Chapter 353: Quote from the President
"If it weren't for our relationship, even I wouldn't be able to accept the way you are now." Edith Rockefeller sighed and said with some worry in her heart, "I'm afraid that Roosevelt will keep you in mind from now on and cause trouble for you in the future."
"I am not going to sell all my shares to the federal government, and the federal government can't afford it. I mean to sell part of the shares, so in the coming period, the United Company and the federal government will continue to cooperate in Panama. The president is still in my hands. Of course, he can choose not to let me do that, so I will sell the canal to the Germans."
A hand was touching the woman's thigh dishonestly, which gave Edith Rockefeller goose bumps. There were still people around. Why were the slave owners becoming more and more daring?
As the second rich man to be received by the president this year, Sheffield was not very proud, but after a close look at the White House, he wondered if he could build a replica of it in New Orleans to support some mistresses.
Sheffield held Edith Rockefeller's hand when he entered the White House, fearing that others would not notice that he was too close to the oil princess, which made Edith Rockefeller embarrassed. It happened to be Thanksgiving that day, and the adulterer attended a banquet in the White House. Edith Rockefeller won the favor of the White House with her decent and generous attitude.
This reflects the importance of bringing celebrities and noble ladies to the White House. This was not the first time Sheffield and Roosevelt met. It can be said that the two sides had met many times. Naturally, they saved a lot of temptations and got straight to the point.
"Does William have to sell the canal to the Germans? This doesn't seem to be a very good choice, especially for our country." President Roosevelt restrained his usual combative style. He also knew that this style might not work at all in front of Sheffield, and might even backfire. It would be better to deal with the matter directly.
"That's not certain, but I will never sell it to a domestic private enterprise. If I have a choice, I would rather sell it to a foreigner." Sheffield took a glass of red wine from Edith Rockefeller and drank it. Because of the woman's anger, he continued, "Domestic companies are all competitors. I can't watch my competitors benefit from the loss of the United Company."
Roosevelt was silent. Just as Rosen said, the boss of this joint company would never watch his competitor grow stronger. He could negotiate any conditions except this one.
Even if Roosevelt considered Sheffield's perspective, it must be admitted that the Germans were indeed very good sellers. If others did not understand, then Roosevelt, as president, understood the canal's benefits from the perspective of the National Cellar very well. Once the Panama Canal fell into the hands of the Germans, Germany's influence in the entire Americas would be greatly enhanced, and this kind of political benefit could not be measured by money.
Furthermore, the newly independent countries in America were all concerned about the United States to varying degrees, and were more inclined to seek help from European powers to limit the influence of the United States. Considering both aspects, if Sheffield proposed to sell it to the Germans, it would be a perfect match, Germany in Europe would respond enthusiastically, and Latin American countries would also be eager to do so.
The only thing that was harmed was the national interests of the United States of America. As the President of the United States, Roosevelt was very reluctant to see such dire consequences that he did not know how to make up for.
Roosevelt even vaguely felt that the United Company, which was in trouble because of the dam collapse, was now threatening the federal government with this behavior. He knew that the federal government could not sit idly by and watch the consequences of Germany controlling the Panama Canal, so he did this deliberately.
It was very difficult! This was Roosevelt's intuitive feeling. If it was a president who didn't pay much attention to this, he would sell it to whoever he wanted. But Roosevelt attached great importance to this canal.
The two sides did not reach a conclusion on the first day, so Sheffield and Edith Rockefeller moved directly into the White House. "I've been staying at Rockefeller Manor recently, which is your family's manor."
"You're crazy, this is the White House!" Edith Rockefeller exclaimed softly, dodging with panic on her face, pleading in a low voice, "This place is a little strange."
"I don't believe Roosevelt lived here for so long. What White House? It's just a shabby house." Schaeffer said with a smirk, "Just because it's the White House."
The sacred temple in the hearts of the United States should be a place of filth! Sheffield is not interested in it if it is not sacred. Just like Edith Rockefeller, she is not a peerless beauty, but she is the richest woman in the United States, which is amazing.
"Stop it." Edith Rockefeller protested softly. Her face turned red and her heart started beating fast when she thought of the scene just now. Could that crazy person be herself?
What happened to the White House? The White House is just a house. The next morning, Sheffield took Edith Rockefeller for a walk outside the White House. They looked natural, as if they were the owners of the White House. This adulterous couple was the president and first lady of the United States of America, not Roosevelt who did not show up.
"If the President can foot the bill, I will use the money to set up a charitable foundation, of course, minus my share!" Sheffield whispered as he strolled. "I will acquire a number of publishers, control the publishing industry from the source, and invest in some scholars. As for the charitable foundation, it will donate to some private universities."
This was something that had been planned for a long time. To control the spread of knowledge, publishers and academic authorities were very important. Moreover, in this era, no one had noticed this, and Sheffield had no competitors.
"I thought you would use the foundation's money to compensate the relatives of the black people who died!" Edith Rockefeller looked around and didn't find any traitors, so she whispered, "You have to pay some compensation, otherwise something bad will happen."
"Of course, it will only be a small amount!" Sheffield said, understandingly, "You can rest assured that the workers who died will definitely be compensated."
The later American charitable foundations originated from the Rockefeller family's charitable foundations. A hundred years later, there were several standards for the operation of charitable foundations. The first was that charitable donations could be directly deducted from the current year's taxes. Donations to private charitable funds could be deducted up to 30% of annual income. Donating money to a private non-profit charitable fund established by oneself was of course also a legal charity.
As long as a private charitable foundation can prove that it spends 5% or more of its total assets on charitable causes each year, its total assets can continue to be completely tax-exempt. Sheffield's private charitable foundation donated 5% to the Rockefeller family's charitable foundation, which is of course a completely legal charitable cause.
As for inheritance tax, before people die, they throw all their property into private charitable funds they set up to carry out great charitable causes, but the taxable income is zero. How can the country collect inheritance tax from them?
The charter of the charitable foundation stipulates that the board members shall be the descendants of the donors, so the charitable foundation is actually private, but nominally owned by the public. This model should be created by the old Rockefeller who created the trust model a year later, but Sheffield may have made it appear a year earlier.
The slave owners have always taken it as their duty to preserve history, so once they received funds from Roosevelt to purchase the Panama Canal, they would take out 5% of the funds to compensate the black people who died. However, he preferred to pay in installments, at least over several years.
President Roosevelt was also not idle, but used this time to evaluate the value of the Panama Canal. Because Sheffield had already shown his attitude of not using patriotism to kidnap me, now the only thing to talk about is money.
Everyone knew that the United Company was in big trouble and would have to compensate the dead workers. Roosevelt also had to take this into consideration. However, the president did not expect that the slave owners had already come up with a solution from future charitable funds and were preparing to withhold the compensation for the dead workers.
Because Sheffield stayed in the White House for a few days, some speculations have emerged in the public opinion. With a newspaper owned by a slave owner leading the fashion, there is no lack of eye-catching news. For example, some people speculated that Sheffield had been placed under house arrest by the president, and others said that because Sheffield wanted to sell the Panama Canal to the Germans, it aroused the president's anger and he wanted to use national power to confiscate the canal.
This unfounded report made the President very angry, and he accused some newspapers of being like dung collectors, turning a blind eye to all the good things and focusing on the dark side of the country.
"Mr. President, newspapers are like this, and everyone knows that." Sheffield shrugged, holding his coffee with an extremely relaxed look. "Wait until I get out and declare that I am not under physical control."
Edith Rockefeller chuckled. She was sure that if the person involved said this, many newspapers would conclude that Sheffield must have been illegally detained and was threatened to say this.
"Let me be frank. I personally sympathize with the United Company for the disaster it has suffered. William, since you are unwilling to sell it to other private companies, you can sell it to the federal government. Just tell me your price." Roosevelt said solemnly and sincerely.
(End of this chapter)
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