1855 United States Tycoon

Chapter 440, The Fed's Conception

Morgan was led by a servant through a small garden to Scrooge's office.

"Ah, dear Mr. Morgan, what brought you to me?" Scrooge greeted him at the door of the small living room.

"Of course it's the trade trade wind." Morgan also replied cheerfully. Just looking at this answer, people who don't understand their grievances really think they are iron buddies.

"The trade wind blows from west to east, Mr. Morgan, your home is to the northeast of my castle. If you follow the trade wind, it should have blown me to you." Scrooge said with a smile.

"No way. I wanted to talk to you a long time ago. It's a pity that you basically don't go out." Morgan said.

"Ah, sometimes I still go out. Just like you sometimes go out on the Viking to relax, sometimes I will go to the Cleveland University Laboratory to relax. Okay, Mr. Morgan, Let's come in and talk."

The two walked into the small living room and sat down on the sofa.

"Scrooge, what do you think about the standard of currency?" Morgan leaned forward, looking at Scrooge, and asked straightforwardly.

"Right on this question? I don't have any special thoughts. Mr. Morgan, you are an expert in this field. I would rather listen to your thoughts first." Scrooge replied with a smile.

Morgan knew what Scrooge meant by "no special thoughts". The meaning here is nothing more than saying: "I know you support the gold standard. As for the compound standard of gold and silver, there are some benefits to me, but if you can come up with corresponding compensation, I am willing to change my attitude and support you instead."

"Now, some people are proposing to re-establish the gold and silver composite standard," Morgan said. "The Democrats even passed the Silver Purchase Act, requiring the government to buy and issue a certain number of silver coins every month. Scrooge, I don't want to go around with you. , Because we are all smart people, we all know where our own interests are and it’s not easy to be fooled. It’s really inefficient to spend time and energy in this area. So, let’s just say it directly. The gold and silver composite standard system treats me very much. It is disadvantageous because it will inevitably lead to inflation, which will reduce the income of my loans and reduce the debt pressure of debtors, which has an impact on many things I do.

Of course, the gold and silver composite standard system has a certain effect on stimulating consumption, which is of course beneficial to you. Scrooge, I think, it is precisely because of this that you gave so much support to the Democratic Party in the last general election, right? However, for the time being, the effect of doing so is there, but it is not particularly ideal. Because your industry also includes banking and insurance, they have also suffered losses on this issue. Coupled with the ascending of the status of silver actually means that the influence of your gold mine on the economy is declining. This is also an intangible loss. Therefore, although supporting the gold and silver composite standard system is beneficial to you as a whole, the benefits are not that great, Scrooge, am I right? "

"Generally speaking, it's basically correct." Scrooge nodded and said.

"So you see, this matter is so important to us, but to you, the meaning is much more limited. It's better to make a deal if you support..." Morgan said.

"Wait, Mr. Morgan. The stakes here are not all like this." Scrooge said, "This is not a trivial matter of limited significance to me. You know, when the Civil War just ended, the Democratic Party was almost a success. An abandoned baby. I slowly planted it up, let it gradually recover, and finally got the state it is today. Now that they have come to power, they will naturally bring me a lot of benefits. And presumably you know, the Democratic Party To be able to make a comeback, the decisive support comes from the Midwestern states. The gold and silver composite standard is a manifestation of the interests of the Midwest. The Democratic Party cannot abandon this requirement. So if I want to make concessions, I have to pay the price of letting the Democratic Party step down. This It's not a small problem."

"You are right, but I think it is not impossible to talk about. Even if the Democratic Party temporarily loses the White House, it does not mean that it will be finished. On the contrary, he will rely more on you. Scrooge, let me put it this way. I know, you have been looking forward to a war, a war against the Spaniards. I think we may be able to reach a compromise. You do not support the gold and silver composite standard, and I make sure that after the Republicans come to power, they will launch it. This war. What do you think?" Morgan frowned and said, as if making such a decision cost him so much.

"Mr. Morgan, things are not like this. Indeed, if I can go to war with the Spaniards, I can get a lot of benefits when I go. But this thing cannot be counted as your compensation to me, because what I want to do is Things that are detrimental to my interests, but what you want to do is something that is also beneficial to you. This cannot be regarded as compensation, but only as cooperation. To be honest, even if there is no gold and silver composite standard, can you still Will the Republicans be encouraged to oppose this? Besides, the Democrats can be said to be mine at present, and the Republicans? It is not just Mr. Morgan's, it belongs to all of us. In fact, the war against Spain is almost complete. As long as the Democratic Party is still on stage, but relying on my own influence, I can make United States declare war on Spain. You should know how long I have been preparing for this. I think you are completely from my garden. Pick a flower and bring it to me." Scrooge's face showed a mocking smile.

"Haha, Scrooge, look at what you said. You are not a beautiful woman. I won't send you flowers." Morgan used such a joke to erase the embarrassment of being exposed, and then said; "Then, if I propose, We unite and establish a third bank. What do you think of this idea?"

"Establishing a third bank?" Scrooge was taken aback.

The so-called First Bank refers to the first central bank in the history of United States. However, this bank is not a central bank in the modern sense, because it is actually a private commercial bank. Bank One, like other banks, absorbs deposits from depositors and issues commercial loans. In addition, Bank One was established in the form of a shareholding system, and the stocks were publicly sold on the market. Shareholders, like shareholders of other listed companies, distribute dividends and determine how Bank One operates. The only difference is that other commercial banks are in-state banks, while Bank One of the United States is a national bank that conducts business in the United States, and Bank One is the only bank that provides services to the United States Department of Treasury.

Because of its mode of operation, there was a direct consequence, that is, 70% of the shares fell into the hands of European capital, especially British capital, and the Rothschild family became the majority shareholder of Bank One. For United States people who believe in "believe in God, hate the British", such a situation is almost intolerable. So after the First Bank existed for twenty years, it was closed.A few years later, the second American-British war broke out between United States and Britain. During the war, the people of United States found that it would be too inconvenient without a central bank. So in 1815, the United States people set up a second bank. The Second Bank, like the First Bank, is also a national commercial bank. As a result, he robbed the business of the state banks, which attracted strong opposition from the states. As a result, it was closed again twenty years later.

For a long time after that, there was no central bank in United States.

In 1893, the financial crisis broke out. In the original history, a total of 500 banks failed due to a run. But in this time and space, Scrooge stood up, just like in the original time and space, Morgan stepped up to take the lead in rescuing the market ten years later, by providing lending to some banks that had run into a run but in fact were still in quite good condition. By way of loans, Scrooge almost saved the entire banking system. Scrooge’s secret vault was published in the newspaper that year. The gold in the vault stabilized the situation at once, allowing people to get rid of the panic of the run. As a result, there was only Less than two hundred banks failed, and those banks that received the help of the McDonald Consortium have basically managed to escape the crisis. Of course, this also makes Scrooge's prestige and status in the financial world greatly ascending.

"Yes, but it's not the same as Bank One and Bank Two." Morgan began to explain his idea, "This is an alliance of big banks. The funds of this alliance come from the reserves provided by the major banks. It is not Commercial banks do not carry out external deposit-taking and lending services, but only coordinate the actions of various banks, and coordinate the mutual support between banks when there is a run like the one in 1893, just like you did in 1893, so It should be considered a non-profit organization..."

"I think it should also have the power to act on behalf of the central bank and the power to control the issuance of US dollars." Obviously Scrooge was very interested in such a proposal, because this proposal was almost the lifeblood of real control of United States. The Federal Reserve came out more than a decade in advance.

"Yes, but the general reputation of bankers is not very good, so you still need to take the lead in this matter. This will reduce resistance." Morgan said, "As long as we can really establish such an institution and control it well. It’s nothing better for our interests."

"Mr. Morgan." Scrooge stood up and said, "You are really a genius. This is a great idea. But how to deal with the specific implementation plan and the distribution of rights?"

Morgan smiled: "Scrooge, this is just a basic idea at the moment, and the specific details need to be discussed with us. I think Duck Castle is a good place. We can bring friends together. , Right here to seriously discuss a draft."

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