Chapter 580: United with Rio Tinto
This time Sheffield came to Australia for both private and business trips. The private trip was to discuss investment in Australia with Australian counterparts. As for the business trip, as a member of the Democratic National Committee, Sheffield also shoulders part of the mission of international cooperation.
In fact, being a member of the Democratic National Committee alone was not an important title, but with the company of the owner of the United Company, as well as Edith Rockefeller and Louisa Morgan, women who could represent the Rockefeller and Morgan families to some extent, the weight of the title was much greater.
As a slave owner with a clear corporate structure, Sheffield divided things very clearly, first private and then public. This was what an outstanding capitalist should do, so he first looked for friends in Australia and engaged in some upper-class social interactions.
Everyone got on the car and drove along the flat road to a manor in the western suburbs. This place can be described as beautiful with mountains and rivers. The existence of such a huge and valuable manor so close to Melbourne is enough to reflect the powerful strength of the owner of this place.
"Who is the owner of this manor?" Louisa Morgan asked. In fact, Edith Rockefeller also wanted to ask, but was beaten to it by the woman from the Morgan family.
"A shepherd!" Sheffield's answer was concise and to the point, with a hint of sarcasm. "There are two main businesses. One is herding sheep to supply the British, and the other is mining. That's all I know."
The convoy stopped, and the owner of the manor came out to greet them with a smile. He said happily, "William, you haven't changed in several years. You brought two beautiful ladies with you. I can see that you are very happy."
"Benjamin, you are still so good at talking. But to these two ladies, Ms. Edith Rockefeller and Ms. Louisa Morgan, you still need to maintain basic gentlemanly manners." Sheffield held the other party's hand and reminded the other party that the status of the ladies around him was not something that could be talked nonsense.
According to the industry's name, these two ladies represent the monopoly bourgeoisie. If you use the country to describe it, it is definitely the imperialist powers, which cannot be flirted with casually. Of course, Sheffield is an exception. The other party is a monopoly bourgeoisie, and so is she.
Benjamin Buck nodded. He was equally famous for these two surnames. He changed his previous relaxed attitude and became much more serious when greeting. Then he stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation, inviting everyone to enter the manor as guests.
Benjamin Buck asked what the visitors from afar thought of Australia. Louisa Morgan said honestly, "It has a strong British style, just like walking on the streets of London. It's amazing."
"This kind of splendor can only be seen here, besides in London, oh, and New York." Benjamin Buck's words were purely a compliment. The splendor of New York had nothing to do with London.
Melbourne, on the other hand, has a large number of Victorian buildings, second only to London in the world. In addition, some modern Gothic buildings have become models of contemporary architecture. The city center has many new and ancient buildings that represent the history of urban development, which complement each other and create a unique scene.
Benjamin Buck was just complimenting casually, and Sheffield was just listening to it casually, but he forgot that he, a slave owner, was not interested in New York. Edith Rockefeller and Louisa Morgan were both New Yorkers, and they were very happy to hear Benjamin Buck's compliments.
Benjamin Buck asked Sheffield about the purpose of his visit to Australia. Sheffield did not hide it and said that he wanted to make some investments and explorations, as well as communicate with the current political parties in Australia.
"See, I forgot that you are a giant in the Democratic Party." Benjamin Buck slapped his head and said something that made the slave owner unworthy of being just a senior voter.
But Benjamin Buck immediately started complaining about Australia's current two major parties, the Australian Conservative Party and the Australian Labor Party. In particular, the Australian Labor Party is a worthless party in Benjamin Buck's words, and this tone should disappear in Australia tomorrow.
This made the two female workers marvel at what the Australian Labor Party had done to offend this person.
Sheffield was not surprised at all. He was silent for a while and said, "Is it because of the White Australia Policy?"
Benjamin Buck nodded. Sheffield saw this reaction clearly. He guessed that this was the reason. The Australian Labor Party was the first ruling workers' party in the world, which of course meant a lot to the working class all over the world.
But the capitalists don't like it. First of all, the rise of such a workers' party is a threat in itself. Secondly, the workers' parties in the early 20th century were somewhat different. Such parties were often xenophobic, and the Australian Labor Party was no exception.
The Australian Labor Party is the main promoter of the White Australia Policy. White Australiaists generally believe that racial purity helps maintain economic and social stability. Australia's unity will be meaningless if it is not used on a unified race. A unified race not only means that its members can mix, intermarry, and communicate with each other without degeneration, but also means believing in the same ideas.
It would be great if Sheffield could bring in Harry Bogart, who is deeply involved in social Darwinism. He would definitely have a common language with today's Australians.
The common feature of the general labor parties at the beginning of the century was xenophobia. On the one hand, these parties of the Second International focused on the rights of their own workers and won votes, and on the other hand, they did not want their own workers to be subjected to external shocks. The two were generally carried out at the same time.
Even the Democratic Party in the United States has this characteristic. The Democratic Party regards some workers and farmers as voting bases, but also holds high the banner of xenophobia. Not only is it xenophobic, it also does not tolerate the existing blacks in the United States.
So when Sheffield heard Benjamin Buck's complaints, he couldn't say anything. The main propositions of the Second International and other parties were actually very simple in essence: only the workers of the country were considered human beings, and migrant workers were not considered human beings, but an obvious danger.
At the same time, there was no such thing as international friendship among workers. As far as Sheffield knew, the Labour Parties of the Second International generally supported their country's joining the World War, which eventually led to some factions of the Second International withdrawing and establishing the Third International. They were incompatible with these parties of the Second International. An important reason for this incompatibility was that they believed that the Labour Parties of the Second International were generally vassals of the bourgeoisie, did not play the slightest anti-war role, were pitifully weak in the face of the real monopoly bourgeoisie, but struck hard at other workers' organizations.
However, a subdued workers' party is a good thing for Sheffield, which means that talks are possible.
The slave owner also knew the reason for Benjamin Buck's dissatisfaction, just like the background of the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States. The labor force that asks for less money is good labor. Australian local workers are picky and are far less hardworking than the foreign Asian workers. They can't do much work and have a lot of problems.
This was certainly not good for Benjamin Buck, who was maximizing his interests. Just like in California 20 years ago, capitalists often protected Chinese workers, while the working class regarded Chinese workers as their sworn enemies.
On the issue of Chinese workers, the capitalists and the working class were completely opposite, and of course the capitalists lost in the end. This is because there is something called elections in the United States. If you ignore this opposition, you will eventually be taught a lesson by the votes.
Benjamin Buck was also very frank and admitted that he had previously employed a large number of Melanesians and Chinese, but had to be repatriated by the Australian Labor Party.
"Don't be angry. Just listen to the name of the Labor Party and you will know the composition of the people who support them. Those so-called workers who are lazy and greedy all the time just want to suck blood from us honest businessmen. What use are they? If we hadn't opened the factory, they would have starved to death one by one." Sheffield said with disgust on his face, "But this world is so unfair. These bastards whose survival has no value often use the so-called public opinion to hold us hostage. Australia is still pretty good, but our United States is too much."
Seeing Sheffield's indignation, Benjamin Buck felt better. He sighed and said, "Let's not talk about these unhappy things. The stupid workers don't understand this. I hope the Conservative Party can change some of these wrong policies next time."
Sheffield nodded and agreed with Benjamin Buck, "Next time, next time, definitely!" He knew this was destined to be a dream. Political parties must listen to the capitalists, but on this issue, no one dared to change without a change in the overall environment.
Moreover, unlike the United States, Australia's White Australia Policy is a formal law, not a time-limited law like the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was repealed by Sheffield when he saw the opportunity. Such a formal law will not be repealed without causing widespread condemnation from the world.
After performing the capitalists' common hatred of the enemy, Sheffield changed the subject. He did not want to act bitter and vengeful all the time. Given Australia's basic environment, even if there was no hard-working labor force, there was still a stage for people to show their talents.
"In addition to communicating with Australian political parties, I still want to investigate and explore Australia's resources. I also want to inquire about the political news to see what kind of preferential treatment I can get." Sheffield asked Benjamin Buck, wondering whether the Australian political arena would be disgusted with the entry of American capital.
After receiving a positive reply, Sheffield felt relieved. Then the next day, accompanied by Benjamin Buck, he upgraded the original branch of the United Company in Melbourne into an industrial company and renamed it United Rio Tinto Mining Company.
(End of this chapter)
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