Chapter 371: Water Pollution
The area around New York all the way to Chicago is the heavy industrial base of the United States. When it comes to meeting domestic needs, these places have the advantage of nearby resources. However, when globalization comes, nearby resources cannot compete with cheap raw materials from all over the world. The richest region in the United States has thus become a declining rust belt.
Of course, New York's advantages are still very obvious. New York itself has an outstanding geographical location, and with the support of the surrounding industrial cities with nearby resources, it simply integrates the advantages of the imperial capital and the magic capital. Even if the slave owners unite allies in the South and milk New Orleans, it cannot be compared with New York. Being on par with Boston and Chicago is already the upper limit of New Orleans.
Some places, no matter how hard they try, can't compare to their natural origins. The same is true for cities. It's not like New York's unique advantages. New Orleans has good basic conditions compared to other cities. If there is a problem, it's not Louisiana's problem.
"It's easy to find patients. Look at the water quality. This is the main water supply channel for Chicago. Starting from this aspect, we can find the right one. It's easy to find patients in a heavy industrial city. The key is that if those folk pharmacists can't cure the disease, our hospital can't cure it either. Then we can't compare them. We must find diseases that they can't cure but we can."
Edith Rockefeller, who had returned to Chicago, introduced the local environment to her younger brother. After marrying in Chicago for so many years, she was very familiar with the surrounding situation.
Due to the rapid population growth and industrial development, the edge of Lake Michigan, the main water source for the city, was seriously polluted during this period. In order to solve the problem of drinking water pollution, Chicago built a water plant inlet two miles into Lake Michigan and introduced water into the city's water supply system through underwater pipes. However, such efforts proved to be limited in effect, as rainwater could bring sewage from the Chicago River to the vicinity of the inlet, so a major project was necessary.
The project to completely resolve this hidden danger is still under construction, but after so many years of accumulation, Edith Rockefeller believes that there have been many diseases caused by pollution, and these very poor people who have already been victims may become the starting point of this medical storm.
"Those folk pharmacists, based on the level of our grandfather, can basically not cure anything. So no matter what the disease is, folk pharmacists cannot treat it on a large scale, so we just need to find out the disease we can cure." At this time, Rockefeller Jr. also slandered his grandfather, because his grandfather was selling fake medicine.
Rockefeller Jr., who has taken over the family medical business for many years, was not interested in it at the beginning, but practice makes perfect and he has understood the level of folk pharmacists. To describe these pharmacists who dared to claim to be able to cure all diseases as incapable of large-scale treatment is already a very restrained description.
Because these pharmacists have been doctors for so many years, they can also become proficient through practice. Truly experienced pharmacists can also tell what disease it is at a glance and can also come up with some effective methods.
We need to compare the treatment rates. Numbers don't lie. Rockefeller Jr. was thinking about which disease he could cure with absolute certainty.
"Have you thought of it?" Edith Rockefeller urged impatiently. Could it be that after the family has developed the medical industry for so many years, the level is so low that they can't even deal with folk pharmacists?
"I figured it out. It's kidney stones! No matter what medicine you use, it's useless for this disease. Most people have to undergo surgery if they want to completely cure it. When the time comes, putting the stones away will be more useful than anything else." Under pressure from his sister, Rockefeller Jr. finally found the most reliable disease.
The most powerful part of regular hospitals for folk pharmacists is surgery. In particular, because surgery requires better professional training and better disinfection and sterilization technology, doctors no longer perform surgery at patients' homes. Therefore, doctors began to unite to establish hospitals that not only own the property rights but also earn profits through operation. The earliest for-profit hospitals were actually in the southern states, but they came later after the Rockefeller family developed the medical industry.
"If we use surgery to deal with these pharmacists, will they not accept it? Never mind, it's just a matter of whether we win beautifully or not." Edith Rockefeller felt that she would definitely win, so she said, "We need some newspapers to follow up on the pollution problem of Lake Michigan, and then find patients to create panic. In this way, a large number of patients will not dare to continue to fight with their bodies, and many folk pharmacists will come out to treat the diseases. When they are powerless and give patients drugs at random, and someone dies, it will be our family hospital's time to be a hero. Before that, John, you must be prepared and don't be in a rush."
Hiss! Little Rockefeller now really has a new respect for Edith Rockefeller. Hasn't her sister always been a model of big breasts and no brains? She is an expert in everything except attending dances! Is it because she has been in contact with Sheffield for a long time that she has learned this set of skills?
"Then I'll go back to Rockefeller Manor and wait for news!" Little Rockefeller nodded. He still knew the basic knowledge of avoiding suspicion.
This matter requires the reporter that the two people hate the most to be dispatched first, and the matter of public opinion will naturally be handled by Albert, the editor-in-chief of the Chicago Daily Times, who is the conscience of the United States today and has made a big splash on women's rights issues.
A special feature about water pollution, which has become the biggest threat to Chicago residents, was written by Albert, editor-in-chief of the Chicago Daily Times. Before this feature appeared, reporters from the Chicago Daily Times had visited Lake Michigan and Chicago's water intake areas for interviews, while also not forgetting the marginal residents who already live in the polluted area.
Chicago has a population of over one million, and even the number of people living near Lake Michigan is about 20,000 to 30,000. Compared with the vast area of the United States, the population here can also be called dense. However, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, which bear the industrial sewage of Chicago, are no longer what people imagine.
The water of the Chicago River exudes a strange smell, and white foam of unknown substance can often be seen on the turbid river water. As for Lake Michigan, which supplies the city of Chicago, the situation is only slightly better.
The visiting reporters brought to Albert the difficult living conditions of the local residents and the true situation of Lake Michigan, which is severely polluted but is the main source of water for Chicago.
Albert, who has already gained popularity after the feminist movement, directly wrote a special feature criticizing major factories in Chicago for discharging deadly sewage without any treatment.
"Ironically, the polluted Lake Michigan is the main water source for millions of residents in our city. The water we drink every day has been processed by steel mills, coking coal plants, and chemical plants, and finally becomes a delicacy that residents must eat every day. Only God knows how many patients have become sick and how many have died because of drinking this water."
The special feature published in the Chicago Daily Times caused a sensation throughout Chicago. The newspaper carried photos. Not everyone lives beside the Chicago River. In a big city with a population of millions, many people do not know the true situation of the Chicago River, but the smog covering the Chicago sky every day is real.
Although the image in the newspaper cannot distinguish colors, would a normal river have foamy waves floating on it?
As for another group, the factory owners of various factories in Chicago, they fiercely accused Albert of making a mountain out of a molehill. "Pollution control will increase additional costs. In this case, the only option is to lay off employees. How can a dung collector who only knows how to write understand this responsibility?"
Adding additional water purification equipment is a huge expense, and factory owners always put profits first, so of course they will save as much as possible.
As for some others, they did not stand up to criticize, but just patted their chests and pretended that the water discharged from their factories had been treated. Anyway, almost all factories had not been treated, so naturally there was no way to verify it.
"Our factory owners say that these things have nothing to do with them. Maybe the pollution of Lake Michigan and Chicago River was caused by my peeing in the past!" Albert, editor-in-chief of the Chicago Daily Times, accused these factory owners of lying in the newspaper in a sarcastic tone and said they must be responsible for the drinking water problem of urban residents.
"The question now is, who will protect the rights of the residents who have already endured this pollution? The health of the local residents is worrying. Is there anyone who cares about their health?"
When asked this question by the Chicago Daily Times, a very influential local newspaper, no one responded.
"My dear, I am really impressed!" Sheffield tilted his neck and held the phone, trimming his nails bit by bit, and said calmly, "Is this also my credit?"
"Of course, I learned this from you!" Edith Rockefeller's smug voice came, "But what should we do next? Find a third-party foundation to investigate this matter in the name of charity?"
"I've been to Chicago many times, and the pollution there is obvious at a glance. However, there is too much capital involved, and I can't see it even though I live in the south." Sheffield thought for a moment and came up with an idea. "Since you want to get away with it, you can actually make it bigger. You don't need a third-party foundation to investigate. If you investigate in the name of the Evelyn Foundation, you have to know that I also have shares in the steel company. The Evelyn Foundation is not a third party at all. It will be even harder to explain if someone with ulterior motives finds out."
"What should we do? Should we ask Albert to call on residents in the polluted area to see a doctor immediately?" Edith Rockefeller thought for a moment and said, "Is that right?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
