chapter 172 part 1
[Silver Mark (112/1000)]
A long-awaited downpour arrived, instantly submerging the entirety of New York.
The sudden rain threw the streets into chaos. A man pushing an apple cart took off his shirt to cover his apples, while others scrambled to find shelter under eaves. A poorly-clothed homeless man huddled in a corner, yet was still soaked through by the torrential rain.
The continuous rain obscured everything in the street like a layer of mist.
Colin arrived at the newspaper office, holding an umbrella.
Clang—
"Good morning, sir."
As the door opened, Little John stepped forward with a pre-prepared handkerchief.
"Good morning, Little John."
Handing the umbrella to him, Colin took off his hat and coat, and wiping the rain from his person with the handkerchief, entered the newspaper office.
"It hasn't rained this hard in New York for a long time."
Putting away the umbrella and leaning it against the door, Little John looked at the rain outside and remarked with a sigh.
The rain came suddenly and heavily, leaving no time to react.
"Luckily, you brought an umbrella, sir."
Otherwise, with this kind of rain, you'd be soaked after just a few steps.
"Indeed, I was lucky."
Placing the handkerchief by the stove to dry with the residual heat, Colin smiled as he heard Little John's words.
Of course, the actual situation was not as lucky as Little John described.
In fact, the rain started very suddenly, and Colin only realized it was raining halfway here.
Fortunately, [Super Speed] was effective enough, and he didn't get too wet before he could get an umbrella.
Wiping the rain from his face and feeling the dampness on his body, Colin, sitting at his desk, had a thought.
[Super Housekeeping] was instantly activated, leaving his damp clothes feeling completely refreshed.
This power, originally designed for cleaning, turned out to be surprisingly useful for personal hygiene.
Feeling the dampness vanish from his body, Colin's lips curved slightly as he turned his gaze to the newspaper on the table.
The difference between the Main World and the Anti-World had created different behavior patterns for Colin.
Compared to the readily available information in the Anti-World, in the era of the Great Depression, he could only gather the information he needed through newspapers.
Therefore, opening the newspaper every morning became Colin's fixed routine in this world.
"...Affected by the fluctuation of steel prices, Stutz Motor Company announced bankruptcy, making it the sixteenth automobile manufacturer to declare bankruptcy during the Great Depression."
During the Great Depression, the automobile industry suffered an unprecedented contraction. When people were struggling with the most basic necessities like food and clothing, they naturally had no extra money to buy new cars.
Not only the automobile industry, but the motorcycle industry was also greatly affected. In the 1920s, the industry's average sales volume was still 600 motorcycles per year, which was a decent number for a small manufacturing industry. However, in 1932, only one motorcycle was sold for the entire year.
Such a huge gap was just a microcosm of American manufacturing.
Flipping through the newspaper, skipping the economic section, Colin's gaze landed on the political section's reports.
Like the lamenting economic section, the political section's reports were also full of pessimistic guesses. The Democratic Party's nomination was fierce. Although Roosevelt had gained the support of most of the party, Al Smith, a rival from the same party, did not seem to support Roosevelt, his opponent.
Indeed, in many newspapers, Al Smith publicly opposed Roosevelt's Campaign Platform, believing that his campaign was a disaster for the Democratic Party and would hand over the presidential seat to his opponent.
"The Democratic Party has already given up on the election!"
"Hoover cheers in The White House, and the people wail in Hooverville..."
The newspaper industry did not like Hoover, but the Democratic Party's nomination did not give them any hope either.
Although the newspapers were filled with pessimistic ideas.
But at least for Colin, this was good news. Once Roosevelt successfully emerged from the party nomination, the upcoming presidential election would be without suspense.
The reason for his certainty was not Roosevelt's popularity at this time, but purely because Hoover was simply too annoying.
In fact, if you look at the election situation alone.
The 1932 General Election seemed very similar to a later General Election, both choosing a leader who was not so annoying from two candidates.
During the Great Depression, the American people made a 'correct' choice in a sense, but unfortunately, one day in the future, their choice may not be so 'correct'.
Skimming through the newspaper, as the election day approached, most of the news on the newspaper pages became campaign news.
Newspapers that favored the Republican Party criticized the Democratic Party's weakness, while newspapers that favored the Democratic Party accused the Republican Party of incompetence, leaving the entire country in a mess.
Party opposition became more intense during the Great Depression, and the media played a decisive role in this.
Everyone knew that only conflict generated public interest.
Closing the newspaper, Colin slightly sorted out the information he had obtained in his mind.
In the Main World, [Super Intellect] was limited, but it could still bring him a lot of help.
As various pieces of information sorted and collided in his mind, a flash of inspiration appeared.
Opening one of the newspapers in front of him, Colin's gaze fell on a stock report in the economic section.
"...Affected by the market, America's ninth largest oil company, Seaside United Oil Company's stock continued to plummet. The overall stock price has fallen by 90%, and the price per share is less than 3 dollars..."
Oil and automobiles were inherently linked industries. The depression and shrinkage of the automobile industry had also affected oil companies.
Especially at the beginning of this year, two tycoons committed suicide one after another.
On March 12, Swedish Match King Ivar Kreuger committed suicide in a Paris hotel. Two days later, George Eastman of Eastman Kodak also ended his life in Rochester.
The deaths of these two had a chaotic impact on the entire stock market.
This was a very clever timing. Everyone was blinded by the chaotic financial situation, making it an opportune moment to enter.
Currently, through the *Superman* comic serialization and the creation of related merchandise, he has accumulated a considerable amount of wealth.
The prudent approach would naturally be to continue investing this wealth into the development of the newspaper industry.
However, Colin did not seem to think so.