Attack on Public Opinion

Jack Morgan slowly rose to his feet, walked to the center of the room, and stared at the flames dancing in the fireplace. His voice was low. "I think we need to give the White House a warning. Let them know that even if the president's surname is Roosevelt, even if he has already moved into the White House, it doesn't mean he can do whatever he wants—especially to us."

No one objected, which meant they agreed.

Jack Morgan turned, his gaze falling on someone who had been sitting in the corner all along without joining the discussion.

William Randolph Hearst.

The newspaper king of the United States, with dozens of papers under his control, including the San Francisco Examiner and the New York Journal, reaching millions of readers.

His newspapers could make anyone famous, or ruin anyone.

In the United States, his name meant information and public opinion.

"Hearst, what do you think?"

"All right..."

Although he had maintained a good personal relationship with Roosevelt, Hearst could not refuse in front of so many people. That would mean standing against everyone present.

Outside the window, night was falling.

Washington's streetlights came on one after another, their dim yellow halos spreading through the mist like blurry periods.

The lights in the Treasury Department building remained on through the night.

The lights in the reception room of that K Street mansion stayed on just as late.

Two fronts quietly opened on the same night...

In the United States of 1933, television and the internet had yet to become widespread. Modern means of communication that could instantly deliver information to countless households did not yet exist.

Therefore, whenever a celebrity, politician, or even the president made a public statement, whether his words could reach people across the country depended almost entirely on media coverage.

And in that era when print media ruled, many outlets, eager to grab attention and compete for circulation, often took words out of context or deliberately distorted their meaning to create more sensational "news."

Once words left a speaker's mouth, they no longer belonged to the speaker alone. They became material that could be cut, magnified, or even altered.

For example, Roosevelt had said yesterday that if necessary, he would ask Congress for emergency wartime powers.

And the purpose behind it was easy enough to understand for anyone who had heard the full context at the scene.

Our president was mainly doing it so he could solve the problems better.

But today's front-page headline in the San Francisco Examiner read: Roosevelt declares he will seek emergency wartime powers from Congress!

On the surface, Roosevelt had indeed said those words himself.

But there were no notes, no explanations, no context.

What would the public think after hearing that?

They would only think that the moment Roosevelt took office, instead of trying to solve the United States' many terrible problems, he only wanted to satisfy his own ambitions.

Another example: what Roosevelt had meant yesterday was that the country had collapsed because of certain "currency exchangers."

But today's Chicago Tribune headline read: President hostile to all businessmen, intends to suppress the entire business system.

And the Detroit Free Press: Roosevelt: Fear itself is our only enemy? No, unemployment is!

This sort of propaganda instantly stirred dissatisfaction among people in several cities, and protests broke out at once.

The White House.

"Could it be that no one outside Washington can hear what I said at yesterday's inauguration?"

The twisted, mocking news coverage nearly drove Roosevelt, sitting at the Oval Office desk, mad with anger.

"Mr. President, based on what I know so far, Hearst is behind this. He has dozens of newspapers spread across the country's major cities. He can report things however he wants, and we..."

Louis Howe, the White House media adviser, did not dare say the words, We can't stop him.

"Mr. President, Hearst's newspapers have huge circulations and many readers. In a lot of places, people cannot see the full text of our original speech at all. They can only see the versions those papers have processed."

Press secretary Stephen Early added.

Roosevelt frowned.

During his campaign, it had been Hearst's newspapers that had cheered him on, helped shape his image as a man of the people, and attacked his opponents.

Back then, Hearst had been his ally, his mouthpiece, his sharpest weapon of public opinion.

Unexpectedly, that weapon had now turned on him.

Roosevelt closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.

Yesterday's speech, that fierce attack on the currency exchangers, had certainly struck a nerve with those people.

Morgan, Rockefeller, DuPont... they would not sit still and wait.

And Hearst had clearly come under pressure from those people and launched this attack against him.

"To the Treasury Department."

Treasury Department building.

The sound of the door opening made everyone look up, and they instinctively rose to their feet.

"How is the bill coming along?"

Roosevelt was wheeled inside.

"It's moving forward. We can have a first draft of the classification standards tonight. The administrative authorization provisions can be completed tomorrow morning, and the other sections are progressing simultaneously, but the overall bill still needs time."

William replied.

"Take a look at these."

Roosevelt gestured for his aide to place several newspapers on the table.

"These are Hearst's papers. They have severely distorted what I said yesterday. Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco... people have already taken to the streets in several cities, demanding that I step down immediately."

Roosevelt wore a self-mocking smile as he said those last few words.

A president who had only just taken office was being demanded to step down by many of the same people who had once supported him only a day later. It was undeniably ironic.

William and the others picked up a newspaper, scanned its contents, and their expressions darkened.

"What I'm worried about now is whether we will still be able to win the public's trust once the bill is drafted. If they have completely turned public opinion around, if the people no longer believe in me as president, then no matter how good the bill is, it will probably be nothing more than a pile of wastepaper."

"The president is right. We have to find a way to restrain Hearst first. Otherwise, by the time the bill is drafted and submitted to Congress, he may have completely distorted public opinion. By then, even if there is nothing wrong with the bill itself, people will oppose it out of prejudice."

William immediately voiced his agreement.

Ballantine rested his chin on his hand. "But Hearst controls too many media outlets. He has newspapers on the East Coast, in the Midwest, and on the West Coast. If he insists on doing this, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to restrain him..."

"Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but I don't think we need to waste time confronting him at all."

Everyone turned their eyes toward Phelan, who had remained silent until then.

William spoke up. "Phelan, what do you mean by that?"