Olds provided these young men with not only technical skills but inspiration. The long columns of figures, he made them see, weren’t just figures—they were the key to a better life for tens of thousands—hundreds of thousands, millions—of farmers and their wives and children. He made his assistants understand that if they could get electric rates down, farmers would be able to alleviate the terrible drudgery of their lives. And he made the young men understand that if they could understand the figures, the rates would come down.
