reply to post by BeyondBelow
What is the merit to believing that Obama would construct camps in western states for some purpose?
(a) There is historical precedence. With the exception of one center in Arkansas, the 10 Japanese American Relocation Centers in the U.S. during WWII
were located in the western states of: California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas
(
www.infoplease.com...).
(b) There is historical precedence. During WWII there were 53 prisoner of War Camps in the western states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado,
California, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington
(
en.wikipedia.org...).
I know personally about one of these POW camps that was located near an ostrich farm that was operated to produce feathers for ladies’ hats that was
situated in the Papago mountains area near the present-day Phoenix Zoo. There was a big scare among the local populace when about six of the POWs
escaped for a time and were on the loose for several days before they were recaptured. My mother told me about this. She knew of it because she was in
Junior High in Tucson, AZ when it happened.
(c) In the 1980s, 97 military bases across the United States were closed and the reason given was a lack of operating funds
(
www.fas.org...).
There is evidence in support of these “closed” bases having been transformed into prisons. For instance, why close military bases throughout the
homeland if we can't afford them, but be able to travel to two other countries and conduct War?
(d) The researcher, Boris Borisov, in his article titled “The American Famine” (May 19, 2008) estimated the victims of the financial crisis during
the Great Depression in the US at over seven million people. The researcher also directly compared the US events of 1932-1933 with Holodomor, or
Famine, in the USSR during 1932-1933.
In the article, Borisov used the official data of the US Census Bureau. Having revised the number of the US population, birth and date rates,
immigration and emigration, the researcher came to conclusion that the United States lost over seven million people during the famine of 1932-1933.
According to the US statistics, the US lost not less than 8 million 553 thousand people from 1931 to 1940. Afterwards, population growth indices
change twice instantly exactly between 1930-1931: the indices drop and stay on the same level for ten years. There can no explanation to this
phenomenon found in the extensive text of the report by the US Department of Commerce “Statistical Abstract of the United States,” the author
wrote. “ (
english.pravda.ru...
(e) There is at least some truth to the claims in the article concerning the use of military force (cavalry soldiers, tanks) against down and out
citizens, many of whome were veterans of WWI who had helped fight in the Philippines and had been promised a Bonus payment that was then withheld from
them and their starving families. See “The 1932 Bonus March” (
www.globalsecurity.org...).
Here’s an excerpt:
On June 17, a large group of marchers laid an orderly siege to the U.S. Capitol, where the Senate was considering a bill proposing immediate payment
of the bonuses. Two days earlier, the House of Representatives, over its own leadership’s objections, bowed to the protestors’ demands and passed
the necessary legislation. Now, as the Senate prepared to vote, thousands of veterans rallied outside its chamber on the east front plaza. Capitol
police, armed with rifles, took up positions at the building’s doors. Despite Majority Leader Joe Robinson’s support for the legislation, most
members favored a remedy that would benefit not only the veterans but all economically distressed Americans. Despite the veterans’ attempts to drum
up support for the bill, it was overwhelmingly defeated. The Senate overwhelmingly rejected the bonus bill by a vote of 62 to 18.
Hearing the news, the marchers dispersed peacefully, but remained in Washington at makeshift campsites near Capitol Hill. Most of the protesters went
home, aided by Hoover's offer of free passage on the rails. Congress authorized the Veterans Administration to pay transportation expenses for
marchers to return to their homes plus a daily subsistence allowance of 75 cents. According to a 1932 annual report, VA paid transportation costs for
5,160 veterans totaling $76,712.02.
Ten thousand remained behind, among them a hard core of Communists and other organizers. These included Walter Waters, a man who evolved from
veterans’ advocate into Fascist leader of the “Khaki Shirts,” and John Pace, a veteran who became a Communist and tried to influence the Bonus
March. Frustrations mounted as the summer wore on. Although the marchers were not disorderly or unruly, the Hoover administration and local officials
feared this group of around 5,000-10,000 might turn into a mob.
On the morning of July 28, forty protesters tried to reclaim an evacuated building in downtown Washington scheduled for demolition. A riot erupted
when city police officers and agents from the U.S. Treasury Department tried to evict some of the marchers. The city's police chief, Pellham
Glassford, a veteran himself sympathetic to the marchers, was knocked down by a brick. Glassford's assistant suffered a fractured skull. When rushed
by a crowd, two other policemen opened fire. Two of the marchers were killed. As the situation spiraled out of control, the District of Columbia asked
President Herbert Hoover to send federal troops to help restore order. The request noted that it was “impossible for the Police Department to
maintain law and order except by the use of firearms, which will make the situation a dangerous one.”
President Hoover knew he had to curb the escalating violence. Hoover reluctantly agreed, but only after limiting Major General Douglas MacArthur's
authority. MacArthur's troops would be unarmed. The mission was to escort the marchers unharmed to camps along the Anacostia River. He gave the order
for Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur to remove the approximately 3,500 veterans, many with their wives and children, who refused to leave. A
force of about 600 - cavalrymen and infantrymen with a few tanks - advanced to the scene under the leadership of Chief of Staff MacArthur in person,
two other generals, and, among junior officers, two whose names would in due course become much more familiar, Majors Dwight D. Eisenhower and George
S. Patton, Jr.
MacArthur ignored the president's orders, taking no prisoners and driving tattered protesters from their encampment. No shots were fired, but many
were injured by bricks, clubs and bayonets. After Hoover ordered a halt to the army's march, MacArthur again took things into his own hands,
violently clearing the Anacostia campsite, killing three marchers and wounding many.
One of the first federal officers to arrive in Washington, D.C., was Major George S. Patton. His cavalry troops met up with infantry at the Ellipse,
near the White House. Patton and the federal troops, equipped with gas masks, bayonets and sabers, marched up Pennsylvania Avenue, firing gas grenades
and charging and subduing the angry crowd. Later that night, Patton and the federal troops cleared out the marchers' camp in Anacostia, with some
tents and shacks catching fire in the process. Although there are conflicting reports on which side started the fires, some of the marchers’ shacks
burned down. By the following morning, most marchers had left Washington, but the incident left bitter memories and affected Patton deeply. He called
it the "most distasteful form of service" and later wrote several papers on how federal troops could restore order quickly with the least possible
bloodshed.
In the end, the presence of federal troops effectively ended the bonus march. The troops cleaned up the situation near the Capitol, and then proceeded
with equal efficiency to clear out all of the marchers from the District of Columbia.