A Technocracy Movement That Was Successful

[Major Major]

Not quite Technocracy, Inc., but suspiciously close.

This is for Strategos' Risk, ParachronicsInc, and all the rest of the posters.

So be terrified at learning how It Could Happen Here . . .

 

[Major Major]

Subj: United States Political Report
Date: 30 June 1939

MOST SECRET EYES ONLY

Sir,

In accordance with your order of the twenty-fourth of this month, I have prepared a summary report on the political situation in the United States.

In the briefest summary I can devise, our national cousins have fallen under the domination of a dictatorship every bit as oppressive and authoritarian as that in Germany or Soviet Russia.


This domination may be said to have begun with the foundation of the Council for Progress Through Science (henceforth CPTS) in New York, New York, in 1928. The Presidential election that year saw the elevation to that office of Mr Herbert Hoover, identified by the public principally as an engineer. (As you will recall, he had indeed received such an education and possessed the requisite experience, as may be shown by his translation of De re Metallica)

Although the Directors of the CPTS contained a number of prominent scientists, engineers, and industrial entrepreneurs, the motivating force was one Howard Witt. The antecedents of Mr Witt were a mystery at the time, and while subsequent publicity has endowed him with a substantial background, it is unclear to what degree this is fabricated.

His official biography describes him as being born to middle-class middle-American parents in the town of Springfield. As there are a number of towns bearing that name in the country, and no state was given, verification of this was difficult, and the loose state of American records has made it even more so. (The summary of the negative results available is attached as Annex A.)

After an accelerated secondary education (equivalent, perhaps, to a good grammar school), Mr Witt was accepted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned degrees in engineering and sociology. The records of this institution are now classified and it is not possible to determine the truth or falsity of this statement. Interrogation of British and Imperial students at that institution has been equally inconclusive. (These interrogations are attached as Annex B.)

The first element in this career that is capable of independent verification is in 1925, when Mr Witt began writing articles for various American popular journals, on the topic of scientific principles applied to ordinary living. (A bibliography is included as Annex C.)

By 1927, Mr Witt was considered to be a public intellectual of considerable importance, equivalent to (for example) Mr H. G. Wells. He had entered into relations with a number of entrepreneurs, but his most significant such relationship begin in that year when he became an associate of the inventor Mr Thomas Alva Edison. You will be aware of the high public standing Mr Edison was held in at that time, and his endorsement of the far-sweeping political and social changes advocated by Mr Witt lent them an added cachet.

The foundation of the CPTS, then, with Mr Edison as Honorary Chairman, was seen as being an endorsement of a mainstream doctrine. Subsequent events were to prove otherwise.

 

[Major Major]

The political doctrines of the CPTS, which ruinous effects we are seeing today, were at the time considered relatively innocuous, if not outright beneficial. Nevertheless, for its first two years, the organization exercised little if any influence; being seen mostly as a means for the publication of unofficial white papers.

This changed with the stock-market collapse of 1929. In the aftermath of that economic subsidence, public opinion began to incline in the direction of a post-liberal-democracy ideal. We have seen this in England today, with the popularity of the BUF and of the CPGB, along with the general belief in an end to democracy if less authoritarian. In such an intellectual climate, Americans began looking to new ideas.

The CPTS possessed the advantage of not being a foreign or foreign-associated organization, and of being an association of educated people; people, moreover, who were associated with what was perceived as being such traditional American virtues as being self-made, hard-working, and practical. This encouraged support from people who believed that traditional social and political mores had broken down.

After the demise of Mr Edison in 1930 the CPTS became the beneficiary of his will, enabling them to increase their advocacy. Besides the traditional methods of publications (a summary of the run to date of Progress Through Science, their popular journal, and Journal of the CPTS, their professional one, is included as Annex D) the organisation employed the wireless, at that time not widely used. By providing informational programmes at a nominal charge, the CPTS Broadcasting Network (henceforth CBN) was able to distribute its ideas on a nationwide basis. [American wireless stations were required by their Federal Communications Commission to provide a certain proportion of public-interest programming. It is unclear whether this provision has been formally terminated, but in any case it is moot under the existing circumstances.] Moreover, the organisation established its own broadcasting stations in the largest markets, ensuring such coverage.

In 1933, the newly-elected President Mr Roosevelt instituted a number of far-ranging programmes to stimulate the economy and restore national morale. It should have been unsurprising that a substantial number of the new social planners were members of the CPTS. (A partial list, as best as can be determined at present, giving their names and positions, is appended as Annex E.)

It is unclear whether the members of the CPTS in government service engaged in intentional sabotage or whether they were content to let the events take their course. The latter appears more likely due to the high esteem that the organisation enjoyed during the term of Mr Roosevelt. The otherwise moribund economy remained a significant factor in low public morale during this period.

However, my report from HM Embassy in Washington (attached as Annex F) of 7 June 1936 should not have been disregarded. A number of my acquaintances in Washington society indicated that the then Vice-President Mr Garner would be dropped from the ticket, on the grounds that the President was looking for fresh ideas. A study of newspaper clippings (attached as Annex G) indicates that such a term, or similar terms, appeared with a 72% correlation to reports of work by the CPTS or CPTS members in government.

It should not have been a surprise, therefore, when Mr Witt became the Democratic Party vice-presidential candidate. I will admit to having failed to predict the subsequent events, but even had I done so they likely would not have been given credit.

 

[Major Major]

The lacklustre campaign of 1936 meant the re-election of Mr Roosevelt was a certainty. What should have been noticed at the time was the significant electioneering carried out by the CPTS and by associates of the organisation. They formed a substantial source of free labour for campaigning, and by being not foreign and not uneducated, were seen as relatively unthreatening even by political opponents of Mr Roosevelt.

With the ample funds provided by the legacies from Mr Edison and others, the CPTS was able to hire large numbers of educated, unemployed men. These formed a powerful electioneering bloc, able to articulate the ideals of the organisation credibly and ably. The election victory of the Roosevelt-Witt ticket was therefore almost a certainty.

It was not noticed at the time that the President had become more withdrawn from public life. As was not widely publicised at the time, his health had deteriorated significantly even before 1936. (The medical report discussing this is appended as Annex H.) The significance of his having accepted treatment from a physician who was a member of the CPTS was not realised at the time.

The presidential inaugural speech resigning his office included a statement that the new President deserved the unqualified benefit of an unquestionably full term. Suspicions in the foreign press of an undue influence on Mr Roosevelt have been denied by the American government (a summary of these claims is attached as Annex I, the American White Paper answering these claims is attached as Annex J, an analysis of the inconsistencies in this latter is attached as Annex K, and a report on the death of former President Roosevelt is attached as Annex L),

The new President proceeded to enact the programme of his organisation. (The annotated text of his speech announcing the new doctrine is appended as Annex M)

The legality of the enaction was dubious at best. However, the Roosevelt administration had pioneered the use of extraordinary organisations and enactments. The difference was in how Mr Witt evaded the other machinery of American government.

The acts of the Roosevelt government had been subject to judicial review, and many had been modified or even annulled. (For a discussion of the relevant legal cases see Annex N.) This was not the case with the Witt government.

One of the less noticed bureaux of the CPTS was its Scientific Research Bureau. From a study of just the nature of the organisation one would wonder about the point of this department, given the nature of the organisation. As one might suspect after further thought, this was a cover name. The research the bureau conducted was research into the personal lives of American politicans. As a result, President Witt was able to obtain governmental consent through blackmail.

In some cases this result was not undesirable. The distribution, for example, of a photograph showing the Mississippi senator Theodore Bilbo enjoying the ministrations of a Negro woman certainly benefited the moral standing of American society. Yet, the overall result was devastating to the American polity.

The Federal Regulations Act of 1937 (an annotated text is included as Annex O) was in its simplicity as authoritarian as the German Enabling Act of 1933, and was passed after influence far more subtle than that under which Mr Hitler had his lawless law passed.

 

[Major Major]

The American Constitution (the text of which is included as Annex P) contained the seeds of this destruction. You will recall the Constitution of the German Republic (an annotated text of which is included as Annex Q) contains a clause authorising the President to issue emergency decrees that have the force of law. This is the legal basis of the German Enabling Act of 1933.

The American precedent is more subtle. Article III Section 2 Clause 2 states that "the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make." Title V Section 7 of the Federal Regulations Act exempts "all regulations and executive orders needful for the carrying out of this act, and laws made in pursuance and validation of said regulations and orders, from such judicial review". Which is to say that there is no appeal from such an order.

The only way to annul this act, barring action by the Congress, would be the overturning of it on review by the system of appeals courts, which are far more powerful than the Court of Appeals here. Such a repeal was advanced, but the American Supreme Court, having been briefed by newly-appointed clerks from the CPTS, rejected the appeal, thus making the laws unassailable (the text of the decision is attached as Annex R).

As a result, the judicial power of the American government has been nullified. When added to the nullification of the review power of the Congress, the result has been an unlimited presidential autocracy.

For example, the previous session of the American Congress, on the third of January 1939, lasted four hours, most of which was devoted to the election of officers. Only two legislative acts were voted on; the General Executive Order Act, which approved the executive orders of that year, and the Budget Act, which made a block grant of budget power to the Office of Management and Budget.

In any case, the independence of the Congress is meaningless. There has been a massive turnover in its membership and the majority of its members are officials of the CPTS (a list of them and their offices is attached as Annex S); the remainder are under the supervision of the Federal Office of Mental Sanitation, which has the power under the Executive Order under which it was created to commit to a mental hospital any person who endangers the public health by reason of insanity.

Election to the American Congress is a sinecure. Over ninety-nine percent of federal elections have only one candidate. (An analysis of the 1938 election is included as Annex T.) The Federal Elections Commission, another agency created under executive order, has been given broad powers to regulate elections in, as its charter reads, a scientific, progressive, modern means. These means have included the abolition of the existing political parties and of most political organisations, and the prevention of the formation of new ones. That this repression has been and is carried out under the pretexts of scientific, progressive, sane, &c methods does not make it any less repressive.

The several states of the Union have become no more than administrative districts. Under various executive orders, the state governments have been put under administration due to financial, moral, or other real or perceived irregularities. Similar administration as was displayed on the federal level has resulted in similar results.

Again, let this be noted, the CPTS actively recruited, and continues to do so, educated and skilled men. This is not a government of open repression, or flagrant mismanagement. (Included as Annex U is a listing of known cases of CPTS members expelled and hospitalized or more rarely imprisoned for corruption or insubordination.)

Nevertheless, it is repressive.

 

[Major Major]

The Office of Mental Sanitation has become a large and far-flung bureaucracy. Its officers have been given de facto police powers; an OMS Officer may summon any individual at any time for a mental heath checkup. From the perspective of the government, anyone objecting to its actions is insane, since by definition the principles of the government are sane, scientific, progressive, and so on.

The result has been to silence most opposition. Persistent opponents of the government can expect to undergo repeated electroshock, if not psychosurgery. Consular employees have reported seeing dozens of lobotomy patients begging for money. (A list of prominent people who have been reported as being committed by acts of the OMS is attached as Annex V.)

Even if they were to express their opposition, no one would hear. Under an executive order, all wireless stations were put under control of the CBN. By current policy, wireless broadcasting is directed to be "scientific, progressive, uplifting, informative, and correct". Again, criticism of the government is defined as violating these standards.

Similarly, the press has been controlled without being controlled. The National News Council, established under an executive order, reviews all newspaper and magazine publications prior to sale. Its charter ostensibly directs it to ensure that newspapers, magazines, newsreels, etc. do not publish "libelous, false, or misleading" material. Again, criticism of the government is defined as violating these standards.

Some commentators have found this procedure to be not entirely undesirable. The recent article by Mr H. G. Wells praising the American government for its abolition of such "vestiges of superstition" as astrology columns in newspapers (a copy of which is attached as Annex W) is an example of such.

In much the same mode, religious activity has been restricted. An executive order established the Office of Religious Freedom, which "ensures the free expression of religion". The mission of this office is carried out by harassment at all levels. Minor nonconformist sects have been effectively banned; their ministers and officials hospitalised, their facilities taken over through eminent domain, and their members stigmatised. Even more manistream religious bodies are restricted. A number of Catholic, C of E, and other cathedrals have been taken under various pretexts (a list of these is appended as Annex X), while building permits for new religious buildings have been delayed indefinitely.

It should be noted that there is a formal adherence to the forms of the American constitution throughout. Official publications cite the Bill of Rights, albeit grudgingly. The undercurrent however is of hostility. The Presidential Independence Day 1938 speech cited Thomas Paine's Age of Reason six times and named him as a significant thinker; note that Age of Reason is anti-religious. As far as is known the President is not a member of any religious body; again, the cryptic nature of his background has made such verification almost impossible.

An outside source, quoting a conversation with the President, reported him as observing that "one thing that mystic Marx got right was that religion prevented one from seeing things reliably." (The full text of this report is included as Annex Y). In spite of the low reliability given to this source, and I will concede that he has also had contacts with Soviet officials of like nature, this statement does coincide with the observed policies of the American government. That he approved of it appears to be a proof of its reliability.

 

[Major Major]

One can well ask questions regarding the economy. As previously mentioned, President Roosevelt had instituted a number of programmes to revive it, which programmes succeeded in varying degrees and suffered varying fates under the judicial review permitted under the American constitution.

The reorganisation of the economy promoted by CPTS policy has progressed further along these lines, with the associated immunity from such review being a further impetus. Under the various agencies of the Council for Industrial Mobilization, American industry and trade have been reorganised.

This has affected the ordinary American in a number of ways. The small local shop has been closed, since a finding of the CPTS Commission on Trade was that centralised large-scale sales were more efficient. The purchaser who has to travel several miles in order to make his weekly purchases, when heretofore he could obtain them at the corner market, may think otherwise.

Industry has been centralised as well. Competitive industries have been "coordinated", which is to say transformed into a cartel. The ostensible advantages of centralisation, lack of wasteful competition, and advantages of scale have been cited as reasons for this policy. One effect of this has been to render advertising moot. All products are listed in the semi-annual CIM Buyer's Guide; no other measure of information is considered necessary. "The CIM Buyer's Guide contains all the information regarding a product that the thoughtful buyer will find necessary. Evaluation and purchase of goods will be conducted in a scientific, intelligent fashion through the medium of this useful guide," the Introduction claims. (A copy of the CIM Buyer's Guide is attached as Annex Z)

This direction of the market has shown itself less than satisfactory. The quality of goods and services available to the average American has deteriorated, since there is no longer any standard for comparison, and no means for making such. There is even a lack of information, since shop clerks have become even less forthcoming with such aid, and the CIM Buyer's Guide is (perhaps intentionally) confusing and hard to peruse, not to mention difficult to obtain.

Employment is managed under a centralised body, the Bureau of Economic Manpower Employment. In theory, the American seeking employment will be tested, evaluated, directed to a job best fitted to his talents, and encouraged. In practise, the tests have proven to be of varied applicability, the knowledge of available jobs has been uneven, and the quality of personnel in the BEME has been erratic. It is widely reported moreover that the "insane, unscientific, or unfitted", which classification covers all opponents of the government, will be directed to menial or otherwise trivial tasks. (The narrative of a refugee who escaped to Canada, who in spite of a degree in electrical engineering had been assigned a job in a city department of sanitation is appended as Annex AA.)

It is nevertheless difficult to determine the state of the American economy. The Office of Management and Budget continues to present figures for the size of the economy. Under the new order of things, this procedure was "rationalized". As a result, there is no means by which to compare the current state of the economy with the previous. (A survey of the cost of living made by agents with the Washington Embassy and border-crossers from Canada is attached as Annex AB.)

 

[Major Major]

A significant factor in the "rationalization" of the American economy was the formation of the National Health Service. All medical services, from the corner chemist's to the great medical clinics of the great cities, from the nurses going on muleback into the wilds to the high-priced practicioners serving the wealthy, were absorbed into this institution.

It is not entirely without merit. Universal availability of medical services has bettered the lives of the poor to some extent. There has been a certain rationalisation of services, hospitals no longer need to purchase the newest item of diathermy equipment just because the hospital at the other end of town has it, and so neither is used at anything like its potential. Bidding wars for star surgeons, with consequent raises in hospital fees, no longer occur.

As with (it seems) all the acts of this government, there is a dark side. The usual inconveniences of bureaucracy have been multiplied. Reports of patients bleeding to death on the operating table while a frustrated staff pleads with a manager for permission to undertake some procedure are rife, though only at the rumor level. (A report of three such cases reported by indigenous consular staff regarding their families is attached as Annex AC.)

The quality of some care has declined. While government officials receive the services of assigned physicians, the average American must work through a NHS Clinic. Often, this office is unstaffed, ill-staffed, or mis-staffed. (A report submitted through the San Francisco consulate of a physician in the State of Wyoming who required sexual favors from women, including the wife of a vacationing consul, before treating them, is attached as Annex AD.)

The sinister, and I do not use this term lightly, subtext to this may be seen in their endorsement of the "National Human Improvement Plan". As was mentioned in the Annexes to this text, the Board of Directors of the CPTS included one Miss Margaret Sanger, an advocate of energetic measures for improving the human germ plasm. This included forbidding the unfit to breed (a copy of a speech by Miss Sanger on this theme is included as Annex AE). The government is pursuing this policy.

Early last year, a number of Negro musicians from Jamaica returned there after a year of temporary employment in the music business in the United States. One of them, named Buford Marley, visited a doctor with a complaint of a groin infection. The doctor observed that Marley had been sterilised. (His report and medical analysis are appended as Annex AF.)

The subsequent investigation of the group revealed that they had all been sterilised. Interrogation revealed that all of them at one time or another been admitted to a NHS clinic. (These analyses are appended as Annex AG.)

Since then, investigations of American Negros who have entered British territory and have been willing to provide information and undergo examination has revealed that without exception all those who have used NHS services in the past two years have been sterilised. (The statistical report, along with selected testimonies, is attached as Annex AH.)

This investigation has been extended to other groups. A survey conducted in cooperation with the Netherlands Government has revealed that the same policy has apparently been applied to the practicing Jews of America. (This report is included as Annex AI.) While our sample is not sufficient to ensure certainty, such reports as have been made available to this office indicate that non-practicing, or less rigidly practicing Jews (the equivalent of the Liberal order) are not subject to this policy. (This report is appended as Annex AJ.)

Another effect of the centralisation of the health services has been the furthering of the government policy of stigmatising opponents of the government as deranged.

A man involuntarily committed to a mental health treatment facility is entitled to a judicial hearing regarding such commitment. When the government has its official physicians testifying for their side, while the patient has only unlicensed and unofficial persons to do so, it would take a rare judge to disregard the balance of expert testimony.

 

[Major Major]

One is entitled to ask regarding the state of the American military. Is this government a threat to Canada, to our Imperial possessions in the Caribbean and South America?

In 1937 President Witt observed that "the age of brute military force is over. Science will deliver means to guarantee peace without the mindless incompetence of the armed thug, without the witless violence of those who could not find employment in the real world." (The full text of this speech is attached as Annex AK.)

Military appropriations have been severely reduced. The funds for recruitment, operations, training, and such other needs are zero or close to it. (A report by the Attaches in Washington on the demoralised state of the American military is appended as Annex AL.)

Promotion is at a standstill. In the American system, promotion to flag rank must be approved by the Congress; no such promotion has been made since 1937. At the other end of the scale, recruitment, according to reports by the attaches, has also been neglected. The American military is being allowed to wither away.

Were a senior American officer to overcome his ingrained passionate attachment to the American system and attempt a military takeover, in the style of a South American country, he would find that his men would be forced to march, that they would have no munitions, and that his plans would be betrayed by the gross disorganisation of the military. It is only the size and isolation of the country that grants it such security.

Naval operations are even more limited. Essentially, the American fleet is rusting away at anchor. (A report by a senior British officer, commenting on the degraded state of the American ships, is included as Annex AM.)

In view of the government's devotion to technology, it might be concluded that aerial operations would be given a significant boost. This has been done, but outside the structure of the military. The American military did not have a separate Air Force; rather, their Army and Navy each had air services. These organisations still nominally exist, though without funds to conduct operations or even training.

Such aerial research as exists is being conducted under the auspices of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (henceforth NACA). The efforts of this organisation, in the opinion of the former RAF Attache to Washington, are hampered by its concentration on techniques of low utility. (His report is appended as Annex AN.)

There are competing factions striving for funding, personnel, and material. Moreover many of these factions are developing vehicles that can only be described as "crank". The report of Mr Norway regarding the crash of the R-101 was, it seems, not considered by the NACA Airship Bureau.

The President and several senior officers of the CPTS and Executive Branch participated in the 1938 New Year's celebration on board the NACA dirigible Montgolfier, flying over Washington City. It was not revealed at the time that the airship was becoming heavily iced, and its landing at the NACA Langley facility was extremely hazardous. Over a dozen dirigibles produced by the Airship Bureau have crashed or been destroyed in storms, yet funding continues.

Similarly, the NACA Rocket Bureau has funded a number of projects. These are marked by extreme empire-building with a corresponding dearth of physical results. In a notorious case one design bureau was disbanded due to the conviction for sexual crimes of its chief designer. (Newspaper coverage summarised in Annex AO.)

As for conventional aeroplanes, this effort has been directed towards the construction of long-range bombing craft. The notorious crash of the twelve-engined Boeing Bureau SuperPlane, killing the test crew and over a hundred spectators, has been only the most notorious of these incidents. Less so has been the failure of the Hughes Bureau to produce a workable aircraft, due to the repeated refinements introduced by its chief designer, whose crank fussiness has rendered the physical effort of delivering plans, much less executing them, extremely difficult.

 

[Major Major]

When considering the state of the American government, it is well to note that this is not a single man, but an organisation. An organisation, moreover different to any other such organisation in the world today. Its members are not semi-literate street thugs or crazed racialists, as with the Nazis; neither are they obsessive revolutionaries fanatically massacring themselves over minute details of the recieved wisdom, as with the Communists.

The typical CPTS member has some engineering, scientific, or other "practical" education or training. Over a third of the senior ranks of the CPTS have advanced degrees in engineering (a list is appended as Annex AP). These are not witless thugs or resentful anarchists, but the sort of men who would normally be solid, stable citizens.

Moreover, there are a number of them. Commentators observing the revolutionary events of 1937 on fail to take into account the era of preparation. It is estimated that over a third of the graduates of American institutes of higher education in engineering and the sciences during the period from 1930 to 1937 joined the CPTS (a listing of preliminary statistics is appended as Annex AQ), thus providing it with a large body of trained professionals capable of managing an organisation, and believing themselves entitled to run the country.

The popular press here in Britain presented the federal takeover of the municipal corporation of Chicago as an example of "jackbooted thuggery", equivalent to the Nazi takeover of the governments of the German states. In fact, this operation was well-planned and carried out with a minimum of force.

As has been said earlier, the CPTS had a department tasked with studying the lives of politicians and other prominent persons. Shortly after the passing of the Federal Regulations Act, the Scientific Research Bureau became the Scientific Bureau of Investigation. The SBI continued its efforts at investigating the weaknesses of potential opponents.

Their researches were used in the "cleanup of municipal corruption" in Chicago. Revelations of massive corruption, favoritism, diversion of municipal funds, and other irregularities blanketed the Chicago press and wireless, followed by well-publicised arrests of most of the senior political figures of the city.

Their elected or appointed replacements possess mainly ceremonial responsibilities; the Illinois state legislature, under "advisement" from the federal government, passed a law establishing a "temporary" Administrative Advisory Board which would oversee the financial rehabilitation and political stabilisation of the city. While its ostensible leaders are prominent members of the Chicago community, its staff and managing officers are all agents of the CPTS. All municipal enactments and expenditures are vetted by the federal government.

This sort of action has become the norm. Since 1938, most major cities have had their elected governments superseded. Chicago had been made an example, and the rest followed. The central government has heralded the "new era of scientific, rational, modern municipal government". The new bureaucracy is presented as a band of dedicated, scientific, uncorrupt individuals working to ensure progress and modernism. And, let it be noted, the central organisation has shown itself ruthless in its treatment of corruption (a partial and very incomplete list of CPTS members of local-government management staff hospitalised or gaoled for corruption is appended as Annex AR).

By dividing its opponents at the local level, by stigmatising its opponents as being against a fundamental American principle, by defending its actions as being in the interests of order, the American government has succeeded in nullifying local government.

 

[Major Major]

What are the prospects for this system?

As with the authoritarian movements in Europe, there is a certain undercurrent of support for this system. It is popularly believed among the chattering classes that "democracy has failed" since it neither prevented the World War nor the Depression, and that only some sort of autocracy can mobilise the entire effort of the nation. And indeed there is a British CPTS, backed by such persons as Mr H. G. Wells, Lord Russell, Mr Julian Huxley, and other prominent luminaries of the scientific and literary world. Lacking the organising capacity of Mr Witt, and the finance he attracted, its influence is less. The grey-suited associates of the BCPTS marched in competition with the blackshirted Mosleyites, they raise fingers in clash with the upraised fists of the Communists. Indeed, the recent ban on political uniforms has seriously hampered the public image of the BCPTS.

(The official specifications for the Official Grey Suit of the CPTS are appended as Annex AS. The CPTS has criminalised unauthorised wearing of similar garb, while presenting its wearers as pioneers of the scientific, progressive, rejuvenating elite of the future. A list of films made over the past three years under the auspices of the National Council for the Arts depicting heroic CPTS men overcoming reactionary agents of the old ways -- religious people, members of disfavoured groups, adherents of other political organisations, all depicted as uncleanly, mentally backwards, and unintelligent -- is appended as Annex AT.)

The government was absolutely justified in rejecting the official protest of the American government regarding that ban, even though it stigmatised the American Chief Diplomatic Representative (the terms "ambassador", "charge d'affaires", and so on have been discontinued by the new government as being unscientific and antiquated), who as a senior associate of the CPTS was required to wear his Official Grey Suit in the performance of his responsibilities.

Such matters are in any case the responsibility of the Security Service and the Special Branch.

Internationally, the United States presents a less formidable image. Lacking the military wherewithal to enforce its political will, the American presence in international affairs has dwindled to nothing. The recent events in Nanking, for example, were ignored by President Witt, except for the public humiliation of the Acting Diplomatic Representative (who was stripped of his Official Grey Suit by Japanese soldiers), which _was_ protested. The Japanese government ignored the protest.

The state of American relations with Mexico is also poor. Rumours of the sterilisation programme (which, according to Mexican reports, has been extended to the indigenous Mexican population as well as many of the Red Indians; a summary of this information, provided by the Mexican Embassy, is included as Annex AU) have exacerbated this state of affairs.

As a result, the Mexican military has shown little enthusiasm for maintaining order in the border provinces. Bandits are suffered to cross the border and conduct crimes.

The American government has not been unresponsive to this. Technological devices have been added to seal the border, including electrified fences, advanced surveillance devices, and chemical measures. The bandidos have taken to driving wild horses and such across the border to trigger such items. Similarly, a unit of aeroplanes equipped with electric stun mesh has been deployed to the southern border, but the mesh has not proven itself effective.

The Americans have become withdrawn in an era of increasing globalisation.

 

[Major Major]

Is there potential for a rebellion?

Modern states have an increasing ability to suppress uprisings. Mr Lenin, for example, was able to eradicate a number of rebellions, and his successor Mr Stalin faces none. Similarly Mr Hitler and Mr Mussolini are not facing any serious military opposition. Only if the military establishment turns on the civil order, as is happening in Spain, does such a problem exist.

As has been noted above, the American military establishment has been downgraded and is no longer capable of carrying out such an action. The chance of such a rebellion is very low.

Nevertheless the American government has taken steps for internal security. In 1938 the President announced the formation of the Scientific Weapons and Tactics Squadrons (SWAT Squadrons). "They will deal with the criminal, irrational, deranged elements of society by employing the most scientific of methods and methodologies," President Witt said.

Originally these bodies were under the command of Mr Armstrong, the Director of the SBI, but with their expansion later that year they were put under the command of a Mr Albright, a veteran of the American Air Service during the World War. It is estimated that there are at present no more than twenty thousand men in these formations. They are equipped primarily with riot-control equipment, including scientific gadgetry such as electric stun weapons and sleep gas. (A report by the security chief of the Washington Embassy, a former Indian police officer, on a public exhibition conducted by one of these units is attached as Annex AV.)

Earlier this year a town in the state of Wyoming was host to a public meeting where government actions were criticised. The government replied by deploying a number of SWAT troopers, who blanketed the town with gas before moving in with shock batons and a small number of firearms, according to a confidential report to the SBI headquarters, as acquired by this office (original report appended as Annex AW).

It is estimated that some thirty people, mostly elderly or ill, died in the suppression of the meeting. The organisers were committed as mentally ill. (A report, of low reliability, of their mass lobotomisation, acquired by a Canadian physician at a doctors’ conference, is appended as Annex AX).

Since then, there have been no other serious attempts at insurrection.

A potential opponent of the government would have many barriers to overcome. He would, of course, be stigmatised as being insane and reactionary -- opposing the electric light and the aeroplane. His ability to communicate would be impeded. The post has been greatly superseded by telegraphic communications; the volume of written mail has fallen to the point where individual communications can be, and usually are, inspected.

This facility, the Internal Network of Personal Telegraphic Communications, generally referred to as the Internal Network, was established by the government as a part of their programme of bringing scientific advances into common use. These messages, called electric-mails, are delivered on a thrice-daily basis in urban areas.

Naturally governmental officials screen the electric-mails for any undue content. Users are required to use standard English or approved telegraphic codes (the Precisely Graded Personal Code, for example, produced by the government, a copy of which is attached as Annex AY. Note that it is illegal to export this document from the U. S.). Unless two conspirators agreed on a set of double meanings beforehand, communication would be of extreme difficulty.

While the United States is ill-suited to defend itself militarily, it is well-prepared to defend itself against internal strife.

 

[Major Major]

I will continue this study as further intelligence arrives.

In summation, the ability of repressive governments to continue to exert authority is still great. Melodramatic portrayals of collapse are more the topic of cheap fiction than serious speculation. The CPTS contains many intelligent, skilled managers who will continue to exert their authority to the utmost.

The principal question, then, is the continued authority of President Witt. By all reports his physical health is good and he appears to suffer from no medical problems, comparable to the noted paranoia of Mr Stalin, the rages of Mr Hitler, and the buffoonery of Mr Mussolini. Nevertheless, he is not immortal.

He has named no successor and while there are many competent individuals in his government, none has the public presence to be considered a threat, or an heir-apparent. Upon his demise, therefore, the government may continue for a time, but the lack of a successor could lead to conflict verging upon collapse.

We are faced with a long twilight struggle among hostile and antagonistic powers.

I remain your obedient servant.

 

[tus3]

Wow, that was a lot at once.
Subscribed, AH's involving technocracy and this style of presentation are new to me, so why not try both at the same time?

 

[Major Major]

From a report on the Status of America dated January 2, 1951:

American technology has, if not quite stagnated, developed in a constrained fashion.

Consider, for example, the Toronto Air Show of 1950. The British de Havilland Comet passenger jetliner was the highlight of the show, being reported on extensively in the world press. The company made many sales even though the aircraft was only a prototype, not scheduled to go into service until 1952.

In the American press, however, there was a different perspective. According to the American newspapers, the show was dominated by the new AmeriAir 417. "The pinnacle of aviation technology, far outperforming any previous air-liner, and all foreign ones in development," was the report in the Aviation Journal, the only American publication on aviation.

Foreign observers were less impressed. The AA-417 had two passenger decks, twelve engines (six puller, six pusher), and a cruising speed of 150 knots. One reporter compared it to the Bristol Brabazon (which, according to reports, will not be proceeded with), except not quite as capable.

Other examples of American technology serve to reinforce the control of the government. You will be aware of the increase in TeleVision programming by the BBC, and the current efforts to provide similar service in Canada.

TeleVision is not available in the United States. Beyond that, broadcast wireless is being downgraded. The government has developed a system of what they style "cable radio", transmission of programmes not by radio waves but by copper wiring. The system exists currently along the coasts and the northern states east of the Missisippi River, and is expected to be nationwide by 1953. At present they offer four channels, the News Channel, the Music Channel, the Adult Education Channel, and the Children's Education Channel.

President Witt made the opening broadcast on all four channels, giving a speech where he proclaimed the inauguration of an advanced system of public information and education, "such as exists no place else in the world".

 

[Major Major]

From a British Embassy to Germany report of August 27, 1939:

. . . the unilateral decision of President Witt to "terminate an irrational and unscientific opponent of human progress" has led to a serious diplomatic crisis.

The German government have paraded the surviving American SWAT troopers, including their commander, a Group Leader Trevor, before the world press. Minister of Propaganda Goebbels, speaking for the government, has demanded an apology, a financial settlement, and the handing-over of the planners for trial in Germany.

The American dirigible Rozier had made a nonstop flight from the American dirigible base at Lakehurst, New Jersey, carrying the SWAT unit. It made landfall in the Tiergarten, from which the team disembarked, intending to assault the Reichskanzlei, abduct Hitler, and return him to the United States for trial.

One squad got lost, apparently because they had become confused in the Berlin street grid. The remaining squads attacked the Reichskanzlei, stormed it with heavy casualties, and instituted a search for Herr Hitler.

The Berlin police, and army units from the various garrisons, ringed the building and demanded the surrender of the Americans. When they refused, the army stormed the building, and in a brief battle killed or captured the assault units.

The Chief Pilot of the Rozier, hearing the gunfire, lifted off. The dirigible was followed by a German Luftwaffe fighter, which tracked its flight until it was flying over fields, at which point he attempted to shoot it down. The dirigible was inflated with helium and so did not catch fire, but the pilot eventually attacked the control car, killing the Chief Pilot and the operating crew, at which point the Rozier force-landed.

The Fuehrer was informed of this attack and took a flight from the Berghof to Berlin. The crash of his aeroplane, in which he, his subordinate Rudolf Hess, and all others aboard perished, was apparently coincidental.

The German Government are reorganizing and attempting to name a new leader . . .

 

[Major Major]

The Chief Technician of America

In 1937, President Witt announced that he was creating a new Federal office, of Cabinet-level status, to be called "Chief Technician of America". His speech inaugurating the office explained that it required a man of unique scientific and engineering knowledge, with worldwide recognition, a proven track record of innovation and development, and great imagination.

The choice of Nikola Tesla, while not surprising given the effusive description of the jobholder, was held to be surprising in some quarters, due to the ties of the CPTS with the Edison family. The feud between Thomas A. Edison and Tesla was still reverberating even after Edison's death.

Chief Technician Tesla made an inaugural speech in which he detailed a number of technological advances which he had begun work upon, and could now complete thanks to the availability of government funding "under a government as devoted to science and technology, and opposed to blind superstition, as we now have."

One of Tesla's projects was that of wireless transmission of electrical power. The article in Progress through Science, the popular journal of the CPTS, and hence of the government, effusively described the advantages of such power transmission, heralding an era where power lines would no longer be necessary, where skyscapes would be uninterrupted.

The Tesla National Wireless Power Transmission Development Center was established at Wardenclyffe, New York, the site of Tesla's former experiments with wireless power. Other Tesla Institutions were set up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The President spoke at each establishment, praising the prospects.

Tesla gave annual press conferences on January 2nd of each year, describing the progress of the previous year and explaining the forthcoming developments resulting from his investigations. His speech in 1940, after the events of the previou year, stressed the promise of his "Defensive Ray", which he maintained would make the United States impregnable.

After his death in 1944, the office of Chief Technician was not filled until December of that year, and the new appointee, physicist Robert H. Goddard, died in 1945. The Tesla projects continued but with a decided lack of result.

 

[tus3]

Wait what?
The Americans tried to kidnap Hitler with a dirigible?
Did they really thought that such a cartoonish plan would work? I'm surprised they came as far as they did.

 

[Major Major]

Wait what?
The Americans tried to kidnap Hitler with a dirigible?
Did they really thought that such a cartoonish plan would work? I'm surprised they came as far as they did.

You haven't been reading Progress Through Science.

How could the Germans prevent it? The SWAT unit had the most advanced non-lethal technology available, far beyond anything the Germans could have.

And besides, DIRIGIBLE! The most advanced form of aerial technology ever invented! Oh, and the commander of the dirigible was a woman. How could she possibly fail? I mean, she had brass goggles!

 

[Strategos' Risk]

It's interesting that your Technocracy's craziest technological innovations are mostly constrained to vehicles trotted out by the usual mad designers. Fun fact: the Flying Wing Bomber was supposedly designed by a Technocrat, Jacque Fresco, who was behind the Venus Project, affiliated with the Zeitgeist Movement, which might as well be one modern-day Technocracy movement (of many), the one with the first movie which was about Jesus being inspired by Horus, 9/11 being an inside job, and why central banking is a fraud.

Cable radio is an interesting idea. What is it, a 24 hour one-way telephone broadcast?

The flight of the Rozier is vaguely reminiscent of a real-world aerial commando raid...

How'd ol' Adolf crash his airplane, though?

I'd think after Goddard, you could try Admiral Heinlein and company.

Wonder why Scott chose a different surname in this world.