Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 82



Only Noblemtl

#082

“New Town, is it a new rural area? The meaning and the feeling are perfect.”

“Are you okay?”

In response to my question, Roosevelt burst into laughter, saying that his eyes were not deceived.

“If you start making plans now, you’ll start as soon as you take office.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, well. Someone like you doesn’t need to worry about the election.”

Before we knew it, the October wind had become cold.

And the election was now just a month away.

But no one doubted my election.

Although the water was a bit muddy because of one idiot who resigned midway on corruption charges, wasn’t this the area where Roosevelt was governor before becoming president?

My name value there was also considerable.

Even though they are comrades who fought back to back with me in the 42nd Division, there is no way that people of different party affiliations would come and join forces with someone who has no hope.

What can I say when I say that the Republican Party will have a hard time even finding a decent candidate because of the news of my candidacy?

“By the way, the reason you came to me like this and told me in advance is···”

“Where else is rural in New York State?”

“No. Yes. It’s not bad. Especially since there’s substantial evidence that it’s worse than Europe.”

“If we focus on rural reconstruction and modernization rather than the New Deal, it will be difficult for the Republican Party to openly oppose it.”

Dixies, they live in the countryside.

In fact, the idea of ​​providing subsidies to agriculture has been around for a long time.

But to those who blindly believe in the invisible hand, the farmer was also a self-employed person, a businessperson.

‘Should we give subsidies to farmers?’

‘Are you going to give grants to all the people whose businesses failed?’

‘Why does the government bail out those who have failed because they lack ability or because their business itself is unpromising?’

However, business was business. No matter what anyone said, agriculture was the foundation of the country, and so it was difficult to just let it fail.

In particular, food self-sufficiency was important, but considering the impending World War II, it was dangerous to leave the current rural collapse as it was.

There were also serious problems caused by the large number of immigrants resulting from the collapse of rural areas in nearby cities.

“I heard California is very saturated?”

“Ha. Yeah. Fucking dust ball.”

Although my intervention was said to have improved things, it seemed of little consequence in the face of a massive natural disaster.

In any case, the situation in the Great Plains region was very serious.

In just one year, more than 80,000 people migrated to nearby California, more than the number of immigrants during the 19th century gold rush.

“New York City is no joke either.”

Central Park, in the heart of New York City, was no longer a park. It had long since been transformed into a giant Hoovertown.

What was even more disconcerting was that New York’s condition was still relatively better than that of other states.

“Let’s start in New York and share any issues that arise along the way.”

“Then, based on that, we can make a plan to start a business in rural areas across the country.”

“yes.”

“So which county do you plan to start with?”

He asked me, a former governor of New York, quite specifically about my plans.

“Now it’s time to decide.”

“huh?”

The core of the New Community Movement was not unconditional support, but differentiated support through competition.

New York was made up of about 60 counties and 932 towns.

The plan was to have county by county and even town by town compete against each other.

“Hoo.”

When I suggested that we create competition by giving more support to counties and towns that are doing well, Roosevelt nodded as if that wasn’t a bad idea.

“The libertarians would love that.”

“yes.”

Isn’t competition what those who blindly believe in the invisible hand cry out for?

The story of giving more support to those who are good at it was a pretty good means of preventing complaints about why only those people are being supported.

“But the initial investment cost will be quite high. How do you plan to handle the budget issue?”

“I’m thinking about forming a cooperative and raising loans.”

“That loan···.”

Of course the government should do it.

“Hmm. So you came here to ask for money after all.”

Roosevelt nodded, though he glared at me.

The New Town policy was well worth it.

##

January 2, 1935.

The crowds that came to see my gubernatorial inauguration were enormous.

Of course, there were reporters, but also New York residents who gathered to see my face, and people who came to congratulate me.

“They say that when Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated as governor, the largest crowd in history came, but today seems to be even bigger.”

“Is that so?”

The person who was chosen as my aide after becoming governor was none other than Donovan.

Truman also seemed to be eyeing the spot, but Donovan, who had been with them longer, seemed more comfortable.

As Donovan said, the crowd was so large that he was worried that an accident might occur.

“Wow. There are so many people.”

“Yeah. Dad’s subordinate?”

“Huh? No.”

There were quite a few adults who looked tired of the crowd, but Mary was hanging by the window, smiling brightly as if she was having a good time.

And then, suddenly.

“merry.”

Aren’t you going out by opening the balcony door?

It was still winter, and the cold wind was blowing. Albany, New York was particularly cold because it was at a higher latitude than Washington, where Mary had lived.

Startled, I followed Mary out onto the balcony.

At that moment,

“Wow.”

“MacArthur, MacArthur.”

The sudden shout made me stop for a moment. That was it.

“Dad, dad.”

Mary, who was hanging on my leg, quickly reached out and told me to hug her.

Let’s go forward, carrying Mary in our arms.

“Wow!”

The cheers grew louder.

Click, click.

It was chaos, and I could even hear the shutter sound.

And in the midst of all that chaos, isn’t Mary smiling brightly and waving her hand?

“Ha, you troublemaker.”

“huh?”

“Isn’t it noisy?”

“Yeah, Mary, I like that.”

I burst out laughing too at the sight of Mary laughing out loud at how good it was.

And the inauguration ceremony began.

The last one, of course, was a press conference.

“New York is in a very difficult situation right now. What is the governor’s plan to overcome this?”

“I know that the Roosevelt administration’s New Deal policies have already been implemented in many ways in New York State. However, many say that they are not enough.”

“Do you have any other options?”

Unlike the residents who were friendly to me, the media atmosphere was mixed.

No, they all asked me pointed questions because they thought they had to bite me to get the kind of hot-selling stories the reporters wanted.

“Yes. After traveling around New York State and confirming, I think that the reconstruction of rural areas is more important than anything else.”

Those who thought I could come up with a plan for Hoover Village in New York City or carry out large-scale civil engineering projects similar to the Boulder Dam with a budget obtained from the central government looked visibly bewildered by my sudden rural rhetoric.

“Sir, have you ever been to Europe?”

“uh···.”

As I turned my head here and there to look around, leaving the others who seemed bewildered and unable to answer, several people raised their hands.

“I have been there.”

“me too···.”

“me too.”

I nodded as if I understood, then asked a different question.

“So, do you know how rural Europe differs from rural America?”

Even if you’ve been to Europe, you’ve probably only been to big cities like London, Paris, or Frankfurt. How many people have been to rural areas?

“They say that the electricity penetration rate in rural areas in Europe is over 90%. That means it’s almost the same as in cities.”

As soon as I finished speaking, a murmur began to be heard from all over the place.

‘Hey, that’s ridiculous.’

‘No, but there’s no way I’d tell a lie that would get caught right away.’

‘That’s true.’

“Is that true?”

“If you don’t believe me, you can go and check for yourself. Whether I lied or not.”

“···”

“In comparison, what about our rural areas in the United States? Less than 15%. In Europe, nine out of ten households use electricity and live decent lives, but in the United States, eight out of ten households still use lights. Which country created and commercialized electricity? Was it England? France? Germany? No. It was the United States. So why are there still so many American citizens who do not have access to electricity?”

As I asked my question, which simultaneously touched on my pride as an American and my deep-rooted inferiority complex, silence fell in an instant at the inauguration ceremony, which had been bustling with people.

“Isn’t this the same America? Why can’t the rural areas enjoy the same benefits of civilization that we can easily enjoy in the cities? I, MacArthur, think this is clearly unreasonable.”

“Wow. MacArthur, MacArthur.”

As soon as I finished speaking, cheers erupted from the crowd behind me.

“Are you talking about providing electricity to rural areas?”

“Yes. We plan to expand social infrastructure that can improve the living standards of rural areas, starting with electricity, water and sewage, garbage collection, and communication networks. I have named this type of rural modernization and expansion of rural utility services the New Town Policy.”

“It’s Newtown.”

“Yes. What is the origin of our New York? Isn’t it the New York? From today, the rural areas of New York will be reborn as new villages, new towns.”

“Oh, oh.”

##

After the inauguration, a meeting with county and city leaders was held at the official residence.

“New town? I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Yes. I heard during the election campaign that you had a very good plan for the revitalization of rural areas…”

“Our county stands ready to actively cooperate.”

Leaders in rural areas, especially those around the Great Lakes, welcomed the new-town policy with open arms, but not everyone did.

“Rural areas are important, but aren’t cities where the population gathers?”

“That’s right. You should know how much of a mess the city is right now···.”

“Huh. This is true.”

Among those who criticized the Newtown policy most vocally was none other than New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia.

“Is it really true that the new town policy that the governor is talking about can solve all the problems of people leaving rural areas?”

“How can everything be resolved? Just the urgent matters first…”

“ha.”

Guardia interrupted me, sighed deeply, and opened his mouth in an agitated voice.

“I agree that rural areas, like cities, should benefit from advanced civilization. They are our residents and American citizens. But in the current situation, I cannot help but think about the effect of the budget.”

The criticism was that it was not cost-effective.

First of all, the reason he was so hostile to me was because he was a Republican.

Why is there a Republican mayor of New York City in a Democratic stronghold?

It was all thanks to the antics of former mayor Jimmy Walker.

Walker was a very capable person who served as mayor of New York City from 1926 onwards, creating the Department of Sanitation, reorganizing the Department of Transportation, and strongly opposing Prohibition.

He was called a reformist activist and a future city planner, and although his approval ratings declined after the Great Depression, he was re-elected in the 1932 election, serving a total of four terms.

however,

“What? A corruption scandal?”

“The amount of money they took in exchange for favors for entrepreneurs is enormous.”

What particularly worsened public opinion about Walker was the death of a woman named Vivian Gordon.

A former prostitute, she gave crucial testimony to the commission regarding Walker’s corruption, but her body was found in a remote park shortly after giving her testimony.

The cause of death was asphyxiation. The clear marks on her neck indicated that she had been murdered.

Even then-governor Roosevelt decided that he could not leave Walker alone.

And just before Roosevelt announced Walker’s dismissal, Walker announced his resignation from the mayorship.

The announcement took place in front of the boarding gate of the SS Conte Grande, a passenger ship that travels between New York and Italy. After resigning from the market, Walker immediately left New York and fled to Europe.

As a result, the Democratic Party lost New York City, which had been their stronghold for a long time, to the Republican Party.

But it wasn’t bad for me.

Although he is protesting with a look of dissatisfaction on his face right now, Guardia is a very capable person.

He is considered one of the first mayors of New York City in history.

If I can remember your name, then I’ve said it all.

If I worked well with Guardia, I could become governor? That didn’t seem like it would be difficult.

But I felt like I had to at least break his spirit a little so that he would listen to me.

Apple juice, apple jam, apple pie, apple cookies, apple chips…