What is not, he sees, and
what he sees, is not. He cannot judge of relative values or get the
true perspective of things. The molehill seems to him a mountain and
the mountain a molehill, and he jumps at conclusions which he should
arrive at by reason. His mind is upon the stock quotations and not
upon the points that require calm thought. Speculation is a parasite
feeding upon values, creating none.
My first important enterprise after settling in New York was
undertaking to build a bridge across the Mississippi at Keokuk.[29]
Mr. Thomson, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and I contracted
for the whole structure, foundation, masonry, and superstructure,
taking bonds and stocks in payment. The undertaking was a splendid
success in every respect, except financially. A panic threw the
connecting railways into bankruptcy. They were unable to pay the
stipulated sums. Rival systems built a bridge across the Mississippi
at Burlington and a railway down the west side of the Mississippi to
Keokuk. The handsome profits which we saw in prospect were never
realized. Mr. Thomson and myself, however, escaped loss, although
there was little margin left.
[Footnote 29: It was an iron bridge 2300 feet in length with a
380-foot span.]
The superstructure for this bridge was built at our Keystone Works in
Pittsburgh.
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