The Lever | Page 5

thinking of her remarks upon this subject earlier in the afternoon.
"True"--Gorham smiled at her earnestness--"great poets are inspired, but rarely, if ever, do they apply those inspirations to practical purposes. That is why they so seldom enter business, and still more rarely succeed if they do."
His face sobered as the idea took firmer possession of him.
"I differ from the poet only in that I make use of my imaginative ideas in solving the great business problems of the present and the future instead of in forming rhymes and metres. To do this I must command unlimited resources; but what does money mean except the opportunity to gratify ideals? With this I can force my imagination to produce utilitarian results."
This would have been Robert Gorham's exposition of his conception of the Archimedes lever, as opposed to that which Allen Sanford had heard his father give. To Gorham the power of the lever depended upon the strength of the imaginative ideals, and the "cold, hard cash" was simply the necessary fulcrum upon which the lever rested.

II
"The proposition is too gigantic for me even to comprehend."
The Hon. Mr. Kenmore, member of the United States Senate, laid down the bulky prospectus of the "Consolidated Companies," and looked up into his caller's genial face.
Gorham flicked the ash from his cigar and smiled good-naturedly. "That is, perhaps, a natural statement, Mr. Kenmore," he replied, deliberately. "I am not surprised that you find it difficult to comprehend the vast possibilities of our enterprise; yet its success, already established, must convince you that no good argument can be advanced against its practicability."
"But see what it contemplates!" The Senator again took the prospectus in his hand and opened the pages. "You propose to control the building and the manufacturing of the world," he continued, reading aloud from the prospectus, "and all the allied trades, to construct and deal in all kinds of machinery, to carry on any other kinds of businesses, to acquire patents and concessions, to erect and maintain gas and electric works, to enter into any arrangement with any government, to promote companies, to lend money--"
"It is summed up in that last clause," Gorham interrupted, quietly; "'to do all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects.' You see, I know the articles by heart. May I ask you to glance over the names of the present stockholders?"
Gorham handed a leather-covered record-book to his companion and then walked to the window, where he quietly smoked his cigar, looking out on the broad avenue while the Senator scanned the names written in the small volume. He appeared indifferent to the smothered exclamations which escaped involuntarily from Kenmore's lips as the latter's eye passed on from page to page, and for the time being he seemed more deeply interested in the people passing below on the street. His calmness was in striking contrast to the Senator's growing excitement.
"By George!" Kenmore exclaimed at length, rising and advancing toward the window. "This list of names is even more extraordinary than your stupendous plans."
"Does not each one explain the other?" asked Gorham.
"But how did you ever persuade such men as these to lend themselves to any enterprise--no matter how attractive? Why, there is hardly an omission--the leaders of the world in finance, politics, diplomacy, literature, art, and science."
"There are many omissions, as you would discover if you examined the list more carefully," Gorham answered; "not the least of which is the name of the Hon. Mr. Kenmore!"
"I know, I know," the Senator replied, impatiently; "but how did you get them?"
Gorham looked at his questioner attentively for a moment before he answered. "The proposition itself appeals to that human instinct which is more or less developed in us all--self-interest--"
"But that, my dear sir, is nothing more or less than--"
Gorham held up a protesting hand. "Let me save you from using so ugly a word as you have in mind, Senator. You are fully justified in having this thought suggest itself to you--such is the business code of morals of to-day. Yet I consider myself an idealist, and the whole plan on which the Consolidated Companies is based a moral one. I must have succeeded in convincing these men, whose characters are admittedly above reproach, or they could not have been persuaded to become associated with our corporation."
"Idealism, monopoly, and self-interest seem ill-mated partners, Mr. Gorham."
"Must monopoly and self-interest always be translated into selfishness and oppression?"
"As far as I have observed they always have been," Kenmore asserted.
"Perhaps so; but must they necessarily be so exercised? Is it not possible to control these human instincts to the extent of producing beneficent results?"
The Senator considered. "I cannot conceive it to be even within the bounds of possibility."
"Then, unless I can convince you to the contrary, I shall cheerfully withdraw