American Marconi was “doomed” if it tried to go it alone after the war and that GE “offered the only means of salvation.” In June 1919, Young’s representative and Nally set sail for London to try to persuade the executives at British Marconi to sell their stake in American Marconi to GE. It was an arduous negotiation. And was all about who would begin to control the post–World War I world: the British or the Americans. The spoils were nothing less than the ability to communicate instantly across borders.
