chapter 195 part 2
"Hello, this is the Bell System telephone company. How may I help you?"
After inserting a coin and a long wait, the operator's voice came through from the other end.
Compared to the Radio, the telephone, despite being invented earlier, was far slower in its rate of popularization.
Early telephones required an operator to connect calls, which made the operator's job incredibly tedious. Especially in the era before radio broadcasts, an operator might receive 5,000 calls a day just asking for the time; results of elections and professional boxing matches, as well as scores for football and baseball games, were also constantly requested.
Meanwhile, rural operators even had to act as information centers for their local communities, helping to find lost children and issue flood and fire warnings.
At the time, listening in on neighbors' conversations over the party line was a form of rural entertainment, a situation that was only gradually replaced by the advent of the radio Soap Opera.
"Please relay a message to Mr. Fiorello Henry LaGuardia in Washington. Tell him Colin Luper wants to meet him at the old place."
"Of course, sir."
During this period, relaying messages through an operator was a common practice. Considering the exorbitant price of long-distance calls—a three-minute call from New York to San Francisco cost nearly $60, and to London, it was around $300—it was simply more practical. Although these prices would drop to some extent later, the fees remained high. It wasn't until 1966 that a three-minute call to San Francisco fell below $10, and a call to London didn't drop below $10 until 1981.
Such expensive telephone fees caused the development of the telephone to proceed at a rather slow pace.
Inside the Telephone Booth, after another long wait, the call to LaGuardia's side was finally connected.
"No problem."
LaGuardia gave a short reply and quickly hung up.
And for that brief call, which lasted less than a second, Colin had to pay a 25-cent fee.
*Knock, knock—*
On the streets of New York, the second after Colin hung up the phone.
A knocking sound came from outside the Telephone Booth as a pedestrian urged him to hurry up.
Seeing the impatient look on the person's face outside, Colin nodded, hung up the receiver, and stepped out of the booth.
As soon as Colin was out, the pedestrian eagerly squeezed into the Telephone Booth, tore open his shirt, revealing a simple 'S' logo underneath.
Standing outside and witnessing this act, Colin finally noticed that the color of the Telephone Booth was red.
...
"...Looks like the Republican Party has reached a consensus?"
That evening, at the 21 Club on West 52nd Street.
Colin took a bite of his steak and teased LaGuardia, who was sitting across from him.
Not long ago, Hoover had publicly announced his Re-election Campaign, declaring in a speech: "Where our country goes in the next 100 years depends on adhering to American tradition, not messing around with new-fangled ideas," making it clear that the Federal Government would not become a participant in economic and social life...
Evidently, the central theme of Hoover's upcoming campaign would be based on traditional American values and conservatism.
For a president seeking re-election, this wasn't necessarily a wrong approach; past Republican presidents had won re-election in the same way.
However, Hoover had clearly overlooked the context of his campaign.
American tradition couldn't save the people of the Great Depression era. Everyone was hoping for a new change.
From this perspective, Hoover's failure was already preordained.
"The President is determined to run, so it's difficult for anyone within the Republican Party to voice opposition."
Hearing Colin's teasing, LaGuardia couldn't help but sigh.
It was a common consensus within both the Democratic and Republican parties for an incumbent to run for re-election. In American history, it was rare for a president to fail to win a second term.
However, the current situation made it impossible for LaGuardia to see any chance of Hoover's re-election success.
"And the New York Mayoral Election?"
At Colin's question, the expression on LaGuardia's face didn't improve much.
In a way, the Presidential Election was linked to the outcome of New York's Mayoral Election. If Hoover lost the General Election, it would complicate LaGuardia's own campaign for Mayor.
After all, both he and Hoover were Republicans.
Tammany Hall certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity to strike at LaGuardia. In fact, a rumor was already circulating in New York City that a vote for LaGuardia was a vote for Hoover, which was extremely detrimental to LaGuardia's Mayoral Election.
"Perhaps you should try to separate yourself from Hoover."
Looking up at LaGuardia's troubled face, Colin offered him a reminder.
"Although you are the mayoral candidate put forth by the Republican Party, that doesn't mean you can only support the Republican platform. The Democratic Party isn't a monolithic bloc either. To this day, Al Smith still hasn't expressed his support for Roosevelt."
"You mean?"
Colin's reminder made a flicker of understanding appear in LaGuardia's eyes.
"Right now, Hoover's chances of winning re-election don't seem high. Since that's the case, why cling to your Republican Party identity? Hoover's election and your election are two different battlefields. You don't need to take responsibility for Hoover's flawed policies. On the contrary, you can choose to support his opponent."
"Roosevelt?"
Colin nodded and continued, "Don't forget, as the Governor of New York State, Roosevelt's reputation in New York is quite high. In some ways, he's even more popular with the citizens of New York than President Hoover is."
"..."
At the dinner table, LaGuardia fell into a brief silence.
Seeing this, Colin didn't press the topic further. Instead, he changed the subject, "Of course, aside from distancing your stance, campaign policy is also key. Currently, there is widespread dissatisfaction in New York City with corruption and public safety, especially with Political Groups like Tammany Hall combining forces with Gang Organizations, leading to a general distrust of Law Enforcement Agencies. This could be a breakthrough point..."
The main reason for the downfall of the previous New York Mayor, Jimmy Walker, was the Corruption Scandal exposed by Colin's *The Messenger Newspaper*.
"As the Democratic Party's Political Machine, Tammany Hall's internal corruption has always been a frequent point of criticism. Since that's the case, why not make it the central theme of your campaign? Brand Tammany Hall and the Democratic mayoral candidate it supports as the root of New York's chaos and eradicate it completely. I believe the Republican Party will agree with this approach, and even support it."
"As long as you can remove Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party's Political Machine in New York, I believe the Republican Party won't hold it against you too much for supporting Roosevelt. After all, in politics, there are no permanent enemies."