"We have no disinherited. The coming together my people does not enrich some without toil. The landless do not pay tribute to the landlords. All are equal owners in natural and social values."
— JOAQUIN MILLER, The Building of the City Beautiful, Chap. XV II., 131, Third Edition.
She had indeed built a city, her City Beautiful in the desert. This, where they stood, was the hub of a wheel ; in every direction ran the spokes; at the tips of the spokes and far out and around at the foot of the mountains ran a track of glass, around which cars of glass kept gliding, as spiders glide along, around and over their own little world of curious and intricate web, in silence and harmonious perfection.
"But the title-deeds to it all? The world will come this way some day, and then — "
"Ah, that I have provided for. You are a dreamer, I am a builder. You are of heaven, but I am only of earth. I searched Mexico City through and found that the owner of this desert lived there; and I bought the whole fifty leagues of desert for a small sum. And so you see I have in this, at least, lived up to the Lord's Prayer: 'Lead us not into temptation;' for no man will be tempted to try to take this land from us. I, in turn, have given all, by irrevocable will, to our people. There is not a human being here, from the priest who brought you here to the babe born within this hour, who is not a full partner in all the real interests of this city of the desert. We have no disinherited. The coming together of my people does not enrich some without toil. The landless do not pay tribute to the landlords. All are equal owners in natural and social values.
"The curse of all society is the granting of special privileges which are the survivals of the divine right of force and fraud. I determined that my city should exist for the granting and preserving of equal rights. I determined that there should be no privileges granted to the few. We have no monopoly laws; we have no patent-rights, or copy-rights, even."
"But is that just?" said the man. "Has not a man a right to his book?"
"He has a right to sell his book once, but not for a half-century. It is just, when all privileges are abolished together. Then each man invents for all and all the rest invent for him. It is a free exchange of benefits."
The man's face shone. "I see!" he said. "The incentive to invention is the love of it; the reward is the pleasure of creating."
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