The Independent Diamond Traders Matter

Originally Aired: November 24, 1953Johnny Dollar #190, "The Independent Diamond Traders Matter,"Johnny Dollar travels to New York to investigate a disturbing trend for Atlas Indemnity: nearly two-thirds of the small, independent diamond traders along the city's famous Diamond Row have gone bankrupt and cancelled their insurance policies after decades in business. His assignment leads him to E. G. Moss, president of the Independent Diamond Traders Association, but not before Dollar inadvertently overhears a private conversation between Moss and a mysterious woman named Mona, much to the displeasure of Moss's stepdaughter Susan. The elderly Moss explains that someone has been flooding the market with diamonds priced far below normal rates, devastating the small traders who can't compete with the sudden price drops in what has always been a rigidly controlled market.As Dollar begins his investigation into who is selling cut-rate stones and how they're able to undercut established prices so dramatically, he encounters a tense family dynamic between Moss, his protective stepdaughter Susan, and the demanding Mona. With the livelihoods of dozens of longtime traders at stake, Dollar must uncover the source of these suspiciously cheap diamonds.