Herb Mello

1930 The Road to War Herb Mello

In 1930, most of the world, in one way or another, was affected by World War - 1. Treaties, designed by politicians, crippled some countries to the extent that World War - 2 was inevitable. October 1929's economic engine and bank failures, actions by Wall Street bankers, and major corporations creating a worldwide depression tarred the highway to war. The U. S. Congress, against all wars, gave the military some equipment, but cut the number of men required to operate it, or on the other side of the coin, gave them the men, and cut the defense budget. Military planning had one target in their scope, Japan. Only Battlewagons and heavy cruisers were the topic of the day. Everybody knew that airplanes could not fly from Japan to the United States. Congress has not changed. It is as inept today as it was in those trouble times. Large corporations, banking and oil needed to update data on the prospects of world war vs world peace, or at least where arrow pointed on the scale. Jess Caldwell was the man that could do the job, if anyone could.