A Little Bit Of History From Art Cashin
Posted By thestatedtruth.com on March 2, 2010
On this day (-1) in 1917, markets were roiled by news about Mexico. The news also helped to decide World War I (or so some think). Now don’t get upset you little historian, you. We know that you know that America had not yet even entered the war (or even officially picked a side). But that’s what today was all about.
As you recall, World War I was rather a mess even for a war. The European powers had spent nearly four years pummeling each other and bankrupting themselves. The net result was millions of soldiers and civilians dead but no winners….nobody even had a clear lead.
So, bloodied, bruised and frustrated, both sides looked toward the U.S. – rich in resources, factories and ambulatory young men (draft bait). They figured whoever could get American productivity (and maybe manpower) on their side could win. Thus, the games began.
The Germans set up plans for dummy U.S. corporations to buy up various strategic materials. They even thought about setting up a major defense plant…..under an America style name…..“General†this or that…..then taking huge orders (and money) from the French and British and then either not delivering….or….shipping sabotaged armaments.
The Brits staged mass propaganda efforts, blaming every accident or problem in America on German espionage. The Germans tried to foil the Brits by performing actual espionage. It worked well. Even after the sinking of the Lusitania and the explosion at Black Tom, the U.S. remained neutral. (At the time, German was the most frequently spoken second language of much of America, very much like Spanish today.)
So the Brits shifted to high gear. They leaked to the Germans (anonymously) that America was leaning British. The Germans bought. The German Foreign Secretary, Arthur Zimmerman sent a cable to their Washington Embassy suggesting that if America budged, the Germans should offer Mexico lots of money and….post victory….offer the return of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, California, etc. The Washington office sent a confidential telegram to their Mexican Consulate, suggesting the offer.
The Brits decoded the message but obviously couldn’t give it to the U.S. without revealing that they had broken the German code. So….the Brits contrived a way to claim they found the note. President Wilson was outraged and on this day he released the secret German message. But the public thought it was just a British setup. That is…until two days later….when Western Union broke 60 years of tradition and released the telegram to Mexico. The public was outraged…America joined the war….and the rest is history.
Art Cashin…..CASHIN’S COMMENTS
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