Mr. Armour would say no more on this subject, but his admiration for oratory has been demonstrated in a remarkable way. It was after a Sunday morning discourse by the splendid orator, Dr. Gunsaulus, at Plymouth Church, Chicago, in which the latter had set forth his views on the subject of educating children, that Mr. Armour came forward and said:
“You believe in those ideas of yours, do you?”
“I certainly do,” said Dr. Gunsaulus.
“And would you carry them out if you had the opportunity?”
“I would.”
“Well, sir,” said Mr. Armour, “if you will give me five years of your time, I will give you the money.”
“But to carry out my ideas would take a million dollars!” exclaimed Gunsaulus.
“I have made a little money in my time,” returned Mr. Armour, and so the famous Armour Institute of Technology, to which its founder has already given sums aggregating $2,800,000, was associated with Mr. Armour’s love of oratory.
One of his lieutenants says that Gerritt Smith, the old abolitionist, was Armour’s boyhood hero, and that Mr. Armour would go far to hear a good speaker, often remarking that he would have preferred to be a great orator rather than a great capitalist.
“There is no need to ask you,” I continued, “whether you believe in constant, hard labor?”