The first American King

by George Gordon Hastings

“And what did the People say to all this?” inquired Dean.

“They fussed and fumed a good deal,” answered the Colonel, “but they submitted—just as they submitted in your day to the cornering Chief Magistrate, the corrupt judges, the official rascality, and the oppressions of the transportation companies. At first, inspired by the fulminations of certain newspapers, organs of the populace, they assumed a rather threatening attitude; but this soon died out. The great Miscellaneous Trust founded newspapers, covering immense fields of news. The highest talent in the land was employed. The papers were delivered free of charge throughout the city and surrounding country. Money was no object. The dry-goods business, the soap industry and the patent-medicine output being all controlled by the Trusts, the field of general advertising was well in their hands. Consequently the independent newspapers were either sold out to and absorbed by the Trust organs, or perished from lack of advertising patronage.”

“I’ll bet they said some tart things before they expired,” exclaimed Kearns.

“Frantic were their death shrieks!” replied the Colonel. “However, as these disturbing factors gradually disappeared, the people became more calm and more accustomed to the existing state of things. They began to perceive that the Trusts were, after all, not an unmixed evil. While the Trusts made enormous profits, yet the cost to the consumer, owing to the reduction in the expenses of handling and production, was materially reduced. The merchants and manufacturers, the middlemen and retailers who had been crowded out of business found positions with the different Trusts, where they worked less hard and had more freedom from financial cares than they had known when they were in business for themselves. And the Trusts were very shrewd. While the bulk of their enormous capital stock was controlled by certain individuals, yet a quantity of the stock was put out among the masses of the people, whose interest in this way became bound up with the Trusts. Besides this, each of the Trusts, of course, employed vast armies of people. These employes, after attaining a certain age, were pensioned and their lives insured, in consideration of payments deducted from the weekly, or monthly, wage. This created a vast host of people throughout the land whose financial interests, or whose entire future prospects, were identified with the Trusts. Now, self-interest is a very powerful incentive and these very people were among the firmest supporters of the Trusts. In the meantime, the United States was rapidly taking its position as the foremost commercial, manufacturing and exporting country in the world, and this expansion of trade kept times good and things prosperous generally. Do you follow me?”

“To quite an extent,” answered Kearns.

“There are many questions I wish to ask,” said the Professor, “but I prefer to reserve them until later and not interrupt your narrative.”

“Very well,” continued the Colonel. “We now come to the year 1963—the time of the outbreak of the great battle of the Trusts. At that period, William Rockingham, the richest man in the world and the head of the great Miscellaneous Trust, was President of the United States. He was the last to fill that office. For a number of years there had been discord between the Directorates of certain of the seven great Trusts, growing out of charges and counter charges of one infringing upon the fields of the other. The discord developed into war. It was a war of billions. For a long time the strife raged, but at last it became plain with whom victory would rest. The defeated ones, men of resources and of influence, in the bitterness of defeat, brought charges against the President and sought to impeach him. It was charged that he had used his official position as President to secure the victory to the Miscellaneous Trust, of which he was the head, and its allies. A bitter political fight ensued, followed by an armed uprising.”

“The term of the President,” continued the Colonel, “was drawing to a close and preparations being made for the usual presidential nominations. The heads of the great Trusts, flushed by their recent success, got together and the cry went up that the constantly recurring elections were a cause of commercial disturbance and that a frequently changing occupant of the presidential chair was a source of national insecurity and of weakness in the country’s foreign relations. The politicians were set to work and a constitutional amendment proposed, in accordance with which the President was to be elected for life and Congress was authorized to institute such other changes in the national form of government as might be deemed necessary for the public welfare and safety. William Rockingham received the nomination from the party which advocated these constitutional changes. I will not analyze how it came to pass. The election which ensued was a complete triumph for him. The constitutional amendment was sanctioned by the popular vote and William Rockingham found himself elected President for life, with a Congress, under the leadership of the great Marquanna, obedient to his lightest word.”

“The opening wedge!” commented Dean.

“There were charges advanced in connection with this election,” resumed the Colonel, “and the uprising I have mentioned became more formidable than ever. Rumors began to be circulated broadcast that certain classes were paving the way to a monarchy. With a permanent President and a Congress obedient to his every behest, the country might as well, the cry went up, have a King at once.”