The President is Going to America! - Chapter 112



Only Noblemtl

Episode 112 – The Greatest Showman

New York

Hitler Company

“Oh, so the British royal family went to see Tolkien?”

“I think so.”

I handed Richter the telegram I was reading. It said that the British prince had come to see him a few days ago.

The Duke of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Rothesay.

Better known as Edward VIII.

‘The man who gave up the throne for love.’

Did he abdicate in order to marry an American divorcee? There was a lot of controversy because of his pro-German tendencies.

In his later years, he was banished from England altogether.

“Sir, I never thought someone like that would be interested in Dungeon & Warrior.”

“I know.”

Dungeons & Warriors was first revealed at the Detroit Convention Center.

But I didn’t get much attention when I revealed my identity as Cyclegruber.

“I heard reports that it’s popular in England.”

Who would have thought that even the Prince of Great Britain would play it?

“Tolkien said he’s planning a trip to the United States in a few months. If things go well, we might be able to meet.”

Edward VIII.

What if he had remained King of England during World War II?

‘Britain might have accepted the Nazis’ peace deal.’

If the king had swayed public opinion, it would have been quite possible. Then Hitler could have mobilized all his forces to attack the Soviet Union.

History would have been completely changed.

“Who will this prince marry?”

“What, aren’t they all royal families? All the European kings are the same. Oh, and since you’re getting married, I just had a thought…”

Richter smiled brightly.

“Anna and I have decided to get married officially.”

“Marriage? I knew you were engaged. Did you formally propose in the meantime?”

“I did it the last time I went on a driving trip… Wow, it’s exactly like you said, the American West is romantic at night.”

“Then we should have a grand wedding. Do Jews also throw rice at their weddings?”

“Yeah, they do throw rice, but it’s a little different from what you know, Alf. There are also some unique customs. You know about breaking glasses at the end of a wedding, right?”

“I don’t know for sure, but… I’m looking forward to it.”

“Oh, Alf, if you come, I think you’ll get more attention than Anna and I.”

“Then I’ll just eat some cake behind you. Do you have any cake?”

“There will be cake. But most of the food is kosher, so no pork or shellfish, and no mixing meat and cheese…”

Then Joseph Kennedy came into the office.

“Adolf, I just got word from Morgan that he’s on his way here. He wants to talk to you alone. He’ll be there soon.”

“If you’re on Morgan’s side… are you talking about Morgan III?”

“It’s not young Morgan, it’s old Morgan. Jack Morgan.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve come to you like this without saying anything.”

Richter and I looked at each other.

Is it related to IMM shipping?

That’s the only reason I can think of right now.

“Well, we’ll find out when we meet.”

＊＊＊

Jack Morgan had a grumpy look on his face as always.

A face that shows some dissatisfaction.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jack Morgan smile.’

Still, we were business partners for several years. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit blunt.

“So you think cartoons and newspaper articles will bring down the KKK?”

“The day will come when the KKK will completely disappear, but it will be difficult for it to regain popularity.”

The member who was shot in the buttocks barely survived with Compound H. That image must have already been deeply ingrained in the public’s perception.

Any religion or group that becomes a laughing stock has a hard time becoming popular.

‘But it will be difficult to completely eliminate it.’

Even in the original history, the KKK survived into the 21st century.

The same goes for white supremacy.

In places like Texas, the Confederate flag from the Civil War was openly displayed.

You can destroy the KKK, but you can’t change people’s minds.

It’s not enough to just keep it from coming up to the surface.

“Politicians who were members of the KKK will also deny their involvement. They will have no choice but to do so if they want to survive the next election.”

“…”

Jack Morgan closed his mouth with a thoughtful expression.

The car we were in moved smoothly through the streets of New York.

“My son has been talking about containers all day these days. The metal box you suggested.”

“I was just thinking about the pilot phase. I guess we need to test it to see if it works.”

Trucking is pretty much ready, but containers are a lot to take care of.

From dedicated cranes to container-moving chassis, container containers, and dedicated cargo ships.

I left it to the Advanced Invention Research Institute, but…

“IMM doesn’t have the capacity to make such a large investment right now. Unless it’s guaranteed to succeed, but a proposal without any theory or experiment…”

“Containers will be successful. It just depends on how quickly we can get the systems in place.”

The key to containers isn’t just increasing trade volumes.

“As maritime trade increases, more ships will be built. As imports and exports of goods increase, the profits of companies will increase accordingly. The docks will be renovated and refurbished to be more efficient…”

“That many workers will lose their jobs. The blame will fall on IMM.”

“I didn’t know that the chairman would care about the workers’ jobs.”

I found myself laughing. This is a refreshing reaction.

“The Rockefeller massacre at Ludlow was a disaster. I have no intention of repeating that mistake.”

“That was something that happened while suppressing a strike. But if you can predict the workers’ reactions, you can plan ahead.”

“…This is surprising. I thought you would be more humble towards the workers.”

“There is a big difference between providing the minimum level of human treatment and handing it out indiscriminately, Chairman.”

I remembered the sight I had seen at the dock.

The workers split into groups and took a half-day break, and even went so far as to openly steal items.

‘They prevented workers from coming from outside from even getting involved in the work. They said that jobs would be passed down among family members.’

That is precisely why the shipping industry is not profitable.

Abnormal and closed work culture.

“Let’s say you’re right. Even if container adoption is beneficial in the long run, how can we afford that astronomical sum?”

“I’m still thinking about that part.”

I shrugged.

If it doesn’t work out, you can do it a little later.

You can make money with your truck and reinvest that money.

“Is it because of the container problem that you asked to see me today?”

“No, there’s a bigger problem.”

Jack Morgan sighed and shook his head.

What’s the big deal about Morgan?

“You know that IMM recently put out a bid for a decommissioned oil tanker for container testing. My son was the one who pushed for it.”

“Yes, I heard it was on sale for a really cheap price.”

I think it was a tanker used by the US military during the war.

If it’s the size of an oil tanker, it can be easily converted into a container ship.

“No one knows about this ‘container’ except you and my son. What will other people think when they hear that IMM is trying to acquire the tanker?”

“Of course…”

I noticed it a beat too late.

Now I get it.

“I see you’re trying to get into the oil market. Or rather, oil transportation.”

“Oil transportation is usually handled by oil companies. Large transportation companies like our IMM have never done it.”

Jack Morgan said.

“Other oil companies think we’re going to get into the oil business. From drilling to refining to transportation.”

“That is an absurd suspicion.”

No, that’s not it either.

You would never have imagined that it would be converted into a container ship.

But it doesn’t make sense to jump to that conclusion right away…

“Considering the current situation, it’s not unreasonable. Oil demand is increasing, but supply is only decreasing.”

Morgan added, with a cigar in his mouth.

“Isn’t now the perfect time to jump into the fray? Standard has been dismantled for a long time. How many successful businesses have you had so far?”

“I’ve never seen it done separately, but… I think I know what you mean.”

Oil companies have reason to be scared.

The same goes for Rockefeller.

His wealth consists mostly of stocks in oil companies.

Standard’s successor companies.

If I go into the oil business and succeed, it will affect not only my reputation but also my wealth.

“I guess we had no choice but to respond in some way.”

“It’s highly likely that you instigated this KKK incident. It’s typical of you to use a third party instead of coming forward yourself.”

Even Morgan didn’t eliminate his competitors in this way, if that’s your way of doing it.

“Why are you telling me this information?”

“If you collapse now… I will tell you that it will not benefit me or the House of Morgan.”

“okay.”

In addition to charity work, there are IMM and other investment projects.

It has also brought a lot of benefits to Morgan House over the years.

“So what are we going to do now?”

“…”

I stared out the window with my mouth shut. I suspected that I was going into the oil business.

“People see what they believe. Maybe this is an opportunity.”

“Opportunity?”

“If the oil companies believe that… why don’t they act on it?”

“You’re not really saying you’re going into the oil business, are you? You know how much money that costs.”

Jack Morgan frowned.

“You should just buy a small company. That’ll be cheaper. And since you already have containers, why would you go into the oil business, which costs more? Doesn’t that make sense?”

“It’s necessary, even for the containers.”

“If you need money, why would you spend it somewhere else? Who sets fire to the living room to put out the fire in the kitchen?”

“But what if it’s a fake fire?”

“Fake fire?”

“Let’s just call it a fake fire and call the firefighters. I’ll tell you more about it shortly.”

As I speak, the car arrives at the Morgan mansion. Two people are waiting out front.

Morgan III and Amelia.

Young Morgan chuckled and raised one hand.

“I don’t know what sweet talk you used to try to entice Spencer, but… please tell him to stop talking about containers.”

Jack Morgan muttered with a deep sigh.

“I will try my best.”

I got out of the car with a smile.

The Morgan family is also very unique.

‘So what kind of fake fire should we make?’

A way to confuse the oil companies and make a lot of money.

Finding oil would be enough, but that wouldn’t be enough.

To disrupt the oil companies and get back at Rockefeller…

It’ll require a little showmanship.

Religion, pseudoscience, and the occult.

Wouldn’t this combination be suitable?

‘I feel like I’m the circus director.’

＊＊＊

Beaumont Coast

“It’s a good morning today too.”

One-armed Patilo Higgins stretched as he watched the waves sparkling in the sunlight.

He took a walk around his house as usual, looking at the oil storage tanks, pipelines, and refineries.

“Has it already been 20 years…”

The famous spindle top heredity.

Here, Higgins struggled for years to dig for oil.

An angel appeared to him in a dream and pointed to a hill and instructed him to dig.

‘An angel told me to dig the ground. Is that guy out of his mind?’

For years, his acquaintances gossiped that he was mentally ill after digging the ground.

‘But I was right.’

Higgins looked at the hill and thought to himself.

The once empty hill was now filled with over three hundred oil rigs.

I continued to search for genetic sites for several years after that, but without any success like the spindle saw.

Every time he spoke about angels and God, the media just laughed at him and treated him like garbage.

As I was lost in my thoughts, I heard a familiar voice.

“Honey! Honey!”

“It’s the first time you’ve followed me on a walk.”

“The people of New York have come to you.”

“You came looking for me? What kind of New Yorkers are you?”

“Yes, I heard it came from Hitler Company. There was a place that was investigated by the tax authorities recently.”

His wife said, gasping for breath.

“I have something to discuss with you regarding oil.”

Higgins took a deep breath and sniffed the air.

The pungent scent of petroleum.

“Oil… I wonder if this is all God’s will.”

===＊＊＊===

Author’s Note

Q: Were there differences between the religious cultures of the United States and Europe at the time?

A: Unlike the old religion (Roman Catholicism), the new religion had a strong character that individuals had to read the Bible and find the exact meaning of Christian visions.

The Puritans were a group that was close to being radical, that is, extremist, even within Protestantism, and the word “Puritan” was originally close to a derogatory term used to refer to them.

There was little theological difference between the Puritans and the Church of England, but what distinguished the Puritans from mainstream Protestants was matters of conduct.

For the Puritans, a good Christian life was one that was completely immersed in Christianity.

The Puritan separatists who took root in America were among the most radical of the extremists.

This also developed into a religious movement called the Great Awakening, a so-called “awakening” carried out by traveling preachers targeting young believers.

They did not simply read the Bible or discuss its contents, but during the service they groaned, sobbed, shouted, had convulsions, and even spoke in tongues and fainted.

In particular, two-thirds of churchgoers in 1850 were Methodists or Baptists, zealots who valued emotional faith.

It was a combination of Christian emotionalism and American individualism, and its core idea was that if individuals directly ‘experienced’ Jesus, they would be freed from sin and guaranteed entry into heaven.

Tocqueville, a French scholar who was visiting the United States at the time, said this:

‘The philosophers of the 18th century explained the inevitable decline of religious belief in a very simple way: as more freedom takes root and knowledge spreads, religious zeal inevitably wanes.

But the reality is completely contrary to their predictions. America, one of the freest countries in the world, is fulfilling all the external missions of religious fervor. Everyone you meet is filled with almost fanatic enthusiasm, while in Europe there are hardly any such people.’

(Source – Fantasyland, Kurt Anderson)