WesWorld

New York Times October 11th, 1927
Secretary of State Kellogg announced plans for one of the most ambitious construction projects since the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Coatzacoalcos Canal, or the Trans-Mexican Canal. The planned canal will cross from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a distance of almost 130 miles, considerably more than the Panama Canal, which is about fifty miles. Major General Edgar Jadwin, Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers, called the plan “eminently feasible considering our experiences in Panama.” While the cost of the planned canal was not announced, it is rumored to be close to one billion dollars over the expected decade of construction, to be paid primarily by the United States, Atlantis, and France, with lesser contributions from Mexico and possibly other countries. Secretary Kellogg, when questioned as to the need for a new canal, said that it was in the best interests of the United States and her allies to have a secure transit between East and West, without the complications inherent in our current agreement with Iberia to share control of the Panama Canal.
Early reaction from Congress is mixed. Some decried the tremendous potential cost of the canal, calling it a needless waste of money. Others praised the idea as a means of securing American national and economic security as well as a boost to the economy of our southern neighbor Mexico. Toll charges alone could pump millions of dollars into their economy.

Washington Post October 20th, 1927
Secretary of the Navy Wilbur and Admiral Moffett announced an ambitious new endeavor to be undertaken by the airship Susquehanna next year, a voyage to the North Pole. Plans for such an expedition have lain dormant for the better part of the decade for various reasons. Last year Commander Richard Byrd flew an airplane over the North Pole, but did not set foot on the ground. This new mission will be different. The Susquehanna will carry a plane equipped to land on the ice and may also attempt to moor the airship itself using a portable mooring system currently under development. Preliminary test runs for the expedition will take place this winter on the West Coast with the actual expedition beginning in June of next year. The Susquehanna will travel from San Diego to Anchorage, then across Alaska to Barrow where a temporary mast and maintenance facility will be prepared before the final voyage to the Pole. The total distance is over 6,000 miles and the airship will refuel in Alaska prior to making the final part of the flight to the Pole and back Commander Byrd will reportedly fly the aircraft that will land at the North Pole and the Navy Department has issued an invitation to Mr. Charles Lindbergh to accompany the mission as an observer.

November 25th, 1927
William Shepard, suspected mastermind of the October 1927 bombing attacks in New York, Chicago, and Washington DC, was found dead in his cell Thursday evening in the Detroit City Jail. It is reported that Shepard choked to death while eating his Thanksgiving dinner. He was required to eat all meals in his cell due to concerns over his safety if allowed to join other prisoners in the cafeteria. Shepard was to go on trial next week after being arrested last August after a government agent infiltrated his group, the Black Legion, and discovered that the extreme right-wing organization hired radical communist agents to carry out the bombings in a plot to discredit the left. The city Coroner’s Office has ruled the death accidental and his body has been turned over to his next of kin for burial at an undisclosed location. Government prosecutors deny reports circulated earlier this week that Shepard was negotiating a plea agreement to avoid the electric chair and would implicate others in the plot. Charges against several other defendants were dropped last week when prosecutors announced that evidence indicated that Shepard acted alone when he hired Lubinsky and Karrelson, as well as several other radical communists in Chicago and Baltimore, to carry out the bombings, apparently claiming that he was acting as an agent of Russian communists. Commissioner Hoover issued a statement today saying that “while this vile murderer has escaped the executioner and man’s justice, we can rest assured that he will surely face ultimate judgment in the here-after! Despite his death, all Americans must remain vigilant for those on the fringes of society who would try to further their twisted agendas through terror and violence!”

Boston Herald, December 17th, 1927
The destroyer Drayton is missing off of the coast of Massachusetts. The seventeen-year old destroyer was sailing from Boston to Norfolk when it was last reported fifty miles east of Cape Cod. A storm was in the area but was not considered especially severe. Aircraft and ships from Boston are conducting a search for the ship, which has a crew of eighty six and is almost three hundred feet long.

A photo of the Drayton taken in Boston last year.

Boston Herald, December 19th, 1927
Debris that washed ashore last night near Chatham has been confirmed as coming from the destroyer Drayton which vanished Saturday off the Cape. Searchers also have reported spotting an oil slick about sixty miles east of Chatham. No survivors or bodies have been recovered so far, but water temperatures and the continuing poor weather leave little hope for the ship’s eighty six men. No distress messages of any kind were reported and other vessels in the area where the Drayton disappeared reported that while the weather was stormy, it did not seem overly severe. Navy officials have not offered any theories as to what may have happened.

Boston Herald, December 22nd, 1927
Five bodies washed ashore today on Monomoy Island are confirmed as coming from the Drayton. One has been identified as her executive officer, Commander Louis Ryerson of Livingston, Montana. Navy officials now admit that there is no more hope of survivors and all eighty-six men on board the destroyer are missing and presumed dead. There is still known cause for the loss, but some Navy officials have reportedly expressed concerns in the past that the Drayton and her sisters were too old for continued service, having been built over fifteen years ago and putting in extensive service patrolling the Atlantic during the war to protect American shipping from German submarine attack. Last spring, the Drayton participated in the large war games held off of Venezuela by the United States and Atlantis.

The Philippines sends condolences to the United States Navy and the family members of the crew of the USS Drayton.

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Is that historical, BTW?

Nope, Drayton was laid up after WW1 and scrapped in the late 20's. My DD fleet is older than historical due to the lack of a giant WW1 ASW program.

The government of Atlantis sends its deepest regrets to the family members of the crew of the U.S.S. Dayton. She was a fine ship with a fine crew.

Several Atlantian officers have taken the news rather hard as a result of their recolections of Commander Louis Ryerson at the recent American/Atlantian fleet exersises. He was a rather charasmatic individual who surely would have recieved his captain's cap in short order.

The Japanese Empires sends its condolences to the family members of the brave crew of the Destroyer USS Drayton.

Quoted

It is reported that Shepard choked to death while eating his Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks a lot!! :-)
Should the United States wish additional financial support for its canal through Mexico, the Japanese Empire, the International Business Organization for Industries, Imports and Exports (IBOIIE) and the AFSG (the mysterious group of wealthy people who wish to remain anonymous) are willing to lend a hand with "Fists full of Dollars".
:-)
Also, should the cost of the canal exceed 1 billion dollars, IBOIIE owner Watanabe Yoshinori is willing to pay every dollar above the 1 billion dollars mark.

Nice photo - a historcal one?

Quoted

Also, should the cost of the canal exceed 1 billion dollars, IBOIIE owner Watanabe Yoshinori is willing to pay every dollar above the 1 billion dollars mark.

I believe this falls into the category of 'an offer they can't refuse'?

:-)

The photo is from WW1. Somehow I doubt that the United States would be too terrible interested in participation in the canal by Mr. Yoshinori and his associates.