While the British army and French navies engaged in a month-long naval battle in the Atlantic Ocean, Charles of Pittsburgh leisurely reviewed his achievements over the past few months.
The first official order Charles issued after arriving in Pittsburgh, as the Speaker of the Pittsburgh Council, was to hold new councilor elections and discuss the plan to upgrade Pittsburgh from a town to a city.
This upgrade plan was already within Patrick's expectations; this greedy and power-hungry fellow had long wanted to upgrade the town so he could experience being a mayor of a big city.
Now, with the support of a powerful figure like Charles, he immediately took out the plan he had prepared long ago to discuss with Charles, and it didn't take long for the two to finalize the official upgrade plan.
After discussing the election with Patrick, Charles also pulled him aside to ask about Pittsburgh's construction progress during his absence over the past few months.
Pittsburgh's industrial and commercial development speed far exceeded Charles' expectations; when he first received the latest Pittsburgh revenue report handed over by Patrick, he could hardly believe his eyes.
"Over three thousand pounds in taxes in half a year? Patrick, are you sure? Did you include the taxes from the Ohio area?"
Smaller states in America often did not collect even ten thousand pounds in taxes annually, but now Pittsburgh's taxes were almost equal to theirs.
Pittsburgh's population had reached tens of thousands, almost catching up to the smallest states, but its land area was limited, so surpassing a state in tax revenue was hard for him to believe.
If the Ohio area, with its vast territory, was included, it would be more understandable.
"Of course, it's only Pittsburgh's tax revenue. I've collected taxes strictly according to the Continental Congress regulations. This isn't too much, is it? If we collected taxes according to your friend Mr. Hamilton's settings, we could quadruple this figure." Patrick denied with a smile.
"The Ohio area is still self-governing; didn't you say we'd consider it after resolving relations with the British army and France? Even if I wanted to collect taxes there, I couldn't send anyone to do it!"
"Only Pittsburgh?" Charles still found it hard to believe.
"Land taxes couldn't have increased that much, so is it trade taxes with Louisiana? Has our trade volume between the two places really gotten that high?"
Trade with Louisiana was considered import and export trade, so customs duties could, of course, be levied.
America currently had very few types of taxes, mainly land tax and customs duties.
Other miscellaneous taxes imposed by the British king had all been abolished by the Continental Congress.
However, even these customs duties were set at a very low rate; for the collected taxes to reach thousands of pounds, the trade volume would absolutely have to be astonishingly high.
"Haha! This is the only thing I like about those Continental Congress Representatives. After they arrived in Pittsburgh, they utilized the convenient trade channels with Louisiana, procuring large quantities of luxury goods and military and civilian supplies in their personal capacity and on behalf of the Continental Congress.
This boosted bilateral trade, and with goods coming in and out, taxes naturally increased.
What's more, our steel, leather, and woven cotton fabrics have almost taken over the entire Louisiana market.
Even coal, as a resource, is a major export item.
Thousands of pounds in tax revenue now is still considered low; by the second half of the year, this amount is expected to be even higher," Patrick said nonchalantly.
Trade, oh trade, there truly is trade only when there is a market, Charles sighed internally.
Now that Louisiana was stable, even with a smaller population, it was willing to procure various goods in large quantities.
The eastern coastal states of America, despite having a much larger population than Louisiana, currently had very few orders.
Not to mention sales to Europe through coastal ports.
He really wanted to ask about the operational status of his family's factories and mines, fearing that when the market expanded in the future, the production speed might not keep up.
After asking Patrick to gather the former town councilors to discuss upgrading Pittsburgh to a city, Charles brought in his great assistant, Greenspan, to inquire about the development of his family's industries.
During the months he was not in Pittsburgh, the two greatest contributors in his family were Jonathan, the butler of Scarlet Manor, and governor Greenspan.
"Greenspan, I suppose your report should mainly contain good news, right?" Charles asked with a smile.
Greenspan, however, found Charles' question a bit amusing:
"Your Excellency, I actually don't have any bad news here. Tax revenue has increased, trade volume has risen, and various industries like the trading center and food stores are developing very well.
And the best good news is that our bank deposits have more than tripled compared to the end of last year.
Even without counting our family's own portion, the savings deposits from others alone have already reached two hundred and fifty thousand pounds."
"Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, plus our own capital, there's no doubt that Pittsburgh Bank is now the largest bank in America.
All those new deposits must be from those Continental Congress Representatives, right?" Charles understood and smiled.
"Not just them; in fact, despite their high status, their deposits were not as much as I expected.
Many people valued the confidentiality system we previously announced, knowing they could deposit and withdraw anonymously with just a password, so they anonymously deposited several large sums, and we cannot determine the true identities of these depositors.
Others whose accounts we can identify are mainly the wealthy people who migrated from Philadelphia and other places to Pittsburgh with the Continental Congress.
Almost every household could produce thousands or tens of thousands of pounds in gold or cash.
It was the first time I realized that we have so many rich people in America," Greenspan said with emotion.
Those who profited from the war were not just arms dealers; in fact, banks were often the biggest beneficiaries.
Charles knew that after his bank's confidentiality system was implemented, it had already attracted several anonymous large deposits in Philadelphia alone, and some of them likely belonged to owners who had disappeared in the Philadelphia war.
At the time, seeing such a sudden increase in deposits, Charles even wondered if he should let the British army enter the city to help him make some of those clients disappear.
"The Continental Congress Representatives have basically deposited their money in several banks in Philadelphia, so it's understandable that not many have deposited it with you.
Americans have been living and developing for hundreds of years in this place where you can plant crops by just digging a little.
Of course, there would be so many.
This eastern conflict has driven them and their savings here; this is our opportunity, and we must make good use of it."
"Yes, but I'm worried that many people will return to Philadelphia after the war is won, so these deposits might be withdrawn at any time.
I don't dare to lend this money freely now, fearing that I won't be able to honor withdrawals and it will damage the bank's reputation.
It's just that such a large sum of money is sitting in our bank, and I can only watch, not using it for investment, only collecting a small deposit safekeeping fee.
It's really a bit too wasteful," Greenspan said with some reluctance.
"For the sake of our bank's reputation, we indeed cannot easily touch this money.
However, this money truly cannot be allowed to return to the eastern region; it must stay, or at least be spent in Pittsburgh.
We don't necessarily need to do it ourselves.
We can completely set up a project and let those wealthy individuals invest their money into it," Charles said, thinking aloud.
"You want them to spend their own money?" Greenspan asked, looking puzzled.
"Yes, the opening of the Pennsylvania Canal should have brought a lot of profit to those canal investors, right?" Charles did not answer directly but instead asked another question.
"That's for sure. The eastern war is busy now, and the canal's utilization efficiency has almost reached its peak, but many are tax-exempt government ships, which has reduced investors' profits a bit," Greenspan nodded.
Even before the Pennsylvania Canal was fully opened, its partial navigation had already brought the first revenue to the Pennsylvania Canal Company.
At that time, it coincided with the full retreat of major eastern towns to the west, and this revenue from partial navigation alone was already very considerable.
All the major families and wealthy individuals who came to Pittsburgh via the canal saw the revenue the canal company received, and Greenspan, of course, knew about this.
With the full opening of the canal, its utilization efficiency became even higher, and the profits naturally increased rather than decreased.
"In any case, everyone now knows that the canal company is very profitable.
So, I want to establish several more canal companies, specifically to build and operate a canal.
The companies won't require our own money; instead, we'll directly reference the British stock market and issue tradable stocks to the wealthy people of Pittsburgh, raising their money to build the canal.
This way, while holding stocks, investors can profit from stock appreciation through buying and selling, and after the canal is built and starts generating revenue, they can also receive dividends.
And as the company building the canal, we can obtain control over this investment," Charles presented his plan.
This plan to issue stocks he had had for a long time, but unfortunately, at that time, the high return rate of investment projects had not yet been recognized, making it difficult to convince people about the company's stocks.
The profits from building the canal were only foreseeable at that time, not truly and tangibly visible.
But now that the Pennsylvania Canal has opened, and those investors have received generous returns, everyone understands that building canals is a profitable business, and they are naturally willing to invest money.
This plan quickly received Greenspan's support; it was practically getting something for nothing.
Just set up a company structure and wait for others to invest money.
Seeing Greenspan's hopeful expression, Charles had to remind him:
"For this canal company and its stocks, we must also legislate to protect them.
Just as patent law protects our steam engine technology, I will have the Continental Congress and the Pittsburgh Council formulate a special stock investment law, stipulating that investments must be used for construction, and stock trading must not be disorderly or fraudulent."
"Oh, that should be done; only then will everyone have confidence to invest," Greenspan nodded in understanding.
Then, he asked another question with some trepidation:
"These stocks are issued to all wealthy people. I don't have a lot of money, but I do have over a thousand pounds of spare cash. Can I buy these stocks?"
"Hahahaha! Of course, you can.
You are my greatest assistant, a member of the Godfrey Family; for such a profitable business, I certainly won't forget your benefit.
Not only you, but people like Jonathan can also directly buy the original shares before the company's stocks start circulating," Charles laughed heartily and nodded.
Taking care of his own people in this way was completely transparent and legitimate.
It not only appeased those within the family but also attracted others to pledge their allegiance.
Regarding canal companies, Charles decided to establish two: one for a much-needed canal and another for a canal that would surely be highly profitable.
The first much-needed one was the Sault Ste. Marie Canal Company.
The iron ore discovered earlier by Lake Superior had been mined quite a bit, but it was later found that transporting it to Pittsburgh via the Great Lakes was very dangerous.
Lake Superior's water flows into Lake Huron via the St. Marys River, with a drop of about six meters between the two lakes, creating rapid currents.
The Sault Ste. Marie Canal had to be built to bypass the rapids and truly enable smooth navigation between the two lakes.
Although the other Great Lakes also had elevation differences, Lake Huron, which connects them, could be accessed southwards via the St. Clair River—Lake St. Clair—Detroit River into Lake Erie, which was relatively smooth and basically problem-free.
As for the second canal company that would definitely make money, it was, of course, the Erie Canal, which would later establish New York's position.
This canal was absolutely a treasure trove, a canal of immense economic importance, certainly no less than vital transportation arteries like the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal.
The Erie Canal stretched from Buffalo on the shore of Lake Erie, through the Mohawk Valley, to Albany on the Hudson River.
It connected the water transport of the Five Great Lakes with New York Harbor, becoming the main waterway of New York State's navigable canal system.
Freight from Lake Erie to New York cost only one-tenth of what it used to, allowing New York, which was much smaller than Philadelphia and Boston at the time, to rapidly develop into the nation's largest port and city.
The digging of the Erie Canal played a significant role in promoting the economic development of the eastern United States and New York.
After the Erie Canal is built, as soon as the war of Independence is won, New York will inevitably rise and replace Philadelphia's position as the economic center.
However, at that time, the Pennsylvania Canal, which had just become a golden waterway, its role is estimated to be immediately replaced by the Erie Canal. Those investors in the Pennsylvania Canal may therefore be dissatisfied with me. These investors are Charles' friends in Philadelphia's political and business circles, so a portion of internal shares of the Erie Canal can only be reserved and distributed to these Pennsylvania Canal investors to compensate for their losses.
However, if those capitalists, in order to protect the interests of the Pennsylvania Canal, refuse to invest in building the Erie Canal, then I can just transfer the shares to others. I believe that once the Erie Canal is built, those people will realize that giving them internal shares now is actually giving them benefits. As long as they are willing to accept the shares now, their relationship with me will definitely become closer in the future.
In building the Erie Canal, Charles also had a strategic consideration, which was Albany.
Historically, when this canal was built, explosives were not yet used, and considering manpower, fewer people were mobilized, and the construction intensity was very weak. But now with his own canal company to coordinate planning, plus safe explosives and Picric acid to clear the way, Charles believes that this canal can be completed in half the time compared to the historical eight-year construction period.
If the war of Independence still takes eight years, then by the time Albany in the north is dealt with after the south, this canal will already be in use. At that time, a riverine fleet dispatched from Lake Erie, cooperating with land forces, will definitely be able to easily capture Albany, which is occupied by Benedict.
Of course, Charles believes that with his involvement in the war of Independence, this war should end within three or four years. If it still drags on for eight years with only two or three thousand British army soldiers, then he would be too useless.
In the following days, Patrick was busy convening the new council, while Charles was busy issuing shares.
Shares are not a new thing; London already has a very regular stock exchange, and before the establishment of the United States, there were already informal equity trading activities. So, as soon as they heard that Charles was going to establish a new canal company and issue canal shares, the wealthy people who were still in Pittsburgh immediately flocked to Charles' Pittsburgh Trading Center, wanting to prioritize purchasing some shares.
Charles was not in a hurry; he planned to wait until the new council convened and legislated relevant laws before issuing formal shares, or even establishing a regular stock exchange center.
During this period, Charles also took the opportunity to inspect Scarlet Manor.
Now the main structure of the "White House" is almost complete, only needing to finish landscaping, internal living supplies, luxury item installation, and other work before it can be moved into immediately. Charles saw this white country building at a glance and felt a sense of exhilaration.
Natural, harmonious, simple—this is truly a home-style building. He immediately ordered Jonathan to speed up the construction progress, striving to spend Christmas this year in the newly completed "White House."
In addition, the steel mill and shipyard are also developing rapidly. After the Pennsylvania Canal was completed, the steel mill did not reduce production; instead, it quickly started a second plant site, which has now begun production.
With the increase in steel production and the maturity of steelmaking technology, Charles actually already has the ability to mass-produce steel rails. However, Charles hesitated about whether to start research on steam locomotives.
Currently, the latest steamships, whether it's the steam engine as power or the ship itself, have very mature manufacturing technology. The three main categories—passenger ships, tugboats, and high-speed cargo ships—not only meet the needs of his own fleet but also accept orders from places like Philadelphia and Louisiana.
Charles had seen the steam engines used on ships and knew that using them on trains would not be a major problem, though there might be some issues with speed and efficiency. But in terms of the current scope of application for ships, it is far wider and more convenient than that for trains. The time it takes to lay a railway in the Pittsburgh area, with its dense network of rivers, is not shorter than building a canal, and in terms of construction costs, it is far higher than a canal.
Having William, a steam engine expert, dedicate his limited time to the entirely new field of developing new steam locomotives might not be a reasonable arrangement.
After much hesitation, Charles decided to abandon his original plan of large-scale railway construction within a few years. For now, he would only build an experimental railway between Scarlet Manor and Pittsburgh city center, specifically for testing newly developed steam locomotives. The research on steam locomotives would also not be William's responsibility; it would simply be assigned to a few young, eager Philadelphia College students.
Since Philadelphia College largely relocated to its new campus in Pittsburgh, many students have developed very close ties with Pittsburgh. After graduation, they work in Pittsburgh and regularly participate in Pittsburgh's social learning and research. However, after the victory of the Philadelphia campaign, many people were preparing to return to Philadelphia.
Charles saw that many of them were willing to stay, and Pittsburgh's own university structure could already be established, so he did not force others. He provided them with substantial aid, leaving behind a sister school for his future Pittsburgh University, and then allowed those elite students to return to Philadelphia.
However, many engineering students were very interested in Pittsburgh's steam engine technology and shipbuilding technology. Many chose to stay and join William's laboratory, participating in the development of new steam engines and the design of new ships. It is said that many college students have even gone to New Orleans to participate in the construction of a steam-powered warship.
Regarding the research on steam-powered warships, news also came from New Orleans. The first experimental steam-powered warship has already completed its refit and began sea trials several months ago. The keel for a brand-new steam-powered warship has also been laid, and it is estimated that it should be launched by now.
Upon receiving this news, Charles could only lament that in this era, steam engine research was indeed the greatest driving force for industrial technological progress.
The entire factory area is now becoming increasingly lively. Even the coking plant is operating very systematically, with rows of coke ovens standing like lanterns. Workers are operating with great skill, and the efficiency of coke production has greatly increased. However, the entire site is filled with smog, giving it a feeling reminiscent of factories in the early 20th century.
After Charles spent half a month at Scarlet Manor handling internal affairs, Pittsburgh's new council officially concluded.
A large city of approximately 50,000 people, including natives and black slaves, completed its first formal election of councilors.
And after the new council was formed, it immediately re-elected Charles as Speaker.
Charles' first order of business after taking office was to address the proposal made by Town Mayor Patrick to upgrade Pittsburgh to a city.
In reality, this was merely a formality. The councilors were elected according to the standards of city councilors, and this upgrade did not require approval from a higher authority. Pittsburgh had always been an independent administrative entity; let alone upgrading to a city, even if it wanted to upgrade to a state or province now, as long as the councilors agreed, there would be no problem. The Continental Congress could not interfere at all.
And regarding the motion proposed by Mayor Patrick, with Charles' initial approval, the council passed it by an overwhelming majority on the spot.
This was followed by the expansion of various administrative agencies. The tax officer was to be expanded into a Tax Bureau, the Notary Public into a Notary Office, the Sheriff into a Police Department, and so on. There were various changes, too many to enumerate. However, the heads of these expanded agencies were still primarily the original few individuals.
Even newly added positions, such as Director of Education and Director of Transportation, were all distributed among new personnel nominated by Charles. Patrick was very shrewd this time; after securing the mayoral appointment with near certainty, he did not nominate any of his cronies to compete with Charles for other municipal official positions.
After resolving the municipal upgrade plan, various legislations were then enacted. First, the trademark laws and similar acts passed by the Continental Congress were re-passed by the Pittsburgh Council. This both clarified the content of these laws and indicated that Pittsburgh City was on equal footing with the Continental Congress, not directly subordinate, and independent of other states.
In addition, new laws and regulations proposed by Charles, such as the "Stock Trading Act" and the "Canal Traffic Act," were also passed.
—
However, the scope of management of these laws and regulations was somewhat laughable. They were laws passed by Pittsburgh alone, yet their scope often included the entire United States. This meant that many matters that occurred in other states could also be tried in Pittsburgh. This was a very amusing setup, much like some small countries in the 21st century.
They believed in the supremacy of law and thus did not set an effective jurisdiction for their national laws, often receiving strange lawsuits accusing actions that occurred in other countries. The result was that the final judgments could not be effectively implemented at all, which instead undermined the sanctity of the law.
Charles certainly didn't intend to do this. He was already prepared. As soon as these laws and regulations were introduced, he would begin implementing his stock issuance plan, and at the same time, submit these laws and regulations to the Continental Congress and the other state councils for their joint signature and approval.
As soon as the Stock Trading Act was passed, Charles' temporary stock issuance company, established at the Pittsburgh Trading Center, immediately opened for business. Although this clearly did not conform to 21st-century stock issuance procedures, at this time, no one would question Charles' differences.
The first stock issuance had one more share than Charles originally anticipated. In addition to the Sault Ste. Marie Canal shares and Erie Canal shares, a Pittsburgh Railway Company share was temporarily added.
The issuing entity for this railway company share was the Pittsburgh Railway Company, specifically responsible for building the experimental railway in Pittsburgh City and researching steam locomotives.
At the start of the issuance, the two canal stocks, totaling 10,000 shares for 10,000 pounds, were snapped up within half a day. After Greenspan announced the temporary suspension of further canal stock issuance, many latecomers expressed willingness to pay high prices to those who had purchased the stocks, asking them to transfer the canal stocks.
Although Charles had set up a stock issuance point, he had not yet established a stock exchange center. For convenience of trading, it was merely temporarily sold at the original commodity trading center. Now, seeing this situation, he immediately arranged for a remedy.
"Greenspan, tell someone to prepare a small blackboard and hang it in the trading center, and then assign a trader to manage it specifically. Let those who want to buy stocks and those who want to sell stocks write their own slips and hand them to the trader, and have the trader write them on the blackboard, so they can trade through the blackboard. Of course, stock transfers must be certified by our trader and conducted within this trading center.
From now on, this place should no longer be called the Pittsburgh Trading Center; just rename it the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange Center." Charles smiled as he watched the bustling stock issuance scene from the second floor of the center.
"Yes, sir! I'll have someone prepare it right away." Greenspan turned to give instructions.
"Wait, also post an announcement downstairs. It should say that our Stock Exchange Center welcomes other promising companies to list and raise capital at our Stock Exchange Center, provided that they must pass our evaluation before listing.
Additionally, every stock transaction must go through our Trading Center to be effectively transferred, and we will only deduct one-thousandth of the profit from the transfer process." Charles added.
It seems that running a stock exchange is also a very profitable business.
"Yes!" Greenspan responded and went down.
He didn't find anything particularly difficult to understand about these orders, as stocks and stock exchanges had been around for nearly two hundred years by now. Therefore, anyone involved in finance generally had some understanding of stocks. Greenspan immediately understood the purpose of these arrangements.
Charles soon saw a large blackboard being carried into the trading center, and a young, student-like trader stood in front of the blackboard, busily handling the trading requests.
Charles was mentally prepared for any trading errors that might occur. Anyway, there were few stocks listed now, only three, and the trading amount was small, only a little over ten thousand pounds.
Even if errors occurred, the cost would not be high, and it would be worth gaining experience. Moreover, even if he wanted to directly copy the British stock trading rules, without existing personnel, major errors would be prone to occur. It was better to experiment slowly like this and train his own stock trading talent.
Besides, the Stock Exchange Center wasn't run for free; every stock transaction, like the stamp duty in later generations, directly deducted one percent of the profit. Charles was very happy with such a compensated experiment.
Below was a scene of chaos, but Charles wore a faint smile.