Chapter 251 The Boer War breaks out
Sheffield's attitude took a 180-degree turn, and he was completely different from what he had said before. This surprised the two of them. McHale scratched his head and said, "They just agreed to it. It seems that William also saw the huge benefits."
"Profits are of course important, but I value other things more. If it's just about making money, it won't impress me." Sheffield smiled coldly. There are so many ways to make money, is there any need to take risks?
Wouldn't it be better to just develop cars and airplanes? Why go to Panama? Is the purpose of organizing construction just to leave a name in history? Now when Sheffield gets involved in an industry, it's not about how much money it can make.
Instead, they consider whether the matter is important or not, whether it will be threatened by antitrust laws, and if it faces the risk of being split, they will definitely not go through so much trouble even if they intervene. Otherwise, why would they promote internationalization? The proportion of overseas assets must reach a certain level in order to be invincible.
In a sense, when the joint company was prospering, one of the things he, as the boss, was doing at the same time was transferring assets. At the same time, he held high the banner of a patriotic businessman, but also did things that capitalists had no country for.
The two thoughts intertwined in Sheffield's mind, making him decide to get involved in the Panama Canal, because once the canal is opened and the management rights of the canal zone are in the hands of his own company, there will be several benefits. The Panama Canal will become the focus of the world's attention. This exposure is both a benefit and a burden.
The advantage is that my company has done something on behalf of the federal government. As a company rooted in Panama, the joint company has a stable base, which will give it more confidence in fighting against antitrust laws. At the same time, it can also establish certain connections with the military.
Light arms manufacturing is also an important profit project for the United Company. In later generations, if Latin America is the backyard of the United States, then Panama is the front door. The United States has stationed heavy troops in the Canal Zone, established 14 military bases or fortresses, and established the Caribbean Command, which was later expanded to the "Southern Command", responsible for the three-service operations in the Western Hemisphere outside the United States.
Panama is an important key for the United States to control America in the future. If this key is within the business scope of one's own company, at least it can be confirmed that the business scope of the local joint company is definitely not within the scope of attack of the antitrust law.
Not only must he have a trust, but he must have a trust that is supported by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Otherwise, it would be meaningless. Sheffield was not simply considering making quick money, but passing on wealth from generation to generation.
Although private property itself is inviolable, this kind of wealth has always needed the protection of armed forces. The military has always been Sheffield's best friend, and the United Company will always be a model of military support in the United States.
"Boss, Miss Natalia is looking for you!" Jesla walked in and saw the two bosses' friends were there. He hesitated for a moment and spoke.
"Oh, it's settled!" Sheffield said to Gail and McHale, then stood up and left the living room, which surprised the two. No matter from which aspect, this matter was much more important than any personal relationship. It was the first time they saw Sheffield give up the work at hand so straightforwardly for a woman.
"Did I disturb you?" Seeing Sheffield hurried out, Natalia smiled sweetly and spoke obediently.
"I am busy with some small things, but it doesn't matter, those things are not important." Sheffield shrugged indifferently, "Being with you is the real thing."
Didn't Gail and McHale come here just to ask him to express his position? He has already expressed his position. Now that the matter has been decided, it doesn't matter who does it. But as for Natalia's matter, he should handle it personally. He cannot and will not allow anyone else to do it for him.
Natalia is now working part-time and studying at the Austin branch, and has already stepped one foot into society. At this stage, she needs protection so that her mind will not be polluted by the complexity of society. After some thought, Sheffield believes that the best person to protect this beautiful girl is himself, not anyone else.
"Does the current William look like you when you were in love with the girl in the bakery?" Behind the window, two sneaky business owners were secretly watching this scene. McHale suddenly felt that this scene was familiar. Didn't this happen to Gail once?
"Maybe!" Gail nodded, then suddenly looked straight at McHale and asked, "What do you mean? William will handle this problem. Just don't say anything to me. This is someone else's private matter. Please protect their privacy."
McHale nodded solemnly and continued to observe secretly with Gail, practicing how to protect privacy.
"No, we have to call William back. We have been planning for a long time, but there is still a basic problem that has not been solved. Once the canal is dug, where will the workers come from?" Gail slapped his head and was about to go out, but was stopped by McHale, "Let's discuss this issue when he is free. He is not free now."
"Worker problem?" When Sheffield came back, he saw his two companions waiting until dark, but he was too embarrassed to ask them why they hadn't left yet? And they wanted him to provide them with food?
"Yeah, the workers issue, we can't just let our private armed forces go, right? There will definitely be a lot of deaths there." Gale was very distressed, wondering where to find so many workers. If it was thirty years ago, this problem would be simple, we could just go to Africa and let the slave hunting team capture them, but now it's no longer possible.
Sheffield nodded, indicating that he understood. There were terrible infectious diseases prevalent in Panama, which were particularly severe in the rain forest. Building a canal in the rain forest made for extremely poor medical conditions, and infectious diseases were rampant, so naturally a lot of people died.
He remembered that some Chinese workers seemed to be involved in the Panama Canal, accounting for 10% of the canal workers. Of course, Sheffield didn't think about this now. There was only one sentence that kept coming to his mind: to resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the country. If we can solve some of the problems in the South at the same time, it would be the best of both worlds.
"Workers are still a problem? There are so many black people in the South!" Sheffield said with a mouthful of white teeth, "Ship them to Panama to prevent them from causing trouble on our land."
"Okay, but I'm afraid..." McHale was happy at first, but then he fell into hesitation.
"What are we afraid of? Are we afraid that they will cause trouble? As long as they are in Panama, what can they do?" When Gale heard that they could find a way to use black people to work, he supported it without thinking, "Louisiana's problems are already very serious, and we are also working for the collective interests of white people. I just don't know who can achieve the goal faster."
"Martin Luther King has already gone there. As for who knows the black people best, that's an easy matter to solve." Sheffield called Jesla in and instructed, "Send a telegram to Conley, the Louisiana convener of the KKK. The distribution of all the black people in Louisiana will be clearly visible. When we recruit workers, we just need to go door to door. Once they are on the ship, how can they escape from our grasp? By then, we will be able to deal with them at will."
In Sheffield's eyes, this matter was not difficult at all. The only difficulty was that a company as large as United Company was not suitable for this. So although he could give advice, he could not recruit workers in the name of his own company. Sheffield was ready to let McHale sacrifice himself and said, "McHale Mining is most suitable for recruiting workers because the mining industry requires strong bodies. Recruiting black people will not arouse suspicion, and your company's target is smaller."
Although Sheffield thought that he had to stabilize the country before he could resist foreign aggression, he knew clearly what the consequences of his deception would be. It was a fraud from the beginning. As long as these illegal workers were on the ship, their lives would no longer belong to them. What if they came back one day? Who would be the scapegoat?
Although it is not easy for these black people to get their rights back, they will form a broad alliance to make it impossible for these black workers to defend their rights. But if there is a commotion, someone has to take the blame. The joint company cannot be blamed, as this stain is too big.
In the end, McHale gritted his teeth and agreed, deciding to recruit workers in the name of his own company and take the risk for Sheffield United.
"Don't think I'm getting a big advantage. To be honest, the United Company has a lot of things to do right now, and many places need money. If I hadn't listened to your advice and intervened in the canal issue, according to my original idea, I would have started a price war with the DuPont Consortium in China. Now this plan can only be postponed." Sheffield leaned back on the sofa and sighed, "The DuPont family is lucky. Many things have distracted the United Company's strength."
Sheffield now understands Standard Oil's frustration. Many things cannot be decided by the company itself, but the company must also consider whether the environment allows it. Standard Oil was ready to move forward, but it was eventually embroiled in antitrust laws.
They have steel, cars and airplanes, and are now planning a canal, so they can only let the DuPont consortium go for the time being.
"Healthy male citizens aged 16 to 50 on farms in this area who have received this notice are requested to bring horses, guns, ammunition, and five days' rations to the town of Freiheide and report to Commander Kurth van Remer..."
Following similar orders, the Boer coalition army, composed of the Transvaal Army and the Orange Armed Forces, marched eastward. General Piet Joubert, the commander-in-chief of the Boer Army, led the main force from East Orange over the Drakensberg Mountains, entered the Natal Colony, and headed straight for Ladysmith, the main base of the British Army in Natal. He first attacked the increasing number of British troops, and the Boer War officially broke out. The Boer coalition decided to take the initiative to attack the British Army.
The news of the official outbreak of the Boer War spread throughout the world, including to the United States across the Atlantic Ocean. Major companies heard the news and took action, closely following the development of the war.
(End of this chapter)
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