Chapter 85: Poverty and Wealth
May 2, 2023 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
As the middle-aged man left.
The second applicant soon walked in.
However, compared to the first applicant, who possessed professional skills, the man who came later was far less satisfactory in every aspect. Before his unemployment, he was merely an ordinary assembly line worker with no marketable skills whatsoever. He didn't even have any experience working in the media industry or at a newspaper before applying to the Messenger Newspaper.
"I apologize, sir."
Therefore, after hearing the man's conditions, Colin simply shook his head and refused.
"Mr. Collin Roper, I beg you..."
However, faced with Colin's refusal, the man unexpectedly fell to his knees with a thud, crying and pleading, "I haven't eaten my fill in a long time. If this continues, I'll starve to death. And once I'm gone, my wife and children won't survive either..."
His plight was indeed tragic.
But this was clearly not Colin's reason for hiring him. After all, situations like the man's were commonplace throughout the Great Depression.
In fact, the middle-aged man who applied before him had a similar experience.
If Colin were to hire him simply out of sympathy, then almost everyone waiting outside would meet his hiring criteria, including the middle-aged man he had just refused.
"I apologize, sir, we are a newspaper, not a welfare institution. We are hiring to find qualified workers."
"I'm very strong! Whatever work you assign, I'll definitely put my all into completing it!"
"This is a newspaper agency, not a factory, sir."
The applicant pleaded bitterly for a while, but seeing that Colin remained unmoved, he finally gave up hope. Gritting his teeth, he loudly cursed at Colin, "You damned capitalists! You're the reason the Great Depression happened! You're the ones who made me lose my job, and now you hypocritically put up job postings! You are the culprits, plunging the nation into depression while making the poor bear all the suffering! You self-righteously throw your leftover food at us, treating it as immense charity and kindness..."
The Great Depression led to an unprecedented polarization of wealth and poverty in America.
As the man said, many wealthy people believed that giving their leftovers to their hungry compatriots was an act of charity.
In Mount Kisco, New York, the Elks Club, a charitable organization established in 1876, and the Princeton University Dining Club instructed their servants to deliver leftover food to the poor.
The Brooklyn Eagle newspaper suggested establishing a central station where charitable citizens could send their leftover food for the poor to share. Furthermore, to ensure the poor could access these leftovers, a plan was specifically drafted, calling for chefs from restaurants, city clubs, and hotels to put their scraps and leftovers into "clean five-gallon tin cans, labeled 'meat, beans, potatoes, bread, etc.'" for distribution among the unemployed.
Yet, they completely ignored how many people, besides the wealthy themselves, could afford to waste food in such economically difficult times.
Some even wrote to the President specifically about the issue of giving away leftovers, hoping he would adopt this suggestion to alleviate the public's burden.
However, Hoover ultimately did not adopt this suggestion.
According to news revealed by the media, the director of Hoover's Emergency Employment Committee vetoed the plan, believing it could cause misunderstandings.
For a president who could claim that a homeless person in New York ate 10 meals a day...
You certainly couldn't expect him to have much empathy for a plan regarding the disposal of leftovers.
The advent of the Great Depression certainly had factors related to the era and the economy.
However, Hoover's subsequent series of foolish policies were also one of the reasons why the Great Depression not only failed to end but intensified.
And his slogans, "The crisis will end within 60 days" and "The basic affairs of the nation are still built on a foundation of health and prosperity."
Also made more people understand that the "Golden '20s" were completely over, and the "Golden '30s" would never be realized.
Colin agreed with the man's thoughts regarding those capitalists, but this didn't mean he condoned the man's offense against him.
"I can understand your despair at this moment, sir, but that doesn't mean you can vent your emotions freely here. One thing you must be clear about is that this is a newspaper agency, not a charitable organization like the Salvation Army. My standard for hiring workers is based on professionalism, not on who is more pitiful."
"If you are seeking relief aid, you can go to those charitable organizations and the government, instead of coming to my newspaper office to engage in meaningless moral blackmail. The Messenger Newspaper has no obligation to help you!"
Colin's firm stance left the man speechless.
He glanced at Colin, whose face was cold, and opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately lowered his head and slinked away from the newspaper office under Little John's furious gaze.
He didn't even dare to make a move, not only because his family was waiting for him in Hooverville, but also because under Colin's gaze, the man couldn't muster even a shred of courage to act.
Fortunately, besides the second applicant,
the subsequent applicants behaved relatively normally.
Most of them were unemployed white-collar workers or bank employees.
They showed great sincerity in their desire to get a job at the newspaper agency. The work experience of several of them genuinely intrigued Colin. Especially one of the white-collar workers, who had previously worked at a publishing house before his unemployment, specializing in collecting and organizing European publications for domestic distribution, possessing rich experience in publication sales.
After a brief conversation, Colin quickly finalized the hiring of this white-collar worker named Francis.
"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Collin—no, boss! I will work hard and definitely won't let down your trust in me!"
Upon learning he got the job, Francis spoke to Colin almost weeping with joy.
During the Great Depression, finding a stable job was almost everyone's dream.
After expressing his immense gratitude to Colin for a long time, Francis finally composed himself and walked out of the newspaper office, his eyes red.
However, seeing Francis's red, tear-filled eyes, none of the people waiting outside mocked him. Instead, each person showed an expression of great envy.
If only they could, how they wished they were the ones who had successfully gotten the job.
As Francis successfully landed the job, the sense of urgency among the people in line also increased.
In line, every successful hire of an unemployed person meant one less opportunity for them.
No one wanted to be the one eliminated.
(end of chapter)