Chapter 395 Northern Securities Company
In any case, Sheffield really lost the election, because Roosevelt, who was forced to take over the Panama Canal project and was troubled by the coal cartel, was re-elected.
"This time when he is re-elected, our President will definitely not play around like he did last time." Seeing Evelyn and Alice Roosevelt come in, the slave owner, who had already accepted the reality, was now thinking about preparing for the next round of storms. He concluded that Roosevelt, who was successfully re-elected, would definitely take drastic measures against the monopoly enterprises.
"The joint company model is not a trust model. In fact, you shouldn't worry about it." Evelyn glanced at Alice Roosevelt obscurely and asked casually, "You should be worried about others, right?"
"There is a saying in the East that a tall tree attracts the wind. From a model perspective, the United Company is certainly not a trust enterprise. But who can say for sure about such things? Can people involved in politics be trusted?" Sheffield asked this question and immediately answered himself, "No, no politician can be trusted. The relationship between our companies and politicians has not always been close. President Roosevelt obviously does not want to live in peace with us forever."
Alice Roosevelt couldn't help feeling complicated as she listened to the conversation between the two. Although she didn't express any dissatisfaction with her father, she was still a little too blunt when she spoke.
Evelyn's good intentions were to hope that after the first daughter returned to the White House, she could play a role in the company and see if she could protect the United Company from the threat of antitrust laws. If not, she could rank lower.
Alice Roosevelt sighed in her heart, regretting why she didn't make it clear during the day, because Evelyn arranged for the two of them to live in the same room again, but Sheffield took advantage of them without her knowing. How could she say this?
"How about I sleep on the floor?" Sheffield put on the appearance of a saint possessed by Jesus again. Although his lower body was like an iron rod, it did not affect the sanctimonious look on his face.
"Evelyn said that if the antitrust law is activated by my father, it will affect Congress and the Supreme Court. Is that true?" Although Alice Roosevelt had heard Evelyn's opinion, she hoped that Sheffield, as the owner of a similarly large company, could give a more truthful answer.
"It's true. Especially for large companies, it's not that difficult to confront the president." Looking at Alice Roosevelt's face, Sheffield said truthfully, "Of course, in the end we still hope to live in peace, just like when President McKinley was here, didn't everyone have a good relationship?"
When McKinley was president, the US government had no habit of intervening in the economy. Not intervening was the greatest support. Although the Sherman Antitrust Act was in place, he turned a blind eye to the monopoly companies that had already emerged. The more than five years that McKinley was in office were the golden age of mergers of large American companies.
Sheffield also took advantage of this golden age to move from one merger to another. Of course, other companies were similar. The Morgan Alliance expanded into various industries. Today's enemy is tomorrow's friend. Everyone was trying to merge as many industries as possible. Except for very important industries that might be strangled and had to fight, most industries might still be partners.
But President Roosevelt obviously did not think so. If his first term had not lasted only three years and he had been distracted by the collapse of a Panama Dam in Sheffield and overwhelmed by the coal strike, he would have started a major war in his first term instead of just targeting a few small industries.
"Boss, important call!" Jesla's voice came from outside the door, calling Sheffield out.
Sheffield had to go out with a baton to deal with the important phone call that Jesla made. The call was from Alton Parker, who told him that the Democratic Party had failed in the election again and again.
"Judge Parker, it's great. This election solved a doubt for me, and the loss was not ugly." Sheffield expressed his gratitude to Alton Parker. The failure itself was expected. Now the slave owner's mentality has been adjusted and he is no longer entangled in the election.
After the call ended, Sheffield returned to the room. There was no one in the bedroom, but there was a light in the bathroom. The sound of water dripping was so clear that it was impossible to fall asleep. Not long after, Alice Roosevelt came out, like a lotus flower emerging from the water. She was already very beautiful, which made people even more moved.
Sheffield went straight into the bathroom to complete his rotation, and he seemed to still be able to smell the scent that Alice Roosevelt had just left.
After washing, the bedroom was already dark. Sheffield pulled back a corner of the quilt and crawled in. The two of them were facing each other with their backs to each other and far apart. As time passed, Sheffield couldn't sleep, but became more and more awake.
"Don't come over here!" "Please!" Two voices sounded one after another. The two people who couldn't sleep finally filled in their blank memories of yesterday when they woke up.
The slave owner was quite brave, and he seemed to be bombarding the White House, making the president's daughter fly into the clouds and experience a feeling she had never experienced before.
Roosevelt, who believed that the votes were close because of his poor performance, was thinking about how to be more popular with voters after experiencing the joy of re-election. As president, he felt that he should not be too aggressive with the issue of black people because the proposals he could put forward would not be more extreme than those of the Democratic Party.
The slave owners on the West Coast wanted the president to focus on ethnic issues because this issue did not harm them. It did not affect their own interests, but antitrust law was already an issue with a certain class attribute. This issue was the real issue for Sheffield.
Unfortunately, ethnicity is always a minor issue for the real big men. As the president of a country, Roosevelt believed that the issue of wealth was much more important than ethnicity. He would not dwell on this minor issue, but wanted all voters to see his ability as a president, not just the Yankees or the Dixies.
The slave owner who was hugging Alice Roosevelt on the West Coast was still sleeping soundly. Roosevelt in the White House had already started his day's work. Attorney General Knox came as scheduled. He was originally thinking of congratulating Roosevelt on his re-election. Before he opened his mouth, he heard Roosevelt say please sit down, and then said, "We must make up our minds about dealing with the big companies we call trusts."
In fact, Roosevelt had expressed his dissatisfaction with the trusts as early as his previous term. Knox did not expect that President Roosevelt, who had just completed his re-election, was in such an anxious mood.
Knox said solemnly, "Theodore, which company do you want to target?"
"Public transportation is an area that citizens can clearly feel. Although the automobile industry is developing, it is still very expensive for a person to drive a car, and cars cannot currently carry the transportation capacity. Whether it is for citizens to travel or for freight transportation, railroads are the most common way." Roosevelt said lightly, "To achieve immediate results and let all citizens feel the benefits quickly, the railway system must be put into operation."
"Railway system? Morgan's Northern Securities Company?" Knox was shocked. He didn't expect Roosevelt to pick a tough bone right away. But it was just like what Roosevelt said. The railway system is the place that makes citizens feel the strongest. Whether it is personal travel or the transportation of goods, they all rely on the railway system.
"That's it. A large number of immigrants poured into the United States, a large number of farmers poured into cities, and the domestic railway mileage increased rapidly. The railways have turned the country into a truly unified market. The railways are so important. They can influence so many things." Roosevelt said that Knox's guess was correct. It was the Northern Securities Company that controlled the railway system in Morgan's hands.
Before the establishment of Northern Securities Company, Harriman and Hill respectively controlled two railroads from the West Coast to the Midwestern United States. The competition between the two parallel railroads enabled people in the Midwestern United States to enjoy low-cost transportation brought about by competition.
Later, Morgan reorganized the order and took the lead in getting the two railroad giants to shake hands and make peace to form the Northern Securities Company. The emergence of the Northern Securities Company meant that since it could monopolize all the railroads in the northwestern United States, it had the ability to completely control the railroads in the United States. Together with the railroads originally owned by Morgan, the entire country's railroad system was now completely controlled by this company.
"Do you really want to target this company?" Knox looked up and saw Roosevelt's serious expression. He said, "Okay. But this is a tough battle. Morgan is not someone who will sit there and take a beating. We must be prepared."
The slave owners on the West Coast woke up slowly, not knowing that the owner of the White House had already decided on the first target to be operated on this morning, so quickly. Sheffield got up and asked someone to prepare Alice Roosevelt's favorite French bread and milk tea. Looking at Alice Roosevelt combing her hair in front of the mirror, he couldn't help but hug her from behind.
"What are you doing?" Alice Roosevelt was still somewhat resistant and said unhappily, "I won't pretend nothing happened."
Are you going to pretend that nothing happened? Sheffield wanted to remember it more clearly, so he kissed Alice Roosevelt on the face and said flatteringly, "Actually, I have a way to straighten your hair, but I just didn't think of it before. And I don't know if it will be popular with women."
"Oh?" Alice Roosevelt, who loved new things, was successfully interested and listened to Sheffield talking about the thing called an ironing board.
(End of this chapter)
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