I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 63 The Man Behind Chicago
The Sun's headline, "Chicago, drink up, and the world will be at peace," would only make the average person think the newspaper is just spouting its usual madness.

What makes you think you, Chicago, can influence world peace just by having a drink?

But smart people always overthink things.

From the “battleground” in Chicago to the proliferation of weapons, and then to the naval clash that nearly sparked a major war, are all these abnormal phenomena isolated incidents?

Whether Chicago drinks or not might really affect world peace!

At least, some members of the Illinois legislature actually submitted this "Chicago Drinking District" proposal to the legislature for serious discussion!
Although this is still a long way from actual legislation and implementation, its symbolic significance is like dropping a bomb in the political arena!
This is tantamount to publicly discussing, at the official level, the possibility of violating the Eighteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution (Prohibition).

Newly appointed Prohibition Commissioner Robert Wallace, filled with confusion and heavy pressure, visits his predecessor, John Kramer, who was forced to resign due to "ineffective handling of law enforcement in Chicago."

In John Kramer’s private study, Robert couldn’t help but sigh, “John, what has happened? Just a few months ago, the situation was not peaceful, but it was not like this... It’s as if everything has spiraled out of control.”

John Kramer, holding a cup of coffee, gave a wry smile: "Indeed, everything has changed."

"All of this changed starting with the Chicago Ring. No, it started much earlier, with the disgrace of Reverend Edward, a staunch supporter of Prohibition in Chicago."

Remembering Reverend Edward's outrageous hobbies, the two exchanged knowing smiles and tacitly skipped over him.

"It all started when Chicagoans openly drank alcohol, okay, they called it holy water or a beverage, but all of America knew it was alcohol."

“I sent agents over to investigate, but they were killed by the Chicagoans before they could even react; I sent over more agents, and you know what happened next.”

John Kramer's heart ached again after talking with Robert. Looking back on his decision a few months earlier, he felt a sense of foolishness, as if he had walked into a trap step by step.

"Well, the law enforcement team was hit hard, and then it was a battle of wits between Chicagoans and the referendum..." Robert's lips twitched; he still couldn't understand the outrageous actions of the Chicagoans.

John Cramer picked up where he left off, continuing to elaborate, "We had no choice but to fight, but the problem was we lost; nobody wanted to take the blame, so we shifted it to the Europeans; unexpectedly, American-made weapons actually appeared in Ireland, and the coast guard seizing the ship was an accident, but the British sent warships, and those warships even opened fire..."

John Kramer shook his head, simply unable to believe it.

The Irish arms investigation has yielded preliminary results, with conclusive evidence that Irish rebel leader Michael Collins visited Chicago and brought back a significant number of newspapers, including The Sun.

This makes it difficult for the US to say that the weapons appearing in Ireland have nothing to do with the United States.

Robert had also read the relevant intelligence, but his brow was still furrowed. After thinking for a few minutes, he asked, "Could it be that The Sun and that kid Logan, right, are behind this?"

John Cramer shook his head. "The Sun may be the mouthpiece chosen by the Black Hand, but if you say the Black Hand is that show-off kid, even the British would cry foul for him."

Robert thought about it and realized that if he really had something to do with the Black Hand, he wouldn't have jumped up so high, as if he was afraid others wouldn't know.

He quickly put Logan out of his mind. "I still find it hard to believe that a mysterious force could suddenly appear and command our warships to open fire."

“In America, this is not surprising.” John Kramer paused, lowering his voice. “From the East Coast to the West Coast, there are countless secret societies, fraternities, and underground organizations, some of which have a history longer than our country.”

"What surprised me was not the existence of such a force, but the power it displayed—it seemed to be able to easily obtain weapons of arsenal level, to mobilize personnel and supplies across borders, to skillfully use the media to incite public opinion, and perhaps even...to have completely infiltrated our government agencies."

Robert didn't reply immediately, but simply nodded slightly in agreement. John Cramer sighed, "Actually, putting aside the Sun's mad exterior, it does hit the nail on the head in some ways. Prohibition did give these underground forces far too many opportunities to bolster their strength."

Robert was shocked: "You...have you lost faith in the Prohibition cause?"

John Cramer waved his hand: "No, not at all. I still believe that prohibition was morally right. But we must admit that we, including the entire Congress, seriously underestimated the difficulty of enforcement and the intensity of the social backlash."

"We opened a Pandora's box, but thought we had just closed a wine cabinet door."

Robert paused for a moment, then asked seriously, "If... if I were determined to enforce the law with greater intensity, invest unprecedented resources, and completely dismantle Chicago, the biggest stronghold of Prohibition, what would I need?"

John Cramer answered just as seriously: “Chicago is a huge industrial city, one of the core hubs of American railroads and waterways. This means it has countless arteries connecting it to the outside world. To completely block it off, you would need to control every train, every cargo ship, and every highway.”

“You need at least $30 million in dedicated funding each year (that’s far more than the entire Prohibition Bureau’s current budget), and you need a well-equipped and absolutely loyal law enforcement force of several thousand people. And…”

He took a deep breath. "You have to be prepared to sacrifice hundreds, even thousands of agents. This will be a war, a civil war in the city."

Robert was utterly speechless. Thirty million dollars? A war? This was far beyond the Prohibition Board's capacity to handle.

Therefore, John Cramer sincerely advised: "You'd better stop thinking about using excessive force."

“We must never allow ‘ring battles’ to happen again. Every public confrontation, regardless of the outcome, severely undermines public confidence in Prohibition and provides a stage for anti-Prohibition forces to perform, emboldening them.”

"What should we do?" Robert felt a sense of helplessness.

"The best approach is to start with politics."

John Cramer leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with the shrewdness of a seasoned politician, “Let our supporting parties nominate a new mayor for Chicago who truly supports Prohibition and is willing to cooperate with the Prohibition Board.”

"Many things can only be implemented with the support and cooperation of local political forces. For example, you can try to win over one gang and attack another, instigate infighting among them, and let them kill each other. But the current mayor of Chicago..."

John Cramer scoffed. "Many times I've suspected he's part of the Black Hand, or at least an ally of interests."

After hearing this, Robert only felt sorry for John, saying, "The White House shouldn't have let me replace you."

John Kramer continued with a wry smile: "We almost started a world war. Who else but me can take the blame?"

I hope my thoughts are of some help to you.

Finally, as if remembering something, John Cramer added, "If you really want to find out what's behind Chicago, you might try cooperating with the FBI. They seem to have sensed something unusual and have sent a new guy to investigate what's going on behind Chicago."

"What's his name?" Robert asked.

"John Edgar Hoover."

……

(End of this chapter)