The Growing Mouse: A Collaborative TL

[DTF955Baseballfan]

From "AFool and his colony"

"1894 was a watershed year for JApan. Belgium had been involved in a slow, downward spiral inthe PHilippines for 2 decades, and sought to defeat the Panese once the for all and prevent them fromarming the FIlipino guerillas. King Leopold II - now without an heir - was looking at having to go back several generations before a a direct male descendant could be found from a male line heir. With the Long Depression impacting Europe, too,to some extent, he wasn't very popular.So, he decided to see if he could drum up support for the Chinese, who were reportedly going to be attacked by the Japanese. Maybe, he decided, if he intervened in the Sino-Japanese War, he could then force the Japanese into submission onthe issue of the Filimpio guerillas....he ordered his small navy sent and asked Parliament for a declaration of war against Japan for their attacking of the 'Helpless Chinese...."

---------------------------

From "Careful what You Wish For"

The passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act underPresident Tilden in1879 was used with little effect by the Republicans to try to convince other immigrant groups that the Decmorats would come for them next. HOwever, here in the mid-1890s, with competition likely to get higher for jobs, there was the beginnign of a new call, mostly by POpulists, to curb immigration by others into the United States. One Southerner even consistently pointed out "They have Alaska if they want."

"This wold result in any major curbing for over a decade, but it was worthnoting that - as rumors of Belgium, in a last ditch effort to stop the Filipino rebels, soon trying to declare war ont he Japanese, there were worries about 'lots of refugees'from such a war.. LIchtensteiner Alaska promised to take any and all refugees in, the Asian population - even if it was very small- providing yet another melting pot piece to their population."

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

From a September, 1891 police report:

"...The victim arrived approximately 2 years ago from Russia, funded by his mother 2 hope to give him a fresh start because he was uninterested in agriculture as she had hoped he would be. She reportedly thought that it would be a relaxing activity away from the stress of Russian life and the radicalism he seems to be leaning toward... the experience of Vincent Van Gogh, the painter, has become well known in other circles, and in general our communities in Alaska are promoted by Liechtenstein using this tactic...

"The victim had been agitating men in the community which has been set up by former residents of the Southern United States, his activities including trying to convince them of the errors of the governments of Southern States as well as the eventual inherent demise of the system of society which they espouse... it led to discussion at first, though sometimes heated, but this became much more vitriolic...

"After a flurry of name calling... perhaps alcohol as well led to a duel being challenged oh, so it is uncertain which party challenged the other to duel. (Note: Wikipedia shows a few famous tools into the first decade of the 20th century in Russia so it is plausible.)

" the men came out ready to fight, with the former Southerner claiming that his honor was at stake oh, so it is likely that he eventually challenged victim to a duel....

"...he was gravely wounded after being shot, but was able to shoot victim... and so, in a story reminiscent of America's Wild West, Vladimir Lenin died of his wounds within hours..."

( NOte: Lenin's mom did buy land in hopes of getting lenel interested in agriculture but his lack of interest in it shows that - had something else been available– she might have tried that.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

From "A Fool and His COlony"

"Leopold II
s distant cousin... the King of POrtugal, now stood to be heir if his brother Philippe died. However, Leopold II still wanted to find a way to... dfeat the Japanese. When mounting tensions made it appear war was on the horizon in 1894, he asked Parliament to intervene on China's behalf. They...did so only witht he promise that they would have more of a say in the Philippines.

"Leopold II began to declare how the Belgins were going to smash the Japanese and force them to remove their support of Philippine guerillas. He eventually found himself turning... to the Japanese side, however, after the crucial Battle of PYongyang in September of 1894. The Japanese forces attackingthe Chinese holed up in Pyongyang found themselves attacked by Belgian forces attempting to relieve the siege...

"Belgianh sucdcess would not be long-term, but they inflicted thousands more casualties than the Japanese would have had, from what many say, given China's lack of modernization. While the emperor hadn't put as little emphasis on the military as he might have - he knew the Japanese were busy trying to help the Filipinos -he had let thigns go and was fortunate to see some of his best troops rescued by Belgian forces, among others, after a ship sank carrying them...."

"...In the end, the Japanese lost well over 30,000 men, counting those who had died of disease, which was a fairly substantial loss for them. However, Leopold's forces, decimated as they were, attempted to work with the Russians...made it appear that - becuase of the human rights issue in Korea - they had really been intervening on the behalf of their own causes all along, including... Leopold's claims of having so to advance human rights."

--------------------------------

From: Omnipedia - "First Sino-Japanese War"

The Korean government...outlawed slavery, outcastes, and child marriage,and...Korean language would be taught in the schools. Many of these thigns were items Lepold II claimed to have personally been trying to stop, which were...part of his points to Parliament when declaring war..."

-------------------------------

From "A Fool and His Colony"

"...Belgium's military would require a complete rebuilding. It was predicted that the Philippines would fall within a few years...Leopold II actively sought alliance with Russia...

"Japan's military had also suffered losses, and they realized that they wern't going to be able to be as aggressive as they thought, though they still had wars of words against the Russians..."

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

(I'm leaving America about here, y'all finish up the 19th century, and we'll take it from there. To the original authory, if you could maybe add something on the first part or the title that it's become about far more than LIechtensteiner Alaska)

From "Careful What You Wish For - The Rise and Fall of the Democratic Party"

"McKinley, in 1896, was very skillful... basically told the Populist voters that the Democrats didn't care for them - and by that extent *any* poor people - because of their quick repeal of the Lodge Act once Hill got into office. 'They care more about it than the Depression,' his supporters claimed in 1896... Bryan did so well becasue the people were of the midn that, 'This may be true, but we have a choice...

"...Hanna's master plan, some said, was to bring down the Democrats, but it was *fvar* more nuanced than that, even not counting how... the Democrats dug their own grave on a number of issues...."

---------------------------------------------

Frfom "The Peoples Shall Rule - The Story of William J. Bryan"

"Bryan did very well in 1896, and a number of Populists came to power around the country. He slipped back down again, about to where Weaver had been, in 1900 because the economy was very good, a quick and victorious war had been won, and the trial over the Wilmington Insurrection and coup attempt had gone well enough and seemed fair enough that McKinley got...benefit of the doubt if there were any problems. The lower courts had ruled,the Surpeme Court would after 1900's election was decided, with Benajmin Harrison voting with the concurring voters as part of the 7-2 victory for the government agaisnt the conspirators...

"....He decided to back down and let someone else run the Populist Party in 1904, not because he was enamored with all Teddy Roosevelt had done,b ut becasue the man was so popular Bryan decided to try to take control of the Democrats, who instead selected former Maryland Governor Woosrow Wilson...an unmitigated disaster, with Roosevelt drawing 58.7% of the vote and over 350 electoral votes..."

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New York Times, Mar. 9, 1901:

"Riots in several Southern cities after Supreme Court rules 7-2 for Federal government, upholds convictions!

"...Senator Benjamin Tillman was quoted as saying, "We have a right to protect our way of life, and the Federal government cannot in any way be allowed to interfere! My only hope is that within six months there coup be a coup that removes the current government from power and installs a government which will... not cater to the <expletives deleted> and also not insist that the poor, white farmer is equal to the <expletive deleted> like they claim!

"New Vice President Theodore Roosevelt boldly declared, "Those are fighting words, and if it weren't for the honor of this office I would see to it that Mr. Tillman was tarred and feathered for daring to suggest an overthrow... the Court has ruled, now let's see the Senator oppose it. Because if he does, he will find himself lucky if he is simply expelled fromt he Senate!...

"...A few Southern voices were, however, calmer, such as one Senator...said 'They made a huge mistake in not calling for a recount first. That is the plurality's ruling, and frankly, if we are to uphold our standards of conformity to therules, we ought to be able to abide by our own rules, considering these were the rules of the State of North Carolina...."

-------------------------------------------

From "Careful What You Ask For"

"There was a split in the South betweenthose who totally opposed the convictions of the Wilmington group - claiming that the biggest problem was that 'the fine young generation of White Supremacists in North Carolina has been decapitated by a power-hungry Federal government' - and those who supported it - claiming that 'The Federal government's only error was in not allowing the State of NOrth Carolina to try these men' (leaving aside the fact McKinley knew the governor had refused to act himself and thus would have refused to prosecute). This split... saw Governor Wilson of Maryland, once he got into office in 1900, try to bring the sides together. It won him the nomination in 1904, but the defeat was so crushing that... most of the moderates began drifting toward the Populists..." Wilson had suffered a stroke in 1903 while in officeand would another in 1906. Having served a term as Governor, he decided his public career was over, and he retired back to beign a professor...

------------------------------
Sept. 7, 1901 headline: "President shot yesterday! Said to be fibghting for his life"

-----------------------------

From a transcript of the trial of Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of President McKinley, who died September 14, 1901:

State attorney: "You were influenced 'mostly' by anarchis, you said."
Czolgosz: "Yes, mostly."
Attorney: "Let me rephraise your prior statements; you called the late President McKinley your 'enemy ' because of the influence of anarchist teachings, correct?"
Cz: "Yes."
Lawyer". Had you heard of...statements made by Southerners also...after the Wilmington coup attempt failed?"
Cz: "I did, yes."
Lawyer: Did these statements, in any way, influence you to shoot the President/"
Cz: "Yes."

-------------------------------

From "Careful What YOu Ask For"

The Republicans had gotten to work re-enaciting the Lodge Act with extra teeth once Congress reconvene, but Tillman's statements about a coup had led also to discussion about his receiving a censure...increased calls for his resignation began even before Czolgosz's testimony...

"...It is certainly possible that Czolgosz, hating all government, said what he did to drive a wedge between the parties where he might not have been able to otherwise. This is what Tillman tried to argue. However, the pressure for him to resign intensified, and...rather than be expelled for that and a number of other awful, slanderous statements against a variety of people since the defeat of the insurrection, Tillman resignedin January of 1902... "

"It wasn't the end of the vitriol against blacks, but rather an attempt by the Democrats to save their party after much heartache... It ulimately wasn't enough, as others began showing that - at least in the South - the Democrats had no intention of honoring democratic princples... many int he NOrth would begin fleeing to the Populists after the 1904 election..."

______________________________

From a speech by Theodore Roosevelt, late 1901:

"...Of course I have had dinner with Booker T. Washington. I am the President, and bigots who hate the democratic process so much that they insist on killing anyone who disagrees with it influenced yet another murder of a President. Well, my dinner is only one symbol of what is about to take place. When Congress reconvenes on December second of this year, we shall answer the blatant attack on a second American President by enemies of the state in the South! We shall not only strengthen the Lodge Act, we shall introduce once more a law making it a federal crime to lynch someone...the evils these men are committing against their fellow citizens to 'keep them down are atrocious, and it is not just black people! White people, too, who are poor and lack the means to live up to what their society deems proper are stepped on daily by these tyrants who insist on having their way... We will also enact... any other laws we deem necessary to protect the innocent...

"...We will be recommitted, as we were in the days of President Garfield, to Civil Rights. We must do this for the rights of all men living in this free society. These are inalienable rights that are being trampled on b men who actively sought the death of a President and overthrow of our government... You didn't hear any complaints by his fellow Southerners against Ben Tillman before the President was shot. Had they shown how evil that thought was, they might have spared us a second assassination by a Southern sympathizer...

"...We will not make the mistakes we made when Lincoln was shot. We will go forth with a full head of steam. We stand at Armageddon,and we battle for the Lord!"

--------------------------

From C"areful what YOu Ask For"

"...Tillman regretted making his comments about overthrowing the government once he was out of office - he ended up serving in local government till his death, an arrangement made for him if he stepped down. But, he was never truly contrite about the other evils he'd done...

"Roosevelt wasn't a true believer in equal rights the way some were, but he had been radicalized by seeing the GOP lose in1 876,the successful Presidency of Garfield, who was still alive and rather health yet, the Wilmington Coup being shut down by Federal troops and the vitriol that caused, and fianlly the murder of McKinley by someone who testified that he had - in part - been influenced by Southern anger... He would definitely be much more zealous on Civil Rights than he would have been, even if he wasn't as profoundly in favor as those much later would be.

"This gave the Democrats some hope, but the NOrth had become somewhat radicalized, too, and therefore this caused the Democrats to become more of a fringe party, which would end not with a bang, but with a whimper... Theodore Roosevelt would - in his next term from 1905-1909 also pass much reform legislation such to regulate things like meat packing and others with the FDA, start the National Park System, and do other thigns which made him one fo the best Presidents and very Progressive..."

 

[joho6411]

Jungstadt Rathaus, Jungstadt, Liechtenstein, Alaska: July 31, 1895

The clerk prepared the forms for the tall, burly man standing before him. There were several documents and forms that had to be filled out. For the clerk it was all just another days work. These forms were however much different, two magistrates as well as three attorneys were there to oversee the process and no doubt, casually find out from the big burly man, where his claim was located.

The tall man held his tongue and knew what these officials had on their minds. He could see it in their beady-little eyes. After all, he had been a petty official as well back in Osstereich. They weren't just here to make everything legal and official. They wanted to know the exact position of his claim. They would of course know the general area of where he had discovered the glittering flakes. These flakes were just the beginning. He had started working his way through the small ditch that he had painstakingly dug out by hand. That ditch was now now some 7 m (21 ft.) in length. In addition to these glittering flakes, he had found a small vein lodged into the rock. With sweat from his brow and the deep callouses on his hands, he had prized more than just glittering flakes, he had also pulled some small pea-sized golden pebbles from the glittering vein.

He arrived in the late Spring of '92 and had started his prospecting the following July after speaking with some Yankees who were doing the same as he would eventually do.
Last year, in March of 1894, he sent for his wife & son to come to Alaska, they arrived via a steamer at the end of June. They all lived on the small farm that he had established in the Mendenhall Valley just about 16 km (10 mi) northwest of Jungstadt.

The clerk behind the counter passed some of the documents to the officials to his left for them to read and sign before giving some of them to the attorneys to overlook before giving them back to the big man to affix his signature to. As the officials read the documents and the attorneys stared at the big man through hooded eyes, the clerk noted the big man's wife was sitting quietly on a bench with a very well behaved small six year-old boy. He then noticed out of the corner of his eye that the young woman was holding a small package in her arms. At once he realized that it was not a package, rather it was an infant wrapped in a gray blanket. The little boy whispered something to his mother and she smiled and nodded yes to him. She then smiled and began to coo to the infant. "Yes, yes mine liebling. I know, I know. Papa is doing business right now. Shhh, Edmund, shh, shh, shh." The little boy sat back down next to his mother and younger brother and slowly swung his legs under the bench.

One of the attorneys tapped the clerk on the shoulder and indicated for him to get the wax and seals out of the drawer so that the necessary forms could be stamped and sealed. The magistrate, Herr Winkelmann instructed the big man where he was to affix his signature on each form. One of the attorneys applied the wax seal to a flame in order to put the official stamp on three of the documents as well as for the official gold claim. They all watched hungrily as the big, burly man first, read each document in a very deliberate manner before making his signatures. As soon as he completed affixing his signatures he stood up and nodded to them in thanks.

Not wanting to lose the opportunity, one of the attorneys, Herr Jost, tried to inquire as to where the claim was and how long would it take for the gentleman to make his way back there. As the attorney spoke, the big burly man put all of his copies in a bulky leather satchel. Completing that and securing his claim(s), the big man then made a bland smile, raised his right hand and simply replied: "Vielen dank fur diene helfen." With that, the new claim owner turned on his heel and went over to his family and quickly ushered them out of the Rathaus (city-hall).

Herr Winkelmann let out a huff of mild aggravation which was echoed by the other official as well as all three of the attorneys. The big man was quite taciturn and had not let on the exact location of where he made his discovery of gold. The five men noted the area of where the man had made his claim and they at once went to retrieve a local atlas hoping that the area in question had in fact, been even surveyed and, more importantly, was printed on their maps.

The clerk looked in mild astonishment as the two magistrates and the three attorneys were scurrying around in their attempts to locate an accurate topographical chart in an attempt to find the most likely location of the big man's claim. The five men were murmuring to themselves and occasionally raised their voices in expressing their ideas of where in the Mendenhall Tal (Valley), were the most likely places where the gold source was potentially located. The clerk began filing the documents and pulled some heavy manilla folders out of his bottom drawer. He then duly printed the claim numbers on the folder as well as the big man's name on the top of the manilla colored folder. Completing that, he stood up with the heavy folder in his hand and walked over to the heavy, wooden file cabinets and made a space, alphabetically, for the folder to be placed in. As he inserted the folder into the previously empty sleeve he noted the big, burly man's name: "HITLER, ALOIS".

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

Great chapter! So they anglicized Adolph's name? Interesting. Was he abused as a child or is it just Stalin I'm thinking of? If it was his dad being abusive also, that would make things... complicated when it came to his father protecting the claim, the authorities protecting the boy's interests, and so on.

 

[joho6411]

Great chapter! So they anglicized Adolph's name? Interesting. Was he abused as a child or is it just Stalin I'm thinking of? If it was his dad being abusive also, that would make things... complicated when it came to his father protecting the claim, the authorities protecting the boy's interests, and so on.

Adolf's name was not Anglicized. Don't forget, in this Alaska, there would be no need to do that since this is a colony of Liechtenstein... where German is the official language. I did not even mention Adolf by name just as the: "little six-year boy sitting with his mother". The infant that she is holding, Edmund, was OTL Adolf Hitler's younger brother who died of measles as a small child.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

Adolf's name was not Anglicized. Don't forget, in this Alaska, there would be no need to do that since this is a colony of Liechtenstein... where German is the official language. I did not even mention Adolf by name just as the: "little six-year boy sitting with his mother". The infant that she is holding, Edmund, was OTL Adolf Hitler's younger brother who died of measles as a small child.

Oh, of course, why was I thinking Edmund would be the six-year-old? You're right, it wouldn't have to be anglicized - I must not be thinking fourth dimensionally.

Having young Adolf's younger brother survived, which is quite possible as in this environment he is unlikely to catch measles, will be just as interesting as the wealth they will have.

 

[joho6411]

Oh, of course, why was I thinking Edmund would be the six-year-old? You're right, it wouldn't have to be anglicized - I must not be thinking fourth dimensionally.

Having young Adolf's younger brother survived, which is quite possible as in this environment he is unlikely to catch measles, will be just as interesting as the wealth they will have.

That's just what I was thinking as well . Additionally, Herr Hitler, (Alois) may live a bit longer than he did in our time and.... Klara Hitler may not develop breast cancer living in the somewhat cleaner & healthier environment of Alaska (maybe) than she historically did.

I can even see both of Klara's boys live well into the 1960's & 1970's where the brothers are known as some of the last, true "alte-zeiteneren" (old-timers) of the pioneering days , before the USA purchased Alaska from Liechtenstein.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

1896: Leopold II is under pressure from the Belgian Parliament following the draw the belgians forced with Japan - which is seen as pretty embarrassing considering that the most populous nation in the world was fighting alongside Belgium and they still only fought Japan to a draw. Parliament insists that Leopold II begin withdrawing from the Philippines, considering it a lost cause.

Leopold II continues to try to buy time, but knows that he is running very low on men willing to go to Belgian Philippines to try to maintain order, and while he was able to draft men for the war with Japan because he was able to drum up a little hostility against the Japanese for the deaths of many Belgians, he knows he is not going to get his Parliament to begin a military draft to fight Filipino Rebels.

Already, as the number of fighting age men declines and as the number of births decline since men have been getting sent over to the Philippines for over twenty years, there are worries that the demographics will cause Belgium's population to shrink over the next decade or two.

-------------------

From "A Fool and his Colony"

"American readers, of course, get the joke on the title right away, an allusion to Benjamin Franklin who said that a fool and his money are soon parted. However, by the middle 1890s somewhere grumbling that Belgium could fall off a cliff as far as population, and wind up just being divided between two or three bordering countries.

" if one went back far enough, one would find at this point that– after his brother - the current king of Portugal would probably be Leopold's heir. Portugal had some economic problems, but they were at least modestly competent, and the railroad that was built between the coasts of Africa through the Swedish Congo did help.... some wondered if the Portuguese king would want the Belgian throne.... other options being discussed where that Belgium would become an elective monarchy."

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

From a term paper to count as 20% of the final grade in A.P. Government - Assignment: Write a 15-20-page biography of a President -

Joe Smith - May, 1987

Part IV of IV: Post-Presidency

"Garfield's last day in office marked the end of a span of over 6 years without a living former President, due to the deaths of GrantArthur, and Tilden in somewhat rapid succession and the assassination of Hayes in 1881. While most Presidents had retired, some tavelling a lot like Grant had in the late 1870s, Garfield sought to continue to have some impact on his part...

"...His appearance at the Republican National Convention in 1896, saw him arguing for his proto-Progressive causes, especially Civil Rights, after Prfesident Hill andthe Democrats had quickly repealed the Lodge Act in early 1894...With Sherman having lost in 1892 due to his age and blandness compared to Garfield - he'd also lost out on the nomination in 1880 and 1884 for those reasons - McKinley found Hobart a better V.P. pick, but pledged some support for Garfield's stances...the war with Spain occupied much of the nationa's time in 1898, but the Lodge Act would come back into focus after the successful stopping of the Wilmington coup attempt and GOP victories in 1900, which followed a good showing in 189 for a part in power, mostly becasue of thes hort, victorious war...

"Garfield met with Theodore Roosevelt after McKinley's assassination and did some speaking for him after Roosevelt had dinner with Booker T. Washington. Garfield was seen as the voice of the true REpublican Party, and his son, James Rudolph Garfield, was rumored to be one of Theodore Roosevelt's potential successors in 1904, with William Howard Taft having been appointed tot he Supreme Court in 1901 to fill Benjamin Harrison's seat after Harrison died soon after the decision was handed down uholding the convinctions of the Wilmington coup plotters..

"...Garfield's son would live into his 80s, so it's not surprising that the elder Garfield lived to watch his son do a great job in investigating the meatpacking, railroad, and other industries, and later as Secretar of the Interior in1907-1909...

"While conservatives in the GOP decried the progressive turn of the part - and the fact TR was rumored to be considering a 2nd term "in his own right" since he hadn't been elected Presidcent in 1900 but merely Vice President.However, these voices also found is very disheartening to side with the Democrats, giventhe increasingly racist tones fromt he Democrats, who were becomign more and more simply a regional party. Instead...a new party was being considered to challenge the Western Populists and the GOP, which was Progressive but not as focused on agrarian interests as some Populists...

"...Garfield's final years were spent decrying the Populists - who had begun to be the 2nd most powerful pafrty in the U.S. - for their measures to sharply lessen the number of immigratns coming from Europe and elsewhere...an estimated one million in 1905 to perhaps half of that in 1910 and lower after that, as Populists sought such restrictions as ways to... limit competition for jobs. Ironically, as cities industrialized and more blacks moved north, the estimated million extra jobs that could have been filled by immigrants in the coming years would be filled by blacks, somethign which the younger Garfield championed as helping to bring the races closer as they worked together..."

"Garfield's legacy was many 'proto' thigns. He was called a proto-Progressive during the years just after his Presidency. He is today called a champion of the proto-Civil Rights movement. He was even involved in pushing for integration in sports as a way to bring people together, not only with baseball - which happened as ane xperiment by John McGraw a few years after he returne dto the National League - but also, in his last years, boxing after Jack Johnson was killed by an angry Southerner after his return to his home state of Texas in early 1910, an action which casued the world heavyweight crown to become vacant in early 1910 till Colored Champ Joseph Jeremiah Jeannette and an aging boxer named Jeffries both claimed it, and Jeanette beat him for the crown..."

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

"James R. Garfield - Omnipedia"

"The son of the former President lost his bid for Governor as Conservatives in Ohio split from the GOP to form their own party...won election to the United States Senate in 1914 after wining the nomination over Warren harding..."

"1904 World Series" - Omnipedia

"Because John McxGraw longed to sign anyone he could, and tried to pass a black man off as an Indian in 1901, it is erroneously believed thatJohn McGraw's signing of a black man, Pete Hill, was the reason for the cancellation later that year of the 1904 World Series. It was actually animosity betweenthe Giants' owner, Brush, and A.L. President Ban John son... Hill played an excellent outfield and did even better in 1905, when the Giants won the pennant and World Series over Connie Mack's Athletics..."

"Voices of the Game - Interview with Pete Hill, 1948

"...I was being courted by a couple teams in the American League, in light of the Lodge Act and what some called the "New Reconstruction," where the death of McKinley and the fact the Wilminton insurrectionists had been found guilty and hadn't even tried to have a recount... it was a tight, narrow window but Mr. McGraw was popular, and he thought he could get some more money and maybe sign me by threatening to jump again, just like her had from Baltimore to New York and the A.L. to the N.L...

"I signed in mid-May, Wagner's PIrates had been good, and some people were leery of this Donlin fellow, and when they couldn't work out a two-way deal - maybe a three-way one would have worked - they decided to take a chance... Donlin had jumped teams like a few others, so that's why..."

From a biography of John McGaw:

"McGraw would have kept a list of great black players he wanted to sign till the day he died, some said, just waiting for an opening; not because he was any kind of great civil rights proponent, but becasue he wanted to win at almost any cost...

"He would rail agaisnt the limit of 2 per team which existed for a few years, but as much as his determination was about winning and winning alone, it helped break a barrier. The murder of the boxing champ, Jack Johnson, seemed to push more and mroe blacks to play baseball to spie the South, and more and more fans to support them, ;with the American League removing the 2-player limit in 1910. However, Stoutherners maintained that the murder of Johnson was becasue he was defeating white men, and being in Texas, may have been partly in retaliation for Roosevelt's support of black solders in the Brownsville Affair a couple years earlier, something Roosevelt admitted he would not have felt politcally capable of doing without the events which had radicalized him...

"...McGraw admitted later that he'd secretly had fears that someone would come after one of his "black stars," but he insisted that 'They'd be in for a huge fight, and I think they know it.' More likely, it was because these black men were very limited and under direct control by whites. Still, it was a start..."

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

From the book: "The Diplomatic Scramble - Wooing of the Philippines"

"Leopold II, broken and defeated with the chance of an heir growing dimmer eachday, consistently refused to give in to calls for him to leave his personal colony. Philippe called it a lost cause, his Parliament did, and the people were... learning bits and pieces of what was happening as the 1890s wore on..."

-----------------

From "A Fool and his Colony"

The twilight of Leopold II's ownership of the PHilippines saw a number of countries chomping at the bit to gain influence over the rebels. Russia, now allying with Belgium in an attempt to boost their influence in Korea, which Leopold II claimed to have 'saved from foreign aggression," was one of those countries, and Belgium was supportive because the Russians and Japanese had conflicting interests...

"The British loathed the idea of the Russians having a warm water port, or even access to one. However, they were likewarm on Japan, preferring a European power... possibly America...

"...President Hill's Secretary of State, Thomas Bayard, as he had doneunder Tilden, worked to settle disputes with Britain, and developed some mesure of understanding which had eluded the nations under Blaine, his predecessor... Bayard convinced the British to work with the U.S., with a possiblility of each having a military base in the Phlippines, or perhaps two nations forming...Britain getting first crack at building a naval base in one of them...

"When Emilio Aguinaldo became President of the PHilippines, he had a lot to decide. They weren't totally free of the Gelians, but they soon would be..."

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"From Wooing of the PHilippines"

"It seemed that - like with Swedish Congo - the Philippines was a place where everyone wanted a piece of the action, and all were wary of letting someone else hav it... This was not to occpy it, but rather to assist this European-style nation in forming its own government with the hopes that the Philippines would then turn to whichever nation helped it the most... Filipinos, meaning, saw it as a way to play the numerous countries off of each other to maybe get more benefits..."

 

[Samsara123]

I gotta ask is Heneral Luna still alive?

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

I gotta ask is Heneral Luna still alive?

It's up to you, but in looking at him, my guess is yes unless he was killed by the Belgians before they left the PHilippines - I leave the date up to others but it's after 1896 (though a pullout could begin late that year). So, you can fill in gaps.

Considering how fierce he was, he may have had some very fierce run-ins with the Belgians, and I could see them putting a price on his head. Although that might have led to worse problems. So, it's up to you.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

December, 1902: Theodore Roosevelt, breaking with the tradition of the President sending a written message to Congress, chooses to deliver his annual message ot congress in person. He sees it as "necessary to show solidarity" withon both sidesof Congress, partly in celebration of the re-passage of the Lodge Voting Rights Act," and partly to demonstrate we are one nation going forward."

TR had not done so in 1901 after the idea was broached following Czolgosz's admission that he had, at least in small part, been influenced by Southern rhetoric in his assassination of McKinley. Especially after having dined with Booker T. Washington, the controversy seemed too much,and he chose to decline to do so in order to "not seem so monarchical as some Americans believe, though Washington did deliver his in this way."

Now, however, with the 1902 elections over, he made the hasty decision to do so becasue, after the censure and subsequent resignation of Ben Tillman for his inflamatory comments regarding the "possibility of a coup" he felt that the nation needed to see the Senate, House, and President all working as one group.

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"Southerners' Plot"(1) - Omnipedia

"The Southerners' Plot" arose from testimony by several retired Marines about a possible coup which was rumored to be planned to voerthrow the President and install a dictator in the wake of...the assassination of McKinley in 1901. While historians doubt that a coup was close to execution, most agree that some sort of 'wild scheme' was contemplated and discussed.

"...Benjamin Tillman wasat the forefront of the controversy, and had already been censured by the Senate for his remarks after the murder of McKinley... he professed innocence of what was testified about in 1902, but public pressure was great, and the former governor of South Carolina eventually agreed to resign thanks to a promie of a "lifetime position" back in his home state and a lack of prosecution unless "new evidence" came up connecting him to it, which it never did... 'If anyone,' one letter is quoted as having said,' it would not be Tillman, as he is a bit too muchof a Populist, and far too brash..." This showed the dislike of his own fellow Democrats for him. ..."

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From an article in 1958 by Arthur Schlessinger, historian:

"...The conspirators had pipe dreams; they'd had those since McKinley, to aid the Popuolists and keep North Carolina in the GOP column, put down the Wilmington Coup Plot and basically decapitated part of North Carolina's young leadership...This was far from an executable plan at the time, and it's doubtful it would have ever been attempted even if it had gotten farther along.

"Neither was it a political move by Roosevelt, though, for there was testimony about some thigns, and Tillman fanned the flames... The fact so many opinted to Tillman as the possible "new dictator" if this would have come to pass, when he was so clearly disliked, show the intent was to simlpy use him as a scapegoat... they didn't have a certain leader even if they had waned one...."

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This date in history: Nov. 17, 1903:

"The Wright Brothers took off from a field in Missouri... the Show Me State had become the primary focus after North Carolina's continued violence, even though it had stopped for the most part, concerned them...

"Originally used by Congressman Vandiver a few years earlier in a speech, the fact that the Wrights used Missouri has become a popuar "legend for how Missouri became know as the 'Show Me' State."

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(1) Basically TTL's Business Plot

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

@Makkermaat sent me his or her own timeline on Liechtensteiner Alaska and, not knowing how well it would fit in, said I could just post whatever seemed to fit. Since it is not terribly long I will just post whatever does as parts of a book or other possible ways like a few other things I have posted here.

From "The Prince Bought An Icebox" - an ebook by Makkermaat, 2021

"...Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein accepted the offer made by Tsar Alexander II in 1867. He decided to buy it...with Austria-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph providing Liechtenstein sea access to Aljaschka, in return for that Austrian-Hungarian immigrants and explorers had almost unlimited access to the Colony of Aljaschka."

"Aljaschka was under Austria-Hungarian protection and a de jure Austria-Hungarian colony but officially a Liechtensteiner colony. The Russian Empire would regulate this deal because of their tensions with Austria-Hungary. and protected Aljaschkan autonomy, and so made sure Aljaschka could never be annexed by Austria-Hungary..."

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From "Chapter 3: Age of Polar Exploration"

"Arctic explorers Julius von Payer and Karl Weyprecht were recruited for the 1st and 2nd Aljaschkan Expeditions in 1872 and 1875....More polar expeditions, some of which also with Weyprecht happened in later years. In 1879 Weyprecht became a permanent settler in Aljaschka and he also founded the International Polar Year in 1881.... In 1879 the Liechtensteiner Protektorat Aljaschka Kompanie was founded by Prince Johan II, this was a trading company that contributed to military exploration and in building trading posts throughout Aljaschka....

"Aljaschka became a hub for scientific exploration in the Arctic....it was under the control of the Austrian army which sent 750 men there each year. Finally, in 1883...

"Weyprecht became the first Landeshauptmann (governor) of Aljaschka... until he had to resign due to illness in 1904....

"The Landeshauptmann was headquartered in the capital of Sitka. Their were plenty of local bureaucrats for the small number of civilians, but those 8n Sitka found that was only one of the things they needrd a lot more of when,... gold was discovered..."

(Note: This TL has ogold discovered only 2-3 years later, so I'm moving it a bit earlier for the next post and merging it by calling it a second nearby strike.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

Merging @joho6411 and what @Makkermaat sent

From "There's Gold in Them Thar Hills" - Scholastic Press, 1992

"After the late July strike in...Mendenhall Valley just about 16 km (10 mi) northwest of Jungstadt, news took a while to reach the larger North American cities...

P"art of this, of course, was simply the ambiguity of the location. Some wondered if it was a hoax because the specific place was not listed, others were delayed because the Depression of 1893 limited many. However, speculation grew and when... in 1896 gold was found in British-Canada, this cemented in other's minds the prospects of gold being in there also. which caused a lot of ambitious Austrians, Germans, Canadians and Americans to move to both regions...and start looking for gold there.

"A second large load was found by two Germans, Arnold Rose and his nephew Emil vom Rath in early 1897 on the Payer Peninsula. There they also founded the city of Rose.... it was mere months after their arrival in the great North... It had been known as the Great Northern Gold Rush since there were Parts in Canada as well, but because these were immigrants who had come specifically to look for gold, and found it so fast, promoters of ocean-going vessels - which were seeing a booming business with people flocking there - started to refer to it as the Rose Gold Rush, which was just fine for Alois and his family... who preferred more anonymity. They expressed concern over the vast numbers coming in...

"The gold rush attracted a lot of immigrants, mainly from North America but also from Germany and Austria-Hungary, many inland cities were founded during this period. In 1898 Rose grew to a population of 10000, and a town of about the same size grew just as quickly in the valley where Alois found his gold. The large amount of English-speaking immigrants caused Aljaschka to become a bilingual colony. During this period the Aljaschka Railroad started being built connecting towns like Franz-Joseph-Stadt and Gilmore and many roads were built between Sitka in the southwest, Rose and Goldene Boos in the East, Franz-Joseph-Stadt on the south coast and more."

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From "The Prince bought an ice box"

"In 1898 British Columbia and the Protectorate of Aljaschka agreed on a settlement of the border dispute and all claimed by British Columbia was given to them out of fear of British intervention.

"...In 1902 Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein ordered to have a residence built in Sitka for whenever he visits Aljaschka. It’s known by the simple name of Sitka Castle and was designed by Egon Rheinberger. He visited Sitka for the first time in 1908."

"In 1904 politician Rudolf Schädler became the 2nd Landeshauptmann of Aljaschka, appointed by the Liechtensteiner Parliament for 8 years. One of the first things Schädler did as Landeshauptmann was giving orders to design a flag for the colony, Franz Gassner did just that, a blue-golden flag with a white star in the upper left corner.... Under Schädler multiple Gemeinde (or municipalities) began being formed with elected mayors and so Aljaschka began being divided into municipality-subdivisions.... In 1912 Schädler was followed by businessman Emil Batliner for 6 years (instead of 8 because of the new constitution). Emil Batliner wanted more political freedom for Aljaschka in cooperation with Prince Johann II and during his governorship, he had multiple meetings with both the parliament and the Prince about this. This partially inspired the constitution of Aljaschka... which was in the works since 1904... Wars in Europe brought delays, and Johann II and the royal family left Vienna... under parliamentary pressure and moved to Sitka Castle... to help them keep their neutrality and safety during the war."

Note, now World War 1 doesn't have to happen as it did exactly in our time life.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

(Some American stuff later here, but first, since it hasn't been determined what will happen in WWI, or its equivalent, I can't say for sure if what @Makkermaat sent regarding Lietchtenstein voting to be part of Switzerland will pass; OTL the defeat of the Austro-Hungarians just means the tinynation turned to the Swiss for protection. However, it is a possible butterfly from the war. So it could be added later, but I want to give others ideas on what will happen if the U.S. (as is possible now) stays out of the war and Russia stays in longer due to no Lenin.

Liechtenstein Secession

Switzerland and Liechtenstein discussed entering a union... for the European part of Liechtenstein...to join the Swiss Confederation....

" The title of Prince of Liechtenstein had had Prince of Aljaschka added to it in 1898, after the Gold Rush(es) had made his land very profitable. Aljaschkan economy grew and infrastructure... expanded as long as the Gold Rush continued. However, they knew they would have to have some means of sustaining it. There were discussions during the first decades of the 20th century, especially after 1910, about whether the colony would wish to remain part of Liechtenstein and whether Liechtenstein would even choose to remain independent....

"one of the biggest hurdles was the former United States Southerners who occupied some parts of the land. They were fine under a sovereign who left them alone; they didn't mind *too* much when JOhann II built a palace there, though some sent him letters reminding him very sternly about their need to be a free peope... This also showed in how they treated the natives... Native tribes were allowed to submit their tribe as a municipality but were often dismissed, most tribe-municipalities were submitted as regular cities instead. Despite new voting laws, natives faced lots of discrimination in regions where the were a minority. Natives were often viewed as second class citizens and it usually was harder for them to get access to general resources.

"This was even though in 1922 Native Aljaschkan men were finally allowed to become an Aljaschkan citizen and they were allowed to run for public office with the first Native being elected 2 years later in 1924 in the municipality of Unanga. Before 1922 Natives weren’t dealt with, they weren’t allowed to practice their culture/religion but weren’t forced to do other things either.... In 1929, after pressure from Aljaschkans with British and American heritage, women finally got the right to vote. Native Aljaschkan women had to wait 9 more years before they were allowed to vote. The Great White NOrth which they proclaimed had worked in conjunction with some of the stricter Catholic elements of society which had come from those regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to try to create a society "along the lines of the antebellum culture which some of them craced,' int he words of one critic. He continued by saying: 'The only good thing was, they didn't practice slavery. Still, no black person int heir right mind would migrate there."

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"Matthew Henson" - Omnipedia

"Matthew Henson, along with Robert Peary, explored the Arcitc and North Pole regiong in 1908...

"Controversy

'Upon returning to American following their expedition in Canada, efforts were made to downplay Henson's role. However, the explorer was praised by ...Theodore Roosevelt, who personally shook his hand and congratulated him and Peary on 'A great feat which shows the pride we Americans take in our accomplishments. This angered Southern leaders still smarting over Roosevelt's support of black soldiers in the wake of the Brownsville Affair, support which manny said had only come becasue of the aftereffects of McKinley's support for Populists and thus sending troops to put down the attempted coup in Wilmington, and the later murder of President McKinley...

"...This led in years to follow to claims by Alyaskan whites that they had, in fact, reached the North Pole first - something which was easily refuted - and attempts to wipe the name of Henson out of the history pages... Thomas Dixon, Jr. is reported to have attempted to contact D. W Griffith about a movie deal based on his book 'The Great White North'(1), but Griffith's uncertainty about doing a film for a foreign subject, albiet an expatriate, along with the controversy in the United States only a little over a decade after Wilmington, led him to decline."

Time's 100 Greatest Movies in HIstory: "Midnight Ride"

"...WhenGriffith turned down the Alyaskan project, he knew he should find something to make even more money than he could have made from them; he wanted money from filmgoers, not from mere investors, knowing it was filmgoers who would remember the movie... He produced "MIdnight Ride" in 1914, a movie which featured some epic (for their time) moviemaking effects and new things which made it one of the "most important cinema pieces in history," including large battle scenes depicting the Battle of Bunker Hill, effects which show Paul Revere's (and others') Midnight Ride to start the movie, the blustery cold of Valley Vorge, and finally the heroic victory of George Washington at Yorktown."

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(1) TTL's version of The Clansman"

(2) TTL will not see "Birth of a Nation" filmed; isntead the many cinemagraphic experiments are used on a retelling of the American Revoluvtion

-------------------------------------------------------------------

WASRO - Omnipedia

"In 1919 the Weyprecht Arctic Science and Research Organisation (WASRO) was created by members of the International Meteorological Organisation in collaboration with other scientists and decided to be headquartered in Sitka and have smaller offices in Drejai, Rose and Gilmore. WASRO also founded the first Aljaschkan university, the Prince Johan II University of Sitka in 1921."

 

[Slime_blob]

El Libertador

As news of Manila had been surrendered by the Governor General without a fight to The Army of Liberation of President Dictator of the Philippines Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, they knew that it is only a short time till the Philippines get their independence, still the rebels only had a strong control over, Manila, Central and South Luzon, the rest are basically contested and either still under Belgian rule.

But as news arrived of the Capture of Manila by the revolutionaries throughout the country, everyone begun to act. Many the local elites, middle class colonial troops and bureaucrats basically defected to the rebel forces. Why these troops and bureaucrats defected, basically Aguinaldo just issued a decree just encouraging them to do so to keep their jobs and such, and knowing that the capitol had been surrendered without a fight they did. The Islands of Panay, Negros and Cebu had been Liberated month after the Capture of Manila.

But up north in Luzon, specifically in Ilocos and Pangasinan a young fierce loyalist Officer of the Belgian colonial army, Col. Antonio Luna had been basically successfully supressing the revolts and holding out against the rebels, making it a Belgian Stronghold. He reigned supreme in those regions he basically knew that if he can defend Pangasinan and Ilocos the Belgians can still send their troops there through the ports in those region to retake the Philippines from the rebels. He brutally supressed unrest, and rebellions in the area. Due to his great performance and loyalty, he was promoted to Brigadier General...

...In the next months no major military action would take place in Luzon Aguinaldo pausing to properly arm train supply and equip his forces with guns artillery and etc, Meanwhile in the rest of the islands most of Visayas and Mindanao would basically fall to the rebels....

...Now replenished and his army completely well armed, trained equipped, supplied with everything the Japanese can as they were now sending all aid, financial material, you name it they have it, as the rebels already captured the main port city and capitol Manila....

...With that they had started to basically Liberate Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur and Norte the Last stronghold of the Belgians. It was lightning fast campaign as it went timely as a rebellion broke out in these areas...

Gen. Luna would get executed as he refuses to defect.

"...The Belgians had abandoned all plans to retake the Philippines after the Ilocos Campaign, Meanwhile the Filipinos had made a provisional government in Manila, in January 1 1900 they declared the Republic of the Philippines after drafting the constitution, basically a Unitary Presidential Democratic Republic that has a unicameral congress with direct elections and other stuff. Aguinaldo resigned office as soon as the Republic is declared and the elites had elected Pedro Paterno president"

Why the elites even though the constitution specifically told all tax paying men can? Basically the news didnt get as fast as it can so the elites middle class and the people who knew about it mainly are the ones who became the electorate.