The socialists and syndicalists who make up your ranks are dedicated individuals. They offer up their time and sweat (and all too often, their blood and tears) to bring about the Revolution. It's only through their effort and support that any of your victories are possible, and you have to be mindful of that. Your goals must be the goals of your supporters, you must always act within the boundaries they set for you. You have done...adequately in these respects, making clear efforts despite unfortunate setbacks, and so when anonymous donation boxes are set up in discreet corners of offices, more than a few dollar bills and coins are dropped in. The collected total is somewhat disappointing, but you find a shocking lack of condemnation or insistence that the money should go to this or that project, although everyone is guessing at what it's to be used for. Result: Gain 4 Resources, no cost to support.
Union Donation Drive, Influence, 66
There's significantly more grumbling when you bring the same prospect forward to the unions. They are working men and women, often desperately poor, and they need every dollar they can get. Asking for it to be contributed to the party results in many cold looks and murmurs that the Democrats never did that. But the Democrats never won them the right to unionize or the promise of a revolution, and the people you send to ask are charismatic. Comrade Hamburger is actually the one to pen the script, asking the workers "give for those who mined the tin, who forged it into this can, who picked the fruit and packed it. Give so that tomorrow may be better..."
It's rather stirring, she has the makings of a public speaker. And it gets results. Impressive ones.
Result: Gain 11 Resources, insignificant cost to support.
The American Revolution, Pt.1, Authority
Nearly every major leadership figure in the party is an orthodox socialist or syndicalist. They understand your logic, they are well aware of the difficulties encountered, but it still sticks in their craw. But the necessity of it overwhelms any objections and you promise to keep the spirit of socialism evident, even encouraging Foster and Flynn to take a look at your notes and help you revise them.
The first step is to stop using the words proletariat and bourgeois. You can barely spell them in any case. There are only workers and bosses. Workers labor, bosses steal the value of that labor and give it back in the form of wages, using a variety of gossamer-thin or steel-thick threads to keep workers enslaved to the system as a whole.
Next, you start talking about history, invoking the stirring imagery of Washington crossing the Delaware to bring democracy to America...limited political democracy. The Founding Fathers of America of course wanted to go further, but certain figures constrained them, foisting upon them the 3/5ths compromise and the electoral college that gave Hoover the presidency.
It needs refinement and polishing, and so you turn it over to your friends and allies as you begin working on explaining how you plan to complete Washington's work. It will take another month of time and effort to finish.
Intra-Party Legislative Conference - Influence
Your agenda is ratified by the delegates with only a few minor tweaks, and then everyone goes back to their separate states. Almost immediately you hear of the first victories, as a somewhat watered-down bill for establishing worker's compensation is passed in California and a series of laws enshrining the right to strike are passed in Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. The evident successes of the Socialist Party on the state level will likely only draw in further support even as opposition grows increasingly stormy - the Illinois bill was extensively filibustered until the language was amended, leaving the result somewhat unsatisfactory.
Result: Various states begin working on the legislative agenda you have made.
Striking Education (Tactical) - Influence, 41
The last few lessons are delivered to the last few unions. These are more focused on the organizational side of things, and while they are the most important, the reports you read suggest that not everyone understands that importance. You had to cut back on the manpower for this slightly to help with the donation drives, which was likely part of the problem, but at least everyone understands the basics. Strikes will be significantly harder to break now that the workers know to counter the Pinkertons.
Result: Spirit Gained: Institutional Striking Experience (Increased chance of success for strikes)
Striking Education (Ideological) - Authority
The first beginnings of American Revolutionism make their way out into the speeches of the men and women sent out, linking King George with the major bosses and the Continental Army with the Red Guards. To the charge of slavery, you proclaim your desire for liberation, and gradually hearts and minds begin to shift. In general, you encourage the agitators to take a more passionate tack. and reduce the emphasis on the specifics of theory.
Another speaker from the Socialist Party had come down. James didn't expect much, but it was something to do on a Saturday too chilly for baseball and so once more they crowded into the dance hall and waited to hear exhortations on why they should fight and kill their neighbors. Up sprung a pretty girl with long brown hair and a face like an avenging angel. She stared down at them, silencing any catcalls with sheer force of will. "How many of you know your history? Anyone hear know the name George Washington?"
James found her much more convincing. And when the mine boss and his Pinkerton thugs came around, he would give them a Concord. And he suspected, looking around, that he wasn't the only one.
Then she began to talk about the how, offering advice for how to handle them, again silencing a few catcalls and jeers before leaving and promising to send more information.
Personal Action: Write, 74
You spend some spare time at home, but your mind is distant, half on work and half on your latest project, an analysis of what revolutions need to succeed and remain true to their intent, comparing the American to the French, the Russian to the Second French, and even beginning to delve somewhat into things like the Boxer Rebellion and the Sepoy Revolt which barely made it into your history books. You begin to distill common factors into them, explaining why some maintained their ideals and others faltered...it's a simple product of material conditions, and all that can be done is to create those conditions.
Still, there's more to this product, although you frequently have to put aside as Louise interrupts to check on you or Comrade Flora comes over with news.
Report from the Coordination Committee
The committee concentrated heavily on their first attempt, likely aware of the high degree of scrutiny that would be on their actions. New York City was chosen as the test case at the behest of the mayor.
The first change was to identify the most corrupt and reactionary officers and fire them based on the many complaints made. Next, the upper leadership was replaced. Then the organizational structure was adjusted as new recruits, mostly Red Guards or men of similar attitudes were brought in and placed in units so that the majority of any single group were socialists.
The transition was smooth, and with the aid of the Red Guard and social welfare efforts sponsored by the mayor, crime has been somewhat reduced, although the political machine and organized crime groups will need further weeding out. There has been something of a backlash in the conservative media and the former police have begun organizing, but they are minor problems compared to the success of the program.
Focus: In the Dark
The Party has blood in its history. The blood of martyrs and the blood of tyrants. Some of this blood was spilled in open battle, but some was shed more discreetly when party offices mysteriously went up in flames and activists vanished in prison cells. Hard lessons were learned from that, in how to counter infiltration and how to use it for your own ends. Such dark tactics are needful, for the forces of reaction will stop at nothing to defeat you.
Result: Intrigue Actions unlocked
Focus: In the Thoughts of Those Who Strive
Over your years as a journalist, you have learned there are two ways to persuade someone. You can target their gut, or target their mind. You prefer to do both, personally, but many simply go for the mind. The workers of the United States must be convinced into class consciousness, the capitalists must be convinced to let history tumble onwards with as little resistance as possible. Lessons must be devised and arguments marshaled, for the battlefield will be ideological just as much as it is physical.
"To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan." - Abraham Lincoln
February 26th, 11:00 AM
Adam Smith still wore his uniform, although he had sold the gun to get here, to this muddy sea of canvas shelters. A faint drizzle fell upon him as the sergeants behind began to shout and yell, rallying the thousands-strong throng into a semblance of order. Though ragged and filthy, they formed a protective circle around the families who had chosen to accompany their husbands and fathers. They looked like soldiers.
He turned to the reporters who had come once again. "The Payment Army has waited patiently for Congress to give what they promised us. We will be doing our waiting on the lawn of the White House now."
As the barrage of questions and accusations began, a ragged bugle corp began to play. And so they began their march.
"Syndicalist Army Marches on Washington!" - The Chicago Tribune
"Unpaid Soldiers Will Demand Compensation on the Lawn of the White House!" - The New York Times
"American Boys Neglected by Establishment Demand Wealth Be Shared!" - The New Orleans Journal
Part 3
February 27th, 10:00 AM
Congress is in session when something happens. An aid rushes to the vice president, who stiffens and leaves, practically mid-sentence. Secret Service men storm in, guns at the ready.
What the hell is going on?
Part 4
February 27th, 3:00 PM
He was footsore and weary, but the sight of his goal in the distance gave him strength as he sprinted from the head of the column to the center. "We're almost there, sarge!" he called at Sergeant Smith. Cheers rippled up and down, from one end to the other. Hats were thrown into the sky and left to be trampled or blown away. Someone began to sing "America the Beautiful."
Adam Smith turned his eyes towards the sky and began to whisper a prayer of thanks. And then he saw a glint of metal flash by.
It came again. Lower. Closer. Louder.
Part 5
February 27th, 4:00 PM
Congress is in revolt, howling in rage, Senators demanding to know what is going on. "The President will hear of this!" roared one.
"This is illegal!"
"What is going on on?"
The shouts fill the chamber, echoing off the walls, panic underlying the anger. You are more than a little frightened yourself. Is this a coup?
Into the chamber strides General MacArthur, wearing his uniform.
"Senators, MacArthur regrets to inform you that there is an attempted attack on Washington, DC. Former soldiers have banded together to overthrow the government..."
The shouts erupt again.
"Liar!" you rage.
"Two-faced bastard! You should hang for this!" spits Long.
For once, the two of you are united with each other.
And MacArthur backs down.
After a minute of hesitation, he gives in. "MacArthur will request that President Hoover come and explain the situation."
Part 6
February 27th, 6:00 PM
The Payment Army has made it to the Potomac, and is preparing to cross. Marching up the road, they begin to approach the bridges.
Sergeant Smith scans the sky, uneasy. He turns to his second in command. "Have the women and children fall back, and tell off a few men to guard them."
The man nods and the caravan begins to split.
And on the bridges, they see ranks of men in uniforms, the same one the Payment Army wears. But the Payment Army is filthy and ragged, these men could have stepped off a parade ground.
An officer steps forward. "You are in violation of Executive Order 3703. Disperse at once!"
The soldiers lift their rifles, ready to fire a volley. It looks like it will be a warning shot.
Part 7
February 27th 6:00 PM
The president has come, as MacArthur promised. The Secret Service men and the arrogant general have retreated out of the chamber.
Hoover looks aged, his skin pale and his hair graying. He's lost a great deal of weight, and his face seems...off, like one side hangs lower than the other.
"My eshteemed Senatorsh," he slus from the podium.
At first you are shocked, then you begin to calculate...something has clearly happened to Hoover. You don't know how bad it is...
He assures you that the Secret Servicemen are just here to protect you from dangerous radicals currently attacking the city, and that you can of course leave, although he will ask that you accept an escort until you reach the city limits or the "threat is dispersed."
Immediately, you and Long both storm out, followed by your delegations. The chamber is left nearly half-empty.
You and Long ended up walking side by side. You look over him, considering. He's a clever and charismatic man, one who desires to better the lot of workers and opposes the excess of capital. But then you look at the men following him, the men he has allied himself with. Your face freezes. If he comes to you...you might be willing to accept him.
As the door to the Capitol swings open, you turn away from him and inhale. It might be your imagination, but you think you can smell blood.
Finale
Newspapers litter your desk. "Bloodbath on the Potomac!" "Syndialist Mutiny Defeated!" "Longist Rebellion Destroyed" "The Imperialist Butchers Have Turned on Their Own!" Every reporter in the country has their own version, and none of them can agree, but the facts as best you can gather are this:
They were told to disperse and refused, and were fired on before tanks began to move in, using their bulk as mobile metal walls to force back and corral the soldiers and their families. At least a dozen have died, perhaps more.
Curtis told MacArthur to drive them away. MacArthur delegated the matter to a couple lesser officers, although how exactly is unclear. He insists that he said not to use excessive force. Then he went to protect Congress in hopes of getting some gratitude and to arrest you or Long, who he claims collaborated to lead the army.
You know he's lying. And you are confident he ordered the soldiers to fire. But there's no one to confirm it. The survivors have fled and are scattered. MacArthur is being lauded as a hero or condemned as a monster. Curtis has thrown him to the wolves while his subordinates defend the general.
In your office, glaring at the list of names that starts with Sergeant Adam Smith, you vow that both will die for it. They have started this class war, but you will finish it.
As you stand up, a delegation of your supporters enters. "Jack, have you seen this?" Thomas asks, throwing a newspaper down. The headline announces that MacArthur will not be charged.
"He's going to get away with it! He's going to get away with it! The goddamn monster slaughters Americans in cold blood, lies through his teeth, and then...this won't stand!" Norman Thomas rages, and the room falls silent.
He's a peaceful man by nature, and a pious one. He rarely even says "dang" or "dash." Your mouth is hanging open.
And then he fixes his gaze on you, and it burns. "This will not stand," he snarls.
You suspect if you disagree, it might cost your life, given the sheer rage radiating from him.
"We won't let it," you vow.
[+1 Influence from the sheer unbridled rage everyone in the SPA is feeling at MacArthur]
New York City buzzes with anger. On lampposts, effigies of MacArthur hang. On walls, graffiti demands he be tried. The capitalists move carefully, furtively, keeping their children close. Several neighborhoods are patrolled by their own militias terrified of the vast horde of seething humanity. And yet the city keeps working, for it is simply one great muscle in the enormous organism that is America. Laborers with red armbands keep working in factories and dockyards, the streets are still overwhelmed with lorries. Subways packed with people rush hither and yon.
Over this beautiful tableau, you preside. An enormous portrait Lincoln towers behind you, the platform is draped in American flags, but on the corners wave the grain-and-gear of the syndicalist movement. You have given your speech, and now welcome the chance to watch the political machine you have devised in action.
It rolls ever-onwards, picking up steam, traveling faster and faster.. Reactionaries are ground under its weight, socialists die in its engines, their blood providing fuel for the movement to traverse ever onward, workers and soldiers and activists steer it around the obstacles thrown in its path. There is no stopping it. Revolution is inevitable. Historians will look back at the future, and pick March 4th as the day it came to America, but you know better.
The day peaceful men and women were massacred for asking about the pay they had been promised was the day it became America. Socialism or barbarism, those are the only two paths left.
All you can do is try to push the people to the right path, for your sake and the sake of your daughter and for all those who have raised the red flag.
Rumors and News
The shock and outrage over the Payment Army's massacre have dominated news, and the aftershocks have rippled through America. Anti-syndicalist forces have rallied to MacArthur. In a dozen newspapers, he is praised as a hero. But in many more, he has been condemned. Syndicalists and Longists have launched a barrage of attacks, gaining you both supporters. The event has rippled through the international community as well, with the expected comments coming from the expected places.
News about MacArthur dominates, leaving you with little knowledge about anything else that has gone on. Militias have continued clashing, with Longists forces slowly gaining support and allies from Louisiana to the Atlantic coast. Ford's plant continues being built, slowly and with difficulty, but more Canadian convict labor is hauled in.
[Sharp gain in support, primarily in urban areas.]
Plans from Subordinates
With the early success in New York City, the program is being expanded. Chicago is deemed the highest priority, then a variety of nearby cities such as Toledo, Detroit, and Flint will also have their police forces "socialized." The report from the Committee emphasizes this is meant to be a stopgap measure, with the full transformation of police forces waiting until after the Revolution.
The Illinois Congress is trying to re-pass the bill for protecting strikes, in the hopes of creating stronger legal protection. The governor, despite being a party member, is being somewhat...resistant to the prospect. Other state congresses are continuing with their efforts to pass relief bills but are running into legal challenges which the conservative-dominated courts are happily backing despite the popular outrage.
You have 5 Influence and 2 Authority total. 2 Authority and 0 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are not currently taking any Focuses.
Mandates: Provide legal or extralegal protection for strikers in Chicago before the general strike being planned commences this month (from The Right). Provide state-level relief or job programs in 4 months (from The Center). Provide revolutionary indoctrination or education in 4 months (from The Left).
Party Actions
Hold a Rally: It's a classic for every political party for a reason. There's nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.
Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 2 Resources and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: "The importance of unity in the socialist cause," "The corruption of the Hoover administration," "Why feminism and socialism must go together," and "Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA." Can synergize with other actions.
Send Social Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe's supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there.
Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships, county governments. You even effectively control some states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. Cost: Significant and dangerous backlash from within and without the Party, probable legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 80/160/235/310. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.
Condemn Reactionary Judges: The situation in many streets resembles a powder keg. There are gathering crowds, ready to strike. They are growing hungrier. They are growing angrier. Even your soup kitchens can stave that off for so long...and judges are preventing relief. Speaking on this matter will ensure the people's ire is properly directed and may inspire some changes of heart. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/15/30/45/60. Results: Legal challenges for relief laws cleared away.
Invoke Party Discipline: The governor of Illinois is being recalcitrant. If he stops hemming and hawing, then the bill will get signed and Chicago can go on a general strike without consequences. Pay a personal visit and find out what the hell is going on. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Find out why the bill is being blocked, convince it to be unblocked.
First They Came For the Payment Army: MacArthur's vicious deed has given you an opportunity to jump on with both feet. The darker side of you suggests thanking him before shooting him. Make it clear to every working man and woman that innocent soldiers were shot for daring to ask for the pay they promised...and who is to say the same might not happen to them if the bosses get unhappy? The capitalists will take every opportunity they can to block your message. They might succeed more than you liked, but nothing can stop the truth. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100. Result: Major gains in support.
Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing Influence or Authority. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining Influence.
Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any change to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times.
Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/150/200. Result: One-time increase to Resources, the amount is dependent on roll.
Union Actions
Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take are even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there.
Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.
Expand Soup Kitchens: The urban masses are being fed, but only a few cities (Seattle, New York City, and Chicago) have anything like enough kitchens to provide for the sheer overwhelming number of people who must be fed. If you build even more kitchens and provide them with as much food as possible, you might just be able to keep the entire population of the cities fed. This expansion will cost a great deal of money and the amount it will cost to keep them all supplied is enormous, but the political and moral benefits are just as enormous. Especially if you can improve your messaging...Cost: 10 Resources, -4 Resources per turn. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/50/75. Result: Massive expansion to the food kitchen program.
Establish Community Gardens: The cities of America are filled with vacant lots and crumbling buildings. Reclaiming the buildings will have to be part of a larger effort, but the lots can be used to the benefit of the people by establishing gardens. Though they will take many months, the fresh vegetables will improve the quality of the food served by the soup kitchens...and hopefully reduce expenses. Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: +1 Resources per turn after 3 months.
Create Strike Fund: Striking is the simplest way for the workers of America to make their demands heard directly. Strikes have won minimum wages, shorter hours, and worker's compensation. But many companies can outlast their workers, especially major conglomerates like Ford. The establishment of a strike fund unions can take from to support themselves will remove this advantage and help workers win victories. Cost: 20 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/20/60/120. Result: Increase in union size and effectiveness, increase to support.
Mutual Aid Foundations: While directly expanding the soup kitchens would benefit many, a less costly alternative would be the establishment of mutual aid organizations to ensure that people are fed. Since they are less directly dependent on the SPA buying food for them, they will be cheaper for you to maintain, but still serve to provide relief to the struggling masses and help expose them to socialist ideals. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Small expansion to the food kitchen program.
Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the unions that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/150/200. Result: One-time increase to Resources, the amount is dependent on roll.
(1 Authority Committed) Striking Education (Ideological): Many unions are not particularly desirous of revolution at the moment. They have more immediate demands - better wages, safer conditions, protection from arbitrary firings. Most can barely conceive of demanding profit-sharing, let alone workplace democracy or the complete abolition of capitalism. Anything too radical will likely make them abandon you wholesale. However, the SPA has many skilled agitators and speakers who could help change this, although attempting this education may backfire. Cost: 2 Resources, chance of losing Influence or Support. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Increase the Strength of the Left faction, increase relations with the Left faction, increase support from unions, reduce the negative impact of other actions on your supporters.
Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: +X Resources per month.
Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won't be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month.
Participate in the General Strike: Millions of workers will down their tools in Chicago. The city will come to a stop. And then it will resume, under the direction of the people. They will manage garbage disposal and traffic direction and the delivery of goods. It will be a glorious beacon of what is possible under socialism, the merest ghost of what the future could hold. And you could join in...partaking in the Seattle Commune helped set your star to rise, and it could be a good experience to do so again...and maybe you could even take the family, it will help Hannah understand why you are a socialist. Cost: Must commit at least 2 Influence for the duration of the general strike. Time: Until the strike ends. DC: No roll. Result: Opportunity to participate in the general strike, increased benefits from the strike.
Falling Off the Truck: Thousands of tons of food are processed in American factories where unionized workers work. They send food off to be sold in grocery stores then destroyed when no one actually buys it while their bellies are empty. Begin a program of encouraging workers to "donate" some of this food to the food kitchens. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Increase to income.
Militant Actions
Additional Weapons: The armaments of your "regular" Red Guards are highly irregular, and the "irregulars" who sometimes join in during protests or strikes are even worse off. Beginning to create armories of weapons will help equip both. The first step will be to acquire things like billy clubs and batons, both to avoid attracting unfortunate attention and because stockpiling guns in the current climate is needlessly risky...Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Create stockpiles of "non-lethal" weapons for the use of the Red Guards.
Instilling Discipline, Pt.1: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) Every branch of the Red Guards contains at least a few who do it more or less full-time. These are some of your most dedicated and radical supporters, and when the time comes they are the ones who will form the hard core of the Red Army. So they are the ones who need training and discipline the most. Based on what you saw of the Bolsheviks in Russia, the first thing that men who wish to be soldiers must be taught is discipline. And so that is what the training shall begin with. Regrettably, the fury in them at the moment will make it harder to convince them not every rich man is their mortal enemy. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 4 months. DC: 30/60. Result: Improve discipline of Red Guards.
Encourage Veteran Recruitment: The recent veterans from the Legation Cities have not all signed up to join your ranks. And there are a fair few older veterans of other wars and "police actions" who could be perhaps convinced to join you. They have heard of the Payment Army and they are angry. Their experience and familiarity with combat will help stiffen and strengthen the Red Guards, although some could be traitors...Cost: Small loss of Relations with the Right and Left. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/45/90. Results: Recruit veteran soldiers, bonuses to other actions.
Go Hunting: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) In every city and town of America you face enemies. Hostile police forces, reactionary militias, mercenaries and Pinkertons hired by capitalists, and more. They all seek to oppress and suppress the workers. This cannot be borne. While the Red Guards continually battle in the streets, protecting protests, defending meetings, guarding agitators and organizers, they only rarely go on the offensive and keep it strictly to retaliatory strikes on those most responsible for attacks. Asking for a more general attack would help weaken opposition, and perhaps see some justice done. Cost: Reduces support, reduces relations with the Right and the Social Democrats, chance of it going badly. Time: 1 month. DC: 25. Results: Red Guards begin attacking class enemies, chance of gaining Resources, Support, Influence...
Street Medics: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 35. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.
Anti-Strikebreaker ForceBenefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) Pinkertons and police have been used to break many strikes, often injuring or killing innocent men and women who wanted nothing more than fair treatment and rarely suffering consequences for that. This cannot be tolerated any further. While such behavior can now be legally punished in many states, that doesn't always discourage it. More drastic measures must be taken. Find the best and most determined members of the Red Guards who are willing to do it full time and shuttle them around the country to protect major strikes. They will need some training and equipment of course. Cost: 3 Resources, - 0.5 Resources per month. Risk of backlash. DC: 0/25/50/100. Results: Form a small force of semi-professional troops who will be automatically deployed at major strikes and similar actions.
Take the Docks: In many cities, the powerful Dockworker's Unions could stop the transfer of goods at will, or smuggle goods in past customs inspectors. While this is mostly used for their own benefit, it could be a potent measure to increase the party's resources and power. Cost: Risk of backlash, will likely increase corruption. DC: 0/30/60/90. Results: Gain income, easier smuggling, new options unlocked.
Cultural Actions
Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is a staunchly secular ideology, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of "Christian socialism" and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Left, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Christians, increased ease of recruitment.
(1 Authority Committed) The American Revolution, Pt. 1: Lumpenproletariat and alienation and private property...socialist, syndicalist, and anarchist theory is rife with such words and concepts that many Americans find unfamiliar. They might like the results, but the name and the description turns them away. Fortunately, those things are easy to change. Begin describing American Revolutionism, where the work of George Washington must be completed by liberating the works of America from the tyrannies of King Georges with names like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt and Pullman. Sell people on socialism by not calling it socialism, sell people on the revolution by calling it a revolution. Cost: General loss of Relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 35/70/105. Results: Chance of significant increase in support and dramatically easier recruiting.
Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 3 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.
Unity In The Melting Pot: The Socialist Party and the IWW have long used multilingual speakers to reach out to immigrants. With the end of the Weltkrieg and the defeat of the Bolsheviks, thousands from Eastern Europe have flocked to America's shores to find conditions no better, while others have come north with Central and South America. Reaching out to those groups will be essential. The multilingual program will be expanded, to begin. Cost: None.
Time: 3 months. DC: 5/45/90. Results: Easier recruiting, increased support among immigrants.
Socialist Radio Networks: Huey Long has used the radio to spread his reactionary babble to thousands of Americans. We can do the same. Through speeches and interviews, your message can be broadcast. While some may turn off the radio rather than hear the truth, the more you reach the more you can convince. The first step will be to purchase...whatever it is that produces radio waves for broadcasts. That was never something you needed to learn in school. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 5/25/50/75. Results: Significantly easier recruiting, increased support.
Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss's back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/50/90. Results: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, ease of recruiting.
Political Actions
Impeachment: If President Hoover has been unable to leave the White House grounds for two months, he is clearly no longer fit for office. The two-thirds majority impeachment requires is veritably impossible to achieve, but even making noises about it could help gain you support and allies, especially if you are high-profile enough. Some in your party consider it nothing but a waste of time, others feel it is a tactical error. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Center. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/20/50/150. Results: The Socialist Party initiates an impeachment motion for Hoover, chance of gaining legislative allies or support.
Ally With Farmer-Labor: Farmer-Labor is in many ways the party closest to you, but there are significant differences. Their left fringe overlaps heavily with your right fringe, and they are a primarily agrarian party with different concerns, but the instability in the market and the chaos it's causing among their supporters have left them looking for solutions. They may be willing to begin working with you, although they will likely balk at the prospect of a revolution. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/40/70. Results: You make some form of alliance with some or all of Farmer-Labor
Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions has left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/80/120. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.
Press the Progressives: The Progressive Party is now the second-weakest in America. Even the newly formed America First Party has surpassed them. They hold a few scattered seats in the West and Midwest and little more. This weakness is also what makes them vulnerable. They will collapse as a national party without intervention, you suspect. And you can offer this intervention. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/40/70. Results: You convince some members of the Progressive Party to switch allegiance to you.
Pro-Worker Legislation: It's unlikely to pass, at least on a federal level, but demanding it will make a statement in and of itself. And you will not just push this legislation on a federal level. These laws will focus on the things workers have fought for. Better wages, workplace safety, price caps for company stores...with the stroke of a pen, they can be spread across the country, and it will be the SPA that will take the lion's share of the credit. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Left. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/25/70. Results: You pass worker-protection laws on the state and possibly federal level and can gain varying amounts of support.
State-Level Strike Protection: You know better than to even try legitimizing strikes on the federal level, and the state-level laws you are putting into practice will certainly face federal challenges. In some states, you don't have the full control that passing your Platonic ideal of a striker-protection law would require. So you will spend some time speaking with judges and statesmen and encouraging members of the SPA to do the same to get some form of the rules you want passed. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/30/80. Results: You accelerate the passing of striker-protection laws of varying usefulness in many states and ease the way for their defense in courts.
Party Lawyers: Many potentially vital laws are being held up in the courts. And frankly, you have a shortage of good lawyers. There are some willing to work for free from dedication to the cause, but most lack the wealth for that or are entirely uninterested in working for you. But enough filthy lucre can solve that problem. Cost: 1 Resource, -1 Resource per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 45. Results: Hire some lawyers to help defend the laws you get passed.
Appoint a Party Whip: You have gained fifteen seats in the Senate and far more in the House. While you generally don't have to deal with congressional revolts, there may be occasionally controversial legislation you will have to deal with. Furthermore, having someone handle the day-to-day matters of making sure everyone is read up on the bills, helping your congresspeople manage their staff and campaigns, and coordinate filibustering would free up some more time you could use. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Subvote to determine who the Party Whip will be and how much to invest in them.
Intellectual Actions
The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won't matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.
Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.
A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 6 months. DC: No roll. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.
Who Supports Who?: If you looked out the window to see New York City, you would think nine in ten supported you. You are not fool enough to think that, of course. The Payment Army alone disproves that, let alone the bullying your daughter has experienced, the endless attempts at suppression, the thousands of letters denouncing you. Beginning to get an accurate count will be vital for effectively directing your efforts. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Get a general idea of where your support is strong and weak and what people are concerned about.
Questions and Answers: There are always a few common refrains against socialism, like that it is un-American, it is undemocratic, and will involve socialists stealing your shoes. Answer and rebut these fallacies to help your agitators and organizers counter the narratives of the reactionaries and the establishment. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Begin countering common attacks against socialism.
Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially behind the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.
Proletarian Unity: The workers of the world must be united. There are false divisions embedded deep into the American psyche. Racism is the greatest but by no means the only one. Target these divides, weld them together as best you can. Make promises of restitution and justice, publicize what you stand for. It will be difficult and potentially dangerous, but you have to start somewhere. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence, chance of losing support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Counter racist narratives, increase support from minorities, small chance of +1 Influence.
Intrigue Actions
Siphon Party Funds: The first step in performing covert actions is to acquire funds to do so. Simply taking money directly from the party treasury strikes you as a bad idea, as the resulting vanishing will be wide open for anyone who looks. So instead you will arrange for a few dribbles of cash to vanish into an account you can use for off-the-books problem-solving. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35/70. Result: +0.1 Resources per turn goes into a dark fund you can draw upon for covert ops.
Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party's financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Increase to income.
Hire an Assistant Secretary: You need someone who is good at this sort of thing. Someone trustworthy, loyal and competent. That's going to be really hard to find...but at the same time, it is undeniably necessary. How would you even begin to find that? Cost: Risky...and you will have to commit an Authority to them. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??/????. Result: Find some potential spymasters, can delegate Influence or Authority to them.
Foreign Assistance: The success of the French and the British (and the Italians and Mexicans) gives you hope, both because they prove it is possible for socialism to triumph (you almost despaired of that after Russia) and because it means that you can call on them for assistance. Funds, trainers, spies...you don't know what you can get till you ask. Cost: Risk of discovery, possible favors. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Gain some form of foreign support.
Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/???/???. Result: Write in where you send the spy.
Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child's play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.
Revolutionary Guards: People have been threatening to kill you and your family and other leaders for a long time. You have developed protection against overt attacks, but perhaps it is time to begin developing a more covert sort of protection as well. Cost: - 2 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: ???/???/??. Result: Create an organization of plainclothes bodyguards for you, your family, and other important figures. Unlock additional counterintelligence actions.
Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there.
Personal Actions
Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.
Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.
Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.
Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.
Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.
Free Actions
Tweak a Subordinate's Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only once per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate's priorities (change order, add one, remove one).
Choose A Focus: You currently have no focus. Select one from the Available Focuses spoiler.
The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).
The Struggle Carries On! - Though the Party is determinedly advancing to socialism, we need more. We need to organize the masses and reach out to those not yet willing to follow us! Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain National Spirit The Struggle Carries On! (+1 Strength to the Center of the Party per month)
Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).
Scheduled vote count started by notbirdofprey on May 7, 2021 at 5:00 PM, finished with 11 posts and 7 votes.
[X] Plan: Rallying Support for the General Strike
-[X] Wave the Red Banner: 1 Influence
--[X] Subject: First They Came For the Payment Army
-[X] First They Came For the Payment Army: 2 Influence
-[X] Invoke Party Discipline: 1 Influence
-[X] Create Strike Fund: 1 Influence
-[X] Personal Attention
--[X] Wave the Red Banner
-[X] Choose A Focus: The Struggle Carries On!
Wave the Red Banner - 1 Influence, 51, First They Came For the Payment Army - 2 Influence, 33+61+5 = 99
-Subject: First They Came For the Payment Army
The moneyed classes howl when you publish your article. Copies are ripped from newsstands and burned in protests guarded by armed policemen. Huey Long decries your radicalism. The Senate holds a vote to expel you. The Chicago Tribune and a dozen other newspapers publish articles of their own, trying to explain why everything you said is a lie.
But all of that is pissing on a forest fire. America rages. The strike begins in Chicago a day before you planned on having it start, fueled by the outrage you have generated. It doesn't matter if there are no laws protecting them, it doesn't matter if the Army is threatening to march into Illinois and "restore order," it doesn't matter. The people of America will be heard.
The night is dark in Chicago, even with the gas lights providing some faint illumination. All the city seemed to be under a shadow to Ivan, and he sat quietly in his newsstand and prayed the darkness would not find him. He had escaped it once before in Russia when the Bolsheviks shot everyone who dared to speak against them and those they fought were little better. Before him, thousands of men marched down the thoroughfare, feet stamping in rhythm, torches, and signs rising and falling. "REED! REED! REED! REED!" They roar like a great fire roars, hungry and hateful.
And they burn just like a fire does. A factory that tried to refuse hiring unionized workers. A lawyer who only defended bosses. A bar where Pinkertons drank. All feed the flames of anger.
You normally use a typewriter. But this article, and the speeches that would be based on it, were special. So you took a pen, your most prized possession, a gift from your wife. And you began to write.
"America was founded upon a simple principle: Freedom for all men. Not just political freedom, but economic. It was founded so that an honest day's work earned you honest pay. Where is that pay today? Not in Washington DC. If it was, the soldiers who approached the city unarmed, after giving advance notice of their intentions, would have been sent home with paychecks and not with bullets.
If it happens once, it can happen again. What happens if your boss refuses to pay you? You can complain to the government, the government which murders people for that and awards the killers medals?"
On and on and on you write. Page after page pours from your hand, all the anger you have felt for years coming out. You have opened the bottle, and now you empty it.
"The People and Workers Of America Demand Fair Pay For All, For The Workers And Farmers And Soldiers!"
The message is painted across dozens of buildings and streets, the red paint often streaking down, looking like someone has taken a knife and carved bloody wounds into Chicago to deliver it. Under these scars sit the hungry and weary, taking shelter in them, in the promise those words have delivered. Bread is brought to them, simple loafs baked by the dozens. The kitchens were many, but the lines were long. But now there is enough for all, an incredible abundance that seems like a dream. But it is a dream no one wants to wake from, and so they keep it going just a little longer. Hushed, dazzled whispers disturb the night, saying this dream can be reality. "If we will it, it is no dream," they whisper.
"If we will it, it is no dream. The butcher MacArthur, the incompetent Hoover, and the demagogue Long cannot stand against us. Honest pay for honest work. That's all we want, and if the people of America have to start a second Revolutionary War, we will. There's already been a Boston Massacre, but this time it was in Washington."
The words are seared into you, truths you know as surely as you know your name. You will sear them into the very landscape of America if you have to. Like angels on your shoulders, you can hear the whispers of Debs and the cries of the people of America. Or perhaps that's the lack of sleep. You find yourself halting...
Trains halt coming into the heart of the city, and they don't leave. Their befuddled passengers cower in them as Red Guards patrol the length, crying out and shouting, warning them that they now enter the Chicago Commune. Freight trains are broken into, the animals herded into the slaughterhouse, the goods taken to those who need them or distributed freely. Guards occasionally resist. They don't last long. Sometimes, their surrenders are honored.
The headlines about you are hysterical. As you write more and more articles, they demand your imprisonment, then your execution. "REED WANTS TO MURDER ALL CHRISTIANS!" one frantic piece from the Tribune exclaims. Comrade Flora hangs it in the party office, and more, similarly outrageous ones get added to it over time. You catch young party members bickering over which one should be placed highest every so often.
But even with the blatant attacks on you and your party, the tide begins to turn. Letters are pouring in, have been pouring in, the tone beginning to change from accusing to astonished to attracted. New recruits sign up in droves. Donations flow into the party funds, joining the strike fund or going to establish new ones or even buying fresh reams of paper. And what resistance there is is confused and disorganized. Fights are breaking out in every city you have a presence, and you are winning.
Dawn finds Chicago a city transformed. Ivan has left the shelter of his newsstand, wandering in a daze. He doesn't see the homeless anymore. They've gone away. The night of terror has vanished like a bad dream, and in it's place...he sees a mural, paint still wet to the touch, showing a dozen men and women striding onwards into some distant future. Around each of their arms are red bands.
He flinches away and keeps wandering, too shocked and scared and exhausted to go home. Someone hands him a pamphlet at one point, and somehow he finds himself standing in line for a meal, then guided by a couple of enthusiastic boys to a park where musicians are playing, so many that you can't hear a single song.
It's beautiful and overwhelming and he can't understand it!
He collapses against a tree, holding the pamphlet still, the cheap paper crumpled in his grip. So not everything is perfect in this Commune...he thinks with bitter satisfaction.
And then he sees a woman cry in outrage as her purse is stolen, and the thief is being chased after by two Red Guards, showing more zeal than the police ever did.
Barely thinking, he rises and lurches into the man's path.
The two Red Guards apprehend the thief, one dragging him off to apologize to the woman, the other turning to Ivan. The boy can't be older than sixteen, with bright eyes. "Are you alright sir - Comrade...you don't mind me calling you comrade, do you sir, I mean comrade?"
Were it anyone else, Ivan would say "Of course not Comrade," because it was safe. But this stumbling, earnest boy doesn't seem like he could shoot anyone.
Ivan finds himself saying "Of course not," anyway.
Result: Massive gain in support, reactions are disorganized and feeble...so far.
Invoke Party Discipline: 1 Influence
You know the governor rather well. It's why you are surprised he's being so obstructionist, this sort of law is the embodiment of his principles - a temporarily worker-controlled state being used to further empower the workers so they can make permanent changes has been something he advocated for alongside you many times.
So why is he balking?
When you are escorted into the governor's mansion to meet him, you think you can guess why. Something has happened. He's twice as pale as normal and his foot won't stop tapping, even when he seems to grab his leg to try and keep it still.
"Comrade Reed. I've tried to write to you a dozen times, but..." he swallows. "This would be so much easier if I had proof, but all I have is a meeting with a single man and nothing written. I believe it though, the strike has to be stopped or..."
You hold up a hand. "Gov...Comr...John, we have known each other for years. I have never seen you like this. Why don't you start at the beginning?"
"Right." He breathes, stiffens his shoulders...but his foot keeps tapping.
"About a week ago, just after the Payment Army, I met with a man. I think he was Bureau, he had the attitude. He told he was here on the orders of the President."
"It was Curtis. I've seen the president, he's in no fit state to do anything."
You don't think John quite realized how bad Hoover's condition is, but he rolls over you without acknowledging the comment.
"And he said that the army will go in and restore order if the strike happens. I've told the local party, but since I don't have any proof..." he spreads his hands.
"You believe me, Jack, right?"
You are quite sure he's telling you the truth. But you aren't sure that Curtis and MacArthur will go through with it if you call their bluff. You could back down and call off the strike, or you could tell John to sign the bill and let the strike go ahead.
Of course, given how scared the man is, you might need to push him to do so. You will need to decide how far to do so.
[] He's right. It's too risky. Call off the strike. -2 Influence, general strike loses party backing, likely to be a severe drop in support and relations.
[] They are bluffing. Go on ahead. Terrible consequences if you are wrong.
-[] Just tell him that, and leave the decision up to him.
-[] Be firm in telling him, privately censure him if he keeps backing down.
-[] Threaten to make his decision making public, something which will likely see him lose the upcoming election one way or another.
-[] Threaten to expel him from the party.
-[] Threaten to reveal the dirty laundry you have on him, which admittedly isn't much.
-[] Red Guards protect the mansion...You hate yourself for even considering this.
A/N: I have already rolled for whether the intervention is a bluff and what it will take to persuade him to sign the law. If he doesn't, you fail the Mandate.
Create Strike Fund - 1 Influence, 79
The concept of the strike fund is as old as a union. But never before has there been as one as large as you have established. All the donations from the party and the CSA went into it, along with significant amounts of the regular dues. The announcement of its creation is greeted by wild cheers and promises of substantial contributions from several other unions. Now those forced into the most desperate circumstances to keep them oppressed and beaten-down have resources to draw on in a form more tangible than the advice of IWW organizers.
You examine the amount of money in the account, amazed at the sheer size of it, at the vast string of zeros. This is the might of the working class, distilled into your hands. And it will break the capitalists.
Result: Large, enormous strike fund created for the use of unions.
Striking Education (Ideological) - 1 Authority
Those working with the unions, speaking with them, encouraging them have found undeniable success using your methods. Other approaches have been less reliable, but the massacre of the Payment Army - of innocent men asking that they receive their agreed-upon wage did more to radicalize them than anything else, ensuring that there is strong report for a revolution so long as MacArthur escapes punishment.
The only problem is that it hasn't necessarily convinced them it needs to be a socialist revolution, especially in areas where you compete with Long's supporters for the strength of the working class. However, there are still significant portions of your supporters who are newly determined to paint America red.
Result: Your supporters are more radical, the Left and Center gain strength at the expense of the Right and Social Democrats.
The American Revolution, Pt. 1 - 1 Authority
You pass copies of your manifesto around and get people's feedback. Doing it personally might not have been the best idea, several people were overwhelmed. Still, you received useful suggestions you could incorporate - Comrade Flora's suggestion for linking the complaints against King George with your complaints against capitalism was inspired, and Mayor La Guardia pointed out that several syndicalist strongholds were also strongholds of the Independence movement...the symbolism is obvious.
The manifesto is done and distributed to various party offices. It's critiqued quite heavily for being overly nationalistic and simplistic - you are accused of thinking workers are stupid when you proposed replacing "proletariat" with "worker" but being undeniably right that it's easier to use the word everyone understands insulates you from some criticism.
Result: Effectiveness of recruiting efforts increased, support is easier to gain, loss of relations with all factions of the party, no loss of Influence.
Report from the Coordination Committee
Efforts at expanding the program have faltered to a degree. Large portions of several police departments, seemingly anticipating a similar restructuring, have chosen to abandon their jobs. In many cases they have been hired on as Pinkertons and plant guards, serving the same interests they did before, but in more honest colors. Others have left for more welcoming environments. Still others have been murdered by Red Guards determined to destroy the threat these reactionaries posed, attracting a spate of negative attention and leading to calls for a condemnation of the men and women responsible from the right of the party.
[] Condemn them. These individual police were no threat to the Revolution, but now they serve as a martyr. In addition, with the mechanism of justice largely in control of the people, there were better ways to handle it, ways that would not reflect badly on the movement. Increased relations with the Right, increased support among moderates, temporarily reduced number and effectiveness of militias. +1 Influence
[] Be silent. You cannot judge the oppressed for striking back at their oppressors, and if this costs you the support of some few...were they ever going to support you? Reduced support among moderates.
Personal Attention: Wave the Red Banner
You would prefer to spend the time playing with your daughter or walking - your back has begun to ache from the endless hours of sitting - or doing anything else. But you have a duty. So you force yourself to use what time you can spare writing the article you have devised, sculpting it to be as perfect as you can make it. It is always late when you come home, and your wife never acknowledges you when you say "Goodnight."
But you think it will be worth it. It has to be worth it. Or else what have you given up so much for?
Focus: The Struggle Carries On!
The workers of America are a diverse lot. And as much as that diversity is a strength, it has given capitalism an easy method of creating divides, divides which leave people unable to resist and defy the bosses. Even within your own party, there are significant currents of such thought. You will destroy these divisions wherever they appear. The working class is forging itself into a single bloc, united in the destruction of capital, in the greatest struggle humanity has ever known.
And until all the workers from San Diego to Albany stand united, the struggle will carry on.
Scheduled vote count started by notbirdofprey on May 10, 2021 at 12:38 AM, finished with 34 posts and 10 votes.
[X] Condemn them. These individual police were no threat to the Revolution, but now they serve as a martyr. In addition, with the mechanism of justice largely in control of the people, there were better ways to handle it, ways that would not reflect badly on the movement. Increased relations with the Right, increased support among moderates, temporarily reduced number and effectiveness of militias. +1 Influence
[x] They are bluffing. Go on ahead. Terrible consequences if you are wrong.
-[X] Try to explain to him that the strike has become much bigger than the SPA, that you've been getting overwhelming support from cities you merely have a presence in, let alone "control" like Chicago. The best way to protect the strikers now would be to give them official protection, because trying to call off the strike would only weaken them, not stop them.
-[X] Threaten to make his decision making public, something which will likely see him lose the upcoming election one way or another.
[X] Condemn them. These individual police were no threat to the Revolution, but now they serve as a martyr. In addition, with the mechanism of justice largely in control of the people, there were better ways to handle it, ways that would not reflect badly on the movement. Increased relations with the Right, increased support among moderates, temporarily reduced number and effectiveness of militias. +1 Influence
-[X] Threaten to make his decision making public, something which will likely see him lose the upcoming election one way or another.
[x] Be silent. You cannot judge the oppressed for striking back at their oppressors, and if this costs you the support of some few...were they ever going to support you? Reduced support among moderates.
[x] They are bluffing. Go on ahead. Terrible consequences if you are wrong.
-[X] Threaten to make his decision making public, something which will likely see him lose the upcoming election one way or another.
[x] They are bluffing. Go on ahead. Terrible consequences if you are wrong.
-[X] Try to explain to him that the strike has become much bigger than the SPA, that you've been getting overwhelming support from cities you merely have a presence in, let alone "control" like Chicago. The best way to protect the strikers now would be to give them official protection, because trying to call off the strike would only weaken them, not stop them.
[x] They are bluffing. Go on ahead. Terrible consequences if you are wrong.
-[X] Just tell him that, and leave the decision up to him.
-[X] Be firm in telling him, privately censure him if he keeps backing down.
Flora took the pile of letters and began to sort them, dropping them into stacks. She moved like a bird, her hand the beak and the letters juicy grubs. "Junk, junk, threat, junk..." she murmured, picking out the ones that weren't worth reading.
There were dozens of those. She and some of the other junior staff liked to use them as napkins when they went out drinking...on days when she could go, anyway. Her boss kept a busy schedule, and so she did as well. Then she found a letter that was...concerning. Her lips moved as she struggled to understand the sloppy handwriting, and then her eyes traced across the official-looking letterhead.
The Party was in her blood. Her mother and father had met at a Party-sponsored dance, she had spent her childhood playing with blocks and old dolls in the corner of an office. And even if she had been utterly ignorant of how things worked, months as the Chairman's secretary in Chicago and New York and Washington, DC had taught her plenty. She could read between the lines of the Speaker's "friendly" letter to his "esteemed colleague."
As if to confirm her worst suspicions, the next three letters were all from SPA Congressmen letting Reed know that the committees they were on were trying to kill the new bills. The plans of the capitalist parties were visible to her, as understandable as a Torah scroll to a rabbi.
Comrade Reed strolled in a few minutes later, weary but defiant, determinedly striding forward. "Good morning Flora," he greeted her.
"Good morning, Comrade Reed. Here are the important letters you got today...it seems the capitalists are trying to stop the general strike."
He listened solemnly as she summarized what she had read and what she thought it meant, and favored her with a smile once she finished.
"They are trying to stop it, yes. You figured out their plan, but here's why it won't work."
She listened attentively as he outlined his plan, then sat down behind the desk and began taking dictation.
Rumors and News
Once more news is dominated by a single event - the General Strike and people's reactions to it. Huey Long's condemnation of it appears to ring hollow, and as he tries to explain how he is different, events elsewhere undercut him.
The Federal government has made noises about accepting some of the demands of the strikers. Several bills have been introduced into the House and then been sent to die in Republican-dominated committees, but enough news has been generated by the apparent "surrender" of the federal government, both positive and negative, that a motion has been proposed to end the general strike. It was quickly defeated, but it's a worrying sign.
The fact that the strike appears to have worked has left Long under fire from multiple directions - he is both too radical and not radical enough.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the suppression of labor unions continues. Parliament has announced the establishment of an organization for "the gathering of intelligence to protect His Royal Majesty." Letters from syndicalists north of the border suggest that this organization is being primarily used to infiltrate and attack their unions and parties.
Elsewhere, Honduras is blockaded by the U.S. Navy seeking to maintain the Monroe Doctrine as the revolutionaries turn on each other, and the leftists are defeated.
But in better news, the Union of Britain has taken steps to secure their internal democracy through restoring a second house to their legislature, and rumors suggest that the oppressed peoples of Africa are receiving Communard support as they prepare to throw off the imperialist yoke.
[Sharp gain in support, primarily in urban areas.]
Plans from Subordinates
The Committee has badly flubbed the expansion of the policing program, and from the vague, wishy-washy report they have sent they seem to be covering their backsides, albeit in a productive way, by changing the topic to infrastructure.
With the Governor no longer objecting, the Strike Protection Act passes to the applause of the legislature as John speaks of the admirable courage of the workers which inspired him to push past his own fear of "a federal government caring only for the money corporate bosses shovel into its pockets, willing to use the bullet and bayonet to deny people their share of wealth."
You have 6 Influence and 2 Authority total. 0 Authority and 0 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are not currently taking any Focuses.
Mandates: Provide state-level relief or job programs in 3 months (from The Center).
Party Actions
Hold a Rally: It's a classic for every political party for a reason. There's nothing quite like a grand rally with banners waving and people cheering to make you seem unstoppable and to gather more support. The demonstration of the energy and might of the working class will have the capitalists shaking in their boots. It is a message to your supporters as well, that all the power of the SPA stands behind them. Here is what it says: Let your foes try and stop you. They will be ground under your heel. Cost: 1 Resources and a risk of backlash and hostile interruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/50/85/120. Results: Variable change in support, chance of intimidating your enemies. Can synergize with other actions.
Wave the Red Banner: The Red Banner is not the only SPA-affiliated or favoring publication, but it is the only one produced by the Party itself. And it is immensely popular. New ones go out constantly, but you could write an article of your own and make a special edition. This would receive extra attention and possibly some new readership, allowing you to make your opinions heard and sway the hearts and minds of others. You could shape the narrative on something, make an argument for or against a particular course of action, attack an enemy or uplift an ally. The possibilities of the written word are limitless. Cost: 2 Resources and a risk of backlash. May be additional costs depending on the topic. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75/100/150. Results: Variable change in support or party factions, results depend on topic. Topic must be written in. Some examples: "The importance of unity in the socialist cause," "The corruption of the Hoover administration," "Why feminism and socialism must go together," and "Why Farmer-Labor should unify with the SPA." Can synergize with other actions.
Send Social Agitators To: Nearly every street corner in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle has a man or woman standing on a crate and telling the passerby of the virtues of the cause and encouraging them to donate. They are often beaten brutally by the bourgeois or by police (and just as often protected by their listeners), but they nevertheless persist, determined to gain recruits and funds for the cause. Some of these agitators are amateurs doing it in their spare time, but quite a few are dedicated and skilled speakers. Sending these speakers in significant numbers to an area can turn your foe's supporters against them, especially if it is followed up upon with meaningful organization. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support there.
Create Shadow Government: You have had a brilliant idea: Though you lack power at the federal level, the Socialist Party has substantial control of many mayorships, county governments. You even effectively control some states of the Steel Belt. Creating a forum to help these various governments cooperate and resolve disputes will be useful, especially if you have further requests of these governments. You have only discussed this concept briefly, but the idea of the Interstate Committee of Socialist Governments (name subject to change) has dazzled many. Especially since it will help you gain influence over their legal codes, voting laws, and National Guard armories. Cost: Significant and dangerous backlash from within and without the Party, probable legal challenges. Time: 3 months. DC: 80/155/230/300. Results: Various states and lower-level governments integrated into a coordinated body, many new possibilities available, although the body could be unwieldy.
Condemn Reactionary Judges: The situation in many streets resembles a powder keg. There are gathering crowds, ready to strike. They are growing hungrier. They are growing angrier. Even your soup kitchens can stave that off for so long...and judges are preventing relief. Speaking on this matter will ensure the people's ire is properly directed and may inspire some changes of heart. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/15/30/45/60. Results: Legal challenges for relief laws cleared away.
Support Faction: The party is more than a little divided, even if everyone is determined to stick together, they still clash frequently, with each other and with you. Spending some time and effort backing a particular faction in these debates could gain you some gratitude, which is always a valuable currency. Cost: Risk of losing Influence or Authority. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Increase Relations and Strength of selected faction, chance of gaining Influence.
Make Changes To Subordinates: You do not have the time or capability to make all the decisions involved with bringing the Revolution to America, and so you have trusted subordinates to help. Occasionally, you will need to redirect their efforts, invest more in their success, or even replace them immediately. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Make any change to 1 subordinate. Can be taken multiple times.
Party Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the union's that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/150/200. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.
Open Investigation: If a subordinate is unpopular or incompetent, you can begin publically looking into their performance. This can wash off some of the reflected stink, particularly if you find something, but if there is no evidence of wrongdoing or fraud that can only make the situation worse or lead to questions of your judgement. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Some chance of finding problems with chosen subordinate, options to deal with problems, chance of +1 Influence.
Support Subordinate: Expressing confidence in a subordinate, either by offering direct aid or by giving material support, can boost their performance, especially if there isn't a structural reason for their failures. Cost: Write-in. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Positive modifier to chosen subordinate.
Acquire Expertise: You are only one man, you cannot know or do everything. Having trusted subordinates who can do part of the work helps, but so too does having trusted advisors, people who can offer you advice for dealing with things you don't quite understand. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Find assistant for chosen subject who can give bonuses and penalties to rolls and other situations.
Union Actions
Send Union Organizers To: While agitators can disrupt other political organizations and explain why you are better, to actually gain support of the kind that makes people spend blood and gold and sweat on your behalf requires a different approach. Establishing that takes time, but sending union organizers to an area can make for a start. In many ways, the risks these organizers take is even greater than that of the agitators, especially if there is sufficient hostility to socialism already. Some have literally been tarred and feathered...Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the organizers depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and gain temporary support there.
Appoint Union Representative: There are dozens of unions, many with hundreds or thousands of chapters. A rare few even have branches in Canada, with a rarer few having branches in Mexico. The Combined Syndicates serves as a forum to allow them to coordinate and cooperate, but the vagaries of time and travel mean that the larger meetings are often sparsely attended. Electing (although your influence will help make it an effective appointment) a representative to help manage the syndicates, smooth over disputes, and ensure all voices are heard would reduce the growing pains the CSA is suffering from. However, the notion is not entirely popular...Cost: Chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/Variable/Variable. Result: Subvote to determine who you will support for Union Representative and how much to invest in them.
Expand Soup Kitchens: The urban masses are being fed, but only a few cities (Seattle, New York City, and Chicago) have anything like enough kitchens to provide for the sheer overwhelming number of people who must be fed. If you build even more kitchens and provide them with as much food as possible, you might just be able to keep the entire population of the cities fed. This expansion will cost a great deal of money and the amount it will cost to keep them all supplied is enormous, but the political and moral benefits are just as enormous. Especially if you can improve your messaging...Cost: 10 Resources, -4 Resources per turn. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/50/75. Result: Massive expansion to the food kitchen program.
Establish Community Gardens: The cities of America are filled with vacant lots and crumbling buildings. Reclaiming the buildings will have to be part of a larger effort, but the lots can be used to the benefit of the people by establishing gardens. Though they will take many months, the fresh vegetables will improve the quality of the food served by the soup kitchens...and hopefully reduce expenses. Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: +1 Resources per turn after 3 months.
Mutual Aid Foundations: While directly expanding the soup kitchens would benefit many, a less costly alternative would be the establishment of mutual aid organizations to ensure that people are fed. Since they are less directly dependent on the SPA buying food for them, they will be cheaper for you to maintain, but still serve to provide relief to the struggling masses and help expose them to socialist ideals. The examples of such institutions being created in Chicago have helped show the way. Cost: 2 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/100. Result: Medium expansion to the food kitchen program.
Union Donation Drive: Your income comes from party dues and a cut from the incomes of the union's that make up the CSA. And it is proving insufficient for all the demands placed on your party. Asking for additional voluntary donations on a one-time basis would help ease the strain and buy time for you to begin finding additional sources of revenue. And doing it once shouldn't make you look too bad. As long as you make it clear you are asking. Cost: Very low chance of loss of support or Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/150/200. Result: One-time increase to Resources, amount is dependent on roll.
Union Charities, Donations: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the charitable endeavors of the SPA. Doing so would ease the logistical strain providing for so many causes, but not every union is entirely dedicated to socialist ideals, especially not when it comes to the outsiders who will inevitably come seeking aid. Cost: Increased risk of corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: +X Resources per month.
Union Charities, Fundraising: The unions of the CSA have their own individual strike funds and incomes, used for various events. These funds are often rather significant in size, and could be used to supplement the financial resources at your command through direct donations and holding fundraising events. It may somewhat aggravate your supporters, but as long as you are using the money for their benefit there won't be more than grumbling. Cost: A new mandate. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/80/120. Result: +X Resources per month.
Participate in the General Strike: Millions of workers will down their tools in Chicago. The city will come to a stop. And then it will resume, under the direction of the people. They will manage garbage disposal and traffic direction and the delivery of goods. It will be a glorious beacon of what is possible under socialism, the merest ghost of what the future could hold. And you could join in...partaking in the Seattle Commune helped set your star to rise, and it could be a good experience to do so again...and maybe you could even take the family, it will help Hannah understand why you are a socialist. Cost: Must commit at least 2 Influence for the duration of the general strike. Time: Until the strike ends. DC: No roll. Result: Opportunity to participate in the general strike, increased benefits from the strike.
Falling Off the Truck: Thousands of tons of food are processed in American factories where unionized workers work. They send food off to be sold in grocery stores then destroyed when no one actually buys it while their bellies are empty. Begin a program of encouraging workers to "donate" some of this food to the food kitchens. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Increase to income.
Militant Actions
Additional Weapons: The armaments of your "regular" Red Guards are highly irregular, and the "irregulars" who sometimes join in during protests or strikes are even worse off. Beginning to create armories of weapons will help equip both. The first step will be to acquire things like billy clubs and batons, both to avoid attracting unfortunate attention and because stockpiling guns in the current climate is needlessly risky...Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/30/45/60. Result: Create stockpiles of "non-lethal" weapons for the use of the Red Guards.
Instilling Discipline, Pt.1: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) Every branch of the Red Guards contains at least a few who do it more or less full-time. These are some of your most dedicated and radical supporters, and when the time comes they are the ones who will form the hard core of the Red Army. So they are the ones who need training and discipline the most. Based on what you saw of the Bolsheviks in Russia, the first thing that men who wish to be soldiers must be taught is discipline. And so that is what the training shall begin with. Regrettably, the fury in them at the moment will make it harder to convince them not every rich man is their mortal enemy. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 4 months. DC: 30/70. Result: Improve discipline of Red Guards.
Encourage Veteran Recruitment: The recent veterans from the Legation Cities have not all signed up to join your ranks. And there are a fair few older veterans of other wars and "police actions" who could be perhaps convinced to join you. They have heard of the Payment Army and they are angry. Their experience and familiarity with combat will help stiffen and strengthen the Red Guards, although some could be traitors...Cost: Small loss of Relations with the Right and Left. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/40/80. Results: Recruit veteran soldiers, bonuses to other actions.
Go Hunting: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) In every city and town of America you face enemies. Hostile police forces, reactionary militias, mercenaries and Pinkertons hired by capitalists, and more. They all seek to oppress and suppress the workers. This cannot be borne. While the Red Guards continually battle in the streets, protecting protests, defending meetings, guarding agitators and organizers, they only rarely go on the offensive and keep it strictly to retaliatory strikes on those most responsible for attacks. Asking for a more general attack would help weaken opposition, and perhaps see some justice done. Cost: Reduces support, reduces relations with the Right and the Social Democrats, chance of it going badly. Time: 1 month. DC: 30. Results: Red Guards begin attacking class enemies, chance of gaining Resources, Support, Influence...
Street Medics: (Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) One of the tactics used by the heroes of the Shanghai Uprising was the establishment of street medics, noncombat members of the Left-KMT who helped keep injured members in the fight and provided aid and comfort before the soldiers of the Legation Cities resorted to bloodier measures. Implementing such measures could be useful...Cost: 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 40. Results: Red Guards gain street medics, help reduce casualties.
Anti-Strikebreaker ForceBenefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) Pinkertons and police have been used to break many strikes, often injuring or killing innocent men and women who wanted nothing more than fair treatment and rarely suffering consequences for that. This cannot be tolerated any further. While such behavior can now be legally punished in many states, that doesn't always discourage it. More drastic measures must be taken. Find the best and most determined members of the Red Guards who are willing to do it full time and shuttle them around the country to protect major strikes. They will need some training and equipment of course. Cost: 3 Resources, - 0.5 Resources per month. Risk of backlash. DC: 0/25/50/100. Results: Form small force of semi-professional troops who will be automatically deployed at major strikes and similar actions.
Take the Docks: In many cities, the powerful Dockworker's Unions could stop the transfer of goods at will, or smuggle goods in past customs inspectors. While this is mostly used for their own benefit, it could be a potent measure to increase the party's resources and power. Cost: Risk of backlash, will likely increase corruption. DC: 0/30/60/90. Results: Gain income, easier smuggling, new options unlocked.
Cultural Actions
Christian Socialism: Most Americans are Christians, and despite the words of the Constitution it is widely considered a Christian nation. Given that many churches are staunchly opposed to socialism while socialism is a staunchly secular ideology, this could be troublesome. Fortunately, this Gordian knot can be cut rather easily. The concept of "Christian socialism" and claiming that Christ himself would be a socialist is simple enough, with ample support for this notion coming directly from the Bible. Combining this message with a few displays of piety will help reduce criticism from the pulpit, although significant portions of organized religion will doubtless remain hostile. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Left, loss of support from Jews and other religions. Time: 2 months. DC: 15/45/90. Results: Increase in support from Christians, increased ease of recruitment.
The American Revolution, Pt.2: The first connections are drawn, the first pieces of theory are created. Now it's time to poke holes in them and see where it doesn't hold up, either to your ideals or to reality. Your ideas are published, but now it's time to see how people have torn them apart so that you can make them better. Cost: Chance of -1 Influence, chance of increased stress. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35/70/120. Result: Refine the results of The American Revolution, Pt. 1
Organize Education: Education is a necessity for workers. Reading, writing, 'rithmetic, critical thinking and understanding history, the skills and knowledge so they can labor and explain why they labor, all these are vital. American schools are fundamentally capitalist institutions, but alternatives can be established. Cost: -3 Resources, -1 Resources per turn. Time: 6 months. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Create system of cheap socialist private schools.
Organize Childcare: A problem that has been found in the general strike is what to do with young children. Traditionally, it is the mother who takes care of them, but a revolutionary society cannot contain such outdated ideals. The current system in Chicago is an ad hoc network of nannies, but the system could be further organized or improved. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/30/60/90. Result: Design a better system for handling childcare.
Songs of the Revolution: The Internationale. The Preacher and the Slave. This Land is Your Land. Solidarity Forever. Many are the songs of the socialist movement. Let everyone hear them. Establish choirs and wandering musicians and every other way to spread your message through song there is. Cost: 3 Resources, -0.5 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/30/50/70/90/ Results: Easier recruiting, increase to morale among the party.
Unity In The Melting Pot: The Socialist Party and the IWW have long used multilingual speakers to reach out to immigrants. With the end of the Weltkrieg and the defeat of the Bolsheviks, thousands from Eastern Europe have flocked to America's shores to find conditions no better, while others have come north with Central and South America. Reaching out to those groups will be essential. The multilingual program will be expanded, to begin. Cost: None.
Time: 3 months. DC: 5/45/90. Results: Easier recruiting, increased support among immigrants.
Socialist Radio Networks: Huey Long has used the radio to spread his reactionary babble to thousands of Americans. We can do the same. Through speeches and interviews, your message can be broadcast. While some may turn off the radio rather than hear the truth, the more you reach the more you can convince. The first step will be to purchase...whatever it is that produces radio waves for broadcasts. That was never something you needed to learn in school. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 5/25/50/75. Results: Significantly easier recruiting, increased support.
Posters and Pamphlets: The speeches you give reach only those who hear you. Your speeches written down reach all who can read...but they are a bit too long for a poster discreetly put up or a pamphlet smuggled behind a boss's back. Beginning to create and produce snappy slogans and logos for posters and pamphlets will help you in the propaganda war, especially given the number of virulently anti-socialist publications that will smear you and your movement in any way possible. Cost: 1 Resource. Time: 3 months. DC: 10/50/90. Results: The creation of posters and pamphlets to help spread your message, ease of recruiting.
Political Actions
Impeachment: If President Hoover has been unable to leave the White House grounds for two months, he is clearly no longer fit for office. The two-thirds majority impeachment requires is veritably impossible to achieve, but even making noises about it could help you gain support and allies, especially if you are high-profile enough. Some in your party consider it nothing but a waste of time, others feel it is a tactical error. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Center. Time: 1 month. DC: 5/20/50/160. Results: The Socialist Party initiates an impeachment motion for Hoover, chance of gaining legislative allies or support.
Ally With Farmer-Labor: Farmer-Labor is in many ways the party closest to you, but there are significant differences. Their left fringe overlaps heavily with your right fringe, and they are a primarily agrarian party with different concerns, but the instability in the market and the chaos it's causing among their supporters have left them looking for solutions. They may be willing to begin working with you, although they will likely balk at the prospect of a revolution. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/40/70. Results: You make some form of alliance with some or all of Farmer-Labor
Poach the Democrats: The Democrats have traditionally been a party pulled in many directions - Bourbon conservatives, progressives, Southern populists, and union members, political machines - and while a significant portion of all these factions have left, there are always remnants, such as the Roosevelt family. The party as a whole rejects you wholeheartedly, but individual members can be convinced to change their allegiance. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 45/80/120. Results: You convince some members of the Democratic Party and aspects of their political machine to switch allegiance to you.
Press the Progressives: The Progressive Party is now the second-weakest in America. Even the newly formed America First Party has surpassed them. They hold a few scattered seats in the west and Midwest and little more. This weakness is also what makes them vulnerable. They will collapse as a national party without intervention, you suspect. And you can offer this intervention. Cost: Unknown. Time: 1 month. DC: 15/40/70. Results: You convince some members of the Progressive Party to switch allegiance to you.
Pro-Worker Legislation: It would ordinarily be unlikely to pass, at least on a federal level, but demanding it will make a statement in and of itself. And you will not just push this legislation on a federal level. These laws will focus on the things workers have fought for. Better wages, workplace safety, price caps for company stores...with the stroke of a pen, they can be spread across the country, and it will be the SPA that will take the lion's share of the credit. And with the current partial capitulation, it should be relatively easy to pass. Several bills that are at least adequate are already in Congress, although all are intended to die in Committee. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Left. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/15/50. Results: You pass worker-protection laws on the state and possibly federal level and can gain varying amounts of support.
State-Level Strike Protection: You know better than to even try legitimizing strikes on the federal level, and the state-level laws you are putting into practice will certainly face federal challenges. In some states, you don't have the full control that passing your Platonic ideal of a striker-protection law would require. So you will spend some time speaking with judges and statesmen and encouraging members of the SPA to do the same to get some form of the rules you want passed. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/30/80. Results: You accelerate the passing of striker-protection laws of varying usefulness in many states and ease the way for their defense in courts.
Party Lawyers: Many potentially vital laws are being held up in the courts. And frankly, you have a shortage of good lawyers. There are some willing to work for free from dedication to the cause, but most lack the wealth for that or are entirely uninterested in working for you. But enough filthy lucre can solve that problem. Cost: 1 Resource, -1 Resource per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 45. Results: Hire some lawyers to help defend the laws you get passed.
Appoint a Party Whip: You have gained fifteen seats in the Senate and far more in the House. While you generally don't have to deal with congressional revolts, there may be occasionally controversial legislation you will have to deal with. Furthermore, having someone handle the day-to-day matters of making sure everyone is read up on the bills, helping your congresspeople manage their staff and campaigns, and coordinate filibustering would free up some more time you could use.Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Subvote to determine who the Party Whip will be and how much to invest in them.
Intellectual Actions
The Legacy of John Brown: John Brown was a revolutionary martyr who fought for freedom. Abraham Lincoln sought to bring freedom to the enslaved. They would support you in your struggle to bring liberation to all. You will insist on it. You will quote them to say so. You might have to be a bit selective in doing so, but it won't matter. Cost: None... Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Increased efficacy of The American Revolution actions.
Create an Educational Program: Designing a socialist education program will be just one of the many questions you have to answer after the revolution. There are important differences in content and teaching style and likely other things as well. Begin looking into who is an expert in such things and start drawing up the broad strokes of what a curriculum will cover. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 20/40/60. Result: Begin designing an education program.
A Socialist Structure, Pt. 1: How will the economy work? Will currency be abolished? How will you ensure racial equality? Though there are examples to look forward to from Britain and France, you will need to begin creating your own answers to these questions. Plans must be made, although they will be by necessity vague. But creating the most basic framework for what form American socialism will take will help ease your path forward. Cost: Probable loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 6 months. DC: No roll. Result: Begin coming up with a more detailed roadmap for socialist America, begin unlocking actions to create small-scale imitations/programs related to this.
Who Supports Who?: If you looked out the window to see New York City, you would think nine in ten supported you. You are not fool enough to think that, of course. The Payment Army alone disproves that, let alone the bullying your daughter has experienced, the endless attempts at suppression, the thousands of letters denouncing you. Beginning to get an accurate count will be vital for effectively directing your efforts. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Get a general idea of where your support is strong and weak and what people are concerned about.
Questions and Answers: There are always a few common refrains against socialism, like that it is un-American, it is undemocratic and will involve socialists stealing your shoes. Answer and rebut these fallacies to help your agitators and organizers counter the narratives of the reactionaries and the establishment. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 5. Result: Begin countering common attacks against socialism.
Against the Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism is a virulent problem in this country. Father Coughlin spews anti-Semitic bile, many claim Jews are behind every problem and especially behind the syndicalists, even some of your party members and unionized workers mislike them. Countering these narratives may cost, but it is a worthy effort. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/50/100. Result: Counter anti-Semitic narratives, increase in support from Jews, small chance of +1 Influence.
Proletarian Unity: The workers of the world must be united. There are false divisions embedded deep into the American psyche. Racism is the greatest but by no means the only one. Target these divides, weld them together as best you can. Make promises of restitution and justice, publicize what you stand for. It will be difficult and potentially dangerous, but you have to start somewhere. Cost: Likely loss of relations, chance of -1 Influence, chance of losing support. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/75/125. Result: Counter racist narratives, increase support from minorities, small chance of +1 Influence.
Create a Curriculum: For a socialist school system to exist, there must be a socialist curriculum, Having students elect their teachers seems faintly ridiculous, but there can be other ways for them to be exposed to the SPA's ideals from a young age, and there should certainly be a different emphasis on what is taught. No gender divide for one. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 20/40/60/80. Result: Creation of curriculum, improved results and lowered difficulty for Organize Education.
Intrigue Actions
Siphon Party Funds: The first step in performing covert actions is to acquire funds to do so. Simply taking money directly from the party treasury strikes you as a bad idea, as the resulting vanishing will be wide open for anyone who looks. So instead you will arrange for a few dribbles of cash to vanish into an account you can use for off-the-books problem-solving. Cost: -0.1 Resources per month. Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35/70. Result: +0.1 Resources per turn goes into a dark fund you can draw upon for covert ops.
Siphon State Funds: With nearly unfettered access to many state governments and party loyalists being installed in treasury departments across the nation, you have an opportunity to enhance the party's financial position by arranging for subtle fund transfers from the government funds. There will likely need to be some sort of...shell to hide the directness of the money transfer. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/75/100. Result: Increase to income.
Hire an Assistant Secretary: You need someone who is good at this sort of thing. Someone trustworthy, loyal and competent. That's going to be really hard to find...but at the same time it is undeniably necessary. How would you even begin to find that? Cost: Risky...and you will have to commit an Authority to them. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??/????. Result: Find some potential spymasters, can delegate Influence or Authority to them.
Foreign Assistance: The success of the French and the British (and the Italians and Mexicans) gives you hope, both because they prove it is possible for socialism to triumph (you almost despaired of that after Russia) and because it means that you can call on them for assistance. Funds, trainers, spies...you don't know what you can get till you ask. Cost: Risk of discovery, possible favors. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Gain some form of foreign support.
Sending Spies: Particularly given your purging of the police and the increasing difficulties the capitalists are having with oppressing the workers in areas dominated by syndicalists, there is something of a low-level exodus going on from the north, which means there is an opportunity to get eyes and ears in the lower level of the National Guards, U.S. Army, and hostile militias, to name a few possibilities. Cost: Risk of discovery, risk to the spies. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/???/???. Result: Write-in where you send the spy.
Newspaper Analysts: With the increasing influx of information, often heavily conflicting, getting an idea of what is going on in the country grows more difficult every day. Arranging for a few party members to subscribe to dozens of newspapers and compare them so they can brief you will be child's play compared to some of the things you have organized. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Improvement to Rumors and News section.
Revolutionary Guards: People have been threatening to kill you and your family and other leaders for a long time. You have developed protection against overt attacks, but perhaps it is time to begin developing a more covert sort of protection as well. Cost: - 2 Resources per month. Time: 3 months. DC: ???/???/??. Result: Create organization of plainclothes bodyguards for you, your family, and other important figures. Unlock additional counterintelligence actions.
Send Covert Organizers: Unions cannot operate openly everywhere. Particularly in the South and Midwest, efforts to organize are met with bombs, knives, and bullets. Or worse. You have vivid memories of the results of your trip to Wilmington...But people still organize, they still fight. Sending covert assistance can lead to an increase to your strength in an area, and help increase the chances of more overt intervention. Cost: Risk to the lives and health of the agitators depending on where they are sent to. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/Variable/Variable. Results: Write in an area (such as New York state, the Midwest, New Orleans, etc. The bigger it is, the more diffuse the impact) and reduce Federalist and AFP support while increasing your own support there.
Covert Investigation: Quietly looking into the behavior of a subordinate might allow you to remove them before they can become an embarrassment, or simply confirm their innocence without risking giving the impression they have lost your confidence. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Find any wrongdoing for chosen subordinate.
Ears in the Party: To better keep abreast of movements in the Party and the doings of your subordinate, cultivating a small network of...trusted friends to let you know what they hear could be managed. Flora will probably have to be the one managing them, but you feel she is trustworthy. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Lower difficulty of actions involving intelligence within the SPA.
Personal Actions
Work Overtime: Although your heart and mind ache at the thought, the cause needs you. It will be stressful, it will be upsetting to your wife and daughter, you can feel your very soul revolting at the thought of spending even more hours working...but you must. The workers of the world demand it! No matter what it costs you. Cost: Severely stressful, unhealthy, bad for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: +1 temporary Influence.
Personal Attention: If you spend a few hours working on a particular task, it will likely go smoother. It will cut into the time you would normally spend with your family or your books, but it is a sacrifice you will have to make. Cost: Stressful, not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Small dice and narrative bonus to chosen action.
Exercise: You have gotten slightly out of shape thanks to the stress of the election. Getting back in shape would be good for your health and your image...and if you ever get the chance to punch Huey Long in his fat face or strangle MacArthur, it will help then too. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, improvement to health.
Spend Time With Your Family: Your daughter Hannah misses you, as does your wife Louise. Spending some extra time with them this month will make up for all the times you missed doing it during the campaign season. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Major decrease in stress, good for your family.
Write: You have been working on another book about your own thoughts and beliefs about socialism and syndicalism, as well as on a few poems, memoirs, and some other odds and ends. Spending some time working on that will help order your thoughts and ease your burdens. Cost: Not great for your family. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Decrease in stress, possibility of new traits.
Free Actions
Tweak a Subordinate's Priorities: While those who are working with you are scattered across the country, between the train and the telegram they are within reach. Requesting a minor change to their priorities is a simple matter. Cost: May pick only once per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: May make 1 change to 1 subordinate's priorities (change order, add one, remove one).
Choose A Focus: You are currently taking The Struggle Carries On!. There are two months left.
The Union Forever! - Through the most difficult and darkest days, it was the unions that kept the revolutionary spirit alive. Let the unions stand forever. No reactionary or capitalist can defeat the people, united. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain national spirit The Union Forever (Effect: +1 Strength to the Left faction per month).
The Struggle Carries On! - Though the Party is determinedly advancing to socialism, we need more. We need to organize the masses and reach out to those not yet willing to follow us! Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain National Spirit The Struggle Carries On! (+1 Strength to the Center of the Party per month)
Political Alliances - Victories must be won not just on the battlefield, but in the halls of the rich and powerful. They must be convinced to side with you against Long's insanity and MacArthur's tyranny. Time: 3 months. Effect: Gain the national spirit Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).
Scheduled vote count started by notbirdofprey on May 11, 2021 at 7:32 PM, finished with 19 posts and 8 votes.
[X] Plan Support the Strike
-[X] Wave the Red Banner: 2 Influence (2 Resources)
--[X] Subject: Focus on how the Federal Government has sent every bill of "capitulation" to die in Republican-dominated committees and how it proves that the Strike needs to hold firm until every demand is met in full, otherwise the government (which is making its promises in bad faith) will retract all its offers and promises the moment it thinks it can get away with it.
-[X] Expand Soup Kitchens: 1 Authority (10 Resources)
-[X] Encourage Veteran Recruitment: 1 Authority
-[X] Anti-Strikebreaker Force: 2 Influence (3 Resources)
-[X] Organize Childcare: 1 Influence
-[X] Appoint a Party Whip: 1 Influence
-[X] Spend Time With Your Family
[X] Plan Stoke the Flames
-[X] Wave the Red Banner: 2 Influence (2 Resources)
--[X] Subject: Focus on how the Federal Government has sent every bill of "capitulation" to die in Republican-dominated committees and how it proves that the Strike needs to hold firm until every demand is met in full, otherwise the government (which is making its promises in bad faith) will retract all its offers and promises the moment it thinks it can get away with it.
-[X] Expand Soup Kitchens: 1 Authority (10 Resources)
-[X] Encourage Veteran Recruitment: 1 Authority, 1 Influence
-[X] Anti-Strikebreaker Force: 2 Influence (3 Resources)
-[X] Appoint a Party Whip: 1 Influence
-[X] Spend Time With Your Family
Wave the Red Banner - 2 Influence, 64+52+5 = 121
Subject: Focus on how the Federal Government has sent every bill of "capitulation" to die in Republican-dominated committees and how it proves that the Strike needs to hold firm until every demand is met in full, otherwise the government (which is making its promises in bad faith) will retract all its offers and promises the moment it thinks it can get away with it.
"Five bills have reached the President's desk since the general strike has begun. Not one of them mentions the demands of the workers of Chicago, the demands the Republican Party has promised to fulfill," you write, your frantic scrawl filling page after page as you recount the evidence of the capitalist's bad faith, describing the many times they have deceived and betrayed the workers.
"The forces of capital will never cease seeking our oppression until they are defeated, or we are. Workers of Chicago, you are the beacon of socialism. Do not falter, do not retreat, do not submit."
The newest edition triggers furious denunciation and accusations of incompetence, insanity, and radicalism. "Does the syndicalist senator think it's a simple matter to handle the affairs of government?" newspapers in San Francisco and New York ask.
And the workers and soldiers reply that paying employees is. Many soldiers trek to Chicago, despite the refusal of railways to run there...until strikes by the railway workers in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana force them to either allow transport to the Windy City or face entire sections of the rail network getting shut down.
The flame of resistance burns all the brighter now. There are no more motions to end the general strike. In fact, a delegation of workers put forth a motion to make it permanent, although it is voted down due to various practical concerns.
Result: Significant boost in the strength and determination of the general strike, loss of support for the federal government.
Expand Soup Kitchens - 1 Authority
It begins in Chicago, in buildings whose occupants have fled. Doors are kicked down, furnishing removed. The stoves in the kitchen are fired up, and new improvised ones brought in. Rough tables and rows of benches are laid in yards and ballrooms, and communal kitchens are created, expanding to reach places they never had before. As the hungry hordes descend on them, they expand, increasing in size and number, beginning to recruit assistants and dishwashers from those who use their services.
It's a heartening success and one that you intend to replicate. New kitchens are opened in many cities, despite the increased harassment of syndicalists and socialists outside your strongholds. But you have more ambitious goals, goals which will take time to reach.
The cost is enormous, the effort is derided as a boondoggle by your foes and by some of the more direct of your colleagues, but your goal is feasible and the benefits enormous. You do not deny that the food in the kitchens is...not great. Between the generally low quality and the occasional outbreak of food poisoning, there is room to improve. You'll worry about that later when as many as possible have some food in their bellies.
Result: You have begun to expand already established soup kitchen networks in several cities and create new ones. 2 months left.
Encourage Veteran Recruitment - 1 Authority
Soldiers pour into Chicago to join the picket lines, but more groups form outside. Despite the best efforts of their officers to conceal the truth, the news of your demands reaches their ears. Small veteran's clubs form in mining towns and major cities, often acting alongside unions in various actions. Your agitators don't just try to recruit veterans directly, but to encourage them to support the Payment Army, displaying images taken by reporters of the soldiers with their families and the letters they had written to the president.
And it gets results. The pressure on Curtis and Congress to act increases, even as they grow more stubborn. And that stubbornness drives more into your arms.
Result: Three more rolls for Veterans in the Red Guard, new action unlocked.
Anti-Strikebreaker Force - 2 Influence, 5+74+10+10 = 99
For the first time, you visit Chicago. While this was partly a vacation, you did have a little work you wanted to do first. Deep within the slaughterhouses and railyards of the city, a particular abandoned one that was once the site of a bloody clash is filled to the brim with four hundred men. They were soldiers and dockworkers, they forged steel and loaded trains, and mined coal. They have all labored, and they have all fought.
"You are probably wondering why you were all asked to come here, both to Chicago and to this place," you tell them.
There is a low murmur of acknowledgment, an uneasy one. You are not too comfortable here yourself, amongst the rusting train cars and torn tracks and walls stained with what looks like dried clay that someone splattered in many places.
"It is because your comrades speak highly of you, because of your discipline and valor and dedication to the workers and to our cause. It is because you have been noticed. It is because you work and you do it well...I am sure you know what the reward for that is."
There's a faint ripple of laughter.
"More work!" you all cry together.
"That work will be to travel the country. When strikebreakers and Pinkerton thugs attack, you will be there. When police beat workers marching in protest of their poor treatment, you will be there. You are the ones who will break the strikebreakers. Are you willing? Any of you can leave now, and suffer no consequences, go back to the strike or leave Chicago or do whatever you want."
You pause for a few moments. No one makes a move.
"I picked this place because workers shed their blood here. It wasn't one of the great strikes or the great suppressions, it's not going to be in the history books, but three men died and four were crippled by police with dogs here. The blood of labor is the mortar that holds America together. Even in the most out-of-the-way places, it stains the earth," you tell them solemnly.
"We're going to tear apart the structure and build a new one, a better one. I promise you that."
You take a step off to the side, gesturing to a few barrels. "Now have some beer from the Chicago Brewer's Collective!"
You have to take several more steps to avoid being run over.
Result: 400 strong force recruited to protect strikes, they are highly enthusiastic and determined. They are currently attracting little attention.
Organize Childcare - 1 Influence, 46
You also visit a half-dozen of the "Nanny Houses" that have sprung up, reading to the younger children and speaking to the older ones, enjoying the way their innocent excitement at meeting you and the sheer energy they possess. Hannah accompanies you on a few of these trips, and at the end, you decide to ask what she thought.
"They looked busy. Misses Whiteshanks said she's been spending all day with those kids, and they were loud kids."
She's entirely right. You give her a kiss, send her off, and then consider what else the various nannies told you.
"And there should be men doing it too. You said socialism required equal labor," Hannah adds, poking her head back into the room.
You thank her and hug her, and then she wants to show you her newest drawing. Smiling, you agree, and it's nearly twenty minutes before you go back to your desk and write down a draft proposal, suggesting first that part of using the services of a Nanny House was to volunteer to assist on a rotating basis, and to create a more organized network of those houses. Perhaps some buildings could be set aside, one per neighborhood or attached to factories...
Result: Proposal created, will be gradually implemented, implementation can be accelerated.
Appoint a Party Whip - 1 Influence
There are many Senators and Congressmen who are important figures. They are often proud and prickly and frankly a pain in your rear end. You might not have to deal with full-on revolts, but you spend a ridiculous amount of time making sure people read the bills and managing the approaches your allies take in committees. It wouldn't be a disaster if they were left entirely alone, you will admit to a tendency to micromanage, but there would be some trouble.
However, you could also install a whip. They would need a lot of backing, but most likely they could manage that side of things better than you can with your focus pulled in so many directions. It would need to be someone senior, or at least influential though.
You decide to ask...
[] No one.
[] No one, but you will stop handling it yourself. +1 Influence, unknown consequences for the legislature
[] Norman Thomas, Senator from New York. Possibly your only true rival for the leadership of the SPA, he is also your most dedicated supporter. A strongly principled man, the only thing he is more devoted to than socialism is peace, although he does (reluctantly) recognize the need for self-defense. Pros: Popular(Increase to relations with all factions), experienced(+10 to rolls for the Party Whip). Cons: Strongly Principled (He will not do anything that compromises his values). Priorities: Worker's relief, reducing federal military strength.
-[] How strongly will you back him? The minimum is 1 Authority. You will lose all Authority or Influence you commit.
[] Henry Wallace, Representative from Iowa. He is incredibly inexperienced and rather arrogant, but he is a canny political operator. A little seasoning might see him becoming a major player in his own right. And most importantly, he crossed the aisle from Farmer-Labor but maintained his old contacts and allies there, which will expand your legislative reach and potentially grant opportunities to bring the Great Plains into coalition with you. Pros: Canny (+5 to rolls for the Party Whip), Farmer-Labor contacts (drastically decreases difficulty of working with Farmer-Labor). Cons: Arrogant (reduces relations with all factions), Inexperienced (-10 to rolls for the Party Whip, malus increased by +1 each month). Priorities: Agricultural relief, civil rights.
-[] How strongly will you back him? The minimum is 1 Authority. You will lose all Authority or Influence you commit.
[] Albert Glotzer, Senator from Illinois. He is perhaps the most internationalist member of the Senate, and aims to gain support from the Union of Britain, the Commune of France, and the United Mexican States and in turn support their revolutions as well as others. Despite this, he is otherwise fairly typical. Pros: None. Cons: None. Priorities: Internationalism
-[] How strongly will you back him? The minimum is 1 Authority. You will lose all Authority or Influence you commit.
[] Benjamin Gitlow, Senator from New Jersey. Coming into politics from the unions, he has grown increasingly radical and even begun to question the value of electoralism as a tactic. It is quite possible he will not run for re-election in 1938. However, while in the Senate he is an experience organizer, albeit one prone to disruption. Pros: Experienced (+10 to rolls for the Party Whip). Cons: Disruptive (More likely to disobey instructions). Priorities: Establish dual power institutions, expand propaganda efforts
-[] How strongly will you back him? The minimum is 1 Authority. You will lose all Authority or Influence you commit.
Personal Action: Spend Time With Your Family
With all your business finished in Chicago, and you not "officially" in the city, you are free to roam the city with Hannah and Louise, spending an entire day together in a way you have not done since...nearly a year now. Your arm is locked in your wife's, your daughter rides on your shoulders (which you will probably regret in an hour). You inhale the fresh air and see the sights, not just the museums and famous landmarks of the city,. You see the way people live in a city at least partly dominated by socialism.
It's a long day full of answering their questions and buying your daughter sweets from a stand at the fair some enterprising group have started up, the booths hastily painted with the grain-and-gear.
It ends back at the hotel you are staying at, your daughter fasts asleep in your bed, your wife in your arms. She is silent for a long time. "So this is why you were so busy," she says softly.
You nod. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
She nods again. "I know I would like to have a kitchen where the husband does the dishes."
You wince theatrically, then frown slightly as she continues.
"I still can't forgive you though. Not yet."
You consider your response somewhere, despite your...distraction.
"But one day?"
"One day."
You decide that you'll just have to make it come soon.
Report from the Coordination Committee
The Coordination Committee has decided to focus on one of their other priorities this month, one which they have neglected, spending money on several construction companies, choosing specific, rather expensive companies. As a defense, they explain they selected companies that were more highly worker-dominated than the competition, which regrettably had higher rates.
Focus: The Struggle Carries On!
The workers of America are alienated. Not just from their work, but from each other. Divides imposed by the capitalists have fractured different professions. Especially strong is the divide between the rural workers and the urban, one which will take many years to heal, if that's at all possible. Support for the SPA in many rural areas seems slim to none...but you can build from that. After all, only a few years ago the Socialist Party could barely win state elections. It will be difficult, and long, and probably bloody, but the struggle shall carry on.
Benefits from Veterans in the Red Guards) Pinkertons and police have been used to break many strikes, often injuring or killing innocent men and women who wanted nothing more than fair treatment and rarely suffering consequences for that. This cannot be tolerated any further. While such behavior can now be legally punished in many states, that doesn't always discourage it. More drastic measures must be taken. Find the best and most determined members of the Red Guards who are willing to do it full time and shuttle them around the country to protect major strikes. They will need some training and equipment of course. Cost: 3 Resources, - 0.5 Resources per month. Risk of backlash. DC: 0/25/50/100. Results: Form a small force of semi-professional troops who will be automatically deployed at major strikes and similar actions.