America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 528 No Choice
From 1890, when the financial crisis first appeared, to 1895, it is already the fifth year.

More and more companies and banks are closing down, and more and more unemployed workers and craftsmen are also increasing. About 100 million workers and 20% of the labor force have lost their jobs.

The decline in the price of agricultural products has weakened the purchasing power of farmers in the west, and the farmers in the west have discovered that the vast and fertile western land cannot support themselves.

The riots in New York were not alone.

All kinds of vicious incidents spread across the country.

Labor unions and populists are also taking advantage of this opportunity to grow and challenge the political landscape of Democrats and Republicans.

People starve to death not all at once.

They will become sallow and emaciated, then malnourished, and finally, at an inadvertent moment, they will die on the side of the road and become a hungry person on the road.

The same goes for the economy.

Finally, in 1895, the American economy also ushered in the moment of its imminent death.

On the morning of April 4, several well-dressed men entered the building of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

They were greeted by a young staff member wearing glasses.

"Sir, may I help you?" the staff asked very politely.

"We have some mature federal bonds in hand and need to pay them today. Can you help us deal with them?"

The leading gentleman with a white beard said politely.

Speaking with a very standard London accent, he took out a stack of bonds from his pocket at the same time, and handed them to the staff along with those in the hands of several other people.

"We demand payment in gold," emphasized the gentleman.

The clerk took the bond with both hands.

He is no stranger to this business.

Since the financial crisis, almost every day people have come to ask the government to fulfill their promise to exchange their dollars for gold.

And many of them are from Europe.

The clerk took the bond as usual and began to verify the authenticity of the bill itself.

But the more he looked, the tighter his frown became, until his heart began to beat violently.

The amount of these bonds is very large, and there are many, thick stacks.

The clerk quickly sat down, took out a piece of paper and a pen, and added up the face value on the bond.

Not long after, the results came out.

The staff sat down on the chair and stared blankly at the number.

Twelve million dollars!

This is an astronomical number.

"What's the matter? Is there any question?" The old gentleman looked at the staff and asked with concern.

"Uh, sir, $1200 million, that's 72 ounces, 18 tons of gold!" The staff finally recovered from the shock.

He looked at the British guys in front of him: "You won't be able to take them away for a while!"

"You don't need to worry about that, kid." The gentleman said with a smile, "Our carriage is right outside the door."

The staff's mind was almost blank.

His first reaction now is to report this matter to his superiors.

This matter, I am afraid that it is not something that Xiao Xiami of his level can decide.

"Gentlemen, can you wait a moment, I want to report this matter to my superior, do you think it's okay?" The staff stood up and asked.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of time." The old gentleman looked extremely understanding, "We are waiting for your news here."

Soon, the staff informed the director of the news.

Five minutes later, in the office of Treasury Secretary Jacobs Wright.

The heads of the U.S. Savings Bond Division and the Treasury Department stood before the minister.

Wright was originally a very spiritual old man of the Democratic Party.

The former Treasury Secretary Carlyle resigned due to his inappropriate words and deeds and his political disagreement with the Secretary of State and Mr. President.

What Wright inherited was a mess.

And in the face of this mess, there was nothing he could do.

With his ability, he could only make this wreck sink later.

A deep sense of powerlessness made him look much older.

"1200 million US dollars? A one-time gold payment?" Wright stared at the director and asked.

"Um, yes, it looks like they are from London." The director replied hastily, "Mr. Minister, during this period of time, more and more people have demanded gold payment. If this continues, we will be finished sooner or later." of."

"Do we have a better choice? If the payment is not made, the dollar will lose its credibility, and the consequences will be disastrous." Wright sighed.

"The U.S. dollar has long lost its credibility, Minister. In Europe, the U.S. dollar is like waste paper. They don't accept U.S. dollars for settlement!" The director was a little frank, telling the truth, "Damn the silver purchase bill!"

The two asked and answered, but neither of them noticed that the most nervous person in this office was actually the director of the treasury management bureau.

The director looks very disturbed, he can't even stand still, and has the urge to walk around.

"Now is not the time to talk about this, Evans, go to the vault and take it out for them. Let's discuss a solution later and find a reason to suspend the exchange." The minister touched his forehead and said helplessly.

He sat on the chair and began to close his eyes and meditate.

However, Evans, the director of the Treasury Administration, did not move or make a sound.

Wright waited for a long time but did not wait for any movement, so he opened his eyes.

"Why don't you go? Is it the place where I said there is something unclear?" He looked at the two standing there.

"Uh, maybe, this, we are temporarily, uh, temporarily unable to provide so many gold bars." The director hesitated and stammered.

The old man Wright suddenly sat up from his chair:

"Don't we even have $1200 million in gold in our vaults?!"

The minister was furious.

You know, the safety line of gold reserves in the U.S. treasury is [-] million U.S. dollars.

Wright knew that the gold in the treasury had been decreasing, but he never expected it to be so low.

"Uh, yes, indeed, it's less than 1200 million US dollars, and our gold is still a little short." Director Evans considered his words.

"Then is there a way to transfer some from other places, let's make up for it temporarily, and get over this matter first?" The minister had already stood up and asked eagerly.

"Yes, can we go to the state government to borrow some, they should still have $200 million in gold." The director was also helping to make suggestions.

He believed that Minister Wright and even his personal relationship with state government officials should have no problem borrowing some spare gold.

However, the chief looked even more embarrassed.

"I'm afraid, one or two million is not enough." He whispered.

"Didn't you say it was close?" The director was also anxious and raised his tone.

"Almost, you know, almost." Director Evans tried to find some excuses for his previous words.

"Evans, please tell us frankly, how much gold is left in the vault?" Minister Wright stared at Evans, hoping to find a definite answer from him.

Evans took a deep breath:

"Less than $200."

There was deathly silence in the office.

The three looked at each other, maintaining an awkward silence.

"We are doomed! The dollar is doomed! America is doomed!" the director's concluding statement broke the silence.

Wright knew that what the director said was true.

But he decided to do something anyway.

So he picked up the receiver of the telephone.

At this time, the president has the right to know what is going on in this country.

It's already on the edge of a cliff.

President Cleveland is in his office preparing for the State of the Union address.

When he received the call from Secretary Wright and his report on the depletion of the treasury's gold reserves, he did not show any special expression.

The Populist Party, the financial crisis, and the Hawaiian crisis followed one after another.

Cleveland's heart is too tired.

He had thought that the holding of the World's Fair in Chicago would bring a little turn for the country.

But things backfired, what was supposed to come still came.

"Wright, think of a way." He said to the phone, "I believe we still have a chance."

After Wright put down the phone, he sat down on the chair slumped.

However, at this moment, a staff member knocked on the office door:
"Mr. Wright, Mr. Morgan and Mr. Belmont want to see you, and he is already waiting on the first floor."

Wright's eyes suddenly lit up.

Damn, how could he forget these two people.

"Quick! Quick! Please come in!" Wright asked his subordinates to quickly bring these two people in as if he had picked up a life-saving straw.

Morgan and Belmont walked into the room one after the other.

Morgan touched his iconic big nose:
"Mr. Wright, the two of us are here to solve your problems. As we all know, the United States is in danger now." He said straight to the point.

The expressions of the three senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance became even more embarrassed.

They didn't want to admit it, but they had to admit that, even if Director Evans among them was very suspicious of the British people holding national debt downstairs, they definitely had something to do with them.

"We are willing to provide gold support to the federal government to meet the urgent needs of the federal government," Belmont said.

Hearing this sentence, Wright was overjoyed.

He no longer cared about his reserve as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and his joy was beyond words:
"That's great! The Ministry of Finance will soon formulate a plan, and I hope you will support it."

The Minister's understanding.

If the two banks are willing to take action, at least temporarily solve the current situation.

However, Belmont shook his head.

"No, Mr. Minister, you may have misunderstood me."

"The power of our two banks is negligible. What we mean is, let us issue gold bonds on behalf of the US government. If this is the case, the Rothschild family is willing to take the lead in taking part of the gold out."

Minister Wright's face turned a liver color.

The Rothschild family is extremely rich, and he knows it.

He never doubted that this family has such strength.

But this plan also means that those bankers in Europe will have a great probability of controlling the economic lifeline of the United States and even the right to issue currency.

If this proposal came from him, the lawmakers in Washington might drown themselves with spitting stars.

"You are taking advantage of the fire!" Wright shook his head, feeling hopeless.

"Then do you still have a choice?" Belmont did not hide his arrogance at all, "As we all know, there is no gold on the continent of America, and all the gold in this world is in Europe, in Lord Rothschild's treasury. "

Morgan on the side couldn't stand Belmont's publicity, and coughed deliberately.

In the end, Secretary Wright couldn't think of any other solution.

He decided to throw the hot potato to President Cleveland.

After President Cleveland received Wright's call, he immediately held an emergency meeting in Congress.

He told the congressmen about the "rescue plan" proposed by Belmont.

As expected, Congress blew up after hearing the proposal!
Democrats and Republicans are surprisingly aligned.

This is an act of betraying the interests of the country. If the person who proposed the plan is an American, he has no sense of shame or patriotism.

Some congressmen even yelled at President Cleveland.

Wright is an Alzheimer's patient, and President Cleveland, who chose Wright to replace Carlyle, is even more responsible for negligence.

However, no matter how much these members of the two houses quarrel, they all have one thing in common on this matter.

Only ask questions, never solve them;

I only criticize other people's solutions, and I have never seen them come up with their own feasible solutions.

Cleveland's scalp tingled as he listened to the venting of the congressmen's solicitations in Congress.

In the middle of the meeting, I couldn't bear it anymore, and found a reason to leave first.

Cleveland returned to his office.

Coming out with him was the Secretary of State.

"This plan doesn't work, do we have other plans?" Cleveland was a little disappointed.

"There is no way, according to the report of the Minister of Finance, there is no more gold left, and it is imminent." The Secretary of State said.

"Those Europeans controlled the gold, the whole of the United States is gone, we have no choice."

However, just as the Secretary of State said this, a familiar voice came in from outside the door:
"Who said there is no gold in America?"

(End of this chapter)