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Corsiantian National Newspaper


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Mass famine causes economic crash
30/10/1930 | by The Ministry of Finance and the Corsiantian Government

Wall Street stockbrokers in New York, capitol of the York Province, despartley trying to reclaim their assets outside Federal Hall, a former US building.
Today, the unthinkable has happened. Pandemonium has gripped Wall Street today in what is being described as the most catastrophic financial collapse since Corsiantia's founding and in Wall street history. The stock market which has been teetering on the edge for weeks due to the unprecidented dust storms sweaping the nation, has finally crumbled under the weight of panic selling. Wall street has now been closed to all stockholders, this includes both to national and international, as Corsiantia implements emergency measures to contain the damage.
The day began with a sense of unease, as investors nervously watched the ticker tape for signs of stability dueing the ensuing crisis in the midwest. By mid-morning, however, it was clear that stability was nowhere to be found as figures from the Ministry of Agriculutre about food produce was released. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted at an unprecedented rate, with fortunes worth millions vanishing in mere minutes. Brokers on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange were overwhelmed as sell orders poured in, creating a frenzy of activity that bordered on chaos before Police arrived to control the situation.
Outside the exchange, a growing crowd of onlookers gathered on Broad Street, their faces etched with worry and disbelief. Some clutched there stocks with many theorists warning of financial disaster, while others simply stared in silence as the Corsiantian business and international economies seemed to unravel before their eyes. Reports are coming in of individuals fainting or breaking down in tears as they realize the full extent of their losses. Some are rumoured to have committed suicide via jumping from the Bank windows, however these reports are unclear.
One broker who was an investment manager of Standard Fruit, his tie askew and his face pale with exhaustion, described the scene as "a nightmare." "I've never seen anything like this," he said. "People are desperate. They're selling everything,stocks, bonds, everything they own,just to try and salvage something but to no avail it seems."
The collapse has not been limited to Wall Street. Across the Empire and the world, banks are struggling to keep up with withdrawals as panicked depositors rush to secure their savings. Rumors of bank failures are spreading like wildfire, further fueling the sense of fear and uncertainty.
Economists are warning that this crash could have far-reaching consequences for the Corsiantian economy. The speculative bubble that had inflated stock prices to dizzying heights over the past few years has now burst, leaving countless investors both large and small devastated. Factories are already beginning to lay off workers as demand for goods plummets, and many fear that this could mark the beginning of a prolonged economic downturn and a mass unemployment crisis.
The Vice Supreme Admiralty has urged calm, stating that "the fundamental business of the country... is on a sound and prosperous basis and it will even out." However, his reassurances have done little to quell the growing anxiety among the public.
As night falls over New York City, the mood remains grim. The ticker tape continues to churn out bad news, and brokers are left to tally up the staggering losses. For many, this day now being called "Black Tuesday" will be remembered as a turning point, a moment when the Corsiantia's will was shaken to its core.
The Dust Bowl
A car, house and family all killed and covered by the dust storms after being unable to call for help in the desolate rural Nebraska
The once-fertile plains of the American Midwest have become an unrecognizable wasteland. Towering walls of dust, some stretching thousands of feet into the sky, now sweep across the region with a ferocity that has left families and farms in ruin. What was once the breadbasket of the nation is now a barren expanse where crops cannot grow, livestock cannot graze, more akin to the desert and mountains of Eastern Ashwood Donner and hope struggles to survive.
Residents of Lexington witnessed what many are calling "Black Sunday," one of the worst dust storms in memory. By mid-afternoon, the sky turned an ominous shade of black as a massive dust cloud rolled in, blotting out the sun and reducing visibility to mere inches. Families scrambled to seal their homes, stuffing wet rags into cracks beneath doors and around windows, but the fine silt found its way in regardless. It coated furniture, filled lungs, and turned every breath into a struggle.
One call was famously recorded by the Ministry of Agriculture and was released to press and has become infamous to show the verocity of the storm.
Phone conversation recording under investigation... Ministry of Agriculture office, Milwaukee, 3rd of August 1930
Property of Ministry of Homeland Security and Imperial Investigation Bureau.
Charles: Hello, Hello?
MoA: Hello?
Charles: Oh thank god!
MoA: Sir we are about to close for the night and...
Charles: Wait! It's and emergency!
MoA: Ok, what's you name sir?
Charles: This is Charles Schrader, from just outside Lexington Nebraska, can anyone hear me!
MoA: This is the Ministry of Agriculture how may we help you?
Charles: Well we got a big problem over here, no one really here knows what to do, the local sheriff told me to call you since the Territorial Police aren't picking up and no other people are picking up!
MoA: Where's the Sheriff can you get him on the line?
Charles: He's gone out to look for more people.
(Charles frantic breathing)
MoA: Okay okay, slow down what's wrong?
Charles: We had a huge storm over here and now there's dust everywhere!
MoA: Dust?
Charles: At least a feet of the stuff, it's like a sandstorm outside!
MoA: A Dust storm in Nebraska? We have lost all communications anywhere south of Iowa from what we thought was a thunderstorm, are there any people still outside?
Charles: Yes theres like 60 people in the town we can't find and 30 people with us, you can't even see an inch in front of you!
(Charles begins to break down)
Charles: Frank and his wife just walked into the storm and now are gone, they were right behind us!
You can't shout or talk over the wind and they could be walking down to Ashwood Donner for F***s sake!
MoA: Sir Sir, are you in a safe place.
Charles: Yeah we are gathered in the town hall.
MoA: And what of the Town and surrounding area?
Charles: All gone, the dust is up to our knees, no plant or animal can survive that, there's 50mph winds so they probably can't breath either!
Charles: Please send help, there's people out there lost in the storm, we got enough food to last us maybe a week but with more townfolk coming in by the hour I don't know how long we'll last.
MoA: Right, barricade the windows and any doors.
Charles: Yes we already... wait no Mary don't open the Do-
(Massive gusts of winds block out any noises that can be heard)
Mary: I can't see! Get in the other ro-
Line cuts.
MoA: Charles, Charles respond!
End of recording
The Schrader family home and the Outskirts of Lexington, Nebraska Territory before being destroyed by the oncoming dust storm.
Farmers, already reeling from drought and crop failure, now face an even grimmer reality. The relentless winds have stripped topsoil from the land, leaving fields barren and lifeless. "It’s like trying to grow crops on the desert dunes of Ashwood Donner," said one farmer Charles Schrader, a former resident of the town of Lexington which is now consumed with dust, his face etched with exhaustion. "We can’t fight this anymore and we have to flee for our lives."
The human toll is staggering. tens of thousands of families have been forced to abandon their farms, loading what little they can onto trucks and heading East or North in search of work and survival. Many are bound for the Province of Illious, Michigan and Wiscousin and the capital Heliopolis, though reports suggest that opportunities there are scarce and competition fierce. Those who remain behind face worsening conditions as dust pneumonia,a deadly respiratory illness caused by inhaling fine particles claims more lives each week and spreads across the area like a Plague.
Experts from the Imperial Science Instiute blame a combination of factors for this catastrophe. Years of aggressive farming practices have stripped the land of its natural vegetation as to feed a growing national and international demand, leaving it vulnerable to erosion and soil overuse. Combined with a prolonged drought that has gripped the region since 1929, the result has been nothing short of devastating.
Relief efforts are underway, but they are feared to be inadequate to meet the scale of the crisis. The Ministry of Agriculture are distributing food and water where they can and strict rationing has begun as crop yields have failed, many families say it’s not enough.
The Supreme Admiralty has promised action and his return from his tour to help manage the crisis, including programs to encourage soil conservation and reforestation in many area's, but for many here in Nebraska, those measures feel like too little, too late.
As the winds continue to howl and the dust clouds loom on the horizon, the people of Corsiantia's fertile lifeline are left to wonder how much longer they can endure.
What will this mean?
Recently fired Cargo ship workers outside a charity kitchen for the unemployed in Philidelphia.
Reports from across the globe paint a grim picture. International trade, once the lifeblood of industrialised nations, has slowed to a trickle. The ripple effects of the financial collapse have caused demand for goods to plummet, leaving factories idle and ships sitting empty in ports. Tariffs and protectionist policies are exacerbating the situation, further strangling trade and deepening the crisis.
The Empire of Corsiantia, a major dominant force in global commerce, has seen its exports drop by nearly 50% immediatley since the crash. The Economic Protection Tariffs Act, signed into law soon after the crash, has imposed steep duties on imported goods in an attempt to shield Corsiantian industries from foreign competition. However, this move has triggered retaliatory tariffs from other nations, effectively freezing international trade for the time being.
Farmers are among the hardest hit by the trade collapse. With international markets cut off, agricultural surpluses are piling up, driving prices to rock-bottom levels. Suriving wheat farmers in the Great Plains, for example, are unable to sell their crops abroad and face financial ruin. Similar stories are emerging from nations such as The Southern american state, where coffee and sugar producers are struggling to survive. This even extends across the world to nations such as
Achias who only just recovered from the Pyrovirus pandemic.
The human toll of this economic disaster on the citizens of Corsiantia is staggering. Unemployment is soaring worldwide, with tens of thousands of workers losing their jobs as factories shut down and businesses close their doors. Breadlines and soup kitchens have become a common sight in cities, while rural communities grapple with poverty and despair.
Economists warn that unless swift action is taken to stabilise markets and restore trade, the situation could worsen. Calls for international cooperation are growing louder, but leaders of the nations all over the world remain divided on how to address the crisis. Protectionist policies continue to dominate Corsiantia as nations prioritize their own interests over global solutions as Corsiantia now protectd any of its economic assests it has around the world.
As Corsiantia deals with the greatest crisis since the Pyrovirus pandemic, we will stand united and strong through all the suffering that nature can throw at us, stand united as one people, as Corsiantia will stand through it all.
Pyrovicus Vaccine Service.
Call 111 for the National Health Service to notify them of booking Pyrovirus vaccine or go to your nearest clinic and Doctors and Nurses will be sent to help you, please do not attempt or accept any form of unauthorised vaccination by anyone but a medical professional.
If you suspect you yourself are infected, please inform your nearest hospital to be tested, you should wear an allocated Mask approved by the authorities and self isolate for a period of 2-5 weeks until all symptoms subside, you will not need to recive a vaccine until a year after infection.
Emergency Food Rationing Distribution
Rubber and Automobile manufactures gatherd outside a Ration distrubtion centre in Cleveland, Ohio Province.
One of the many who lost millions on that fateful day, a man reduced to wealth no greater than the workers who served under him, many other brokers took there own life rather than sucumb to this fate of selling their most prized possessions (see picture a man selling his Ford Car) for miniscule amounts of money.
Inform to your local bank to recieve temporally food ration cards, bring ID of yourself and immediate family (Such as Husband, Wife and children) to the ration distrubtion centres, you are then permitted to buy rations at shops mandated to sell rations.
This is a temporary measure and only will be used for the duration of this Crisis. Corsiantia will stand through it all.