America 1929: John F. Kennedy, the Great Writer

town Hall.

Walker sat in his office, the table in front of him piled high with newspapers.

He looked at each document one by one, his expression growing increasingly grim.

The secretary stood aside, not daring to speak.

"These bastards, how dare they? How dare they write about me like that?"

Walker slammed the newspaper on the table:

"This is defamation! I'm going to sue them!"

"Mr. Mayor, if you file a lawsuit, it will only make this matter worse, since the photos are real and the bill is real."

Walker fell silent.

He knew his secretary was right.

If he's prosecuted, the court will require him to explain what he was doing that night, why he spent so much money, and why he was with Betty. That will only make things worse.

Walker gritted his teeth and said, "Damn Roosevelt, it must have been him who arranged this."

Walker stood up and paced back and forth in the office.

He is in a very bad situation.

What happened last night made him lose face in public.

Being turned away, threatening theater operators, and being stopped on the spot by the governor are all fatal mistakes.

The New York Mirror's report only made matters worse. It portrayed him as an idle playboy who only knew how to seek pleasure, completely ignoring his achievements as mayor.

Worse still, this image is not entirely fabricated.

Walker does enjoy nightlife, frequents nightclubs, and has an ambiguous relationship with Betty Compton.

These weren't problems before, because New York voters liked his easygoing personality and felt he was more human than those rigid politicians.

In 1925, when Walker ran for mayor, his campaign slogan was "Make New York Happy." He promised to make the city more vibrant, entertaining, and lively.

He opposed Prohibition, supported nightlife, and encouraged the entertainment industry.

The media often described his campaign as "fighting for the Jazz Age".

New Yorkers like this; they elected him mayor because he represents a free, open, and hedonistic lifestyle.

But now, the economic crisis has changed everything.

When unemployment soars, when people line up in the cold for welfare, and when the whole city is shrouded in anxiety and panic, a mayor who goes out for fun in a nightclub is no longer "humane" but "irresponsible".

Walker grew increasingly impatient and commanded:

"We need to fight back. We need to hold a press conference immediately. I want to clarify these rumors."

The secretary said:

"Mr. Mayor, I do not recommend holding a press conference now. You are emotionally unstable and could easily say the wrong thing."

Walker roared, "Then what do you suggest we do? Just let them attack me?"

The secretary said tremblingly:

"I suggest you calm down for a few days and let this issue cool down. In the meantime, we can arrange some positive activities, such as visiting unemployment relief centers or announcing some new relief measures."

Walker gave a cold laugh.

"Relief measures? Do you even know how much money the city government has right now? If this continues, we won't even be able to pay civil servants' salaries by the end of the year. What are you expecting me to provide relief with?"

Just then, the messenger knocked on the door and came in:

"Mayor, the Speaker of the City Council called and said he has an urgent matter to discuss with you."

Walker took the phone, listened for a few minutes, and his expression turned even uglier.

After hanging up the phone, he said to his secretary:

"The city council is going to hold an emergency meeting to discuss unemployment benefits and protests."

……

Meanwhile, in New York's Lower East Side.

A group of unemployed workers gathered in Union Square, holding up signs and chanting slogans.

"We need to work!"

"We want bread!"

"Down with the corrupt government!"

Such demonstrations have become more frequent in recent weeks.

Following the stock market crash, unemployment in New York City skyrocketed. Factories closed, shops went out of business, and tens of thousands of people lost their jobs.

The city government set up some temporary relief stations, distributing free bread and soup, but this was far from enough. There were always long lines in front of the relief stations, and sometimes people had to wait for hours to get a bowl of thin soup and a hard piece of bread.

Today, the march is larger than ever before.

Arthur's works had long fueled their anger.

The New York Mirror's report thoroughly enraged these unemployed workers.

"We're starving, and he's drinking three-hundred-dollar champagne!"

"We were queuing for welfare, and he was at a nightclub hugging a female celebrity!"

"This is the mayor we elected!"

The crowd grew larger and larger, quickly increasing from a few hundred people to over a thousand.

A middle-aged man in tattered work clothes stood on a makeshift wooden crate and shouted in a hoarse voice:

"Brothers and sisters! We've been fooled! The mayor we elected doesn't care about our lives at all! All he cares about is his champagne, his actresses, and his nightclubs!"

The crowd erupted in angry roars.

The man continued, "I've worked for twenty years, and I've never slacked off or complained. But now, the factory is closed, and I'm unemployed. My wife is sick, and my children are hungry."

"I went to the city hall to apply for relief, and they made me fill out forms, wait, fill out more forms, and wait again. I waited for three weeks, and still nothing!"

"And what about our mayor? He squanders our tax money in nightclubs! He spends eight hundred and fifty dollars a night! That's enough for our family to live on for a year!"

The crowd's emotions grew increasingly agitated.

Someone shouted:

"Let's go to City Hall!"

"Yes! Go to City Hall! Get Walker out here and give us an explanation!"

"We want work! We want bread!"

The crowd began to move, surging from Union Square toward City Hall.

People kept joining along the way. Unemployed workers, shop owners who had closed their shops, and tenants who couldn't afford their rent all joined the march.

Someone was holding up today's New York Mirror, with the photo of Walker in the nightclub held high.

"Look at our mayor!"

"Look what he's doing!"

"Eight hundred and fifty dollars! He spent eight hundred and fifty dollars in one night!"

The roars of the crowd echoed through the streets.

Police tried to stop them, but there were too many people.

Moreover, the police are in a difficult position, as many of them were law-abiding citizens, and some are even neighbors or relatives of the police.

An older policeman said to his younger colleague:

"Let them be. They just want an explanation. And frankly, I also think the mayor went too far."

The young policeman hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stepped aside.

The procession marched in a long, winding line toward the city hall. People kept joining along the way, and the procession grew longer and longer, like an angry river.

When they arrived at the City Hall Square, there were already three or four thousand people in the queue.

They surrounded the city hall building, chanting slogans and waving banners.

"Walker resign!"

"We need to work!"

"We want bread, not champagne!"

The city hall guards stood tense at the entrance, but they knew they couldn't stop the crowd if it really tried to break in.