New Gods of North America.

Chapter 728 "The Sheriff"

After noon, the invited gang leaders arrived one after another.

Gangs, regardless of their actual strength, usually put a lot of effort into making a grand entrance.
At this time, the cannery construction site had no shortage of open space, but the big boss still liked to bring his entourage. Some brought as few as one cartload of people, while others brought three or four cartloads, and they managed to create an L-shaped "moving wall" by parking horse-drawn carriages next to the venue.

The only two directions that could have escaped were the road they came in from and the river; otherwise, the river would probably have surrounded the entire venue.
Even the Rabbit Gang and Tuto Gang, who had sent their henchmen in advance to help set up the venue, no longer seemed out of place in terms of the number of people they had.

Although the gang meeting was set up like a picnic, the area around the venue was mostly empty, with the main structures consisting of tables laden with food.

However, gangsters often have an inherent "hierarchy" attribute. At this time, even though there are many people in the venue, it is easier to tell the difference in status at a glance.

For example, those guarding the perimeter of the venue or the carriages right now are almost all gang henchmen.

Those who move freely or actively socialize within the venue are the gang's "strategists" or "leaders".
As for those who find a seat at the main table to strike a pose, act profound, or are followed closely by one or two bodyguards, they are basically the legitimate leaders of the gang.

Mr. Paul of the Rabbit Gang initially acted alone, but after seeing that other gang leaders all had this setup, two bodyguards quickly followed closely behind him.

As the organizer, Wayne had his own people on staff, so he didn't need to follow along. Instead, he felt that having a bunch of gang leaders inside the venue while a large group of gang henchmen stood guard on the outside made the scene look a bit like an audience watching a clown performance in a circus...

Once everyone had arrived and it was almost time, Wayne took his seat at the head of the table, raised his glass, and began the toast.
At first, there were some pleasantries and small talk, thanking everyone for being invited and saying how nice the weather was. Then we sat down to eat and chat, gradually steer the conversation toward encouraging workers in various industries and docks to organize unions.

Just as Mr. Paul had guessed, someone immediately protested: "Mr. Wayne, we have no objection to the city hall wanting to collect taxes. But organizing the workers in everyone's territory, is this encouraging them to fight against gangs? Like those rioters in the Elland community?"

The speaker wasn't the "big boss" at the main table, but rather a "leader" sitting at a nearby table. As for their Michelson Brotherhood leader himself, he didn't seem to be making any comment at the moment.
As a "representative of the mob" in the Erlan community, the guide Seren was exceptionally invited today. He had originally chosen a corner table seat and pretended to be focused on eating. After being called out and having several pairs of eyes focused on him, he looked back somewhat awkwardly in silence.

"This is to make the entire dock area 'more civilized'."

Wayne wasn't incapable of spouting platitudes. "The gangs' advantage lies in their greater unity and organization compared to the laborers, as well as their friendships with the local gentlemen. With these advantages, even if the gangs completely abandon some violent methods, they can still continue to seek development in the dock area—and may even thrive."

"As for the territorial issue that some people are worried about, our detective agency's position remains consistent. Apart from doing business, we do not occupy any territory ourselves, nor do we get involved in conflicts that are limited to gang members."

“Even within the communities of the Erlan people, our detective agency does not have the same desire for monopoly as the Erlan gangs. If you all wish to join us now, our detective agency will not obstruct you as it did when Mr. O'Sullivan was in charge—but whether the community welcomes you is their own choice, and any violence or coercion against ordinary people will also be dealt with.”

These words sparked a lot of whispers.
According to the intelligence team's recent investigation, many gangs actually believed that after the detective agency effectively expelled Mr. O'Sullivan, they would take over the territory previously occupied by the Irish gangs, and then reorganize or absorb some of their original gang members, just like the suggestion that the Secretary of State's secretary brought to Wayne. Wayne's speech today wasn't prepared in advance, but because he had gathered information on the prevailing opinions in the dock area beforehand, he would definitely highlight certain points.
Weren't you all eyeing the territory of the Erlan thugs? Now it's completely open.

However, if it's impossible to commit crimes inside, or if it's forbidden to force others to pay "head tax" or "income tax," Wayne doesn't know what the point is for some gangs to fight for territory there.

"Mr. Wayne, are you serious?" someone asked incredulously.

“Yes.” Wayne nodded. “Our detective agency is in business. The place you are in right now is the cannery we are building. The expected market for these products is not even in Richmond or Virginia, but on the west coast on the other side of the continent. Therefore, we have no need for land in the dock area. We just hope that the order here can be stable and not delay our production and business.”

“But your ‘red armband’ agents have been doing too much lately.” Some people were still unsure whether what Wayne said was true.

Wayne shrugged, not giving a direct answer: "Everyone here is a de facto controller of the dockside gangs, and you should all have some 'powerful friends' in Richmond or the state. You're all free to ask them. Making the dockside civilized isn't just our detective agency's idea."

"Otherwise, why has our detective agency been assigning so many people to maintain order at night? Is it because we have nothing else to do at night?"

While the gangsters had their opinions on some of the detective agency's practices, most of them believed that what the agency was doing was not beneficial and was more like an "investment" before entering the fray to fight for territory.
However, some of their arguments only began to gain real credibility after the detective agency actually made Mr. O'Sullivan disappear temporarily and still claimed they would open up the territory of the Erlan gang.

Like that "Little Tuto" from the Tuto gang, who guessed that the detective agency's recent efforts without any benefit were due to yielding to the will of some "higher-ups," such as some local powerful families.

Furthermore, most of the gangsters in the dock area are now well aware of the detective agency's capabilities. Even the detective agency has to work for free according to certain people's instructions. So whether they have the right to stand up and defy is a question worth considering.

At the head of the table, one of the leaders formally spoke up: "Mr. Wayne, what specific details does the 'guild' you mentioned include, and what specific impacts will it have?"

This was a good direction, and Wayne then took the opportunity to ask and answer questions, explaining in detail his plans, which he had discussed several times with mob bosses like Mr. Paul or local ordinary people like guide Cielen.

In short, it's the same old story: gangs are prohibited from committing crimes, or at least their criminal activities shouldn't be discovered, but they can continue to expand their influence through connections.
Compared to the previous state of the dock area being a "lawless land with no one to manage it," it is now in a sense beginning to enter a "western state"—there are laws, but they may not be able to manage everything, nor can they manage other people's territory.

Wayne felt he was more suited to this model, if only those workers could organize themselves, form small unions, and become "townspeople" with a voice.
Then the detective agency could try running for "sheriff".

(End of this chapter)