Chapter 317: Brewing Conflict
"Great, what's next?" Gail, who had just returned to New Orleans, excitedly high-fived McHale. The thirteen articles of the Louisiana Act could be said to be a phased victory. The most important thing was that almost everyone believed that this was forced by the public, and when it came to the next important stage, there would be nothing to say.
"What William meant is that other states should not follow suit recently, because after those dung collectors think they have taken control of Louisiana, they will definitely be overconfident and put pressure on other state governments in the South." McHale said, holding the telegram sent from Rio de Janeiro, "Should we organize a parade of people supporting the Democratic Party now? Or wait for the next wave of public opinion offensive?"
"What else can I say? Ask William!" Gale said without thinking, "He was the one who planned this. It can't be said that it's completely consistent with the plan, but it's not out of control, so it's right to ask him."
"This is a really good idea!" Looking at his companion who was not willing to use his brain at all, Michael praised him insincerely with a long tone. It was a miracle that the other party's industry had not suffered losses until today.
On the surface, this time, because of the turmoil caused by feminist activists, the bill quickly turned to criticism of the southern states, which seemed to be somewhat disadvantageous to the southern states controlled by the Democratic Party. But in fact, this is exactly what the common interests of many joint companies want to see. It can be said that the passage of this bill is exactly what they want.
Just as Sheffield expected, public opinion believed that they had conquered a state government by passing a bill, which was a great victory from the perspective of freedom of speech. It was able to make the rebellious governor surrender and make Louisiana's ineffective legal system function again. Even if the bill passed this time seemed a bit harsh, it was completely acceptable compared to such a victory.
Some Dixie residents may be understandably dissatisfied with bills that seem a bit harsh. In this case, we must of course press on and use the great public opinion to force all states involved in such issues to comply.
"This is just like gambling. When you have an advantage, you never hold back. Gamblers know in their hearts that they can't win, but they still think they can win in the next round. Now that Louisiana has passed a bill in response, it will only encourage these newspapers that think they have won to continue to denounce. Just them? I've seen through them a long time ago!"
Sheffield wished that McHale and Gale could print all the domestic newspapers and send them to him via radio. However, considering that he was almost using radio as instant messaging, he had to give up. If there were transoceanic calls now, he wouldn't have to waste his brain cells guessing what would happen next.
As two friends in New Orleans asked him what to do now, Sheffield also had to consider how to proceed next. On the surface, it is now a carnival for the media and the public, and perhaps there will be some Republicans who are gloating and watching the joke.
Under these circumstances, the Democrats' rebuttals and the Southern newspapers' counterattacks seemed to be of no avail. Using the KKK's marches to confront them also seemed to have no effect, and it was not yet time for the KKK to show up.
"It's just July now. If we use two months to lower the temperature, it would be more appropriate to ignite the next bomb then." Sheffield felt that it was time to cool down the situation. He had successfully persuaded the Yankees and Dixies to facilitate the passage of the bill from different standpoints.
Now we just need to wait for the state legislatures in the southern states to follow Louisiana's example and pass similar bills within two months. Basically, the restrictions on blacks will be successful within the scope of the law.
"William, will you go to the beach with me?" Edith Rockefeller appeared wearing a wig with similar functions, wanting to experience the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and looked very eager to try it.
"Okay, Jesla, just let Gail and the others wait for the states to enact the bill. Don't do anything now." Sheffield gave the order. He came to Brazil for vacation and should relax.
Brazil has such good basic conditions, it would be inappropriate if we didn't leave any records after a trip. Of course, the two dung collectors who came with us also brought cameras to expose how Edith Rockefeller was enjoying young grass. Under the kind eyes of the bodyguards, they selected a few photos with good scenery and prepared to send them back to China for publication.
"I find these rich Brazilians so interesting. They always build beautiful apartments where you can see the poor!" Walking on the beach with the man she loved, Edith Rockefeller felt much more relaxed and chatted about what she had seen and heard recently in Brazil.
"Building magnificent apartments next to poor communities, what's so hard to understand? It's nothing more than showing off wealth. Isn't happiness derived from comparison?" Sheffield thought to himself, is this also a problem?
Some wealthy people in some countries have this hobby, such as Brazil, but the most popular ones are Indian wealthy people. Sheffield remembers an Indian wealthy person who spent $1 billion to build a 27-story mansion for himself, which overlooked the largest slum in Asia. His biggest pastime was probably watching the poor people in the slum struggling on the brink of death.
"The rich in our country usually live in their own suburban estates, but Brazilians are different. As for the benefits of doing so, from my slave owner's perspective, it may be to satisfy my own dark psychology." Sheffield thought for a long time and explained, "After all, there are quite a few people in these slums. With a population of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, there will definitely be some talented people. If the men are capable and the women are pretty, they can directly live in luxury houses. How convenient!"
If Sheffield didn't feel that the security in Brazil was risky, he would have wanted to take a stroll into the slums. After all, he had taken Annie to visit the red-light district in Paris and had taken Natalia to a gathering place for the homeless in New York. There was nothing wrong with that morally.
"You have no property in Brazil, which is really unfair to you." Edith Rockefeller rolled her eyes at Sheffield, with a hint of jealousy in her voice, "If I give you this opportunity, that thing down there might not work anymore."
"Women are demons. Fortunately, I am young and only in my twenties, so I can still stand it!" Sheffield sighed and muttered, "You and I may have to spend some time here in the near future."
"Really?" Edith Rockefeller licked her lips lightly, dealing with it absentmindedly. When she raised her head, a strange color flashed in her eyes. The sun was a bit strong today and she was sweating.
Over the next month, under pressure from public opinion, Democratic state governments in southern states followed the Louisiana bill and introduced similar bills based on their own actual conditions.
Freedom of speech and public opinion supervision finally achieved their goals, moving from one victory to another. This time the night soil collectors won, but the Dixie people in the South did not lose. The real losers were the black people who stayed in the southern states. In terms of rights and interests, blacks had almost disappeared from all the southern states.
Of course, this is far from enough. Things will not end so simply. Martin Luther King III, who had just returned to the country, brought the descendants of the black camp to meet Gail and McHale in New Orleans. The first thing was to report on the situation of black workers in the Panama Canal project, and the other was to do some things that were not suitable for white people to do.
"Martin, now that you're back, I believe you know what William means. If you have any difficulties, you can refuse." McHale poured a glass of red wine for Martin Luther King III, then clinked his glass with the black executive of the joint company and said, "You know the general idea. William still wants to respect your own choice. After all, you are the descendants of soldiers who once fought with the Confederacy in the Civil War. You have the right to refuse. Even if you refuse, you are still recognized by our major companies."
"Mr. Gale, Mr. McHale! I won't refuse!" Martin Luther King drank the wine in the glass and said calmly, "My family has been the stewards of the Sheffield family for three generations. We are different from those people of forest blood. In fact, this matter is very simple. Ordinary black people are full of primitive criminal behavior. No matter what the reason is, crime is crime. It is moral and legal for state governments to deal with these criminals. This is not a matter of skin color."
Martin Luther King had no intention of refusing and agreed immediately, "I will take care of this!"
"You are still so young, and it is great that you have such an understanding. In the long life ahead, if you are interested in politics, we are willing to help William and support you to enter the Senate and become a black senator to speak for black people."
"McHale and I will give you money so that you can use it to participate in grassroots activities to encourage black women who have been abused to stand up bravely and bring the black men who violated and abused them to justice. Our people will assist you."
Gail and McHale sang the same tune and told the purpose of calling Martin Luther King back, so that Martin Luther King could enter the black community and understand the situation to provide favorable evidence for the state government's police department. If there is really no evidence, they can pay to buy evidence.
In fact, there are still many women's rights activists in the southern states. Because of the reports of the media war, women have been mobilized in various places to bravely expose the atrocities of black men, so there are many reports of crimes in various places. However, the states have not officially taken action on this matter. The delay of the police department has also made many women's rights activists dissatisfied. They called on the newspapers not to just revise the bill but take no actual action.
It cannot be said that all, but some feminist activists have received money. It can be said that up to now, the expenditure spent by the United Companies, etc., has even exceeded the national election a year ago.
But this was still not enough. The two of them didn't know how many criminals Sheffield was satisfied with being thrown into prison. It was as if the other party was in Brazil and had lost contact. It took several days for him to reply to a trivial telegram. Asking Martin Luther King to come back was the most valuable telegram in the past week.
I'm stuck today and can't update three times.
(End of this chapter)
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