Chapter 332: Panic

Before the United Company intervened, St. Louis was actually an automobile manufacturing base that competed with Detroit. This was because St. Louis was almost in the middle of the United States, similar to the position of Luoyang in the Republic.

So after the United Corporation established the automobile company, a large number of automobile talents from St. Louis moved south and provided automobile talents that were no less than those from Detroit. In the riverside estate, Sheffield hoped that Rockefeller Jr. would be calmer. Wasn't it still necessary to see who Roosevelt would attack first?

"I just don't believe that he can deliver the State of the Union address, pass legislation, and then cause trouble for you in one day. It will take at least a few years to complete all the steps and take the case to the Supreme Court for a decision." Sheffield did not think the matter was serious. In the long run, it was indeed serious, but there was still time for confrontation.

"Since you said so, I will discuss it here with all the major shareholders and get everything done at once." Rockefeller Jr. was not as irritable as he was when they first met. Since the matter was inevitable, he would just accept it calmly. There would be a final struggle, and for that he would need the support of other shareholders of Standard Oil.

Compared with Morgan, the representative of financial capital, Rockefeller's Standard Oil had the advantage of far greater organizational strength than Morgan's loose alliance. It did not have many shareholders, but any of them were big names, many of whom were railroad tycoons of the same era as Vanderbilt.

Shareholders are important, which is why Rockefeller Jr. hated antitrust laws. This was not to protect Standard Oil's shareholders, but the increase in Standard Oil's shareholders was a result of responding to antitrust laws. In an earlier period, when antitrust laws were not introduced, the Rockefeller family's control over Standard Oil was even stronger than it is now, almost the same as Sheffield's control over United.

In the early years, Rockefeller was the only important figure in shaping the new oil industry, so he dominated the team. Power was concentrated in the company's headquarters in Cleveland, but decisions at the headquarters were made in a pretend cooperative manner. Although there were many shareholders, in reality, the Rockefeller family had the final say.

"If you don't handle it well, your joint company will sooner or later become Standard Oil, and those shareholders who only receive dividends but have no decision-making power will also become shareholders with decision-making power. This is the change in Standard Oil after the antitrust law came into being." Seeing that Sheffield didn't take it seriously, Rockefeller Jr. gloated and said, "Do you believe it?"

"Maybe?" Sheffield was noncommittal. Judging from normal development, the evolution of Standard Oil might eventually become the evolution of United Oil. However, the slave owner hated this kind of loan prophet. He was even more certain than him who had historical evolution as a reference. He just had a few stinky dollars. Didn't he really think he could see far?

"But the law is dead and people are alive. The law also depends on who interprets it. This time Roosevelt is going to make an interpretation that is unfavorable to us. This is so annoying." Rockefeller Jr. said something meaningful.

"That's right!" Sheffield was still very frugal with his words, but he could understand what Rockefeller Jr. meant.

No matter how strict the law is, there are always loopholes. So in a society like the United States with procedural justice, gangs are bound to exist. Even in other countries, there are laws to protect minors. Are there no scumbags among minors? Psychopaths need to be identified for murder, but there are also psychopaths who want to kill people as soon as they get sick. These are all worth discussing.

After the antitrust law was introduced, in addition to deterring the trust companies, most of the time it was used by the trust companies to deal with workers! This depends on who is interpreting the antitrust law. According to the description of the trust model, does the union count as a trust model organization? If it counts, then it can be used to deal with the union.

This leaves a wide space for judicial interpretation, and such judicial interpretation is deeply influenced by the economic background. Therefore, the law is often used by the courts to oppose trade unions and suppress workers' movements.

After contacting all the major shareholders, Rockefeller Jr. determined to fight to the end, which won the support of most shareholders. He then told these shareholders the attitude of the United Company, which reassured these shareholders that we have a powerful ally who stands firmly with us.

In fact, the current communication is not just between Sheffield and Rockefeller Jr. It can be said that since Roosevelt delivered the State of the Union address, meetings to formulate offensive and defensive alliances to confront each other have been taking place in all walks of life across the United States, which is a threat to all trust companies.

In the coal industry, which is different from the oil industry, the same scene is also being played out. The organizers and alliance companies of the coal companies are almost the same as those in St. Louis, but more complicated and cumbersome. Because in the coal industry, there is no trust enterprise like Standard Oil, but there are several companies with similar strengths. These companies form a cartel alliance to control the national anthracite market.

The cartel controls nearly every bit of anthracite in the United States, with its tentacles reaching into the fireplaces of millions of Americans. Unlike many cartels, the members of the coal cartel have been working together for more than a decade, with each company adopting similar strategies. This rare negotiation allows the coal cartel to demonstrate strong coordination.

The coal cartel, a union built on blood, had just been formed when workers struck, wrecked railroads, smashed machinery, and burned mines. The cartel's new owners still controlled the company, and as a result, hungry workers were forced to return to work in pieces for even smaller wages.

If things had ended there, it would have been just a general confrontation, but afterwards, the coal cartel's allied companies took the striking workers directly to court, pointing out that the coal workers had threatened all the coal company owners through intimidation, beatings, arson, and shootings during the strike, and that these were the work of some agitators among the anthracite miners.

Dozens of coal miners were arrested by police paid by the coal cartel, and the following year a spectacular, highly publicized murder trial was held in the anthracite mining villages of the striking workers who had been arrested by the coal cartel's private police. At the trial, not only did coal cartel spies testify against the suspects, but against all strikers and the then-defunct Miners' Union.

Twenty workers were sentenced to hanging and twenty-six were sentenced to imprisonment. The coal cartel won praise from the press, saying that it had completed a great project that would benefit the public, benefit future generations, and benefit the country and the people.

This can be said to be a brilliant battle to suppress the strike, and the coal cartel won an absolute victory. In fact, the process of this case must have a sense of déjà vu in the eyes of those who have been paying attention to the reconstruction process in New Orleans. Because Sheffield framed those residents who resisted demolition, which was learned from the coal cartel.

The coal cartel invented an Irish union and took advantage of the public opinion that the Irish were excluded. Sheffield took advantage of the Dixie people's hatred of blacks, and finally achieved their goals.

In a somewhat shabby but spacious meeting room, many cartel members were waiting for someone to show up. Finally, as the door opened, an elderly man in his sixties with gray hair slowly came to his seat and sat in the empty seat that attracted everyone's attention.

"What should we do, Jace? Considering that Roosevelt has just criticized many large companies, the workers are asking for a wage increase this time. He may be taking advantage of public opinion to blackmail us!"

"We still need to discuss this with Mr. Morgan!" Jace listened to the complaints of some allies and finally said helplessly, "You know, the president is watching us now, and public opinion is not very favorable."

"If Gao En were still alive, this matter would have been resolved long ago." A member complained with dissatisfaction.

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"But he died. He met a more powerful opponent." Jace said coldly, "You and I were witnesses of what happened back then."

Everyone who mentions Gowen's name sighs. This name was once the most talked-about business leader in the United States, as famous as Andrew Carnegie or John Rockefeller at the time. Although he did not start out by operating coal mines, it was he who made coal a monarch in the minds of Americans in that era.

Gowen eventually extended his hand to the railroads and clashed with the railroad tycoon William Vanderbilt. Morgan eventually found the right opportunity and kicked him out of the coal cartel, making him a victim at Morgan's feet.

"Gentlemen, Mr. Morgan has sent a telegram, temporarily agreeing to the miners' request." While the meeting room was still arguing, a man who looked like an assistant pushed the door open and sent a telegram saying, "The situation in Washington is still uncertain. Don't draw attention to yourself."

"You've heard it, our concessions aren't that big. We just need to make a little concession to give the miners some benefits. Once Washington's attitude is determined, if nothing goes wrong, we can get back the benefits we gave up." After listening to the telegram read by his assistant, Jace persuaded the allies, "This is the only way to do it now."

No one wants to be the first unlucky person, and Roosevelt's State of the Union address has already had a panic-stricken effect.

(End of this chapter)