Later, in February 1935, the
Red Snow story pits Doc against
agents of a foreign power whose stated goal is to conquer the
Obviously the men feel some need to disguise their nationality. It is only logical to conclude that they are not Caucasians as they could freely pass unnoticed and have no need for disguise. Early on in the story we meet one of the men: His skin was jet, amazingly black, except for the back of one thin hand, where the black had been rubbed away, showing that it was grease paint covering skin of a definitely yellowish hue. Here is the reason for the grease paint. In actuality, Japanese troops invaded Manchuria in 1931. This assault caused a considerable amount of tension amongst the great powers. It is minor exercise in logic to conclude that the men portrayed in the story are oriental and the foreign power in question is the Empire of Japan.
Dent's story outline says that the power behind all this is an unnamed Eurasian country. Fluency Beech started out as a bad guy. The destructive agent was a "fog" rather than the flakes actually used. As I remember at the moment the title was originally "Red Fog".
I always thought they were Japanese. That was my impression from the very first time I read the story. The other part of that impression is based on the fact that Japan was the only country to have a navy really capable of doing what Ark claimed. Japan was also very busy in China when this story was written. As far as the outlines go, they often differ from the final version of the story based on the few I have seen.
Finance: It comes out that Doc owns several chemical plants. These are all going concerns.
February 3, 1935 – Aeronautical engineer Hugo Junkers dies.
February 12, 1935 – The airship USS Macon crashes and is lost in a storm off the California coast.
February 13, 1935 - Bruno Hauptmann is found guilty of the Lindberg kidnapping. He receives the death penalty.
February 22, 1935 – Planes are no longer allowed to fly over the White House.
February 23, 1935 – Movies: The 12-chaper serial The Phantom Empire begins.
