Submitted by scott on Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:53

Mark Twain was financially broke by 1894.  His publishing house, Charles L. Webster & Co., failed.  His pet project, the Paige typesetting machine, never functioned correctly.  His friend, Henry Huttleston Rogers, a vice president of Standard Oil and a stock market investor, took over control of Twain's finances.  Both Twain and Rogers thought it a good idea to pay off all debts.  Twain, because his honor demanded it and Rogers, because it was a good marketing angle.  A lecture tour around the world was planned.

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