*comment ñáéç…— *comment May 7 to September 14 *set year 1900 *hide_reuse *advertisement *temp support_strike 2 *comment 1 means opposed, 3 means support, 2 means not-yet-committed, so people who support can't suddenly turn around and oppose, or vice-versa. 4 means involved enough to join in the bombing of the streetcar barn. *temp consulted_memeskia 0 *temp heard_of_baiamonte false *if cuba_return > 0 *set wealth +(cuba_return * 0.25) *set cuba_return * 0.75 Around the same time, you are delighted to receive a letter from your banker indicating that a portion of your investment in the Cuba corporation has been credited to your account. *comment 1900-05-04 @{(cuba_return > 0) Meanwhile, the|The} second International Olympiad is held in Paris during the summer of 1900. It is a bit of a confusing affair—there is a woman's golf tournament that, only decades later, will be conclusively identified as the first women's event in the modern Olympics—but Coubertin and the International Olympic Committee are learning and iterating on the process. Altogether, though, the affair elicits little interest from the American populace. All the same, having already hosted the Columbia Exposition in 1893 to great success, a small committee forms in Chicago with the intention of bidding on the next Olympics, to be held four years hence. *choice #The idea of the nations of the world coming together to compete in sports is a noble one. *set compassion %-5 Let them come together and represent the virtues of sportsmanship and honor to each other and the world. #This is one more attempt by the elites to build the idea of a nationality within the minds of the common folk. Nations are a myth and nothing more. *set laborvscapital %+10 Ever since the American and French Revolutions, the élite of Europe has set about convincing their peasants of the need to die on the fields of battle on their behalf. But now, this is not for God or their king, but for their countrymen. This charade is one more element of this effort at nation-building. #The idea of mortals working out their differences through nonviolent competition is anathema to me. I miss the violence—the freedom—of warfare. *set shepherd_credentials %-10 *set compassion %+5 *set discretion %+5 Perhaps someday soon war will return to these shores. *if (feeding_style = "laborers") #I simply hope to feed from some of these fine specimens. The perfection of the human form conveys something sublime to the blood. *set compassion %+5 *set shepherd_credentials %-5 The American athletes are mostly Easterners; no one from St. Louis is traveling to Paris to compete. But perhaps in the future an Olympics will be held in the United States? *page_break Led by Edward Whitaker—a local banker—the streetcar lines of St. Louis are consolidated into one corporation, the Saint Louis Transit Co., in September 1899. Now a monopoly—one miraculously exempted from several local taxes—the unified company lengthens the workday, cuts service, and fires union organizers. @{(finance > 0) A classic strategy: under-cut the competition's prices, buy them up until you have a monopoly, and then raise prices and cut services when everyone depends on you and you alone.|} On the evening of May 7th, 1900, the Railway Employees Union votes to strike; the elders still seethe from their defeat in 1877, and urge more aggressive action. The next day is chaos throughout the city, with numerous shootings and even an attempted lynching. Within a few days, twenty-eight other unions voted to join the railway workers in solidarity. Scabs are brought in from Cleveland and New York to work the streetcars, but protesters stand in the railway tracks and erect obstacles to prevent their operation. *if stlouis_business_climate > 65 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %-15 The élite of the city are largely unconcerned by these developments; they already have such a grip on the political machinery that this challenge to their authority is likely to be quickly diffused. *if stlouis_business_climate < 35 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+10 The workers are energized by these developments. They have been itching for a rematch with the oligarchs of the city for twenty-four years. A parade is organized for May 19th to urge Whitaker to sit down to negotiate with the union. @{corgi_power The cigar-rollers and their corgi mascots intend to be present in force.|} *if laborvscapital > 55 *set heard_of_baiamonte true On the side of the workers is Gaetano Baiamonte, a Sicilian immigrant and member of the Knights of Labor who has helped coordinate between the different Catholic unions in the city. *choice *if stlouis_enterprise = 1 #I try to urge newspapers across the region to downplay the strike. *set discretion %+5 *set stlouis_business_climate %+5 *set laborvscapital %-10 *set shepherd_credentials %-5 *set support_strike 1 *set local_fame %+5 *set exposure +1 While articles continue to run in the dailies in Chicago, Memphis, Cleveland, and New Orleans, they adopt a much more clipped, dismissive tone. "The strike will soon be over," "the disruption to the city is minimal," "the protesters are a few drunken malcontents," are some of the refrains repeated over and over again. Your efforts on behalf of the city do not go unnoticed by the elite. #I urge the newspapers to excoriate the actions of Whitaker and the Transit Company. *set discretion %+5 *set shepherd_credentials %-5 *set laborvscapital %+10 *set support_strike 2 *set local_fame %+5 *set exposure +1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+10 Within a few days of your involvement, articles are run in the ${post_dispatch} and other newspapers on a daily basis, blasting both Whitaker and the Police Board for their handling of the strike. This is a marked difference from previous days, when the major newspapers were defending Whitaker. *if stlouis_enterprise = 4 #I encourage the [i]turnverein[/i] to join the strike. *set discretion %+10 *set support_strike 3 *set anti_german_sentiment %+10 *set laborvscapital %+10 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+15 *set aichinger_rapport %-10 *set shepherd_credentials %-5 Many Germans were already members of the unions, but the added weight of the [i]turnverein[/i] swells their number further. The protestors are cheered by their appearance, but the local newspapers whisper of the threat of the German influence on Anglo-American society. *if (stlouis_enterprise = 2) or (streetwise > 2) #I direct the criminals of the city to aid in the strikebreaking. *set discretion %+10 *set support_strike 1 *set laborvscapital %-5 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %-15 *set stlouis_business_climate %+5 *set shepherd_credentials %-5 Before the strikers can even reach their picket lines, they find themselves dragged from their homes and beaten within an inch of their lives. Curiously, the police have no interest in investigation the source of these beatings. *if (stlouis_enterprise = 6) #I urge the ${wctu} to join the strike. *set discretion %+10 *set support_strike 3 *set laborvscapital %+10 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+5 *set shepherd_credentials %-5 The women's Garment Workers Union had already joined the strikers, but the addition of the the Temperance-organizers breathes new life into the protesters. *if charm > 3 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+15 You even manage to persuade some wives of the deputized police to join the protest lines. They show up to the protest bearing their black eyes and broken arms as badges of honor. *else Unfortunately, many of the temperance rank-and-file are married to the deputized police and are unwilling to cross their husbands despite your pleas. *if local_fame > 35 #I urge Whitaker to sit down with the protestors. *set discretion %+10 *set support_strike 3 *set shepherd_credentials %-5 *if local_fame > 50 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+10 You are able to arrange a brief meeting with Whitaker, who listens to your concerns. He certainly does not share those concerns, but his conviction does seem to waver slightly. *else *set streetcar_strike_1900 %-10 Your overtures are rudely rebuffed. Apparently, your connections within the business community are not as established as you had believed. #I seek out Memeskia; how can he allow this chaos to unfold in his city? *set independence %-5 *set consulted_memeskia +1 Memeskia is entirely indifferent to the strike. *if perception > 2 If anything, you come away from the meeting with the faint impression that Memeskia urged Whitaker to renege on the deal with the union. How much contempt does he have for American civilization, you wonder? *if (stl_cardinals = "Corgis") #I urge ${spalding_sporting_goods} to market the Fighting Corgi merchandise to the strikers. *set laborvscapital %-10 *set stlouis_business_climate %+5 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+5 The strikers take pride in their city's baseball team and are only too happy to wear the caps and jerseys of the team that aligns with their own corgi mascots. *if (sporting_goods > 1) *set wealth +(5000 * sporting_goods) The fact that you make a few pennies off the deal is no crime, right? That's just capitalism. Overwhelmed and outnumbered, the Police Board asks Sheriff John Pohlman to form a [i]posse comitatus[/i]. Pohlman re-deputizes John H. Cavender to organize a special, twenty-five hundred man strong auxiliary police force to operate the streetcars, defend the scabs, and maintain order in the city, with the Police Board appropriating the funds to supply them. This effort only serves to exacerbate the chaos. *set heard_of_jh_cavender true The posse members begin a campaign of terror against the strikers, shooting and beating them with impunity. @{corgi_power They seem to take special delight in shooting the corgis that could be found among the protestors. When asked why they shot and killed the dogs, they claim that they feared for their lives and the matter is considered settled.|} This comes to a head on June 10th, when the strikers return from a rally in East St. Louis. Having crossed the bridge, members of the posse open fire at the intersection of Washington and Broadway, killing three and wounding fourteen. *if (support_strike = 3) and (laborvscapital > 65) *page_break In the wake of the shooting, you find yourself huddled in one of the caves below St Louis with several other leaders of the strike. A young schoolteacher, Polly, has proposed the setting fire to the streetcar barn. Baiamonte expresses his support for Polly's plan, while also advocating for reaching out to other unions in the city to extend the strike. The strikers respond a few days later by attempting—and failing—to blow up the streetcar barn. *choice #I consult Memeskia@{(consulted_memeskia+1) | again}. *set independence %+5 Memeskia seems @{(consulted_memeskia+1) |still} unperturbed by the @{(consulted_memeskia+1) |ongoing} chaos. *set consulted_memeskia +1 *if (compassion < 40) or (shepherd_credentials < 50) You entreat him to take a stand and bring peace to the city. He waves you away. *elseif independence < 60 You express your concerns that the chaos will reflect poorly on his authority as a Quaestor. He waves you away. *else You express your surprise and delight that he has allowed it to continue for so long. "I take no pleasure in it," is his only reply. *if support_strike > 1 #I attempt to organize a mutual aid society to support the strikers. *temp test 1 *set laborvscapital %+10 *if finance > 1 *set test +1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+5 *if charm > 2 *set test +1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+5 *if local_fame > 50 *set test +1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+5 *if stlouis_cult *set test +1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+5 *if (missouri_suffrage > 4) or (missouri_prohibition > 4) *set test +1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+5 *if stlouis_enterprise = 1 *set test +1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+5 *set local_fame %+5 *set exposure +1 You set about advocating for a mutual aid society. @{test You can't see that it achieves much other than making you out to be an advocate for the strike, but the movement appreciates your efforts.|A small pot of money is assembled by the society, but it is quickly distributed to the families of those killed by the police.|A small pot of money is assembled by the mutual aid society, and it is disseminated to those families who have lost someone to the violence of the police.|A moderate pot of money is gathered by the strikers. It is mostly distributed to the families of the victims of police violence, but some manages to make it to the pockets of the still-living strikers, to steel them through this period of deprivation.|A moderate pot of money is gathered by the strikers. Some of it is dispensed to the families of the victims of police violence, but a portion manages to make it to the pockets of the still-living strikers, to steel them through this period of deprivation.|A sizeable pot of money is gathered by the strikers. Some of it is dispensed to the families of the victims of police violence, but a portion manages to make it to the pockets of the still-living strikers, to steel them through this period of deprivation.|A remarkable pot of money is gathered by the strikers. Some of it is dispensed to the families of the victims of police violence, but a significant portion manages to make it to the pockets of the still-living strikers, to steel them through this period of deprivation.|} *if (technology > 0) and (stealth > 1) #The posse guards the tracks and cables that allow the streetcars to operate, but I can slip past them and sabotage the system. *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+10 *set discretion %-5 Using your powers of concealment and your knowledge of engineering, you slip past the posse's picquet line and befoul the mechanisms that allow the streetcars to function. The next day, both the scabs and the police are confounded by the damage you wrought, while the protestors are cheered by the news. #If the posse wants terror, I'll give them @{(shapeshifting > 1) terror—I will use the beasts of the land to drive them mad.|terror.} *if shapeshifting > 1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+20 It begins with a stampede of horses. It continues with an infestation of rats. It concludes with a murder of crows. The posse is heavily demoralized by the way in which the world itself has turned against them. *elseif (compassion > 65) *set atrocities +1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %-10 *if (technology > 1) and (agility > 2) You fashion a crude explosive device and drop it down the chimney of the home of John Cavender. It explodes, killing his daughter and grandson, as well as demolishing a good portion of the ground floor. The violence only steels Cavender's resolve. He announces that there will be no mercy for the strikers who continue to resist the lawful orders of the mayor. *else *if stealth < 3 *set exposure +1 You fashion a series of firebombs and throw them through the window of John Cavender's home. The building quickly erupts in flame. Cavender's daughter and grandson die in the blaze, as well as several servants. The violence only steels Cavender's resolve. He announces that there will be no mercy for the strikers who continue to resist the lawful orders of the mayor. *elseif (discretion > 60) *set atrocities +1 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %-15 You break into the homes of the posse's officers and murder them in their sleep. You decorate their walls with their blood. And you do not stop. House after house is rent asunder, as though the final of Pharoah's plagues has returned with a vengeance. Unfortunately, there is only so many people that you can murder in their sleep in the nights that are available to you. And your crimes are greeted with increased viciousness by the strikebreakers. Cavender declares a no-restraint policy, and soon the police are outright murdering protestors in the streets. The protestors themselves disavow the violence, but the police are unable to hear. Someone has dared to fight back and that cannot be permitted. *else Unfortunately, you cannot bring yourself to commit the sort of atrocities that would be necessary to make any useful effect on the matter. *if support_strike < 3 #I meet with the leaders of the strike and present to them the hopelessness of their cause. *set local_fame %+10 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %-10 *if charm > 3 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %-10 The representatives of the protestors are loath to hear your words, but they cannot compeletely ignore them. By the time the meeting is adjourned, their convictions are clearly shaken. #It would be unfortunate if the strikers' bank accounts were suddenly inaccessible. *set laborvscapital %-10 *if (charm > 3) or ((finance > 1) and (local_fame > 45)) *set streetcar_strike_1900 %-15 *set stlouis_business_climate %+5 *set local_fame %+5 You manage to complicate the finances of the various unions spearheading the protests. Without the reserves to compensate the protestors during the strike, morale plummets. *else *set exposure +1 Unfortunately, your efforts to meddle in the banks' affairs come to naught. *if ((support_strike = 3) and (laborvscapital > 65)) #I help Baiamonte appeal to the other unions. *set laborvscapital %+10 *set exposure +1 *set discretion %+5 *if charm >= 3 *set streetcar_strike_1900 %+15 You and Baiamonte make an admirable team. He sets them up and you knock them down, as they say. Together, you convince several other unions in the city to join the strike against the Transit company. Morale is significantly improved with each announcement of solidarity. (Notably, Polly seems to have lost her nerve; no one firebombs the streetcar barns.) *else *set streetcar_strike_1900 %-10 You and Baiamonte seek to encourage the other unions to throw in with the strikers, but you always seem to interject yourself at the wrong moment, or offer the wrong anecdote to the wrong audience. Eventually, Baiamonte asks you to stop going out with him on these calls, but the damage is already done. When you return without news, the strikers fear the worse. *page_break On July 2nd, it is announced that Whitaker and the representatives of the strikers have come to an agreement. The strike is suspended, but a week later it becomes clear that Whitaker is not following through on his end of the bargain, with the exception of putting a few more trams into service. On the 9th, the strike resumes. *if streetcar_strike_1900 > 60 The prostestors are invigorated by their respite, and return to the streets with a fire in their bellies@{heard_of_baiamonte —Gaetano especially so|}. That conviction is finally tested in August, when another demonstration is fired upon by members of the posse. Nearly a dozen strikers are murdered and hundreds are arrested. The governor finally makes an appearance, lobbying Whitaker to grant some concessions. By mid-September, Whitaker has once again accepted the July 2nd agreement. The next day, the strikers return to work. *set stlouis_business_climate %-20 *set memeskia_rapport %+5 *elseif streetcar_strike_1900 > 30 The protest continues another two months before petering out. No official end to the strike is ever announced, but by the end of September, the union's members have conceded and returned to work. *else Unfortunately for the protestors, it collapses almost as soon as it begins. The public has lost its enthusiasm for the cause; the Transit Company's increased service has mollified them, and the union members are abandoned. *set stlouis_business_climate %+10 *set memeskia_rapport %-5 *if stl_coal_smuggler Sensing an opportunity, the cartel that still runs the TRRA uses the chaos of the strike to disrupt your coal smuggling operation: at their direction, your employees are arrested, your skiffs destroyed, and your depots exposed. The whole operation is dismantled in a single night. By happenstance, you manage to avoid being arrested yourself. *if rationalism > 65 (You offer several @{(religious_tradition = "catholic") Hail Marys|prayers} in gratitude.) You had a good run with the scam; time will present you with another one. *comment TODO could make this more drama? Deal with the employees? But it's hard to get to. *finish