Once it became clear that I was making a lot of money with cars, I purchased a significant amount of land in Brooklyn, specifically in western Long Island.
In the 21st century, Brooklyn is packed with people with no room to step, but currently, people only flock to areas close to the harbor, and going just a little inland into Long Island, it's either potato fields, vineyards, or apple orchards.
The reason for this was relatively simple: Brooklyn was mainly inhabited by the poor. For people to prosper, transportation needs to be convenient. Wealthy people living in Manhattan can afford to ride carriages, so it doesn't matter if they are a bit far from the bustling downtown, and they prefer such places because they are quiet and have many convenient aspects. But for Brooklyn, where many people have to walk on their own two feet, places far from the harbor have significantly lower value as real estate. So people who tried to develop real estate on the outskirts of Brooklyn all had no choice but to fail.
When I first tried to purchase land on the outskirts of Brooklyn, Father also actively stopped me citing these reasons.
"That's a neighborhood where real estate investors already tried to invest and failed, so it would be better for you not to buy either."
"Dad, I know that too. But we have cars now."
"So, Henry, your opinion is that since the car you made extends people's reach, their radius of action increases, and the real estate value inside Brooklyn will rise. But the people living in Brooklyn are those who don't even have money to buy a carriage. It will be difficult for them to buy a car."
"First of all, I want to buy land in Brooklyn to secure a factory site, and second, as you said, Dad, the land price will rise later, so I want to buy it in advance. The land price in inland Long Island is really cheap right now. If I buy it now, I won't lose money due to land prices dropping, right?"
"That's true, it's just potato fields or cabbage patches there, and the economy is bad these days, so land prices have dropped further. But it's hard to think there's investment value, and you should know that land is tricky to resell once purchased. And looking at the factory expansion plan you are thinking of now, there are many parts where money will go into, so try buying only a part of the land and think about the rest in other ways. Even if, as you say, eastern Brooklyn is developed thanks to cars, it will take time, so wouldn't it be better to buy with the money earned in the meantime?"
Dad's words also made sense. It might be better to expand the factory and invest elsewhere with that money rather than buying land now.
"Okay. Then I'll purchase land worth only about $200,000 and use the rest for factory expansion or look for other investment places."
"At this opportunity, how about making the electric furnace you've been singing about?"
"Actually, I've already invited a person from France to make the electric furnace together, and we are already working together."
"Oh, inviting someone from France, he must be a famous person. Would I know him? Or is he someone I don't know?"
"His name is Paul Héroult; do you know who he is?"
"I don't know well. What does he do?"
I can't say he's the person who invents the electric furnace in the original history.
"He is the person who discovered the aluminum smelting method together with Charles Hall. He is famous in relation to metals, so I sent a letter inviting him. To do business improving the electric furnace together."
"Ah, if it's that story, I've heard it too. They say the same smelting method was invented almost simultaneously in the US and France by coincidence? Then Paul Héroult must be that French aluminum inventor."
"Yes, that's exactly him."
The electric furnace was already invented by the famous Siemens of Germany, but Siemens' invention was just a test product showing that making steel with an electric furnace was possible, and its commercial viability wasn't very high. In the original history, Paul Héroult of France improves such an electric furnace and develops the highly commercially viable electric arc furnace.
I initially tried to make the electric furnace alone, but even knowing all the basic structures and principles, developing an electric furnace simultaneously while developing a car was too difficult. So I had no choice but to decide to invite Paul Héroult, who develops the electric furnace in the original history, from France.
As soon as that thought occurred, I sent a letter to Paul Héroult in France inquiring if he had any thoughts of developing an electric furnace together.
Paul Héroult's first reply was a polite refusal. He said it was worth developing sufficiently in France, so there was no reason to come all the way to America.
My will wasn't going to be broken just by being rejected once. By this time, our cars were selling like hotcakes, so plenty of cash was coming in, and I sent a letter offering an annual salary of $1,000, providing a house to live in Manhattan, and giving him a car. I don't know what condition moved Paul Héroult's heart, but I received a message that he would come to America.
Upon receiving his message, I hurriedly enclosed $200 for travel expenses and a first-class ticket for a 20,000-ton passenger ship coming from France to America.
Perhaps thinking I was putting in quite an effort, he sent a telegram saying he would come on the ship I sent, and in September 1897, I went to New York Harbor with a chauffeur to meet Paul Héroult.
Paul Héroult began showing tremendous interest in the Model B we rode in. He seemed so focused on the car that he didn't seem to care much that I was extremely young.
"What is the name of this car?"
"It's the Ford Model B. It's the high-end model of our Ford company."
"How much is the price? I haven't seen such a car in France or Germany. Germany and France definitely developed cars first, but America is making such cars first."
"The current consumer price is $2,200."
Hearing the price, Paul Héroult sighed and said,
"As expected, it's an amount ordinary people can't dream of. To only be able to look at such a dreamlike car. Duke, you said you would give me a car, but could you give me this car instead and deduct it from my salary?"
I suspected that among the conditions I offered, the one that attracted Paul Héroult's heart most was the condition of giving a car. Since even a car like our Model A costs the price of a house per unit in Germany or France, he seemed to have come over tempted by the condition of receiving a car.
But when I brought a car vastly more luxurious than European cars, his greed seemed to grow immediately.
"Just call me Henry. And that request is difficult to grant."
Paul Héroult looked disappointed at my answer, but his face brightened up again immediately upon hearing my following words.
"Because the car I decided to give Mr. Paul Héroult is exactly this Model B. How is it, do you like it?"
Paul Héroult jumped up and down on the spot and said,
"Do I like it? This is just a dream, a dream. To come to own this, asking if I like it. Look around us. Aren't people's gazes all focused on this car right now? Giving such an item, how can you ask if I like it or not?"
Looking around, as he said, people's gazes were all focused on the car I rode in.
This was less than 4 months after Model B came out, and fewer than 100 units had been sold, so there weren't many people who had seen Model B yet. Moreover, since most people at New York Harbor were from England, France, Germany, or Italy, they had to be seeing Model B for the first time.
Since Model B was made to look as flashy and luxurious as possible following the Continental, it was natural for people's gazes to be focused on it.
People gathered at the harbor pointed at our Model B and whispered.
"Is that the automobile thing I've only heard about? I'm seeing it for the first time, are they all this cool-looking?"
"There's no way they're all this cool. I've seen cars a few times in Germany and France, but this is the first time I see something this cool."
"How much would something like that cost?"
"Well, wouldn't you have to pay the price of a few houses?"
"If we live in America, will we be able to ride a car like that someday?"
"Don't even dream. Stuff like that is for millionaires to ride around, how could we ride it?"
Receiving people's attention, Paul Héroult pleaded to let him drive the car as if his emotions were heightened.
"Please, please, let me drive just once here."
"It's Mr. Héroult's property anyway, wouldn't it be okay to drive slowly?"
"No, I want to drive it right here right now, really."
"Well, since it's Mr. Héroult's property, let's do so. Have you driven before?"
"I haven't had the opportunity yet."
"It's not that difficult, so our chauffeur here will teach you."
Indeed, driving in this era wasn't difficult. A driver's license was newly created in New York State from the beginning of this year, and it was precisely because the number of cars increased drastically due to me. And driver's license No. 1 is my dad.
As cars increased, people started to feel anxious, and driver's licenses started immediately by order of the Governor of New York, and the people who ran first to get the license were our father and son duo and Jimmy.
And I was the first to take the test, and next was Dad, but Dad's license was issued first, I was No. 2, and Jimmy was No. 3.
The license test was really simple. It was over if you knew how to start the car, drive, and brake in front of the examiner. And this easy license test is still continuing.
Even if caught driving without a license, there was no fine or arrest. It ended with just saying to get a license, and people half-listened. But I was recommending people to get a license as early as possible since such an easy license test couldn't continue forever.
I said to Paul Héroult sitting in the driver's seat.
"Right now, you can obtain a car driver's license just by knowing how to drive for a few minutes like this, start the engine, and brake, so Mr. Héroult should get it quickly too."
Paul Héroult nodded while holding the steering wheel as instructed by the chauffeur.
"I will definitely get the license later. But now I have to try driving first."
No matter how frantically obsessed with cars Paul Héroult was, he wasn't someone to step on the accelerator and speed up while driving for the first time at a crowded dock, and the car moved slowly according to his thought.
"See that. It's very easy."
People in front of the car Paul Héroult was driving hurriedly moved out of the way as he started driving, and people seeing him drive chattered again.
"Look at that, it really moves by itself without a horse."
"That round wheel-like thing over there seems to be the steering wheel."
"Driving doesn't seem that difficult."
"I want to touch the steering wheel too."
Whether he was gaining confidence as he drove or his emotions were heightened by people looking at him and talking, Paul Héroult kept shouting while driving.
"It's really the best. This is the best."
People shouted while dodging in a flock when Paul Héroult approached driving the car. But it wasn't a complaint about Paul Héroult's driving but pure admiration.
"Wow, that's really cool."
"I'm going to buy a car someday too."
People getting off the passenger ship were mostly poor people immigrating to America, but there were also many wealthy people returning from traveling to Europe. They genuinely envied and admired the car Paul Héroult was driving.
Younger sons or girls shouted that they should buy a car too.
"Dad, let's buy a car like that too."
"Dad, I want to try riding a car like that too."
People who looked like they had some money grabbed me outright and asked.
"Hey, kid, you're the kid who came riding that car together, right? Do you know where they sell that car?"
Naturally, I answered quickly.
"That's a car called Model B from Ford Motor Company. If you ask anyone in New York where Ford Motor Company is, they will tell you. If I answer now, just look for Fulton Street south of Manhattan."