He is Already a Tycoon at a Young Age! - Chapter 130



Only Krnovel

Episode 130 – IWW and IMM

New York

Hitler Company

“Five hundred thousand dollars! I guarantee you that no company is crazy enough to sponsor that kind of money!”

“Is that really so?”

Amelia Morgan asked in a calm tone. Across from her sat an old man in a white suit.

William Keith Kellogg.

Chairman of Kellogg’s Cereal Company.

“There’s a limit to jokes. Asking for five hundred thousand dollars for a wedding? Are you in your right mind saying that?”

He stood up from his seat, grumbling.

“I came at the request of Hitler Company, but instead of the president or vice president, a woman came out…”

“If you don’t like it, you can go back, Mr. Kellogg. If you were uncomfortable, I apologize.”

“Look, miss. I’m going back whether you let me or not.”

“Before that, I have something to show you.”

Amelia placed the newspaper on the table. The advertisement section showed Post cereal products.

Chairman Kellogg frowned when he saw the picture.

“What does this mean?”

Post cereal was Kellogg’s biggest rival.

A cereal company founded by CW Post.

Post, who worked for Kellogg, stole the cereal recipe and started his own company, which became very successful.

From Kellogg’s perspective, he is a man who is like an mortal enemy.

“I was recently contacted by a Post PR representative who said that Post would like to sponsor this wedding celebration. In return, they only wanted one thing.”

Amelia said.

“All we had to do was put up a billboard so that everyone at the festival could see it. This wedding is going to attract at least tens of thousands of people.”

“…”

Chairman Kellogg looked at the newspaper with an uncomfortable look.

“Let those stupid Post guys do whatever they want. They’re going to burn half a million dollars for a day of advertising. Isn’t that a loss for them?”

“Just one day.”

Amelia smiled faintly.

“This wedding celebration will be filmed by Director Griffith himself. Is it a documentary?”

“If it were Griffith, he would have taken a picture of the birth of a nation…”

“Yes, and he’s the director who recently made a film about Hitler’s company.”

Amelia nodded.

“After our wedding, millions of people will see the movie in theaters across the United States and around the world. If it’s a hit, people may see it for decades to come.”

“…”

“Then when people talk about cereal, wouldn’t they naturally think of Post?”

“A million dollars.”

President Kellogg sat back down in his chair and said:

“We at Kellogg’s will give you a million dollars, but you have to stop advertising in the Post.”

“I will consider your suggestion, Chairman. I will also contact the Post before making a decision. They may change their mind.”

“Whatever you offer, we’ll double it.”

“Thank you for changing my mind, Mr. Kellogg.”

When she extended her hand, Kellogg hesitated for a moment, then shook it.

“I will have Mr. Edward Bernays, our Public Relations Officer, contact you for more information. And to be honest…”

Amelia said with a smile.

“I like Kellogg’s cereal better than Post, too.”

The chairman went out the door and Richter came in.

“Oh, Chairman Kellogg was walking out in a cold sweat. Was he threatening me or something?”

“I was just making a suggestion. It was far from a threat.”

“Oh, that’s interesting.”

Richter said with a smile.

“My close friend and I often say similar things. Advertising is also quite lucrative, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t think advertising was a big deal until now… but it’s more profitable than I thought.”

“And we, Hee, no company cares more about marketing than the Hitler Company. Hitler and Bernays are so obsessed with it…”

Richter stopped talking, waving his right hand.

“T-T, I just talked about useless things.”

“Image is more important now than ever. Rockefeller’s downfall was ultimately due to image.”

Amelia muttered with a thoughtful expression.

Hitler had been building his image ever since he came to America.

“You’ve built up support from people of color, Jews, whites, immigrants, East Coast, West Coast, conservatives, and liberals. The same goes for the foundation.”

Amelia now takes charge of a significant portion of the charity work.

Hitler ran the company, she donated money and did charity work.

“Well, honestly, charity work doesn’t seem excessive. We spend more money than other companies.”

“I thought Mr. Richter would know why philanthropy is important.”

Amelia said.

“It’s not just a tax cut.”

The wealthier the people, the bigger the tax breaks they received when they donated money.

It’s like using money that would otherwise go into the government budget through a charity foundation.

“The money used through the foundation is decided by the individual. It is not under anyone’s control.”

The exercise of power without supervision and control.

Building influence through support of culture, science and the arts.

If you build a good image, you can gain public support when problems arise.

Hitler Company has taken root well.

All that was left was to water it so it could grow well.

“Still, Mr. Hitler is a unique person compared to other rich people.”

Amelia smiled brightly as she said that.

“Actually, you support a lot of the poor. I don’t think there are many people who would criticize you for that.”

＊＊＊

Chicago

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) headquarters

“We must do everything we can to prevent other shipping companies from introducing containers!”

“Aren’t the supplies that went over to that ship killing our comrades in Italy?!”

The shouts of the executives came and went.

“We must stop the workers of the United States from being used for war!”

“The Morgan family owns the maritime company IMM. And Adolf Hitler also owns shares.”

“And this time, isn’t he going to marry the daughter of the Morgan family? The collusion among the capitalists is becoming unbearable!”

“We have to somehow organize the workers into one.”

“Haven’t containers been proven safe yet? That’s the point we should emphasize.”

As the meeting continued, their gaze turned to one woman.

“Now you are the only one we can trust, Helen.”

The assistant standing next to the woman wrote the words on his hand.

“If the committee has made that decision, let’s follow it. For the sake of the dock workers.”

Helen Keller continued speaking intermittently.

“But Mr. Hitler is a socially respected businessman. If we just push ahead…”

Even as she said that, Helen couldn’t shake off the strange feeling.

The IWW’s sudden offensive against the container.

Any attack on Hitler was bound to backfire.

So why is the IWW going to such extreme lengths to come up with such a plan?

“That’s why we need you, Helen. And we don’t need to attack Hitler directly.”

One of the executives nodded and said.

“The important thing is Morgan and IMM. And the containers are not proven to be safe and are causing mass unemployment for workers.”

“Hitler is leading a lot of charity work. It would be too risky to attack him directly. Let’s focus elsewhere.”

Dim lights illuminated the conference room.

＊＊＊

New York

Governor’s Office

“Congratulations on your election as governor, Franklin.”

“When I lost the vice presidency, Mr. Hitler was the first to come to console me. This time, he was the first to come to congratulate me.”

Roosevelt said, laying his cane aside.

New York gubernatorial election.

As I expected, Roosevelt won by a landslide.

President Harding’s corruption scandals and accusations.

Roosevelt led the scandal and emerged as the undisputed hero of the Democratic Party.

‘Of course it was possible thanks to my help.’

I guess there’s no need to mention it.

Roosevelt is now in the same boat as me.

“I heard that you are marrying Miss Amelia Morgan. I would like to offer my sincere congratulations.”

Roosevelt said with a smile.

“No one will ever say that Hitler was not American. In Louisiana, there was even a campaign to attract the wedding.”

“That was something I didn’t expect either.”

A campaign to attract weddings.

Besides, I was more concerned about the person leading it.

That’s Huey Long.

Also known as Kingfish.

The most famous populist politician in the United States.

[Everyone is a king]

With this motto in mind, he advocated active redistribution of wealth.

Limiting the number of stocks an individual can own and even providing a basic income.

He was Roosevelt’s greatest rival within the Democratic Party until his assassination in 1935.

Why does that person support me?

To ride on my popularity?

“You have no idea how loud the support for Mr. Hitler has grown in the South since the Texas oil rush.”

Roosevelt said as he lit the candle at the beginning of the year.

“In particular, Mr. Huey Long has fought Standard Oil in court many times. He would have welcomed this oil rush more than anyone else.”

“…”

Maybe so.

He revealed the oil field he discovered to the public without any compensation!

What could be more populist than this?

Of course, it was a strategic choice to screw Standard Oil.

‘As oil prices crashed, big oil companies were hit, but smaller companies benefited.’

Then, lost in thought, Roosevelt said:

“The containers have been approved by the federal government, so now we can proceed without any major problems. As governor, I will actively support it. The only concern is the dock workers who will lose their jobs…”

“I would like to ask the governor for help with that part.”

After saying that, I handed over the documents I had prepared.

“These are the plans I and IMM have made.”

“Instead of limiting the number of dock workers, increase the number of regular workers and raise their wages…”

Roosevelt muttered as he leafed through the papers.

“It seems that IMM and Hitler Company have already thought about it.”

“Most dock workers these days are irregular workers.”

I thought back to the conversation I had with Amelia’s older brother, Morgan III.

There was something called a ‘selection process’ at the docks.

The process by which supervisors select day laborers to work each day.

‘It was full of all kinds of corruption.’

Selection based on relatives, acquaintances, and personal connections.

If I asked for even a little bit of a raise, I wouldn’t get the next job.

I was even forced to participate in betting money after work.

Discrimination against workers from outside was standard.

“We need to record dock workers’ careers in an official register, and ensure that shipping companies and stevedoring companies only hire workers who are officially registered with employment agencies.”

“Then workers with relatively short careers won’t be able to find jobs.”

“Those people will be given priority employment in the construction of this Hitler-Morganland.”

A stable, full-time job for those who remain, and a new job opportunity for those who lose their jobs.

Even by 21st century standards, these are generous conditions.

There is no need to say more in 20th century America like today.

“We plan to provide two years of subsidies to those who have lost their jobs there using container fees.”

“If it were Rockefeller, he would have called in the army to drive out the workers. These are incomparably generous conditions.”

Roosevelt nodded in agreement.

“But there are several labor unions on the docks. Depending on the union you belong to, fights often break out. I’ve talked to them a lot while I was in the Navy…”

This is the first time I’ve seen Roosevelt frown like this.

“They are not very pleasant people. They will try to raise the terms in the negotiation process somehow. My advice is to offer a lower term at first.”

“I know what you mean.”

It’s like bargaining with a market vendor. First, call a low price and then raise it little by little.

‘But the plan I have in mind is different.’

I said, looking at Roosevelt.

“In fact, the conditions I have proposed are not aimed at dock workers. Quite the opposite.”

“If it were the opposite…”

“It’s more like something to show to the public. I’ll stop here for now.”

“Interesting. Mr. Hitler must have some kind of plan.”

“For a strike to succeed, it needs the support of the public. No matter how strong the spark is, if there is no fuel…”

As I said that, I pointed to Roosevelt’s cigarettes.

“The fire will go out naturally.”

Once you build an image, you can block any attack.

After I broke up with Roosevelt, I called Richter.

“Wh, what’s going on?”

“There’s a motion picture machine that Edison developed this time. Send it to Hearst first. Cancel the other contracts by paying a fee.”

“Hurst? Why on earth would you…”

“Let’s call it a kind of insurance. How much is the cancellation fee roughly?”

“No, there won’t be any problems right now. It’s expensive anyway so it didn’t sell well.”

“It didn’t sell well?”

I thought that if Mickey Mouse released a sound animation, everyone would rush to buy it.

“They’re so expensive, and up until now, silent films were the trend. It’s hard for me to invest in something unfamiliar.”

“Then I guess we can solve that too.”

Italian Civil War.

The fighting wasn’t just taking place in Italy.

If the Italian royal family supports the fascists, the socialist forces will naturally come out to sabotage them.

If we’re unlucky, we might even see a frame war here in the US.

I guess I should at least make some preparations.

“But, why are you giving a motion picture camera to Hearst instead of Hollywood?”

“That is the future of journalism.”

Every news program needs sound.

A combination of radio and silent news.

“If it were Hurst, he would immediately recognize my vision.”

===＊＊＊===

Author’s Note

Q1: What was the relationship between Kellogg and Post?

A1: In 1870, Dr. Kellogg developed a breakfast cereal to treat ailments in his patients. One of the goals of the cereal at the time was to reduce sexual desire.

In 1898, when Dr. Kellogg was hesitating to commercialize cereal, C.W. Post, a patient of Dr. Kellogg’s, recovered from an illness with Kellogg’s cereal and developed a cereal with raisins called Post’s Grape Nuts.

He became a millionaire by advertising that it could strengthen weak teeth and cure appendicitis.

Later, Dr. Kellogg and his brother claimed that Post had stolen their recipes (Kellogg’s Karamen Coffee Cereal, Corn Flakes, and Malted Nuts), but copyright law at the time prevented this from happening.

Even today, Post and Kellogg’s are competing for the cereal market around the world, and in Korea as well.

(Source – Kellogg and Post English Wikipedia)

Q2: Was Helen Keller a socialist?

A2: Yes, it is not well known, but Helen Keller belonged to the radical revolutionary faction within socialism.

She openly stated that she admired the Russian Revolution and Lenin, and this ideological stance sometimes caused friction with her teacher, Anne, and her family.

She opposed child labor, the death penalty, and racial discrimination, and was active in the women’s suffrage movement.

Helen Keller supported the Socialist Party of America until 1912, but became disillusioned with the party’s lukewarm fighting style and joined the militant labor union, the IWW.

(Source – Helen Keller, Dorothy Herman)