e to the land by building the roads. Then I
sell the land and get that value back, and after that, there's the
roads, all carrying folks back and forth and earning big money. Can't
lose. And there's all sorts of millions in it.

"I'm going to get my hands on some of that water front and the
tide-lands. Take between where I'm going to build my pier and the old
pier. It's shallow water. I can fill and dredge and put in a system
of docks that will handle hundreds of ships. San Francisco's water
front is congested. No more room for ships. With hundreds of ships
loading and unloading on this side right into the freight cars of three
big railroads, factories will start up over here instead of crossing to
San Francisco. That means factory sites. That means me buying in the
factory sites before anybody guesses the cat is going to jump, much
less, which way. Factories mean tens of thousands of workingmen and
their families. That means more houses and more land, and that means
me, for I'll be there to sell them the land. And tens of thousands of
families means tens of thousands of nickels every day for my electric
cars. The growing population will mean more stores, more banks, more
everything. And that'll mean me, for I'll be right there with business
property as well as home property. What do you think of it?"

Therefore she could answer, he was off again, his mind's eye filled
with this new city of his dream which he builded on the Alameda hills
by the gateway to the Orient.

"Do you know--I've been looking it up--the Firth Of Clyde, where all
the steel ships are built, isn't half as wide as Oakland Creek down
there, where all those old hulks lie? Why ain't it a Firth of Clyde?
Because the Oakland City Council spends its time debating about prunes
and raisins. What is needed is somebody to see things, and, after
that, organization. That's me. I didn't make Ophir for nothing. And
once things begin to hum, outside capital will pour in. All I do is
start it going. 'Gentlemen,' I say, 'here's all the natural advantages
for a great metropolis. God Almighty put them advantages here, and he
put me here to see them. Do you want to land your tea and silk from
Asia and ship it straight East? Here's the docks for your steamers,
and here's the railroads. Do you want factories from which you can
ship direct by land or water? Here's the site, and here's the modern,
up-to-date city, with the latest improvements for