I s e n d y ou w i t h m y c o m p l i m e n t s t h i s l i t t l e s t o r y
o f T h e S e c r e t o f S o l o m on
wh i ch m a y am u s e y ou f o r a
f e w m inu t e s an d p e rh a p s — a s a m us e m e n t o f t e n d o e s
d i s c ov e r i n y ou r m i n d s o m e t h i n g w h i ch y ou ha d n o t
obs e r v e d t h e r e b e f o r e
!
!
,
,
.
Th
at
a t an y r a t e i s w h a t i t d i d f o r m e Wh e n I
t oo k m y p e n t o i t I ha d bu t a va g u e n o t i on o f w h a t
was c o m in g Bu t a s I w r o t e on I b e c am e i n t e r e s t e d
i de as t o o k sha p e an d g a in e d subs t an c e ; a s o r t o f p l o t
de v e l o p e d i t s e l f ; t h e T h i n g s o m e how g o t a b e g inn i n g a
— an d h e r e i t i s !
m i ddl e an d an e n d
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
A ma n
wh o s e l l s m u f f in s f o r a l i v i n g an d s e l l s
th e m wi t h hi s wh o l e h e a r t f i n d s h i s bus i n e s s t o b e
an o r g an i c p a r t o f a l l B us i n e s s an d o f t h e g e n e r a l
s ch e m e o f t h e Un i v e r s e H i s t o r y an d ! h i l o s o p h y t u r n
ou t t o b e i t s e l de r s i s t e r s I t i s t h e e x p r e s s i on o f
on e s i d e o f H u m an N a t u r e — t h e m uf f i n s i de
I t has
i t s l i t t l e r o m an c e r e l a t e d t o t h e g r e a t R o m an c e o f
mortal l i f e
An d t h e m o r e t h e m a n t h in k s o f i t i n t h i s
wa y t h e g r e a t e r r e s p e c t wi l l h e f e e l f o r i t t h e m o r e
t h o r ou g h l y wi l l h e un de r s t an d i t
an d t h e b e t t e r
M o r e ov e r
i t wi l l a m us e
(c on s e ! u e n t l y ! w i l l h e d o i t
h im t o r e f l e c t t h a t
a f t e r a l l t h e wh o l e o f M an k i n d
d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y — s e l l s m u f f i n s f o r a l i v in g !
.
,
,
.
.
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
e mb e r s o f
the
c o r p o r a t i on o f M an k in d
Un l i m i t e d
y ou an d I m a y th e r e f o r e p r o f i t b y t h e S e c r e t
o f S o l o m on An d i f y ou l i k e t h e s t o r y I s h a l l b e g l a d
I wr o t e i t
As
m
,
,
.
,
.
Me
anwh i l e I o f f e r y ou a s su r an c e o f
an d I a m
g u i s h e d c on s i de r a t i on
,
my
,
! e ry
t r u l y y ou
di s t i n
TH E S E C R E T O F SO LO M O N
BY JUL IAN H AW T H O R N E
1.
H O W WI S E S O LOM O N W AS
O f a ll s on s o f men King S o l omon was w i s e st ;
m y au d ience ha s heard that b e fore ; but I hav e a
re ason fo r reminding th e m of i t n ow
I n hi s B ook o f Proverbs i s abun d an t p roo f of
the fact —of al l hum an b oo k s it i s t he most sagacious
an d cons e rvative
and the sanest
No n e be fore o r
s in c e ha s known men an d th e world a s S ol omon knew
them thei r frailtie s and follies
S p reading far and wide the fame o f S olomon
r e ached B ak r is Q ueen o f S heba he rsel f wise wealth y
and beauti ful
B ut she had doubts conce r ning th e
w i sdom o f S o l omon and in ord e r to determine t h e
matt e r sh e j ou rneyed from S outhern Arabia to Jer u
salem carrying with he r a selection o f the most
d iffi cul t riddle s i n the world whe rew i th to t e st h i s
sa ga city
T he Q ue en wa s most hospi tably rece ived by the
Great King who solve d al l he r riddles wi th out so muc h
Whereupon she
a s clea ri ng h is throat to gain time
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
C op yr ighted
1 9 09 ,
by
Julian H a wt hor n e
.
e{p r esentg flan d the con f e ss i on n o
ma deihitnhandsom
le s s ha ndsome th at she foun d him ye t wis e r than ha d
been reported
5 0 they be cam e friends ; and the
gossip o f that day declares that from thi s Un ion o f
B ea uty and Wisdom the Ethiopi an race is de sc e n de d
the Ethiopians about W hom we had imagined we
k n e w something !
B ut d o not let this distract y our minds from t he
wisdom o f S olomon
A man me r e ly learne d may
nev e rtheless be a fool ; b u t a wise man neve r N or
was S olomon s wisdom i n dang e r of d eg e nera t i n g int o
the dogmatism of senility ; for h e came to the t hron e
in his t eens an d rei gne d forty y ea rs — wh i ch i s one
more nai l in the c ofl
in o f D r O sler s r e pu t ation
Moreove r Solomon built the Tem p le th e m ost
w on d e rful an d costly buil d ing in the wor ld
-
'
,
,
.
,
,
-
,
.
,
.
!
!
,
,
!
.
.
,
,
.
HOW WEALTHY H E W A S
Wh e re d id S olomon get the money to build th e
T em ple !
That brings us to hi s second claim to distinctio n
N ot o nl y was h e the wisest he was also the rich
est man ih the worl d
How rich wa s he !
T her e is in circulation today a good d ea l more of
the p reciou s metals than in th e time o f King Solomon ;
nevertheless w e have it on S cri p tura l authority tha t
his rev e nues in a single year w e re S ix Hun d red an d
S ixty S ix Talents of gold
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
What would that m ean i n U nited S tate s money !
I f— a s s e ems p robable — a Hebrew ta lent of gol d
be worth about
then the King s income
would be
And i f int erest on ca p ita l
were
that would make him wo rt h something like
Three Hundre d and Thi rty M illion Dollars
Re m embe r too that the purchasing powe r o f a
dollar a thousand years ago was probably near a
hundred tim e s what i t i s in our e ra
S o we are j u stified in saying that S olomon was
the ri ch e st o f mankind
It i s likely he coul d h ave
bought out King Croe sus (who l ived some five hun
dred years late r ! and neve r have missed the money
Riche st a s wel l as wi sest o f mankind ; and he
built the Temple H e wa s an all round man— about
the biggest we know o f
!
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
-
.
.
WHE RE DID H E GET IT !
So
far it has been plain sailing B ut now we
come to the thi r d point ; the answer to which will
repay conside ration
Where di d he get it !
D id he make i t in the Wal l Stree t o f Jerusale m !
No ! in those days there were no stock s o r stock
m arkets
For a like reason he wa s President o f no bank
ing or insurance co m panies
Nor did he like our Morses Edisons Marconis
and Bel ls p atent an invention
.
,
.
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
Neithe r di d he corne r wheat or exp loit a steel or
a ny other trust
A nd— thou g h cre d i ted with occu lt powers — he
di d not a fter the fashion o f Medi aeva l alchemi sts
make gol d from base r m e tals
Where then did he get it ! I s the myste ry a s
i mpenetrable a s that which veils th e sourc e o f the
w ealth o f some o f ou r political contempo raries !
Not a t all ther e i s no myste r y about the matte r
Al l histor ian s agree that S o l omo n got hi s gold
f rom th e M ine s of Ophir
Yes he wa s a mine r — thi s Gr e at King ; hi s
w e a l th was c l ean vi rgin gold out of the groun d H e
was wise e nough to g e t it in that wa y a n d too wi se
to t ry to get it in any othe r wa y
A w onde rfu l p lac e was O p hir ; no t on ly s u pp ly
in g gold and silv e r but diam onds an d othe r p recious
p eacocks sandalwoo d ivory an d ap e s
But
st ones
of al l its p roducts gol d was the chie f — 2 4 carat gol d
r u nnin g to
th e t on
S olomo n wa s a p ione e r mi n er of O p hi r
T hat i s w he r e hi s T hre e Hundre d Milli on Dol l ars
c ame from
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
!
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
-
,
,
,
.
.
.
T HE GEO GRAPH I CAL PRO BLEM
B u t w he r e wer e or a r e the M ines of Ophir !
T h e y ar e like the Gar d en o f Ed en in tha t t e
S pe c t ; nobody reall y knows
In A rab ia say some ; others on the fur ther si de
,
,
.
,
,
India ; and my friend M r R ider H agga r d in his
fa scinating Romance o f
King S olomon s M in e s
p lace s them in Darkest Afri ca
One thing howeve r we do know about the site o f
Oph ir an d that i s that i t took King S olomon s shi p s
th re e y e ars to get there
Three yea r s—think of it !
—
And providing all went well three more to ge t
b ack again
Allowing one year fo r the digging
which without our mode rn quick action machine ry
i s not much S olomon ha d to wait seven m ortal years
f or a single shipment
That would be only about five shipments in the
f orty y e ars
They must have been big ones
A n d what appalling obstacle s !
No trains o r steamboats ; no telegr aphs or wir e
le ss ; not so much a s a post o thee
Travele rs tale s
were the sol e source o f news ; and th e s e as we re thick
with the worst sort o f pirat e s
A mine three years awa y Nowadays you migh t
a s Wel l tel l your prospective investo r that your min e
was in the M oon
Why Weston the pedestrian walking three an d
a half mile s an hour takes three months to trav e l four
thousand m ile s on rai lway tie s a nd m otor roads acros s
this continent At that rate to circumambulate the
e nti re globe would consume eighteen months
A nd e ighteen months i s only hal f the time S o l
omon need e d to reach the M ine s o f Ophi r
Now suppos e a promote r (the most el oquent on e
a l ive ! got i n touch wi th the most reck les s o f al l p os
of
,
.
,
__
!
!
!
,
.
,
,
!
,
,
.
,
.
,
-
,
,
,
.
.
.
!
-
.
.
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
,
sible investors an d sugge ste d t o h i m the development
o f a mine twic e as far away a s all round the world
a foot
Woul d a committ e e o f alienists be require d to si t
on such a case !
H e would be vote d t o a padded cell by popula r
acclamation
B ut are you able to conceive o f an investor agree
i ng to such a p roposition !
You don t have to conceive o f it for none such
exists
N ot today —nevertheless one d i d exist t hre e
thousand y e ars ago
Was he a fool or a maniac !
Not e x actly
H e was unive rsally ack now le d g ed
t o be the wis e st o f mankin d
And his name wa s—S olomon
,
.
'
.
!
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
.
.
S OLOM ON S S ECRET O F S UCC E S S
!
T he audience now sees what I am driving at
S olomon wise st o f Kings and men author of
t h e sanest an d sa fe s t o f book s was a gamble r
Com p are d with t he m in ing risk he took th e w i ld
e st r i sk s of our day are child s p lay —schoo l —
b oy s
am u s i n g themselve s with marble s on th e stre e t corne r
W ha t shal l we d o a b ou t it ! S ay tha t i t wa s th e
single folly o f a man otherwi se chief o f s ag e s !
N o ! for since t he w orl d made i ts first s u m m e r
sault in space the sol e ch il d o f folly has be e n d i saster
.
,
,
.
,
,
!
,
-
.
,
,
.
!
B u t S olomon s gamble so fa r from b reeding di sas t e r
made him a multi mi llionaire and enabled h im t o
bui ld the Temple
And no King o f our day coul d dupl icate that
line
T e m p l e even a t the cost of j oining the bread —
There i s no getting round i t Solomon made him
sel f richest o f men by a gamble An d that gamble
so far from convicting him o f folly wa s the crowning
i llustration of hi s sagacity
Evidently to profit by this le sson we must revise
some o f our fixed notions
First let us recogn ize the truth that the re are
gamblers— and ga m ble rs
One k ind o f gamble r puts hi s last gold piece on
the red and when black come s Up goe s forth and
sends a bullet through hi s head in Mont e Carlo Gar
dens
He t ru sted to brute luck ; hi s only use fo r a
brai n wa s to shoot that bullet through it He be
liev e d— no not believed for belie f implies intellect
he deluded h imself with t he notion that S ome thin g
may be got fo r Nothing i n thi s world
Prompted by greed debilitated by sel f in dul
gence narcotiz ed by ign orance he shut his eyes and
j umpe d
He ho p ed to l an d i n the M ine s o f Ophi r ; but
what happene d was that he tumbled ove r a steep
p lace into the S ea
He wa s one k i n d o f a gamb le r—the kind tha t
S olomon was N OT
Here let me call you r attenti on to somethin g
,
,
-
,
.
.
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
-
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
-
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
.
W e h ave gambling hou se s run b y so cal l e d gam
-
,
They a re frequented by men who b e t o n th e
turn o f the die always losing in the l ong and often in
the short run and p au p eriz ing themselv e s i f t he y
k ee p at it
It i s th e se men— not t he k ee pe rs o f th e e stablish
ment— who a re the real gamblers
The kee p ers o f th e e sta b lishment are not gam
bler s at all ; for so far from courtin g chan c e the y
a re sedulous to tak e no chance s
T heir dice a re loaded thei r car d s mark e d t he i r
r ou l ette whee l s obe y thei r han d T h ey a l wa y s p la y
the sure thing
Not on any gamb ling of their own but on t hei r
cus t omer s gambling do the y gro w rich They work
on a p rinciple O pposite a s the p o l es to the i r customers
And the imbecility which p rompts the latte r to
pour thei r money into the form e r s l a p s sh ould not
be blame d on the gambling house k eepe rs who merel y
a ff ord facilitie s for th e e xploita t ion of thi s imbecility
B e that a s i t may S olomo n belon g e d to n e ithe r
class
W ha t sort of a gam b le r t h e n wa s h e !
bler s
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
!
.
!
.
!
-
,
,
.
,
,
T H E S O R T O F A G A M BLER S OLOM O N W AS
When t he Great King casting about fo r mean s
t o b uild hi s Temple adopted the Ophi r M ine s sch e m e
he wa s neithe r shutting his eye s and j um p in g at
hazard no r was h e p l aying a sure thing
,
,
,
,
.
No absolutely sur e thing exists ; even a load ed
di e ma y los e
.
S olomon kn ew h e was taking a risk
The p romoters might be liars
T hat was an obvious risk
.
o r sel f d eceive d
-
,
.
.
D o y ou k now how S olomon met i t !
By hi s p rofound knowledge o f the human hear t
He te sted the integrity and j udgment o f those p ro
m oter s to the l ast fibre
a s he woul d test the ro p e
which was to swing him acros s an abyss
.
,
.
Othe r ri sks he met by hi s knowledge o f natura l
laws and o f human a ff ai rs
Was a mine likely to
exist where they sai d ! Could i t b e a s rich a s they
a sserted !
Wa s labo r for i ts worki ng available !
Would expense s outweigh p rofits ! ! ital que stions
to which his wis d om m ust find answe rs
T he Great King in short was not under the
.
.
,
-
.
,
,
delusion th at S ome th ing may be ha d for Nothing
H e wa s
.
read y to give the Q uid p r o Q ua
Against the treasure s o f Ophi r he staked the
t reasure s o f a wi s d o m not les s inestimable He knew
that to contro l the Goddess o f Chance he must bring
to the struggle intelligence prudence and persistence
such a s to equal iz e the odds
H e di d not shut hi s
eyes but O pened them to the ir wi d est
Yet a fte r all precautions and calculations be
sure that S olo m on knew hi s ri sk and that eve n h is
wisdom had its limits Yes Ophi r wa s a risk ; but a
risk worthy a King s taking ; and S olomon wa s King
an d man and gamble r enough to take it
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
!
.
I f he lost th e Tem p le coul d never b e built and
his reign woul d b e a failure
B ut with hi s wits about him with all hi s r e
source s a t command he accepted the chal le nge o f
de stiny— and he won
T hat was the sort o f gamble r S olomon was
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
O T HER GAM B LERS
That wa s the S ecret of S olomon ; he was a
gambler
And with out that element in his nat u re never
fo r all hi s wisdom would he have accomplished th e
mighty works by which we know him and f or which
w e honor him
Nor was i t a blot on his cha racte r ; it was one
o f his noble st endowments
I will say more — every man whos e acts have
advanced c ivilization c r eate d n ew e ras in hi s t ory
conferred signa l b e nefits on mankind —al l men o f
that stamp hav e b e en such gamble rs a s was S o l omon
Alexan d er the Great— what a titanic gamble r
was he ! What enter p rise more de spe rate than the
conquest o f the world with a handfu l o f Mace d onian
s oldie rs !
B ut that marvellous Boy h a d calculate d the odds
T he greatest o f p hilosophe rs an d scientists — A ristotle
had develope d his mind ; the greates t so ld ie r be fore
himsel f— his own fathe r Phil ip— had taught him the
a rt and practic e o f wa r ; he knew wha t c l umsy ra b ble s
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
.
'
.
-
,
wer e the armies O pposed to him ; he k new the impreg
n a bil ity o f that Macedonian phalanx of his — and he
trusted to hi s ow n towe ring a m bition and genius He
wa s a succe ss ful gamble r who dese rved succes s
A nothe r o f the gi an t brotherhood— Julius Caesa r
—wa s a gambler as success ful a s and m ore reckles s
than Alexande r
Hi s debts be fore he wa s twenty
were h igh in the millions By way of getting even
with the worl d he conq ue red i t
B ut be fore that captured b y pi rates (a s ruthle ss
and la wless cutthroats a s ever fl
e w the black fl
ag!
Caesar s tanding solita ry on thei r deck actually
a ssumed command o f the ship and ordered the de s
r
e
about
like
p
odle
dogs
He
bade
them
stee
r
e
a
d
o
s
o
p
for his own home po rt p romising them a s reward a
hanging a s s oon as they got there What i s more
h e ful filled his promise down to the last
on arrival
scoundrel
In his European campaigns h is legions a l ways
conquered ; but in the eye and voice o f Caesar was
so m ething which conque re d the legi ons themselves
Finally by crossing the Rubicon he challenge d the
Powe r which had overcome all nations ; but Rome
he rsel f had to yield to Caesar the gambler who made
Chance obe y h im
Th e n that slim aquiline sallow little Corsican
student at B ri enne he too had the soul o f a n he roic
gamble r Be fore he was thirty the Continent wa s at
his me rcy
B ut; like other great gamblers whose
game is wa r Napo leon wa s at l ast destroyed by forc e s
he had h imsel f unleashed
,
.
.
.
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
-
.
-
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
-
,
,
.
.
,
.
Gamblers who like S olomon win in the l on g l ast
a re those who devot e their genius and fortune to the
cause o f p rosperity and p eace
Fo r then the l aws
o f nature and the i nt e re sts o f humanit y fight on t he i r
side
The latest famous gamble r of thi s sor t d i e d on ly
the other day
H i s name was Ceci l Rho d es
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
.
A M OD ER N WO RLD M A KE R
Le t the y oung men in thi s audience l is t en ; fo r
t hi s i s th e story o f a young man
Cec il Rhodes an Englishman gambled more fo r
Engl and s sake than hi s own
He wa s nothing a stounding to loo k a t —
a quiet
courteous young Oxford graduate delicate o f consti
tution (he went to A frica for hi s health ; ! sel f pos
sessed ob se rvant thoughtful
B ut no man in Eng
land had a soul so bi g dee p an d daring a s his A n d
he wa s a gamble r to the marrow
He neede d A frica not for hi s bodily healt h only
but for hi s min d an d imagination too
Remembe r that nothing e ls e i s mor e in disp en sa
ble to greatness m a man tha n imagination
The
be st men have always bee n men o f i magination B ut
for the imagination o f Christo p he r Columbus where
w ould we be t o day !
Engl and i s an isl and quite an i slan d too in its
w ay—but Rhode s coul d not get air e nough to b r e athe
.
,
,
!
.
,
,
,
-
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
.
.
,
-
-
The
man
chuckle d
indulgently
O pposite
D reams my boy Ge t down to the p ractic al
Rhode s said (to himsel f thi s time ! Money is m y
need Wel l I ll get it
Ki m be rly diamond mines were start i ng then Beit
and B arnato were in them
Rhode s using men in
hi s quiet way a s we use a spoon for p orridge j oined
them ; and money began to come
Fo r m oney he perso n ally care d no mo re than do
you for your last year s shoe s ; but for its aid towa rd
realizing hi s dreams he did care S o he du g diamond s
by hand ful s out o f the stiff blue clay in th e coni ca l
pits ; and b roke off cluste rs o f gold from the ree fs o f
the north til l he could count his wealth by million s
sterling and hi s credit i n countle ss millions more
Child s play— for h im— but useful
He also re co gnized the value of politica l in fl
u
ence ; at thi rty one he wa s in the Cape M inistry ; at
thirty six he wa s Prime M inister
England an d the w ol ld ha d begun to know him
now and followed hi s cou r se w ith mouths aga p e
His d r e am o f empi r e was taking form
Study
the plans he lai d and th e dee d s he di d —t hei r far
reaching wisdom an d t r emendous ene rgy
But al l at once t he B oe r War h appene d
What was a war to Cecil Rhodes
A gambler s
in c hed
r i sk He sh rugged h i s shoulde rs but never fl
or swe rved
S ummoned to Englan d to explain things he a p
r
e
e
a
d be fore a Parliamentar y Committee composed
p
of the able st m en in Englan d
.
!
.
.
,
!
,
!
!
.
,
.
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
!
.
,
.
,
!
.
-
_
-
.
,
.
.
,
.
.
,
!
-
.
,
.
,
.
Rh odes treated them a s th e head maste r treats
—
the kindergarten class kindly p atiently but with
the invincible supe riority o f hi s genius
He do m inated the m a s Pik e s Peak dominates
Colorado Springs He gave them a needed lesson in
the me aning and ethics o f gambling ; a fte r which they
bowed him h umbly out and neve r again meddle d with
-
,
,
,
.
!
.
,
him
.
The world beate r resumed his labor o f world
building
But now came a new interruption— Death
Anothe r gamble r s ri sk which Rhode s a ccepte d
with co m po sure Fo r he knew that the seed he had
sown would bring forth grain and wa s too great to
grieve that it would be reaped by others He died
a ssured that hi s work would be com p let ed H e di ed
but wi ll live a s long a s England
-
.
.
!
,
.
,
,
.
.
.
T H E COM P A NY
B ut whethe r Rhode s had lived or die d men o f
his strain a lways arise to keep up the great tradition
Always wil l there be great World builders
Le a d e rs of Civilization to carry on th e mi ssion be gun
by thei r predece ssors
Invention D i scove ry Com m erce Industry a re
The Firm o f S olomon Columbus Rh odes
immortal
and Compan y will never lack living repre sentatives
B enj amin Fran klin got the fi rst human grip on
i n 1 752
M orse s tele graph follo we d
e l ectricity
,
.
-
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
!
.
n i nety ye a rs afte r
Edison thirty seven ye a rs ago
made it p rint its me ssage s B ell in 1 876 taught his
v oice to ri d e on th e curren t with but a wire to h old
on by f or thousands o f miles ; and only the other da y
y oun g M arco n i d ro p ped the wire and carrie s on l i v
i ng conversations th rough em p ty ai r across oceans
T hese membe r s o f the Compan y hav e t rans
form ed the bus i ness w or ld an d hundreds of t housan d s
of m e n and w om e n fin d d ail y em pl o yment i n han d lin g
t he i r inv e ntions
G e orge S tephenson bui l t h is loc om ot i ve i n 1 830
M ank ind b egan runnin g t o an d fro upo n t he e arth
an d making one another s acquaintanc e
su b d uing it
I n 1 8 59 George Pullman enable d them to go to b ed
A nd a ga i n t ho u
an d s le ep at night on th eir wa y
san d s u p on thousa n d s o f idl e han d s go t wor k to do
And then appea r ed the organizers
Lincoln and Gran t sav ed t h e U n i on ; b u t the
And
R a i lroad Kings kept it al iv e afte r it w a s saved
i f t wo mi llion men ri ske d t hei r l iv e s i n th e Civi l Wa r
how many mor e have ow ed the ir l i vin g t o ra i l roa d s
si n c e th e War was fought !
! ande rbilt b e ga n t h e w on de r fu l game of ama l
i
m
a
t
n
a
g
g roads an d manag i n g t hem from a central
se a t of authority
Huntingt on and hi s riva l s o r a sso
c i a t es bestrode the continen t an d bound i t s Pacifi c
c oa st with steel
when only t h e othe r day Ha r
riman o p ene d hi s
th th e wo r l d pai d ev e n s t r i c ter
attention t han to a Pr e sidential M essage
Railroads ne ed steel
Carnegie
cann y
the
S c otch pea sant boy O pene d hi s first little fa c t ory in
-
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
,
!
.
,
.
.
.
.
,
.
t
.
!
.
,
.
.
-
,
,
1 865 ;
B esse me r perfected his p rocess five years late r ;
and with an explosion as it were st e e l rose from
the bottom to the top of the heap The sum which
the S te el Corporation s e t apart for up keep and im
r ov e m en ts
a
fte
r
ea
rn
ing
dividends
has
been
some
p
thing like
dol lars during the past eight o r
nin e years
One o f th e i r i ron ore mine s contains 400 mi llion
t ons o f the best sort o f ore
R ocke feller sta rte d ne ck and neck with Carne gi e
He found a fte r a few years that he was producing
o f the oil in this country
He put those
4 93
econom i ca l an d fa r seeing brains o f his at work and
in seven y ea rs more he was selling 9 5% o f the
total Ame rican output The Trust has a payroll o f
perso ns an d its net profits p er annum are 800
million d olla r s—or more
The re we re a dozen bi g tobacco me n thi rty years
ago Co m p e tition ate into thei r profits
D uke and
a few othe r men of industri al genius got them to
gether an d now the New American Tobacco Com
p any ea rn s pe r annum 2 7 million dollars net
Cotton is sti ll King in the U nited State s ; an d
though the re have b een a few hal f hea rted attempts
no m an or allie d gr oup o f men i s as yet King of
Cotton
But the capitaliz ation of American cotton
interests i s 750 mill ion dollars ; and two and a hal f
million pe rsons get thei r living handling it
—
But th is enume ration may as well stop
there i s
no end to it
T h e gist o f it al l i s that the pre sent stupendous
,
,
.
-
,
,
.
-
.
.
,
,
.
-
,
.
,
.
.
.
,
,
,
.
-
,
.
.
.
,
i nd ustria l p ro d uction of this co u ntr y is due t o th e
brains an d ene rgy o f a m e re handful of in d ivi d ual s
all o f them members in good standin g o f t he F i rm
o f Solomon Columbus Rhodes and Compan y
By organiz ing and economizing the work o f th e
nation they have hastened our dev e lo p ment by hun
dreds o f y ears ; they have p ut money in peo ple s
p ockets an d bread in thei r mouths an d they have
save d a l l hands uncounted billion s o f d ollars
But t hey are Gamble rs !
Yes ! and i t begins to l ook a s i f gambl ing we r e not
so blac k a s it i s painted
,
.
,
,
,
!
,
.
.
THE TALENT I N TH E NAPKIN
Now aris e s a pink faced gentleman i n a plum p
white waistcoat
He says
Gam b ling as you term it— specul a
—
t ion might be a more accurate word i s all very well
for p ersons with la rg e fortunes or fo r men of i ndus
t rial and inventive talent B ut most peo p le a r e only
fairly well off Why i s i t not wise r for them to stay
on the safe si d e — retain what they h ave rathe r than
risk losing it by grasping a fter W hat they may neve r
get !
T his gentle m an owns a talent don e u p in a
napkin in a safe deposit drawe r
It i s doing nothing the re — helpin g no one But
h e t hinks it s safe
Well he will certainly no t l ose it B ut then h e
w ill neve r use it either
-
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
-
,
.
,
.
!
.
,
.
.
And what
a fte r all
,
is
,
the
di ff e renc e be tw ee n
l osing and neve r using !
.
The pi nk faced gentleman i s a conse rvative
Wer e all like him — were the re n o Fi rm of S olo
mon Columbus Rhode s and Company — he might
still have a p ink face ; but he would n ot h ave a white
waistcoat Fo r he would b e a primeval savage i n a
grass gird le
A nd nothing would have been done
s ince the Fl oo d to make th e wor l d different from what
it wa s at the start
-
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
Men who l ive by b rains and courage live in thei r
deeds a ft e r thei r bodie s are dust
.
Parasite s (conse rvative s ! liv e on the brains and
c ourage o f S olomon
C o an d dying are perfectly
and pe rmanently dea d
.
,
,
,
.
!
!
Kee p on the sa fe side !
is
t he
conservative s
!
motto
S olomo n
Co have seve ra l For examp le
One crowded hour o f glorious li fe i s wo rth a
worl d without a name !
Anothe r — There i s a tide in the a ffairs of men
which taken at the fl
ood leads on to Fortune O m it
ted all the voyage of the i r li fe is bound in shallows
and in mise ries
.
.
.
!
!
!
,
.
,
,
!
.
O r that anecdote o f Q ueen Elizabeth and he r
noble suitor
,
!
Fa in would I climb but that I fear to fal l !
wrote his timid little lordship on the great Q ueen s
chambe r window pane with his diamond ring
If thy h e art fai l thee do not climb at al l !
,
!
-
,
.
!
,
wrot e the wise and ro y al ! i rgin ben e ath it ; an d la ter
she had th e y oun g gentlema ns hea d chop pe d off
B ut p oetry an d tradition a re full of boos t s for
gamblers ; wh e reas th e comm e n t s on cons e r v a t iv e s a re
se l d om com p lim e ntar y
He that locks his talent in a sa fe d e p os i t d r awer
l oc ks up his soul along with i t
But no k e y t urns on t h e sou l s o f the S ol om on
,
,
!
.
.
-
,
.
They have put out thei r talent a t in te r e st in the
wor l d an d the w or ld i s t he irs fore v e r
.
,
THE ROLL CA LL
-
W i l l any pe r son in the audienc e w ho w an t s som e
th i n g he has not pl e as e ris e !
— A ll are on thei r legs— even the cons er v a t iv e s
N ow let us see what each o f you desires
The salarie d men woul d lik e to c e as e be i n g other
me n s men
Profe ssional m e n w ou ld l ik e a chan ce to catch
thei r breath
Busine ss men wou ld l i ke a n oth e r s t r i n g to the i r
,
.
.
!
.
.
Politicians would like to be ab le to tell frankl y
whe r e t h e y got it
Cle rgymen an d philanthro p ists woul d li ke m e a n s
to do good
A rtists of all kin d s wou ld li ke to c ulti v at e art
i nstead o f patrons
.
.
.
REC E S S IO N A L
Unwrap from its n a p kin tha t tal en t in t he sa f e
dep osit d rawer
Take the tide at its fl
ood
Climb an d do not fall
Open the door to O pportunit y
Remembe r t hat t he most p a l try wa y to l os e is
not to us e !
Bu t r e member t oo that S ol omon l o ok ed be for e
he l eaped
Study th e situation wel l
In the whirl o f excitement ke e p your head level
Trust those w ho hav e p rove d themselve s trust
worthy
List e n mos t t o t hos e w ho tal k lowe s t an d p romi se
l east
Bu t h avin g r e so l ve d what to do b e p rompt
For he that ling e rs till tomorrow buys d ear what
was ch e ap ye ste rday
A s th e audience reti r e s l et e ach pe rson take a
cop y o f t he v e rses which wil l b e h anded to th e m wr i t
ten three hundr ed y ears ago
R e a d it an d l a y i t t o heart
.
.
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
.
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
.
H e either fear s his fa te too m u c h,
O r his deser t is sm a ll
,
Who dar es n ot p ut it to the touch
,
T o win or l ose it al l !