Hunter and Hunter (Please Vote and Follow)

"Current law simply has no concept of 'insider trading,' so corporate executives do not need to disclose or report their trades in their own company's stock, nor are there any restrictions. As long as they do not publicly lie during the transaction, it is legal."

"As for 'using bank funds for personal investments,' bank executives can borrow from the banks they manage as long as they pay interest and do not explicitly violate the loan agreement. There is room to maneuver; the law does not say, 'You cannot use your own bank.'"

Feilan paused. "So Albert was right. Everything he did may be contemptible, but it was indeed within the framework of current law."

The conference room fell silent.

Even professionals like William and Ballantine offered no rebuttal, so Roosevelt knew Feilan was telling the truth.

It was about thirty seconds before he spoke. "William, go on and continue working on the bill."

"Yes, Mr. President."

The conference room door closed after William, Ballantine, and the others left.

"Going by what you just said, Albert probably isn't the only one on Wall Street playing this game, is he?"

"That's right, Uncle Franklin. Albert isn't the only one. In fact, all of Wall Street, all capital, is playing it this way."

Only in private did Feilan use the words "Uncle Franklin."

Feilan continued, "Take Charles Mitchell, president of National City Bank, who was sitting here just now. In 1929, his personal income was 1.2 million dollars. But do you know how much tax he paid?"

"How much?"

"Not a penny."

Roosevelt's gaze sharpened. "How did he manage that?"

"Very simply. He 'sold' the National City Bank stock he held to his own wife at a price far below market value, then bought it back. One trip around the circle, and the tax vanished completely. It was entirely legal; no one could say a word."

"The president of New York Trust Company had an even cleverer method. He donated the stock in his name to a charitable foundation he controlled, valued it at the highest price for a tax deduction, then had the foundation lend the stock to his friends. His friends sold it and split the profits with him. After one round, he made more than if he had sold it directly—and did not pay a cent in taxes."

Feilan raised his head and looked at Roosevelt. "They've been playing this game since Jack Morgan's father's generation, for decades now. They call it 'smart wealth management,' but I personally call it—legal robbery."

"Legal robbery!"

Roosevelt's gaze turned razor-sharp.

He knew the capitalists were inseparable from the country's current state.

But he had never looked deeply enough to realize that this group's methods could be this filthy.

"Beyond that, the Morgan Family has a list in its hands. They call it the 'Priority List.'"

"The Priority List?"

"The Morgan Family has a habit. Whenever one of their companies issues new shares, they set aside a portion to sell at prices far below market value to certain people."

"What kind of people?"

"Political figures, regulatory officials, media tycoons, influential scholars... As long as you are valuable to the Morgan Family, you may appear on that list. You do not need to pay for the shares, or even show up in person. Someone will handle everything for you. All you need to do is make decisions favorable to Morgan at critical moments."

"Who exactly is on the list?"

"As far as I know, former President Coolidge, former Secretary of War Baker, Democratic Party National Committee Chairman Raskob... and..."

At the end, Feilan hesitated.

"And William, right?"

Feilan nodded.

Roosevelt was neither angry nor surprised.

William had come from that circle to begin with.

That was why he had sent them away earlier—to avoid making William awkward when these matters came up.

"Uncle Franklin, in this country, as long as you have value, it is impossible to completely escape capital's invisible hand. It is perfectly normal for William to have some entanglements of interest with Wall Street. What matters is that I believe he can make the right decision at a critical moment."

In the original history, William had poured his heart and soul into Roosevelt's New Deal.

The intense workload forced him to resign in December 1933, and he died the following year.

"I know. I trust him."

Roosevelt paused, his gaze becoming sharp again. "But this cannot continue. Even if the Emergency Banking Act passes, even if the banks reopen, this system of theirs will keep leaving the country riddled with holes."

Feilan nodded. "Yes, but capital is not one or two people—it is a massive group. Tug one hair and the whole body moves. If we want to move against them, we cannot make a clean cut or play all our cards at once."

"The first thing we must do is keep the banks alive and let the people see hope."

"Then, as the process continues, we slowly tighten the rope. Add one regulation today, one disclosure requirement tomorrow, one restriction the day after... Let them slowly grow accustomed to it, slowly adapt. By the time they realize what is happening..."

Feilan smiled faintly. "The rope will already have tightened."

Roosevelt stared at Feilan.

Those blue eyes held an indescribably complicated emotion.

It was not approval, nor was it surprise. It was something deeper.

Like the... recognition only a hunter felt when looking at another hunter.

Then he abruptly changed the subject. "What I want to know is this: the methods Chase Bank and Charles Mitchell used to evade taxes, the Priority List—these are all Wall Street's core secrets. Some of them, even William knows nothing about. How did you find out?"

"Uncle Franklin, have you heard of Sherlock Holmes?"

Feilan knew this question would come sooner or later. He had prepared an answer long ago.

"That detective from Conan Doyle's novels?"

"Yes. Holmes's greatest weapons are observation, deduction, and verification. For example, when someone walks into a room, you see mud on his trouser cuffs and know it is raining outside. You see the pattern of wear on his shoe soles and know which road he came from. You see the calluses on his fingers and know his profession."

"The financial market is the same. Daily trading data, the flow of funds, interbank lending rates, abnormal stock fluctuations—so long as you observe carefully, connect each day's data, and mark every anomaly, you can see certain things."

"As long as you are willing to spend the time tracking and piecing things together, and add a few special methods, you can always find the answer you want."

Roosevelt remained silent for a long time.

Then he smiled.

That smile held more than relief. It also carried an almost wistful appreciation.