Chapter 342 Young Stuart
The final peace terms between the United Mine Workers and the coal cartel were a 10% wage increase and a 10-hour workday, which was a compromise. Morgan had won a lot of convenience for the coal cartel. He also resolutely resisted Roosevelt's confiscation of mines.
From the newspaper reports, it is clear that Morgan was the undisputed protagonist, occupying far more space than Roosevelt. Many interested parties were more willing to praise Morgan's efforts than to praise the president's position on the matter.
Sheffield also received the news soon. This should be Morgan teaching the ambitious President Roosevelt a lesson. At least for now, the first powerful president of modern times is not a match for a tycoon like Morgan.
But this has nothing to do with him. The slave owner is still cautiously making friends with President Wilson. Through personal contact, he can judge whether this president, who is now obviously more of a scholar than a politician, is the candidate he wants to promote.
The beginning of the 20th century marked the beginning of the expansion of federal authority for the United States, mainly reflected in the growth of presidential power. Sheffield must have been unwilling to do so, just like Morgan and Rockefeller. But there was no way to stop it. There is always a reason for the evolution of things, and we cannot only consider the domestic environment. The two world wars, as an external factor, also had an impact on the president in office at the time.
Without the United States' participation in the two world wars, the power of the federal president would not be as great as it was more than a hundred years later. However, for the sake of interests, the United States had to participate in the war. The military's authority would naturally expand after participating in the war, and the expansion of the military's authority would force the country to continue the war, and then the stakeholders related to the war would become bigger and would not let the war stop easily.
Just like if the Ming Dynasty had not been in dire straits since its founding and had not been at the bottom of the list of dynasties, it would not have repeatedly retreated due to financial problems, making it so embarrassing for the emperor to guard the country step by step. Even if it abandoned so many buffer zones, the Ming army still did not have the money to maintain its combat effectiveness.
As the president of Princeton, Wilson did not have a good impression of Sheffield when they first met. After all, the slave owner's self-boasting was a bit too much. Until he saw Sheffield had nothing to do and was reading the Memoirs of Macartney, he found a friend to test him. This person was the child of Wilson's old friend, who grew up in the Qing Dynasty and was now returning to China for further studies. He had a good relationship with Wilson.
After sending this old friend's child out, Wilson threw himself into the intense work, but there was no movement for several days. After a lot of effort, he met Stuart again. Wilson quickly stopped the younger generation who was about to leave in a hurry and asked, "What have you been doing recently?"
"Dear Mr. Wilson, I have never met such a knowledgeable sinologist. His eyes seem to be able to see the other side of the Pacific Ocean. It is very useful to talk with him. Time flies very fast. I won't say more. I still have some questions to ask you!" Stuart quickly stated his gains and hurriedly disappeared from Wilson's sight.
Wilson's face turned red and white, and he said to himself, "That billionaire is not lying?"
Recently, two young men can often be seen walking around the campus of Princeton University, excitedly discussing issues that no one else can understand because they are speaking Chinese. It's called a discussion, but in reality it's just Stuart asking slave owners all kinds of questions.
As Sheffield had met many presidents, he was no longer surprised by this famous historical figure. The two were of the same age. Stuart was so polite and proactive in asking for advice. Sheffield tried his best to provide his true opinions within his ability.
Considering his current identity as a citizen of the United States, Sheffield did not deliberately deceive Stuart, because he knew that Stuart would not stay in the country for long and would have to go to the East in the future. It would be better for this ill-fated diplomat to have fewer unrealistic thoughts. Staying in one place for too long and having some unrealistic ideas can sometimes harm oneself.
"Stuart, the Chinese should ultimately handle their own affairs. Sometimes you think you are doing it for their own good, but they may not appreciate it." Sheffield took out his gloves and patted the chair twice, then sat down and spoke solemnly, "You have lived in China for many years, but your judgment has been disturbed by your long-term life. You cannot have a wishful view of a country with such a large population."
"Mr. William, I can see some good qualities in the Chinese. It's not like what many citizens say. I think a boss like you who understands them very well can reverse this impression if you can make a little effort." The young Stuart was in high spirits, and it was obvious that he didn't take the slave owner's words to heart.
I've already done it! Sheffield complained in his heart. The Chinese Exclusion Act would disappear automatically if nothing unexpected happened, but he definitely couldn't take credit for it. He paused and said, "Citizens are hostile to foreign ethnic groups for their own country. This is patriotism. You can't blame them. Similarly, you haven't seen many other characteristics of the Chinese. A person can't be useless, and the same is true for a country. People are so contradictory, let alone a country."
Just like Wilson, although Sheffield did not communicate with him for a long time, a few meetings were enough to give him a general understanding. Everything has two sides. Although Wilson's academic background led to his high moral standards, he also put them into his own political and diplomatic actions. He was born in the South, and discrimination against blacks was inevitable. All his views on freedom and democracy were only applicable to European countries. What was most criticized by later generations was that he implemented a racial segregation policy in the federal government during his tenure.
"China is a country that has not been humiliated and has done nothing wrong. After all, it was so successful in the agricultural era. You won't find any civilization in Asia that is as stable as it is." Sheffield used the word stable instead of powerful. After all, this is the United States, which has been leading the world for thousands of years since ancient times. There is no market for that kind of self-entertainment stuff.
"Stable?" Stuart muttered the word, feeling that he had heard a very novel point of view from Sheffield.
"Yes, stable!" Sheffield nodded. "Speaking of civilizations in the agricultural era, Indian culture can also be said to be brilliant, the Arabs in West Asia are very powerful, and the history of the Persians is very glorious. However, Chinese culture is very stable. Of course, it is very conservative in some aspects, but its collectivism far exceeds that of other Asian civilizations."
"Mr. William, I think that the vast Qing Dynasty is not the China of the past." Stuart thought for a moment and raised an objection, "You may not know the entire history of China."
Sheffield opened his mouth but did not refute Stuart. If the Yuan and Qing dynasties were not counted, the foreign policies of the Han, Tang, Song and Ming dynasties were indeed completely different. The former was obviously very motivated to explore, while the latter was obviously conservative.
"Every civilization becomes conservative when it reaches its mature stage! Not every country is like ours, which has been a group of poor immigrants since its establishment!" Sheffield forced a smile and praised the United States. He really wanted to say that the United States more than a hundred years later actually had big problems and was far less upbeat than the current United States.
The young people who were ruined by the happy education don’t know how to be brought back, and the elite class of the United States has no intention of making the citizens competitive again. Calculating the time, the time when the United States was founded was equivalent to the late stage of a dynasty. If it can’t withstand the competition of the Republic, it proves that the beacon of capitalism and the hope of mankind can’t escape the decline of prosperity.
The citizens of the United States have never experienced changes of dynasties, nor have they had the experience of falling to the bottom and getting back up again. It is very doubtful whether they can hold on if they are really in adversity.
In less than ten days, Sheffield successfully gained a little fan at Princeton University and secured his position as the leader of domestic sinology. Finally, he gave the Memoirs of Macartney to Stuart. He was not afraid of leading Stuart astray, but instead made him more down-to-earth.
The complete version of The Memoirs of Macartney does not blindly belittle the Qing Dynasty. A normal book will definitely have both praises and criticisms. Unfortunately, many people have taken out the parts they want and used them to refute the content of the same book. What can the slave owners say? The dynasty fans are unreasonable.
Wilson was very shocked that Stuart had become a fanboy of Sheffield so quickly. You know, Stuart was born in the East, and everything he saw and heard was personal experience. Yet he was so convinced of a capitalist. This made Wilson realize the error in his judgment. Wilson, who had a strong scholarly thinking, formally came into contact with Sheffield as a scholar.
Did Stuart experience it personally? Didn't I experience it personally? Sheffield kept these words to himself and pretended that Wilson's visit to Stuart to check whether he had ink had never happened.
Now as the president of Princeton University, Wilson's greatest wish is to push the university to greater heights. He even directly stated his idea of curbing the elite club in front of Sheffield.
Was this his nerdy side coming out? Sheffield certainly knew what an elite club was, like the Skull and Bones Society. He himself was a member of the Texas Club. He was sure that Wilson's idea would not succeed, because elite clubs still existed widely in later generations.
(End of this chapter)
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