Chapter 474: Jointly Putting Pressure on the Government
Before the proletariat can unite, the capitalists must unite first. Both Chinese and foreign history show that merchants or capitalists are in an environment where they are bullied by both sides, whether in Europe or China, the degree is different. Before the Industrial Revolution, the place where merchants were in a better situation was actually in West Asia, relying on West Asian middlemen in East-West trade.
Free business only exists in a few places in the world, and the most advantageous place for businessmen now is the United States of America, which is hoped by mankind. Anyone with a little common sense can see how difficult it is to develop capitalism, and it can only appear on the edge of world civilization, like Britain.
At present, for Morgan, Rockefeller or Sheffield, the federal government's restlessness and its vague hostility towards businesses, even if it only appears a little bit, must make everyone sufficiently vigilant.
This is also the reason why Sheffield finally agreed to talk. If the federal government had not started to shift the blame to large companies in recent days, perhaps the parties would have to decide the winner. However, the federal government’s statement forced everyone to give up their prejudices and deal with a common enemy first.
"In fact, we all know that we don't need a federal government that has authority over citizens, but we can't do without a government. Without a government, we will face the mob. This is the situation of us businessmen. While accumulating wealth, we will always arouse the jealousy of those who hate the rich. Therefore, we must guard against the expansion of the authority of the federal government and the awakening of citizens' consciousness. This is really difficult." Sheffield transformed into a great mentor and analyzed everyone's situation in detail. "So, we only have one choice, which is to make citizens hate the government instead of us. Even if we can't do everything, we must do most of it."
Both J.P. Morgan and Rockefeller agreed that someone had to take responsibility at this point. Everyone had their own business and they all prospered and suffered together. At least for now they could not trip each other up. It would be most appropriate for the federal government to take on this responsibility. Once the idea that the federal government was the culprit of the economic crisis was raised, a consensus had been reached. This was what everyone really thought.
The next step is to formulate an offensive and defensive alliance and work together to throw the blame back to the federal government. The specific measures should be discussed carefully. After finding a common ground, the most important thing for the three parties now is to stop internal friction and unite to compete with the federal government.
To show solidarity, Sheffield first stated, "I have no interest in railroads, nor do I plan to work in the medical and insurance industries. I just want to consolidate the industries I have now and do a good job in international trade. The biggest shortcoming of the United Company is financial institutions. As for this bargain hunting in other industries, we farmers are naturally only interested in land and mountains. Oh, by the way, the United Company has a good relationship with the Indians. I plan to buy the Grand Canyon in Arizona and use it for the Indians to settle down."
One of the purposes of giving Indians knowledge of settlement was that Sheffield had promised to give Alice Roosevelt a surprise. Of course, in such a serious occasion, and since the enemy was someone's father, it was not appropriate to bring it up openly.
Railways are certainly very important in this era, and will even be important for decades to come, but that is only domestically. The automobile industry is already in his hands, so there is no need to compete with the other two companies for railways. Sheffield pays more attention to international trade, and large fleets are more worthy of investment.
Morgan also put forward his own goals, which was to consolidate his prestige in the banking industry and at the same time invest in a wide range of industries, mainly in the stock market. As for Rockefeller, he also delineated the industries he hoped to obtain. The three parties divided up the domestic industries in Edith Rockefeller's villa.
It has not been all smooth sailing. Although a common external stance has been expressed, there are still many overlapping industries between the two sides, such as steel, railways, coal, machinery, and the newly launched home appliances.
The threshold for some industries is actually not high. If you want to compete, you will be able to catch up quickly. In coal, machinery and manufacturing, Sheffield said that we will first get through this crisis and join forces to break up the authority of the federal government before everyone competes.
There is no way to establish a negotiation mechanism for many consumer products, such as home appliances and machinery manufacturing. The three companies all have similar manufacturing companies under their umbrella, and it is not a matter of just a few people talking about who will own the product.
By the evening, the three of them had come up with a general idea, and Edith Rockefeller prepared a sumptuous dinner and was there to witness history.
After dinner, Edith Rockefeller returned to her bedroom and said with a smile, "You three are like the Roman triumvirate, discussing the future of the United States."
"Hmm? You can't use that analogy. The Big Three is not a good term." Sheffield said calmly, "This is modern society. We are just three ordinary entrepreneurs who just want to do business freely."
Sheffield is not interested in the title of the Big Three, although the current situation is somewhat similar. What kind of Big Three should we be? If we want to be one, we should be Augustus. The Rockefeller family said it well, 90% is not enough, we need 100%.
Rockefeller Jr. and J.P. Morgan got up early and rushed to New York to make their own plans for the current crisis. On this day, the federal government once again accused big companies of being selfish and allowing the financial crisis to worsen.
After returning to New York, Morgan Jr. said that the economic crisis would soon be over and that he had found strong support to calm the market panic. On the other hand, he criticized the attitude of the federal government. In a newspaper supported by bankers, he publicly refuted the federal government's accusations, saying, "Since the second term of President Roosevelt, he has made no secret of his hostility towards big business. This is the real reason for the outbreak of this crisis. Businessmen are panicking, and the high-pressure environment has overwhelmed our companies."
As if receiving a signal, Rockefeller Jr. stated that endless investigations and fines were damaging big business' confidence in the future. The current situation was caused by none other than President Roosevelt in the White House. As the president of a country, Roosevelt only pushed the problems onto businesses and never thought he had done anything wrong.
The successive statements made by J.P. Morgan and Rockefeller, plus the fact that both of them mentioned that they would rescue the market, combined with the two reasons, attracted huge attention. The New York Times and the New York Daily News expressed their approval of their statements. Bankers were unanimous in their opinions. It was precisely because of entrepreneurs' uncertainty about the future that banks had to increase their support, causing interest rates to be in a very dangerous state. This was a problem created by the federal government.
After a week-long beating, Rockefeller Jr. and Morgan Jr. showed through their actions that their counterattack had begun, and they directed all their attacks at the federal government.
Because of Alice Roosevelt, Sheffield thought that he could not point the finger at Roosevelt too directly, otherwise he would not be able to explain to Alice Roosevelt. If he was too ruthless, it might affect the relationship between the couple in the future, which would not be worth the loss.
"You will suffer at the hands of women sooner or later!" Edith Rockefeller accused him bluntly. It was already a late hour, and a huge deal worth hundreds of millions was right in front of her, but her man was thinking about how not to offend another woman's father.
Sheffield turned around suddenly and asked a soul-piercing question, "Does this have to be sooner or later? Didn't I just unconditionally extend the contract for the Texas oil field for 20 years?"
Edith Rockefeller's expression turned from cloudy to sunny, and she lowered her head in embarrassment. "I know you are a man of love and justice. You would rather suffer a loss than let your woman suffer grievances."
Hmm! Sheffield straightened his back unconsciously and said calmly, "I am strong enough, so I don't need to use these little tricks. I don't need you to teach me how to do things like this. I don't need to blame Roosevelt for anything. I can operate from a larger perspective. Anyway, I have to force the federal government to comply, and I don't have to curse at them."
"I understand. I'll listen to you." Edith Rockefeller said with a flattering smile, "Don't be angry. I'm the one who doesn't know how to speak. You have your reasons for doing this."
Immediately afterwards, the White House spokesperson was questioned about this issue. Reporters rushed to ask whether Morgan and Rockefeller's statements were true and whether the federal government's suppression of the business community was the main cause of this crisis.
The White House was suddenly in the spotlight. When Morgan and Rockefeller joined forces, many people thought it was a provocation to the authority of the White House. Inside the White House, President Roosevelt was also furious and muttered, "These shameless monopolists created this crisis to challenge the authority of the federal government. They ignored the rights of all citizens and let the federal government become the citizens' punching bag. Greedy and shameless criminals, I just want to arrest them."
"Oh!" Alice Roosevelt sighed imperceptibly. She knew that the other camp was powerful. It was not just Morgan and Rockefeller, but also that man who had not yet expressed his position.
The three most powerful companies, as well as the countless wealthy people who depended on these companies, united during the financial crisis and forced his father to bow his head. Fortunately, the man still cared about his own feelings.
Sheffield simply didn't have enough time, so he wasn't going to start a rant, but he was going to do the same thing, which was to put pressure on the federal government.
(End of this chapter)
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