Philip Dru: Administrator

Philip Dru: Administrator, Edward M. House, B.W. Huebsch, 1912

A novel of the near future, this is the story of one man's dictatorship of America, and the taking back of the US from the moneyed special interests.

Philip Dru is your average, smarter than normal, West Point graduate. Stationed in the desert Southwest, Gloria, his girlfriend, and sister of Jack, his best friend, comes for an extended visit. Philip nearly destroys his eyesight when he and Gloria get lost in the hills, and almost die. Forced to retire from the military, Philip dedicates his life to social causes, and Gloria is happy to follow. In New York City, they get an up close and personal look at life in a tenement. Philip stays in New York to work for the poor and downtrodden, while Gloria (who comes from a rich family) goes to places like Newport and Palm Beach to convince the rich that, for instance, giving to some charity yearly isn't enough.

Every five years, the military holds a contest, open to all. Whoever submits the best solution to an intractable military problem will win a medal, and become a national celebrity. Philip wins, and uses his celebrity to write a series of newspaper columns on the subject of poverty. Later, it is revealed that a puppet government has been installed in Washington. It is actually controlled by Senator Selwyn and industrialist John Thor, and its intention is to keep the trusts and moneyed interests in power. The country quickly chooses sides, and over a million soldiers mass near Buffalo, NY for what will be a one-battle civil war. Philip is leading the anti-government forces, and the previous winner of the national military medal, a real general, is leading the other side. After winning the battle, Philip, along with tens of thousands of troops, heads for Washington.

The illegitimate government panics and flees the capital, leaving Senator Selwyn in the White House to do the actual surrendering. Philip declares himself Administrator, and proceeds to totally reform the American government. For instance, he takes the entire judicial system, throws it in the trash, and appoints a high-level commission to start over from the beginning, and make things a lot simpler. He does the same with the railroads, medicine, the tax system, and even the funeral business. There is a new Constitution, dealing with the composition of Congress and the state legislatures. Philip says from the beginning that he does not want to stay in the job permanently, just long enough to fix what is broken, and then give the government back to the people.

Read this book for what it says about America, present and future (as of 1912); don't read it for the quality of the writing.