"
Enoch smoked his cigar in silence for some moments before he said, with
a chuckle:
"I like a fight, if only it's in the open."
"So do I!" exclaimed the President.
The conversation was desultory until the door opened, admitting the
Secretary of State. He gave Enoch a glance and greeted the chief
executive, then bowed formally to Enoch, and stood waiting.
"Sit down, Fowler! Try one of those cigars! They haven't killed
Huntingdon yet."
"I beg your pardon, Mr. President," stiffly, "it is quite impossible
for me to make any pretense of friendship for the present Secretary of
the Interior."
The President raised his eyebrows. "What's the trouble, Fowler?"
"You may have heard," Fowler's voice was sardonic, "that your Secretary
of the Interior swung around the circle on a speech-making trip this
fall!"
"I heard of it," replied the chief executive, "probably before you did,
because I asked Mr. Huntingdon to make the trip."
"And may I ask, Mr. President, why you asked this gentleman to
interfere with my prerogatives?"
"Come! Come, Fowler! You are too clever a man to attempt the
hoity-toity manner with me! You undoubtedly read all of Huntingdon's
speeches with care, and you observed that his entire plea was for the
states to allow the Federal Government to proceed in its normal
function of developing the water power and oil resources of this
country; that a few American business men should not be permitted to
hog the water power of the state for private gain, nor to embroil us in
war with Mexico because of private oil holdings there.
Pages:
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436