Chapter 476: The Big Three Enter Washington
Morgan Alliance and Standard Oil successively expressed their opinions, almost endorsing Sheffield's explanation of shock therapy, giving everyone the impression that they were really ready to give it a try. The support of the Morgan and Rockefeller families did not calm the controversy caused by the slave owners, but instead caused a huge backlash.
Even from Sheffield's mouth, citizens could hear how dangerous the so-called shock therapy was. Even the proposer did not hide this fact. An unproven therapy was to be experimented with on the entire country's economy. It seemed that the three largest companies in the country were very much in favor of it. This was simply a joke.
In fact, it was a joke. In the midst of the violent rebound, just a few hours later, Morgan, Rockefeller, and Sheffield announced in succession that they would make some adjustments to the current economy. This was a public signal to the public, to the citizens and to the federal government. If you don't behave, we will do this.
The arrogance of monopoly capitalism is evident from this. The three major companies have entered the preparation stage regardless of anything, and have set aside a week for preparation, announcing to the outside world that they will start taking action in a week.
Then, the three of them waited for the White House's special envoys. Morgan Jr. and Rockefeller Jr. in New York first met the staff from the White House. Morgan saw that the person was an acquaintance and said directly, "Mr. McCarthy, welcome. Can you just tell me the president's purpose? You know the current situation. I'm very busy."
"Mr. Morgan, thank you very much for giving me the news earlier, which helped me avoid losses." McCarthy glanced at Morgan and thanked him in a friendly manner.
"I like to make friends with smart people." Morgan nodded and said with a double meaning, "Investment must have a return."
Before the bankers began to liquidate the trust company, some congressmen and civil servants who were on good terms with the Morgan family waited for the news and sold their stocks first. This was because Morgan gave them time to escape, because once the liquidation began, a stock market crash was foreseeable. However, Morgan Jr. did not expect that the fall would be so severe. During the time when the three major companies were communicating, the stock market was really halved, with a cumulative decline of 50%.
"I know Mr. Morgan. In fact, the president just hopes that the three major companies will not join forces to implement a rescue plan called shock therapy. Many citizens are opposed to it." McCarthy explained his purpose in detail.
"Impossible. William and John and I have already discussed this. This must be done." Morgan Jr. refused without caring about McCarthy's expression. "We have all made the decision. Is it the turn of the so-called citizens to object? If the White House has the ability to save the market, we can just stand by and let the White House save the current economy. Our President Roosevelt understands economics best. Northern Securities, the fines on the Rockefeller family, and the lawsuit against United Corporation all prove this."
"Impossible!" In the Rockefeller Manor, Rockefeller Jr. said the same words without changing his expression. Although his attitude was not as tough as Morgan Jr., it was just a restrained statement, and it looked unquestionable at all.
"We have already made up our minds!" Sheffield put his hands in his pockets, looked helpless, and said with a smile, "Does President Roosevelt have a better solution? If so, we can listen to it. If not, we can just watch from the sidelines. If our solution doesn't work, the federal government can just use some useful solutions by then."
The slave owner did not have the disgusting attitude of the other two people. He did not say it was impossible directly. Instead, he told his staff to let our three companies try first. If the national economy was completely messed up, the federal government would come out to clean up the mess. Isn't this the role of the federal government anyway?
If you listen carefully, Sheffield's statement is not as good as the other two's. It is simply telling the White House that I want to shit on the head of the federal government and ask the federal government for toilet paper. This is not enough, you have to wipe my ass yourself.
"Mr. William, do you know that this will put many citizens in difficult situations?" Obviously Sheffield was not as lucky as Morgan Jr., who met a supporter of President Roosevelt.
"I know! The strong prey on the weak, and the fittest survive. This is an unchanging truth." Sheffield spoke like an old Darwin. He was very nonchalant and did not think this was a big problem. Finally, he pointed out to the aide, "It's not that we can't talk about it. Obviously, President Roosevelt never gives us a chance to talk."
Later, Roosevelt received feedback from three of his aides. He knew that these were the three largest companies in the country, and they were banding together to protest against him. These three companies had all been in trouble with antitrust laws before, and were now taking advantage of this crisis to cause trouble, or perhaps it could be said that this crisis was originally their way of giving him a hard time.
There is no doubt that Roosevelt is now caught in the biggest governing crisis since he entered the White House. The domestic situation is getting worse every day, and he wholeheartedly wants to create a fairer environment.
Seeing her father like this, Alice Roosevelt felt the same way and could only stay by her father's side silently.
"Every day that passes, countless citizens lose their life savings because of bank failures. These companies are working together to spread the crisis. They are protesting against me." Roosevelt saw his daughter, pointed to the seat in front of him and asked her to sit down. "They know that I only have one year left in my term. They want to teach me a lesson at this point in time, but I am not afraid of them."
"They are all man-eating beasts!" Alice Roosevelt spoke up, agreeing with her father's assessment, but what could she do? Companies across the country followed their lead. Her father had successfully created this situation through nearly forty antitrust lawsuits. Now that the financial crisis had broken out, the other side had found an opportunity to counterattack.
Was this struggle a success or a failure? Alice Roosevelt didn't know. She only knew that such a big crisis during her term was a huge blow to her father's political ideals. Her father certainly didn't want people to think of thousands of bankrupt citizens when they mentioned President Roosevelt.
Roosevelt, who was always known for his toughness, showed a rare trace of fatigue in his eyes. He even thought of using administrative power to arrest these three bastards, but he only had one year left in his term, and it would be impossible to complete this task even by following the procedures. If he did so, his fate after stepping down could be imagined.
The reason why the other party is fearless is that their wealth is permanent, while my presidential authority is limited. If I want to stay in office, there is only one way, which is to become a dictator, and there will definitely be a huge wave of opposition.
"I want to talk to them!" As soon as Roosevelt said this, Alice Roosevelt thought there was something wrong with her ears. Did this mean compromise?
It is hard to imagine that it was only two years since the last economic boom. This boom was not only short-lived but also weak in intensity, but the degree of speculation was high. During this period, some emerging industries emerged, such as electricity, automobiles, and chemicals. With the rise of many emerging industries, this round of boom could have been expected to last for a long time. However, rampant entrepreneurial speculation caused this round of boom to rise and fall sharply. Domestically, during this period, a large number of individual enterprises were transformed into joint-stock companies, issuing watered-down stocks and making huge profits from them. A large amount of European capital financed entrepreneurial speculation by providing short-term credit.
Just as Sheffield said, the problem has always existed, it is only a matter of time. He just received news that the White House announced that shock therapy is an adjustment plan with huge risks and that its implementation needs to be cautious. The federal government is willing to work with respected large domestic companies to resolve this crisis and has already extended an invitation to discuss how to save the market.
"Blair, start by buying our stocks, such as United Fruit Company, supermarket chains, and Coca-Cola. You can start now. After that, we will set up new trust companies and banks. After we have reached an agreement with the White House, we will buy the stocks of other listed industries." Sheffield instructed Blair on the phone, "The final result depends on our negotiations with the White House. I will inform you then."
At Rockefeller Manor, Morgan Building, two similar orders were issued. Morgan Jr., who had been in charge of the New York Stock Exchange, expressed his openness to the goodwill of the White House and his willingness to talk to the President about the future economic development of the country.
Later, Rockefeller Jr. and Sheffield also expressed their willingness to visit the White House. The three people's statements were spread to various places through newspapers. The stock market rebounded slightly, but after half a month of plunge, the rebound was extremely limited. Many investors had been frightened by the killing and manipulation and dared not come in.
On October 27, the three of them boarded trains to Washington and arrived in Washington, the capital of the United States, amid public anticipation. However, the three of them did not rush to enter the White House. Instead, they greeted each other, congratulated each other on the invitation from the White House, and unified their stance.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
