Chapter 746 Cartel Agreement

"Tell Gale to consider closing Puerto Rico to the outside world. If he can't make up his mind for the time being, wait for my next notice." Sheffield called the head of the bodyguards and took out a piece of paper. "In terms of light industry, although our United Company is not strong and there is some gap between us and the Boston Consortium, there is no essential gap. In addition to the scale advantage, the technical threshold of light industry is not high. Make the masks on this paper for me, and send the first batch of masks to the Persian Gulf."

The emergence of influenza virus in Europe was no secret. Although the warring countries were blocking the news, Spain, as a neutral country, had already begun reporting on the flu.

The virus will spread all over the world along the trenches. At such a time, Sheffield first thought of the Black Gold Company still in the Persian Gulf and the Eighth Army that was being formed. Only with this armed company that came out of the slave hunting team could the United Company have the capital to do whatever it wanted. If something happened to this armed force, the slave owners might be forced to be friendly.

Furthermore, the importance of the Persian Gulf cannot be overemphasized. It is related to the honor, disgrace, rise and fall of the Sheffield family for at least a hundred years. If the Eighth Army in the Persian Gulf is severely damaged, there will inevitably be some mistakes in the final stage of this world war. You know, even Sheffield himself didn't know how much money he invested in the desert area that others thought was barren.

Although the exact amount has not been calculated, during World War I, the United Company's profit was only 350 percent.

Although the great mentor said that this was already the interest rate of selling a noose, but if you compare it with other companies, you will know that 350% profit is not high. During the world war, many companies had a profit of 500% or even 1,000%. They exported a product worth one dollar for ten dollars.

This contrasts the fact that the United Company did not make much profit in this world war. So some newspapers have begun to call Sheffield a death dealer, and they have given this honorary title that historically belonged to the DuPont family to the slave owner, which makes him feel very wronged.

"An unknown flu appears in Spain!" This was a report in an inconspicuous position in the New York Times that day. Compared with the Allied forces launching the third offensive, this was not really news. However, in the next few months people would find that compared with the doomsday roar in the final stage of the war, this was a major event that changed the course of history.

If Britain and France still adopted a repressive attitude towards the United States after the war, the slave owners might have even found an excuse for the Germans, saying that the outbreak of the Spanish flu led to the failure of the Emperor's offensive.

For the Boston consortium, Sheffield could undoubtedly be called a distinguished guest. The Lowell, Adams, and Lawrence families welcomed the slave owners. Out of common historical memories, for example, both sides made their first pot of gold from the slave trade, Sheffield quickly became friends with the other side.

"I would also like to thank you for your help when Southern Electric was founded. In fact, our relationship has never been distant, right?" Sheffield's eyes fell on a middle-aged man. "Mr. Kennedy, I heard Franklin Roosevelt mention you."

"I'm just a small guy starting my career, Mr. William." Joseph Kennedy said modestly.

"Opportunities always come to those who are prepared." Sheffield said with a double meaning, "Although the Boston Consortium has many families, they are closely related to each other, just like a family, which is very enviable. If the people in power in domestic companies are as united as the Boston Consortium, our country will definitely be very powerful."

If the top management of major companies are all united, the consequence will of course be class stratification. However, this is definitely not a bad thing for Sheffield, as he has been working in this direction.

Sheffield was certainly not talking nonsense. He was just reminding Joseph Kennedy not to forget the traditional unity of the Boston consortium and, on a larger level, not to offend the majority of vested interests in the country and not to think about turning the table.

The slave owner also wanted to be the most shining one, but he did not kill everyone else. Sometimes he helped J.P. Morgan establish the Federal Reserve and shared the country's largest oil producing area with Rockefeller.

However, the arrangement outside the United States does not involve unity or disunity. The fate of the Kennedy family has reached a point where even neutral people cannot stand it.

Sheffield even felt that the Kennedy family had even implicated the Boston Consortium, causing it to reach a bottleneck later on.

"Adams, tell me the truth. I came here this time not only to talk to you about the slave trade and recall the glorious history." Sheffield let go of Kennedy, the upstart, and turned his attention to Adams III.

The influence of several families in the Boston Consortium varies. In an electoral country like the United States, families involved in politics undoubtedly have greater influence. Political families like the Adams family later became the pillars of the Boston Consortium along with the Kennedy family.

"I don't understand this? During this war, if you don't count your sudden whim to go to the Middle East to be a saint and save the Middle Eastern Christians, you have accumulated almost amazing wealth. Even if you have an army of mercenaries, I guess you are still the biggest beneficiary. Is there anything you can't do yourself?" Adams III waved his hand and asked the messenger to bring a glass of whiskey. He turned around and looked at his friends with a puzzled look.

"Wars will eventually end. The transport capacity of 50,000 soldiers per month may not seem like much, but in fact, this capacity can be increased. If the British sense danger, their troop transport ships can double their capacity. Together, the two countries can have 200,000 soldiers entering Europe per month." Sheffield expressed his gratitude to Adams III, took a sip, and continued, "We can't expect the war to last forever. We must always prepare for the post-war period."

"Are you trying to replicate what happened to the DuPont and Mellon families in our bank?" Adams III leaned forward slightly and said slowly, "It's best not to try to do that."

"Oh, my dear friend, you misunderstood. Although my reputation is a little bad in the eyes of some people, this slander does not harm my noble soul. Even God himself cannot speak like this."

After boasting for a while, Sheffield said, "What I want to talk about is cooperation. You and I still have room for cooperation in the field of light industry. I believe that smart Bostonians will not reject cooperation."

Adams III should be someone with whom he could communicate. Sheffield remembered that he was also the father-in-law of Harry Morgan. Harry Morgan was the son of J.P. Morgan Jr. At one time, the relationship between the Boston Consortium and the Morgan Consortium was still good, but it was intermittent and depended on time.

Just like the Rockefeller family and the Morgan family, it’s similar. There are times of cooperation and times of confrontation.

There is no threshold to the field of light industry, and it is an extremely difficult field to monopolize. The Boston Consortium is the most influential light industry giant in the United States and is the leader among them.

Why did Sheffield come to Boston? Of course, the butt determines the head. The pandemic will definitely lead to the demand for masks. If Sheffield does not say hello to Boston, the two sides will easily become competitors.

In normal times, it would not be a big deal for both parties to enter an industry and become competitors at the same time. But influenza pandemics, like wars, have cycles, and the cycles may even be shorter.

In such a short period of time, Sheffield had to compete with the leaders in the light industry. How could it make money? After four years of world war, the living standards of domestic citizens have greatly improved, and they have some spare money. Otherwise, they would not rush to hand over the money to the banks that lent money to the Allies.

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Another purpose of Sheffield's visit to Boston is to work with the Boston consortium to control the price of masks. It should not be excessive to ask the citizens of the post-war United States to pay a health tax in the upcoming fight against the epidemic.

"You and I both know that the domestic economy will have to go through a period of adjustment after the war. From a numerical point of view, there will be no chance to maneuver between the two major camps, and citizens will have to adapt to a period of hard times. The same is true for our companies!" Sheffield paused for a moment and finally stated his purpose, "I want to sign a cartel agreement with everyone in Boston."

Sheffield did not need to explain to Adams III, who was also a monopoly capitalist, what a cartel was. It was nothing more than a price-fixing alliance.

The impression given to the Boston consortium was that Sheffield was buying time for the post-war United Company to adjust, and to transfer the arms trade, which had occupied a large amount of the United Company's resources, back to other industries before the war.

"William is ready to start the transformation so early?" Lowell smiled slightly, glanced at Adams III, and asked, "I want to know what benefits this will bring to us."

"It is of course beneficial to have the cooperation of the United Company. The fact that we can cooperate is itself great news, isn't it?" Sheffield said with a leisurely smile. "Let me just say this casually. The war between the two major camps in Europe this time, let's not talk about the impact on the rest of the world. Let's talk about America alone. Doesn't the vacant market need to be filled by companies? With my help, or even the help of the friends who returned from Brazil, it will save a lot of effort."

Sheffield did not get carried away and pretend to be a great prophet. Influenza was not suitable to be used as a bargaining chip at this time.

"Have you brought the contract?" After hesitating for a moment, Adams III stretched out his hand.

Sheffield also stretched out his hand, shook Adams III's hand, and said with a smile, "I brought it."

(End of this chapter)