yesterdays war

by gerald hall

  Harold smiled as he examined the classic pistol. Dorothy had obviously put a lot of thought into what to buy him. But at the same time, the gift reminded Harold that the coming war would take the lives of countless millions of people, some killed by Nazis wielding this pistol. There was nothing that he could do about this war either other than to try to alter the outcome enough to prevent the conflict that would doom the human race in 2040.

  They continued opening presents until there was one last small box left for Dorothy. At first, Dorothy thought that it would be a ring or some other piece of jewelry. But then she opened it and found a key inside.

  “Did you buy me a new car, Sweetheart?”

  “No, Dorothy. I got you something else instead.” Harold said before handing Dorothy a small pamphlet. It was a brochure for a Lockheed Orion passenger aircraft. The big single-engine passenger plane dwarfed anything that Dorothy had ever flown before.

  “Oh my!” Dorothy said in amazement.

  “Your Orion is sitting now in one of the hangars at the aerodrome. But I want you to be very careful with it. This is a very fast aircraft, unlike the Jenny that you learned to fly in. So you will have to hone your flying skills to the fullest to fly her safely.”

  “Thank you so very much. I promise to be careful. After all, I have two people to come home to now, don’t I?” Dorothy said with tears of joy in her eyes.

  “You better be. Judith and I would both be very upset if something were to happen to you.” Harold said, hoping to forestall any recklessness on Dorothy’s part.

  After all of the presents were unwrapped, Dorothy went back to the nursery to check on Judith and to breastfeed her if needed. Then Dorothy returned to the great room where Harold was finishing cleaning up after supper. They then sat down together and drank more wine.

  “I wonder just how many more Christmas celebrations that humanity will get to enjoy?” Dorothy asked as she sipped on a glass of wine.

  “I don’t know. I guess the Lord is the only one who truly knows that answer. Hopefully, what I am doing is part of His plan for humanity to have a lot more than one hundred more such celebrations here on Earth.”

  “For now, let’s make the best of the lives that we do have, Sweetheart.”

  “I can’t agree more, Dorothy.” Harold said while giving her a kiss.

  That night, after supper was over, Harold gave Dorothy a lot more than a kiss.

  Late the next morning, Harold and Dorothy got up to prepare for their daily activities. For many of the white Australians who were of English origin, they still celebrated Boxing Day. But for most of the others, the day after Christmas was just another day back to work.

  “Can we go see my new Lockheed?” Dorothy asked after feeding Judith that morning. Harold could see that she had been anxious to check out her new aircraft ever since he handed her the key.

  “Yes. But let’s make sure that we get everything else taken care of today first. Remember that we planned to go to the church today to help hand out meals to some of workers who had to work during Christmas. It’s the least that we could do for them, you know.”

  “I understand, Sweetheart. I know that it is very important for us to take care of the people who work for us. I’m just very excited to see my Orion in person.”

  “We will get there soon enough. I promise.” Harold replied with a laugh before Dorothy went to get Judith. Then they all left in the truck to go to work at the church.

  Harold and Dorothy spent nearly two hours at the church before they finally left and drove to the Derby aerodrome. When they finally stopped, they were in front of one of the larger hangars. Harold and Dorothy walked up to the large building. Then Harold unlocked it and opened the doors.

  The Lockheed Orion towered over them as Harold and Dorothy walked in with Judith being carried in Dorothy’s arms.

  “This is incredible. It’s so big, yet it’s powered by only one engine.” An amazed Dorothy commented as she walked around the aircraft.

  “I wanted to get you something with two engines. That would make it safer plus we would have more passenger and cargo capacity. Unfortunately, those designs won’t be in production for at least a couple more years.”

  “Maybe you can get one of those later, sweetheart. But I would love to fly this one right now.”

  “I don’t think that it is ready yet. I want to make sure that your Orion is completely checked-out before you get into the cockpit. But don’t worry, you will be flying around in it soon enough, I’m sure.”

  Harold and Dorothy spent more than two hours looking over Dorothy’s new Orion before going back home. They continued to celebrate the rest of the afternoon and evening before going to bed. It would be another early morning for both with all of the work that lay ahead of them.

  Chapter Fifteen: United Australia Party Headquarters Canberra, Australia

  March 28, 1932

  “Good afternoon, Mister Cavill. Thank you for coming here to meet with me.” Former Prime Minister Billy Hughes said to Harold after the latter’s arrival to Billy’s office. Harold could see that the office was filled with boxes of papers and other items. An early version of a hearing aid was visible in Billy’s right ear.

  “We just moved here from Sydney, Mister Cavill.” Billy said after noticing Harold looking around at the disarray in the former’s office.

  “I can tell. It must have been very important for you to have asked me to travel all the way out here while you were still in the middle of organizing your new offices here.”

  “Actually, it is. I recently learned about the new telephone lines that you are running out from your headquarters in Derby.”

  “Yes, Minister Hughes. We are running telephone and power lines along our railroad right of ways from Derby to Darwin in the north and to Perth in the south. We plan on connecting the telephone lines to Perth with the national telephone extension trunk line there. That will give us direct telephone connections with most of the country.”

  “That is a very ambitious plan, Mister Cavill. There is just one problem. The Telecommunications Act requires that all telephone lines belong to the national government. The government here in Melbourne could simply take legal possession of all of your new telephone lines without you having any say in the matter.”

  Harold grimaced for a moment. The Australian Postmaster-General had authority over all new telephone service. Unfortunately, they had not gotten around to extending service to anywhere near Derby. So Harold decided to take matters in his own hands with equipment that was designed and produced in his own electronics manufacturing division. The endeavor was initially quite expensive, but was very useful for Harold’s business. It was also beginning to turn a profit for him as more people in the area subscribed for telephone service from him.

  “I see. What do you suggest that I do then, Minister Hughes? I need reliable telephone service for my business in addition to the rail line that my people are laying down. The government simply wasn’t doing anything. You know that both transportation and communications are vitally important to the economy in Western Australia. They also enhance our national security as well” Harold making sure to add that last sentence to pique Minister Hughes’ strong interest in Australian national defense.

  Billy pondered over what Harold had said. The former Australian Prime Minister had been thinking along much the same lines already. Now, he had to see if Harold would be willing to accept Billy’s solution.

  “Oh, I agree completely, Mister Cavill. But the government will not allow you to retain control over your telephone lines. I might be able to convince the Postmaster-General to purchase your telephone lines from you. You would be compensated at a reasonable level, of course. But we have to bear in mind that the government does not have much in the form of available discretionary funds.”

  “I could take this to court and fight the government’s pending appropriation of my property. It would draw a lot of attention on my activities. It might also reflect badly upon the
current Prime Minister as it would appear that was all too willing to steal from someone who has been helping keep many Australians gainfully employed. Do you see an alternative to this, Minister Hughes?”

  “Possibly. I know that you need a political patron with a great deal of influence. Now, if you were to allow me to negotiate with the Postmaster-General’s office for the transfer of your telephone services to government control for the public good, I would gain a certain degree of additional influence that I could, at a future time, use on your behalf. You would still be properly compensated for your property, of course.”

  Harold paused for a few moments before responding. Previously, Harold had found a way to create a mutually beneficial relationship with a powerful patron in England, Winston Churchill. Now, Harold had the opportunity create a similar relationship with one of the most influential political figures in Australia. Like Churchill, Billy Hughes was outspoken and took a variety of controversial positions. But Billy could be the key for Harold to get the Australian government to not only boost its defense spending but also to make most of its purchases from Harold’s companies.

  Harold had already made arrangements with a number of other minor Australian political figures. But these were all made under Harold’s conditions. The politicians benefitted from money paid to aid their elections or by other actions that Harold had taken on their behalf. But Billy Hughes was someone that had to be approached on a much more equal basis.

  It was interesting that Billy made no inquiry about Harold’s workers this time. Apparently, the subject of Harold’s telephone service and the offer of influence was much more important to Billy than asking about Harold’s aborigine workers or if there had been any interest among Harold’s employees towards forming labor unions.

  With the former Prime Minister’s help, Harold would be able to then push small, but key, technological improvements to Australia’s military in time for the Pacific War. He was already starting to do this with the British military through Winston Churchill. Harold just hoped that Billy would follow through with his offer of influence when the time came.

  “Minister Hughes, what you are offering appears to be fair. How soon can you tell me what sort of offer that the government is willing to offer?”

  “I should be able to find out within a few days.” Billy firmly said.

  “Hopefully, we can come up with an agreement shortly after that.”

  “We should be able to. On another subject, I understand that you have built a factory to produce small arms and other forms of ordnance. Have you found any customers yet?”

  “We have sold some small arms on the civilian market, but we have not made any significant military sales yet except for state-sponsored militias within Australia. Those were created under that state militia legislation that you supported earlier at my request.” Of course, Harold didn’t mention that some of the sales went to the state-sponsored militia that he created in and around Derby. He also did not elaborate upon just how well armed and equipped that militia would be either.

  “You know that the government has ignored the issue of adequately funding the Australian military ever since the end of the Great War. I will be leaving shortly to represent Australia at the League of Nations Assembly in Geneva. After I return, I expect to begin writing a book that will show the lack of preparation by this nation for what I believe is a coming war. I am sure that it is going to upset many current politicians. But it should also create a real push for Australia to rebuild its military. I can easily see many of the military contracts coming to you, especially after I make my recommendations.

  Your ordnance works is very well positioned for that, I suspect. Your shipyard would probably also be a great help in constructing warships for the Royal Australian Navy as well.”

  Harold didn’t mention that he was already starting work on a new aircraft factory, nor did he mention about his new tractor factory that was already being quietly prepared to construct a new generation of armored combat vehicles. In other words, Harold was already well on his way to being able to convert virtually all of his industrial plants to produce military equipment that would be ahead of its time.

  Now, he would have a powerful voice in the government that would be led by Robert Menzies just before the beginning of the war. That voice would be listening to Harold. Hopefully, that will be enough to tilt the balance towards a much more effective Australian military by the time that the Japanese first attack.

  “I would certainly hope so, Minister Hughes. I have invested enough money into my shipyard as well as my other industrial facilities.

  I also agree with you also about the state of the Australian military. I think that it is utterly deplorable that we were forced to purchase all of our major warships from British shipyards, including our two heavy cruisers HMASCanberraandAustralia. Those are valuable funds that should be spent putting Australians to work building our own warships.

  Excessive dependence of British shipyards and factories by our military can also lead to another major problem also. If the British cannot fulfill both our orders for materiel in addition to those from the British military, our needs will surely be suborned to those of Great Britain. It is a deplorable situation that I want very much to change.”

  “Somehow, I get the feeling that you still need something else from me, Mister Cavill.” Billy responded with a squint in his eye as he looked at Harold.

  “Yes, Sir. I do. My businesses continue to be disrupted by certain government officials because of my extensive use of aborigines in my workforce as well as the social benefits that I provide to my workers of all races. If I am going to be able to provide the materiel needed by the Australian military in time of war, I need all of my trained workers available.

  I was hoping that you could perhaps use your influence to get these meddlesome politicians off of my back. The aborigines who work for me are vital to what I am doing out in the Western Territories. They are also vital to what I will be able to do to help defend this great nation of ours.”

  Billy was taken aback by Harold’s request. Like most ranking Australian politicians, Billy Hughes supported the principle of ‘White Australia’, which not only banned the immigration of any Asian or non-White people to Australia, but also strongly favored people of Western European ancestry.

  But what was more important to Billy Hughes, the purity of white European culture and ethnicity in Australia or the defense of the nation that he loved so very much?

  Billy could feel his stomach burning with the stress of the decision. His chronic indigestion was beginning to act up once again. He wanted to take some bicarbonate to try to ease his discomfort which was rapidly making him very irritable. He couldn’t afford to lose his temper here, so he reached into his desk, pulled out some bicarbonate powder, spooned a little into a glass of water and quickly drank it.

  “Why the hell did this man have to turn a relatively easy decision into such a difficult one?” Billy thought to himself. “Australia badly needs what this Harold Cavill is offering, even if the idiotic politicians running things at Government House don’t realize it. The Japanese are practically on our doorstep now, even if a war hasn’t started yet, because they took over so many of those German possessions in the Pacific.”

  In the end, Billy Hughes didn’t really have much of a choice. Harold had done everything that he could to ensure of that.

  “Alright, Mister Cavill. I’ll do what I can to have a legal exception created for your businesses so that no one will bother you further. I’ll probably have it refer to your work in taking care of the health and welfare of our native Aborigine population. That is the only way that I am going to be able to get it past the majority of our representatives in the Australian Parliament. You know that most of them are strong supporters of the policy that limits what rights that non-European peoples have in Australia. But otherwise, I can make no promises.”

  “That’s all that I ask for, Minister Hughes.” Harold replied, trying not
to rub in his victory. Of course, any Parliament members who oppose Billy’s action here would likely find themselves facing an unexpectedly well-financed opponent in the next Parliamentary elections. But Harold needed a political point man with at least some personal goals that were compatible with his own to make all of this happen first. Billy Hughes was that man, even if it took a little arm-twisting.

  As Harold walked out of Billy Hughes office, Dorothy waited outside with Judith in a baby carriage. Dorothy had flown Harold, Judith and a couple other passengers aboard her Orion to Canberra.

  “How did the meeting go?” Dorothy asked.

  “About as well as could be expected. I think that Minister Hughes realizes that my companies are literally dragging Australia by its bootstraps out of this worldwide economic depression even though I didn’t specifically mention that. He’s also a nationalist who wants to raise Australia’s stature in the world.

  But Billy Hughes is also afraid and rightfully so. He’s seen how the Australia government has underfunded its military since even before the First World War. He has realized the threat that the Japanese Empire poses to our nation. I used that fear to leverage his influence to achieve our goals as well.”

  “I suspect that he has no idea about the strength of the militia that you have created from among the aborigines.” Dorothy noted as she continued to push Judith’s baby carriage towards a waiting Hackney. Harold was walking beside her as they talked.

  “No, I’m sure that he doesn’t. I don’t know which would scare Billy Hughes more, the Japanese or several thousand well-armed aborigine militiamen.”

  “He just has to be convinced that the aborigines are among the good guys here. Until then, the aborigine militia troops will just have to continue portraying themselves as nothing more than local police constables. They will just happen to be better armed than most of the Australian army.”