THE ICE COLD MONOPOLY

WHISPERED TRUE STORIES

In the year 1900, Charles Morse, a wealthy businessman, was able to get a monopoly on the sale of ice in New York City. He then doubled the price, which put ice out of reach, for tens of thousands of people, who had no other way to keep their food fresh, and their beverages cold. Then, when a heat wave suddenly hit, there was a public uproar that shook every corner of the city, from the Mayor's office, to Wall Street.

This episode shares the story with you – told entirely in Whisper, by Kit Caren.

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HISTORICAL REFERENCES:

Murphy, Cait, Scoundrels In Law (2010), at pp. 223-228 (a detailed description of the ice conspiracy).

Dictionary of American Biography (1934), Vol. XIII, at pp. 239-241 (biography of Charles Morse).

Bruner, Robert and Carr, Sean, The Panic of 1907. (2007), pp. 39-40 (general background of Charles Morse).

The Panic of 1907 and the Maine Man Who Caused It, New England Historical Society (article regarding Charles Morse, webpage, 2017).

Obituary: Charles W. Morse, Dead. Ex-New Yorker, Who Controlled 13 Banks, Is a Victim of Pneumonia, The New York Times, January 13, 1933).

Chandler, Raymond, Red Harvest (novel, 1938).

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CLOSING THOUGHT:

Source - Frost, Robert, Fire and Ice (poem, 1920).

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HOW TO CONTACT THE HOST - KIT CAREN

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@KitCaren