Then followed a number of rulers who were not lucky enough to meet with
Cosmo Versál's approval, and when Smith read:
"Alexander V, Emperor of all the Russias," the big head was violently shaken, and its owner exclaimed:
"There will be many Russians in the ark, for tyranny has been like a lustration to that people; but I will carry none of its Romanoff seeds to my new world."
The selection was continued until fifteen names had been obtained, including that of the new, dark-skinned President of Liberia, and Cosmo declared that he would not add another one.
Then came the ten statesmen who were chosen with utter disregard to racial and national lines.
In selecting his ten business magnates, Cosmo stated his rule:
"I exclude no man simply because he is a billionaire. I consider the way he made his money. The world must always have rich men. How could I have built the ark if I had been poor?"
"Philanthropists," read Smith.
"I should have taken a hundred if I could have found them," said Cosmo. "There are plenty of candidates, but these five [naming them] are the only genuine ones, and I am doubtful about several of them. But I must run some chances, philanthropy being indispensable."
For the fifteen representatives of art Cosmo confined his selection largely to architecture.