Scheduled vote count started by notbirdofprey on May 13, 2021 at 10:17 PM, finished with 11 posts and 9 votes.
[X] 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.
-[X] 1 Authority
[X] 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
-[X] 1 Authority
-[X] 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.
-[X] How strongly will you back him? The minimum is 1 Authority. You will lose all Authority or Influence you commit.
I would like one d100 for the feds, one for Long, one for the General Strike with +5, one for Canada, one for the Coordination Committee, and one for Norman Thomas with +10.
Charles Evans woke up every day in a world gone mad. The once tranquil streets of Chicago were dominated by socialists. The American flag that had once flown from his house had been torn down, a red gear spray-painted on his door, and the police refused to investigate. Whether that was because they were scared of the vicious thugs who ruled the streets or were on the side of the syndicalists, he didn't know.
If he had thought it viable, he would have left. But that would ruin the practice he had spent years building and he would not stomach that! Chicago could burn to the ground, and he would be doing housecalls in the ruins.
So he put on his hat, said goodbye to his maid, picked up his bag, and walked out the door. He'd had a car, but some scoundrel had stolen and crashed it two days after the general strike had begun. So now he had to spend half an hour trudging through the dirty streets of Chicago, pushing past men and women waving banners and shouting slogans and praying silently that they didn't try and stop him.
He had been unpleasantly roughed up quite a few times by bands such as those.
Safely in his office, he set down the bag and waited for the first call. When one came, he rushed over, did what he could, then left with some money that seemed increasingly useless. The stores were empty, the factories weren't producing anything...the city of Chicago had ground to a halt while people rioted and protested and struck.
It was madness of the worst sort, people defying the American government, the army nowhere to be seen, factory workers running the city from the mayor's office while the mayor marched alongside scoundrels in the street. Every day seemed to bring some new insanity.
As he made his way back to the office after the third call of the day, he found the dirty thief who had stolen him, a new car, and four tough men with red armbands waiting out in front for him.
"Mister Evans," one said haughtily.
"Good day. Do you need my services?" Charles asked stiffly.
"No. We found this scamp had stolen your car, which we didn't approve of. So we got you a new one, and as an apology, he's going to work for you."
The thief was cuffed across the back of his head, grimacing sheepishly.
Charles took a deep breath. This was the craziest thing yet.
Rumors and News
The continuation of the General Strike is a roaring success, as several other cities begin their own strike actions in solidarity. Even more significantly, portions of the army have joined in, declaring a refusal to obey orders until they receive guarantees that all soldiers will be paid fairly and promptly. Very few of these men are truly aligned with you, but even this simple act of defiance would have been unthinkable a few short months ago. And if the generals respond harshly, they will push swathes of the military into your arms. For now, no punishment has been levied, and the striking soldiers simply sit in their barracks and refuse to drill or march. The country watches with bated breath to see what happens next.
The false surrender falters under the withering criticism of the SPA, and the pretense is abandoned entirely. Instead, the government sits and argues, riven and divided, even as several factional leaders struggle to find a way to end the strike with an appearance of honor and victory. But they cannot find a way to create such a facade. Instead they are working to keep their parties from splintering further.
Long and his financial backers have abandoned their criticism of the strike and decided to effectively act as scabs on an industrial scale, with Longist governments and the cartels who support them establishing a series of new factories in several areas dominated by their supporters. The Democrats have seized this opportunity with both hands, using their control over the newspapers and party machinery to launch an intense barrage, accusing Long of being your pawn.
The Canadian intelligence agency appears to have not become fully operational yet (the absence of any mentions of it in official announcements is telling), and the syndicalist movement is using the time given to go to ground, although they are encountering difficulty and much of the leadership is being arrested.
A war begins between Paraguay and Bolivia, with Bolivia taking defeat after defeat. Continued unrest rocks India as the diverse factions of the Indian Congress skirmish, often literally. The Berlin stock exchange reaches new highs, and the Kaiserreich is rumored to be reaching out to the Entente.
Overall, this past month has been an undeniable smashing success. The SPA has gone from strength to strength, with membership and support rising in every city in the country. Most of the credit goes to those who organized and led the general strike, but your efforts to support it win recognition as well.
[Major gain in support, primarily in urban areas. +1 Influence, +2 Resources per month.]
Regrettably, storm clouds are on the horizon. Or dust clouds, more accurately. Crop-killing droughts and intense storms have begun stripping the topsoil of the once-fertile Great Plains, with a catastrophic effect on those who make their living from it. Food prices are changing unpredictably through, and the stock market has reached its lowest point yet. Dark times are ahead for America.
Plans from Subordinates
Again the Committee changes topics, this time back to policing. Their previous large-scale attempt has led to the formation of organized groups of former police, so they will seek to preempt this with the establishment of generous farm relief.
Various state legislatures, alarmed by the storms, are beginning efforts to improve the food supply, despite severe infighting on what the best way to do so is. Suggestions range from taking control of prices to establishing government-run collective farms to subsidizing sustainable farming and mechanization. The actual process of getting these relief bills passed is proving difficult as well.
And Thomas is going to see the demands of the strike are met. And if he can weaken your opponents politically at the same time, he will.
You have 7 Influence and 1 Authority total. 1 Authority and 0 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are currently taking The Struggle Carries On!
Mandates: Provide state-level relief or job programs in 2 months (from The Center). Ally with Farmer-Labor and begin stabilizing food supplies for the cities within 3 months (from The Right).
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: 80/150/220/280. 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 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, 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.
(1 Authority Committed) 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: 2 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: +2 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 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, 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.
A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as "market socialism" and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? Cost: Small chance of -1 Influence, loss of relations with the Left. 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/35/70/105. Result: Increase to income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Small chance of gaining +1 Influence, increase to relations with the Right.
Credit to the Unions: The major banking services are dominated by capitalists and often hostile to socialists, while the poor are forced into debt to dangerous loansharks. Credit unions are a low-cost and democratically structured alternative to both. While there have been credit unions in the country since the turn of the century, they have become significantly more prominent thanks to the general strike. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/30/60/90. Result: Establishment of credit unions, reduced cost and increased efficacy for other Union actions, gain ability to take loans.
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.
Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 10 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/20/60/100.
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.
Veteran Cadres: With veteran soldiers having joined your rank in large numbers and more looking to rally to the red banner, it is time to truly take advantage of their expertise and begin forming cadres so that they can better develop the skills and discipline of your Red Guard. You are well aware that they will not be the equal of U.S. Army soldiers for some time, but closing the gap even slightly will be a major advantage. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50. Result: Lower DC and improve Results for training 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.
Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Increase to income.
An Investigation Arm: With the increasing size and activity of the Red Guard, malcontents and informers are likely slipping in, taking advantage of your activities to line their pockets or using their positions to gather information. Neither can be allowed. To counter them, some have proposed the creation of an anonymous reporting system and selecting some trustworthy individuals to investigate these reports. Though generally unpopular, you can see the potential benefits. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Reduction in corruption, increased chance of catching spies.
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, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.
Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.
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: 5/20/50/160. 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 Agriculture Bills: With the increasingly large dust storms and the damage to the soil in the Great Plains, measures need to be taken to ensure the cities remain fed and that the farmers do not suffer unduly. Cost: Likely to lose support in rural areas. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Results: Pass laws in various states to ensure that food remains affordable.
Increase Power of the Legislative Congress: The Legislative Congress, the organ for socialist state governments to work together, has proven fairly toothless when confronted with matters like reluctant governors, reactionary judges, or bickering congressmen. The Congress is hoping you will back them with your influence so they can better fulfill their tasks. Cost:-1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: The Legislative Congress becomes a subordinate, I roll for their traits.
Demand the Strike Demands: The Republicans and Democrats have both had opportunities to fulfill the demands of the general strike. They have failed utterly, and now you must see that the people have their due. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/60/120. Results: The General Strike has all demands met.
A General Problem: It's not a problem for you, quite the opposite. Various galas and other affairs you have had to attend have meant you have been introduced to many generals and other high-ranking officers and former officers, such as Smedley Butler. In recent weeks, you have been made aware of a certain...dissatisfaction with current government policies and concern about what will happen if this country fails to address the popular demands. Go meet with some of these generals and see what they want. Cost: Risk of backlash. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Meet with Butler and other generals and find out what they want.
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.
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 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.
Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.
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
Meet with Thomas: Norman almost certainly has his own plans, but proposing some of your own will not go amiss. A brief meeting with him will let you discuss what goals you have that can be met on Capitol Hill. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Results: Subvote on Norman Thomas's priorities.
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 is one month 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 of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).
Scheduled vote count started by notbirdofprey on May 16, 2021 at 12:49 AM, finished with 26 posts and 13 votes.
[X] Plan: Finish the Strike, Prepare for Dust Bowl
-[X] Falling Off the Truck: 1 Influence
-[X] Credit to the Unions: 1 Influence
-[X] Demand the Strike Demands: 3 Influence
-[X] A General Problem: 1 Influence
-[X] Increase Power of the Legislative Congress: 1 Influence
-[X] Spend Time With Your Family
-[X] Meet with Thomas
[X] Plan: Finish the Strike, Prepare for Dust Bowl v2: Reactionary Condemnation
-[X] Condemn Reactionary Judges: 1 Influence
-[X] Falling Off the Truck: 1 Influence
-[X] Credit to the Unions: 1 Influence
-[X] Demand the Strike Demands: 2 Influence
-[X] A General Problem: 1 Influence
-[X] Increase Power of the Legislative Congress: 1 Influence
-[X] Spend Time With Your Family
-[X] Meet with Thomas
"Theft is a crime born of poverty," you wrote. You are hardly the only person to claim that, but it is anathema to many of your supporters. Those who slave all day in the coal mines do not look kindly upon those who steal bread from their mouths.
So when you begin your campaign to encourage theft to better fund your soup kitchens, you...recontextualize it. The propaganda campaigns go out, suggestions delivered to your agitators and organizers. It's not a hard sell, really. Everyone has heard of the Boston Tea Party...how is this any different?
The question is asked and answered a thousand different times in a thousand different towns and cities. "It's not, it's not!" people shout.
Not only does excess food from canneries find itself making its way to the hungry waiting outside your kitchens, but many factory workers take the concept to its logical conclusion and salvage scrap, excess material, and discarded products for use, either for themselves or as contributions to the strike funds and union dues.
Factory managers try to stop this, to defeat it using a variety of measures, ranging from firing ringleaders to bringing in Pinkertons to guard their scraps, and the workers retaliate with zeal and skill. Work stoppages, wildcat strikes, sit-ins, work-to-rule, and even factory seizures are used, and managers across the country are defeated. Your anti-strikebreaker force sees action for the first time when Ford threatens the governor of Missouri to make him send the National Guard against workers.
After three days of bloody fighting inside the plant, the strikebreakers were driven back with a dozen dead and many more injured. Your Red Guards took heavy casualties as well, but they are already soliciting replacements and receiving fame and adorations from socialist newspapers and defamations and attacks from conservative ones.
Results: +2 Resources per turn, quality of soup kitchens increases, increase to effectiveness of the anti-strikebreaker force.
Credit to the Unions - 1 Influence, 68
Banks are familiar to people. They are seen as a pillar of stability, even after most of them collapsed, pulled themselves out of the rubble, and then collapsed again. Not individual banks, necessarily, but the institution as a whole. Your initial proposals are seen as somewhat...suspect by many. So you reframe it (something you are finding yourself doing very often).
Instead of suggesting replacing banks, you advocate for democratizing them. Putting this to the Council of the Combined Syndicates, the representatives of the unions accept it without further modification. Some of the more affluent representatives, who are naturally more familiar with banks, begin working with you to find banking employees you can recruit and begin designing a structure.
Result: The creation of a system of credit unions begins.
Demand the Strike Demands - 3 Influence, 41+100+77 = 218, Report From Thomas
This morning, before the business of Congress began, Thomas asked to meet with you. You agreed, rising painfully early to have plenty of time, as he laid out his plan and asked for your cooperation.
Now you are enjoying the fruits of it as the chamber erupts in pandemonium. "You bastard! You red, lying bastard!" someone howls at you, two of his fellow senators restraining them even as they shoot murderous looks at you.
You smile serenely. "My esteemed colleague," you say in the most insulting way you can manage, " one of your own allies introduced the bill, and you all voted on it. It's not my fault if none of you actually read all of it!"
Admittedly, the fact that the bill was a hundred pages long and dry as dust and had been introduced by (former) Democrats persuaded to jump ship after they were presented with a possible future had probably been what motivated their decisions.
You wonder what exactly Norman promised Long to get him to go along with it, aside from the inevitable fact that he would be handling the way the relief funds earmarked for his states would be handled - as a compromise measure, the funds for the soldiers and the relief programs would be given to the states with relatively few restrictions on what they could be used for.
The fact that it is causing Long to argue with three of his supporters suggests good things...
"The President will never sign it!" someone yells.
"And what will the soldiers do then?" someone else shouts back.
As the chamber descendants even further into more shouting, you turn to leave. You have some propaganda to produce.
Three days later, after Long came out in favor and three Georgia senators and representatives resigned in fury and even MacArthur proclaimed his favor, the bill was signed. The general strike ends. Your popularity explodes.
When you won so many states half a year ago, people thought it was a fluke. Now you are considered the most serious contender for the 1936 Presidency, despite the best efforts of so many to claim credit for this bill.
Another three days passed before you were standing on the docks of New York to greet the first merchant convoy from the Commune of France.
Result: In addition to a general distribution of moderate funds to the states to be used for relief and paying soldiers whose pay have been in arrears, you were able to slip in language enabling trade and a degree of diplomatic normalization with the Commune of France and the Union of Britain. Furthermore, Norman Thomas convinced Huey Long to support the bill in exchange for SPA support in "Autonomous Negro Zones" which have led to revolts in his own faction.
A General Problem - 1 Influence
Butler meets you in his home, overlooking the Potomac. With him are four other men. He introduces them - Oliver Law, John Tisa, Benjamin Katine, and Maurice Rose. All good soldiers, he assures you, and staunch syndicalists. He tells you in a few minutes they are going to storm out in a few minutes and report the meeting to MacArthur.
You nod, not certain where Butler is going with this. He has had something of an eccentric reputation - you have heard he ordered police to dress up as Marines during his tenure in Philadelphia, for one.
As the men leave, he leans forwards. "Comrade Reed, you are making waves. I heard about your little display on the Hill. That's the sort of thing this country needs. And I am willing to help you get more of that. Even if not everyone is. Know who I am talking about?"
"MacArthur?" you ask with a raised eyebrow.
He pounds his fist against his thigh. "That fucker, yes. He's been talking, from what I heard. Thinking you are going to steal the election, that you have spies in the army, and he's going to be taking measures against both. You need to watch yourself."
He points his thumb at you. "Now, that's free. What comes next has a toll. I've heard things about Russia, and Britain and France and India. I know war, I know they are never clean, and I doubt revolution is any better. But if it comes to that, I want your word you will do your damn best to keep this country democratic and keep the terror to a minimum. I don't want you locking people in barns then burning them down or spitting pastors on the steeples of the church, got it?"
You don't want that either, and even if his manner is rough, you understand his fears. So you agree.
"I'm head of the VFW. My boys are the ones who aren't suckers anymore, who won't be sold out. So they'll fit right in with your Red Guards. They've got friends in every branch, I have friends of my own, and so do those fine young men you met. They'll help."
You lean forward, very interested, and begin asking what he means.
Result: New Militant and Intrigue actions unlocked, warning given, introduced to some friendly officers
Increase Power of the Legislative Congress - 1 Influence
It's a relatively simple affair to give the Legislative Congress the backing they need. You propose giving them a formal founding document, with a fairly standard electoral setup, and then you ask them to begin coordinating with non-state organizations and ensuring the passage of favorable laws. They promise to get down to business, and then promptly begin squabbling.
Result: The Legislative Congress formed as a subordinate with 2 Influence. They have the trait Clashing Priorities (20% chance each turn to temporarily lose 1 Influence), and a 5% chance to lose it each turn.
Expand Soup Kitchens - 1 Authority
There are several cities that haven't had soup kitchen networks formed despite SPA presences. That deficiency is corrected, despite the frequent harassment and attacks from police and other groups. As the number of kitchens grows, the amount of people who need to eat from them does, and the price of food continually rises. You may well have to revise your expectations for this program...
Result: The expansion continues.
Spend Time With Your Family
It's late one night. You lay in your bed, limbs interwoven with your wife the way that comes from sleeping in the same bed with someone you trust. Both of you have been woken up...by something. A shared dream, maybe.
Louise turns to look at you. "I'm worried about Hannah," she says softly.
"Me too. I think something is wrong at school."
In a detached, cold voice, the one she uses when she's too angry to let herself feel anything, she confirms that's the case. She tells a story that makes you want to vomit, a story of constant harassment and bullying, of indifferent staff and you being too busy to bother.
You want to vomit. She's your daughter, you should've been there, but there had been other things, things more important than...
"Than your daughter?" an internal voice demands.
You have no answer.
A deep breath. Blinking, pushing away tears.
"We'll get her a tutor. She can learn better away from that sort of thing. She should play with other children too, I can bring her into the local office, there's always a dozen or so there."
You can't fix that, but you can solve the current problem.
It will have to be enough.
Meet with Thomas
The two of you meet in your Washington, D. C. home after a long but triumphant day. You pour yourself a glass of whiskey and offer one to him. He takes it, but doesn't drink.
"Well, we did it," Thomas says.
You shake your head. "You did it. It was your plan, I just helped see it through."
He nods, clearly disagreeing, but not wanting to say so.
"You have more plans?" you press, hoping he says yes.
"A few, I want to build on what we accomplished today," he tells you, "But if you have some suggestions of your own, I will consider them."
You consider what to propose, and offer...
(Pick two)
[] Gaining allies in Congress
[] Rural relief bills
[] Encouraging organizations like your soup kitchens and credit unions
[] Strike protection
[] Weakening the army
[] Protecting minority rights
[] Politically isolating your enemies
Report From the Coordination Committee
They have reported significant successes dismantling the police organizations. The first step was to announce budget cuts, with pensions for anyone who voluntarily left but nothing for anyone who had to be hired. Anyone untrustworthy who didn't take the hint was removed, while those who were deemed acceptable to keep were rehired with new ranks as they were placed in command of enthusiastic and loyal party members who became the new police. The only blight was the formation of "self-defense" groups by wealthy individuals in several of the cities with their reformed police departments. A great deal of hostility is being directed the way of you police officers...but socialists are used to hostility.
Focus: The Struggle Carries On!
For years the SPA has battled for liberation. There have been grievous defeats, but also joyous victories, such as the undeniably successful general strike in Chicago, which has triumphed beyond all expectations. The gains made would be unthinkable just a few short years ago, but the crisis of capital has jammed a wrench into the gears and left the forces of reaction confused and divided. That your victory will come is inevitable, that it will be difficult and hard-fought is also true. But you will not give in, you will not falter, you will keep fighting.
And the struggle shall carry on!
Result: Gain National Spirit The Struggle Carries On! (+1 Strength to the Center of the Party per month)
The night is warm, warm enough that Isaac is sweating even in his nightclothes. Or maybe it's just that there's an enormous fire over there, he thinks, giddy with fear. It takes a long second to see what is burning. It's further than he thought, a ways up the hill. The mansion of...the name escapes his memory. The family owns copper mines, he knows that. And though the mansion burns, flames rising into the sky, crowned by a column of smoke huge enough to be mistaken for thunderclouds, he doesn't hear any of the normal sounds of a housefire. There were no fire engines.
He wondered who had burned it then, the Minutemen or the Red Guards. He wondered if it mattered as his son stumbled down the stairs after him, awakened by the sounds of Isaac's panic.
The boy, not ten years old, stared up at the fire. "Dad, are we going to do anything?" he asked with a trembling voice.
Isaac shook his head, and sent the boy back upstairs.
The next day, as he trudged to work, he looked at the armed men patrolling the streets, glaring at each other, and prayed they wouldn't find cause to hurt him. He was not a syndicalist, he was not a Longist, he was not any sort of politician. He simply wanted to be left alone, to work and eat and stay safe. He knew there was injustice and inequality, and he dropped quarters off by the homeless and prayed for their safety. It wasn't that he didn't want a revolution to come and make a paradise, but he doubted such was possible and feared the cost.
And so when armed men asked him which side he was on, he always said as little as possible.
But as the days rolled on, as the general strike came to an end and more houses burned and three of the town's police were shot in the street, as little as possible had to become more and more, until finally Isaac had to decide for his own safety: which side was he on?
Because as the Red Guards liked to sing, sometimes your only choice was to be "a union man or a thug for J. H. Blair."
Rumors and News
As the general strike comes to an end, soldiers return from their strikes. Some are embittered by the hard measures it took to get their pay, some are satisfied, and some have begun to ask questions of a most dangerous sort for the capitalists and their hounds. The solidarity strikes slowly die off, the Blair Brigade, who defended strike after strike from police and Guardsmen and Pinkertons retire for the time being, and the workers of Chicago return willingly to the chains of capital...for now. The success was undeniable, as was the lead you took in meeting the striker's demands and encouraging them, but you remained a fairly distant figure from the general strike overall.
While this does mean that you do not get as much credit from it as you might, it might be better for the movement overall. So long as the Party and CSA remain united, of course.
Long has retreated from Washington briefly, doing damage control as best he can. From the looks of it, he has been fairly successful, although you don't know what sort of promises he had to make. The KKK has staged several anti-Long rallies when word leaked of his autonomy plan and lynched several sharecroppers, accusing them of being Longists and syndicalists. Curiously, despite Long's known distaste for the KKK, he has not spoken against them.
Instead, he has continued his industrial efforts, expanding the state-sponsored unions and recruiting incoming farmworkers forced off their lands. He has also passed a savage wealth-tax in Louisiana, one that seems to have some sort of exceptions, you haven't managed to find the details on that.
The federal government seems occupied with frantically trying to deal with the damage your bill has caused, making all manner of diplomatic assurances to Germany and the Entente. However, a loose coalition of the remaining Democrats have continued attacking Long, seeing some minor success.
Meanwhile, between dust storms and the Canadian government raising tariffs to incredible levels in anger, Canada suffers economically. Rumors of some sort of mass-breakout reach your ears, although they are likely exaggerated.
It is in the international sphere that the past month has had the greatest impact. Germany threatens to completely cut off their economic deals with the United States, resulting in a second crash of the freefalling stockmarket, but it has begun slowly ticking back up as British and French goods arrive. They are heavily inspected and the docks are watched by federal troops to make sure nothing is smuggled in, but you are confident a way around it will be found.
The dust storms continue, increasing in intensity and scope. Farmers flee east and west, into many cities, the numbers straining your soup kitchens. Sometimes your people have nothing for them, a sad truth but one you have to admit.
[Significant gains in support in some cities, +1 Authority.]
Plans from Subordinates
With a blueprint for "socializing" police forces finally established, the Committee intends to move on and begin developing methods of ensuring the vote is as easy as possible for your supporters.
With a small but significant to their budgets thanks to the federal relief bill, several bills for farming relief have been proposed. Seeing them passed will likely require significant compromises.
With the mood Congress is in, Thomas deems it unlikely that any further relief bills will be passed, and any bill introduced is going to be scrutinized heavily. So he will work with Wallace and some other of the more right-wing SPA Congresspeople to approach Farmer-Labor and commit to try and get something passed, or at least to force the Democrats and Republicans to defeat it loudly.
You have 7 Influence and 2 Authority total. 1 Authority and 1 Influence are committed to ongoing actions. You are not currently taking any foci.
Mandates: Provide state-level relief or job programs in 1 month (from The Center). Ally with Farmer-Labor and begin stabilizing food supplies for the cities within 3 months (from The Right). Successfully propagandize towards farmers in 3 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 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: 70/140/200/260. 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 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, amount is dependent on roll.
Open Investigation: If a subordinate is unpopular or incompetent, you can begin publicly 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.
Push for Rural Assistance: The priority for most of the SPA are the urban areas and the mining strongholds. Between the fact that most farmers are petty producers and their famed social conservatism, there is relatively little concern for their fates beyond vague acknowledgements. Even the rural relief bills many are advocating for are primarily focused on keeping a large supply of food for the cities available. Despite the revolutionary potential of many rural groups, they are being effectively abandoned to be turned into the footsoldiers of reaction. Though it will strain the limits of your position, insisting on more effort will hopefully encourage the party to give more thought to farmers and farmworkers. Cost: -3 Influence, -1 Authority. Time: 3 months. DC: 45/90. Result: Unlock new actions focusing on supporting and recruiting among farmers,
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.
(1 Authority Committed) 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: 1 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: 20/40/80. Result: +2 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 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, 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.
A Union Shop: Socialized stores have become common in Chicago as workers inspired by the strike or owners compelled by it create democratically run stores. Though mocked by some on the left and some in the more syndicalist wing as "market socialism" and accused of not removing the profit motive, even their strongest critics cannot deny they serve a useful person during this transitory phase. Begin encouraging local unions to establish shops along these lines, and ask for a small cut of the proceeds perhaps? Cost: Small chance of -1 Influence, loss of relations with the Left. 5 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/35/70/105. Result: Increase to income, establishment of market cooperatives in locations with a strong SPA presence. Small chance of gaining +1 Influence, increase to relations with the Right.
(1 Influence Committed) Credit to the Unions: The major banking services are dominated by capitalists and often hostile to socialists, while the poor are forced into debt to dangerous loansharks. Credit unions are a low-cost and democratically structured alternative to both. While there have been credit unions in the country since the turn of the century, they have become significantly more prominent thanks to the general strike. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/30/60/90. Result: Establishment of credit unions, reduced cost and increased efficacy for other Union actions, gain ability to take loans.
Push for Reduced Hours: With an enormous influx of unemployed workers, the capitalists of the cities are able to find fresh sources of scabs, or else they suffer and languish without any work. Reviving a measure used before would help fix both these. The union workers would reduce their hours, working less time and therefore requiring more workers. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Amount of unemployed workers is reduced.
Establish Housing Cooperatives: The vast hordes of homeless are finding their numbers growing every day as the lost and destitute flood into cities. Meanwhile, there are dozens of emptied buildings that could be used as housing. Seize them and use them to create improvised communal housing. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/100. Result: Amount of homeless is reduced.
Establish Tenant's Unions: As rapacious landlords raise rent and begin readying themselves for bloody evictions, you must form a counter. Tenant's unions, ready and determined to fight them, must be formed. While the workers are already starting the process, encouraging its acceleration would be valuable. Cost: -1 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/45/90. Result: Accelerate establishment of tenant's unions.
Create Mobile Aid Teams: A proposal recently made was to form small groups equipped with money and food and send them out to approach the hordes of wandering farmers and give them support. While it will not fully counter the barrage of reactionary news they hear from Long's sound trucks, it will potentially strengthen your arguments by backing them with visible charity. Cost: -2 Resources per turn. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/30/60/90. Result: Increase popularity among rural populations.
Unionized Only!: As the number of potential scabs in the cities increase, measures need to be taken to prevent them from diluting the power of the unions and stealing their hard-won benefits. Begin establishing "union-shops" in the factories, forcing the owners to promise that they will not hire anyone if they are not willing to join the unions. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/55/110. Result: Increase the amount of people in unions.
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.
Establish Sporting Clubs: The wholesale purchase of firearms and ammunition by individuals draws attention. But sporting clubs, shooting ranges, and similar institutions doing so would not be a concern. Create a network of these companies as a means of subtly acquiring not just equipment for the Red Guards, but a way for them to train. Cost: 10 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/20/60/100.
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: 20/60. 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: 0/50/100. Results: Recruit veteran soldiers, bonuses to other actions.
Integrate the VFW: With Butler on your side, the VFW is yours for the taking. Formally integrating them into the Red Guards will give you a significant increase in the number of experienced soldiers in your ranks. The organizational merging involved is going to be somewhat complicated given the number of differences in structure, but increasing the strength of your paramilitaries will be vital for your success. Cost: Loss of relations with the Right. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.
Arm the Police: In the cities where you control the government, the attitudes of the police have shifted dramatically. They are now proud and determined supporters of their fellow workers against the ravages of capital. While they will need further restructuring to truly socialize them, that will have to wait until after the revolution. For now, you must prepare to fight it. Taking measures to increase the discipline and armaments of friendly policing departments will strengthen your control of the cities. Cost: Loss of relations with the Left. Time: 2 months. DC: 0/10/40/70/100. Result: Dramatic increase in the number and quality of the Red Guards.
Veteran Cadres: With veteran soldiers having joined your rank in large numbers and more looking to rally to the red banner, it is time to truly take advantage of their expertise and begin forming cadres so that they can better develop the skills and discipline of your Red Guard. You are well aware that they will not be the equal of U.S. Army soldiers for some time, but closing the gap even slightly will be a major advantage. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/30. Result: Lower DC and improve Results for training 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.
Toll Fees: With your control of railways and the strength of your paramilitaries in many transportation hubs, you could easily gain substantial incomes by insisting on donations for those passing through, although you will need to make sure there are exceptions for those who already support you or who it would be dangerous to stop. Cost: Decrease in support among moderates, increase to corruption. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Increase to income.
An Investigation Arm: With the increasing size and activity of the Red Guard, malcontents and informers are likely slipping in, taking advantage of your activities to line their pockets or using their positions to gather information. Neither can be allowed. To counter them, some have proposed the creation of an anonymous reporting system and selecting some trustworthy individuals to investigate these reports. Though generally unpopular, you can see the potential benefits. Cost: -1 Influence. Time: 3 months. DC: 30/60/90. Result: Reduction in corruption, increased chance of catching spies.
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. Unfortunately, given the suspicion being directed at the docks currently, such an action could provoke severe crackdowns that would have significant support. Cost: Severe risk of backlash, will likely increase corruption. DC: 0/50/100/150. Results: Gain income, easier smuggling, new options unlocked.
Recruit Butler: Butler is on your side. While currently he is still the head of the VFW, he may be willing to take up a position under you as the commander of the Red Guards. He is widely respected, famously popular, and a skilled and disciplined leader. His influence will be invaluable for strengthening your paramilitaries and preparing for the bloody conflict to come. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Result: Commit 1 Influence to Butler, get him as a subordinate.
Striking Soldiers: The news that several hundred soldiers have gone on strike has been greatly celebrated in the SPA. Even if it is not truly solidarity, it is a seed that can be watered. Careful efforts on approaching the soldiers who have gone on strike can be begun, hopefully before they are broken up or thrown in prison by untrusting army officers who are desperate to protect their class privilege. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/40/80/120. Result: increase to the number and quality of the Red Guards.
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, Pt. 2: You have designed your improvements to the ad hoc system of childcare, now it is time for the implementation to begin. All this will really involve is producing guides and perhaps some propaganda, but it will help. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/15/45/75. Result: Encourage the creation of more equal and better-designed childcare institutions.
Public Libraries: While libraries are a common and immensely popular institution, they can be improved in a number of ways, from increasing the resources available to them to broadening the services provided to include rentable instruments and instruction programs. Cost: 2 Resources. Time: 1 month. DC: 10/40/70/100. Result: Improve the variety of services offered by libraries.
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. With migrant hordes crossing the land east and west, a way to reach them grows increasingly important. 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. The lack of any organized system for spreading your message has led to several individuals starting up their own newspapers and similar operations to express support for socialism and syndicalism, albeit with a somewhat critical attitude to you. 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.
Welcoming Committees: As crowds of the newly destitute appear in the cities, they are disoriented, confused, and vulnerable, but they are also ripe for recruitment into the militant and organized working class. Elected union representatives will be asked to greet the newcomers and introduce them to the way life works in the cities you control Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 25/50/100. Result: Increased support and easier recruiting.
Propagandize The Rural Areas: Farmers are intensely reactionary. The Southern smallholder made the greatest contribution to the Confederate armies during the War of the Slave Power, the yeomen resisted the creation of a bourgeois democracy during the War of American Independence. But with multiple crises of capital ravaging them economically, perhaps some can be persuaded to support you and join the most advanced segments of the working class. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 30/60/90/120. Result: Begin propagandizing farmers.
Propagandize Professionals: Doctors and lawyers and managers, all have been greatly affected by this latest crisis. More than a few have been forced into breadlines and soup kitchens alongside the workers they have once looked down on. Approaching them, convincing them to join their cause, will give you access to their skills, which are undeniably useful and valuable. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 40/80/120. Result: Begin propagandizing destitute professionals.
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: 5/40/90/200. 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: 20/30/60. 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: 55/90/130. 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. Unfortunately, the current mood in Congress is intensely hostile to you. Cost: Loss of Relations with the Left. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/75//100/150. Results: You pass worker-protection laws on the state and possibly federal level and can gain varying amounts of support.
State-Level Agriculture Bills: With the increasingly large dust storms and the damage to the soil in the Great Plains, measures need to be taken to ensure the cities remain fed and that the farmers do not suffer unduly. Cost: Likely to lose support in rural areas. Time: 1 month. DC: 50/100/150. Results: Pass laws in various states to ensure that food remains affordable.
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.
Local Elections: Mayors, sheriffs, county judges. All positions of undeniable importance to the people who elect them. Beginning a campaign to get favorable individuals elected into those positions in the areas you don't completely dominate will help set favorable ground for future elections or revolutionary actions. Cost: 3 Resources. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/45/90. Results: Increase support on the local level.
Staff State Offices: The state bureaucracies are often intensely hostile to the efforts of the SPA, but while they are an obstacle they are one who can be defeated, or at least gone around. Beginning to hire loyal socialists and syndicalists will allow you to gradually begin purging these hostile organizations. Cost: None. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/50/100. Results: Begin gradually purging and replacing hostile bureaucrats, slow enough that there should be minimal loss of institutional knowledge.
Eviction Moratorium: With more and more people looking desperately for a place to stay, rents have begun skyrocketing. The passage of state-laws to set maximums on rent and sharply limit eviction will enable you to weaken the power of landlords from the top-down, as opposed to the bottom-up. Cost: Loss of relations with the Left. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/25/50/75. Result: Begin passing state-level laws to halt evictions and reduce rent.
Wealth Taxes: The federal relief bill you passed has dramatically eased the financial costs of the states working to protect their people, but they will run out eventually. The grants were large, but the state's income streams have not changed. Correct that, by passing savage wealth and inheritance taxes that will ensure the upper-class pay their fair share. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/10/20/30/40/50. Result: Begin passing state-level wealth taxes.
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 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.
Create Shell Corporations: To help with some of your more...unpleasant deeds, you can avoid scrutiny by purchasing a few false companies and helping you to conceal any unfortunate money trails. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Increase chances of avoiding discovery for embezzlement actions.
Infiltrate the Army: With the contacts Butler has given you, you now have a simple way of infiltrating the army. Selecting volunteers from the Red Guards and having them sign up will enable you to gain some low-level infiltration, while going through the men he introduced you to will enable you to hear rumors and gossip from higher-levels. MacArthur is certainly planning to use the army against you, you must find out how. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 3 months. DC: 0/1025/??/???. Result: Make contacts within the military.
Contact with the French and British: With the ports opened to French and British ships, the possibility of contact with your fellow syndicalists has just grown dramatically easier. The providing of support for you during the Revolution is a guarantee, what is less likely is them assisting you during this lead-up due to the difficulty of it, but the Syndintern will surely be able to provide something. Cost: Risk of discovery. Time: 1 month. DC: ??/??/??. Result: Contact the Syndintern
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 not taking any focuses..
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).
In the Cities - The cities are already where you are strongest, but there are still bourgeoise who can be convinced to turn against their class and proletariat who can be given consciousness, to say nothing of the lumpen. Time: 1 month. Effect: Modify The Struggle Carries On! (+1 Appeal in Urban Areas per month)
On the Farms - The rural areas are often strongly conservative, but there are masses of people who can nevertheless be convinced to join the struggle for liberation. The key is to approach them properly. Time: 2 months. Effect: Modify The Struggle Carries On! (+0.5 Appeal in Rural Areas 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 of Political Alliances (Effect: +1 Strength for the Right faction per month).
The cities of America are filled with abandoned buildings, houses that hold no one and factories that produce nothing. You order these buildings seized from the few men who still guard them. You order them turned out to the people who need homes. The homeless are gathered and offered shelter, persuaded or cajoled or even threatened into it. You even hear a few reports of savage beatings being inflicted on those who refuse the shelter.
But people at least have a roof over their heads...if not anything else. Criticism of the results in various party newspapers and the publishing of ample complaints of the homeless has led to several Red Guards and SPA organizers taking initiative in some cities to add greater comfort to these new cooperatives by setting up privacy curtains, bringing in beds and blankets, and painting the spaces to make them more cheerful.
More difficult and less frequent are the efforts to make these newly-established cooperatives into proper communities, where the inhabitants democratically manage them. It generally does not go well.
The reaction to even these efforts have been decidedly mixed. You are being critiqued for poor planning, and the actions of the Red Guards who were overly aggressive are being used to tar the entire movement. Factions in the party are arguing fiercely about what is to be done, both with this failure and the way party newspapers published it.
The failure, and the shame of it burns in your guts. You want to silence the criticism, to yell that you were doing the best, and you didn't order anyone beaten or threatened. It's not your fault!
You decide to...
[] Praise the party papers for their willingness to criticize you. +++Stress, +1 Influence, ???
[] Offer a defensive explanation. +Stress, ???
[] Be silent and let them say what they will. -1 Influence
[] Crack down on the criticism and do your best to enforce the party line. ---Stress, +2 Influence, ???
Furthermore, the nature of the cooperatives established is...less than ideal. It might be best to stop throwing good money after bad, stop trying to house people (you won't have them thrown out, you aren't monsters), and come back with a better plan. Or you could start working to fix your mistakes, despite the cost.
[] Pull back and admit failure. +++Stress, -1 Influence, ???
[] Commit the money needed to improve these cooperatives into something barely livable. -10 Resources, +Stress, ???
Result: Poor-quality, poorly-managed housing cooperatives managed in formerly abandoned buildings. Mixed gains and losses of support.
Establish Tenant's Unions - 1 Influence, 20
The CSA takes your proposal for the establishment of tenant's unions, where people living together would strike to get better conditions from their landlords and democratically elect leadership responsible for addressing grievances and sponsoring programs very well. Unfortunately, the two factions of the CSA that take it best are the Tobkin faction and the AFL. And so they take responsibility for the implementation of this program.
Daniel Tobkin is a dedicated socialist and the leader of one of the largest, most organized, and most powerful unions. He is also rapaciously corrupt. The AFL is perhaps the most bourgeoisie faction of the Combined Syndicates, utterly determined to refuse any revolution except one by the ballot.
You can at least rest assured that the tenant's unions will be competently run.
Results: -1 Resources per month as they go to strike funds and paying for various repairs and activities, tenant's unions are established.
Welcoming Committees - 1 Authority
The prejudices of the unions work in your favor. Of course the former farmers newly arriving in cities will need help and support from the more advanced section of the working class, from the revolutionary unions and the vanguard party.
But the results speak for themselves.
Henry was hungry. He hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast, which had been nothing more than some cornmeal shared with his sister. His parents had said they weren't hungry, but something told him they might be lying...even though Momma and Poppa always said lying was a sin.
As the car they had taken ground to a halt, Henry stared up in awe at the city. It was enormous. Buildings stretched up taller than any tree, and below them swarmed...so many people, more than he could count. More than Mr. Jenkins could, and he was always bragging about his edu-ca-tion at a uni-vers-it-y.
Then he saw a red flag with the grain-and-gear on it, and below stood a woman yelling at the crowd. He couldn't understand what she was saying, but it was probably mean, since people were throwing money into her jar then running off.
Henry turned to point her out to Poppa, who had driven off one of her kind with a shotgun, but then he saw Poppa speaking nervously to another man with a red armband.
"Of course you don't have to come with me, I'm not the law. He-heck," the man glanced apologetically at Momma, "you can just go to the kitchen without me and they'll feed you too, you don't even need to come with me for that. It's just that you don't know the city, so it might take you longer to find it. I'm offering directions, nothing more."
His parents exchanged cautious looks, and Poppa's gaze swept across the street. He hunched over the wheel and nodded to the man.
"Where do we go?'
A few minutes later, they were sitting in the weirdest church ever. There was no steeple, and apparently, they didn't really have services in it, just church dinners...for anyone who came, even if they weren't members.
The stew wasn't anywhere near as good as his Momma's cooking, but he was so hungry it didn't matter, and it was the most he had in a single meal for a week!
As he ate, the man spoke with his parents.
"There's a fair few jobs, and as long as you join the union we'll take care of you even if you lose it. And if your boss is a right bast-sorry ma'am, if your boss doesn't treat you right the union has your back. We'll even make sure your landlord doesn't rip you off, keep an eye on your kids for you if your missus wants to work, the tenant's union side of things even does plays and shows if you join..."
Henry's eyes went wide. He had always wanted to be in a play...and he didn't even have to beg. His parents said yes to the man and he gave them an address.
Result: Welcoming committees established for recruiting migrants to the city.
Ally With Farmer-Labor - 2 Influence, 85+22 = 107
Norman warns you well in advance of your meetings that Farmer-Labor is heavily splintered. While you will be able to get their left fringe fairly easily, the larger center will likely demand concessions, and there is also a strongly anti-revolution faction as well as a Longist faction. Both of those will likely split off entirely if your alliance is too strong and will actively strengthen your enemies. It will be a careful balance of concessions made and concessions demanded if you wish to bring the entire party into even a soft alignment with you.
The careful dance of negotiations stretches out over days. You meet in their offices and at galas where you find yourself coldly ignored by most, but at last, you suspect everyone is ready and meet with Senator Shipstead, the sole Farmer-Labor senator and so the leader. Given that he has voted with you for the Payment and Relief Bill and walked out with you in protest of MacArthur's butchery, you expect you know what faction he is in. But you are surprised to find how cool he is to you.
Still, he relays what the leadership wants, and a bit more prodding finds out what the various factional demands are..
You propose your agreement.
Farmer-Labor will...
[] Run fusionist tickets in states you both have influence. 1 point.
[] Agree to common policy in the Senate and House of Representatives. 2 points
[] Provide expertise and assistance for reaching out to rural communities. 1 point.
[] Endorse you for the presidency. 5 points.
[] Form common voting blocs in state governments. 7 points.
[] Encourage and support the establishment of rural unions and similar organizations. 8 points.
And you will...
[] Promise not to initiate any revolution. -3 points.
[] Agree to work towards ending price ceilings. - 5 points.
[] End or reduce rural foreclosure. -2 points.
[] Cede contested areas to Farmer-Labor campaigns. -7 points.
[] Agree to work towards rural relief bills. -10 points.
(Given what you have gathered and what Norman has told you, the left-wing of Farmer-Labor will join you for any deal with less than 10 points, the center will join for somewhere between 8-3, and the anti-revolutionary and Longist wings will join for between 4- -2.)
Eviction Moratorium - 1 Influence,13+10 = 23
The most radical factions of the SPA question why you don't simply have the tenant's unions block all the evictions. They also generally question if electoralism is a valid tactic at all.
You hope this proves them wrong. The Congress bill, if it passed, would benefit many other workers. But it didn't pass. In fact, not even all the members of your own party voted for it, for one reason or another.
And so the bill dies, but you make sure it dies loud, and use the momentum from that to ensure smaller-scale bills pass in several states, despite the howling and outrage of landlords and conservatives.
Result: Small-scale anti-eviction bills passed in SPA-dominated states, lots of attention given to it.
Questions and Answers - 1 Influence, 29
This is probably something you should have done months ago, but between the various fires you have had to put out you haven't had time. You ask a few writers for the Red Banner to put together an article, listing common bugbears people have about socialism and then providing ample rebuttals, as well as adding definitions for commonly misunderstood terms like "private property."
Result: Recruitment and propagandizing dramatically easier.
Expand Soup Kitchens - 1 Authority
The final push to expand the soup kitchens finishes. The quality is often lacking, the quantity even more so, especially as prices continue to rise. But the food is hot and it fills your belly, and the kitchens have become a fairly safe place to sit and eat, to meet with friends, or get out of the rain. Even a few of the new cooperatives have had kitchens attached, with the people staying often encouraged to volunteer occasionally.
Result: -4 Resources per turn, significant boost to your popularity in urban areas.
Credit to the Unions -1 Influence, 35
With the initial proposal passed comes all the other details that making such an organization require. A committee is formed for the CSA, bankers are spoken to, members of existing credit unions are found and spoken to, and slowly a charter is drawn up, creating a fairly simple skeleton: unions and governments can create credit unions with the consent of their members, and each one can set their own policy but are required to maintain a certain reserve, while a greater CSA credit union will serve as a lender of last resort.
Report from Subordinates
The Coordination Committee has some unfortunate news. While their efforts at establishing new polling stations and doing mass registration in party-dominated areas have been successful, several lawsuits have been directed at these attempts in places where your political machine is less entrenched, such as Philadelphia and New Jersey. Even worse, they have found police departments entrenching everywhere they haven't been fully socialized, either as official departments, or if the reactionary officers have been purged as "self-defense groups" and "private security" for various neighborhoods. Clashes with the Red Guards have already begun to step up.
Senator Thomas has been hard at work. While most of his attention has been dedicated to laying the groundwork for anti-racism laws, meeting with governors and state senators and working with the Legislative Committee, he has also spent several days speaking with members of Farmer-Labor. He was the one to advise you of their splintering, in fact...
The Legislative Committee, despite their vicious arguing, has managed to actually get things done. Unfortunately, what they have gotten done is setting price ceilings. While this has kept the price of food from rising further, it has also further driven farmers into poverty and radicalized many against you. And worse, the laws are popular enough you will likely be unable to go against them for some time.
Personal Attention: Eviction Moratorium
You decide that spending time traveling the country to get bills passed would take too long, and take a less direct approach instead, going to Congress to get the SPA to make waves about eviction there. You demand a bill, the newspapers get headlines, and quite a few get passed.
Result: +10 to Eviction Moratorium
Choose A Focus: On the Farms
The rural focus you have begun is seen in a questionable light. "The farmer has no revolutionary potential!" some exclaim, but you insist. You cannot control a country with the cities alone, or even the cities and the railways in between. Conservative, stubborn, and benighted they may be, you know from history that peasants are quite willing to revolt. You just need to make sure the inevitable revolt goes in the right direction. Though the organizers and agitators you ask go with reluctance and sometimes never return, recruitment in some rural areas begins, and slowly the legacy of the Grange rises once again.
This will not be tolerated, you know. The ruling classes rely on a divided working class. Farmers and laborers together, white and black, they will not allow such a thing. They will try and fight you.
[X] Plan Doctor Elsewhere
-[X] Provide expertise and assistance for reaching out to rural communities. 1 point.
-[X] Form common voting blocs in state governments. 7 points.
-[X] Encourage and support the establishment of rural unions and similar organizations. 8 points.
-[X] End or reduce rural foreclosure. -2 points.
-[X] Agree to work towards rural relief bills. -10 points.
[X] Plan Two Become One
-[X] Run fusionist tickets in states you both have influence. 1 point.
-[X] Agree to common policy in the Senate and House of Representatives. 2 points
-[X] Provide expertise and assistance for reaching out to rural communities. 1 point.
-[X] Endorse you for the presidency. 5 points.
-[X] Form common voting blocs in state governments. 7 points.
-[X] Encourage and support the establishment of rural unions and similar organizations. 8 points.
-[X] End or reduce rural foreclosure. -2 points.
-[X] Cede contested areas to Farmer-Labor campaigns. -7 points.
-[X] Agree to work towards rural relief bills. -10 points.
