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 !
0
You can add this document to your study collection(s)
Sign in Available only to authorized usersYou can add this document to your saved list
Sign in Available only to authorized users(For complaints, use another form )