The Democritus Gazette (approved participants only)

[Arvento]

Italian Civil War: Battle of the Appenines

With the advance west towards Rome, the Royalist forces have encoutnered heavy resistance from the fascist forces in the Appenine Mountians. The Royalists started firing at the mountains with the artillery pieces while 3 regiments started advancing from the north where there is more of a plain terrain.

meanwhile, the fascist Government of the Provisional State of Rome started working on introducing new reforms in the newly-formed state. Their first step was to establish a great emphasis on productivism to encourage national economic growth as a means of social regeneration and wider assertion of national importance. The Prime Minister Bennito declared that the nation welcomes all investors and hopes to deepen more ties with its neighbors. However, due to the recent social crisis, a temporary economic decrease is expected.

[Lusophone]

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German oil and gas producer set to develop Algarve oil project

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Finance Minister Pedro Magalhães Mai has finalized an agreement with German oil and gas producer Wintershall, to develop the black gold discovered in the western Algarve region. The project will stretch from Aljezur, Vila do Bispo, all the way to Alentejo and east towards Monchique.

The German company will jointly operate and manage the newly formed Sociedade Nacional de Petróleos (SONAP) with the Portuguese government, controlling 60% ownership of stakes while the Portuguese government retains 40% ownership. Wintershall has been granted exclusive exploration rights in Metropolitan Portugal for ten years with the right to develop those resources along with the Algarve oil field.

Entering into the ten year term agreement with an automatic renewal if all terms are complied to, Wintershall will receive 40% of profit shares while the Portuguese government will receive 60% in the first term, with royalties subject to renegotiation every five years and an eventual equal profit split in the second ten year term.

The agreement includes provisions for the transfer of technology, construction of oil pipelines and refineries, and the training and development of Portuguese staff, technicians, engineers and management. By the end of the first term, 50% of all workers employed are expected to be Portuguese citizens.

Finance Minister Mai touts the deal as a success towards the development of Portugal’s national energy industry, expressing optimism that the country will be 100% self sufficient in all oil and gas energy needs by the end of the decade, with a secondary goal of 30 to 50% of all oil exported to be refined.

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Geological surveys underway in the Metropole, Ultramar provinces

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Following the discovery of black gold in the western Algarve region and the steady growth of Angola’s diamond industry, Prime Minister Antonio Salazar has launched countrywide, comprehensive geological survey of the Metropole and Ultramar provinces. The Prime Minister is dispatching teams of investigators throughout Metropolitan Portugal, Angola, Mozambique and Guinea to search for materials, minerals and resources that could prove valuable.

SEARCH KEY(S): PORTUGAL, LUSOPHONE
EDITS: 1 time to add image.

[The East African Commonwealth]

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Afrika Daily - December 6th, 1921

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Sultanates See Unrest

The EAC has always been known as a land where traditions and cultures that should have long passed into history still exist. While many usually look to the tribes for the prime example of this, another often overlooked group fits this category: the Sultanates. The Muslim majority member nations of Hobyo (Somolia), Equitoria (South Sudan), and Kilwa (Tanzania) have retained their traditions and laws during their long histories and have survived through the last century of turmoil when many other sultanates fell. With the protection of the EAC and the end of the Great African War, these regions became wealth trade hubs that established centers of learning and industry. However, that stability appears to now be threatened from within the sultanates themselves. Several incidents of protests outside major cities, which was just reported as being due to a local harvest failure, appear to have be challenging the rule of the Sultans in each nation. In the city of Hobyo, the capital of the Hobyo Sultanate, there was a large scale protest of over 100,000 people calling for the reformation of the Sultanate and to give power to the citizens of the nation. These protests have remained peaceful but Sultan Ali Yusuf Kenadid has deployed troops around the capitol to ensure that no violence occurs. At this moment, it is not clear what exactly the citizens of Hobyo are requesting as reforms ranging from loosening religious practices to calling for the Sultan to step down have been heard, but regardless it is clear that the Sultan needs to make changes to his current administration.

National Army Restrictions? Leaders Call for Reform

Following the return of the Royal Army of Zimbabwe to its military forts, the Federal Government has launched an official investigation into the escalation of the Southern Border Conflict and the response of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe to it. While the use of national armies has always fallen under the prerogative of each nation to ensure independence, many across the nation felt that this deployment was a sign that this policy needs to be changed. This recent incident has resulted in many calling for the decentralization of the military to end, such as Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia. The Empress, a steadfast opponent against the idea of centralization, has surprisingly changed her stance on the issue following this event. In a statement today in front of the Assembly Hall she stated to following:

....while Ethiopia will always stand by its pledge to defend the Commonwealth and all those who fly its banner, I feel that the recent actions of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe were foolish and ill advised. While I understand the need to protect the ethnic peoples of your nation, the deployment of national armed forces the border without the prior notification to the other member nations is nothing short of selfish. When one nation acts in their own self interests, it has a damaging effect on us all. While in the past I have been against the idea of any semblance of centralization of power to the Federal Government here in Afrika City, it appears oversight is needed in military matters to prevent a crisis like this from occurring again. I, along with the Queen of Merina, the King of Maravi, and the President of the Republic of Zanzibar will be drafting a new bill which will be presented to the Assembly that will reform the status of the militaries of each nation.

This surprising turn of events has caught many off guard, particularly those in support of preventing centralization. Ethiopia and the Empress have been staunch opponents of the idea for years and has been one of the most influential anti-centralization member states. However, the proposed bill is simply reforming the military of each nation, not removing it. The full details of the bill remain unknown at this time, but it seems safe to assume that full centralization of the armed forces under the EAC itself is not going to be part of it.

Rakotobe Enters the Air Industry

Whenever someone brings up the idea of industrialization in Africa, the first name to come to mind is Rakotobe. Odon Rakotobe is one of the EAC's most well known industrialists and has been refereed to as the 'Rockefeller of Africa' by many. A native of the Kingdom of Merina, he owns the majority of the rubber plantations in Merina as well as a significant number of oil wells in Sudan and Zambia, railroads in the Great Lakes Region, and steel mills across every member nation of the EAC. While many within the government feel that his vast control over multiple economic sectors should be considered a monopoly, the lack of a centralized set of rules on monopolies has allowed him to operate without fear of his company, Commonwealth Industrial, being dissolved. Today, Mrs. Rakotobe decided to once again expand his business ventures by completing his first set of aviation faculties for the production of aircraft in the small town of Toliara, Merina. The facility has a small aircraft workshop, a seaplane hanger, and a small air-dock for the construction of blimps. These three facilities are the beginnings of what Mr, Rakotobe is calling Toliara Aviation, an aircraft deign company. The three small structures are set to be a pilot program for the new company to produce EAC aircraft designs for both military and civilian use. In addition, Mr. Rakotobe has purchased 10,000 acres of land to be the home of a full sized factory for airships, airplanes, and blimps for long term production. While many feel this is nothing more then another attempt to control an untapped market, others see it as a way for Africa to develop its own air assets without foreign aid.

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| Battleship Nears Completion | Soviet Tanks Arrive | Alliance Absorbs Two Additional Tribes, Power Block Grows |
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[Nowa Polonie]

President Pilsudksi Announces Details of Election Platform - Alliance with PPS, BMN and NPR Confirmed



Pilsudski meets with Gabriel Narutowicz, the current Minister of Foreign Affairs - widely supported by the PSL-W (Poland's centre-left agrarian party), he agreed today to bring his support into the government and to offer no contest to President Pilsudski's 1922 re-election campaign, securing his position as Foreign Minister in President Pilsudski's 1922 cabinet.

President Pilsudksi finally confirmed what has been the greatest open secret in Polish politics since the announcement of the 1922 elections - namely that he would run on an independent platform personally for the presidency while creating a legislative alliance within the Sejm to both put him in office (with the 1922 election being notable in that it will be the first where the President is chosen by the Sejm), and to carry out his legislative will once he is there.

There is little doubt that Marshal Pilsudski will retain his pre-eminence in Polish politics, and his position at its helm - within Poland, among much of the population he is revered as the country's living founding-father; many Poles credit him for Poland's modern existence, the national minorities look to him as their sponsor and protector, and even his political rivals on the right give to him begrudging respect. Abroad, and throughout Europe, he is is perhaps the most singularly influential Pole to appear in Centuries, and it can be said in earnest that he is one of the few 'Great Men' to emerge from the Great War. Were love and respect not enough, Pilsudski commands Poland's army entirely; its officers, if not ideologically loyal to their Marshal, are personally loyal to their chief, and its soldiers are almost to a man cut from that same cloth. Pilsudski has until now ruled Poland as little more than an enlightened despot, and for all intents and purposes, he has at his disposal all of the tools to remain so indefinitely.

However, Pilsudski belongs to that breed that truly does fill the Earth with wonder and bewilderment - the idealists and ideologues. Pilsudski must bring true democracy to Poland if he can, and he will start by dismantling his own political power - to fulfill its capacity as the representative body of the Polish people, the Sejm will elect the President for the first time, and for all time afterwards. To this end, Pilsudski has spent much of the final weeks of 1921 concluding his electoral alliance for the 1922; notably, as his primary partners are Rosa Luxemburg's Polish Socialist Party, and Yitzhak Gruenbaum's Bloc of National Minorities, with additional support coming from the National Workers' Party (a centrist Solidarist/Corporatist party), the PPS-W and the Radical Peasants' Party (Agrarian Socialists). While President Pilsudski had at one point been Chairman of the Polish Socialist Party, it has been many years since he broke from his old party, but few could have anticipated such a broadly leftist coalition. Those more politically 'clued-in' on Polish politics have noted that this is by no means an indication of a long-term skew by Poland or its President towards the left - Marshal Pilsudski is merely taking the democratic path of least resistance in order to achieve his ideal of a 'Promethean Federation of Free Nations' in the wake of the death of the Russian Empire, a dream which the Polish right-wing stand in opposition to.

Pilsudski also touted key appointments - the PPS' Luxemburg will assume the office of Vice-President, while the BMN's Gruenbaum will become Prime Minister - notably, the cabinet will retain several of the apolitical 'Marshal's Men' in crucial offices deemed to be of 'long-term concern', and therefore too important to be 'trusted to politicians', at least for the meantime; namely, the Ministry for the Interior (with the control of the Policja and Milicja) being taken by Major-General Wladyslaw Sikorski, while Brigadier-General Edward Rydz-Śmigły will assume the office of Minister for National Defense. Besides these offices, all other cabinet positions were decided by negotiation among the parties (with the lion's share being divided by the PPS and BMN), however notably, the coalitionary junior partners would each have a guaranteed place within the cabinet, with the NWP being promised the Ministry of Infrastructure, the PPS-W the Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development, while the Radical Peasants' Party have been guaranteed the Ministry of the Environment.

While it remains to be seen exactly how the pieces will fall in the 1922 election, if prior polls are to be used, it can be said that with his coalitionary government as it stands, Pilsudski is practically guaranteed a plural majority of support. With a typically military degree of preparation, Poland's Marshal Pilsudski, will apparently ease into out of his hitherto role as Poland's warlord, and just as easily assume the role as its democratic statesman, dedicated now to domestic state-building. Both the PPS and BMN have seen their support bloated by Polish gains in the West and East respectively - not enough to challenge the National Democratic Camp alone, but with the backing of Poland's Marshal, and his coterie of supporters from across Poland's political and military spectrum, they will become the left and right hands with which Poland's Marshal-President shapes the state.

[The East African Commonwealth]

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Afrika Daily - December 22nd, 1921

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The Commonwealth's Centralization - A Question Already Answered?

With the conversion of many tribes from tribal councils to republics, the rising unrest in the Sultanates, and the recent call by Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia for the reform of national armies many have been asking for the reason that all of these events have occurred at roughly the same time. To answer this we have to look both at the Commonwealth itself and the idea of Centralization within the EAC. We interviewed Dr. Eric Hakwi, a respected professor from the University of Afrika who specializes in analyzing demographic and cultural shifts, to get a better idea about these recent events:

Unlike many may believe, the EAC was not one single entity when it was initially formed. Its predecessor, the African Coalition, was an organization that arose due to necessity, and the Commonwealth is no different. The EAC is needed to ensure that nations of East Africa can continue to exist politically, defend themselves in a military sense, and be competitive on a global market. When Solomon Leonis created the Commonwealth, he and the other representatives did not consider the long term effects of a representative political entity like the EAC would have on the national populations. The tribes, kingdoms, republics, and sultanates all recognized themselves as independent entities within a larger political structure and that was that. However, thirty years later the lines that have defined borders have begun to blur, nations who were once adversaries have turned their attention to problems beyond Africa, and the ideas of the West have freely arrived in East Africa thanks to a healthy trade network.

This led to the idea of the centralization of the EAC, the idea of the member nations becoming states under the banner of the Commonwealth. When it was first suggested after the EAC's formation no one took it seriously, but today it is an idea that makes many leaders nervous. While many political circles, particularly those of the tribes and kingdoms, do not support the idea the general populace has seen the idea become more popular each year. In 1898 the first poll was taken to find public support on the matter and only 9% of the population, mostly in the Republics, were for the idea of centralization. The poll taken last year in 1920 showed that public support had risen to an astounding 47%, and this has concerned many national leaders. However, the question I am most often asked is what caused this massive jump, especially from people of all walks of life. The answer is fairly simple, the Rais and the Assembly have given every citizen within the border of the Commonwealth something that many had never experienced, a voice in the government.

You see the tribes, kingdoms, and sultanates all rule through their monarchs with very limited say given to the population they govern. When the first Rais election occurred in 1894, many people did not understand what they were doing or how this had an effect on them. They simply checked a name on a piece of paper and threw it in a box. This was something that didn't see having any benefits to the point where only 32% of the population voted in that first election. However, people realized over time that these people they voted in began to speak for them and improve the parts of the country they campaigned on, well usually. These citizens who had no say in their own government now had a voice in the larger entity that was the EAC. Under the Commonwealth trade has improved, food is becoming abundant, and clean water is accessible in 90% of the country. Education has caused literacy to skyrocket and hospitals have made diseases that were deadly a few decades ago survivable. The people have seen what their voice can do and they are now calling for more of a say within their own governments.

This is what has caused the unrest and changes across the EAC. Many of the tribes which have transitioned into republics, such as the Samba, have done so to try and stay ahead of the curve to please their populations or ensure that the people who currently are in power retain it. The recent unrest in the sultanates is due to this as well, people calling for more of a say in the way things are run since they have no say in local matters. Lastly, the Empress's recent change of heart on centralization may not have been due to the southern border, but due to the fact that there are reports in Ethiopia of citizens protesting for government reform and she needs to retain her popularity to ensure that she is not deposed. All of these changes are not something that suddenly appeared, but something that has been steadily growing over time. I think at this point it is no longer if the Commonwealth will centralize, but when and what nations within it will be fundamentally changed in the process.

While the tribes seem to be resisting with this new alliance, this will only sow further unrest and the same will likely be said for the Sultanates since I do not expect them to make any reforms at this time. However, there is a way to centralize without causing upheaval within the EAC and the Kingdom of Merina is a perfect example. Under its current queen, the nation transitioned into a constitutional monarchy in 1901 and since then a series of sweeping reforms have been passed giving the people more of a say in their government legislature, ceding more power to the Prime Minister, and giving the Federal Government more power within the region. Thanks to this, EAC industrialization initiatives in shipbuilding, rubber plantations, and factories have turned the island into one of the most important economic regions in the Commonwealth. Additionally, the close ties between the Royal Forces and the Defense Forces are to the point where the two are integrated with one another. The entire country functions as it were directly run by Afrika City short of direct governance.

So this leads us to where we are going. The Alliance will temporarily slow the changes in Central Africa to be sure, but the coastlines, Great Lakes, and the Africa Horn have seen a rise in calls for representation. The Serengeti and Rift Valley regions are very open to the change and have begun to do so, but few other nations are willing to change. The big question for the northern states is how Ethiopia and Hobyo, the strongest Kingdom and Sultanate respectively, are going to respond to the requests for representation. Should either nation accept representation of any sort, their neighbors will likely be forced to do the same. The same can be said for Busoga in the Central States and in the South with Zimbabwe, neither of which have had any unrest at this time. However, the two big unknowns in this case is foreign interference and Federal action. If the unrest turns to violence, it is likely a foreign power would try to take advantage of the situation which presents discouragement for these leaders to take harsh actions since this will result in the other member nations likely intervening in the violence to ensure local stability. However, should the Federal Government decide to intervene if violence occurs there are fears that direct control of the member state in question will be given to the Federal Government at that time and the state will have to decide between being an imperial colony or a federal state. That is not a hard choice for any African leader. So in short, I think we are going to centralize. It may be within this decade, it may be within the next century, but it will happen. The only question is if it will be our proudest moment or the thing that shatters Solomon Leonis's dream of a free and united Africa.

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| Airships Rescue Ship off Mozambique Coast | Hobyo Sultanate Sees Increased Unrest | Steel Mill Opens in Zambia |
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[Anxiety Cafe]

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 FOUNDED 1857

CAPE TOWN, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1921

PRICE 3c 

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THE CAPE AND THE SANNC


Politicians choosing sides
By Max Brenner

A warrant for the arrest of several natives was issued early this morning as administration officials determined the best response to the threats of the SANNC, a native organization seeking to disrupt the social and political order of the nation. Among those who arrested include Sefako Makgotho, the current president of the organization, as well as several of its founding members for "attempting to incite violence."

The SANNC has become the premier force supporting dissident natives who criticize the policies of the current administration as well as those of the past. Makgotho is notable as the mastermind behind several strikes by black workers in the mines of the Witwatersrand, protests against the pass laws, and the use of the court system to challenge legislation such as the Native Land Act.

Makgotho has reportedly fled from his home in Pretoria to the Cape, coinciding with a political revolution in the province as the reigning South African Party was torn into two with the formation of the Liberal Party and the changing of allegiance of many of its politicians, including the Governor and several members of the Executive Council. With support from the Tswana and Swazi monarchs, the Cape also began a legal battle against several of PM Hertzog's policies, which it says infringes on the provincial rights afforded by the South Africa act that created the SAC.
 

[The East African Commonwealth]

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Afrika Daily - December 26th, 1921

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South African Suppression Continues - EAC Increases Pressure

As the South African Government begins to arrest members of the native community pushing for the recognition of their rights, the EAC has increased the military pressure on the nation further. General Alake has begun establishing defensive fortifications and trenches along the banks of the Zambezi and has moved the armored trains into firing positions capable of countering any advances into the Commonwealth should they occur. In addition, the General has had the Air Service preforming non-stop reconnaissance of South African positions giving the EAC an accurate view of the number of troops present and day to day updates to the general on troop movements. Further support arrived today from the EAC's 1st Armored Core which is made up of the nations few armored fighting vehicles and soviet tanks bought late in November. While the new unit lacks training and is still learning their vehicles, General Alake has deployed them to train on the field to see how the machines are able to preform in a real deployment. From what Afrika Daily has gathered, this is more of a training exercise for the armored force rather then an actual deployment.

While the pressure on land has been reaffirmed, the pressure at sea has been increased substantially with the deployment of the EAC's newly formed 1st Fleet. The fleet is joining the already positioned Merina Fleet south of the Kingdom of Merina on the EAC-SAC maritime border. This fleet consists of the three Toliara class destroyers, two Valiant Class Light Cruisers, the new Commonwealth Class Battleship CNV Coalition, and the converted carrier CNV Savannah. All of these ships have recently launched from the dockyards at Toliara and were in the process of awaiting or conducting their shakedown cruises when the crisis started. Like the 1st Armored Core on land, the 1st Fleet is more present as a form of training and testing of crews and equipment rather then preparing for an actual confrontation, particularly the CNV Savannah which currently only has three out of its possible 22 aircraft loaded. However, while this fleet is new and untested, on paper it would have more then enough firepower to contend with whatever the South African Navy confronted it with. The fleet will be conducting training maneuvers in the eastern half of the blockade zone, staying further away from possible engagements.

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| Protests Against South African Suppression Occur Across the EAC | Ethiopian Capital Sees Democratic Protests | Navy Optimistic about New Air Capabilities |
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[Nowa Polonie]

Poland Celebrates 'New Year of Peace' 1922 - Minister Paderewski Appeals to German Counterparts for 'New Understanding'



A new year - the first in eight years in which Poles feel confident will not be spent at war. A new election, and a new democracy. For many in Poland, the New Year of 1922 is of special significance, and the celebrations have been marked by both popular celebrations and demonstrations; a moment, perhaps, of national catharsis, where a good-natured 'airing of grievances' takes place alongside normal festivities.

A spirit of jubilation has overtaken Poland as the New Year celebrations of 1922 take place, and many look forward to a year that promises a new milestone for Polish democracy, and what many hope will be the beginning of a new, peaceful, chapter in Poland's history as she leaves behind nearly a decade of conflict. It is perhaps a product of timing, to occur alongside a public atmosphere of good-will, or perhaps spurred by that same feeling, that Minister Paderewski has made a public appeal to his counterparts in Germany to take part in a conference to review the Oder Pact, to potentially renegotiate, and ultimately to re-affirm Polish-German joint commitments to normalization of Central European diplomacy.

In the wake of Germany's breaches of both the Versailles and Oder Agreements, there was very little demand within the Polish Government to pursue any kind of comprehensive new diplomatic approach to Germany - 'the perfidious Teutons', it was deemed, simply could not be trusted - speaking quietly, and carrying a big stick, was deemed to be enough. However, with President Pilsudski's 1922 Budget being prepared for release in the wake of the March Election, it has become blaringly apparent in the private exchanges between Poland's economists, diplomats, and the executive, that a solution to the 'bleeding wound' in relations with Germany needed to be found - and that Germany's reperation payments resume in the wake of her own internal stabilisation.

Paderewski has stated that it will he will dedicate the remainder of his time as Poland's Minister for Foreign Affairs to conclude this diplomatic issue, and that 'no stone will be left unturned' to renew continued Polish-German detente.



''NO TO CHURCH, MARRIAGE, CHILDREN'' - Militant female students in Warszawa recieved both heckles and applause for their demonstration, which saw their vehicle drive through many of Warsaw's main streets during festivities, while its occupants shouted feminist slogans. Among some of their slogans and shouts were called for 'an end to the choice between being a woman or a human being', an end to 'forced motherhood' (a veiled attack on current laws outlawing abortions) and military pensions for women who took part in the efforts of national liberation

[The East African Commonwealth]

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Afrika Daily - December 24th, 1921

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The Lion Stirs - The Commonwealth Wakes as a Military Power?

Throughout the nearly 30 year history of the East African Commonwealth the eastern portions of African Continent have experienced a peace that has been unprecedented in its history. Squabbles once solved by armed conflict are now solved through diplomatic channels, vast armies which took thousands of shillings to fund have vanished, and piracy has been eliminated thanks to the Defense Forces. This 30 year era following the end of the Great African War has been one of economic prosperity, peace, and stability and the as a result warfare was all but a distant thought. However, the cataclysm that was the Great War and the rising tensions in the south has begun to bring the idea of war back into the public thought. The populace has always been wary of European aggression and these recent events have only amplified these concerns. The citizens of the Commonwealth are now calling for large scale army reforms, modernization, and for the first time a sense of a larger federal military. For the first time since the establishment of the unified defense forces of the EAC in 1896, the Commonwealth is not only looking to build a force, but reform it.

The Army of the Commonwealth has always relied on its member nations for support and the Defense Force has always retained around 50,000 men due to this, however, things may now be changing. The new bill on the floor of the Assembly presented by the Ethiopian delegation, the Military Reform Act of 1923, has been gaining popular support both with the people and with the politicians of member nations with the notable exceptions of the tribes. Currently, the bill calls for each member state's armed forces to transition to something akin to national guard units which allows each member nation to control their own forces but must follow federal guidelines on dealing with international matters and border disputes to prevent another incident like what occurred in Zimbabwe. These member states will be funded by the nations they reside in and will be funded each on their own without federal support. These forces can include any sort of equipment from rifles to armored vehicles. The only restrictions these forces will have is that a minimum of 4% of each national budget must be placed towards maintaining them and they are not to exceed a size of 100,000 personnel. While for some nations like Ethiopia this would cause a massive decrease of their forces this would allow the massive national armies to focus less of raw manpower and focus on the quality and the modernization of their troops as following events such as the Boxer Rebellion the idea that manpower alone can win battles no longer holds true.

However, there is another bill being proposed by the Republic of Zanzibar which plans to supplement this Act which has seen mixed support on all sides. This bill, the Federal Army Act, calls for the expansion of the Defense Forces and to change their role. Currently, the Defense Forces only are called to act via a majority vote by the Assembly or should a member nation request assistance, however, the crisis on the Southern Border showed that not only is this ineffective in terms of deployment but the refusal for aid by a member state cripples the Defense Forces' ability to rapidly deploy. The Federal Army Act switches this role from that of a supporting fore to the primary force of the Commonwealth akin to the Navy. The Act calls for the Defense Forces to have a standing army of 500,000 troops and an additional 500,000 troops in reserve, a tenfold increase on standing forces. Many in the Assembly, particularly the tribes, are wary of such a force as many feel it is a step towards centralization or that it gives the Commonwealth's Federal Government too much power over the member nations.

There has also been calls to form a department overseeing the mechanization of the Defense Forces to keep pace with Europe. In the Army, General Alake and other like him have called for the establishment of an armored and mechanized core capable of dealing with the varied terrains present within the EAC. The early attempts made by the EAC into this field with the E-17 and AV-1 armored vehicles were less then stellar and their use has been extremely limited, making many in the established military command to feel the idea was not worth pursing. Alake disagreed and thanks to his supporters in the Assembly the EAC purchased its first true tanks from the Soviets earlier last month. However, to Alake's dismay the tanks have preformed rather poorly with constant breakdowns even with well trained crews. In response to this, the General and other military officers in the Air Service and Navy have requested that substantial funding be given to the development of new technologies such as airships, radio, tanks, and aircraft. This equipment would all be home built and theoretically give the EAC the ability to field machines tailor built for the various environments of Africa. However, as of this report there has been no discussion in the government in regards to this issue.

With the world peace promised by the end of the Great War not as certain as many had hoped, the citizens of the Commonwealth have begun to once again consider the possibility of war and many have come to the conclusion the the EAC is not prepared for a modern conflict. It is no secret that the Commonwealth has vast natural resources, a large population, and a strong industrial base, however none of this has been utilized in the form of a single military entity. This recent border conflict may have lit the spark that will cause the EAC to change and transition from a small regional power to a military player on the world stage. However, none of this is for sure as many of the Tribes and Kingdoms are asserting that they want to ensure military rights within their borders so this will likely be an ongoing issue for years to come. But regardless of the politics, generals, and popular view it has become clear to many that these recent events will likely shape both the near and distant future of the Commonwealth.

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| Hobyo Sultanate Dispatches Riot Police, Sections of City Closed | 7th Army Builds Defenses Along Border | Burundi to Begin Process of Establishing a Legislature |
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[The Federal Pacific States of America]

The Western Territorial Wars: Souls as Strategic Instruments
In the conflict over the Western Territories, pioneers and refugees from the East were the primary instruments of war, as Texas and Louisiana used them to populate, enforce, and legitimatize their claims. The more people they possessed, the more manpower was available defend these claims and the more settlers to populate these claims. Initially, the migrants were more than happy to accept the seemingly gracious offers offered by Louisiana or Texas, but it quickly became apparent to them that these gracious deals came with a serpent’s twist, and as the conflict became viciously sectarian with entire settlements being wiped off the map and its population massacred, only the most desperate of migrants would accept their offers. However, when gracious bait would no longer work, coercion became a common feature instead; if the object for the belligerents is to deny their opponents access to people, while maximizing their own access said people, there was but one conclusion that was reached when people refused the offering belligerent, and that was to deny them to the opposing belligerent. Suffice it say, very few migrants, may they be pioneers or refugees, made it past the Rockies, it was impossible to reach the West Coast without being forced into the territorial conflict or perishing because of it. Overtime, migrants attempting to make the journey to the West Coast diminished and many chose to settle directly in Louisiana and Texas, not wanting to be used as tools for war in the frontier; this aided in developing the belligerent's core industrial base and military manpower, which equally helped in their territorial conflict as much as direct settlement and exertion. While Texas and Louisiana suppressed information and spread misinformed to the public pertaining to the true brutality of the conflict and used propaganda and gracious incentives to encourage citizens and pioneers alike to migrate, they could not control the rumors, nor the letters from unfortunate souls received by family, detailing the conflict and its ever-increasing sectarian nature. The conflict ironically saw more cooperation among whites and natives, with natives being used as terrifying instruments of war to remove opposing settlements from the belligerents’ respective claims, and belligerents armed tribes who were in opposition to their enemy. The mounting sectarian violence of the conflict was especially devastating for the Pacific States, whose border settlements were harder to replace if destroyed: the people slaughtered could not be easily replaced. Texas and Louisiana could more easily replace their losses with new unfortunate souls, either too ignorant or too desperate, who were marched into their own oblivion. The long-term impact of the conflict is far-reaching and was a contributing factor to the destruction of any shared identity Anglo-Americans once had, and disillusioned many with contemporary racial norms that had been present since before the Old Union. Ultimately, it destroyed any prospect of Pan-American reunification.

Progress Birthed by Pragmatism
In many ways, the Pacific States of America has stood ahead of most nations in civil liberties and social progress. It was among the earliest nations to embrace the civil rights for women, ranging from suffrage to even labor discrimination and has been among the most proactive in minimizing racial-ethnic discrimination. However, regardless of contemporary motivations, the catalyst for such rapid progress was not some egalitarian fervor or magical realization that certain groups are deserving of rights, rather it was sourced from pure pragmatism and necessity. The Pacific States of today is radically different from the Pacific States of yesterday. From its foundation in 1862, it was at a disadvantage. The PSA's population was smaller than that of the Republic of Texas and it claimed more territory than the Louisiana Federation; it did not have enough people to enforce its claims. With the trans-pacific railroad incomplete, and as the beginnings of the Western Territorial Wars were underway, both Texas and Louisiana denied the PSA access to eastward migration, effectively halting its growth. With no canal connecting the Pacific to the Atlantic, the Pacific States was blocked off from migration from the East. The Pacific States, for whites, was not worth perishing in the turmoil that was the Western Territorial War to reach, not even for the promise of gold, and thus the PSA hardly grew from migration in the early years. 10 years after its foundation, Texas and Louisiana had grown 35% to 40% of their initial population, the Pacific States grew about 5% to 10%. Starting in the 1870s, Texas was becoming more ambitious and Louisiana more aggressive. The Pacifican federal military and state militias, restricted to male whites, was outmanned by both sides; manageable if fighting only fighting one belligerent, but it had to deal with both across a front it was unable to defend completely. When troops are deployed to deal with Louisiana in the North, Texas would swoop into the now defenseless South, when troops were redeployed to deal with Texan intrusions, Louisiana would intrude into the now defenseless North: if the PSA attempted to defend both, its armies would be outmatched. The Pacific States was both militarily and industrially behind, with little means of catching up if it maintained the status quo inherited from the Old Union.

The full weakness of the Pacific States became apparent in late-1871, when Texan outposts were discovered far beyond the Rockies, with some discovered as far as Utah. At this point in the conflict, perceptions had changed immensely and some of the ingredients for change were already present. The population had long heard the rumors of the brutality of the war just beyond the Rockies: trust in their fellow white Anglo-Americans shattered when the first settlements were razed to the ground with their inhabitants still occupying it, atrocities done not by red skins, but by fellow white Anglos all those years ago. Manpower shortages in the Inland Territories already forced most Pacifican settlements to militarize everyone: white or colored, man or women, young or old, if you could fight you were a part of the militia with little exceptions, shifting cultural norms surrounding gender roles. At the time, the only States in the union were coastal, with Nevada as the only exception, and thus it all seemed distant and alien. It was only when the Rockies were compromised that the coastal states and their representatives realized how bad things were becoming in the territories, Texas had established a presence beyond the Rockies and who knew how many outposts from Louisiana had gone unnoticed in the North. These realizations combined with the rising sectarian brutality of the conflict served as a catalyst that plunged the nation into existential hysteria. Pacificans’ viewed the opposing-sides as nothing more than a horde from oblivion, willing to burn the entire nation to the ground, resettling the ashes with their own. Old biases were uprooted, and fear of annihilation brought with it what could be described as a collective survival instinct. To survive extinction, a species must adapt, to survive annexation a nation must change.
In a sudden reversal of a decade long status-quo of squabbling states and weak federal authority, the federal government was empowered, and pragmatism became the order of affairs, literally. The Pragmatic Acts of 1872 federalized what was already the status-quo in the Inland territories, which allowed for practically everyone above the age 18 to serve in the federal armed forces. Additionally, the government was pressed to grow its population fast; thus, the old status-quo of discriminative immigration policies against non-whites were abolished, opening the borders to everyone. New civil rights initiatives and protections were enshrined into federal law, to protect these new immigrants, and already present ethnic minorities. Perhaps most importantly though, military service would grant immediate citizenship to immigrants and their families. With so many lines crossed so quickly, there certainly was an outcry against these reforms, they uprooted the cultural standard that had been maintained for centuries. However, due to the crisis panic mentality of the time, any outcry against these reforms were deemed unpatriotic and were suppressed, sometimes violently. In addition to these civil reforms, the disorganized and messy federal army was reformed into a more cohesive national military, and established a full-time border defense force.

The Pacific States was threatened by two rising powers, and the government’s priority was to harness what it is rivals lacked, populations that they ignored for the most part. Now, for African Americans and many other discriminated groups, the Pacific States was a viable place to migrate to, as the risk meant a more considerable reward: the possibility of considerable improvement to their quality of life and future opportunities. California in particular, was already rumored to be full of gold well before the collapse of the Old Union, and with the PSA’s borders open, rumors of gold caused a rapid surge in migration from Asia and other parts of the world. This of course, because of the incentives created for military service, also meant it’s military’s size increased. It should be noted that, promised incentives and legal protections does not necessarily translate into complete cultural acceptance and egalitarian treatment. By the turn of 1875, the Pacific States had emerged as a more unitarian militarized state that, despite having still a smaller population than either of it’s rivals, had managed to develop a military that was larger than Texas and comparable to Louisiana’s western army. The Pacific States, while by no means equal to her rivals, started its ascent to becoming the dominant power in the region. The Western Territorial Wars would conclude by the end of the 1870s to early 1880s, with the belligerents become more openly hostile, hostilities between the nations themselves broke-out. The Pacifican-Louisianan War saw a just barely victorious Pacifica, and the official borders between Texas, the PSA, and Louisiana was officially established, in addition to the establishment of the Lakota Free Territory, officially ending the decades long conflict.

With the conflict gone, the Pacific States cooled, regional and state power was returned, and the federal government fell into partial obscurity. New ruling establishments would attempt to rescind the Pragmatic Acts of 1872, which many considered to be nothing more than emergency temporary measures at the time. However, the cultural and social shifts during this period had moved the lines of the status-quo. Perceptions changed, inland territories were becoming states and adamantly opposed their rescinding, and a new generation was taking over. The 1880s would see the emergence of the populist movements of agrarian labor and the enactment of women's suffrage and more equal gender rights, a movement which was spearheaded by female veterans who served the nation during it's greatest time of need yet were unable to vote or run for office, all of which would contribute to rise of the Progressive movement. The Pragmatic Acts contributed to the development of modern Pacifican culture and birthed the Pacific States as we know it today and set the stage for the Progressive Era, but they were developed during a time of immense hysteria and fear, a 'survival instinct' so strong that the people conceded to demolishing norms and crossing lines that would have been unfeasible to cross only months prior. As much as the wind blew in a ‘progressive’ direction, it could have equally blown in the opposite direction. Some say that the events of the 1870s turned what was then a lose confederation of States and territories, who were skeptical of a strong federal government given the last one they trusted collapsed, into a functional federated nation and is the true date upon which the Pacific States was truly born; perhaps in a sense of irony to this paradigm, the passionate dread and fear that supposidly birthed the Pacific States foreshadowed it's death and rebirth. The wind would not blow in the same direction again.

[Lendenburgh]

February 27, 1922

Von Hippel’s return to Africa


The Afrikakorps, landing in Cape Town in the early weeks of December, have reported back on their collaborations with the South African military as well as the success of their training operations.

The Direktorat has received approval from both the South African and Commonwealth governments for cross-border exercises, though will maintain no permanent presence in the Commonwealth, remaining stationed exclusively to the South of the Zambezi. The troops’ cross border exercise is expected to help to ease tensions by providing a mediating force along the river, while also giving the German Army a unique combination of unfamiliar training grounds which high-level commanders are familiar with. The High Command and the Direktorat have stated such out-of-country training operations are the only way to ensure the continued independence of the German people, with an elite armed force to defend German interests, rather than the mass-casualty tactics seen in the Great War.

Germany’s Industry “Recovers to pre-War levels”
Extensive trade networks, and collaboration with foreign nations have finally restored Germany’s place as one of the world’s most powerful economies. Arms deals in the Levant, cooperation with the Portuguese oil industry, and the continuing support for industrialization in the Soviet Union and the far east have driven foreign income to an all-time-high.

Cooperation between Deutsche-Luxembourg and French mining operation Differdingen has allowed the ore-debt to Sweden to be eliminated. Coupled with the trade deal signed with the Swedish, the nation’s shortages in ores and metals have all but disappeared. Continued expansion in Silesia, and the contracts signed with the Beiyang Government in China promise that revenues in the mining and refining sector will continue to expand.

Though the destruction in the Rhur still strains mining, many have pointed out this may have paved a new path for more modern industries. The Automotive Transportation sector, in particular, has become one of the proudest jewels of the German economic rebirth under Strasser’s organization measures. During the war, the auto industry had developed into ~24 separate producers, however, with a desire for economies of scale and the newly open industrial capacity in the Rhur, these producers have been conglomerated into three companies. Bavarian Motor Works will take over operations in the South of the country, while Daimler-Benz and the United Auto Group’s operations have been allocated to the North of the country.

The steel and scrap commodities glut seen in the immediate wake of the war has begun to subside, while food production continues to recover with the aid of imports. The Ministry of Agriculture has stated it’s goal to raise meat consumption to pre-war levels within the next two years. It is expected for the national government’s income to exceed its debt payments and non-social expenditures for the first time since 1914.

The Polish Issue
In the first true sign of political strife since the establishment of the Direktorat, there has been intense debate at the highest levels about how to pursue policy towards the Poles. While a prominent conciliatory faction, primarily made up of Adenauer’s appointees from the Center and Christian Right, has emerged to advocate an ongoing detente to secure the Eastern border and match the diplomatic tone taken with France; a vocal opposition demanding that Germany stand strong against those who took their land at Versailles certainly exists.

Ultimately, the Direktor issued an order to the Central Bank to resume the payments obligated under the Oder Pact. However, the Direktor was quoted: “The Allied powers once again come knocking at our door for more concessions- this is yet more proof of their envy, their fear of German recovery”

The standing army has also been ordered back to Silesia, with a garrison of 5,000 men. However, the order to refuse Polish military entry to the country still stands, and it does not appear that the Direktorat has plans to negotiate any time soon.

[Lendenburgh]

March 3, 1922
Paul Levi calls for another revolution to restore democracy
The failure of the revolution against Adenauer and his Junker allies will surely go down in history as one of our nation’s greatest failures. So soon after the first proletarian uprising, the leaders of the SPD and KPD were folded into the state apparatus and consumed by it. With parliament dissolved and Liebknecht in prison, the Left is undoubtedly weakened in the bourgeois political sphere, but gains strength by the day in the proletarian consciousness. Just as Marx predicted, the apparatus of capital which the state uses to support itself was instantly weaponized, as the proletariat truly entered the democratic process. The actions of Adenauer and his allies surely prove that the capitalist system will always destroy democracy when it begins to threaten the bourgeois. This is yet another opportunity, as I have written before, to bring the cause of revolution to the attention of the German middle class. We have no Soviet luxury of peasantry controlling the nation, so must seek to cooperate with artisans and urban laborers to further our cause.

Thankfully, what remains of the German left has only been emboldened by the actions- true to form- of the Junkers. Lost is the little faith the Gotha Program still couried among the “social democrats,” as those who did not submit to Adenauer’s Junker government are now conceding to the necessity of revolution. The sights of brutality which spread across the Rhur and Germany, even the staunch among the centrist left has realized the violence inherent to the capitalist government and this dictatorship. And yes, there is no other word for the “Direktorat”. We know well that controlling the people can never be in a sincere paternalistic interest of custodianship, only out of the desire of the bourgeois to continue to control the means of production, in a reactionary seizure of power to the increasing political clout of workers. They exercise in the same measures of imperialism as the Kaiser's regime- sending innocent boys to die in Africa. These clear contradictions present another opportunity for the Communists of Germany to show the middle classes their place for struggle among the proletariat. Like the revolutions in 1918 and 1921, we must once again rise up to the Junker government in the name of freedom, and attempt again to dissolve class structures in the nation.

The German people cannot tolerate oppression at the hands of this dictatorship any longer. Whether you despise the cause of the worker or have already joined the party, the time to demand a return to democracy is now. Only through revolutionary means can we recapture our political rights of expression, and preserve our very existence, much less advance the cause of socialism in Germany. Though following the Soviet model, and mettling in bourgeois politic, have proved as of yet unsuccessful, this is no reason to give up on our struggle, for it will not end if we cease to give it attention. Now in a position of absolute power, the Junkers, Prussian aristocrats, and the rest of Adenauer's cronies are now free to butcher the citizenry as they please. This mode of absolute rule clearly follows in the chauvinist steps of the Italian Mussolini. We must not allow der faschistisch to prevail.

[Nowa Polonie]

A Special Issue
Poland's March 1922 Elections Take Place - President Pilsudski & Allies 'Sweep across Poland in Victory'!

Photographed officially as the victor of Poland's first Presidential election - though there was truly little doubt that Pilsudski was incumbent for the office from the moment elections were announced. Regardless, the processes of the election itself were regarded as democratic - though worrying reports have already emerged of localised interferences with the democratic process - while one could argue over whether an election with Pilsudski as a candidate, given his place in modern Polish history, would ever truly be 'fair', the Polish people were given their chance to endorse or eject Pilsudski, and the vast majority chose to keep in place, rather than topple, Poland's presidential titan.

News from Warsaw today as Poland held its long-promised elections. On March 6th, Poles were given the chance to vote for both their representatives within the Sejm, and for who they wished to be President. While many parties stood for the Sejm, with Polish politics having several major parties, and many more smaller ones, there were only two major candidates for the Presidency - Poland's hitherto acting President Pilsudski, and his political and ideological rival Adam Dmowski, though the results have clearly indicated what most already knew; that Pilsudski would win. What has really been news to most has been the extent of his victory, which has all but given him an iron-clad democratic mandate. A markedly high turnout for a first election (with an estimated 72% of eligible voters taking part) has only magnified this, and it is clear that going forward as a now democratically elected leader, Pilsudski can be confident that even as he disarms the office of the President from the powers and 'the barbs of war' it has had, that his own personal power will most assuredly remain intact, backed by the express wishes of Poland's voters - though some would note that should their backing not be enough, Pilsudski as a personality, whatever his political office, will wield its army as well, which all agree still holds more power in the country than any democratic mandate - for now at least.

While the office of the Presidency will in truth become a figure-head office, to be held by a leader who best represents the interests of the broad Polish electorate, and who will advocate for them, its current powers remain extensive, and an electoral coup would have allowed any newcomer to potentially change the direction that the Polish ship of state has taken. These fears (and for some hopes) were unfounded, however, and with a resounding 76.4% of votes, with his nearest rival Adam Dmowski coming in second place with 19.8%, Pilsudski has taken the office in triumph. Notably, the President received overwhelming and decisive support from Poland's minority populations (Germans excepted), with margins for his support among Belarussian and Jewish voters, in particular, being as high as 90% in certain electoral districts. While some (particularly Dmowski himself) had hoped and believed that Poland's disparate minorities would confound Pilsudksi's attempts at ethnic coalition, presenting a plethora of unelectable candidates that would allow Dmowski himself to carry a plural majority to a victory, it has been clear that instead they, almost to the same extent as the Army itself, have instead been taken in by Poland's Marshall and chieftain, sponsoring them, and hoping in turn that he will return the favour. Ethnographers have long posited on the need of 'Eastern peoples' for a strongman leader, and attributed to it the worst excesses of the long storied history of the East's autocracies, typified by the Russian Tsars, who even in wealth and ostentation galvanized by the worst kind of state reaction and cruelty, had at times even the love of their subjected peoples. If Pilsudski is a strongman, then he has truly broken with this notion - a new kind of leader, for a new country, in the new world born of the death of the Long 19th Century.

In the Sejm, which, with Pilsudski's victory secured, will become the true beating heart of Polish democracy, where its myriad ethnicities and ideologies will meet, and if hopes bring forth fruit, compromise to create legislation for the benefit of the Republic and her children. Polish partisan politics, unlike her Presidential politics, are dominated by no singular figures, though many influential voices cut through the din. For President Pilsudski's coalition, composed of broadly left-wing and minority parties, as well as several parties who support Pilsudski as President, there were very good results, though none, with the exception of the BMN (the Coalition of Minorities), secured a result that was truly better than expected. For the BMN, however, their position as the 'third partner' in their coalition with Pilsudski and the PPS was made markedly more powerful by impressive turnouts in Eastern districts of the country, where many had believed that poor infrastructure (and perhaps local indifference) would produce muted support for the BMN. Instead, they have emerged in the Sejm as the second largest party (taking 18% of seats), behind the PSP (who secured 22%), with the inclusion of smaller coalitionary parties, Pilsudski's camp has carried a clear majority of 283 of the Sejm's 484, with Rosa Luxemburg, as the leader of the largest party, being offered the office of Prime Minister by Pilsudski in his first official letter to the Sejm as the 'new' government forms.



Not all went without issue for Pilsudski however - reports have already indicated serious and widespread localized issues such as voter intimidation and gerrymandering, particularly in areas of Western Poland dominated by Dmowski's 'National Democracy'. Many smaller towns and villages saw ND supporters form posses, some armed, to 'inspect' voters ballots, and in some extreme cases even going as far to 'ensure' voters 'eligibility to even vote, ejecting ideological and ethnic rivals from polling stations. While there were no serious cases of violence, it has alarmed and disgusted many within the country, and it has upset even the moderate supporters of the ND, who have voiced their concern that the party is transitioning away from being one dominated by the Catholic-supremacist middle-classes, and one that is instead an unashamedly racist camp of thugs. They are not alone in voicing these concerns, and many voices within the new coalitionary government believe an immediate agenda should be formed to ensure similar events never take place again.



A cabal of radical ND supporters photographed in one such posse that took part in political interference - concentrated mainly in Western, or Greater Poland, smaller towns without major police or army presence saw polling stations menaced by armed groups like these, with some openly tampering with, and sometimes even directly impeding the democratic process.

[New Mandicoria]

SOLDIER'S DAILY
The Best Source of News for the Fighting Man...

Anarchist Riot Besieges Presidential Palace, Crushed Soon After

Our Brave Troops recapturing the streets of Mexico City.

Shock has gripped the nation last night as large scale rioting and looting broke out in Inner Mexico City the other night. With local Police being overwhelmed, and forced to retreat to Army outposts throughout the city. Reports of firearms use, mass property damage, and multiple murders of police coming in through the night. Yet the most shocking part was the riot completely encircling the Presidential Palace, with President Greene inside and forced to barricade the entire building. Gunshots were reported exchanged between Palace guards and the rioters.

Luckily before any major offensive could be mounted, the Army was called in to pacify the situation. With light Howitzer shelling being utilized in the area, and multiple crowd controlling chemicals being used in addition to the shelling. Property damage was reported at a minimum by Army Logistics and High Command. With brave troopers then being able to sweep through the streets to clear out remaining groups of rioters. Minimal damage was reported to the Presidential Palace.

The Commanding Officer responsible for the liberation, one Colonel Victor Tyler, has been awarded multiple commendations by President Greene himself.

Casualty reports currently remain closed to the public, however eyewitness reports suggest at least 800 have perished in the riots so far.

President Greene Appoints Colonel Victor Tyler as Successor

Colonel Victor "Wendigo" Tyler

Following the recent Mexico City standoff, where the Presidential Palace was besieged by Anarchist Rioters. Present Greene has announced the appointing of a successor in the case of an unexpected power vacuum. Colonel Victor Tyler, otherwise known as the "Wendigo of Colorado". The succession was approved by a two thirds majority vote in the senate, and was ratified last Monday. With a following ceremony in the Senate Assembly where Colonel Tyler was awarded with the Succession Medal. Colonel Tyler was then able to give a speech to the Assembly following roaring applause.

The following excerpt has been graciously provided to Soldier's Daily by the Greene Presidential Administration.

"Thank you, thank you all. It means so much for me to be standing here before the Assembly to accept this responsibility. While I'm absolutely certain President Greene's term will end without any incident, he was very wise, and wonderfully kind in his decision to appoint me."

**Colonel Tyler pauses to take a small drink of water, followed by small applause.**

"Our Government here in Mexico is a great, guiding force for the people. Bringing the enlightenment of American Freedom, Democracy, and Opportunity to these once lawless lands. Where many local Governments failed, we seized the day. WE, have given the Mexican people a future. So now, we double down on our commitment to the people. The more there is rebellion to change, we change more and more. I will work tirelessly with President Greene to push that change further, and not a single bit of resistance will be tolerated with our advancement to the future."

**Loud applause erupts, causing a long pause from Colonel Tyler. With the crowd finally calming down after 10 minutes of applause.**

"Now, with our goals in mind. We will take Mexico to the modern age. Kicking and screaming if we must!"

**Colonel Tyler waves to the crowd, another round of applause begins. With President Greene, and Colonel Tyler shaking hands and smiling to one another.**

As well received this address was not just by the Senate, but by the entire nation, it has not sat well with some. Small amounts of complaints have been mailed to the Government protesting this decision. However, it was officially deemed to be such an insignificant number to "even bother responding to." According to one of our Government sources.

We here at Soldier's Daily would like to congratulate Colonel Tyler for all of his recent accomplishments.

Outstanding Bounties...

Emilio Gonzalez ... 1,200 Dollars Alive
Some French guy, we don't have a name. Sorry. ... 500 Dollars Dead or Alive
Jimmy "Two Dongs" Malloy ... 900 Dollars Dead Or Alive
Jesús C. Dentonez ... 300 Dollars Alive
Roland Kristiansen ... 12,000 Dollars Dead

Mexico will stabilize.

[Nowa Polonie]

Poland's triumvarate introduce 'March Plan'

The Ursus Tractor Company, founded in 1893 by three engineers, and four salesmen, represents the kind of companies that will be 'uplifted' by the new 'March Plan' - under the plan, which will remain Poland's primary economic platform until 1925, a campaign of consolidation of many small and medium-sized 'special industries' into state-sponsored corporations (with a controlling share owned by the Polish Central Bank, which is directly under the oversight of the President), while still remaining open to domestic and foreign investment, which will be further facilitated through the organs of the economic and foreign departments of the Polish Government. Recent foreign investments have already come in the form of an estimated $3.3 million dollars from Pacifica alone since the start of 1922, directed primarily towards Poland's heavy industries and arms manufacturers.

Following its election, and a prolonged period of festivities as many celebrated what has been taken as a sign that perhaps - perhaps - Poland had not only fought and won her freedom but that she was on the road to becoming a prosperous and democratic state too. The festivities have winded down, however, and real work has begun, with the government finally introducing its 'March Plan' towards the end of that same month. The plan, which comprehensively outlines state plans for an economic shock therapy to consolidate Poland's disparate and unevenly developed economic areas into a common market, using Poland's single currency, and to create a 'all-nations economy' through the mass-development of infrastructure to open many previously underdeveloped parts of the Polish economy to domestic and foreign investment and improvement.



The plan's earliest efforts will take place immediately, marked first by ordnance unrivaled since the Domesday Book - not only will the government immediately organise a new census, geographic survey, outlines of areas of infrastructural development - all of the necessary information not only for Polish domestic economic planners to direct the efforts to revitalize and modernize the economy, but to allow investors, both foreign and domestic, to better understand the Polish economy and its limitless potential. Notably, a special bureau of the government has been organised for the express purposes of extending Poland's national economic platform to her Belarussian satellite, with a budget and mandate to work with the Belarussian government to extend these advancements into its territory (and to further incorporate its economy firmly into the Polish sphere).



The first signs of Poland's new economic platform in Minsk - where the Polish Fablok locomotive company has opened its first workshop in the city, first to primarily manufacture parts, and to refit existing locomotives in the Russian gauge, to the European Standard, plans have already been drawn for its eventual expansion into the complete self-contained manufacture of new locomotives.

Notably, besides its macro-economic aims to create a more robust and modern economy, the Plan includes legislation largely championed by junior partners Vice-President Luxemburg and Prime Minister Gruenbaum of Poland's ruling triumvirate, with the additional aims of sponsoring the formation of 'worker democracy' within working places. This has come in the form of new and more easily enforceable laws prohibiting discriminatory employment policies, actions such as strike-busting, as well as new rules within workplaces enforcing employers to maintain liaison with a worker or union-appointed representative. These new, radical policies, are perhaps only the beginning - Luxemburg herself has promised supporters that in the near future they may yet be expanded so that one day there will be no workplace in Poland where supervisors and overseers, rather than being the creatures of bosses, are worker-appointed, and creating and enforcing mandatory quotas for worker-ownership of company stock. Targeted primarily at already heavily state-dominated heavy industries of Poland, there is little landed interest to resist such radical new changes, and many say that Luxemburg's promises of a radical new model of 'Socialism in the Market' within Poland are a matter of when, and not if.



''Socialism or Barbarism'' - Vice-President Luxemburg has promised that she will personally undertake the task of ensuring that alongside the development of the sheer capital potential of Poland's economy, that its workers shall inherit the benefits, rather than seeing themselves further repressed by moneyed landed interests. With Poland's 'Capitalist' Class being merely bourgeois by the standards of many countries, their political influence to match Luxemburg's firebrand energy is virtually non-existent, and they will in all likelihood choose and pick their fights to retain what small tyrannies that can within the workplace, which will increasingly become a space dominated by the notions of 'worker democracy' - which, when it is truly achieved, will see much of the day-to-day operation of Poland's industries and businesses directed by the workers themselves.

[The East African Commonwealth]

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Afrika Daily - April 4th, 1922

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Military to be Reorganized

Following two votes in the Assembly both the Military Reform Act of 1923, proposed by Ethiopia, and the Federal Army Act, proposed by the Republic of Zanzibar, were both rejected by the Commonwealth member states. This in part is due to the new African Tribal Alliance (ATA) which has been able to consolidate its power and push against the idea of centralization. The ATA and members of the Sultanates voted against both pieces of legislation as they were viewed as both too centralized and as removing too much power from the individual nations. For the months of January and February both Acts were revised and proposed an additional three times only to see rejection on all accounts, forcing both Acts to be dropped from the agenda altogether. In response to the failure of the Assembly to find a compromise on the issue, Rais Kutan called a personal meeting between himself and representatives from Ethiopia, Zanzibar, and the ATA to try and find a middle ground. After a month of deliberation a new piece of legislation was presented to the Assembly which was passed early this morning: The Regional Military Agreement.

Unlike the prior two Acts, this Agreement consolidates and modernizes the military without removing local authority over how those forces are used. This Agreement radically changes the organization of the armed forces across all member states of the EAC and sets up a regional command structure in the place of a federal army. As an example, the military forces in the Horn of Africa will be merged into a single command structure and the equipment, tactics, and training of all forces in the region will be standardized. This allows for the military in each region to retain local control without running the risk of the military action of one single nation could threaten the entire EAC like what is occurring on the southern border. Another benefit of this Agreement is that nations that could not afford to modernize their military due to costs will now have the joined military spending of all members within their regional military 'bloc'. The agreement has established seven of these new military regions in the Horn of Africa, the Rift Valley, the African Lakes, the Zambezi Plain, the Kongo Basin, Merina, and the Kilimanjaro Region. Each region has been established based on ethic, language, geographic, and tactical guidelines to allow for each national force to be integrated with ease.

Tribal Footmen Being Inspected in the ATA, Ethiopian Calvary Conducting Exercises, Defense Forces Training on the Southern Border

The command structure for the regional militaries is based in the nation which has been selected to be the most effective in military matters which is determined by the training, equipment, and tactics of that nation. The armies of each nation will be reorganized into divisions of 15,000 troops each centered under their own areas of operations within their Regional Command. This Regional Command will be assigned based on the merit and ability of the individual officers instead of title and nobility such as in the armies of the Kingdoms and Sultanates. The Commanding Officers for each region will be selected from one of these officers and will be given command over one of the seven regions. While in essence these forces are each their own Army, they do not fall under the direct command of the Federal Government, instead they fall under the joint leadership of their military bloc with the exception of during a state of war with an external power. Should war occur, the leadership of the seven regional militaries will fall to the Defense Forces which will be able to integrate the new forces into their command structure.

The Republics, Tribes, and Defense Forces have all expressed a positive view of this new Agreement as it address the concerns of centralization while organizing modernizing the armed forces in a way that could match European power. The Kingdoms are split on the matter as many military officers within their ranks will likely lose their positions due to their noble status no longer being a way of retaining a leadership position. The only group that has expressed a hostile view to the Agreement are the Sultanates which feel that taking military power away from the Sultans and giving that power to local generals is going too far. Further, Hobyo and Equitoria have both expressed concerns about them sharing a military bloc with Ethiopia, a Christian kingdom and have stated that they oppose this action. It remains to be seen if other issues will arise from merging the armed forces of other nations.

| 1.) Horn of Africa | 2.)The African Lakes | 3.) The Kongo Basin | 4.) The Kilimanjaro Region | 5.) The Rift Valley | 6.) The Zambezi Plain | 7.) Mernia |

However, regardless of concerns the Agreement has been passed and all over the Commonwealth military forces have begun a mass reorganization which will likely continue for months to come. In addition to this reorganization, each region will be establishing its own Air Service and Navy to supplement the army marking an end to the Defense Forces having a monopoly on aerial and naval supremacy over the other nations. The Defense Forces and deployed border forces near South Africa will be exempted from the reorganization until the crisis subsides to ensure that the nation is able to respond should the situation escalate.

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| Tensions Rise in the Horn of Africa, Hobyo Descends into Riots | Airship Dockyard Construction Starts in Kampala | Industrialization of Congo Basin Begins, Tribes Protest |
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[Fregantes Empire]

Constantinople, Dolmabahçe Palace, 3 am

Lieutentant Colonel Ahmet Hüsnü seriously considered seeing a doctor for his insomnia. He wouldn't be able to sleep for hours, only embraced by the hands of Morpheus just before dawn. While this condition has costed him his "normalcy" and his family, it also made him the perfect chief of security. No wonder why he was chosen to lead the assembly forces guarding the Dolmabahçe Palace. Yet these were not the thoughts on the Lieutenant's mind. He was thinking about the "conflict, but not actually a conflict" in Eastern Thrace. Would Constantinople be in danger? Would the Greek Army dare to violate the Zone of Joint Defense? What was the purpose of the Polish contingent which recently left the city? What will happen to the Sultan? Will the Sublime State survive the coming months? Will it fall just like the German, Russian, Austrian and Chinese empires did?

He realized that his late night promenade within the palace actually brought him into one of the reception halls. It was completely dark, ungarded and even unattended, yet the moonlight illuminated the hall enough to appreciate the furnitures and the decorum that remained. The moonlight revealed the once beautiful but now decaying wallpapers with motifs of tulips. It revealed the exquisite chairs and sofas whose wooden carvings were rotten. The moonlight also illuminated a silhouette sitting on one of these chairs. When Ahmet realized he wasn't alone in this room, his hand went to his pistol immediately.

"Reaching to your weapon is not a polite way to greet someone" said the silhouette, and leaned towards a lamp. The dimly lit lamp revealed the identity of this mysterious figure: Sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin. "I am just an old man, and I would like to think that I can't assassinate myself."

-"Your Majesty. Excuse my caution, I wasn't expeting to see your Majesty here at such a late hour."

-"I come here in the night to contemplate peacefully. It is one of the few places in this palace that I can still consider "mine". Well, whatever was left to me when I ascended to the throne in 1918 was nothing of worth anyways. If you have no further duties Lieutenant, I would like to invite you to a little conversation. I have some tea as well."

"I would be honoured Your Majesty." said Ahmet, moving a chair safe enough to sit on. While he was referring to the Padishah as "Your Majesty", his conduct was not as respectful and as courtious as someone in the palace would conduct themselves before the Sultan years ago. The diminishing respect for the Emperor, coupled with him sitting in the centre of a rotting room was a rather obvious irony.

-"Where do you come from, my boy?"

-"Adana, Your Majesty. My parents cultivated cotton near the coast. We were managing well, as much as we could at least. Competing with the British cotton from Egypt and India was always hard after all."

-"I see. Why did you become a soldier? Why not take over the cotton plantation and live peacefully?"

-"The war, your Majesty. I had a disabled brother and three sisters, so when the general mobilisation was announced, I was drafted as the only able bodied person from my family. My father had died in the Balkan Wars four years prior. I wanted to follow my father's footsteps and serve my country."

-"Where did you serve during the war?"

-"The Syria-Palestine Front, Your Majesty. Well, it was a continuous rout rather than a front, if I have to honest. If it wasn't for Mustafa Kemal Pasha's tactical retreat into Anatolia, the entire Yıldırım Army Group would be surrounded and annihilated by the British."

-"I see. You have served well indeed, my boy. Your family must be proud."

After hearing the Sultan's words, a cold and sad expression appeared on the Lieutenant's face. One of uncertain sorrow, worry and a little yet consuming hope, waltzing with near certain despair. Ahmet fell silent, leaving the Sultan somewhat confused.

-"Are you okay, Lieutenant? Do you need some water?"

-"No need Your Majesty, thank you. I apologize if I my complexion was out of place. While was serving under Kemal Pasha and escorting him all over Anatolia with hope, word reached us the the occupying French soldiers in Cilicia had a brawl with some local farmers. Apparently guns were drawn and shots were fired. What followed was a massacre of the nearby villages by the French soldiers. It is reported that the soldiers responsible were executed for tis atrocity, but the damage was done. My brother was shot, and my mother and my sisters are missing. Many of our neighbours are thinking of the worst. I still retain some hope that they escaped and they are still alive, yet they are nowhere to be found. It has been a year already, and they are declared dead. I just want this war to end, Your Majesty. This war that was started by the CUP Triumvirate has to end. Even if the cost of peace is the Empire."

-"The Empire has been dead for quite some time, my boy. The Empire was sentenced to a slow death when the Janissaries became king makers. My ancestor Sultan Mahmud II finally eradicated them after 200 years of shameful palace coups and revolts, but it was too late. The Empire died when Egypt and Sudan was effectively lost to Muhammad Ali Pasha and later the British. The Empire died when Greece and other Balkan states seceded. The Empire died when my uncle Abdulaziz I was deposed, followed by my borther Murad V when he lost his mental faculties. The Empire died when my brother Abdulhamid II established a police state and suspended the constitution, and it died when the army from Thessaloniki stormed the capital. My boy, this Empire has died numerous times before the war itself. It also died when I ascended. I was so far behind the line of succession, and so old at this point, that I wasn't prepared to rule at all. I have tried everything to save this nation, yet I cannot see any exit."

-"With all due respect, Your Majesty, you are a traitor. You are a traitor who is unaware of his treason. You have betrayed your country and your people when you even considered the initial proposals of the Allies envisioning our Motherland's partition. You have betrayed your country when you didn't protest the illegal closure of the Chamber of Deputies, but most importantly, you have betrayed your country when you took up arms against your own people when they stood up for their freedom and their rights. You sir, have NOT tried to save this nation. That is why you are a prisoner. The only reason you are kept alive and kept here, is that we cannot afford to have divisions in the Assembly. If we could we would sent you alongside the Poles".

-"..."

-"You are the symbol of a tradition and a dynasty that failed to protect its people and turned its back to the nation. You are the carrier of an imperial culture, and only that. Especially after Mehmed V. Now, if you excuse me, I need to check the surroundings and retire for the night. Goodnight, Your Majesty."

As the Lieutenant rose and walked towards the corridor, he left the Sultan speechless. Did he blame the Sultan for the death of his brother? Yes, he did. Did he blame him for all the disasters after 1918? Yes, he did. As many more Turks would in the later years. A rotting Sultan in a rotting hall of a rotting palace. The rotting Ottoman Dynasty. It had to go away, just like the Romanovs, the Hohenzollerns, the Habsburgs and the Qing.

As he left the room, her heard the Sultan mutter to himself:

"He was just an aide-de-camp..."

[Lendenburgh]

June 25, 1922

Frauenmarsch

Though leftist political elements have been agitating for a return to free elections since the influential essay by Paul Levi published in March, today the struggle for democracy gained a much more influential demographic. A group of female lawyers- the first to practice within Germany- has organized the Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine (Union of German Feminist Organizations). The group has rallied around a liberal interpretation of the Weimar Constitution, criticizing the Direktorat's autocratic policies by publishing opinion pieces in newspapers across the country; demanding that Adenauer hold open elections in order to restore the republic. Maria Hagemeyer, recently appointed assessor for Prussia, Maria Otto, and Anita Augsburg, the leaders of the Committee, have called a massive rally of women in Berlin today. With nearly 200,000 participants, it is the largest public gathering in German history.


The women participating in the rally have come from all walks of life: wives of artisans, bureaucrats, politicians, and farmers, and those women who work for their own living. The atmosphere of outrage at the protest was palpable, having been given the right to vote so recently only to have it taken away. Given the direction of culture in this new decade, promoting the freedom of individuals in post-war society, encouraging women into positions of equal social standing as men, the protest against autocracy by these women is symbolic of both their newfound power in society as well as their political views. However, the founders of the Bund made it clear in their manifesto:

The marches against autocracy must be viewed as an act of self-expression in pursuit of basic human rights, and not as a political struggle. The political sphere is a male concept, and action within it can only serve the men which drive it's machinations. We are not lobbying the Bundestag about our tax burden, or playing some ideological game of sedition like the communists. We are demanding our release from servitude. We are demanding that our human rights be restored. As such, this protest is Feminist.

With such strong pressure against the Direktorat, from both political enemies and the wives of those in power, as well as the common woman, it seems unlikely that Adenauer's grip on the country will hold for much longer. Discord has begun to bubble up in the highest reaches of the German government, with many Christian Conservatives taking the side of the women, while nationalists decry the death of the "Good German Woman". Their coalition, which has thus far guaranteed the continuance of the autocratic system, may deteriorate over the critical social question of women's position in society.

[Lendenburgh]

July 15th, 1922

Women's March successful, Adenauer agrees to elections
Following massive demonstrations in the nations capital, and many smaller protests across the country, the demands of the Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine are finally being met. Seemingly admitting that the political position of the Direktorat is untenable without the support of half the population, Karl Adenauer conceded to free elections being held by the end of this year. The government itself has said that the political circumstances which lead to the Direktorat's establishment have waned, and that they have succeeded in ushering in a new era of peace. Yet, the women of the feminist organization say that it was their pressure which lead Adenauer to this decision. It will be the first free elections in the country since the socialist parties took control of the government and were subsequently replaced, and there is much debate over whether leftist parties will be able to participate. However, it must be noted that since the insurrection in the Rhur, the popularity of communist organizations in the country has greatly waned, and that surveys on the people's approval of the Direktorat have not been abundantly critical. Nearly 35% of the nation supports the work the Direktorat has done entirely, meaning there is a solid chance that Adenauer would simply revert back to the Chancellor of the Republic.

Strasser announces public works project for national roadways

The ever expanding German auto-industry is changing the very face of the country, yet, many roadways between cities are rough and designed for horse carriages. Only the railroads are designed for fast, direct travel between large urban centers. Yet, as the car becomes a more important mode of transport for ordinary citizens and commercial freight alike, the need for a national road system is becoming clear. Reichsminister Strasser has announced a new public works program, which will employ in excess of 100,000 Germans, to construct the first car-only national roadway between the cities of Essen and Bonn, via Dusseldorf and Koln, with extensions planned to Hamburg and Frankfurt. Another roadway will begin construction between Berlin and Dresden, with planned extensions to Liepzig and Stettin with a meeting point in Hamburg. The national roads will only be accessible to motor vehicles, and will not have any intersections, instead being directed around highly-urban areas. In between urban centers, the highways will follow existing rail right-of-way, already nationalized by the government and greatly reducing the need for land acquisition. The final vision for the project sees all major cities in the Reich connected by these national roadways, providing jobs in the long term by enabling commutes between nearby cities, as well as creating jobs in the public works sector in the short term. Though the initial roads will initially cost several million Reichsmark, the economic value that they will bring to the country will far exceed that number.

Linuxemburg to join the European Trade Community
Following brief negotiations earlier this month in The Hague, the Kingdom of Linuxemburg has agreed to accede to the first Article of the Treaty of Strasbourg, thus making them a full member of the European Trade Community. This addition to what was already the only and largest multilateral trading block in the world promises to expand economic opportunity across the continent. With auto manufacturing and Pacifican investment slowly revitalizing the Rhine-Rhur Valley, access to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp via the Rhine will be invaluable to continued growth of German industry, especially in the Western part of the country. Trade between the ETC member nations now exceeds 65% of all international economic activity in Europe (excluding the Soviet Union), while a further 14% is consistent of non-member imports of goods from the community. This undoubtedly makes the community the most powerful single economic unit in the world, and gives German manufacturers unprecedented access to the world's resources. Since the compact was first signed, the average caloric intake in the country increased by nearly 30% to pre-war levels, and shortages of common household goods have all but disappeared.

Embargo on Poland is lifted
In the same vein, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today that the sanctions imposed on Polish trade would be unilaterally lifted. The official reasons cited for this policy shift were the increasing security in Silesia, with nearly all paramilitary groups being disarmed in the first months of this year. However, many economists and pundits have speculated that the current rate of German economic growth could not be sustained without freer trade policy that allowed access to Upper Silesian ores, considering the vast decrease in Rhur production levels. The Minister of Trade was cited in a Berlin newspaper as having said he "hoped the increase in trade would lead to a relinquishment of Polish demands on reparations and eventually a detente between neighbors." In the face of the bloody Italian Civil War, and the Greco-Turkish Conflict, with the dust of the Polish invasion of Russia barely settled, the hope is that this will stave instability from the center of Europe.

Bauhaus movement sweeps the country- new housing cropping up for the first time post-war

Remarkable new architectural designs have begun popping up across the country. Architecht Peter Behren's designs for the AEG corporation have been pointed to as foundational to the movement, and are being emulated by other private firms in their industrial designs. The Deutsches Werkbund has begun construction on a housing estate in the "Bauhaus" style outside of the town of Weimar. The government, hoping to spur new home construction for the first time since the conclusion of the Great War, has contracted esteemed architects Ernst May and Martin Wagner to erect large housing projects in several neighborhoods in Berlin, as well as in Munich. Movements such as Bauhaus seem to be flourishing in the free-minded culture of the 20's, and serve to prove the continued excellence of German design in the modern era.

[Grandes Terres]

22nd July 1922
Mayflower, Federal Capital District

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FIRST PUBLIC HEALTHCARE RATINGS REVEALED AS UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE CELEBRATES ITS FIRST YEAR IN VIRGINIA

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RATINGS of each states public healthcare service have been published for the first time a year after the services were mandated by the federal government. Mayflower determined that states would be able to cover 50% of the costs of a public healthcare system in their states and so federal funds will cover the other half of funding required. The rating system has been based on a 1-100 system with the New England states and Virginia mostly taking the top stops and the Carolinas falling into the bottom. The scores are based on hygiene, safety, illness and operation survival rates and patients own opinions of the service.

1. Connecticut (Medical Agency Connecticut) - 98

2. Massachussets (Massachusetts Healthcare Trust) - 96

3. New Hampshire (Médecins New Hampshire) - 92

4. Virginia (Virginia Doctors Care) - 91

5. New Jersey (New Jersey Medical Agency) - 89

6. New York (New York Medicines Trust) - 87

8. Maryland (Maryland Medicines) - 86

7. Rhode Island (Rhode Island Hospitals Organisation) - 84

9. Delaware (Delaware Authority of Health) - 83

10. Georgia (Georgia Doctors Trust) - 83

11. Pennsylvania (Benevolent Healthcare Organisation of Pennsylvania) - 79

12. Vermont (Soins de Santé du Vermont) - 76

13. New Acadia (Hôpitaux Nouvelle Acadie) - 71

14. Maine (Soins du Maine) - 70

15. Florida (Florida Healthcare Fund) - 64

16. North Carolina (Carolina Care Group) - 59

17. South Carolina (South Carolina Healthcare Partnership) - 57

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Nathaniel Carpenter, The Mayflower Post

[Nowa Polonie]

Belarussian Rada Votes to Incorporate into the Second Polish Republic - Polish Army Enter Belarus

Arriving on behalf of the Polish Government, Minister of the Interior Sikorski arrived to oversee the extension of direct Polish administration over the former Belarussian territories - notably, likely foreshadowing an expanded future autonomy within the Republic, Belarussian security forces have not been immediately disarmed or demobilized by incoming Polish military forces, and internal documents exchanged between Polish and Belarussian officials have indicated a long-term plan to reform these forces into a territorial native Belarussian force.

After about a year in operation, the Belarussian National Government and the Belarussian Rada officially expressed their ultimate desire to pursue political union with the Polish Republic, expressing their desire for 'Poles and Belarussians to pursue a shared future', and dismantling the already small number of border checkpoints facing West towards Poland. Almost immediately following this public declaration, which was wired with almost no delay (as the Belarussian declaration had long been known of and anticipated within Warsaw for several weeks past through Polish diplomatic channels to other major European nations. Approximately forty minutes after the announcement, the first Polish troops had mustered out and crossed the former Belarussian frontier, and within two hours the first Polish elements had entered Minsk, with General-Minister Sikorski arriving shortly afterwards, and like clockwork, within under twenty-four hours, the only trace that a Belarussian state had existed at all were several thousand soldiers, policemen, and former bureaucrats who, unfortunately, could not be so elegantly and seamlessly incorporated into existing Polish organizations, without compromising long-term plans for a Belarussian autonomy within the framework of the Polish Republic - notably they are still fulfilling their duties alongside their Polish counterparts, and the gradual introduction of Polish as a natural second-language within Belarussia is being immediately rolled out.

All senior figures within the Polish Government have been described as being 'elated' with the peaceful annexation of the Belarussian statelet, with President Pilsudski and Prime Minister Gruenbaum (the 'third man' in Poland's ruling troika, and leader of the Belarussian-dominated minorities interest party, the BMN) being noted to be in particularly high spirits. For Pilsudski, this has come as another significant victory for his long-term vision of creating a federative, united coalition of countries within Eastern Europe to stand resolutely against any future Russian or German aggression, and to safe guard for all time its peoples from ever again playing host to a tug-of-war of foreign armies over their homelands - a utopian, idealistic vision, held by a pragmatic, practical man. For Gruenbaum, it will represent the final ascendency of the Belarussian and Jewish blocs for influence over the electorally influential BMN, securing its position as a centre-left, progressive party to champion ideals like minority autonomy, religious pluralism and compromise politics - with practically a million new voters being introduced to the Polish electorate overnight, with practically all of them being either Belarussians, or Belarussian Jews, the position of the BMN looks to be even stronger in the next round of Polish elections - though less than he might think, if mounting rumours of a Ukrainian schism from the BMN, which many of them feel increasingly alienated from, come to fruition.



Polish troops arrive to meet their Belarussian counterparts at the Belarussian-Soviet border - immediate plans to revitalize several sections of important defensive infrastructure within Belarus, with particular emphasis on transforming Minsk, which is now Poland's largest city in its North-East, into a formidable lynch-pin of potential defensive operations in the North-Eastern theatre.

[Auetorros]

- - - - Walla Walla Panopticon - - - -
|Pan-Pacific News|The Truth|Facts and Figures|Political Forecasts|Price 1¢|

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Pacific Territory Murmuring Freedom!

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In the heart of the Pacific, the Hawaiian Archipelago captures the imagination of the traveler like a native witch putting men under her spell: Waikiki Beach, where the islanders strum their instruments and beat their savage drums, are much a delight to a passing sailor or tourist wishing for a gay honeymoon under the moon and stars. It's also a favorite of Admirals in the Pacific Fleet and their companions in the newfangled Army Air Force: surrounded on all sides by two-thousand miles of ocean, this tropical paradise is a dream for the tactically-minded in our maritime forces; with ample supply, the archipelago which has served as a romantic getaway for many an enterprising American is also a hot destination for any equipment on operations. Yet, on the horizon, a treacherous threat to our continental safety looms:-- the worst part is its insidious nature to the islands themselves.

Once home to a backwards kingdom of half-crazed savages, the Hawaiian Archipelago is home to hundreds-of-thousands of those left behind by their evil masters after the Pacific States had liberated them score-and-four years ago in the year 1898, only to lash out again in another vain and tragic effort to reassert their faded dominance and restore their foolish leaders to their throne. Now, this threat reemerges as a demented band of rebels seeking to undermine the authority of the territorial government on their own terms. Several rallies have taken place over the last few months, during which none of the exiled royalty, including ex-Congressional representative Prince Jonah Kuhio, have commented to denounce the movement. Territorial Governor, Wallace Farrington, cites the movement as a non-issue as he continues his prerogative to expand upon the territory's lacking infrastructure.

[Orostan]

MARKETS THROWN INTO CHAOS. LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE LOSES 15% OF VALUE IN ONE DAY.

The most significant financial market in the world has been bouncing up and down following a series of economic disruptions starting with a decline in industrial production beginning last year. Declines in steel, automobile, and consumer goods production were noted in the last quarter of 1929 but investors were optimistic due to the upcoming holiday season. It has now become apparent that Christmas 1929 has been a great disappointment to the economy. Reports from industrial business about warehouses full of unsold goods in the lead up to Christmas caused small sell offs, and although these losses were recovered it does not look like it will be so easy to recover today. British banks began issuing margin calls to their investors as the state of the market deteriorated, and major banks in North America quickly followed. In New York and London in particular people are crowding outside banks affected by the crash withdrawing money and there is significant danger of a bank run on several of the largest international banks. In Paris and the already economically stressed Berlin there are similar events unfolding.

With the crisis still in its early stages economists are already speculating as to its causes. The Virginian Central bank's decision to raise interest rates just before the crash spread to New York and then to the rest of the world has been pointed to as a turning point by some factions of economists who blame a bad monetary policy for the bubble that seems to have burst. Another group of economists points to the rising inequality prior to this crash, arguing that the bubble was only burst due to a lack of consumption to sustain it. The Marxists continue to say the same things they always have about crisis, and the Soviet Union that they run stands to benefit greatly from a decreased price of industrial machinery and potentially cheaper imports in the coming years with the new industrialization policy and planned economy put into place by the government of Joseph Stalin. The governments of the liberal countries are likely to face increased social unrest and Eastern Europe with its economy reliant on exports to Western Europe will likely be particularly hard hit. Romania and Poland being the richest and most industrialized countries there integrated into the European economy will likely suffer the most. In Western and Central Europe it is likely that we will see Germany's economic difficulties continue and the country's political state deteriorate. It was not too long ago that Germany seemed to be oscillating between dictatorship and democracy, and it is not too long form now that they might begin doing the same thing. The territory of the former United States in North America will similarly be affected, with the already unstable and poor Louisiana standing to lose the most from a sudden drop in demand from their exports. New Africa and the Midwest are in similar positions. Virginia and Pacifica with their robust internal markets will be more resilient but a larger consumer market often comes with a more aggressive working class and possible labor militancy. The former United States as a whole is a powder keg in more than one way - one that stands a decent chance of going off with heightened economic tension. It is too early to tell where the crisis is going or how bad it will be, but today has not been a good day to be a banker and tomorrow it may not be a good day to be a wage worker either.

[Unitiria]

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Wednesday, January 1, 1930 - Cost ₭1 - Est. 1862

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Economic Disaster Looms Over Election Campaign

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As millionaires wake up destitute and millions lose their jobs overnight, we can only guess what effect this unforeseen stock market crash will have on the upcoming Federal Election. Unitiria has been hit harder than most by the crash due to its extreme free trade policies and the stranglehold foreign businesses have on its economy. With only a week to go before the ballot boxes open, party leaders regardless of affiliation are scrambling to distance themselves from the economic disaster and show that they have the plan to save the economy. He or she who succeeds in doing so will likely win the electoral race.
This may spell the end of the seventy-nine-year reign of the Unity Party, which has managed to hold on to power in every election since the countries founding in 1850. However, this is most definitely not a certainty; this election could be won or lost on one's ability to form a ruling coalition. That being said, the base of middle-class working people and business owners the Unity Party has relied on for so many years is one of the groups hardest hit by this depression. It would not be surprising if they snatch just a minor role in a hypothetical ruling coalition, perhaps leaving the leading role to the Social Party.
The Socialist Party, whose progress was slowed by the general prosperity of the 1920s, is expected to make a massive leap in popularity in the upcoming election. Already party leader Ivanovna Xi is emphasizing her "National Plan," which would entail massive government spending in several sectors, from infrastructure to housing to education and everything in between. She is also proposing the creation of a Universal Healthcare System, in which the government would provide medical care to all who cannot afford it, and new labour laws and protections for workers. These promises are extremely enticing to the poor citizens of Unitiria, many of whom would have shunned such ideas as communism just a few weeks ago.
That aversion to communism may have been damaged by the crash. Polls for the Communist Party have been unusually high, and leftist orators that usually would have garnered nothing but derision have been receiving large audiences of the homeless and hungry. The Party, which broke off from the Socialist Party in 1901 - the other half of the Socialist Party became the Social Party - is expected to make great gains this election. As party leader Juan Ortega said in his speech this morning, "it is only once capitalism bites its owner when the working class considers getting a new dog."
Communists are not the only orators garnering large audiences on the streets. Spokespeople for the National Front, a nationalist and protectionist party founded in 1923 by Ikemba Adeyemi, have been handing out flyers calling for the realization of a Unitirian national identity and the end of the "prostitution of the nation" through free trade and internationalism. Also on their platform is the destruction of the Treaty of Singapore, which among other things greatly limited the Unitirian military and gave huge trade concessions to the British, Dutch, and Germans. "It is time to assert our place as a real nation, not just a utopian project that got out of hand. We cannot be bonded any longer. It is time to repudiate the Treaty of Singapore, regardless of what the Europeans think. Besides, the British are broke, the Dutch are in the same boat, and the Kaiser is hiding with the Dutch. What're they going to do? Sail across the world to stop us? I'm sure their starving citizens would love that" said Adeyemi in a press release today. Just as the left is growing, so is the right.
But not all on the right are benefiting from the depression. The Traditionalist Party, which was already having a rough time before the stock market crash, has been polling even lower now. Their platform of disenfranchisement of women and raising the status of religious institutions doesn't seem to have an audience in the starved and tired people of Unitiria.
As for the independents, the usuals are expected to be elected. Famed academic Chhaya Laghari will win a seat again, as well as millionaire philanthropist Chaoxiang Mason-Chen. Most others either don't have enough recognition or don't have a popular platform. Such is the life of an independent candidate.
On the odd side of the election, the infamous nouveau-artist Jean-Piérre Ràdical has gone from being an independent to running his own party, the Parti Ràdical. His only decipherable campaign promise is the legalization of all psychoactive drugs. Although he is likely to win a seat due to his infamy, it is unlikely that any of his oddball troupe of representative nominees will win. His is a party of crazy intellectuals and disturbed youths, and it may be that under the layers of irony he and his party are just one big inside joke.
With the election quickly approaching and no end to economic disaster in sight, the long tenure of the Unity Party seems to be coming to a dramatic end. Who will replace them is a question that won't be answered till the day after the election, and until then all we can do is speculate and wait.

[Nowa Polonie]

The Crisis Hits Poland

Polish agricultural workers - who compose roughly 70% of the working population - taking mid-day break. Hit hardest by the immediate effects of the crash, and facing the worst of the long-term effects, many economists estimate that if the financial crisis of 'Black December' is not comprehensively met, Poland's poorest may look forward to seeing up to 50% of their income disappear as the effects of the crash have sent the prices for Poland's agricultural goods into free-fall. With many small farmers now facing the prospect of choosing between operating at a loss simply to pay for the transport of their goods to urban markets, many isolated rural villages in Poland may potentially revert back to a form of life almost like that of their medieval forbears.

Poland finds herself, for the first time in nearly a decade, in crisis. As 'Black December' has seen the stirrings of what will be one of the severest, protracted periods of global economic contraction in modern history, with even according to the most optimistic of forecasters predicting an immediate contraction of anywhere from 10-25% in the value of Poland's Gross National Product, and flagging demand for Polish exports in the wake of the collapse of the collapse of the world's over-production bubble. Across Silesia, steel-mills buzz with activity, mines churn out the mineral wealth of the Earth in the form of iron, coal and nickel, but where once these goods were destined first for transit on the so-called 'Polish Coal Trunk Line', running from Poland's principle ports in Gdynia, Gdansk (formerly Danzig) and Królewiec (form. Konigsberg), down through Silesia, and to Poland's second-city of Krakow, now their produce sits unused and unpaid for in warehouses - if any factory has in the past two weeks dispatched anything, it is in practice because they no longer have the space to store it on-site. Workers receive their wages as they always have, and though they remain the same as they were pre-Crash, with foreign consumer goods rapidly disappearing from shelves as many countries have attempted to blanket themselves from the worst of the crash's effect with tariffs, they have more money than they can spend.

For agricultural workers, however, the 'plight' of their urban countrymen would seem a black joke - for them, with little prospect of exporting their produce, and a domestic gross over-production of agricultural goods, they face destitution. One literate farmer from East of Warsaw, explained in an article sent to a Warsaw newspaper, that although his family had milk cows, they were forced to sell all the butter and milk produced to buy other things. With the little money they received for the milk and butter, they bought salt, matches and kerosene. The family also struggled to pay off large debts for the purchase of farm equipment. Many small farms face the threat of the auctioneers gavel, of looming debts, and a collapse in their living standards.



The 1920s had seen a boom in the construction and renovation of Poland's existing commercial and industrial rail-lines, with Western Poland seeing the development of the massive 'Polish Coal Trunk', with Polish Silesia possessing what is potentially the densest concentration of industry and rail anywhere East of the Rhineland. 'Luxtorpeda', pictured here at Zakopane, exemplified later efforts in the 1920s to see a huge expansion in civilian and commercial lines operating not only in the West, but also throughout the East, where primary lines were renovated away from the Russian gauge, and towards the European Standard. Now though, with travel a prohibitively expensive luxury, and industrial exports at their lowest since records started, there has been a realization that an existing reliance on rail within Poland for the lion's share of transportation, both for civil and economic ends, is glaringly inadequate to deal with the economic needs of what will likely be a new and renewed focus on the domestic economy. Many look to Germany, where an effort to construct modern roads across the country has reaped rewards for both its local, and national economies.

Until now, the Polish economy, with benchmark workers' rights, modest foreign investment (particularly from Pacific America), and a robust export-market based on the sale of agricultural goods and industrial materials overseas, was one of the fastest growing in Eastern Europe, with a gold-backed domestic currency, and a flexible approach to using foreign currency where necessary. First under President Pilsudski (1922-26), and now under President Luksemburg (1926-), the Government of Poland had courted both foreign investment, while promoting huge programs to modernize and expand Poland's existing industries, typified by the 'March Plan' of 1922, which by 1925 (the year the 'Plan' reached its conclusion) had seen the Polish economy grow by nearly 15% in three years, with wages following behind - the Polish worker of 1928 earned nearly twice as much as his 1918 counterpart, and his wages went further, and could be spent on a much more diverse range of goods. Now though, in what is more akin to a retching expulsion of vomit than a hiccup in this trend, even under the Poland's 'Pink Matron', President Luksemburg, who has until now been a staunch advocate of comprehensive and generous government spending plans, an expanding state welfare network, and the champion of working people, even she has been seen in crisis talks with virtually all spectrums of the Polish political spectrum, and many have begun to fear that in the face of an unprecedented, unexpected economic crisis as this, that even she may bend to the suggestions by some that austerity, and an immediate and wide-reaching reduction of government expenditure across the board, will be the only practical course of action in what will be Poland's first year in her modern existence where tax revenues will be smaller than the year prior.

For now it seems a paralysis has seized the government - many fear that this inaction will see the effects of the crisis deepen, and its consequences become harsher and more protracted as the government prevaricates. Former President Pilsudski, who since stepping down from the office of President, having supported Luksemburg as his 'successor' in the 1926 Presidential Election, before 'retiring' to a purely military role as Poland's 'First Marshal' (a now largely ceremonial title) and, more practically, Inspector General of the Army, has been markedly vocal, calling on his successor to demonstrate 'Decisive leadership' in the wake of the crisis. Since his retirement from politics, Marshall Pilsudski has been loath to comment on the country's politics, with his contributions most often taking place in private conversation or correspondence with politicians both inside and outside of government - with this being one of his first, and by far the most serious, public statements made concerning political events, and with his almost mythical figure in the Polish consciousness, his words have been taken by virtually the entire country that the crisis is indeed of the utmost seriousness, and many now repeat in chorus their living founding-father's suggestion to their Madame President - if the crisis cannot be solved soon, then at the very least, it must be addressed.



A smashed window, a seemingly innocuous nuisance, but the sinister tell-tale sign of a growing prejudice among sections of society - the shop-owner is a Jew, and his window has been smashed for precisely that fact - if their goods too cheap, they are 'undercutting' Polish businesses, if they too expensive, the complaint changes its face, and the accusation is that its owners are 'profiteers and parasites', all the same, whatever the owner does, whatever excuse given, to the perpetrators, though they may lie to themselves and others, the only true crime of the owner in their minds, is that they are indeed a Jew.

But behind closed doors, away from the mainstream of Polish politics, which is held up as one of the most egalitarian, functional models of a pluralistic democracy to emerge from any of the 'Springtime Nations', the crisis has lent an increasingly sinister tone to the extremes of Polish politics, particularly among the Right-Wing, where blame for the crisis has fallen upon the lap first and foremost of Poland's Jews, who are being spoken of in terms equal to the blind and ugly prejudice found in any of the worst beer-halls of neighboring Germany, and the President, herself a Jew, sits at the heart of the 'Conspiracy' to destroy Poland's values. The years of hitherto prosperity and rising social freedom, they believe, were merely the disarming ruse, and the current crisis, merely a means for the government to begin its 'long-planned dismantlement' of 'true Polishness'. They have begun to construct a myth, of a country high-jacked at Versailles by Socialists, Jews and Internationalists, and of a 'Stolen Victory', where Poland's 'conquered' territories have instead 'conquered' her - they view the representation of minorities within the government as a sign that the Government is indeed run for and by minorities - they view the autonomy of Poland's ethnically non-Polish territories as a perversion, that the fact Poland does not subjugate, means that they have in fact become the subjugated - ''They expect our protection, and render no payment, no loyalty!'' they cry, oblivious to the presence of Belarussians, Jews and other national minorities in the organs of every facet of Polish society, or if aware, pointing at it as further 'proof' of the conspiracy.



Among the largest of the radical splinters of the 'National Democracy' movement, the ONR Falanga, or 'Phalanx', dubbed 'Falangists' in most media publications, for all their talk of the unique greatness of the Polish people, adopt all the trappings of the worst of Europe's fascist movements, emulating the 'Fascismo' of movements in Italy and Germany, and re-branding and tailoring many of the same fundamentals to suit Polish mouths and ears. For all of their bluster, they remain naught but an extremely vocal minority, gaining public notoriety through ugly words and ugly action, their detractors label them, even moreso than the Communists, as an evil and especially malignant manifestation of foreign ideas antithetical to genuine 'Polishness', which they describe in terms of a sunlit liberty, to contrast with the darkness and oppression of the system proposed by the black-shirted thugs of the Falange. For most, it is a relief that within the Sejm, though the seats they possess could be counted on a single hand, they are persona non grata regardless, with even many of their former compatriots in the ND refusing outright to have anything whatsoever to do with them.

Among the Left, there is growing division - the radicals of ten years ago are the government of the modern-day. With a Socialist government in power, and the problems of the crisis still apparent, the radicals of today now look even further to the Left, or perhaps more appropriately, further to the East. 'The Final hurdle in overcoming Polish chauvanism-'', one student journalist writes from Warsaw, ''Will be our final reconciliation with the Soviet Union.'', and no doubt if their words were read by an older brother, a father, who had fought and bled against those same Soviets, a shudder would go down their spine to think that the current generation of students could be so deluded as to view the Soviet Union to the East as anything except the modern iteration of the old Russian Empire, though perhaps both views may hold some degree of the truth, there is a widening alienation between what is now the 'Establishment Left', dominated by the Socialists, Labour Agitators and Social Democrats of the 1920s, and a newer, younger generation of 'New Bolsheviks' who increasingly believe that Poland is forsaking the practical benefits of an even more Communistic political direction, purely for the sake of national spite towards Russia, and by conflation, the Soviet Union. While there are some who believe they may indeed have a point, there are many others who believe that these misguided youths have the makings of a fifth-column in society - that knowingly or unknowingly, they are the agents of foreign interest. Amidst a mood of global crisis, and a daily, noticeable decline in the living standards of the whole country, there are many who are not above even the pettiest of suspicions, and while most only wish to pursue a solution, there are very many taking time instead to point fingers of blame, and to look suspiciously at anyone they hold to have anything less than the nation's best interests at heart, and with stakes so high, their standards are high.



The 'Old Bolsheviks' of the PSP, sidelined and neutralized politically by Luksemburg and her more moderate, 'Socialism Within a Market' model, include figures like 'Poland's Kropotkin', Limanowski, who remains their loudest remaining advocate in the Sejm, 'Moscow's Mouthpiece in Warsaw', Dmowski, who passed several years ago, Feliks Kon, long since disappearing in self-imposed exile to the Soviet Union. The discarded theorists of yesterday, they serve now as the foremost figures of inspiration among new generations of Polish leftists to whom the words 'Soviet', 'Communist', and 'Bolshevik' are not ugly synonyms for 'Russian', but political terms they now adopt and even label themselves openly with, to the consternation and worry of their elders.

With the Sejm locked in for two weeks of crisis talks including most of all of the major and minor parties (even the Communists have been included - though Luksemburg has left in the rain several smaller, far-Right splinters of the now ailing 'National Democracy' movement, which has seen mass defections by moderates to the Right-PSL, and the formation of newer, more radical parties by the former Right-Wing of ND). Until then though, the whole country seems to hold its breath, and to at least resign itself to the costs of the deepening crisis - long queues for consumer goods, collapsing prices for their produce, and a growing disparity in the quality of life of urban, and agricultural workers that looks poised, if nothing changes, to shatter the alliance that the Peasant Parties had enjoyed with the reigning Socialist government, the political fallout of which, could and would fundamentally alter the nature of Polish politics.