Such was the man who was the real power behind the Southern and Transcontinental Railroad.  More than anyone else Ryder had been aroused by the present legal action, not so much for the money interest at stake as that any one should dare to thwart his will.  It had been a pet scheme of his, this purchase for a song, when the land was cheap, of some thousand acres along the line, and it is true that at the time of the purchase there had been some idea of laying the land out as a park.  But real estate values had increased in astonishing fashion, the road could no longer afford to carry out the original scheme, and had attempted to dispose of the property for building purposes, including a right of way for a branch road.  The news, made public in the newspapers, had raised a storm of protest.  The people in the vicinity claimed that the railroad secured the land on the express condition of a park being laid out, and in order to make a legal test they had secured an injunction, which had been sustained by Judge Rossmore of the United States Circuit Court.

These details were hastily told and re-told by one clerk to another as the babel of voices in the inner room grew louder, and more directors kept arriving from the ever-busy elevators.  The meeting was called for three o’clock.  Another five minutes and the chairman would rap for order.  A tall, strongly built man with white moustache and kindly smile emerged from the directors room and, addressing one of the clerks, asked: 

“Has Mr. Ryder arrived yet?”

The alacrity with which the employe hastened forward to reply would indicate that his interlocutor was a person of more than ordinary importance.

“No, Senator, not yet.  We expect him any minute.”  Then with a deferential smile he added:  “Mr. Ryder usually arrives on the stroke, sir.”

The senator gave a nod of acquiescence and, turning on his heel, greeted with a grasp of the hand and affable smile his fellow-directors as they passed in by twos and threes.

Senator Roberts was in the world of politics what his friend John Burkett Ryder was in the world of finance—­a leader of men.  He started life in Wisconsin as an errand boy, was educated in the public schools, and later became clerk in a dry-goods store, finally going into business for his own account on a large scale.  He was elected to the Legislature, where his ability as an organizer soon gained the friendship of the men in power, and later was sent to Congress, where he was quickly initiated in the game of corrupt politics.  In 1885 he entered the United States Senate.  He soon became the acknowledged leader of a considerable majority of the Republican senators, and from then on he was a figure to be reckoned with.  A very ambitious man, with a great love of power and few scruples, it is little wonder that only the practical or dishonest side of politics appealed to him.  He was in politics for all there was in it, and he saw in his lofty position only a splendid opportunity for easy graft.