Part 15 (2/2)

There remained some weeks before final action could be taken, and the Senator was confident that I would have to yield His most efficient allies were the pretended reformers, most of them my open or covert eneht on the Senator hianization This hat he wished, for at that ti him within the Republican party; and, as I have said, if I had perht between the Governor and the United States Senator, I would have insured the victory of thebecoain that I was perfectly willing to appoint an organizationto appoint, but also explaining that I would not retain the incumbent, and would not appoint any man of his type Meanwhile pressure on behalf of the said incuan to come from the business men of New York

The Superintendent of Insurance was not alife insurance companies cared to incur, and co h in private soned these resolutions nervously explained that they did not mean what they had written, and hoped I would remove the man A citizen prominent in reform circles, marked by the Cato-like austerity of his reform professions, had a son as a counsel for one of the insurance co letters to the papers de virtue that I should not only get rid of the Superintendent of Insurance, but in his place should appoint somebody or other personally offensive to Senator Platt--which last proposition, if adopted, would have meant that the Superintendent of Insurance would have stayed in, for the reasons I have already given

Meanwhile the son came to see me on behalf of the insurance company he represented and told e in the superintendency; that if I really ht they had influence with four of the State Senators, Deet to vote to confirm the man I nominated, but that they wished to be sure that I would not abandon the fight, because it would be a very bad thing for theht and then backed down I told my visitor that he need be under no apprehensions, that I would certainly see the fight through

A man who has much to do with that kind of politics which concerns both New York politicians and New York business men and lawyers is not easily surprised, and therefore I felt no other emotion than a rather sardonic a paper an open letter fro with me in which they enthusiastically advocated the renomination of the Superintendent Shortly afterwardslawyer, called me up on the telephone and explained that the officials did not mean what they had said in this letter, that they had been obliged to write it for fear of the Superintendent, but that if they got the chance they intended to help ht I could ain, though his father continued to write public demands that I should practice pure virtue, undefiled and offensive

Meanwhile Senator Platt declined to yield I had picked out a man, a friend of his, who I believed would make an honest and coanization was such that I did not believe the Senate would venture to reject hio to the Senate, Mr Platt reet him to yield, but he said No, that if I insisted, it would be war to the knife, and my destruction, and perhaps the destruction of the party I said I was very sorry, that I could not yield, and if the war ca I should send in the name of the Superintendent's successor We parted, and soon afterwards I received froht-hand lieutenant a request to knohere he could see ue Club My visitor went over the old ground, explained that the Senator would under no circuht, that my reputation would be destroyed, and that he wished to saveto my career I could only repeat what I had already said, and after half an hour of futile arguained by further talk and that I o My visitor repeated that I had this last chance, and that ruin was ahead ofwould beto add to what I have already said” He responded, ”You have made up your mind?” and I said, ”I have” He then said, ”You know it means your ruin?” and I answered, ”Well, ill see about that,” and walked toward the door He said, ”You understand, the fight will begin to-morrow and will be carried on to the bitter end”

I said, ”Yes,” and added, as I reached the door, ”Good night” Then, as the door opened, my opponent, or visitor, whichever one chooses to call him, whose face was as impassive and as inscrutable as that of Mr John Haame, said: ”Hold on! We accept Send in So-and-so [the man I had named] The Senator is very sorry, but he will make no further opposition!” I never saw a bluff carried h to the final limit My success in the affair, coupled with the appointainst further effort to interfere withof the executive departments

It was in connection with the insurance business that I first e W Perkins He came to me with a letter of introduction from the then Speaker of the National House of Representatives, Tom Reed, which ran: ”Mr Perkins is a personal friend of ence will coive him proper opportunity to explain his business, I have no doubt that what he will say will be worthy of your attention”

Mr Perkins wished to see me with reference to a bill that had just been introduced in the Legislature, which aiate volume of insurance that any New York State co insurance companies in New York--the Mutual Life, Equitable, and New York Life Mr Perkins was a Vice-President of the New York Life Insurance Company and Mr John A McCall was its President I had just finished ainst the Superintendent of Insurance, whom I refused to continue in office Mr McCall had writtenthat he be retained, and had done everything he could to aid Senator Platt in securing his retention The Mutual Life and Equitable people had openly followed the sa the proposed bill Mr

McCall was opposed to it; he was in California, and just before starting thither he had been told by the Mutual Life and Equitable that the Lih if such a thing were possible Mr McCall did not knowfor California told Mr Perkins that fro this bill through, and that nothing he could say to ht so hard to retain the old Insurance Superintendent, he felt that I would be particularly opposed to anything he ht wish done

As aI had been carefully studying the question I had talked with the Mutual Life and Equitable people about it, but was not corave doubts as to whether it ell to draw the line on size instead of on conduct I was therefore very glad to see Perkins and get a new point of vieent over the th, and after we had thrashed the matter out pretty fully and Perkins had laid before me in detail the methods employed by Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and other European countries to handle their large insurance companies, I took the position that there undoubtedly were evils in the insurance business, but that they did not consist in insuring people's lives, for that certainly was not an evil; and I did not see how the real evils could be eradicated by li a company's ability to protect an additional number of lives with insurance I therefore announced that I would not favor a bill that lin it if it were passed; but that I favored legislation that would ents, policies that were aents for business, or to invest policy-holders'

ive power to officers to use the co this deterrapher in my office, but who had already attracted my attention both by his efficiency and by his loyalty to his former employers, ere for the ave me much information about various iather data on the subject, with the intention of bringing about corrective legislation, for at that time I expected to continue in office as Governor But in a feeeks I was no about the matter

So far as I re evils in a business by li the volume of business to be done was ever presented to me, and my decision in the matter was on all fours with the position I have always since taken when any similar principle was involved At the time when I made my decision about the Limitation Bill, I was on friendly terms with the Mutual and Equitable people ere back of it, whereas I did not know Mr McCall at all, and Mr

Perkins only fro feature of the matter developed subsequently Five years later, after the insurance investigations took place, the Mutual Life strongly urged the passage of a Li developed by the exposure of the ienerally approved Governor Hughes adopted the suggestion, such a bill was passed by the Legislature, and Governor Hughes signed it This bill caused the three great New York companies to reduce reat ents out of en business of the co annually a considerable sum of money to this country for investment In short, the experihes went out of office one of the very last bills he signed was one that permitted the life insurance companies to increase their business each year by an ae of the business they had previously done This in practice, within a few years, practically annulled the Limitation Bill that had been previously passed The experiainst it , had been tried, and had failed so completely that the authors of the bill had the to try the experiment had been coot Mr Perkins to serve on the Palisade Park Co active part in the effort to save the Palisades fro the States of New York and New Jersey jointly to include theet a responsible and capable man of business to undertake such a task, which is unpaid, which calls on his part for an iy, which offers no reward of any kind, and which entails the certainty of abuse and misrepresentation Mr Perkins accepted the position, and has filled it for the last thirteen years, doing as disinterested, efficient, and useful a bit of public service as any hout these thirteen years

The case of most importance in which I clashed with Senator Platt related to a overning big corporations under effective governht the Democratic machine as well as the Republican machine, for Senator Hill and Senator Platt were equally opposed tobusiness men back of both of theard to their party feelings on other points What I did convulsed people at that ti of the effort, at least in the Eastern states, to reat corporations really responsible to popular wish and governe in which we then were that now it seeh incredible that there should have been any opposition at all to what I at that time proposed

The substitution of electric power for horse power in the street car lines of New York offered a fruitful chance for thebetween business ranted without any atterantees returns, in the way of taxation or otherwise, for the value received

The fact that they were thus granted by improper favoritism, a favoritisht bribery, led to all kinds of trouble In return for the continuance of these improper favors to the corporations the politicians expected in contributions, often contributed by the sa parties Before I becaislature to tax the franchises of these street railways It affected a large number of corporations, but particularly those in New York and Buffalo It had been suffered to slumber undisturbed, as none of the people in power drea it seriously, and both the Republican and Democratic machines were hostile to it Under the rules of the New York Legislature a bill could always be taken up out of its turn and passed if the Governor sent in a special ee on its behalf

After I was elected Governor I had my attention directed to the franchise tax matter, looked into the subject, and came to the conclusion that it was a matter of plain decency and honesty that these companies should pay a tax on their franchises, inas that could be considered as service rendered the public in lieu of a tax This see to do that I was hardly prepared for the storer which my proposal aroused Senator Platt and the other et me to abandon my intention As usual, I saw them, talked the matter all over with the Senator Platt, I believe, was quite sincere in his opposition He did not believe in popular rule, and he did believe that the big business s their way He profoundly distrusted the people--naturally enough, for the kind of human nature hich a boss comes in contact is not of an exalted type He felt that anarchy would come if there was any interference with a system by which the people in mass were, under various necessary cloaks, controlled by the leaders in the political and business worlds

He wrote ainst nified, friendly, and te one word in a curious way This was the word ”altruistic” He stated in his letter that he had not objected toindependent in politics, because he had been sure that I had the good of the party at heart, and meant to act fairly and honorably; but that he had been warned, before I became a candidate, by a nuerous man because I was ”altruistic,” and that he now feared that my conduct would justify the alarm thus expressed I was interested in this, not only because Senator Platt was obviously sincere, but because of the way in which he used ”altruistic” as a term of reproach, as if it was Co a word he did use to ht that my proposals warranted fairly reckless vituperation

Senator Platt's letter ran in part as follows:

”When the subject of your noave me real anxiety I think you will have no trouble in appreciating the fact that it was _not_ the h along in our political acquaintance for you to see that my support in a convention does not imply subsequent 'demands,' nor any other relation that may not reasonably exist for the welfare of the partyThe thing that did bother ood many sources that you were a little loose on the relations of capital and labor, on trusts and combinations, and, indeed, on those numerous questions which have recently arisen in politics affecting the security of earnings and the right of a man to run his own business in his oith due respect of course to the Ten Coet at it even more clearly, I understood fro them many of your own personal friends, that you entertained various altruistic ideas, all very well in their way, but which before they could safely be put into law needed very profound consideration

You have just adjourned a Legislature which created a good opinion throughout the State I congratulate you heartily upon this fact because I sincerely believe, as everybody else does, that this good iely as a result of your personal influence in the Legislative chareat surprise, you did a thing which has caused the business community of New York to wonder how far the notions of Populism, as laid down in Kansas and Nebraska, have taken hold upon the Republican party of the State of New York”

In my answer I pointed out to the Senator that I had as Governor unhesitatingly acted, at Buffalo and elsewhere, to put down ard to the fact that the professed leaders of labor furiously denouncedcoainst property

My letter ran in part as follows:

”I knew that you had just the feelings that you describe; that is, apart from my 'impulsiveness,' you felt that there was a justifiable anxiety ae corporate interests, lest I ly on what you term the 'altruistic' side in ards the relations of the State to great corporationsI know that when parties divide on such issues [as Bryanism] the tendency is to force everybody into one of two camps, and to throw out entirely ly opposed to Populisreatest representative of corporate wealth, but who also feel strongly that many of these representatives of enormous corporate wealth have theainst which Bryanisnorant revolt I do not believe that it is wise or safe for us as a party to take refuge in ation and to say that there are no evils to be corrected It see the evils and thereby showing that, whereas the Populists, Socialists, and others really do not correct the evils at all, or else only do so at the expense of producing others in aggravated form; on the contrary we Republicans hold the just balance and set ourselves as resolutely against iy and mob rule on the other I understand perfectly that such an attitude of reatly excited and when victory is apt to rest with the extre run the only wise attitudeI appreciate absolutely [what Mr

Platt had said] that any applause I get will be too evanescent for a moment's consideration I appreciate absolutely that the people who now loudly approve of et all about it in a fortnight, and that, on the other hand, the very powerful interests adversely affected will always reed upon me that I personally could not afford to take this action, for under no circuain be nominated for any public office, as no corporation would subscribe to a can fund if I was on the ticket, and that they would subscribe most heavily to beat me; and when I asked if this were true of Republican corporations, the cynical ansas made that the corporations that subscribed n funds subscribed ianizations Under all these circumstances, it seemed to me there was no alternative but to do what I could to secure the passage of the bill”

These two letters, written in the spring of 1899, express clearly the views of the two elerew until it culminated, thirteen years later In 1912 the political and financial forces of which Mr Platt had once been the spokesman, usurped the control of the party machinery and drove out of the party theto apply the principles of the founders of the party to the needs and issues of their own day

I had islature the bill would pass, because the people had become interested and the representatives would scarcely dare to vote the wrong way Accordingly, on April 27, 1899, I sent a special ency dee of the bill The ry, and the Speaker actually tore up the ht they were busy trying to arrange some device for the defeat of the bill--which was not difficult, as the session was about to close At seven the next ht I was in the Capitol at the Executive chae, which opened as follows: ”I learn that the e to the assembly on behalf of the Franchise Tax Bill has not been read I therefore send hereby another e on the subject I need not i this bill at once” I sent this s, afterwards United States District Attorney of Kings, with an intimation that if this were not promptly read I should come up in person and read it Then, as so often happens, the opposition collapsed and the bill went through both houses with a rush I had in the House stanch friends, such as Regis Post and Alford Cooley, ht to a finish had the need arisen