another infamous Mafia leader, 'Scarface' Al Capone.
But unlike his reckless and high-profile cousin, Luciano was more adept at using his brain and knew how to disguise himself. He hid behind the scenes year-round, always mindful of the principle of caution, and never left a trace in his actions. Even in extremely minor details like making phone calls or speaking with people, he never overlooked a thing.
It was precisely because of this that he wasn't afraid to show his face to Colin, even knowing that Colin's identity was the owner of the Messenger Newspaper.
In fact, Luciano often appeared in restaurants and theaters with prominent civic leaders, entertainers, and other celebrities, using this high-profile method to conceal his true identity and make himself appear more respectable.
In Colin's view, this was perhaps the real difference between Luciano and Capone. Capone's high profile was about committing evil, creating tragedies, and enraging the public.
Luciano, on the other hand, acted with a high profile while concealing his crimes, making everyone believe he was a respected and decent member of high society.
(end of chapter)I've finished my website and it's now launched, which means 10+ chapter uploads every day instead of 5. There are also 50+ new chapters already available on the website. Thanks for your patience, and enjoy!
👉 soollhooaf.com/novels