America 1919

Chapter 742: 255. Shipyard and Military Factory

The next day, when Donnie arrived at the Surf Hotel, Chris was already there waiting for him.

In Donnie’s office, Chris briefed him on the specifics of United States Logistics.

In fact, after last night’s gathering had ended, Donnie had already been thinking about the state of U.S. logistics. By current transportation standards, the whole logistics system in the United States was essentially based on three modes: automobiles, railways, and maritime shipping. Although there was also air transport, it was obvious that aircraft at the time were incapable of transporting anything beyond simple mail. They fell short of shouldering the responsibilities of the nation’s logistics!

But this didn’t mean the issue would be neglected just because it wasn’t viable at the moment.

“The first issue we need to address is maritime shipping!”

Trawling through the complex materials, Donnie identified the key point: European and Canadian distilleries were handling sixty percent of the business within the U.S., and Donnie wouldn’t allow any problems to arise with this matter.

Chris agreed with Donnie’s decision: “I’ve already had numerous meetings with the company’s staff about it, and while U.S. logistics are indeed facing a transformation, the private liquor business remains our most important task. Everyone agrees that ensuring the security of maritime shipping should be our first priority!”

Donnie was somewhat frustrated. He had already negotiated with Albert Furr to contact the navy and acquire a batch of naval warships to bolster U.S. logistics. However, due to disputes over the Baku Oil Field in the Soviet Union, Albert Furr had been lackluster in his efforts on this front.

Later, Donnie reached out to Coolidge, but there were still nine months to go before he would become President of the United States. Currently, Coolidge was just a prominent figure, a Vice President without real authority.

Donnie could have solicited help from the Roosevelt Family, but they had recently become involved in the struggle for the Baku Oil Field, which resulted in a cooled relationship with Donnie.

Approaching the Roosevelt brothers now would definitely lead to them using the issue as a bargaining chip!

Connections were still insufficient!

At this moment, Donnie couldn’t help feeling a bit reflective. If other businessmen knew of such a reflection from someone like Donnie, they would certainly think he was flaunting—assuming they knew what that meant!

It’s always better to rely on oneself!

With this thought, Donnie dialed Robert’s office phone. Donnie often sought Robert’s assistance, and since he occasionally left Atlantic City, he had entrusted the city’s businesses to Robert; consequently, Robert had also moved his office to the Surf Hotel.

It didn’t take long for Robert to arrive at Donnie’s office.

“How much cash do we have on hand that we can allocate?” Donnie got straight to the point as soon as Robert arrived.

After pondering briefly, Robert provided a figure: “If we leave the basic operating capital for all the companies, we should have around $30 million available right now. By the end of this month, we will have another $8 million coming in, although it will need to be laundered!”

Following the promotional battles in the retail industry, everyone was speculating about the depths of Donnie’s cash reserves, and now Robert was giving an exact answer!

This was not only the cash reserve for the private liquor domain but also included the Surf Hotel, ABC, Starry Entertainment, Pandora Oil, and other companies’ reserves.

“Over $30 million—that should be enough!” Donnie contemplated for a moment before asking Robert: “If I mobilize these funds now, will it have any impact on the operation of the companies?”

Having learned from experiences such as Sinclair Oil’s short-selling war, ABC’s stock price defense battle, and the promotions war in retail, Donnie highly valued the status of his cash reserves. He would rather see a pause in the development of certain industries than deplete his war chest.

Robert mused: “There will certainly be an impact. The most important is the matter of the Baku Oil Field. The struggle for it has entered a new phase, and I believe that within one or two months, this battle will conclude. If our company secures the rights to the Baku Oil Field, it will mean significant expenditures. Not only will we have to build a large oil field in Baku, but we will also need to acquire more equipment. Moreover, due to Shell’s involvement in this conflict, if Shell fails, we cannot be certain whether they will allow us the use of their oil pipelines in Europe. If not, we will have to find ways to deal with this issue.

Furthermore, although other companies will retain some operating capital, it’s only to cover daily operations; if a significant event occurs, they might face a cash shortage.

Of course, the Surf Hotel and the private liquor business are very stable right now. If we can hold out for three months, then the funds should largely recover!”

Only then did Donnie feel relieved. As long as nothing major happened in the next two months, it would be fine!

“I’ve discussed it with Helen before; we’re planning to build a large shipyard in Cape May. First, to alleviate our current maritime shipping pressure. Second, I predict that naval warfare will become mainstream in the world’s future, and naval armament is the best proof of that. Also, maritime shipping will become a significant means of international transport in the future. Third, our current influence is still lacking. If we can build a large shipyard in Cape May, it will help us secure a firmer foothold throughout New Jersey.