1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 251 I punish myself

As the first elder in this book, he relies on dreams but only horses and adds more updates!

———————————————

Not long after Liang Yao returned to California, California, which had been peaceful for several months, became turbulent again.

On February 1, 1852, the "Daily Californian" published, "Who is destroying the flowers of California? Destroying the future of California" and "Knowledge is power" (Knowledge is power, which can also be translated as knowledge is power),

"Knowledge is Wealth" and other provocative articles.

With its sophisticated writing style and familiar flavor, regular readers of the California Daily will know at a glance that this is an article by State Speaker Liang Yao.

Every time Liang Yao's article appears in the California Daily News, it often represents the political direction of California in the coming period.

In major taverns and teahouses, and even in pavilions and tea sheds along the road, literate Californians carefully read newspaper articles.

People who are illiterate can also ask someone to read to them.

Liang Yao's purpose in publishing these articles is to correct the atmosphere in California.

The phenomenon of child labor is endless. In addition to companies' greed for cheap labor, it is also partly caused by the short-sightedness of some parents and the uneven emphasis on education in California, where all ethnic groups live together.

Adult wages in California are higher than in other states, and child labor wages are naturally higher than in other states. Some short-sighted parents cannot resist the temptation and send their young children to factories.

As for whether it is because families are in real difficulty that they send their children to factories, I cannot say that it is not the case, but there are definitely not that many.

All industries in California are currently thriving, the economic situation is excellent, and there is no shortage of jobs. As long as you are not a lazy dog, you can basically find a job.

It is indeed much harder to get rich overnight in California today than it was two or three years ago, unless you get lucky in the gold mining areas.

But as long as you work hard with both hands, it is not a problem to have enough food and clothing to be well-off.

Just as the people of California were chewing on Liang Yao's article, another piece of news exploded among the people of California, causing uproar.

Wyatt resigned from the San Francisco Steel Plant after being accused of employing child labor. The San Francisco City Court sentenced Wyatt to half a year in prison in accordance with California law for the same charge of employing child labor. In the end, Wyatt paid a huge bail of US$1,500 to be released.

Suffering from prison.

This was just the beginning. After the San Francisco Municipal Court dealt with Wyatt, the California Supreme Court issued a sky-high fine of up to 50,000 US dollars to the San Francisco Steel Plant for the crime of child labor, and warned that if it did not do so within a week,

If the fine can be paid off, the state government will take coercive measures to force the San Francisco Steel Plant to shut down for rectification.

The government forced businesses to close and reorganize, which was unprecedented in American history.

If there were large steel plants in other states, like the San Francisco Steel Plant, the government would be eager to open up the steel plant so that the steel plant could operate at full capacity, step up production, and provide the government with more tax revenue.

The California Coal and Steel Alliance Congress also stated that if the San Francisco Steel Plant does not pay the fine, it will be expelled from the Coal and Steel Alliance.

Any related company within the California Coal and Steel Alliance that illegally employs child labor and refuses to pay fines will be expelled from the California Coal and Steel Alliance.

Of course, it is impossible to suspend business for rectification.

Liang Yao's move was to show the outside world his determination.

The San Francisco Steel Plant contributes more than 70% of California's steel production capacity. How could Liang Yao be willing to stop the San Francisco Steel Plant for rectification?

The management of the San Francisco Steel Plant quickly published a review in the newspaper, admitted its mistake, and paid a $50,000 fine the same day.

Even Liang Yao himself published an apology in the newspaper, saying that companies under the Americas Group illegally employed child labor and that he had unshirkable responsibility.

The move sent shockwaves through California's business community.

It made all the factory owners in California tremble.

The San Francisco Steel Plant is an industry owned by America Group, and the state speaker is so ruthless that he even issued huge fines to his own company.

Following the San Francisco Steel Plant, major factories in California with a history of employing child labor have received fines of varying amounts.

The San Francisco Steel Plant paid the fines honestly and set an example.

Most companies have paid the fines honestly after receiving the fines.

Of course, there are also a few companies that refuse to admit guilt or pay fines.

They also organized protests against parents who instigated child labor and hired idlers to protest and demonstrate in front of the government.

Soon, crowds of protesters gathered at the entrances of government offices in San Francisco, Sacramento and California.

Among them, the protest crowd in San Francisco Civic Square was the largest, with more than a thousand people.

Because not only the offices of the San Francisco City Government are located around the San Francisco Civic Plaza, but the offices of the California State Government, Courts and Congress are also located here.

Facing the first large-scale demonstrations since the founding of California, the young California state government and the San Francisco city government were at a loss.

Except for a very few veteran politicians like California Senator Gervin, most California politicians are political amateurs.

I have no experience in how to deal with crowds at demonstrations.

San Francisco Mayor Strauss is also one of them.

Strauss raised a newspaper to cover his face and hid from the angry crowd. When he saw Ge Wenzheng and Pan Zhengwei, the chairman of Tongfu Group, drinking tea in Tongfu Teahouse, he quickly ran into the teahouse.

After running into the teahouse decorated in Chinese style, Strauss, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, came straight to Gao Wen and said to Gao Wen breathlessly.

"Congressman Gervin, what time is it, and you are still in the mood to drink tea here! Both the state government and the city government were surrounded by demonstrators! I finally escaped from the municipal building."

"This is just a small scene, why are you so anxious? When I faced a demonstration involving tens of thousands of people, I wasn't as nervous as you are now."

Ge Wenyun said calmly.

"Besides, you have been working for your employer for so long. Don't you still know what kind of person your employer is? Mr. Liang does not do things that are uncertain. He must have already thought of a strategy to deal with these people.

You should learn from Mr. Liang how to stay calm in the face of emergencies."

Gavin didn't take these people's demonstrations seriously at all.

Who is Liang Yao?

He can control the people of the Eastern Consortium at his fingertips, he can keep the federal government under his thumb, and he can deal with the U.S. Army Standing Corps when it comes. How can he still be afraid of the more than a thousand demonstrators?

If these people can't be dealt with, Liang Yao's state speaker and deputy governor should quit as soon as possible.

"I can't learn from Mr. Liang." Strauss rolled his eyes at Gervin.

"Mayor Strauss, don't worry, they're just a bunch of kids. Come and have tea together. It won't be long before these people disperse like birds and beasts in the forest after hearing gunshots."

Pan Zhengwei took the teapot from the clerk, took a clean teacup and poured Strauss a cup of tea.

Strauss drank all the tea in the cup: "Your tea is good, and what you two said makes sense, but I still don't feel at ease. I won't meet Speaker Liang in person and tell the matter to Mr. Speaker."

, I always feel uneasy in my heart.”

Having said that, Strauss asked Pan Zhengwei for a fast horse, and then galloped to Tingtao Garden to meet Liang Yao.

"After all, he is still a young man, so he is not calm enough and needs experience. But having said that, I really envy Strauss. When I was his age, I was not even qualified to carry a bag for our mayor.

Strauss is so lucky that he became the mayor of a big city at the age of 23."

Gwen looked at Strauss's retreating back and said with envy.

"Mayor Strauss is very responsible in what he does. I think this is why Mr. Liang admires him." Pan Zhengwei looked away from the window and said to Ge Wen.

"Sir Ge Wen, let's talk about building Liulichang now."

"It's a glass factory." Ge Wen corrected.

"One idea, one idea." With that, Pan Zhengwei poured a cup of tea for Ge Wen himself, "You are the politician with the most experience in politics in California. I also want to ask you some questions about running for Congress. I hope you can help me clear up my doubts.

.”

"Of course, we are business partners and good friends. We are very comfortable getting along with you. If you are interested, I can also introduce you to some old friends from my hometown, Oregon.

Although the business environment in Oregon is not as good as that in California, there are still many business opportunities. For example, if Tongfu Group’s Chinese products can be sold in Oregon, they will be very popular and easy to sell.”

"Oh, really? That's great, Mr. Ge Wen, I think the cooperation between us will be very pleasant." Pan Zhengwei said very happily.

(End of chapter)