Ch.148Act 2: Ch.10 – Curtain Call (Video Replay)

# Chapter 10

‘Long live the King.’

[Video playback begins]

(Scroll down to skip)

# The McDonalds’ Breakfast

Pollard Island, Massachusetts.

March 11, 1929.

(Mr. McDonald tunes the radio frequency)

(Radio static. Meaningless signals gradually become understandable American English)

(Mrs. McDonald serves fried bacon and scrambled eggs)

“Good Morning Economy, this is Good Morning Economy! Do you remember the President’s campaign promise? ‘A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.’ And now we’re living in such times. Most middle-class households now own at least one radio and one automobile.”

(Sound of dishes clattering)

“Honey, what do you think about buying a new radio? This one crackles too much and it’s too old. The newer models have much clearer reception. Got a promotion? No way. People already have all kinds of insurance and stocks, so they don’t sell as well as before.

I’m thinking of selling some Westinghouse shares. I hear book door-to-door sales are popular these days, so I might quit the brokerage business and try that instead… Honey, I know you’re thinking about health, but can’t we keep the bacon grease? You could fry the bacon first, then cook the eggs. You always do it the other way around… A little walking should take care of that belly.”

April 1, 1929.

(Radio static)

“Well, farming is always difficult. People work the land, but heaven determines the yield. Let’s say a hurricane blows in tomorrow morning and sweeps away all the wheat fields. That’s not anyone’s fault, is it?

The bigger problem is the news that this year’s harvest will be excellent. In fact, harvests have been good every year, but that’s why farmers’ worries have deepened. Why deeper? There’s a law of supply and demand.

In agriculture, prices can change quite dramatically. It’s common for someone without money to skip a meal, but even wealthy people don’t eat four or five meals a day, do they? In the end, consumption is limited, but wheat is overflowing beyond what Americans can eat? Naturally, prices fall.

Working your bones off for a year is worse than day labor in the city. No wonder people leave rural areas. People are rational.”

“How’s the new radio? Nice, right? I should have kept the Westinghouse shares instead of selling them. They’ve gone up even more… An expert in the Boston Globe said that at times like these, we should invest in financial stocks. No, honey, listen.

Industrial stocks aren’t rising like they used to. But financial companies are still making money. If I invest in industries that make good money, shouldn’t my returns increase too? And about the bacon, I think I’ve been saying this for over two months… No, no. And starting tomorrow morning, I’ll do the cooking. Speaking of which, should we switch to fresh vegetable diets like other wealthy people? It’s expensive, but they say it helps you live longer.

I hear Audrey’s Market downtown has good products. The couple and their son-in-law are extremely hardworking. It’s a bit sad. The era when people who work hard and sweat earn money seems to be over. Now it’s the era of smart, shrewd, and lucky people. They say effort can’t beat luck. But that doesn’t mean we should just give up. Let’s buy some new clothes on our way back from the market. What do you think?”

May 29, 1929.

(Radio static)

“It’s ironic. Cities, factories, farms—all living in abundance, but the people making money are elsewhere. Only farmers are becoming obsolete day by day despite the abundance. Nowadays, you see abandoned farms or wastelands everywhere. I’ve heard farmers are stubborn, but now they deserve to be called stupid. No. If you knew you couldn’t make money for 10 years, isn’t it time to move to the city? Poverty is your own responsibility…”

“The salad diet is all good, but it doesn’t fill me up. Funny, isn’t it, honey? When we were young, we were always hungry. But now it’s kind of funny that we can choose to be poor. Who said it? Money doesn’t guarantee happiness, but at least you can be thoroughly depressed in a pile of cash.”

June 24, 1929.

(Radio static)

“Reports indicate that the Dow Jones index has surged 20% over the past three months. Despite decreased steel production, sluggish construction and automobile sales, and a slight increase in unemployment, consumers still view the market optimistically.

This upward trend is attributed to a general rise in asset prices, particularly in real estate, and competitive bank lending that has injected substantial liquidity into the stock market.

Perhaps that’s why the Dow Jones Industrial Average has finally reached a new record. The figure of 381.17 points represents a tenfold increase in nine years. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Board continues to warn about speculative overheating, but these warnings don’t seem to be having much effect.

During this time, at a luncheon at the National Business Conference at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, Dean Roger Babson warned that ‘a crash is just a matter of time, and it will be very serious,’ causing stock prices to fluctuate.

In fact, Roger Babson is one of the market’s ‘pessimists,’ also known as ‘bears.’ Bears raise their front paws high and strike downward, don’t they? This resembles a stock price decline, hence the term ‘bear.’

What’s noteworthy is that despite Babson’s pessimistic outlook not being new, when his remarks spread through the stock market, a sharp decline followed. Even blue-chip stocks like Westinghouse and U.S. Steel fell, with trading volume reaching 2 million shares, three times the usual amount.

Can you believe it? The bear hadn’t just been growling for a day or two, but people who normally didn’t listen suddenly paid attention the day after stocks soared.

Of course, there are rebuttals. Professor Irving Fisher, who claimed that ‘stock prices have reached a permanently high plateau,’ attacked Babson, saying ‘the market is just temporarily insane.’ Professor Fisher proposed the quantity theory of money, teaches economics at Yale University, and is himself a major investor in the stock market.

Typically, the opposite of a bear is called a ‘bull,’ who believes ‘the stock market will rise.’ Bulls charge with their horns. So far, it’s a situation where bears occasionally rebel against the overwhelming power of bulls, but I wonder what you listeners think. Of course, I’m on the bull’s side.”

“My thoughts? It’s just a correction. The market has risen too much. Now it’ll correct once or twice, then soar again. Even stocks need to rest sometimes. I’m glad I invested in foreign stock markets. The domestic market is shaky. This country should become like the British Empire. Who cares if they’re fascist? They make good money, perform well, and crime rates have dropped. If it’s safe and profitable, that’s the best. What’s the problem?”

July 9, 1929.

(Radio static)

“News has arrived that Clarence Hatry and his accomplices have been drawn and quartered at Big Ben Square. They were sentenced to death for fraud and forgery, using their substantial influence at the New London Stock Exchange to disrupt the stock market with ill-gotten gains.

British Empire Prime Minister Oswald Mosley cited the reason for the swift execution as ‘The market economy moves on faith and trust, and the stock market is the flower of the market economy. Beyond the damages caused by Clarence Hatry and his accomplices, they destroyed trust, and similar crimes will be severely punished in the future.’

This appears to be a response to the offensive from the Liberal and Conservative parties against the Fascist Union, the majority party in the British Parliament.

They have criticized Prime Minister Mosley’s past statement that ‘Fascism was an explosion against the wrongs of the old era that could have been fixed but weren’t, and a movement for national renaissance by people pushed toward decadence and death who decided to live properly for once,’ saying ‘The Prime Minister’s fascism has corrected the errors of the old era while creating new crimes of financial fraud in the new era.’

Meanwhile, the British Empire Police arrested a cartoonist who published such a satirical drawing in a newspaper without a warrant, but released him after public protests.”

“That guy is a real bastard. Because of his antics, stock prices plummeted. Fortunately, it wasn’t a large part of my portfolio, but when I think about how much I lost because of that bastard… I thought he deserved to be torn apart, and the British have avenged me.

Honey, by the way… No. Starting tomorrow morning, can we just eat eggs and bacon? No, it’s not because I’m hungry from eating only greens… The company situation is a bit, you know. Yes. I need to move quickly. The encyclopedia salesman job would be better.”

July 13, 1929.

(Radio static)

“Shocking news. (Silence) Yes. I can’t believe it either. Orders are flooding in, but they’re all sell orders, according to reports. The stock exchange can’t update its tallies in real-time… Are stocks still being traded? Processing is delayed? What does that even mean—

…Breaking news. On Wall Street buildings, oh, God… stock traders are jumping out of windows one after another… Confirmed. Confirmed… Thanks for the memo. Yes. Down 11%. I repeat, down 11% from yesterday. Two more have… So far, eleven securities traders have jumped out of buildings…

Just in: New York Stock Exchange Vice Chairman Richard Whitney and Wall Street banks have dramatically agreed to purchase blue-chip stocks including U.S. Steel and Westinghouse. The transactions appear to have been made at prices higher than market value…

Yes. The market has closed. Final closing at 299.47 points. That’s down 6.38 points… 12.9 million shares were traded today…”

“Let’s eat something delicious tonight. At times like these, we need to eat well to stay strong. You fight well when you eat well. I couldn’t book theater tickets. They’re already sold out. These guys don’t release all the tickets at once but spread them out over several days. It must be really popular. Broadway shows coming to Pollard Island… This island has really developed.”

July 14, 1929.

(Radio static)

“Despite Wall Street’s aggressive efforts to support stock prices, they continue to fall. This happened after news broke about ongoing margin calls in the futures market. Institutions continue to defend stock prices, but individual selling pressure is too strong…”

“Honey, please stop shouting. Just sell. Just sell. And honey, I didn’t decide this alone. I always discussed it with you. When have I ever invested without telling you?”

July 16, 1929.

(Radio static)

“Selling pressure continues today, following yesterday and the day before. President Hoover repeatedly states that he will take active and definite measures regarding the recent stock market issues, but has only indicated that specific plans are ‘under discussion.’ Currently, extending collateralized loans to businesses is being cautiously mentioned, but…”

“Honey, don’t cry. We can find jobs. It’s not my fault. It’s not our fault. It’s the company’s fault. The company made a mistake by borrowing money to invest. You should invest with your own money, not someone else’s. I never liked this company. They’re all idiots… Honey. Honey. Don’t. Shout. Please. My head hurts. I said my head hurts. Please…”

July 17, 1929.

(Radio static)

“After Nationals Bank declared bankruptcy, customers who gathered from early morning to withdraw their deposits are attacking branches nationwide. The administration cabinet appears to be on high alert, concerned that Nationals’ bankruptcy could lead to a chain of bank failures.”

“Tickets? When you told me to get them, you were all over me. When you sneered at me, calling me incompetent for not getting them. Don’t talk to me like that, you bitch. Don’t talk to me like that! No one dares speak to me that way. No one can speak to me like that!

You’ve always been like this. That damn bacon, have you ever done it the way I asked? I told you not to squeeze it so much, you fucking bitch! Do my words sound like cock-sucking nonsense to you? After I managed to get theater tickets, what do you say?

Honey. Honey. I’m sorry. I’m sorry… I was wrong… The premiere is tomorrow, right? Tomorrow, right? Let’s go see it tomorrow. I’m sorry, honey… honey, I’m sorry… No, no. I’ll cook breakfast tomorrow morning…”

July 18, 1929.

(Radio static)

“Good news… Ladies and gentlemen, I want to bring you good news but (sobbing)… I’m sorry. (sobbing) The stock market crash is spreading from America to the Old Continent. Stock prices in the British Empire, German Empire, and France are all… Bank runs are now global… No country is handling it properly… The Rockefeller family is reported to have made a major decision, but it couldn’t stop the Dow Jones’ decline.”

(Harsh breathing)

(Gunshot)

“I said I’d do the cooking, you fucking bitch. You should have listened.”

(Gunshot)

(Silence)

(Siren sound)

“Police! Mr. McDonald? Pollard Police. Open the door! Police! We received reports of gunshots! Damn it, Thornton. Break down the door! Can’t you see inside the window? Damn fog! How can fog be this… (sound of door being kicked open) Thornton, call the hospital… no, the mortician. Two bodies found. Appears the husband shot his wife and then committed suicide… No, I’ll write it.”

“Panic. No, even ‘temporary panic’ is insufficient. Great Depression. We should call it the Great Depression. An unprecedented disaster. Such a thing…”

“Damn it, turn off the radio!”

(Radio turns off)

“Everyone, step back. This isn’t a spectacle! Not a spectacle! Damn it, we got here as fast as we could! Don’t you see the fog? (Scream) These damn rats! They’re swarming again! All the rats on the island are rushing to the east coast! And it’s not just rats! Birds are committing suicide by flying into buildings! As if we don’t have enough trouble with strange people coming in, now we have rats, birds, and people committing suicide. Step back, Thornton, arrest anyone who comes closer!

Phew, that’s better. The show? Couldn’t get tickets. None available. Even scalpers can’t get them. My wife was nagging me so much… You know what? This show is a trilogy. Act 1 is ‘The King Sleeps in Carcosa,’ Act 2 is ‘The King in Yellow.’ Act 3 is still unreleased, but they say it’s jinxed. They’ve never performed all three acts. Always accidents. The lead actor dies, or the theater catches fire…

I think it’s just a marketing ploy. Like the rumor that ‘Everyone who explored the Egyptian pyramids died from the Black Pharaoh’s curse!’ Anyway, I need to take a vacation. Why are there so many strange people wandering around? The KKK, the Women’s Liberation Front, the Black Lion Party… Why would a mere play follow us to this rural island? Damn it. I should have invested in stocks. Just make money and get out, right? Don’t you think, Thornton?”

[Video ends]

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