Атлант расправил плечи
The Top and the Bottom
Acountry,itseemstome,isitsneighbors’keeper."
Shesat,listening,andshethoughtofthemanybranchlineswhichTaggartTranscontinentalhadhadtoabandon;therevenuesofthegreatrailroadhadbeenfallingslowlyformanyyears.Shethoughtoftheominousneedofrepairs,ominouslyneglectedovertheentiresystem.Theirpolicyontheproblemofmaintenancewasnotapolicybutagametheyseemedtobeplayingwithapieceofrubberthatcouldbestretchedalittle,thenalittlemore.
"TheMexicans,itseemstome,areaverydiligentpeople,crushedbytheirprimitiveeconomy.Howcantheybecomeindustrializedifnobodylendsthemahand?""Whenconsideringaninvestment,weshould,inmyopinion,takeachanceonhumanbeings,ratherthanonpurelymaterialfactors."
ShethoughtofanenginethatlayinaditchbesidetheRioNorteLine,becauseasplicebarhadcracked.ShethoughtofthefivedayswhenalltrafficwasstoppedontheRioNorteLine,becausearetainingwallhadcollapsed,pouringtonsofrockacrossthetrack.
"Sinceamanmustthinkofthegoodofhisbrothersbeforehethinksofhisown,itseemstomethatanationmustthinkofitsneighborsbeforeitthinksofitself."
ShethoughtofanewcomercalledEllisWyattwhompeoplewerebeginningtowatch,becausehisactivitywasthefirsttrickleofatorrentofgoodsabouttoburstfromthedyingstretchesofColorado.TheRioNorteLinewasbeingallowedtorunitswaytoafinalcollapse,justwhenitsfullestefficiencywasabouttobeneededandused.
