Chapter 175 The Victory of the Giants
Of course, Sheffield is mainly concerned about California's position. California is not a state with more than 50 electoral votes, which is not as important as it will be a hundred years later. Because of the population, California currently has eight electoral votes, while Texas still has 15.
Pennsylvania and New York are important states in this election, with nearly 70 votes in total. Pennsylvania and New York are home to giants from all walks of life in the United States. Together with the populous states in the Great Lakes region, the two states are the centers of steel, railroads, oil, industry, mining, and finance in the United States.
Even if Sheffield helped William Bryan take over California, it would still be difficult for him to win the election, as he would face Rockefeller, Morgan, DuPont and Carnegie.
Sitting in the carriage, because the Olympics have long ended, the focus is now back on the election. I flipped through a few newspapers and saw articles from various industries saying, "The stability of the financial industry is closely related to gold. Large-scale silver mining will only cause financial chaos and destroy the development of the financial industry."
"Morgan, maybe there is also the shadow of Boston." Sheffield pursed his lips and saw at a glance who this report was speaking for.
"The factory has created jobs for many workers. We cannot demolish the factory just because of a safety accident, but apparently that's what William Bryan thinks!"
He glanced at another newspaper. Industrial accidents? In this era, the most prone to industrial accidents were of course steel mills. For every eleven workers working in a steel mill, there would be an industrial accident. Sheffield muttered to himself, "Carnegie, maybe DuPont's industry and mining industry."
"We appreciate the candidates' agitation, but it is impossible to do anything about the country's giant companies. We can't say anything just for the sake of elections."
"Monopoly? Rockefeller!" Sheffield quickly found another object of comparison. It was unprecedented unity. To be honest, when these people united together, it was really difficult for William Bryan to win.
I believe that all major newspaper media have been making a lot of money recently. Perhaps the newspapers under my control have also made considerable profits in recent months. Newspapers are afraid that nothing will happen, and the best thing would be something big.
After a year, there were some new changes in the Rockefeller Manor. However, this efficiency made Sheffield a little impatient. He had long been accustomed to rapid beach landings, which did not necessarily require high quality, but mainly required speed.
Little Rockefeller happened to be at home. Knowing that a guest had arrived, he came out to greet him happily. He was accustomed to other accessories on Sheffield, such as bodyguards. However, when his eyes fell on Evelyn, he raised his eyebrows, but he felt relieved in his heart and was relieved for no reason.
"Dear John, you seem to be very interested in my assistant?" Sheffield knew that Rockefeller Jr. and his wife seemed to be in love on the surface, but who knew what they were like behind the scenes? A murderer could not be identified at a glance.
"I'm just a little curious because I see you for the first time." Little Rockefeller pointed at Sheffield, his face full of helplessness. He couldn't just say, "According to the news from the sidelines, you and my sister have an unclear relationship. Did you ever press my sister Edith on the bed and rub her?"
Considering the age difference between Sheffield and Edith Rockefeller, he really didn't want this to be true. Otherwise, it would be the Rockefeller family that would suffer the reputation. You know, Sheffield was not yet an adult, and this was a scandal.
Once the objective condition of being a minor is exposed, it will protect Sheffield, the scumbag. On the contrary, Edith Rockefeller's reputation is probably worse than that of any prostitute.
The United States at the end of the 19th century is not a hundred years later, and what's more, this matter cannot be exposed a hundred years later. Don't look at some white trash running to the third world for no reason and looking for minors to attack. Most people in China don't dare to do this. The United States is very concerned about this in law, and there is also the idea of killing the chicken to scare the monkey, but this can be avoided when going abroad.
"This trip to Europe will take several months." After letting Sheffield into the villa, Rockefeller Jr. chatted with him in a casual manner, using routine compliments, but the hidden meaning in his words was also very obvious.
"I participated in the Olympics, investigated some markets, and did some small business!" Sheffield blinked. This included 30,000 stowaways and a private land transfer contract. Another group of people went to Spain for investigation. There was no need for him to mention these little things to Rockefeller Jr.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, there was a very long silence. After a long while, Rockefeller Jr. asked, "I wonder what your plans are after you come back. I heard that the electrification of the southern states is progressing rapidly, and your family has recruited a large number of Chinese workers. It should be completed before the change of government, and then Morgan will have no way to deal with you."
"I heard that someone has contacted Westinghouse Electric. If we don't get things done quickly, there may be a risk of supply cuts." Sheffield laughed and said that he was not ignorant when he was in China. The reason why there were no problems now was that he had made preparations in advance.
Rockefeller Jr. must have wanted to ask Sheffield what he thought of the election results? There were still a few days before the votes were counted. Sheffield quickly fulfilled Rockefeller Jr.'s wish and said lightly, "I chose to go abroad at this time, which is already the greatest goodwill to the major family companies. Now it is less than a week away from the vote count. It can be said that after several months of warm-up, the voters have made their own judgments. At this time, I have to fulfill my obligations as a supporter of the Democratic Party. As a friend, I want to tell you in advance."
"But there is no final result yet, William. Everyone can understand that you are not in the country." Rockefeller Jr. organized his words, wanting Sheffield to pretend to be dead to the end.
"It's okay, don't make things difficult for me. I've returned home now." Sheffield chuckled. To be honest, as long as the states in the Northeast Great Lakes region are stable, there is no reason to be so scared.
Since the Civil War, this Republican alliance has been composed of financial, industrial and commercial interest groups in the Northeast and agricultural and animal husbandry interest groups in the West. It advocates federal integration, high tariffs and laissez-faire economic policies to protect domestic industries, accelerate industrialization and overseas expansion. However, this alliance is not equal. The Northeast is obviously much stronger than the Midwest. Otherwise, William Bryan would not be welcomed in the Midwestern states.
The interests of the two interest groups are increasingly divergent, which is the opportunity for the Democratic Party, which has suffered heavy losses in the Civil War, to start a comeback. Now Sheffield has started the westward movement with southern farmers, preparing to teach you how to farm, and the Republican Party's base is already unstable.
The next day, Sheffield left Rockefeller Manor and prepared to fulfill his obligations to support the Democratic Party. On this day, the trend of public opinion began to change. Before boarding the train, Sheffield ordered that his newspapers must repair the image of William Bryan.
Even if the chances of winning are slim, it is necessary to show that the Sheffield family has not surrendered to the enemy. At least in the field of newspaper media, the newspapers that voters see are not just one-sided reports. This is what an election looks like.
This change was soon discovered by William Bryan's team. They didn't understand the change, but they were delighted with it, as if extra help had suddenly appeared.
However, he was also very conflicted about this extra help. He did not want this candidate to take office because his current dream was the same as other giants, which was to pursue monopoly through savage development. He should support the Democratic Party emotionally, and he had to support it. Class reason told him that it would be better if this person did not get elected.
He stopped in Chicago again and bought a few newspapers. Seeing the obvious change in public opinion, Sheffield, who had hidden in the Farmers and Stockmen Association, decided not to continue on the road and waited for the final result of the election in Chicago.
It was dark that night, and Sheffield from the Farmers and Livestock Association had not slept yet. He solemnly took out a mental illness evaluation form and handed it to Jesla, saying slowly, "Rush to the city where William Bryan is now. If, and I mean if, he announces his victory, there will definitely be celebrations. You will have someone kill him, and then you will naturally escape. If you can't escape in time, it doesn't matter. I will naturally take rescue action later. Manpower is not a problem, right?"
"Not a problem. We can find plenty of people. We were raised by the United Company and will never betray our boss." Jessla nodded solemnly, "I will lead the team myself and kill him once he announces his victory."
"If you lose the election, you don't have to do anything. Just go to Los Angeles." Sheffield nodded. "Don't be nervous. Many people stand with us. Anyone you pick is an industry giant."
On the surface, William Bryan's team received long-awaited support, and the entire campaign team was in jubilation.
Voters across the United States are waiting for the final moment. In fact, this is still a battle between the alliance of giants and the grassroots. Even many of the Democratic Party's long-term supporters do not want him to win.
On the first Sunday of November, the time for counting votes came, and even industry giants such as Morgan, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and DuPont were waiting for the final results.
As news from various states continued to converge on their desks and as information from various states was continuously conveyed, the industry giants who had been nervous all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Republican William McClay won 6.9 million votes and 260 electoral votes, defeating William Bryan, who won 6.8 million votes and 187 electoral votes. William Bryan's support rate was very close to that of William McClay, whom they supported. It was a narrow victory.
"We also took Oregon? What an unexpected gain!" Sheffield, who was also paying attention to the election results, was very happy. Taking two of the three states along the Pacific coast showed that his westward march with his partners was still very effective. He was not sad about the Democratic Party's defeat.
(End of this chapter)
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