Chapter 606: America’s Response

If governments must choose an event that gives them the most headaches, I believe that most governments will choose demonstrations rather than wars.

For these European countries, public demonstrations are the most difficult to deal with. If the public is dissatisfied, they will face more serious civil unrest, and even the government may be overthrown.

If you blindly follow the opinions of the public, it may be contrary to the opinions of some officials in some European countries. After all, the opinions of the public are sometimes not correct.

In this case, it is very important to control public opinion. Because the public has a blind herd mentality and is very easily influenced by some public opinions.

If it is really the will of the people, it will be fine, but if it is because of the influence of public opinion from some external forces that the public opinion changes, this is a difficult choice for some countries.

Now such a difficult choice has been given to the US government, and it has also caused President Coolidge and other government officials a lot of headaches.

Regardless of what the people think, these two wars must not be easily withdrawn.

But if the war continues, how should the angry people be dealt with? If the US government insists on the war, will it really become what the news reports say in the minds of the people?

Especially for a government that relies on popular elections, losing the support of the people means that President Coolidge will not be re-elected, and may even be impeached by Congress due to a sharp drop in public support.

September 8, 1924, the White House.

President Coolidge looked at the people in the conference room with a gloomy face, and asked in a hoarse voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, is there any good solution now?"

Seeing that the number of people in the march has increased, the attitude of the people is also a factor that the US government has to consider.

In any case, it is impossible for the US government to completely ignore the attitude of the people. After all, the United States is a republic, and the stability of the government requires the support of the people.

If it is a monarchy like Australasia, it can hold on for a while with the reputation of the monarch.

If Australasia encounters such a situation, Arthur can handle it alone and buy enough reaction time for the government.

But the US government obviously does not have such a person who can bear the pressure of the people on his own and get more reaction and response time for the government.

"Mr. President, I think the first thing to do is to reduce the number of people in the parade as much as possible." The US Secretary of State stood up and helped President Coolidge solve his problems.

"How to reduce the number of people in the parade?" President Coolidge looked at the Secretary of State and asked his own question.

"Mr. President, we should quickly appease the people and let them know that this war is not an evil war." The US Secretary of State said: "

At the same time, we should mention the importance of Central America to us. If we lose Central America, it also means that the Panama Canal is in danger.

Once the United States loses the Panama Canal, it will be a heavy blow to our economy, industry and all walks of life. Such a result is not a good thing for the people.

Let the people know the consequences of losing Central America, so that they will not continue to join the parade against us, and this crisis can be initially resolved."

President Coolidge nodded, and was quite satisfied with the Secretary of State's proposal.

"Can the propaganda department respond quickly, publish some news that proves the justice of our war, and declare the importance of Central America to the entire United States and all Americans?" President Coolidge looked at the propaganda department again and asked with a serious face.

"Try to complete the task, Mr. President." The head of the propaganda department did not give a definite answer, but answered ambiguously.

"I need a definite answer." President Coolidge did not move his eyes away, and looked at the propaganda department firmly and seriously.

"Mr. President." The head of the propaganda department stood up helplessly and explained: "It takes a certain amount of time to print these newspapers, and it is impossible to cover the entire United States in a short time.

Besides, Mr. President, we can't stop other newspapers from printing news at all. We are backward in the level of printing news.

While we influence the people, other newspapers will also influence more people."

The United States is relatively free, but there is also a disadvantage to doing so, that is, some companies and industries are easily controlled by capital.

For example, newspapers and media that print news, the current newspapers are an indispensable channel for people to obtain news from the outside world, and the sales of newspapers in the United States are still very high.

This also leads to a serious problem. Each state in the United States has its own newspaper industry, and even the competition in the newspaper industry in a city is very fierce.

The current Central American war has become big news in the United States, and those capitalists are simply impossible to give up printing these news.

It is almost impossible for the Propaganda Department to fight against all American newspapers and media on its own.

There is no other way, it is just this shitty freedom. If the government interferes too much with these newspapers and media, it may lead to more dissatisfaction among the people, which will add fuel to the fire for the current situation.

"Damn it." President Coolidge was a little angry, but he could do nothing about it.

Because what the Propaganda Department said was the truth, even President Coolidge could not change the reality.

It is not possible to directly supervise and restrict all current newspapers, but doing so is destined to be criticized by those newspapers, and may even escalate the current situation.

The current U.S. government has a bad reputation. If it continues to do these more extreme things, we will not know how the people will react.

"Everyone, is there any better way?" President Coolidge rubbed his brows and continued to ask.

"Mr. President, it is not normal for such news to spread throughout the United States. I am afraid that there may be interference from other countries behind it.

This also means that we have to fight against several countries in terms of public opinion. Now that we have the advantage, it is difficult for us to resist. "Another of President Coolidge's confidants stood up and said.

"Instead of thinking about how to win back public opinion, we should think about what we should do to reduce the losses to the country and the government, while trying to regain the trust and support of the people as much as possible."

"What are your suggestions?" President Coolidge sighed, as if accepting his fate.

"The Panama Canal must not be lost. It is related to the fate of the entire United States and the support of all Americans. It must be protected even if it uses all the power of the United States." The man continued:

“But on this basis, we also have to make some concessions. Australasia has been plotting against the Philippines for a long time, and we are beyond our reach.

It would be better to sell the Philippines to Australasia in exchange for Australasia giving up its support for El Salvador.

As for the UK, without the support of Australasia, we can fight against the UK alone.

If I remember correctly, relations between Honduras and Britain were not very good. As long as we promise British Honduras, I believe Honduras will be interested in joining us against the British.

In this way, we are not without helpers in Central America, at least the losses will not be that big. "

"Mr. Eric, do you think Australasians will give up cooperation with the United Kingdom for the sake of a Philippines?" The US Secretary of State couldn't stand it anymore and retorted funny.

The situation is now clear, and the Americans are at a disadvantage.

If Australasia continues to firmly support the British, there is a high probability that it will be able to obtain the Philippines and El Salvador.

Although accepting the conditions of the Americans can avoid war, it only obtains a Philippines that has actually been obtained. It does not gain much for Australasia. On the contrary, it will destroy relations with the United Kingdom, which is obviously not worth the gain.

Australasians will understand such a simple and easy-to-understand truth, and the possibility of accepting the American conditions is infinitely close to zero.

Eric was obviously a little embarrassed when he was asked, but he still replied calmly: "You have to try. Sitting and waiting will only make the situation worse."

President Coolidge rubbed his brow again and felt very tired. He stopped the quarrel between his two confidants and said helplessly: "Try your best to get Australasia to give up supporting the British.

If necessary, El Salvador can be given to them. Compared to El Salvador, Central America as a whole is more important. "

"Yes." After hearing President Coolidge's speech, the two stopped arguing and turned their attention back to the current situation in Central America.

On September 9, the U.S. Ambassador to Australasia conveyed President Coolidge's idea to use the Philippines in exchange for Australasia's neutrality in this incident.

It was already noon on the 9th when this proposal was delivered to Arthur's desk.

Arthur was slightly amused by this, because the Americans had no choice but to give in at this time. The Philippines is clearly under the actual control of Australasia, so such a concession is equivalent to doing nothing, just a status.

Naturally, Arthur looked down upon such conditions and directly decided to end the talks with the US ambassador.

"Your Majesty the King!" The U.S. ambassador quickly stood up and continued to put forward his conditions: "If Australasia is willing to remain neutral in this incident, the United States will no longer interfere in the situation in El Salvador and acquiesce in your country's occupation and occupation of El Salvador. manage."

El Salvador is still far away from Panama, and its presence in Central American countries is not too strong.

The loss of El Salvador is also acceptable to the Americans, which is at least much better than the loss of the entire Central America.

Arthur smiled and shook his head, and said to the expectant American ambassador: "Obviously, Mr. Ambassador, this condition cannot destroy our friendship with the United Kingdom."

The second update of 3000 words, please vote for me and support!