Page 54 - Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich Full Book | Success Learned

gan, steadfast in his belief in the Divine Right of Money. With him was his aris-
tocratic partner, Robert Bacon, a scholar and a gentleman. The third was John
W. Gates whom Morgan scorned as a gambler and used as a tool. The fourth was
Schwab, who knew more about the processes of making and selling steel than any
whole group of men then living. Throughout that conference, the Pittsburgher's
figures were never questioned. If he said a company was worth so much, then it
was worth that much and no more. He was insistent, too, upon including in the
combination only those concerns he nominated. He had conceived a corporation
in which there would be no duplication, not even to satisfy the greed of friends
who wanted to unload their companies upon the broad Morgan shoulders. Thus
he left out, by design, a number of the larger concerns upon which the Walruses
and Carpenters of Wall Street had cast hungry eyes.

"When dawn came, Morgan rose and straightened his back. Only one question
remained. " v Do you think you can persuade Andrew Carnegie to sell?' he asked.

" V I can try,' said Schwab.

" N If you can get him to sell, I will undertake the matter,' said Morgan.

"So far so good. But would Carnegie sell? How much would he demand? (Schwab
thought about $320,000,000). What would he take payment in? Common or

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NAPOLEON HILL THINK AND GROW RICH

preferred stocks? Bonds? Cash? No-body could raise a third of a billion dollars in
cash.

"There was a golf game in January on the frost-cracking heath of the St. Andrews
links in Westchester, with Andrew bundled up in sweaters against the cold, and
Charlie talking volubly, as usual, to keep his spirits up. But no word of business
was mentioned until the pair sat down in the cozy warmth of the Carnegie cot-
tage hard by. Then, with the same persuasiveness that had hypnotized eighty mil-
lionaires at the University Club, Schwab poured out the glittering promises of
retirement in comfort, of untold millions to satisfy the old man's social caprices.
Carnegie capitulated, wrote a figure on a slip of paper, handed it to Schwab and
said, v all right, that's what we'll sell for.'

"The figure was approximately $400,000,000, and was reached by taking
the $320,000,000 mentioned by Schwab as a basic figure, and adding to it
$80,000,000 to represent the increased capital value over the previous two
years.

"Later, on the deck of a trans-Atlantic liner, the Scotsman said ruefully to Mor-