Smedley D. Butler and the Plot to Overthrow Roosevelt

[Paul Rigby]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document.shtml

Still, better late than never. But do remember, ALL BBC programmes are brought to you care of spook-vetted reliables.

[John Simkin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document.shtml

Still, better late than never. But do remember, ALL BBC programmes are brought to you care of spook-vetted reliables.

Thank you for this. Anyone can listen to the program on the web.

This is how the BBC website describes the program: "The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans. The plotters, who were alleged to involve some of the most famous families in America, (owners of Heinz, Birds Eye, Goodtea, Maxwell Hse & George Bush’s Grandfather, Prescott) believed that their country should adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression."

[Michael Chapman]

Up until now everything that has ever been written about the Smedley Butler affair has been designed to obscure and deceive. Until now.

But Chappers won't let you down - watch this space!

[John Simkin]

Up until now everything that has ever been written about the Smedley Butler affair has been designed to obscure and deceive. Until now.

But Chappers won't let you down - watch this space!

What I find difficult to grasp about this story is that someone with clearly left-wing views such as Smedley Butler would have been approached to take part in such a conspiracy. However, as with the UK and other European countries, I am sure that there were several rich businessmen who were willing to fund a conspiracy to overthrow the democratically elected government.

By the way, did you know that there is a link between Smedley Butler and the assassination of JFK?

[John Simkin]

Smedley Butler has been mentioned several times on the Forum over the years. I think he now fully deserves his own thread:

Smedley Darlington Butler was born in Pennsylvania on 30th July, 1881. His father, Thomas Stalker Butler, was a lawyer and politician and in 1897 was elected to the House of Representatives.

Butler was educated at the Haverford School, a private secondary school for the sons of wealthy Quaker families in Philadelphia. Although brought up as a pacifist he runaway from school at sixteen to join the army. Butler lied about his age and secured a second lieutenant's commission in the US Marines.

After six weeks of basic training Butler was sent to Guantanamo, Cuba, in July 1898. He saw action against the Spanish before being sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion. At the Battle of Tientsin on 13th July, 1900, Butler was shot in the thigh when he climbed out of a trench to retrieve a wounded officer. In recognition of his bravery Butler was promoted to the rank of captain. Butler was badly wounded for a second time when he was shot in the chest at San Tan Pating. In 1903, Butler was sent to Honduras where he protected the U.S. Consulate from rebels.

In 1914 Butler won the Medal of Honor for outstanding gallantry in action while fighting against the Spanish at Veracruz, Mexico. Major Butler returned his medal arguing that he had not done enough to deserve it. It was sent back to Butler with orders that not only would he keep it, but that he would wear it as well. Butler won his second Medal of Honor in Haiti on 17th November, 1915.

Promoted to the rank of brigadier general at the age of 37 he was placed in command of Camp Pontanezen at Brest, France, during the First World War. This resulted in him being awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and the French Order of the Black Star.

Following the war, Butler transformed the wartime training camp at Quantico, Virginia into a permanent Marine post. In 1923 the newly elected mayor of Philadelphia, W. Freeland Kendrick, asked Butler to leave the Marines to become Director of Public Safety. Butler refused but eventually accepted the appointment in January 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge requested him to carry out the task.

Butler immediately ordered raids on more than 900 speakeasies in Philadelphia. He also ordered the arrests of corrupt police officers. Butler upset some very powerful people in his crusade against corruption and in December 1925 Kendrick sacked Butler. He later commented "cleaning up Philadelphia was worse than any battle I was ever in."

Butler returned to the US Marines and in 1927 was appointed the commander of the Marine Expeditionary Force in China. Over the next two years he did what he could to protect American people living in the country.

At the age of 48, Butler became the Marine Corps' youngest major general. Butler became the leading figure in the struggle to preserve the Marine Corps' existence against critics in Congress who argued that the US Army could do the work of the Marines. Butler became a nationally known figure in the United States by taking thousands of his men on long field marches to Gettysburg and other Civil War battle sites, where they conducted large-scale re-enactments before large crowds of spectators.

In 1931, Butler said in an interview that Benito Mussolini had allegedly struck a child with his automobile in a hit-and-run accident. Mussolini protested and President Herbert Hoover instructed the Secretary of the Navy to court-martial Butler. Butler became the first general officer to be placed under arrest since the Civil War. Butler was eventually released without charge.

Major General Wendell C. Neville died in July 1930. Butler was expected to succeed him as Commandant of the Marine Corps. However, he had upset too many powerful people in the past and the post went to Major General Ben Hebard Fuller instead. Butler retired from active duty on 1st October, 1931.

In 1932, Butler ran for the U.S. Senate in the Republican primary in Pennsylvania, allied with Gifford Pinchot, the brother of Amos Pinchot, but was defeated by James J. Davis.

Butler went to Senator John McCormack and told him that their was a fascist plot to overthrow President Franklin Roosevelt. Butler claimed that on 1st July 1934, Gerald C. MacGuire a Wall Street bond salesman and Bill Doyle, the department commander of the American Legion in Massachusetts, tried to recruit him to lead a coup against Roosevelt. Butler claimed that the conspirators promised him $30 million in financial backing and the support of most of the media.

Butler pretended to go along with the plot and met other members of the conspiracy. In November 1934 Butler began testifying in secret to the Special Committee on Un-American Activities Authorized to Investigate Nazi Propaganda and Certain Other Propaganda Activities (the McCormack-Dickstein Committee). Butler claimed that the American Liberty League was the main organization behind the plot. He added the main backers were the Du Pont family, as well as leaders of U.S. Steel, General Motors, Standard Oil, Chase National Bank, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

Butler also named Prescott Bush as one of the conspirators. At the time Bush was along with W. Averell Harriman, E. Roland Harriman and George Herbert Walker, managing partners in Brown Brothers Harriman. Bush was also director of the Harriman Fifteen Corporation. This in turn controlled the Consolidated Silesian Steel Corporation, that owned one-third of a complex of steel-making, coal-mining and zinc-mining activities in Germany and Poland. Friedrich Flick owned the other two-thirds of the operation. Flick was a leading financial supporter of the Nazi Party and in the 1930s donated over seven million marks to the party. A close friend of Heinrich Himmler, Flick also gave the Schutz Staffeinel (SS) 10,000 marks a year.

On 20th November, 1934, the story of the alleged plot was published in the Philadelphia Record and the New York Post. Four days later the McCormack-Dickstein Committee released its preliminary findings and the full-report appeared on 15th February, 1935. The committee reported: "In the last few weeks of the committee's official life it received evidence showing that certain persons had made an attempt to establish a fascist government in this country... There is no question that these attempts were discussed, were planned, and might have been placed in execution when and if the financial backers deemed it expedient."

Although the McCormack-Dickstein Committee claimed they believed Butler's testimony they refused to take any action against the people he named as being part of the conspiracy. Butler was furious and gave a radio interview on 17th February, 1935, where he claimed that important portions of his testimony had been suppressed in the McCormack-Dickstein report to Congress. He argued that the committee, had "stopped dead in its tracks when it got near the top." Butler added: "Like most committees, it has slaughtered the little and allowed the big to escape. The big shots weren't even called to testify. Why wasn't Colonel Grayson M.-P. Murphy, New York broker... called? Why wasn't Louis Howe, Secretary to the President of the United States, called? Why wasn't Al Smith called? And why wasn't General Douglas MacArthur, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, called? And why wasn't Hanford MacNider, former American Legion commander, called? They were all mentioned in the testimony. And why was all mention of these names suppressed from the committee report?"

John L. Spivak, who had been mistakenly given access to the unexpurgated testimony of the people interviewed by the McCormack-Dickstein Committee. He published an article in the New Masses entitled Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy on 5th February 1935. This included the claim that "Jewish financiers" had been working with "fascist groups" in an attempt to overthrow President Franklin Roosevelt. The article was dismissed as communist propaganda.

In November 1935 Butler wrote an article for the socialist magazine Common Sense: "I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested."

Butler also published a book entitled War is a Racket (1935). It was a powerful denunciation of war. He wrote: "In the (First) World War a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows. How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?"

Smedley Butler continued to campaign against the Military Industrial Complex until his death on 21st June 1940.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAbutlerSD.htm

[Charles Drago]

Up until now everything that has ever been written about the Smedley Butler affair has been designed to obscure and deceive. Until now.

But Chappers won't let you down - watch this space!

What I find difficult to grasp about this story is that someone with clearly left-wing views such as Smedley Butler would have been approached to take part in such a conspiracy. However, as with the UK and other European countries, I am sure that there were several rich businessmen who were willing to fund a conspiracy to overthrow the democratically elected government.

By the way, did you know that there is a link between Smedley Butler and the assassination of JFK?

John,

I'm not certain which link to the JFK murder you're referencing, but I'll share the one that I perceive:

Douglas MacArthur.

Jules Archer's The Plot to Seize the White House recently has been reissued in paperback. While it is, to date, the only book-length investigation of the FDR coup to have been published, William Corson and Joseph Trento had researched and written The Last President, another coup history that was scheduled for a 1992 release.

In fact, Oliver Stone had made plans to produce and direct a film treatment of that book. See the following link:

www.freerepublic.com/forum/a398316446f1d.htm

In addition, problematic JFK researcher Barbara Lamonica has published essays on the Butler affair.

As for why Butler would have been approached: Manipulation of the protesting veterans encamped in D.C. was a key element in the plot, and they would have been fiercely loyal to and obediently followed their hero Butler to the exclusion of just about everyone else. It was a calculated risk, I think, one born of arrogance and necessity.

MacArthur and his masters learned their lesson, and took the gloves off in 1963.

Would you care to share your JFK link? Would it have anything to do with Camp Butler in Okinawa?

Charles Drago

Edited July 25, 2007 by Charles Drago

[Ron Ecker]

As for why Butler would have been approached: Manipulation of the protesting veterans encamped in D.C. was a key element in the plot, and they would have been fiercely loyal to and obediently followed their hero Butler to the exclusion of just about everyone else. It was a calculated risk, I think, one born of arrogance and necessity.

I recently read Archer's book, and as I recall the conspirators presented the plot to Butler as an attempt to help out the veterans and also to help out Roosevelt, by giving him an "assistant" to take care of things that were taking so much of Roosevelt's time. This assistant, of course, was going to be America's dictator.

If the BBC is saying that the plotters felt Hitler or Mussolini tactics were needed to help end the depression, that is basically BS. They wanted fascism, all right, but they wanted it to save their fortunes, which they felt were threatened by Roosevelt policies. One of the plotters stated that he was willing to spend half of his fortune on the plot if it would save the other half.

[John Simkin]

Would you care to share your JFK link?

One link is that in 1932, Butler ran for the U.S. Senate in the Republican primary in Pennsylvania, allied with Gifford Pinchot, the brother of Amos Pinchot, who was the father of Mary Pinchot Meyer. They were themselves linked by their Quaker upbringing.

The other link is that Smedley Butler was the first person to expose the Military Industrial Complex. In November 1935 Butler wrote an article for the socialist magazine Common Sense: "I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism." Later that year he published a book entitled War is a Racket (1935).

You can read the whole book here:

http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

[Ron Ecker]

And Butler was absolutely right. We could sure use him around today. The last general to mention the MIC, as far as I know, was the one who coined the phrase, Ike in 1961. Since then, I guess all of America's generals have been in lock step. An MIC medal is probably part of the fruit salad on their uniforms.

[Mark Stapleton]

Whether or not Butler was approached to be in the plot rates below his revelations on the motives for war, for my part. And I always thought Ike was the first to warn about the MIC.

His brief period as Philly's Director of Public Safety is very instructive. An honest public official can expect a short career indeed. Treating the poor and the wealthy as equally answerable to the law guarantees a brief and controversial role in public life (I'm duty bound to point out the similarity with todays war on drugs). Fortunately for Butler, he had a boss who could fire him immediately. JFK was fired the other way.

Somebody should make a movie about this guy. He would be a far more interesting and complex case study than Eliot Ness.

Edited July 25, 2007 by Mark Stapleton

[Michael Chapman]

As for why Butler would have been approached: Manipulation of the protesting veterans encamped in D.C. was a key element in the plot, and they would have been fiercely loyal to and obediently followed their hero Butler to the exclusion of just about everyone else. It was a calculated risk, I think, one born of arrogance and necessity.

I recently read Archer's book, and as I recall the conspirators presented the plot to Butler as an attempt to help out the veterans and also to help out Roosevelt, by giving him an "assistant" to take care of things that were taking so much of Roosevelt's time. This assistant, of course, was going to be America's dictator.

If the BBC is saying that the plotters felt Hitler or Mussolini tactics were needed to help end the depression, that is basically BS. They wanted fascism, all right, but they wanted it to save their fortunes, which they felt were threatened by Roosevelt policies. One of the plotters stated that he was willing to spend half of his fortune on the plot if it would save the other half.

The motive of the conspiracy's OUTER core.

The INNER core had an altogether different agenda

[Guest Gary Loughran]

As for why Butler would have been approached: Manipulation of the protesting veterans encamped in D.C. was a key element in the plot, and they would have been fiercely loyal to and obediently followed their hero Butler to the exclusion of just about everyone else. It was a calculated risk, I think, one born of arrogance and necessity.

I recently read Archer's book, and as I recall the conspirators presented the plot to Butler as an attempt to help out the veterans and also to help out Roosevelt, by giving him an "assistant" to take care of things that were taking so much of Roosevelt's time. This assistant, of course, was going to be America's dictator.

If the BBC is saying that the plotters felt Hitler or Mussolini tactics were needed to help end the depression, that is basically BS. They wanted fascism, all right, but they wanted it to save their fortunes, which they felt were threatened by Roosevelt policies. One of the plotters stated that he was willing to spend half of his fortune on the plot if it would save the other half.

The motive of the conspiracy's OUTER core.

The INNER core had an altogether different agenda

Ah c'mon Michael, surely you've something a little more substantive than this.

To date, you've to finish the Litivenenko piece, Woolmer, the one about cannibalism (Churchill init) as well as offering the vast number of rebuttals to John's theory, now this.

I eagerly await something in each of these, but not too long please.

[Charles Drago]

My best friend, who is an attorney, has a colleague who married into one of the OLD money families identified -- correctly, I'd argue -- as one of the sponsoring agents of the FDR coup.

Over drinks one evening just before Christmas I suggested to this fellow that, over the holidays, he ask his wife's grandfather and father and uncles what they thought of Smedley Butler.

Who?

Trust me, I told him. You'll find the response ... interesting.

He phoned me early in January. All I got was obscenity, he reported. And oh yeah, the term "rat" was used by the grandfather.

I kid you not.

They also pressed him for why he was asking, and he promptly ratted me out. He was told to avoid bringing up the subject again. With anyone.

Charles

Edited July 25, 2007 by Charles Drago

[Paul Rigby]

John L. Spivak, who had been mistakenly given access to the unexpurgated testimony of the people interviewed by the McCormack-Dickstein Committee. He published an article in the New Masses entitled Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy on 5th February 1935. This included the claim that "Jewish financiers" had been working with "fascist groups" in an attempt to overthrow President Franklin Roosevelt. The article was dismissed as communist propaganda.

Good to see Butler getting a thread of his own. But recall that Spivak wrote two articles for New Masses, not just the one. Details to follow:

From the Education Forum thread entitled:

Roosevelt and Kennedy (Feb 2007)

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...15&start=15

Further reading:

Clayton Cramer, “An American Coup d’Etat?”, History Today, Vol 45 (11), November 1995, pp.42-47;

John L. Spivak, "Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy: 1. Testimony that the Dickstein Committee Suppressed," New Masses, Vol 14 (5), January 29, 1935, pp.9-15;

John L. Spivak, “Wall Street’s Fascist Conspiracy: 2. Morgan Pulls the Strings,” New Masses, Vol 14 (6), February 5, 1935, pp.10-15;

NB: For UK readers, the relevant editions of New Masses were held - presumably still are - by the Hallward Library of Nottingham University.

George Wolfskill. The Revolt of the Conservatives: A History of the American Liberty League, 1934-1940 (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1962);

Official report into the plot: Investigation of Nazi Propaganda Activities and Investigation of Certain Other Propaganda Activities: Public Hearings Before the Special Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Seventy-third Congress, Second Session, at Washington D.C., December 29, 1934. Hearings No. 73-D.C.-6, Part 1; p.194: McCormack-Dickstein Committee published "Extracts," a 125 page "document";

Hans Schmidt. Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History (Univ. Press of Kentucky, 1987).

To finish, a suggestion for John/the appropriate mod; and a couple of reflections on the BBC programme.

John/the appropriate mod, why not simply re-label this thread something like "Smedley D. Butler and the plot to overthrow Roosevelt," and subtitle it "Link to BBC Radio 4 programme on the subject, July 2007"?

The programme was a solid enough primer on the subject, marred only by a bizarre intro that wondered why we'd heard so little about it. Er, could it be that organisations like the Beeb have hitherto steered clear of such controversial - and, for understanding US politics, essential - subject matter? Or didn't the BBC exist in 1934, and in all years subsequently?

What exasperates me about the BBC - leaving aside trivial matters like compelling me to pay to be lied to - is the way it allocates resources. This topic surely demanded longer than 30 mins - was there really insufficient cash to devote an hour to it, and produce some new material? I'm not advocating wall-to-wall conspiracism or anything of the sort - God forbid - just the proper application of tax payers money to more interesting, if uncomfortable, truths about the world we really inhabit.

Paul

[Ron Ecker]

Somebody should make a movie about this guy. He would be a far more interesting and complex case study than Eliot Ness.

Agreed, and one has to wonder why Oliver Stone got cold feet. If there was some problem with Trento's never published book, all Stone had to do was buy the rights to Archer's book. And the McCormack-Dickstein material is free.

Instead we've now got Tom Hanks starring in "Reclaiming History." Those folks in Hollywood are really looking out for America.