Chapter 728 April Fool’s Day Prank
The United States in 1921——
Forget about 1921, there is also child labor in the United States in 2021.
Not only is there child labor, but there is also child marriage.
Polygamy is legal in some states in the United States.
The black slavery system in the United States was not completely abolished until 2013. As a common social problem in the United States, black labor is expected to have a long life as a country.
Although the United States has countless problems of its own, most Americans feel good about themselves, especially those rich people who can spend 15 cents to buy newspapers. Their feelings towards European countries are more complicated.
On the one hand, these wealthy people in the United States admire Europe and hope to be recognized by Europe.
On the one hand, they desperately slander Europe to prove that the United States is advanced and developed.
You can doubt the position of the rich, but do not doubt the IQ of the rich.
In the United States in early 1921, Wilson was seriously ill and unable to handle government affairs, and Harding had to wait until March to take up his duties.
The 4 million American soldiers who returned from Europe were idle and penniless, wandering in the city, becoming the most serious hidden danger to public security.
After the outbreak of the economic crisis, workers lost their jobs, farmers' incomes decreased, and all walks of life fell into depression. Rich people did not dare to invest or even save in banks.
God knows what day the bank will fail.
Rich Americans like to invest in emerging economies. Before the rise of Russia, Germany was the most favored country for American capital.
Before The Atlantic published news about Russia, American capitalists had already begun investing in Russia.
After "The Atlantic" published news about Russia, bonds issued by Russia in the United States suddenly became enthusiastically sought after by the market.
To promote bond sales, Russian bonds were previously issued at 90 percent of face value.
After just one day, Russian bonds not only returned to normal prices, but some people were even willing to buy them at a premium.
After several months of fermentation, the influence of "The Atlantic" has expanded beyond New York. This report on Russia was widely circulated among students at Harvard University in Massachusetts.
During the economic crisis, it was difficult for even Harvard graduates to find jobs.
Although Harvard is well-known, students' expectations are also very high. Jobs with poor pay are not favored by Harvard's top students.
After the outbreak of the economic crisis, even large companies such as Rockefeller and Dolgorukov have lowered their employees' treatment levels to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
This is relatively good, at least there are no layoffs.
Those who have lost their jobs, are idle at home, and cannot live a sustainable life are the worst offenders.
That's not right. The worst offenders should be those small and medium-sized enterprise owners who ran out of funds, sold off their properties, and tried all kinds of methods, but in the end they still had no choice but to go bankrupt.
Unemployment is not terrible. As long as the economy improves, you can still survive by finding another job.
When the boss goes bankrupt, he not only loses all his family property, but also has to bear a lot of debt, which makes him unable to turn over for the rest of his life. Many people jump from the rooftop because they cannot accept the reality.
Because employment is not as good as expected, many Harvard graduates choose to stay in school to continue their studies to escape reality.
James, from California, made an appointment with his roommate Billy to stay in school together.
But one day in March, Billy suddenly received an invitation from a Russian company and decided to go to Russia to work.
“Why?”
James is very sad. Goodbye in this era may be forever.
“Haven’t you realized yet? For ordinary people like us, Russia is the best choice.”
Billy is very calm, he has "Empire Nirvana" in his hand , is a special issue published by The Atlantic for Russia.
As sales have increased, "The Atlantic" has increased from one issue per week to two issues per week, and has successively produced special issues for European countries.
The special issue produced by "The Atlantic" for European countries uses higher-end coated paper. The content includes travel notes written by travelers and large-scale color photos taken by professional photographers. Each copy sells for up to US$2.50. The supply is still in short supply, and many old European immigrants are rushing to buy "Special Issue" to relieve their homesickness.
Due to the different histories of European countries, the special issue produced by "The Atlantic" for Russia is as long as 125 pages. The $2.50 is definitely a loss. However, "The Atlantic" magazine increased the volume without increasing the price, and won unanimous praise from readers. .
“Russian tycoons are coming to the United States to do business, and the United States is the future!”
James has no doubt about the United States.
"The United States is indeed a paradise for rich people, but it is a hell for us poor people."
Billy's yearning for Russia is greater than his love for the United States.
"Billy, you are a graduate of Harvard University. You have escaped from the poor class and are about to become - no, you have already entered the elite class."
James felt sorry for his friend and didn't know Billy took the wrong medicine.
“The United States used to be my dream country, but it is no longer the country. I am now extremely sure that my dream can only be realized in Russia.”
Unlike James, Billy is a recent immigrant from France. He came to Harvard to study because of his recognition of the United States, and now he has given up on the United States for the same reason. Billy's favorite books to read were Plato's "The Republic" and Thomas More's "Utopia". He was deeply attracted by the scenes depicted in these two books.
After coming to the United States, Billy finally understood the nature of the United States. There is no so-called freedom and freedom here.
Yes, how could a country established by the Puritans be free and free?
"You are wrong, only in the United States can we realize our ideals! Russia is just a feudal country cloaked in democracy, and everything you see is an illusion."
James was emotional and his antipathy towards Russia reached its peak.
"If what you say is right, then the United States is a slave country dressed in the guise of slavery!"
Billy has made up his mind to leave, and would rather give up his studies for this.
Like Billy, countless young people came to Russia, determined to pursue their dreams throughout their lives.
Also in March, Russia's Siberia Bank and Germany's Deutsche Bank reached an agreement. Siberia Bank injected 1 billion rubles into Deutsche Bank to help Deutsche Bank stabilize the value of the mark.
When Siberian Bank acquired 20% of Deutsche Bank's shares, it also sent people to supervise Deutsche Bank's operations.
After the Bank of Siberia injected capital into Deutsche Bank, Russian capital led by the Yuriev Consortium and the Yusupov Consortium increased investment in Germany.
On March 20, with the assistance of the Yuriev Consortium, Benz Automobile Company and Amur Automobile Group reached a cooperation agreement to establish a joint venture factory in Germany for joint operations.
Felix has targeted his investment in the German transportation sector.
After two years of hard work, Russia's railway network has basically returned to normal. Next, the Russian government will build a road network to connect all cities.
By repairing railways, Russia has accumulated an engineering team with strong professional capabilities, and its design and construction capabilities have reached world-class levels.
After the repair of the Siberian Railway, railway construction in Russia will come to an end, and the engineering team can be transferred to Germany to contribute to Germany's reconstruction.
At this time, Britain, France and the United States noticed that Russia clearly wanted to monopolize Germany.
Everyone knows that Germany’s post-war reconstruction will be related to the fate and future of Europe.
Russia has previously reached an agreement with the German government to exchange grain exports for German labor, initially solving Russia's domestic labor shortage.
Germany joined the Free Trade Organization last year, laying the foundation for further cooperation between Russia and Germany.
Now that Russia and Germany have signed another investment agreement, if Britain, France, and the United States do not take action, Germany will completely fall to Russia.
Once Germany completely falls to Russia, Britain, France, and the United States will face unprecedented pressure.
Before the outbreak of the world war, knowledgeable people from Germany and Russia asked what would happen if German technology and Russian resources were combined?
For Germany and Russia, this is a match made in heaven.
But for Britain and France, an alliance between Germany and Russia would be tantamount to disaster.
The impact on the United States is not big. At most, it will just lose the German market.
But for American capitalists, this is simply killing them.
On March 4, Harding officially entered the White House and became the 29th President of the United States.
On the second day after Harding took office in the White House, he issued an initiative to Britain and France to re-examine Germany's ability to compensate and discuss a more appropriate compensation plan.
Germany has now made it clear that the 132 billion gold marks stipulated in the "Versailles Treaty" far exceed Germany's repayment ability. If the Allies do not modify the agreement, Germany will refuse to pay reparations.
The French were overjoyed: OK, OK, I won’t pay you back if you don’t, and whoever regrets it will be a puppy.
The British coyly: If Germany does not pay back, then the money Britain owes the United States will also be written off.
Little Nicholas laughed crazily. Russia has reached an agreement with Germany. Once Germany has the ability to repay, it will give priority to repaying reparations to Russia.
This is why the Siberian Bank wants to supervise Deutsche Bank.
Harding never expected that he would face such a difficult situation as soon as he became President of the United States.
At the critical moment, it must be the cunning Clemenceau.
Clemenceau warned London and Paris that if the plan was not revised, an unprecedentedly powerful alliance would emerge in the north of Britain and France.
Lloyd George broke his teeth.
During the Paris Peace Conference, the person with the strongest attitude towards German reparations was Clemenceau.
Now Clemenceau came out to make nonsense again.
You can say all the good things about love alone.
Although Clemenceau appeared to be a bit senile, his warning still attracted the attention of London and Paris.
On April 1, Lloyd George sent invitations to Harding and George, as well as French President Alexandre Millerand, to convene a London conference to reassess reparations to Germany.
When George received the invitation, he had to wonder if this was an April Fool's Day prank.
(End of this chapter)