New Gods of North America.

Chapter 750 Skinning
Some facts are so obvious that they are sometimes easily overlooked.
For example, Wayne started to have some ideas sprout as he followed the capitalists' "catering to their preferences" approach.

—Oh right, this place is "America".

There are many ways to "learn from the barbarians' superior techniques to control them".

Wayne's original plan was to use the detective agency to suppress the gangs with force on one hand, and to organize laborers by establishing various unions on the other. This was a two-pronged approach to gradually and legitimately erode the foundation of the dock area's gangs.
But last night at the banquet, the Secretary of State's father, Andrew Pryor, gave a hint about the union issue. Although he didn't say anything harsh at the time, it showed that this approach couldn't escape the eyes of the old foxes.

When dealing with people in high society, it's always better to be cautious in some matters.

They may seem amiable, but when it comes to actually killing someone, they show no mercy – in a sense, it's the so-called "sharing a cup of wine with you, but showing no mercy with a blade."

Like a certain banker, Mr. Schwartz, who may soon become the latest negative example.

If the detective agency monopolizes the "sheriff" niche in the dock area, the potential risk becomes that it needs to be wary of others "replacing" the entire agency, or at least worrying about being "dismissed gracefully."

So, in the American style, the best way to prevent that kind of situation is to "stick together."

With each other intertwined, people will feel they have everything under control and will think it's better to avoid trouble, thus making it unnecessary to specifically target the detective agency.

Therefore, the title of "King of the Dock District" is not untenable, but it needs to be further complicated.

This way, the detective agency would have an extra layer of protection to act as a scapegoat, and the local gentlemen would feel that they were ultimately the "electors" of the dock area.

However, there are mature solutions in modern society that can be used to integrate all these messy ideas.

"The Dockworkers' Charity Association? Wayne, what are you planning to do by registering with this?"

According to the law, the office of the Secretary of State is responsible for reviewing and approving the establishment of associations within a state.

So after Wayne made grand promises to people at the cannery, he didn't even go to the restaurant; instead, he went straight to see the Secretary of State.

Having met each other beforehand at the banquet, it's relatively easier to talk to each other afterwards.
Wayne immediately brought up the man's father: "After receiving a reminder from Mr. Andrew last night, I think it's necessary to prepare some precautions in advance to ensure the stable operation of the dock area. It's not appropriate for our detective agency to handle these matters directly; it's more suitable to let the charitable organization take the lead."

"My father's reminder?"

The Secretary of State pondered for a moment, then quickly nodded, rang the bell on his desk, and summoned a secretary to the door to give his approval in person: "I approve Mr. Wayne's application. Have someone process it as soon as possible."

An official office is not a large family's manor, so many things are not convenient to discuss in detail.

But the Secretary of State knew that Wayne had been sitting by the poker table as a background figure all night—in fact, he had been called over to keep him company for a while, standing like a junior like Wayne, acting as a straight man—so whatever he might have thought of, there seemed to be no reason to object at this point.

In fact, he put on a rather high-sounding act: "The dock area is one of the core areas of Richmond's business operations, and it is indeed necessary to ensure that those gangs do not cause trouble during this period. Wayne, you have thought things through very carefully."

The advantage of using the name of "charity" lies here: in theory, participation is voluntary, and outsiders cannot easily interfere.
Moreover, it doesn't sound "exclusive," which is equivalent to leaving an opening for everyone in advance. When those gentlemen want to get involved, they will appear more dignified. Americans usually prefer this approach.

Wayne humbly replied, "It's just that I have a workshop under construction in the dock area recently, so I don't want my business with the Fisker family to be unexpectedly affected. Besides, philanthropy has always been a matter of concern for many gentlemen."

“I hope you can keep an eye on the gangs in the dock area. With you in charge, the Ellan community should be doing much better than before,” the Secretary of State said, seemingly implying something. Wayne, however, was reluctant to engage with this: “I’m mainly doing this for my own business. There are too many issues involved in the dock area; as long as it doesn’t affect public order, let them develop freely.”

In fact, the Erlan yakuza quieted down far too quickly; they didn't seem like a disorganized mess after losing their leader.
Wayne guessed that some of the gang members were still secretly reassured, but had temporarily gone into hiding.

It's estimated that whoever takes over will essentially be sidelined.
Wayne would rather not have subordinates who accept "instructions from both sides" than choose someone else to work with.

The Secretary of State didn't seem offended: "That's true. The Auster family's businesses are mainly concentrated in New York State, so there's really no need for you to invest too much in the dock area. It's quite suitable for simply accumulating governance experience, which will be a good resume whether you go into business or politics later."

Wayne nodded in agreement, and the Secretary of State, perhaps sensing Wayne's positive attitude, offered a few words of advice:

"If they sense a cash flow shortage, some bankers might choose to collect debts. There are quite a few small vendors speculating in the dock area, and they might be affected as a result, which could also lead to security incidents. Keeping a close eye on the relevant personnel can probably prevent some chaos from occurring. If word gets out later, it can be considered a success of your detective agency."

grass,
Knowing all this, you still messed things up. It seems like this whole thing was started by your family, right?

Having said all that, Wayne listened attentively to the other party's advice and then made a gesture to take his leave: "Thank you for your approval and reminder."

The Secretary of State stood up from behind his desk to shake hands, saying the same platitudes: "Thank you for your concern and contributions to city governance."

Once outside the Secretary of State's office, the subsequent procedures were much simpler. Wayne didn't even need to run around looking for people to help him with the paperwork; he could just wait for the clerk to handle it for him.
While waiting, Wayne also inadvertently saw Sheriff William from the local police station.

Wayne wouldn't be surprised if this guy was someone's informant; while the detective agency was busy in the docks area lately, he spent all his time at the temporary outpost.

On one hand, Wayne wanted to use his position as sheriff to add some legitimacy to the detective agency's operations. On the other hand, he didn't want the detective agency to become like a gangster, so he felt that sometimes having outsiders help keep an eye on things wasn't a bad thing, at least it could remind everyone to be self-disciplined.

However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. If you're constantly being watched without any way to retaliate, you're in a very passive position.

So when the clerk returned with the completed approval documents, Wayne then asked a new question: "Can I apply to register another charity?"

The clerk, clearly having received some prior instructions, appeared both surprised and quite agreeable: "That's possible... but which new association do you want to apply to?"

What do you think of the name 'Police Relatives Charitable Association'?

“That sounds good. But if it involves the city police, it might be more appropriate to have the Richmond police department apply for it.”

That's easy.
The police chief is acquainted with the mayor of Richmond and the Beaton family; Wayne can ask them to send someone over.

It wouldn't be appropriate for the detective agency to treat a character like Sheriff William, who acts as an informant for others, the same way they would deal with criminals.

However, there is a suitable way to deal with locals—don't you care about your local connections? Then use "connections" to deal with "connections".

From this perspective, Mr. Schwartz, the banker, seems to be quite a good person.
It feels like his "death" was more useful to many people than when he was "alive."

(End of this chapter)