Атлант расправил плечи
The Top and the Bottom
Ifitdoesn’tdevelopapublicspirit,it’sdonefor,makenomistakeaboutthat."
OrrenBoylehadappearedfromnowhere,fiveyearsago,andhadsincemadethecoverofeverynationalnewsmagazine.Hehadstartedoutwithahundredthousanddollarsofhisownandatwo-hundred-million-dollarloanfromthegovernment.Nowheheadedanenormousconcernwhichhadswallowedmanysmallercompanies.Thisproved,helikedtosay,thatindividualabilitystillhadachancetosucceedintheworld.
"Theonlyjustificationofprivateproperty,"saidOrrenBoyle,"ispublicservice."
"Thatis,Ithink,indubitable,"saidWesleyMouch.
OrrenBoylemadeanoise,swallowinghisliquor.Hewasalargemanwithbig,virilegestures;everythingabouthispersonwasloudlyfulloflife,exceptthesmallblackslitsofhiseyes.
"Jim,"hesaid,"ReardenMetalseemstobeacolossalkindofswindle."
"Uh-huh,"saidTaggart.
"Ihearthere’snotasingleexpertwho’sgivenafavorablereportonit."
"No,notone."
"We’vebeenimprovingsteelrailsforgenerations,andincreasingtheirweight.Now,isittruethattheseReardenMetalrailsaretobelighterthanthecheapestgradeofsteel?"
"That’sright,"saidTaggart."Lighter."
"Butit’sridiculous,Jim.It’sphysicallyimpossible.Foryourheavy-duty,high-speed,main-linetrack?"
"That’sright."
"Butyou’rejustinvitingdisaster."
"Mysisteris."
Taggartmadethestemofhisglasswhirlslowlybetweentwofingers.Therewasamomentofsilence.
