＜ A small ball launched by the War Department. (4) >
War Department office.
regular meeting.
The War Department conference room was split in half.
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On the one hand, there were civilians, including War Minister Russell Elser, who was at the head of state or higher. On the other side, the military commander Nelson Miles, commander of the Army, and other generals were seated.
Just as the two camps were facing each other and venting the chill, Commander Nelson picked up the tussle.
“This is a letter from a Quartermaster. The German-made machine gun’s specifications are overwhelmingly superior to Colt’s Gatling gun, but there is a story that the bid itself was rejected. What happened?”
“Hey, Commander Nelson.”
War Minister Russell Elger pressed his eyelids down, as if tired.
“It’s a decision we made because our war department had an idea. After multiple evaluations, it was only concluded that the Colt Gatling gun was better than the German machine gun. Or what? Are you saying you don’t believe us?”
“…I am also the commander of the army. They are rolling up their arms to protect the soldiers and officers of our army. That is why we are expressing our opinions whether there must have been a minor error in the evaluation process of the Armed Forces Bureau.”
“Then the answer is simple. There was none.”
War Minister Elzer waved his hand in annoyance.
There was a ‘request’ to reject Detroit Morgan’s bid from JP Morgan Bank, which has had a long relationship with the War Department since the Civil War.
As weapons-related work has been influenced by Jack Morgan of JP Morgan Bank, Detroit Morgan rejected all German-made machine guns and rifles suggested by Detroit Morgan.
Well, I also received a small gift from the lobbyist.
thick-
Veins appeared on Commander Nelson’s forehead.
“How are you so sure? A machine gun is like a precision machine, so it is not unreasonable if there is an error in the evaluation process.”
“So it is. therefore.”
War Minister Elger frowned.
I would be exhausted to listen to the ‘gifts’ and ‘requests’ that come every day to the War Department office, but I was very annoyed as Commander Nelson, who was like a great man, was asking each and every one of them.
Can’t we just skip over it?
“German machine guns. Performance is good. Performance is good though. Does it have to be so precise that it can be used well in the field? I wonder if it’s just going to end with a breakdown. It’s not even a firearm that has been proven in practice yet.”
“Then, isn’t it just a matter of deploying skilled shooters? If that’s not enough, we can just dispatch the Ordnance Officers from the Ordnance Bureau.”
“excuse me. Commander.”
War Minister Elger looked at Commander Nelson with a slightly disgusted expression on his face. That’s why you shouldn’t talk to gunslingers who don’t know politics.
How is Washington’s politics going now and how public opinion is going? Ignoring all such high-level political judgments, the army, the army, the army.
Could that stone head be a relative of a parrot? Anxiety soared.
“The yellow press in New York is agitating the public by scattering public opinion every day. They are exaggerating the genocide and the politics of terror in Cuba and putting it on the newspaper.”
“Why are you talking about the yellow press all of a sudden? Please do not obscure the point.”
As Commander Nelson raised his voice, War Minister Elger sighed deeply and shook his head.
I’m ignorant, so I can’t communicate.
“People want war. The Spanish Empire is collapsing, and Cuba wants an American touch. And America? It has been a long time since we have risen to the ranks of great powers through the age of pioneering the West and the age of plating.”
“…what do you want to say?”
“It’s not enough to prepare for war right now, so it means don’t make work with machine guns. Without a machine gun, the United States could crush the Spanish Empire with just a Gatling gun.”
“No, what…!”
“It’s done. My mouth hurts. Let’s move on to the next item.”
Commander Nelson had a tendon on his forehead as War Minister Elger chewed it over. But once the War Minister had nailed it, Commander Nelson could no longer object.
The United States is a country where the military is under strict civilian control. The war minister tries to bury him like this, but if he continues to bring it up, a bad precedent remains.
Since the Minister of War is the presidential line, he can’t even take a backseat.
‘…You’re stressed.’
creak-
Commander Nelson leaned against the backrest, pressing the bridge of his nose.
“The next agenda item is related to the selection of a beef company for the army food supply.”
At the words of War Minister Elger, the food-related directors, who had been quiet, began to stretch.
These are the people who received a ‘small gift’ from the lobbyists of Chicago’s Big 3 meat packaging companies.
And at the top of those figures was also the Minister of War Elger.
Commander Nelson commented again.
“Minister, if we just buy beef locally in Cuba or Puerto Rico, then we will-“
“If you want to feed hundreds of thousands of US Army, isn’t it the cheapest and surest way to turn to the big meatpackers in Chicago?”
However, War Minister Elger cut off the commander’s words as if he was cutting it.
Commander Nelson was stunned and his mouth twitched. Seeing that, the head of the War Department wanted to do this, and they jumped on the war minister’s prestige, and began to put a bandage around their neck to fill the quota for the gifts they received from Chicago meat packaging companies.
– As a result of inquiring about beef companies across the United States, Chicago’s Big 3 are the only companies that have the scale to supply the US Army. Others can’t afford the army’s supply!
– Can you feed all the soldiers of the US Army with cows purchased locally in Cuba? If there is not enough, can you take responsibility if the soldiers in the army die of starvation?
– Logistics get out of the military. This is a field more suited to the private sector. Don’t worry, our war department will take care of it.
As such, the War Department meeting was led by War Minister Elger, and the atmosphere continued to press down on Commander Nelson as a measure of civilian control.
ha-
Commander Nelson lamented and looked around the rotten meeting room.
Don’t you know that Nelson’s war ministers and director-generals are fed up with corruption and are supplying the goods of the line they are riding?
Lobbyists from various military companies went to work as if going to and from the Ministry of Warfare at their own house, and I couldn’t be ignorant of it.
However, he is a lieutenant general who has just become a commander.
It also played a part in being in a position where War Minister Elger could fully press down.
‘John Joseph Pershing.’
A letter from a Quartermaster.
The letter that the 10th Cavalry Regiment commander was shocked and handed over to him.
When he saw the contents of this letter and the specifications of the German machine gun, he doubted his eyes. No matter how the cavalry was the protagonist of the war, the German-made machine gun was superior to the Gatling gun in any way.
The price isn’t bad either.
But you refused to bid on this?
What the hell do you think of the army?
give me money?
right-
Commander Nelson clenched his teeth.
‘Wash your neck and wait. If an opportunity comes along, I’ll strike you right away from the necks.’
He decided to plan for the future and collect evidence of corruption one by one. Not a single one, including a letter from a Quartermaster.
***
“Today, the New York Stock Exchange ended in an uptrend.”
Unlike the War Department, which boils like a furnace, Wall Street could have taken refuge in the war issue. To be precise, it wasn’t evacuation, it was said that he was hit first, stretched out, and then recovered again.
Rather, Wall Street was able to escape the risk of war by experiencing Black Wednesday, and the New York stock market was heating up due to the listing issue of the fourth railroad.
“Thanks to this, the number of subscribers to railroad funds and short selling funds is increasing. Customers who have already signed up are investing more money.”
“How big is it?”
“The railroad fund and the short-selling fund each approached $100 million in total.”
Short-selling funds were gaining explosive popularity because individual investors had no means to short-sell, and railroad funds were losing their returns due to insider information and listing issues.
When the seasoning of the long-short strategy was added, the fund was booming as investors flocked to it like a Michelin 3-star restaurant.
The problem was the war department.
“So, didn’t the Ministry of War purchase even a limited edition of our machine guns or rifles?”
“It doesn’t even budge.”
“I tried to get to the director-level personal network, but if there is no answer, it means that there is a breath of a director-level or higher.”
“Isn’t it Master Jack Morgan?”
Maybe Jack Morgan is right.
The ties between the Ministry of War and JP Morgan Bank are much stronger and stronger than those with the Navy. It was because the Ministry of War was the main source of supply for JP Morgan through the Civil War in the first place.
Judging from this point of view, there seems to be no place for us to intervene in their perseverance.
But, as Thomas Edison said, who killed Tesla himself, opportunities are created by ourselves.
“If I stab the back of the War Department with a machine gun barrel, wouldn’t they be excited too?
“Do you have a way?”
“I need to explain why the arms dealers are called the dealers of death. After all, we have one friend who is the perfect fit for this deal.”
I have an Irish friend.
***
Tour-
I immediately picked up the handset and called Chris. Has it been about 3 seconds? There was a reaction over the receiver.
– Morgan, why are you busy?
“Chris, is the smuggling route between the US and Ireland still alive?”
– suddenly?
“Because it’s kind of urgent.”
– It’s a smuggler route, of course it’s alive. They are still sending weapons to the Irish mainland. Your DWM hasn’t finished production yet.
“Yeah, it’s because you have a lot of ignorant orders. that goes over Could it be that the Spanish Empire was also included in the smuggling route?”
– The Spanish Empire? uh. not included Because the Spanish Empire is the most comfortable place in Europe on the Atlantic side.
“Then Chris. Could you use your smuggling route to bring some weapons to the Spanish Empire?”
– What is the fee?
“The German machine gun you adored. We will deliver it to Spain, and if there is any left over, we will sweep it all up.”
‘We can’t even deliver to the US anyway, so it’d be better to take this opportunity to clear out our inventory. Machine guns are much less expensive to stock up than to stay.’
Silence passed over the receiver for a moment.
– Of course, it’s not free, right?
“I’ll pass it on to you almost at cost. What do you think?”
– DEAL.
click-
Chris screamed over the receiver, probably overwhelmed by the joy of getting an additional machine gun. I covered my ears and put the receiver down.
A simple guy anyway.
“Master, do you intend to sell weapons to the Spanish Empire?”
“I think the War Department has not come to its senses yet. If I stab you in the back with the muzzle of a machine gun, I will not be distracted.”
“But I got caught by the nape of my neck while exporting weapons to the Spanish Empire…ah.”
f*ck-
Usually, James is right. If it is an ordinary firearms company, even if it is smuggled out, the company’s trademark remains and if the neck is caught, they will go to jail.
That’s a normal gun company.
But with DWM, the situation is different.
If the DWM firearms taken from the German headquarters were passed on to the regular military in accordance with due process, the trademark of DWM may be embroidered, but Europe is currently in a state of a kind of powder warehouse.
It was not uncommon for a logo on a gun to be erased or removed as it passed from country to country.
In other words, if only the main body is sold without a logo or manufacturer information, is it a product manufactured in Germany or a product manufactured in the United States? It means there is no way to know.
“And you must have forgotten James, DWM’s Mouser had a smooth business relationship with the Spanish Empire from the beginning.”
“…It means that you will think that it is a gun that has been passed down from German and Japanese history.”
“Is that all? The German headquarters probably had no intention of selling weapons to the poor Spanish Empire. Even more expensive weapons like machine guns. There is no room for us to fold in here.”
If they were from the German headquarters, they would be reluctant to even deal with the current situation of the Spanish Empire, judging that they could not afford it.
But I was well aware that the Spanish Empire still had money lines.
“Investigate how much capital the Spanish Empire invested in Cuba and the Philippines.”
“Is it capital?”
“Uh, if the US-Spanish war breaks out, the US will win a landslide regardless of whether the damage is huge or not. So where will all the Spanish Empire’s investment in the Philippines and Cuba go?”
“…they will flock to their home country. We will investigate the requested data as soon as possible.”
In fact, even after losing the US-Spanish war, Spain became more prosperous than before the war thanks to the capital returned to its home country, spurring industrial development.
To add a bit of exaggeration, I lost the war and became rich.
It was very, very good news that we had more money to rob.
“ah.”
James, on the way back to his seat, noticed something, and came back to me.
“But, Master, if a private company like us bumped into a deal with the state barefoot, it might be shattered. In the Spanish Empire, they might chew without paying properly.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Yes?”
If you are afraid of being alone in a transaction with the country, you can bring in your friends. Friends to share with.
Attracting the country to a big deal is one of the specialties of hedge funds in the 21st century.
Luckily, Europe wasn’t the only one who was obsessed with robbing Europe during this time. And I was thinking of bringing in the country, the most confidant among them.
“James.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Call Lloyd’s of London North America.”
“…..!!!”
“Your country. Because I want to bring the British Empire in.”
＜ A small ball launched by the War Department. (4) > end
