Who is Alexander Hamilton McCone from Jailbird and what is their importance?

Alexander Hamilton McCone is Starbuck's conservative, capitalist mentor. He is named after one of the founding fathers of the United States (Alexander Hamilton was a financier rather than a politician, but he nevertheless played a key role in developing and defining America's economic foundations). The prologue describes how he (McCone) was traumatized by a violent incident involving his industrialist family and a violent, tragic, fatal labor dispute, to the point that he developed a completely debilitating stammer.