Chapter 345 Roosevelt's Attention
The flood was so fierce that tens of thousands of people were submerged in the raging torrent, including workers in the construction site dormitories, houses and everything else. Corpses were everywhere, and there were wailing and it was a horrible sight. Human life was so fragile in the face of nature. People who struggled in the flood used up all their strength, but eventually died in despair and silence in a foreign land. From the beginning, some people didn't want them to go back.
The Gatun Lake burst its banks, and floodwaters poured down, sweeping the entire construction site. It was not until dawn that workers from other locations learned of the incident and began rescue operations. Everywhere they looked was a vast ocean, and black corpses were everywhere, with all kinds of terrified and grim expressions.
"What? Gatun Lake burst its banks? Our construction site was flooded?" Jesra was horrified and furious. He grabbed the employee who reported the news and shouted, "Do you know how many lives were lost? How much money the company invested? How much loss is this?"
"I don't know what to do. I should tell the country right away! Let the boss know." The man whose collar was grabbed tilted his head tremblingly, not daring to look at Jesla. He secretly sighed that he was unlucky. Someone from the country came to inspect, but an accident happened at this time. When he thought of the tens of thousands of workers who might have been drowned, his body trembled involuntarily. Who could take responsibility for such a big thing?
"You don't even need to tell me that!" Jesla let go of the collar of the person in charge and slammed his fist on the table. Hollywood owed him a Best Actor trophy. He was filled with resentment, fear, and anxiety. After a long while, he said with a look of despair, "It may be too late. Maybe another company has spread the news to China. Hey, send a message to China right away."
The dung collectors who regard themselves as the uncrowned king will definitely not miss this opportunity. For them, the bigger the matter, the better. It doesn't matter if the matter is unclear, they can make it up. Such big news must be reported early, otherwise it would be a pity to miss it.
This explosive news was quickly published in all newspapers. All newspapers exaggerated the news as much as possible, described the scene as alarmist as possible, and increased the number of casualties as much as possible to achieve an eye-catching effect.
How could Sheffield, which has its own media industry, not know this? However, no matter how good these night soil collectors are at making up stories, they would never have thought that the truth is often more bizarre than fabrications. Half of the manpower of the entire construction team has been wiped out in this dam breach.
On this day, the United Company seemed to be in a precarious situation. The United Company, which was in the whirlpool of public opinion, did not make any statement, which caused endless speculation from all parties. Even Rockefeller Jr., who knew Sheffield was in Chicago, called to inquire about the situation, but was blocked by Edith Rockefeller.
"William, no one wants this to happen!" Edith Rockefeller called softly, looking at the silent man cautiously. The fact that her man didn't speak showed that the matter was indeed extremely serious.
The slave owner just didn't want to talk. He rolled his eyes at Edith Rockefeller, turned around and faced the oil princess with his butt. The book in his hand was turned to the page about Dayu's flood control.
Edith Rockefeller couldn't read Chinese characters, she only knew that something big had happened and Sheffield must have been upset, she was anxious and didn't know what to do. Just a month ago, this man was so proud of himself and organized a very successful World Expo in New Orleans, but it turned out like this in such a short time, which made Edith Rockefeller very sad.
Regardless of whether it was useful or not, Edith Rockefeller called almost everyone she knew to find out the seriousness of the situation. The feedback she received was very despairing. News had been coming from Panama, and the losses seemed to be much more serious than people had expected.
After a while, Edith Rockefeller came back with a troubled look on her face. Looking at Sheffield, whose posture had changed, she said slowly, "William, the situation may be really serious. The breached Gatun Lake has flooded the canal construction site."
"The station was built in lowland, surrounded by hills, which is an ideal place for floods to break out. Basically, everyone died." Sheffield put down the book calmly and said indifferently, "But we can't underestimate people's desire to survive. There will always be some lucky people in any disaster. Dear, is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"No, no more!" Edith Rockefeller was a little frightened by Sheffield's calmness. Suddenly, her face changed drastically. She thought of a terrifying possibility and blurted out, "You, this is you..."
"Hmm?" Sheffield stared at Edith Rockefeller and asked in a questioning voice, which scared the oil princess back into her throat. He comforted her indifferently, "That's 40,000 to 50,000 lives. How can I be so brave?"
Although this consolation was better than nothing, it made Edith Rockefeller feel relieved. It must be like this. No one would have the courage to plan such a big thing. Edith Rockefeller was also comforting herself, ordering herself to believe the man's explanation.
"I was just reading a book to distract myself because I had no other options. Even if we rescue them now, we can't recover the losses!" Sheffield said with a poker face and a confused look in his eyes, "There's nothing I can do."
How could there be rescue? How could they be rescued? Swimming over? There was no rescue equipment at the construction site. Besides, Gatun Lake had been filled with water for a year. How long would it take for such a large amount of water to drain? Who would have the courage to rescue people despite the breach?
Edith Rockefeller, whose self-comfort was beginning to work, watched Sheffield light a cigarette. After several unsuccessful attempts, the slave owner was clearly not as calm as she appeared to be. She took the initiative to help Sheffield light the cigarette successfully and asked, "What should we do now?"
"Although it happened overseas, this is a major safety accident and the investigation has just begun." Sheffield licked his dry lips. "Now is not the time to cover up the news. No one can cover it up. Not even the country can do it, let alone a company like mine? So we must immediately inform the outside world of the true situation, but we must clear ourselves of the Gatun Lake breach. There are many doubts about the breach. Please help me deal with it. I'm a little tired."
Of course, there are a lot of doubts. The dam was blown up, and once the water level recedes, the traces of the explosion will be revealed. There is still a big difference between normal collapse and explosion.
Edith Rockefeller also knew that the matter was of great importance. Sheffield must be in a mess now, and she must help. She got up and left the bedroom, going out to use her connections to deal with the aftermath.
The flood in the Panama Canal had not yet receded, but the United States had already begun to take steps to deal with the aftermath. Edith Rockefeller was like an ambitious spring, running around. At this time, she thought of her family and asked Rockefeller Jr. for help.
"What time is it, John!" Edith Rockefeller shouted rudely, "Can you help me ask the White House about its reaction? Are you happy to see the United Company go bankrupt?"
"Okay, but it won't lead to bankruptcy, right?" Rockefeller Jr. looked helpless, enduring the accusations from the other end of the microphone. He waited until it was a little quieter before saying, "Wait for my news."
Some are happy and some are sad. Some are celebrating the stumble of the king of emerging industries. Young J.P. Morgan is very happy. DuPont's headquarters in Delaware has become a sea of joy and the air is filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
As for faraway Panama, Jesla has already used his ultimate move, which is called the thief crying "stop thief". Once it is used, the effect will be earth-shattering. The joint company announced that the quality of the Gatun Lake dam is absolutely reassuring and it is absolutely impossible for it to collapse suddenly. In addition, there was an unusual loud noise late at night. There was no thunderstorm near Gatun Lake that day, so it cannot be ruled out that anti-American forces deliberately sabotaged and deliberately created this tragedy.
The United Company’s statement is currently limited to Panama, but everyone knows that this statement will soon be reposted back to the country through various channels. At the same time as the statement was released, the private armed forces of Black Gold Company have made a gesture of not giving up until their goal is achieved.
You should know that before Sheffield took over the Panama Canal project, the French Canal Management Company had completed one-third of the excavation. Now that the American Canal Management Company has taken over, the project is nearly halfway through. In addition, there are anti-American forces in Panama due to the issue of black workers, so the accusation of the United Company is justified.
Panama naturally strongly refuted the statement of the joint company. This was not because the Panamanian government was so tough, but because they did not dare to take the blame and could not afford to take the blame. The news of the two sides accusing each other was naturally quickly spread back to the country and made the headlines of major newspapers.
As for how many people died when the Gatun Lake burst its banks, and how much the United Company workers lost, it was impossible to count because the flood had not yet receded, and we could only think of a solution after the bodies of people started to stink.
The cause of the Gatun Lake breach has become a point of mutual accusation between the U.S. Canal Management Company and the Panamanian government. Once a disaster is caused by deliberate sabotage, it is no longer a simple engineering accident. Instead, it becomes a political issue because tens of thousands of Americans died, even though they were black.
When the suspicion of the Gatun Lake bursting became the focus of debate between the two sides, Roosevelt in the White House could no longer sit still. He took the initiative to ask his staff about what happened in Panama. The matter involved the lives of tens of thousands of American citizens. As president, he had to express his position, and then he quickly convened a meeting in Congress to discuss the matter.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
