Part 14 (2/2)

The letter is as follows:

THE WHITE HOUSE, WAshi+NGTON

August 4, 1916

DEAR RAY:

You have rightly sensed the feelings of the East as to the Hughes speech of acceptance, and I was indeed glad to know froram, which came as welcome news from you, that the sentih universal throughout the West

There is no apparent slump that I can find here in Democratic ranks; the saton atmosphere while you were here still predohes' trip to the West will prove another distinct disappoint the path of expediency as exehes will find himself in an unenviable position in the West,forth no policy of a constructive character

_As I told you and the boys so to prove a distinct disappointer for the office that he will follow any path that h path of expediency We face the foe unafraid, and will soon have our big guns trained upon the frowning fortresses of the enemy They look formidable at this time, but as we approach them it is my belief that they will be found to be made of cardboard and will fall at the touch of the President's logic and the record of his great achievements

Sincerely yours, TUMULTY

MR RAYMOND T BAKER, Oakland, California

CHAPTER XXIV

THE ADAMSON LAW

Between the Democratic Convention and the ti Branch, New Jersey, the President was engaged in Washi+ngton in cora the Incoht-Hour Law

A disastrous strike, involving the whole system of railroad transportation, now seemed imminent At this critical juncture the President intervened On August 13th he invited the disputants, before reaching any final decision, to confer with hiton

His intervention evoked general expressions of relief and approval

At these conferences the railway ers refused these derave situation, which if not checkedGer problems that confronted the President that critical summer Not only were American business interests involved in this overnreat ere no less anxious, for a railroad strike would haveoff of the supplies to the Allied forces that were so much needed at this important juncture

The President sent for the Brotherhood representatives and for the ested arbitration by way of settling the controversy The labour leaders, conscious of their strength, refused to arbitrate The railroad ers were equally obdurate I well remember the patience of the President at these conferences day after day He would first hold conferences with the Brotherhood representatives and then with the railroad rettable that the men on both sides were indifferent to the President's appeal and apparently unmindful of the consequences to the country that would inevitably follow a nation-wide strike

I remember what he said to me as he left the Green Room at the conclusion of his final conference with the heads of the Brotherhoods Shaking his head in a despairing way, he said: ”I was not able to htest ily the justice of their cause that they are blind to all the consequences of their action in declaring and prosecuting a strike I was shocked to find a peculiar stiffness and hardness about these men When I pictured to them the distress of our people in case this strike became a reality, they sat unmoved and apparently indifferent to the seriousness of the whole bad business I am at the end of my tether, and I do not knohat further to do”

His conferences with the ers were equally unproductive of result

Gathered about hirim and determined men, soest a settleet his last appeal to them I sat in a little room off the Cabinet room and could hear ent on Seated about him were the heads of all the iht at theton as President of the United States to confer with me on this matter, for I have no power to do so I have invited you reat and critical situation Frankly, I say to you that if I had the power as President I would say to you that this strike is unthinkable and must not be permitted to happen What I want you to see, if you will, is the whole picture that presents itself to me and visualize the terrible consequences to the country and its people of a nation-wide strike at this ti our own people and in its effect upon the Allied forces across the sea For a et that I am President, and let us as fellow-citizens consider the consequences of such action A nation-wide strike at this time would mean absolute faentlemen must understand just what this means

Will your interests be served by the passions and hatreds that will flow from such an unhappy condition in the country? If this strike should occur, forces will be released thatwe hold dear Think of its effect upon the people of this country who must have bread to eat and coal to keep them warm They will not quietly subs of life away froreat arteries of trade and commerce are teainst the horror of famine and the distress of this critical situation

It is the poor unfortunate men, and their wives and children, ill suffer and die I cannot speak to you without a show of emotion, for, my friends, beneath the surface in A which may express itself in radical action, the consequences of which noyour cooperation to settle this dispute I areat war, to keep these forces in check and under control”

Getting closer to theour battle, the battle of civilization, across the way They cannot 'carry on' without supplies andto the you to make a sacrifice at this tis involved? Only last night I was thinking about this war and its far-reaching effects No man can foresee its extent or its evil effects upon the world itself It is a world cataclys fine and wholesoh we are cut off from its terrible sweep, cannot be unmindful of these consequences, for we stand in the midst of it all We must keep our own house in order so that we shall be prepared to act when action becoentlemen, but by to-morrow a situation will arise where it shall be found necessary for us to get into the ? You can see, therefore, that weabout a paralysis of these arteries of trade and coree with ress and frankly ask for an increase of rates and do everything I can to s I ask you to doyou to make a bloody sacrifice Our boys may be called upon any minute to make that sacrifice for us”