What I think is that, if you place the affair in the hands of
Providence--
Bernick: Yes--exactly; Providence--
Rorlund: You are blameless in the matter. Go on and build your
railway hopefully.
Bernick: Yes, but now I will put a special instance to you.
Suppose a charge of blasting-powder had to be exploded in a
dangerous place, and that unless it were exploded the line could
not be constructed? Suppose the engineer knew that it would cost
the life of the workman who lit the fuse, but that it had to be
lit, and that it was the engineer's duty to send a workman to do
it?
Rorlund: Hm--
Bernick: I know what you will say. It would be a splendid thing
if the engineer took the match himself and went and lit the fuse.
But that is out of the question, so he must sacrifice a workman.
Rorlund: That is a thing no engineer here would ever do.
Bernick: No engineer in the bigger countries would think twice
about doing it.
Rorlund: In the bigger countries? No, I can quite believe it. In
those depraved and unprincipled communities.
Bernick: Oh, there is a good deal to be said for those
communities.
Pages:
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125