Male Speaker

From UFOs to ghosts and psychic powers, history is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now and learn the stuff they don’t want you to know. After a globetrotting career spanning countries from Haiti to the Philippines, Marine General Smedley Butler retired in 1931 hailed as a national hero and one of the most distinguished in U.S. history. General Butler also gained popularity as an advocate for Veterans during the Great Depression. Since the returning soldiers could not find employment, General Butler pushed for the delivery of signing bonuses promised to every enlisted man. He was set to become one of the most influential anti-war activists in history.

But in 1934, he came forward with an unusual story for members of Congress. General Butler alleged that members of the U.S. elite attempted to hire him to build an army and stage a military coup [inaudible] Franklin Roosevelt in revoking the legislation of the new deal. Butler had originally played along leveraging his initial contact for more details and eventually meeting with one of the principle investors face-to-face. Butler stated that the conspirators wanted him to muster an army of 500,000 Veterans and other patriots paying their bonuses and financing the cost of their weapons with money provided by the conspirators.

“These men,” Butler said, “wanted to establish a government modeled on Italian style fascism.” Although newspaper at the time ridiculed the allegations, Congress moved forward with a formal investigation. Here’s where it gets crazy. In the McCormick Dixtine Report of 1935, Congress found that plans for military coup involving a private army headed by General Butler did exist. The Congress found that certain individuals had planned for this coup, but did not specify when the plan had been conceived nor when or if it would seriously be implemented. So who were the alleged ring leaders of this plot?

Although the Congressional Investigation focuses on only two men, Mr. McGuire and Mr. Clark, dozens of other individuals have been named as contributors to the business plot with the proof. The names of the conspirators included some of the United States’ most wealthy families in banking, media, and dentistry, including the DuPonts, the Remingtons, and Prescott Bush, father of George H. Bush, and grandfather of George W. Bush. It was apparent that the people in charge of planning this failed coup had made a mistake contacting Butler. The General’s only aim was to protect American Democracy and he repeatedly stated that he could not understand the contradictory aims of the business plot conspirators.

They said they wanted to change America for the common man but seemed more motivated to revoke new deal laws on businesses and put the U.S. back on the gold standard. So this conspiracy was investigated and to a degree it was proven true. What happened next? First, let’s look at what did not happen. The people named as conspirators were not punished. Many weren’t even asked to testify or meet with Congress. Many of the newspapers which had originally run a smear campaign against Butler never retracted their slanderous and misleading stories. General Smedley Butler passed away in 1940, and the story of the business plot faded into obscurity.

The alleged conspirators continued on with their lives and Congress did not pursue them further. Conspiracies are rarely investigated and proven, so when one does turn out to be true, it’s logical to assume that it would be thoroughly investigated. Yet, Congress avoided charging anyone with treason, and made the decision to let the matter fade from the public eye leading to one logical conclusion. There’s something they don’t want you to know.