Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924; Essays; Literature -- History and criticism
A poor boatman who had to scrape together painfully the few sovereigns of
the price had the idea of putting that engine into his boat. But all
these designers, directors, managers, constructors, and others whom we
may include in the generic name of Yamsi, never thought of it for the
boats of the biggest tank on earth, or rather on sea. And therefore they
assume an air of impatient superiority and make objections--however sick
at heart they may be. And I hope they are; at least, as much as a grocer
who has sold a tin of imperfect salmon which destroyed only half a dozen
people. And you know, the tinning of salmon was "progress" as much at
least as the building of the _Titanic_. More, in fact. I am not
attacking shipowners. I care neither more nor less for Lines, Companies,
Combines, and generally for Trade arrayed in purple and fine linen than
the Trade cares for me. But I am attacking foolish arrogance, which is
fair game; the offensive posture of superiority by which they hide the
sense of their guilt, while the echoes of the miserably hypocritical
cries along the alley-ways of that ship: "Any more women? Any more
women?" linger yet in our ears.
I have been expecting from one or the other of them all bearing the
generic name of Yamsi, something, a sign of some sort, some sincere
utterance, in the course of this Admirable Inquiry, of manly, of genuine
compunction. In vain. All trade talk. Not a whisper--except for the
conventional expression of regret at the beginning of the yearly
report--which otherwise is a cheerful document. Dividends, you know. The
shop is doing well.
And the Admirable Inquiry goes on, punctuated by idiotic laughter, by
paid-for cries of indignation from under legal wigs, bringing to light
the psychology of various commercial characters too stupid to know that
they are giving themselves away--an admirably laborious inquiry into
facts that speak, nay shout, for themselves.
I am not a soft-headed, humanitarian faddist. I have been ordered in my
time to do dangerous work; I have ordered, others to do dangerous work; I
have never ordered a man to do any work I was not prepared to do myself.
I attach no exaggerated value to human life. But I know it has a value
for which the most generous contributions to the Mansion House and
"Heroes" funds cannot pay. And they cannot pay for it, because people,
even of the third class (excuse my plain speaking), are not cattle. Death
has its sting. If Yamsi's manager's head were forcibly held under the
water of his bath for some little time, he would soon discover that it
has. Some people can only learn from that sort of experience which comes
home to their own dear selves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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