“I guess so. If I can manage a thousand words.”
“I myself have that problem,” Harper said brightly. “Few editorial pages will buy anything longer.”
Releasing spring latches, Harper opened his attaché case and removed a New York Times, which he waved in front of the class. “Enough time wasted,” he continued. “We have few enough weeks until graduation and—heaven help you—you’ll need them. I assume you’re all expecting to start college this fall?” He did not wait for replies. “Of course you are, or you wouldn’t be here. Well, here’s some advance warning: Don’t count on it. There’s the extreme possibility that there won’t even be necessities this fall, much less operating colleges.”
All of the students—with the exception of an attractive friend of Elliot’s, Marilyn Danforth—were now turning their eyes intently forward. Harper was a good dramatist, a good teacher. 18
Alongside Night
Harper waved the newspaper again. “Top of page one, today’s paper. Let’s just see what we find.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20—The President today vowed, in a televised address at 8:30 E.T. this evening that he will order the Federal Reserve Bank to keep the printing presses running day and night, if necessary, to ease the shortage of New Dollars. The President further stated that the country’s present economic difficulties are well within the government’s ability to control, charging, ‘They stem from loss of confidence in our governmental institutions due to the reckless predictions of socially irresponsible, doomsday economists.’
Elliot noticed several students looking at him pointedly, during the reference to economists, but he pretended not to notice. Harper did notice, however, and quickly discarded the first section of the newspaper. “All right, on to the financial page,” he continued. “This dateline is official from the Office of Public Information:
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, (OPI)—The cost-of-living index rose 2012
percent in the final quarter of last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed today. Mr. Harper chuckled. “Good of them to let us in on the secret.” He set the paper down. “Now, I realize this must sound rather dry, but I cannot stress too strongly how such events affect your daily lives. We are looking at a crisis that will make the Great Depression look tame by comparison. I assume Mrs. Tobias had started discussing this in class?” There were several murmured affirmatives and a nod or two. “Good. Marilyn Danforth.”
“Huh?” The class joined in laughter as the pretty brunette was roused from her daydream.
“Please describe for us the antecedents of inflation.”
“Uh—do you mean what Mrs. Tobias told us?”
“If you have nothing original to say,” Harper said backhandedly, “yes.”
Alongside Night
19
“Well,” she started hesitantly. “Uh—inflation—you know—
has a lot of different causes, depending, you know, on just when you’re talking about. F’rinstance, you might have a war somewhere and that will cause inflation, and just when you’re expecting it’s over, there might be a crop failure, you know?”
She looked thoughtful for a moment. “At least I think that’s what she said.”
“I’m certain you remembered it perfectly. Does anyone wish to add anything?”
He recognized Mason Langley. “She left out about the greedy businessmen.”
“We mustn’t miss that, Mr. Langley. Proceed.”
“Inflation,” Langley said, drawing himself up, “is caused by greedy businessmen who force higher prices by producing less than consumer demand. They also create artificial demand by planning obsolescence into their manufactured goods so they have to be prematurely replaced.” He smiled smugly. Harper ignored him and answered politely. “Thank you. Anyone else?”
Cal Ackerman, the class yahoo, raised his hand. Harper called on him. Looking backward directly at Elliot, Ackerman made each word a deliberate insult: “I agree with what the President said last night. All our troubles are caused by brownies”—he almost tasted the word—”following economists like Elliot Vreeland’s old man.”
Elliot’s eyes flared at Ackerman. Mr. Harper intervened quickly before a fight could start. “I think you owe Elliot an apology, Cal. Dr Vreeland’s views—while admittedly radical—
are respected in many quarters. Aside from that, I do not allow name-calling in my classes.”
Ackerman stayed mute.
Elliot said, “That’s okay, Mr. Harper. Ackerman is much too fascistic to have read any of my father’s books.”