At first I was but a silent observer amongst a lot of gladiators. Here was a set of dominators watching a newcomer who also had dared to try to reach the top, and had the good sense to court their coöperation. To most of them real estate was a closed book. They had looked upon it as what might be called a frozen commodity, while they had dealt in liquid assets. They were anxious to see whether this novice could capitalize real estate equities. Stories of the successes that I had had in real estate had been told and exaggerated until, even to these big money-makers, they seemed attractive. Each one prided himself that his joining the other eminent leaders in this enterprise increased its chances of success. The fact that the stock was selling at double its issue price within three months showed that the public was ready to discount the possibilities. They bought me on my past performances. To them I was just a new machine which must demonstrate its capacity. I simply had to make good, or be displaced. My position as president of this company involved me in a series of financial encounters with the biggest men in Wall Street, encounters that are worth describing because they illustrate the methods by which the great fortunes of the greatest period of expansion in American finance were made. I have not heard of any man who had intimate business relations with the financial giants of that period, who has described, from his own experience, the intrigues and passions, the personalities and methods, of those men who dominated the financial structure of America. My experiences with them were not connected with their biggest deals, but they were thoroughly representative of all their operations--and, as such, I feel they are of historical interest and especially so as they are exceptional revelations of a type of exceptional men whose business activities have influenced the great development of American Commerce. I might almost entitle this chapter: “How Big Financial Deals Are Made.” It is a very human story--full, I mean, of human nature, with its foibles of ambition, jealousy, hatred, pride, and cunning.