chapter 184 part 2
If Langer could achieve that, Colin wouldn't mind giving him an even larger sales commission. No matter how you looked at it, he would be the one making the most profit in the end; it was just a matter of how much.
Having confirmed the cooperation with Colin, Langer left the newspaper office full of anticipation.
Meanwhile, Colin also completed the patent application for his Four-Color Duplex Sheet-fed Offset Press technology and found a suitable factory building near Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
The Great Depression had caused a large number of banks and factories to go bankrupt, so Colin didn't start from scratch to build his own mechanical factory.
He wasn't a tycoon like Howard Hughes, who pursued perfection in everything.
For Colin, anything that worked was good enough. After all, the cost of building a factory was significantly more expensive than buying a defunct one. The latter often cost only half or even a third of the former. And in the era of the Great Depression, he could take his time and pick the best option before buying.
There were simply too many bankrupt factories.
After purchasing the mechanical factory in Brooklyn, the Messenger Mechanical Factory was officially established.
Langer took the initiative to oversee the factory's production setup. Before becoming a Manroland agent, he had worked as a maintenance worker in a printing press factory, so he had extensive experience in their production and manufacturing. He also knew many printing machinery workers who had lost their jobs due to the Great Depression.
Furthermore, spurred on by the sales contract, Langer was even more eager than Colin, the factory owner, for the day the Messenger Mechanical Factory would begin operations and produce the Four-Color Duplex Sheet-fed Offset Press.
...
With an experienced veteran like Langer on-site to manage things, Colin, the factory owner, found his own workload much lighter.
West 52nd Street, inside the 21 Club.
After leaving the factory in Brooklyn, Colin went to the 21 Club.
"Congratulations, Mr. Roosevelt."
After greeting the figure in the wheelchair, Colin immediately congratulated Roosevelt.
Currently, the Democratic Party had reached a basic consensus. Roosevelt had defeated his rival within the party, Al Smith, to become the Democratic Party's nominee for the upcoming general election.
"Thank you."
Roosevelt nodded to Colin, but there was little joy on his face.
Although he had successfully won the party's nomination, Roosevelt's situation wasn't exactly optimistic. Al Smith had refused to support his campaign, leading to a minor split within the party. Externally, the Republican Party was on the offensive, having already mobilized its election machine, and Tammany Hall had even begun its campaign rallies.
At the same time, Roosevelt himself wasn't very confident about the outcome of his presidential campaign.
No matter how poorly Hoover had performed, he was still the incumbent president with the advantage of being in office.
Roosevelt had received news that the Republican Party was planning to launch a negative campaign for this presidential election, aiming to portray Roosevelt as an equally weak figure. They wanted to make voters believe that electing Roosevelt wouldn't change the situation of the Great Depression, causing them to lose hope and allowing Hoover to win re-election.
In contrast to Roosevelt's worried demeanor, Colin, being from a later era, was obviously not concerned about this.
After all, from what he knew from the future, not only would Roosevelt win this general election, but he would do so by a landslide.
Hoover's unpopularity far exceeded the Republican Party's imagination. All the voters' anger about the Great Depression would be unleashed upon Hoover during the general election.
"Regarding the patent matter, thank you for your help, Mr. Roosevelt."
At the table, Colin put a piece of steak in his mouth, glanced at the somewhat distracted Roosevelt, and changed the subject.
If not for Roosevelt's assistance, Colin's patent application might not have been approved so quickly.
"I only did what I was supposed to do."
Roosevelt's reply was watertight.
He had indeed only done what he was supposed to do—simply speeding up the patent review process a little.
At the table, Colin gave a noncommittal nod and took a small sip of the juice beside him.
As the general election approached, Roosevelt had become extremely cautious about his daily routine, avoiding any missteps that could become ammunition for his opponents, which naturally included the enforcement of Prohibition.
"Currently, the Democratic Party has reached a basic consensus on the Eighteenth Amendment. The vast majority of party members are opposed to its continued enforcement..."
Also taking a sip of juice, Roosevelt revealed the situation regarding Prohibition to Colin.
Clearly, Prohibition would be one of the central pillars of Roosevelt's upcoming campaign.
"I look forward to the day that amendment is repealed. When it is, I will definitely invite you for a glass of wine, Mr. Roosevelt."
"I look forward to that day as well."
Accepting Colin's well-wishes, Roosevelt drained the juice in his glass. A nearby waiter promptly stepped forward to refill it.
"Perhaps, Mr. Roosevelt, you should consider using the Great Depression as a weapon."
On the other side, after finishing the last piece of steak on his plate, Colin put down his knife and fork, wiped the sauce from his mouth, and then made his suggestion.
"The Great Depression, a weapon?"
Nodding under Roosevelt's gaze, Colin slowly explained, "That's right. The Great Depression occurred during Hoover's administration. That's a reality he can't escape, no matter how he explains it. Therefore, by constantly bringing up the Great Depression, you deepen the voters' memory of it. You can even make them believe that if Hoover is successfully re-elected, the Great Depression will happen all over again."
"Of course, distinguishing your image is also very important. If Hoover is the architect of the Great Depression, then you are the revitalizer of the economy, the leader who will guide the country out of it. You can propose a 'New Deal' to persuade the voters, letting them choose between the two of you. I believe the masses who have suffered so much during the Great Depression would never want to experience such a life again."
In the end, an election is all about manipulating voter sentiment.
Colin clearly had a wealth of experience in this regard, not just because he had seen many similar elections in his past life, but also because the process of acquiring faith was, in a way, also a form of emotional manipulation.
(end of chapter)