The processes of making and selling steel than anywhole group of men then living. Throughout thatconference， the Pittsburgher’s figures were neverquestioned. If he said a company was worth so much，then it was worth that much and no more. He wasinsistent， too， upon including in the com-binationonly those concerns he nominated. He had conceiveda corporation in which there would be no duplication，not even to satisfy the greed of friends who wantedto unload their companies upon the broad Morganshoulders. Thus he left out， by design， a number ofthe larger concerns upon which the Walruses andCarpenters of Wall Street had cast hungry eyes.
“When dawn came， Morgan rose and straightenedhis back. Only one question remained.
“‘Do you think you can persuade Andrew Carnegieto sell？’ he asked.
“‘I can try，’ said Schwab.
“‘If you can get him to sell， I will undertake thematter，’ said Morgan.
“So far so good. But would Carnegie sell？ Howmuch would he demand？ （Schwab thought about320，000，000）. What would he take payment in？
Common or preferred stocks？ Bonds？ Cash？ Nobodycould 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 inWestchester， with Andrew bundled up in sweatersagainst the cold， and Charlie talking volubly， asusual， to keep his spirits up. But no word of businesswas mentioned until the pair sat down in the cozywarmth of the Carnegie cottage hard by. Then， withthe same persuasiveness that had hypnotized eightymillionaires at the University Club， Schwab pouredout the glittering promises of retirement in comfort，of untold millions to satisfy the old man’s socialcaprices. Carnegie capitulated， wrote a figure ona slip of paper， handed it to Schwab and said， ‘allright， that’s what we’ll sell for.’
“The figure was approximately 400，000，000， andwas reached by taking the 320，000，000 mentionedby Schwab as a basic figure， and adding to it80，000，000 to represent the increased capital valueover the previous two years.
“Later， on the deck of a trans-Atlantic liner， theScotsman said ruefully to Morgan， ‘I wish I hadasked you for 100，000，000 more.’
“‘If you had asked for it， you’d have gotten it，’
Morgan told him cheerfully.
“There was an uproar， of course. A British correspondent cabled that the foreign steel world was‘appalled’ by the gigantic combination. PresidentHadley， of Yale， declared that unless trusts wereregulated the country might expect ‘an emperor inWashington within the next twenty-five years.’ Butthat able stock manipulator， Keene， went at his workof shoving the new stock at the public so vigorouslythat all the excess water—estimated by some at nearly600，000，000—was absorbed in a twinkling. SoCarnegie had his millions， and the Morgan syndicatehad 62，000，000 for all its ‘trouble，’ and all the ‘boys，’ from Gates to Gary， had their millions.
“The thirty-eight-year-old Schwab had his reward.
He was made president of the new corporation andremained in control until 1930.”
The dramatic story of “Big Business” which you have just finished， was included in this book，because it is a perfect illustration of the methodby which DESIRE CAN BE TRANSMUTED INTO ITSPHYSICAL EQUIVALENT！
I imagine some readers will question the statementthat a mere， intangible DESIRE can be converted intoits physical equivalent. Doubtless some will say，“You cannot convert NOTHING into SOMETHING！”
The answer is in the story of United States Steel.
That giant organization was created in the mind ofone man. The plan by which the organization wasprovided with the steel mills that gave it financialstability was created in the mind of the sameman. His FAITH， his DESIRE， his IMAGINATION，his PERSISTENCE were the real ingredients thatwent into United States Steel. The steel mills andmechanical equipment acquired by the corporation，AFTER IT HAD BEEN BROUGHT INTO LEGALEXISTENCE， were incidental， but careful analysiswill disclose the fact that the appraised valueof the properties acquired by the corporationincreased in value by an estimated SIX HUNDREDMILLION DOLLARS， by the mere transaction whichconsolidated them under one management.
In other words， Charles M. Schwab’s IDEA， plusthe FAITH with which he conveyed it to the mindsof J. P. Morgan and the others， was marketed fora profit of approximately 600，000，000. Not aninsignificant sum for a single IDEA！
What happened to some of the men who took theirshare of the millions of dollars of profit made by thistransaction， is a matter with which we are not nowconcerned. The important feature of the astoundingachievement is that it serves as unquestionableevidence of the soundness of the philosophydescribed in this book， because this philosophy wasthe warp and the woof of the entire transaction.
Moreover， the practicability of the philosophy hasbeen established by the fact that the United StatesSteel Corporation prospered， and became one of therichest and most powerful corporations in America，employing thousands of people， developing newuses for steel， and opening new markets； thusproving that the 600，000，000 in profit which theSchwab IDEA produced was earned.
RICHES begin in the form of THOUGHT！
The amount is limited only by the person in whose mind the THOUGHT is put into motion. FAITHremoves limitations！ Remember this when you areready to bargain with Life for whatever it is that youask as your price for having passed this way.
Remember， also， that the man who created theUnited States Steel Corporation was practicallyunknown at the time. He was merely AndrewCarnegie’s “Man Friday” until he gave birth to hisfamous IDEA. After that he quickly rose to a positionof power， fame， and riches.