Chapter 727 Physical Examination Report
Is it because of Italy's participation in the war? Or is it some other reason? Judging from the current situation, after the three decisive battles in Europe, there has not been much change, and the Allied camp still occupies the initiative on the battlefield.
This is different from the First World War, when after the three decisive battles in 1916, the Allies gradually turned to the Central Powers after the war began, using the battlefield advantages established by rapid mobilization to gradually tilt the balance of war towards themselves. There are at least two things that can be confirmed about the current situation.
The first point is that this war should last longer than the First World War in history, and the casualties of various countries are definitely more severe. Another point is actually the British themselves. The mobilization strength of British India this time far exceeds the same period in history. Not to mention the Battle of the Somme that just ended, even the battle in the Persian Gulf has far exceeded the total number of deaths in India in the First World War.
The slave owners remembered that in the First World War, the British mobilized 1.3 million soldiers from British India, and less than 100,000 were killed. But now, nearly 200,000 were crucified in the Persian Gulf alone. In the Battle of the Somme, nearly 30 Indian divisions were deployed, but now only 10 are left, a reduction of two-thirds. After these two battles, 500,000 Indian soldiers were lost.
If Britain had gone back on its word after the war and ignored the promised autonomy conditions, British India would have been in chaos for some time.
Of course Sheffield believed that as long as Britain was ruthless, it would not be so weak that it could not even control British India. It would just be a matter of a few more deaths.
The change that Italy brought about when it stood in the Allied camp was not how powerful the Italian army was, but that it could liberate the Austro-Hungarian Empire's army in the southwest. After Bulgaria joined the war, Serbia withdrew from the war, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire only needed to withstand the attack of Imperial Russia. This resulted in the Austro-Hungarian Empire's potential mobilization capacity not being exhausted, reducing the pressure on the Germans on the Eastern Front. There were also a variety of problems, which led to the current situation, and it is impossible to judge the direction of the war.
"Balance of power on the continent is also a good thing!" Sheffield took the cup from the table and took a sip. He looked relaxed. Things were not particularly bad. It was just a matter of fighting for another year or two. It would not affect America. What was there to be afraid of?
After checking the time, Sheffield got dressed and took Edith Rockefeller and Louisa Morgan to attend the founding ceremony of the American Oceanographic Research Association. The Vanderbilt family had already prepared a venue for the reception.
Recently Sheffield has been attending similar events, including the North American Animal Protection Association, the Climate Research Association, the World Archaeological Association and other organizations. While Europe is in the midst of war, the scenery in America is unique.
"You've attended so many associations. You've been very welcome at the Bilmont Manor recently." Louisa Morgan sighed, "What's the point? It's not like you at all. Not only can you not make a profit, but you have to invest."
"The purpose of establishing these associations is to create jobs." Sheffield used the tip of his finger to fiddle with Louisa Morgan's earlobe twice, causing a burst of coquettishness before saying, "For the friendly people of this federal government, we can create an organization in advance to make use of their remaining energy. This will also help us to have good moral standards. Smart animals like killer whales should be protected, and it will sound good when others say it."
"Killer whales? Are those animals very smart?" Edith Rockefeller asked, "I've never heard of them."
"Oh, I forgot!" Sheffield slapped his head and explained, "Evelyn has always been the one communicating with the five major publishers. In about two months, you will see my book published, which studies the sociality of whales and the need to protect whales in the ocean. By the way, you, the Rockefeller family, should invest some energy in this, because Standard Oil has eliminated whale oil lighting. This is the power of scientific and technological progress, and it is a good thing in the course of history. The more you lack something, the more you should promote it. You must always find the shining points of your industry and package it so that it is easier to exploit, otherwise those socialists will cause trouble for us."
Sheffield serves as honorary president of more than 20 associations, including the American Paleontological Association, the Native American Protection Association, etc. The common point of these organizations is that they are not destructive, just like the Great Lakes are seriously polluted, but slave owners never mention environmental protection.
He doesn't do things that would offend others, only things that occupy the moral high ground but aren't too much to go on the surface when you think about it, and now that I think about it, he's been chairman of the United States Olympic Committee for twenty years, and the side effect is that the organization is filled with white supremacists.
"You have established so many institutions. Will anyone really go there? Those retired senior federal government officials will study paleontology?" Louisa Morgan said puzzledly, "It's nothing more than getting an extra salary."
"You can also use my money to travel around the world at your own expense!" Sheffield tilted his head and said calmly, "Take the people from Black Gold Company to Egypt to dig for cultural relics. This is what the Archaeological Association does. Go to Africa to kill elephants and take away their ivory. This is what the Paleontological Association does. This is all for the purpose of understanding the past and the future. Scientific progress always requires sacrificing something, but we can't not do this because of minor side effects."
"Say something simple." Edith Rockefeller and Louisa Morgan said in unison.
"Collusion between officials and businessmen!" Sheffield obeyed and no longer used rhetoric to fool the women from the two wealthy families.
People from New York's upper class gathered in the luxurious Bilmont Estate. The members of the Vanderbilt family welcomed Sheffield's visit very much. Although this cocktail party was essentially the same as before, it was now nominally shrouded in the aura of academics, and it seemed different.
"Uncle!" Harold Vanderbilt called out obediently, very happy about the arrival of the distinguished guest who was so important to the family.
"Harold!" Sheffield smiled and touched the child's head.
"Brother William and Sister Margaret are not here?" Harold Vanderbilt looked behind Sheffield and asked in disappointment when he did not see his brother and sister who were there to take care of him.
"Oh, maybe something happened. Harold, you will grow up one day, and then you don't have to stay at home. You can go out and play with your peers." Sheffield heard that they were waiting for his son and daughter-in-law. The last time he came, he did bring William Rockefeller and Margaret Carnegie.
"What did the child ask?" Edith Rockefeller inquired.
"Looking for our son and his wife. I calculated that they can get married now. Carnegie is in good health now, so we should not delay this matter any longer. I have a good impression of Margaret. Little William is like a Puritan like your family, but she is different. Maybe she can be a good helper to our son."
"You're old enough to get married." Edith Rockefeller became more serious than ever when she heard this, but then she started to complain, "What have you learned from our family? You just talk less. Who dares to deny the success of our Rockefeller family?"
"Your family has always been richer than the Morgan family, but the perception of the citizens is the opposite. Doesn't this explain the problem?" Sheffield glared and said with a poker face, "I can treat a person who has no money but is famous as nothing, because the two sides are not on the same level. However, the two families are in the same class, but have obviously different reputations. There must be room for improvement here."
"Is that so?" Edith Rockefeller fell into doubt. Sheffield secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and once again got through the danger. The reason was of course very complicated, not just the Morgan family's packaging of this problem.
The rise and fall of the Morgan family and the Rockefeller family should be viewed in different historical contexts. If globalization goes smoothly, the Morgan family will rise with it. If globalization is not strong enough, or the main market is domestic, the Rockefeller family will be able to surpass the Morgan family.
The reason why the Morgan family was more famous than the Rockefeller family before World War I was that Britain, as the world's first colonial empire, established a global market chain, which of course has now been broken.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, competition among the capitalist classes mainly took the form of fighting between national industrial trusts. If a capitalist wanted to compete with another capitalist, he had to rely on his own nation's state apparatus to provide security guarantees for his own competition.
German capital, represented by ThyssenKrupp, entered America because Germany's military strength was obvious to all.
Under such circumstances, the bourgeoisie will be more patriotic. Even a monopoly capitalist like Sheffield knows that the reason he is alive and well today is because he stays in the United States and does not go out, because the United States can protect him.
So in this era, it is people like Sheffield who hold high the banner of patriotism, and it is the workers of various countries who shout that the proletariat has no country.
In this era, monopoly capitalists advocate nationalism, while the working class advocates internationalism. However, among the monopoly capitalists, there is also a group that has been trying to become internationalist. This group is the banker group, which is more enthusiastic about globalization than the industrial capital group.
This is the opposite of the 21st century. In the globalized environment a hundred years later, it is the workers who are shouting that their jobs must not be taken away by others, while it is the monopoly capitalists who are wielding the banner of globalization and waving the flag.
"Let's set the time in the middle of the year!" Sheffield shook the steel company's equity transfer document in his hand and said to William Rockefeller and Margaret Carnegie, "It's a good time."
"Father, I heard that there are voices among the people who are joining the war. I don't want him to go to the battlefield after I get married." Margaret Carnegie made another request, which was beyond the slave owner's expectations.
Sheffield smiled and said, "I beat my son once when he was a child, and he was left with sequelae. His butt hurts when he walks for a long time. Countless medical institutions will prove that little William is not capable of adapting to the high-intensity environment of the battlefield."
(End of this chapter)
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