Chapter 354 Carrot and Stick
Sheffield pretended to listen attentively. Out of respect for the president, he listened to the end. Then he did not directly make an offer, but told the truth, "We use black workers to save costs. The wages are at the same level as in China. Everyone knows the consequences of this incident. There are still 7,000 employees of the American Canal Management Company in Panama. Because they are white, the wages of these 7,000 employees are more than a quarter of those of ordinary domestic workers. The average monthly salary is 35 US dollars. The United Company has invested a total of machinery, steel, cement in the Panama Canal..."
As Sheffield calculated the exact amount bit by bit, Roosevelt's calm expression was no longer calm. The raw materials for these designs alone cost more than 50 million US dollars.
This is just the beginning! What Sheffield said was all recorded in the report of the American Canal Management Company. Even if Roosevelt contacted the embassy in Panama and went to the American Canal Management Company to check, he would not find anything. After all, the slave owners did not blow up the dam on a whim. They had already started planning when they took over the canal project.
"Combining the money I paid from the French, my offer of 100 million is not excessive at all. After all, this number is not a lot. In fact, this number is a loss. Now the canal project is halfway completed. How do I calculate the investment in the past few years? I am losing money!" Sheffield straightened his back and said confidently, "If it were the Germans, even if I offered 200 million, for such a strategically located canal, if the garrison could control both ends of America, the Germans would definitely agree."
"The United Company is in trouble now. If the federal government takes over for the purpose of supporting domestic enterprises, does the United Company still plan to make a profit?" Roosevelt could not accept Sheffield's offer. A price of over 100 million was really outrageous.
"Oh! Then I believe the Germans will accept it. Germany's world policy urgently needs such a canal." Sheffield leaned back as if he had no bones, indicating that he could not accept the President's patriotic kidnapping.
There was a flash of anger in Roosevelt's eyes. This businessman's style was really unacceptable.
What is unacceptable about this? Capitalists have no motherland! Sheffield's face remained unchanged, and he was determined not to fight, not to make peace, not to defend, not to surrender, not to die, not to leave. If he could talk, he would talk. If he couldn't talk, he would talk to the Germans.
When the French Canal Management Company wanted to sell the canal, the Paris government was unwilling to do so, and in the end it fell into the hands of Sheffield. The French could do this, so what if Sheffield wanted to sell it to the Germans? Why should the federal government interfere?
"My 7,000 employees are the backbone of the major families in the South." Just when Roosevelt was thinking about whether to threaten Sheffield in person like he threatened the coal cartel, he heard the threat from others, "Many of them are soldiers who escaped from the Brazilian Civil War. They have bad tempers."
"The federal government is not Wall Street. If you want to get money, you have to pass the budget!" Roosevelt said with difficulty, "Making a budget requires the approval of Congress."
"I can understand the president's difficulties, so I am not in a hurry and can wait!" Sheffield forced a smile, his patriotism evident in his words.
Roosevelt's difficulties are understandable. After all, there was no precedent in this era that gave Roosevelt a reason to use the power of the state to take over a project from a private enterprise. It was not unprecedented. After the Civil War, the federal army once took control of the South.
Similar operations would not occur until Theodore Roosevelt's nephew, Franklin Roosevelt, was in office, using the power of the country to fight the Great Depression.
However, the objective environment is the same. The New Deal of Roosevelt was also the result of the long-term prosperity of the United States, which gave the federal government sufficient capital to intervene in the economy. We cannot assume that the previous accumulation was wiped out just because of the Great Depression. The same is true now. Since the last economic depression, the economy has been booming for many years. It is not difficult for the federal government to spend money from the overall environment.
Roosevelt was determined to take control of the Panama Canal, which was linked to his idea of expanding the navy, so after getting Sheffield's bottom line, he immediately set about getting Congress to pass it.
"You may not believe it, Edith! Any other president would not give me such an opportunity. But it was this very difficult Roosevelt who gave me a chance to be a middleman and earn the difference. Just as there are a large number of smart people and fools in any country, such a powerful president also has things that he cannot give up." Sheffield boasted proudly in front of Edith Rockefeller.
"Yes, you are the only one who dares to do this. After all, a slave owner is a person who studies people and should be able to see through the weaknesses of human nature." Edith Rockefeller rolled her eyes at Sheffield and spoke in a sarcastic tone, not knowing whether she was praising or mocking him.
In the eyes of many people, President Roosevelt's move this time was to rescue a private enterprise through the power of the state. Not all congressmen could accept it and questioned it in the meeting. Many congressmen even knew that Roosevelt had received help from this Southern company in the Spanish-American War, and suspected that the president had a conflict of interest with this company.
Roosevelt flatly denied this speculation, emphasizing the huge political benefits of the Panama Canal to the United States. "I cannot use the political power of the federal government to take this canal away from a private enterprise. The United Company has the right to sell the canal to anyone, including the Germans or the British."
"The safety of America is of great significance to our great United States. America belongs to Americans. According to economic interests, the United Company can sell this canal, which is of great significance to the country, to European countries. Even as president, I cannot interfere, but I can buy it in the name of the United States. After this canal is in the hands of the country, the whole of America will become different." Roosevelt said calmly to all the congressmen present, "Speak softly, but carry a big stick, and you will succeed. Any American country that refuses to repay its debts to European countries will inevitably be occupied by the latter. In order to maintain the Monroe Doctrine, the United States has the responsibility to intervene in such conflicts and, if necessary, use force to prevent European armed intervention."
After Roosevelt's speech, thunderous applause broke out in Congress, and the budget for the purchase of the Panama Canal was passed. A fiscal budget of $100 million was passed this year, and it was expected that $30 million would be allocated each year for the next year and the year after, to purchase the shares of the United States Canal Administration under the name of the United Corporation for a total price of $160 million.
The next day, the passage of the budget and Roosevelt's speech appeared in major newspapers. This also caused great controversy. Even Morgan in New York felt very incredible when he heard the news. A big businessman must understand politics, but in Morgan's eyes, this canal was still a little too expensive.
Morgan couldn't understand why Roosevelt would take such great criticism and risk and propose a takeover at an obviously uneconomical price. The risks and benefits were not enough for the president to do so.
"Father, William really succeeded. Roosevelt actually bought the Panama Canal from the United Company in the name of the country!" In the Rockefeller Manor, Little Rockefeller also said in disbelief, "Why did Roosevelt do this?"
"Why would he do this? That's a good question. We'll know when Edith comes back." A look of confusion flashed across Rockefeller's face. In terms of value, this was definitely a losing deal.
You have to know that the Panama Canal is still halfway through construction. The $160 million is just to buy the shares of the United Company in the American Canal Management Company. The remaining half of the project still needs to be funded. After that, the federal government will naturally continue to dig. Who knows how much more money will be invested? And the shares purchased are not all. In addition to the United Company, there are many allies of Sheffield, and the remaining shares are in the American Canal Management Company.
There are such allies in the American Canal Management Company. No one will accept Sheffield's conditions for acquisition. Once in, Sheffield can also use the allies of the joint company to cause trouble. From this point of view, only in the name of the country, the federal government is the most suitable takeover. Any private company that gets involved may be buried by the Sheffield Alliance.
But the federal government was clearly being taken advantage of, so how did this ultimately work? Why did Roosevelt agree to it?
"Carrot and stick policy!" Sheffield, who was still in the White House, spread out the newspaper, glanced at Edith Rockefeller, and explained the focus of Roosevelt's speech to Congress, "Roosevelt is a president, not a businessman. What he considers must be related to national interests. The carrot and stick policy has given a new interpretation to the Monroe Doctrine. And the importance of the Panama Canal lies in this."
"But even if it's the country's money, you can't spend it like this." Edith Rockefeller touched her face and looked at Sheffield with admiration. "You have successfully blackmailed the country."
"Does Carnegie's 1.5 times premium count as blackmailing United Oil and Standard Oil? If Carnegie doesn't count, then neither do I, because our president thinks it's worth it." Sheffield put down the newspaper and exclaimed, "I'm not blackmailing."
(End of this chapter)
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