IMAGES OF THE WORLD IN THE MAY OF 1937
"Your Majesty?"
"Yes, Stanley?" The king turned his head away from his chess game and pipe. "What is it?"
"You know of President Long, of course?"
"Of course, Stanley." He smiled slightly. "What's the madman done now? Perhaps redistributed all the mountains in the States among each and every citizen, or something silly like that?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it silly, sire. He's suspended the Constitution. There was a sort of coup d'état against him, led by that, um," he paused, "William Rudolph Hearst?"
"
Randolph Hearst," said the king, smiling slightly.
"Ah yes. Pardon me, sir." The Prime Minister cleared his throat. "Well, one of Hearst's chosen dogs, some general named MacArthur, tried to kill Long, and he failed. One of Long's men took the bullet, and MacArthur was shot, and I now quote from the New York Times," he said, pulling out a neatly-folded newspaper, "62 times by the President's patriotic bodyguards."
The king turned his head. "Good god."
"Well, yes, sir, exactly! Don't you see what'll come of this? God knows what'll come of the Yanks being fascist."
"Fascist? Nonsense!" Edward VIII took a puff of his pipe. "In fact, I should like to meet Huey Long. He sounds," and the king thought for a moment, "intriguing. Send a plane for me, Mr. Baldwin."
"Very good, sir." Stanley Baldwin exited the room.
The king turned around, suspiciously. "Wallis? It's safe now," he said, as a woman emerged from the closet.
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THE COUP WE SUPPORTED HAS FAILED STOP MACARTHUR DEFIED ORDERS AND TRIED TO ASSANINATE LONG EARLY STOP SECRETARY BUTLER TOOK THE BULLET STOP LONG HAS SUPENDED THE CONSTITUTION STOP MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON US ALL STOP
A PATRIOT
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"Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, on First Person Singular, I, Orson Welles, shall be dramatizing a shocking-and timely-event. Based on all the available facts, which you, the American people, have seen and heard and read over the previous days, we, at First Person Singular on the air, will be dramatizing the attempted assassination of our President, by the traitorous General MacArthur, who I will be portraying. This piece is called 'Sic Semper Salvatores.' That's Latin for 'Thus Always to Saviors.' Thank you very much, ladies and gentleman."
MACARTHUR: Please, God! No! No, no, I swear, I swear I had my reasons. Don't sentence me to damnation eternal! No, no, please!
GABRIEL (portrayed by Joseph Cotton): I am the Archangel Gabriel. Why have you done this terrible thing, Douglas MacArthur?...
M: I honestly believed it to be for the good of the country. I thought that Huey Long was a tyrant, that he had to be stopped.
G: But don't you see that he is doing the Lord's own work? He is fulfilling the tenants of God, and of the American people. To share our wealth is just and right and godly.
M: Yes, yes, I see that now! Oh, God forgive me!
G: Do you truly repent, General?
M: Oh, god, yes I do!
G: Then you are forgiven.