Chapter 253 Exchange of Interests
Roosevelt's face flashed with excitement. If anyone in the country was most interested in the Panama Canal, he, the former deputy minister of the navy who advocated the establishment of a large navy, must be one of them. In the Spanish-American War, the disadvantage of the inconvenience of the US Navy's fleet's mobilization had been fully exposed, and this was only when facing Spain. If it was replaced by a real power, such as one of Britain, France, and Germany, the US Navy would be in danger.
As if he knew what Roosevelt was thinking, Sheffield said at the right time, "It's just like encountering Spain. If we really encounter the naval fleets of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, or even Japan, and the navy cannot concentrate its forces, what should we do?"
There are many aspects that can reflect a strong navy, but none of them have anything to do with the so-called naval tradition and rich experience. Is Spain's naval tradition strong enough? Is its experience rich enough? What will happen if it encounters the US Navy? My tonnage is larger than yours, my artillery is farther than yours, and as long as the quality of my soldiers is not too different, I will be defeated unilaterally.
If the current US Navy fleet is given to Beiyang, Beiyang can also destroy the Spanish fleet and make the Spanish naval tradition sink into the sea. A hundred years later, there will be no US fleet. The Republic has already said goodbye to some navies that think they have naval traditions. Even Indians think that they have used aircraft carriers for a long time and have a stronger naval tradition than the Republic.
Apart from some soldiers in the Spanish Navy, how many people would think that Spain could really win the Spanish-American War?
Since Roosevelt liked the navy, Sheffield talked to him about the navy. He sighed and said, "The Japanese population in Hawaii accounts for nearly half, and the United States has limited control over the Pacific. If a war breaks out in the Pacific, we have to go out more than 10,000 miles to support? By then, the Rising Sun Flag will have been flying for several months, right? But compared to the Pacific, the other side of the Atlantic is a naval power. The naval force deployment must be based on the Atlantic. Do we have to set a standard, one fleet to deal with Japan, and the other fleet to deal with Europe?"
Roosevelt did not say anything. It was certainly unrealistic to do so. I am afraid that even Roosevelt himself would not dare to imagine setting a standard for a fleet based on an imaginary enemy to compete with the enemy's entire naval force.
After the canal was opened, the main force of the US Navy could be transferred from the East Coast to the West Coast in less than half a month.
"So once the Panama Canal falls into our hands, it becomes very important." Roosevelt's face was solemn. He had a deep understanding of this point. When the French Canal Company encountered an accident, he was quite happy.
The difficulty of digging the Panama Canal far exceeded the French expectations. At the same time, the French Canal Company also had problems in operation and management. When the project was unsustainable, the senior management headed by Lesseps embezzled the funds of the publicly issued canal stocks. In order to cover up the truth, the company continued to issue bonds and used a large amount of money to bribe officials. One hundred and fifty ministers and parliamentarians of the French government accepted bribes. However, the truth could not be hidden. The French Interoceanic Canal Company was exhausted and had to declare bankruptcy. Lesseps also went to court.
The French Canal Company that Sheffield faced this time was already a reorganized company. But the problems were still the same, the difficulties were still there, and the French were still stuck.
"William, you must be here to seek help from me." Roosevelt probably understood why the other party came to his house, but he was still very surprised that this person could help him at first sight, "Why did you come to me?"
Of course it's because I hold the truth about the Maine explosion in my hands! Sheffield didn't say what was in his heart, but said, "Because Governor, you are really passionate about naval construction. You can see at a glance the importance of the Panama Canal. Only you can promote this matter regardless of party interests. To be honest, there are not many politicians who are responsible."
Roosevelt would be lying if he didn't feel happy when he heard Sheffield's compliments. The scale of the United Company is one of the largest in the United States, and it has shocked everyone in the past two years. He was also happy to be recognized by the heir of this company, which was a bit like a friendship between people of different generations.
When Sheffield saw Roosevelt like this, he couldn't help but think of a line in his heart, "The only heroes in the world are you and Cao!" I believe that this is probably how Roosevelt feels at this moment.
"You want me to lead some Republicans to support the passage of the Panama Canal proposal." Roosevelt showed a hint of understanding and exclaimed, "This is a big project, which is likely to cause competition for interests among all parties. It is a very offensive matter and it is very difficult to deal with!"
"The national interest should not distinguish between parties!" Sheffield knew that Roosevelt was asking for a price, what benefits he could get if the other party could help him. It would not work to talk about general principles, and he had to come up with something practical.
Sheffield knew that Roosevelt had political ambitions, so he said without hesitation, "Time flies, and the election is coming soon. It's a four-year cycle. I don't really care who wins, the Republican or the Democratic Party. The key is how the presidential candidate performs. I don't hate President William McKinley, nor do I hate any Republican."
In the last election between William Bryan and William McKinley, to be honest, although William McKinley had the help of many large companies, it was not easy for him to win. The gap between the two sides was only a few millimeters. Especially in the last few days, William Bryan's desperate counterattack made many people who were paying attention to the election break out in cold sweats.
Sheffield knew that William Bryan was no longer as powerful as he once was in the upcoming election. But only he knew this, and the Republican camp was unaware of it. The Republican camp only felt a lingering fear when they recalled the election.
He could now guarantee Roosevelt that the Democrats would not win and he would not support the Democrats. To be honest, he was just making empty promises, using an election that was doomed to fail in exchange for the support of some Republicans led by Roosevelt.
"If one day Mr. Roosevelt wants to run for president, I would be happy to see it." Sheffield smiled gently and dropped another heavy bomb.
"I haven't thought about running for president." Roosevelt showed a standard Lu Chujia smile in front of Sheffield. He knew that if William McKinley did not make any mistakes, he would still have to wait.
"In fact, if you are capable, there is no shame in taking on greater responsibilities." Sheffield directly filtered out Roosevelt's statement that he did not want to be president, which was a complete lie.
Everyone in later generations knows that the longest-serving president of the United States was Roosevelt Jr., the nephew of Theodore Roosevelt. He was re-elected as president four times and finally died in the position of president.
But the first person who wanted to break the two-term rule was not Roosevelt Jr., but Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt participated in three presidential elections, and he ran for president after having served twice. He was the first president to try to break the two-term limit.
So for a person like this to say that he is not interested in the presidency is just like Sheffield saying that he is not interested in money. It is just stupid to listen to it.
Sheffield made his offer without hesitation. As long as the Panama Canal was in hand, he could even facilitate Roosevelt's campaign. Anyway, the canal project would certainly not be completed in a short time, and the two could cooperate for a very long time.
"This is all for the United States. The government and businesses must work hard for the arrival of the American century." With his hands tightly clasped together, Sheffield began to talk about the beautiful blueprint.
It can be said that Roosevelt's promise to help made the Panama Canal much more likely to pass the Senate and the House. As long as his arrangements in France and Panama were not messed up, the project would fall into his hands.
Once the project falls into the hands of the joint venture, the joint venture will lead the project and will receive bipartisan support from the federal government. Now there is only one issue at the federal government level, and that is the voice of the Nicaragua Canal as an alternative option.
Sheffield was somewhat concerned about this, after all, because the Panama Canal took so long to build, and there was already a lot of talk of building a canal in Nicaragua. Roosevelt directly dispelled Sheffield's concerns and said a very simple truth, "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line."
The climate in Panama is bad, but is the climate in Nicaragua good? You have to know that the two places are not far apart, and they have the same climate. The difficulties in Panama are also the difficulties in Nicaragua. Sheffield told Roosevelt that if he could really take over the rights to the Panama Canal, basically no one would choose the Nicaragua Canal.
"That makes me feel relieved!" Sheffield finally smiled with relief. In fact, what he wanted to say was that he felt relieved to see that his motherland was so rogue, but he was afraid that Roosevelt would not understand.
"If we can solve the domestic problems, this project will be half successful!" After returning to the hotel, Sheffield hugged Natalia, who was abducted, and took advantage of her tired appearance.
Seeing Sheffield so exhausted, Natalia couldn't push him away, so she comforted him intermittently, "I don't understand what you're saying, but don't be too tired. One person can't make all the money."
"That's true!" Sheffield said dazedly, "But everyone is greedy, who can clearly know what they want?"
(End of this chapter)
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