Chương 28: Black Tuesday

Tuesday, April 1929, 10.

The New York Herald was published as scheduled, with the front page featuring the headline "Yes, Mayor: Open Government".

But this day is destined to be recorded in history because of another event.

At 10: 00 AM, the New York Stock Exchange opened.

The sell-off began just five minutes after the market opened.

The stock price plummeted.

通用电气从400美元跌到300美元， 再跌到200美元。 美国钢铁从200美元跌到150美元， 再跌到100美元。

Chaos reigned in the trading floor. Brokers were waving their arms wildly and yelling sell orders.

The automatic stock quote machine simply can't keep up with the speed of trading; the prices it displays are already from half an hour ago.

By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen by 12%.

By the time the market closed at 3 p. m., the drop had reached an astonishing 23%.

This day, later known as "Black Tuesday," is also considered the beginning of the Great Depression.

……

In a Brooklyn barbershop at dusk, the radio was playing the news.

"... The stock market experienced a historic crash today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23%, marking its largest single-day drop in history. Tens of thousands of investors lost everything. President Hoover issued a statement saying that the fundamentals of the U. S. economy remain healthy..."

"Healthy my ass! I had $1, 000 worth of stocks this morning, and now I only have $200 left. Is that what you call healthy?"

The customer who was getting a haircut cursed.

"Sigh, who told you to get involved in stocks? I told you long ago, the stock market is a game for the rich. We ordinary folks should just stick to our jobs."

"But the newspapers all say the stock market will keep rising."

The boss sneered and picked up a copy of the New York Herald:

"You believe what they say in the newspapers? Look at this. There's an article here that's really well-written. It's about how those officials fool the people."

The guest took the newspaper and began to read "Yes, Mayor." After finishing, he remained silent for a moment.

"You know, isn't the stock market crash like this too? Those big shots knew it was going to crash, but they kept saying it was fine and letting us ordinary people keep buying stocks. Once we'd invested all our money, they ran away."

"That's definitely true. Look at President Hoover, he kept saying the economic fundamentals were healthy, but he didn't do anything worthwhile. Isn't that just like Humphrey? He didn't do anything, but he pretended to be very busy."

"Yes, yes, yes!" the guest exclaimed excitedly.

"And then there's that 'We can issue a press release immediately.' Isn't that exactly what Hoover was doing? The stock market crashed, and instead of trying to save it, all he did was issue statements."

The two became more and more excited as they talked.

"Who is this honest guy from Brooklyn you're talking about?"

"Who knows? But he's definitely a smart man."

"I'm going to buy this newspaper every day from now on."

……

In a Wall Street café, several brokers who had just come out of the exchange slumped in their chairs.

A young man muttered to himself, "It's over. It's all over. I had $50, 000 this morning, and now I only have $5, 000 left."

Another middle-aged man said with a wry smile, "You're lucky. I not only lost all my money, but I also owe the brokerage firm $30, 000."

"I heard someone jumped off a building."

"I saw ambulances arrive three times outside the stock exchange."

The group remained silent for a moment.

Suddenly, the young man noticed a copy of the New York Herald on the table.

"What kind of newspaper is this?"

The coffee shop owner quickly recommended, "The New York Herald. A small newspaper. It's selling exceptionally well today. Lots of people are reading the article 'Yes, Mayor.'"

The young man picked up the newspaper and began to read. As he read, he suddenly laughed.

"Look at this. This administrative supervisor is so fucking real."

"What?" The others crowded around to look.

"'If all goes well, six months.' Hahaha, isn't that the standard answer from the city hall?"

"They even set up a committee. Why don't they set up a committee to prevent the stock market from crashing?"

Several people who had just experienced the darkest day of their lives actually started laughing.

"What do you think would happen if Humphrey were in charge of the stock market?" the young man asked.

"Then the stock market definitely won't crash," the middle-aged man said.

"Because he would say, 'Yes, Mr. Mayor. But a collapse requires a budget. Applying for a budget takes six months. So we can't collapse just yet.'"

The group laughed again, though their laughter was tinged with bitterness and despair. But at least, they could still laugh on this dark day.

……

In a Manhattan restaurant, several well-dressed businessmen are having lunch.

A portly businessman said, "The stock market is terrible today. A friend of mine was a millionaire this morning, and now he's bankrupt."

"It's more than just bankruptcy. I heard someone jumped off a building. Jumped out of a stock exchange window."

The third merchant shook his head:

"Sigh, this world. Do you think the government will intervene to bail out the market?"

"A market bailout?"

The fat businessman sneered.

"What do you expect from Walker, that good-for-nothing? Or Hoover, that fraud? What can they do besides talk big?"

"Speaking of Walker, have you seen today's New York Herald?"

"What newspaper?"

"A small newspaper called the New York Herald, by that 'Honest Man of Brooklyn,' wrote another really interesting article."

The businessman took a newspaper out of his briefcase.

"It's called 'Yes, Mayor.' It's about a new mayor who wants to build an open government, but his administrative supervisors keep him in limbo with all sorts of excuses, and in the end, he gets nothing done."

"There's such a thing? Let me see."

The portly businessman took the newspaper and began to read. As he read, his expression changed.

"This Humphrey... isn't he just talking about those city hall bureaucrats?"

"Yeah, look at this: 'If all goes well, six months.' Good heavens, that's what the city hall told me when I applied for a business license last year. It took a whole year to get it approved."

"They might need to set up a special committee just for your license."

"Don't even mention it. I went to the city hall the other day, and they said they only handle appointments made yesterday. I asked them, 'What about tomorrow?' They said they have to deal with the day after tomorrow's appointments."

All three merchants laughed.

"Ugh."

Suddenly, the fat businessman sighed.

"I really regret not listening to this honest man. If I had sold everything last Thursday, I could have lost less these past two days."