Английский язык с Крестным Отцом

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Tattaglia in their war against the Corleone. And he had scored a telling point. Their lives

and their fortunes depended upon their doing each other services, the denial of a favor

asked by a friend was an act of aggression. Favors were not asked lightly and so could

not be lightly refused.

Don Corleone finally spoke to answer. "My friends," he said, "I didn't refuse out of

spite (назло, со злобы, с досады). You all know me. When have I ever refused an

accommodation (согласование, соглашение, компромисс)? That's simply not in my

nature. But I had to refuse this time. Why? Because I think this drug business will

destroy us in the years to come. There is too much strong feeling about such traffic in

this country. It's not like whiskey or gambling or even women which most people want

and is forbidden them by the pezzonovante of the church and the government. But

drugs are dangerous for everyone connected with them. It could jeopardize

(подвергнуть риску) all other business. And let me say I'm flattered by the belief that I

am so powerful with the judges and law officials, I wish it were true. I do have some

influence but many of the people who respect my counsel might lose this respect if

drugs become involved in our relationship. They are afraid to be involved in such

business and they have strong feelings about it. Even policemen who help us in

gambling and other things would refuse to help us in drugs. So to ask me to perform a

service in these matters is to ask me to do a disservice to myself. But I'm willing to do

even that if all of you think it proper in order to adjust other matters."

When Don Corleone had finished speaking the room became much more relaxed with

more whisperings and cross talk. He had conceded (to concede – уступать; допускать

/возможность, правильность чего-либо/ [kn'si:d]) the important point. He would offer

his protection to any organized business venture in drugs. He was, in effect, agreeing

almost entirely to Sollozzo's original proposal if that proposal was endorsed (to endorse

[in’do:s] – расписываться на обороте документа; подтверждать, одобрять) by the

national group gathered here. It was understood that he would never participate in the

operational phase, nor would he invest his money. He would merely use his protective

influence with the legal apparatus. But this was a formidable concession.

The Don of Los Angeles, Frank Falcone, spoke to answer. "There's no way of

stopping our people from going into that business. They go in on their own and they get

in trouble. There's too much money in it to resist. So it's more dangerous if we don't go

in. At least if we control it we can cover it better, organize it better, make sure it causes

less trouble. Being in it is not so bad, there has to be control, there has to be protection,

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there has to be organization, we can't have everybody running around doing just what

they please like a bunch of anarchists."

The Don of Detroit, more friendly to Corleone than any of the others, also now spoke

against his friend's position, in the interest of reasonableness. "I don't believe in drugs,"

he said. "For years I paid my people extra so they wouldn't do that kind of business. But

it didn't matter, it didn't help. Somebody comes to them and says, 'I have powders, if

you put up the three-, four-thousand-dollar investment we can make fifty thousand

distributing.' Who can resist such a profit? And they are so busy with their little side

business they neglect the work I pay them to do. There's more money in drugs. It's

getting bigger all the time. There's no way to stop it so we have to control the business

and keep it respectable. I don't want any of it near schools, I don't want any of it sold to

children. That is an infamita. In my city I would try to keep the traffic in the dark people,

the colored. They are the best customers, the least troublesome and they are animals

anyway. They have no respect for their wives or their families or for themselves. Let

them lose their souls with drugs. But something has to be done, we just can't let people

do as they please and make trouble for everyone."

This speech of the Detroit Don was received with loud murmurs of approval. He had

hit the nail on the head. You couldn't even pay people to stay out of the drug traffic. As

for his remarks about children, that was his well-known sensibility, his

tenderheartedness speaking. After all, who would sell drugs to children? Where would

children get the money? As for his remarks about the coloreds, that was not even heard.

The Negroes were considered of absolutely no account, of no force whatsoever. That

they had allowed society to grind them into the dust proved them of no account and his

mentioning them in any way proved that the Don of Detroit had a mind that always

wavered (to waver – колебаться, колыхаться, развеваться) toward irrelevancies

(irrelevance – неуместность [i'relivns]).

All the Dons spoke. All of them deplored the traffic in drugs as a bad thing that would

cause trouble but agreed there was no way to control it. There was, simply, too much

money to be made in the business, therefore it followed that there would be men who

would dare anything to dabble (плескаться, барахтаться; заниматься чем-либо

поверхностно) in it. That was human nature.

It was finally agreed. Drug traffic would be permitted and Don Corleone must give it