WesWorld

Tuesday, October 5th, 1926
Washington Post
The airships Shenandoah and Los Angeles began maneuvers off of the East Coast today to test their newly installed aircraft launching equipment. The ships have each been fitted with a “sling” underneath their hulls that can launch and retrieve a fighter plane, specifically a Curtiss F6C-2 fighter. The fighter is equipped with a special hook apparatus on its upper wing which engages the sling. The fighter’s pilot is able to enter the airship and the plane can even be refueled while docked. The carrier Lake Champlain will help to monitor the exercise and act as an emergency landing field if needed. It is reported that both airships will participate in the upcoming naval exercises with Atlantis. The airship Susquehanna , based in San Diego, is also to receive similar modifications during her current refit.

Monday, October 11th, 1926
New York Times
Work began today on a new helium extraction plant near Amarillo, Texas. The new factory is expected to boost production to nearly 100,000,000 cubic feet per year once it is completed late in 1927. In related news, the Shenandoah and Los Angeles completed their first set of trials with their new aircraft carrying capacity. Navy officials report some minor problems were encountered at first, but the tests were generally successful. Both airships have returned to Lakehurst for some further modifications prior to the joint US-Atlantian naval exercises.
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WEAF 660 BULLETIN!!! 1:30 pm Friday, October 29th 1926 New York City
Explosions have rocked the Manhattan financial district for the second time in a decade! Just after noon, at least two delivery trucks, apparently packed with dynamite, exploded within minutes of each other outside the New York Stock Exchange. The blasts appeared far larger than the 1920 blast that killed almost three dozen people. Several large fires are still burning in the area and early reports suggest a tremendous loss of life and severe damage to the exchange building itself and neighboring buildings. Ruptured gas mains are contributing to the fires and water lines in the area are damaged as well, hindering fire fighting efforts. We will have more news as it develops. We now return you to your regular programming.

WEAF 660 BULLETIN!!! 2:45 pm Friday, October 29th 1926 New York City
Reports are coming in from Chicago and Washington DC of attacks similar to the one this afternoon in the Financial District. A wagon detonated outside the Chicago Board of Trade, and a delivery truck exploded outside the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington. There are unconfirmed reports of an explosion in the vicinity of the White House, but no further information is available at this time. Here in New York, chaos reigns at the Stock Exchange as fires still burn and the dead and wounded are being tended to. Mayor Walker has issued a statement calling for calm and asking all New Yorkers to remain where they are for the time being. All bridges and ferries in Manhattan are either closed or are being used to transport injured to hospitals. Commissioner McLaughlin has been quoted as saying that witnesses saw at least two trucks parked in the area just prior to the blasts. He also said a curfew will likely be issued later today for Friday night. Latest reports put the dead at more than fifty, with hundreds of injured. The death toll is expected to rise since many may be trapped in burning buildings. Fire has engulfed part of the Stock Exchange and the fate of those inside, and their financial records, is unknown. More information to follow, we now return you to your regular programming.

WEAF 660 BULLETIN!!! 4:00 pm Friday, October 29th 1926 New York City
The New York Times reports that it has received a claim of responsibility for today’s horrible attacks against financial and governmental buildings across the country. A group calling itself “The American Workers Revolutionary Party” claims the attacks were “a declaration of war against those who would exploit the workers for their own enrichment”. The letter ended with the phrase “For Leon!” That may be a reference to the fact that today marks the 25th anniversary of the execution of Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated President McKinley in Buffalo in 1901. Reports from Chicago and Washington tell of similar scenes of carnage, and there was an explosion near the White House, but the President has not been harmed and the building only suffered minor damage. Several Secret Service agents were reportedly killed when they stopped a truck on Pennsylvania Avenue as it approached the Presidential mansion. Mrs. Coolidge reportedly collapsed from fright, but is reported to be recovering. The White House has announced that the President will issue a statement at 5:30 this afternoon.

WEAF 660 BULLETIN!!! 6:00 pm Friday, October 29th 1926 New York City
President Coolidge, in a statement released a short time ago from the White House, called today’s bombings “the actions of a cowardly cabal of murderers and thugs” and promised that no effort would be spared to hunt down and punish those responsible. Attentions are being directed towards Bolshevist and Anarchist groups, primarily in the Northeastern United States, but Bureau of Investigation Director Hoover has warned all Americans to be on the guard for suspicious activity and President Coolidge has ordered extra protection for potential targets across the country. Here in the Financial District, the largest fires are now under control but the toll of dead and injured continues to rise precipitously. 175 are now known dead, almost 1,000 injured. Chicago reports 65 dead, while Washington reports 39 dead at the Federal Reserve plus at least 8 near the White House. The toll is expected to rise. As expected, a dusk to dawn curfew is in effect tonight in Manhattan. According to witnesses, police have reportedly launched several raids in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx and have taken over a dozen into custody. There has been no comment as of yet from the NYPD.

WEAF 660 BULLETIN!!! 9:00 pm Friday, October 29th 1926 New York City
Commissioner McLaughlin has issued a statement saying that several arrests have been made related to today’s bombings in the Financial District. While refusing to give many details, McLaughlin said that the suspects were known to have ties to Bolshevist and Anarchist organizations. He said that more arrests were expected. Latest reports from the scene of the attack now put the death toll at 285 with 1,400 injured, many with serious burns and shrapnel injuries. It appears that two separate bombs exploded almost simultaneously in front of the Stock Exchange at the corner of Wall and Broad Streets. The trucks apparently were packed with a mix of explosives, probably dynamite, and scrap metal intended to cause maximum loss of life. The Stock Exchange itself has now partially collapsed, hampering efforts to extinguish the fires and recover any victims. Fires in adjacent buildings have been put out. Damage to the J.P. Morgan building is reported to be severe as well. It suffered damage in the unsolved 1920 attack. Lesser damage was done to the Banker’s Trust building and Federal Hall. Today’s attacks may have severe repercussions for the economy. Many records in the NYSE may have been destroyed in the attack and the status of any copies is unknown, especially for smaller companies. Many of the traders and officials who ran the market are dead, injured, or missing.

Needless to say, stay tuned...

Nasty.

The chaos inflicted on the NYSE is going to have consequences in any country with financial dealings with America. Particularly, I think, western Europe.

Good work, I'll comment in-character later.

Are we having a "terrorist" caused stock market crash in 1926? Or will this actually prevent the crash of 1929 by having more safeguards or less people actually investing in Wall Street?

I do like the inclusion of Liberia into the news.

I'm wondering the same thing market-wise.

WEAF 660 News Update 12:00 Saturday, October 30th 1926 New York City
Arrests continue across the boroughs this morning. Evidence is reported to be growing of a large conspiracy between various communist and anarchist groups to commit yesterday’s attacks. There are reports of several high profile arrests, including the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Charles Ruthenberg, and his second in command, James Cannon. Similar arrests are reported in other cities across the country as local and federal authorities try to hunt down those responsible for the bombings and try to prevent any further attacks. Meanwhile, rescue and recovery efforts continue at the stock exchange. The death toll reached 300 as many of those badly injured died in area hospitals. Special trains have been set up to transfer those injured, but who can be moved, to nearby hospitals in New Jersey and New England to relieve pressure on local facilities. Mayor Walker has called on New Yorkers to observe a special day of prayer tomorrow for those killed and maimed in the attacks and President Coolidge issued a statement this morning calling for similar observances by all Americans.

WEAF 660 News Update 3:00 Saturday, October 30th 1926 New York City
New York Senator Wadsworth commented on yesterday’s attacks in an interview for this station. “It is clear that a cancer has grown within this country over the past few years. These radicals, whether they are communists or anarchists is irrelevant, have only one goal, the destruction of our way of life! Be they foreign born, or, God forbid, natives of this land, they must be stopped before they do more damage and take more innocent lives. No effort must be spared if we are to stop these monsters!” There are reports that President Coolidge will address a joint session of Congress in the following week, possibly as early as Monday.

Perhaps the Americans need the assistance of a few experts who will clean up this mess nice and quietly. No one will ever notice what happened to those guys.
(You can also call Al. He might have some surplus concrete for a nice pair of 'shoes')

Jesus, that´s bad news reaching the SAE from the US! The South Africans express their condolences to the families of those killed and hope those responsible will be found and dealt with quickly.

[I wonder myself what influence such incidents will have on world-wide market. We have no system to deal with money but if this is going to drive world wide economics into some kind of depression we can handle it by decreasing the efficiency of our factories. For example Wes can define factories will have only an output of 80% for some quarters. Just an idea of course.]

The govt. of Atlantis sends its condolences to all the victim's of this cowardly attack. We will do all that we can to assist the United States in flushing out all those responcible in an effort to help the U.S. seek justice.

(ic)

Diplomatic note

The Filipino government extends its condolences to the people of the United States of America who have suffered in the cowardly attacks by the forces of the Far Left. We extend an offer of any assistance that may be desired in the extermination of these vermin.

The Manila Envelope
31 October 1926

This is what I have been warning against for many, many years. You cannot trust the forces of the Left! They profess to be your friends, but when you turn your back - in goes the knife!

We must all hang together in stamping out the Left wherever it may be - or most assuredly they shall hang us all seperatly!

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(ooc)

It might cause a depression...then again, it might be just a brief dip, and (as has been postulated) help prevent the 1929 crash...

King Christian X, with the Danish People extend their condolances to the berived, and offer any help required to bring about justice for the deceased.

New York Times Tuesday, November 1st, 1926
“Grave Threat to Peace and Liberty, says Coolidge.”
In an address to a joint session of Congress yesterday, President Coolidge proclaimed Friday’s bombings to be “a grave threat to peace and liberty, the likes of which this nation has not faced in more than half a century”. “We must spare no effort to root out these villains wherever they may be and stamp out their twisted ideals of violence and hatred”. President Coolidge announced the appointment of J. Edgar Hoover to head a temporary force to find those responsible for the attacks and their supporters. “The philosophies put forth by these groups are anathema to all we as Americans stand for. They would destroy all that we have gained over the past 150 years, freedoms paid for with the blood of brave Americans at Bunker Hill, Yorktown, Gettysburg and Vicksburg” the President went on to say. He also thanked many of the nations of the world for their outpouring of grief and sympathy and said that the United States has received numerous offers of assistance in investigating the attacks.
More arrests were made over the past twenty four hours across the country. There are reports that additional attacks were planned, primarily in the west, but were not carried out for reasons unknown. Funding for the attacks seems to have come from illegal liquor sales, though sources hint at possible foreign support. Meanwhile, the national death toll stands at 573, with 310 of those in New York, 175 in Chicago, and 88 in Washington. Damage to the stock exchange building in New York appears to be beyond repair and it will probably have to be demolished and rebuilt. Remarkably many financial records survived the fires, secured in vaults or moved to safety by brave employees before the fires reached them. A temporary market will be established next week in the Federal Hall building.

New York Times, Wednesday, November 10th, 1926
Trading began today in the temporary stock exchange at Federal Hall while demolition work began on the remnants of the Stock Exchange. Stocks dropped less than some analysts feared, but it is still too early to judge the long term financial impact of October’s attacks. Two more bodies were recovered from the rubble, bringing the total killed in New York to 335. Commissioner Hoover announced more arrests today as the conspiracy appeared to spread to several labor unions. It is believed that the explosives used in the attacks were provided by members of a Pennsylvania miners union. Some in Congress have called for investigations into the various labor unions and their ties to anti-American organizations as well as immigration policy since many of the alleged conspirators were immigrants.

Our governments condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the terroristic attacks on the government and public institutions of the United States of America, offer their condolences to those injured and to the families of those killed, and commit to the investigation and extradition of any perpetrator who falls into their hands.

Premier Herriot and President Chernov note with sorrow the disheartening incidence of these outrages, coming as this does so soon after the assasination of the Nordmark Royal Family. "Apparently, the fate of the Argentine government that perpetrated the crimes against Nordmark has not been a sufficient lesson to those who seek to further their ends by such outrages."

Reaction to the attacks in America:

India:

In Agra, the Raj is said to have lost a small fortune as a result of the recent attacks on American financial institutions. The key word, however, is small. “According to our agents in New York, the Canangasundrum portfolio was down approximately 1.3% at the close of trading on November 12th”, noted Masant Aiyar, the Raj’s chief financial advisor. “The portfolio does not have a great deal of direct exposure to American stocks, though of course the indirect exposure is greater as a result of investments in western Europe.”

Meanwhile, the Rana said that she fully approved of the quick action taken by American authorities. “When you have a cobra in your house, you don’t wait for it to slither away. You set the mongoose upon it.”

The Rana added, “The next logical step for the American government would be to criminalize leftist and anarchist political organizations. The people of India do not suffer from the absence of such parties, or indeed, any political party; Americans would not either.”

Germany:

Reaction in Germany to the attacks in America have varied.

President Braun called the bombings, “Atrocities against decent people” and offered his sympathies to the United States and its citizens. He said, however, that he would not be cracking down on leftist and anarchist groups in Germany, as had been called for by several right-leaning politicians in the Reichstag. “While those men and women practice their views in a legal and peaceful manner, it would be inappropriate to infringe on their rights.”

Stocks in Frankfurt were down almost 16% in heavy trading the following Monday as investors scrambled to protect themselves from what was expected to be a precipitous drop in American stocks once trading there actually resumed. The index was down a total of 19% by the end of trading that week and remained volatile, though overall flat, until word came that the NYSE's first day of trading had not brought the anticipated rout. Although the market did rebound in the last two days of the week, it still remains down almost 9% compared to the close the Friday of the attack (before news of the attack reached Europe).

The United German Workers’ Free Press had a different perspective, and had this short comment:

“As one, we stand and applaud the daring strike against the cold heart of capitalism in America! Has the time come for the Revolution to come to America? We believe that it has! The Oppressed are rising, breaking their chains, and fighting back against the corrupt system that oppresses them!

“We condemn the brutal tactics of the puppet American government, but can not be surprised by them. They dance on the strings as the wounded capitalist calls their tune: steal from the poor! Brutalize the workers! Attack the unions that protect the proletariat! Etc., Etc.”

Greece extends it's simpathy to the families of those killed and injured.

Obviously these workers have not enough to ocupy them. Just look at Greece's shipbuilding industry. It runs 365 days a year. Ships are routinely laid down on the 1st of January (athough they are probably laid down again on 2nd January after everyone's NYE hangover's have worn off and they see what a #$%^& job they'd done the day before!).

Keep those %^&** proles occupied and you'll have less of these problems. Remember the right mix of bread and circuses!

Round a few up... a quote form Voltaire comes to mind and I think you know the rest...

Cheers,

Washington Post, Wednesday November 3rd, 1926
Yesterday’s congressional mid-term elections went off without incident and brought minor gains to the Republicans who succeeded in gaining a majority in the Senate with 53 seats. Polls last week seemed to favor the Democrats, but Friday’s terrorist attacks may have swung undecided voters towards the majority party. Fears that there could be more attacks to disrupt the election lead some to call for a delay in the vote. During his address to Congress Monday, President Coolidge rejected those calls, saying that to delay the elections would give “those vile cowards” a free victory and that it was every American’s patriotic duty to vote. It appears that the American people listened, since voter turnout was up nationwide between five and fifteen percent depending on the region.

Congressional leaders announced today that full scale hearings into the October 29th attacks will begin as soon as the next session beings after the New Year. Some have called for immediate hearings, but it was decided to wait until the new Congress was sworn in.

Commissioner Hoover today called for local law enforcement and civic groups to form special local security committees to monitor possible subversive organizations and individuals. He believes that such committees, in cooperation with Federal and State law enforcement, could be crucial to preventing future attacks. He went on to say that “these forces of chaos must be rooted out wherever they may be and must not be allowed to hide behind the laws of this great nation that they so despise.”

(OOC) This will probably be the last news item on this subject until Q1/27 when Congress starts its hearings, baring unforseen developments.

Much like in the real world left-wing people won´t have much fun in the US as long as Hoover is around, I guess...

Chicago Workers Daily, Friday, December 17th, 1926
In the seven weeks since the supposed Bolshevist attacks here in Chicago and in New York and Washington D.C. a wave of terror has swept the nation. From coast to coast, Hoover’s thugs are rounding up our comrades on trumped up charges of “aiding terrorists” or “plotting the overthrow of the government”. But we know the truth, the truth about their sick and twisted plot to crush all opposition. THEY planted the bombs, not us! We would never have committed such terrible acts of violence. This was just their excuse to crush the oppressed workers while the wealthy exploiters like the vicious bigot Henry Ford and his cohorts continue to rake in the cash. They see the gains we are making, unionizing workers and improving their lives and it scares them to death. They would just as soon kill a thousand innocents than loose more of their precious wealth. They talk of preserving the Constitution but ignore its most fundamental principals in their quest for power. Workers of Chicago and all who read this paper, stand up and be counted! We are calling for mass demonstrations of the people’s power on Christmas Eve. Gather peacefully outside our foe’s palaces of exploitation, their factories and offices, and let them know that we will not surrender to their terror! We will stand up for freedom and equality and justice! We will never yield! Long live the American Workers!

Rants like that usually end the person speaking in jail after the act they profess is done....even today.

New York Times, Thursday December 23rd 1926
Tomorrow’s planned Communist rallies have many on edge here in New York and around the country. Mayor Walker has ordered the police to be on full alert. His request for troops from Governor Smith however was denied. The Governor said that it would be make the situation “far too incendiary”. Local Communist leaders have insisted that the rallies will be peaceful and that any disruptions will come from “government agent provocateurs”. Many businesses have decided to close tomorrow just in case there is trouble, as well as in the expectation that many of their employees will be at the rallies. The main New York rally is planned outside City Hall. Organizers claim several hundred thousand will attend.

(OOC) What will happen next? The nation waits and wonders....muhahaha {insert ominous music}

Quoted

Local Communist leaders have insisted that the rallies will be peaceful and that any disruptions will come from “government agent provocateurs”.

FINK would never dream of doing such a thing. Uh-uh. No way... ;-)

Looks like Hoover needs to do some cleaning up, eh? :-)