ieve in trusts. He had
followed local legislation long enough to be very sure that there was
in it far too much sophistry and too little equity, and he was a strong
upholder of what he termed fair play, whether it came peacefully along
statutory lines or whether it had to be jerked raw from the shambles of
a hundred confused and specious lawyer-made laws.

All in all, he made an active and satisfactory attorney-general.

Now it chanced that during the last session of an unusually prolific
legislature a political opponent of Mr. Prior's had contrived to secure
the passage of a bill designed to give a certain latitude to certain
rather questionable combinations of capital, known in the vernacular as
trusts. Senator McGaw, Mr. Prior's antagonist, had managed this bit of
special legislation very craftily indeed. The bill was so innocently
worded as to disarm the most vigilant and radical trust-buster; it
appeared as though its purpose was exactly the reverse of that for
which it had been subtly designed; in fact, in an excessive effort to
avert suspicion a couple of clauses had found their way into this
document which gave Mr. Prior some of the keenest pleasure of his
career.

"You are perfectly safe in signing that bill, Governor," he had said to
the State's chief executive, who had asked his advice in the matter.
"I'll bet my professional reputation that the courts will hold that it
gives us more than it takes away. McGaw's people think it ties the
State's hands from proceeding against concerns which operate in
restraint of trade by restricting their distributing centers. Instead
of which we'll have them on the hip--that section four went a little
too far. Just let one of them try to keep his product exclusively in
the hands of his sole distributers, and I give you my word I'll have
the responsible officer of that concern in jail! Go ahead and sign the
bill, Governor--it's all right with me."

It was the draft of this bill, now signed and recently become a law,
which occupied the attention of Smith during a large part of the ride
from New York to Harrisburg. And the more he studied it, the more
hopeful became his expression. And it was with the most buoyant of
steps that he made his way from Harrisburg station to the office of Mr.
Prior. To that distinguished gentleman he sent in a card whereon he
added after his name two things: first, "Vice-President Guardian Fire
Insurance Co. of New York," and second, by