Smedley butler wars democracy8/2/2023 He steered the reporter to some of his associates and French wrote an expose that appeared in both the Record and the New York Post. When contacted by French, MacGuire spoke openly about the plot and of his desire for a fascist America. Weapons and ammunition would be supplied by the Bridgeport-based Remington Arms company, or Remington UMC, which had recently been taken over by the DuPont Corporation.īutler told the story of what became known as the Business Plot to Paul Comly French, a reporter for the Philadelphia Record. Morgan banking interests (including Thomas Lamont, great-grandfather of Connecticut governor Ned Lamont) and Grayson Murphy, a director of Goodyear Tire, Anaconda Copper, and Bethlehem Steel. According to Butler, Clark confirmed everything MacGuire had said and named other plotters, some of whom were among the most prominent and best-known industrialists, politicians, and military figures in the country.Ĭlark reportedly told Butler that some of those who supported the plan and were willing to bankroll it were executives from the DuPont Corporation (including Irenee du Pont) the Democratic Party’s candidates for President in 19, John Davis and Al Smith several people associated with the J. The American Legion would be the 500,000-strong vehicle to bring about the coup and they wanted Butler to lead it.īesides MacGuire, Butler stated that he met with Robert Clark, an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine Company. When he returned, he met with Butler several more times and, according to Butler, stated that very wealthy, powerful men had 50 million dollars available to spend on a coup against Roosevelt. According to testimony Butler later gave to Congress, MacGuire said he had large sums of money at his disposal to bankroll a run by Butler for the Legion’s top post.Ī short time later, MacGuire traveled to Italy and Germany to study how veterans’ groups helped the fascists come to power there. He and many of the moneyed men he worked with felt alarm at the proposed policies of Franklin Roosevelt, the country’s new president. MacGuire was born in Rhode Island on May 10, 1897, served in the First World War, settled in Darien, and worked at a prominent Wall Street brokerage house. MacGuire, three-quarter length portrait – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs DivisionĪmong the visitors was Gerald MacGuire, the Legion’s Connecticut commander.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |