Curfew Strife Cripples City

CHAOS IN THE PORT

CITY CLAIMS LABORERS CANNOT BE PLEASED

ACTING MAYOR RETALIATES

NEW BABBAGE, NB — Heeding the ultimatum issued on Tuesday by prominent hotelier, Mr V Mornington, the dock workers at the New Babbage Port have officially gone on strike, bottlenecking all shipments in and out via the Vernian Sea.

Barrels bobbing in the frigid waters of the Port indicate the dire levels this strike has already reached, as the entire Port District is in utter and complete disarray with mountains of crates, barrels, boxes, and trunks having clogged up what is already a thoroughly congested area of the city. 'This will only get worse as time crawls on, believe me.  Think about it, this has only been one day.' stated Mr R Douglas of Clockhaven, a dock worker in the 'Swing Shift' division of labor.

Miss N Nymlet, a member of the ad hoc New Babbage Night Watch scoffed at the labor dispute, stating, 'There's no way to please the working man, it seems.  Either they complain that they have to work nights, or that they are not allowed to.'  When asked by a reporter from the Free Press how this matter might be cleared up, she suggested, 'It could be easily rectified if they would only hire more day labor.'

When questioned on rumors of members of the Night Watch taking bribes from citizens to be allowed passage on the streets after dark, Miss Nymlet responded, 'No comment.'

Mr O Underby, acting mayor — in lieu of Clockwinder Tenk — has still refused to comment to the Free Press, but in what some believe to be a form of response to the strike has closed down Cuffs Public House at the corner of Savory Street and Abney Parkway, a well-known social meeting place for the dock workers of the area.  The reason for the closing has not been made public, however a source within City Hall has suggested tax evasion may be a cause.

Curfew Ultimatum Posed

CITY BANKRUPTED IF CURFEW CONTINUES?

CITIZENS PLAN TO REBEL

ACTING MAYOR'S ASSISTANT ISSUES PUBLIC THREAT

NEW BABBAGE, NB — The New Babbage Free Press was wired the following missive only moments ago, and immediately began to print a special edition:

Dear Citizens of New Babbage,

As some of you may know, our esteemed ACTING Mayor, Mr Underby, has put in motion a city wide curfew which starts at fall of night and ends upon daybreak.

As we all know, New Babbage is currently in the mid winter period, a season when the nights are extremley long, and the days very short.  I have been talking with the Port Authority gang workers and their foremen and they have assured me that if this curfew keeps going, the Port Authority will end up being held liable for spoiled good which are not able to make landfall due to this curfew our ACTING mayor has implemented.

Not only this, but the pubs, bars and restaurants of the city have now seen on average a 70% drop in takings over the past 2 days of this curfew as all of our nighttime revelers, employees, caterers and delivery gangs are not able to make their rounds.  This curfew is bankrupting the city!

As a concerned citizen of this city, and the owner of the largest bar and restaurant, i have sent out this missive to let the good township know that if ACTING Mayor Underby does not withdraw his Curfew by the evening of Tuesday the 22nd, that myself, and the patrons and restaurant visitors will purposefully break his curfew.   The port workers gangs have also shown an interest to go on strike as from Wednesday the 23rd and the workers at Hawksley Water Pump Station have also followed suit.

I will not have my bar go bankrupt due to the misguided attempts of a politician to wield his ACTING mayor powers!

Signed,

Victor Mornington

Brunel Hall Hotel

The Hawksley Water Pumping Station

Acting mayor Mr O Underby — in lieu of Clockwinder Tenk — was unavailable for comment at the time of printing, however, his assistant Mr R Dorchester stated, 'The mayor's office will not be held responsible for any injuries incurred by seditious citizens.'

Anarchist Suspicions Run Rampant

MOB CHASES ADMITTED ANARCHIST

WOMAN EXPLAINS HOW SHE WOULD HAVE DONE IT

MILITIA ASSURE ARREST IS IMMINENT

NEW BABBAGE, NB — Several citizens have become the target of suspicion from disparate directions as of late, with murderers and bombers admittedly on the loose in public.

Two unruly gatherings of citizens - one just north of Central Station, and another near City Hall - were spotted pursuing a male in his mid 30s, allegedly under the belief he had admitted to anarchistic sympathies.  It is currently unknown if the congruent incidents are related.

A young woman in the Gangplank Public House, on East Prince Dakkar in Clockhaven, also raised suspicious ire amongst her fellow patrons last evening whilst lecturing at length as to how she would have performed the bombing of the tracks in the Fells, north of the New Babbage walls.

When pressed to identify her political beliefs the woman politely refused, but denied a steadfast belief in anarchists and their craft.

An anarchist organization known as the Tiny Scallion Group has taken credit for the bombing of the tracks in the Fells.  An source within the New Babbage Milita assures the Free Press that an arrest is imminent.

Queer Localized Fog In Canal District

FOG FIRST WITNESSED BY DRUNK

REPORTED SMALL AND HIGHLY DENSE

POSSIBLY GREEN IN HUE AND GLOWING

NEW BABBAGE, NB — A queerly small and highly localized fog was reported in the Canal District of New Babbage last night, according to sources.

The small fog cloud — which was highly dense, and approximately eight feet in diameter at its widest point — was first noticed around 8 o' clock PM at Doyle Place, directly in front of Ruby's Public House, by a Mr R Bladderstick.

'It were like noffink I ever seen!' he stated later.  '[It] sat in place for near ten minutes, it were already there when I came out [of Ruby's Public House] ter take, er... take de fresh air, yes.  Dat's de ticket.  Still there when I came back in.  It were a long, er... breathe.'

The fog cloud was soon after observed to float slowly and meanderingly to the north west, where it was next spotted on Bow Street by a Miss Velma Forgrave, a local spinster.

'I have never in all my years witnessed something so utterly sinister.' she stated, from within her home, refusing to step outside to speak to a reporter from the Free Press.  'It would sit in one spot for minutes at a time, and then float somewhere else, only to remain immobile again for an ungodly amount of time.  It's reasons such as this that I stay indoors near always now.  I tell my nephew Cyrus constantly about how vile, how utterly and horribly vile, this world is.'

The fog cloud was last spotted floating toward the Shipworks on Canal Street around half 11 o' clock PM, where it is reported to have finally floated away into the sky over the Vernian Sea.

Reports that the fog cloud was chartreuse in hue, or emitted a faint phosphorescence in certain circumstances, have been unverified at the time of printing.

Public House Looks For New Cook

PUBLIC HOUSE SEEKS NEW COOK

OWNER CLAIMS RECENT POISONINGS UNRELATED

LONG HISTORY OF VICE ON SITE

NEW BABBAGE, NB — The Bucket of Blood Public House on Abney Parkway West, in the neighborhood of Coronet Gardens, is looking for a new cook for their establishment.

Owner, Mr B Heed, claims that the recent bouts of acute food poisoning emanating from the public house are unrelated to the current search for a new culinarian, stating, 'Miss Jones, the current cook, refuses to touch octopus, which I adore.'

It is currently unknown if the recent death of a Mr R Griswold, of food poisoning, is related to the spate of poisonings in the Bucket of Blood.

The public house, which opened in 1822 under the original name of The Coronet, has long been a den of vice, crime, and general immoral behavior, earning its epithet of 'the bucket of blood' long before officially changing the name in 1855.  Social crusader, Miss E Prim, successfully campaigned to have the establishment permanently closed 1869, remaining so until three years ago, when the public house was re-opened, under the new ownership of Mr O Underby.  Miss Prim was lynched by an unruly mob in 1870.

Applicants are asked to prepare an octopus dish before visiting the establishment for employment.