"I believe that President Truman should have formally invited the Soviet Union to join the Marshall Plan. ”

Ryfenwell repeated his opinion again before he began to explain his opinion.

"Of course, when I say this, it doesn't mean that we Morgan want to get involved with red again after having an inappropriate relationship with ***. ”

"If you think so, either you're stupid or you think I'm stupid. ”

"Of course, it's clear that no one who can sit here is a fool. A fool can't be a banker. ”

"As capitalists, we are inherently not sitting together with the Soviet Union, unless there is a madman like Hitler in the world. This is our consensus, but why should I ask President Truman to invite the Soviet Union to join?"

"Because, like our consensus, the Soviets also felt that they could not sit with us, and even their attitude went further, and their aim was to destroy us. ”

"Based on this judgment, I believe that even if the Soviets clearly recognized that our support would be beneficial to them, they would have categorically and without hesitation rejected the White House offer. ”

"In this way, the Soviet Union will bear the condemnation of dividing Europe...... Originally, this hat was supposed to be ours. ”

Finally, Ryfenwell summed up his point in one sentence: "If we don't invite the Soviet Union, we'll pay the price, and if we invite them, they'll say, 'Hell you, Yankee!'"

Ryfenwell's words were so convincing that everyone present nodded silently and agreed with him.

A few days later, when George Kennan heard Ryfenwell's words relayed, he laughed and said, "This is a confidant!"

Soon after, he published an article entitled "The Roots of Soviet Behavior" in the journal Foreign Affairs under the signature "X", proposing a "containment strategy" that was later adopted by the United States.

After the disagreement was resolved, Dean asked a few more questions, which were positive from everyone in the room, and finally, when Dean asked how much Wall Street could support in terms of funding, each of the seven chairmen gave a number.

Dean's calculations were made and he found that the total amount was quite different from the figure Marshall had proposed.

Dean questioned, "Guys, is this the maximum amount you can offer? It's not like Wall Street!"

The seven chairmen looked at each other, and finally Lamont replied as a representative: "Dean, in numbers, Wall Street can't go wrong. ”

"However, if the Treasury wants more money, it is not impossible. ”

Dean naturally understood that this was making a request, and said with the situation: "Is there any way, please speak up!"

Lamont said with a blank face and some inappropriate answers: "Since the outbreak of the war, the Federal Reserve Bank has fixed the long-term interest rate at 2.5%, and it has not changed. ”

"Lovett, you've worked in a bank before, and your wife from Brown understands how unreasonable this policy is. ”

"Interest rates have been so high for a long time that the Federal Reserve Bank has had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to keep the Treasury high prices and low yields...... This is a waste of money!"

Dean certainly understood what Lamont meant: "You want to restore the freedom of the market to determine interest rates?"

He was met with silence.

After a few moments, Dean said, "I see, I'll relay it to President Truman." ”

Less than five o'clock, the "banker's salon" was over.

At the same time, nearly 400 kilometers away from Wall Street, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., President Truman angrily left the Senate Hall.

Just now, the Senate passed the Taft–Hartley Act again by a vote of 68-25, and before that, on June 20, the House of Representatives had already passed the bill by a vote of 331-83. This means that the bill, which Truman vetoed once, will be formally implemented a month later.

As soon as the results came out, the union protesters who had gathered near Capitol Hill immediately boiled.

Previously, President Truman's approval rating had plummeted because he had not managed last year's strike wave. In an attempt to win back the support of the majority of workers at the bottom of the election, Truman chose to veto the Taft–Hartley Act. Of course, Truman knew in his heart that he could not prevent the introduction of this bill, because behind it were almost all business people.

Still, Truman did it, and the result was ......

As he left the Senate hall and returned to the White House, he received a greeting from Philip Murray, the leader of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).

"Mr. President, I don't know if you will be running in the general elections next year. I hope for sure, because then the ballot papers of all the members of the Federation will have only one name on their ballot papers. ”

Hanging up, Truman burst out laughing.

It was June 1947, a little more than half a year before next year's election, and almost everyone, including the Democrats themselves, had already decided that Truman could not be re-elected, and was debating who to send to face the Republicans, who won a resounding victory in last year's midterm elections.

Not to mention the Republican Party, which felt that Truman and the Democrats, who had made a mess of the economy, could not be accepted by the voters, and the next president, needless to say, would be Republican.

Faced with this situation, if it were an ordinary person, he would probably choose to withdraw with dignity and not seek re-election. But Truman was not. When his approval rating dropped to 32 percent in the polls, a Democratic Senator from Arkansas specifically suggested Truman's resignation, to which he replied, "I don't care what the senator says 'in the middle of the night.'" ”

Truman is eyeing next year's election, and the support of the Industrial Union is undoubtedly excellent news for him.

However, Truman's joy didn't last long, and a phone call from Dean Lovett made him angry.

Unlike just now, which was at least half pretended, this time he was really angry.

"Restore the free rate, these conspirators, greedy money slaves, what a beautiful thing they think!"

Truman remembered the early '20s when then-Reserve Bank of New York President Benjamin Strong raised interest rates and caused his holdings of U.S. government bonds to fall. He didn't think it was just a matter of luck, but that the bankers betrayed the bondholders.

This is why Truman supported fixed interest rates.

"They're trying to get back to the good old days when monetary policy was dominated by the Morgan Bank and the Reserve Bank of New York. ”

"No, I can't compromise. ”

Truman was so angry that one of his aides advised: "Sir, if you don't agree to them, the Treasury may not be able to raise enough money......

Truman thought for a moment and said, "Then increase the share of the planned commercial loans." ”

When the staff heard this, their eyes lit up.