The beginning of the end?

Atlas Shrugged – Day 051 – pp. 499-508

All hell has broken loose. The apocalypse is at hand. And the G is still screwing things up.

They’re spewing nonsense like a fire hose:

“You must learn to take a philosophical attitude,” said Dr. Simon Pritchett to a young girl student who broke down into sudden, hysterical sobs in the middle of a lecture. She had just returned from a volunteer relief expedition to a settlement on Lake Superior; she had seen a mother holding the body of a grown son who had died of hunger. “There are no absolutes. . . Reality is only an illusion. How does that woman know that her son is dead? How does she know that he ever existed?”

Check a pulse?  Now were getting into some real nonsense. Realistically, I can’t imagine any government, even one as corrupt and inept as ours would try to proffer that kind of philosophy. Maybe Rand was just exaggerating to make a point. Anyone with one operating braincell in their head would beat Dr. P to death just for making such a statement. Maybe.

In any case, it appears we are approaching the climax of some sort of plot line.

Orren Boyle is selling his crappy steel to the “Bureau of Global Relief” to be shipped overseas. Steel that was bound for the Atlantic Southern railroad to shore up their bridge crossing the Mississippi river. The bridge which collapsed late one night killing everyone in the engine and first five sleeper cars.

“You can’t have your cake and let your neighbor eat it, too.” said Francisco d’Anconia. The fury of denunciation which the holders of public voices unleashed against him was greater that their concern over the horror at the river.

“The holders of public voices.” That’s an interesting turn of a phrase.

Anyway, Ragnar D has been busy. Sinking steel shipments bound for “charitable” destinations. No one in the public heard or noticed any of it. Until people started noticing shortages of everything that steel would have manufactured.

An item of note. While Ragnar is on his merry revenge trip, Rand notes that every shipment of d’Anconia copper he comes across, he sinks rather than steals. I’m wondering if he’s marking spots. That the plan is this copper might be recovered at sometime in the future. Hmmmm. . .

Hank’s apologizing to Dagny about his failure to perform (deliver the Rearden Metal.) I don’t think he’s been unable to perform any other ways. But the travesty is eating away at him.

He’s taken to a life of crime, now buying coal from organized gangs of the unemployed under dark of night.

Everything’s going to hell. . .

Including Taggart Trans. Let’s cut to a board meeting.

They are joined by a Washington guy named Mr. Weatherby. No one’s sure who he is. The subject of the evening’s meeting is the Rio Norte Line — to cannibalize it for the sake of their transcontinental line which is falling apart.

Jim is pitching to Mr Weatherby.

“We all realize, of course, that this is only temporary. . . the number of factories which have closed throughout the TT system is so large that it has wrecked our entire financial structure . . . A train schedule geared for a heavy volume of freight cannot be maintained for three shippers . . . [we] cannot give to one lone factory the freight rates which had been made possible by the production of a whole region . . .We are running our trains at a loss and they have taken a stand against any . . .raise in rates.”

Big speech, quick point at the end, hat in hand. Mr. W seems to disagree.

“That is not what they have taken.”

But wait! There’s more!

“Fact is, that Mr. Mouch sent me her to discuss the demand of the railway unions for a raise in wages and the demand of the shippers for a cut in rates.” [He said it in a tone of casual firmness.]

And now the talk turns political. Who’s wining and dining who in Washington. Someone named Buzzy Watts seems to be garnering favor.  This has dire implications for Jim and he is well aware of it:

“. . .he himself had been ‘the public’ for so long and in so many different issues, that he knew what it would mean if that magic title, that sacred title no on dared to oppose, were transferred, along with its ‘welfare,’ to the person of Buzzy Watts.”

Yes Jim. Easy come, easy go.

Dagny can’t resist chiming in.

“Got what you’ve been asking for, all these years, gentlemen?”

The discussion continues when Mr W “suggests” that Jim might be able to do Wesley a favor.

Anything.

Give the unions their wage concessions and he’ll get the shippers to stop calling for rate cuts.

This doesn’t help since they’re losing their ass already. How will they be able to afford something like that?

This is great.

“I don’t know. That’s your job, not ours. You couldn’t want the government to start telling you how t run your railroad, would you? . . . Our job is only to see that the people get fair wages and decent transportation It’s up to you to deliver.”

Jim, this is called the crevice between the rock and the hard place. So what to do.

Talk turns to the dismantling of the Rio Norte Line. It’s not profitable. Dagny can’t make it profitable. So wouldn’t it be better if. . .