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 Se