The Washington herald., 1913-10-19
Two or Three Experiences with Senator Plat Are Pointed
Out as Showing How Absolute Was the Power Of
the Bosses IN Those Days.

cIandestine meeting. ! always insisted On.
going openly. Solemn reformers Of the
tomfool variety, who, according to their
custom, paid attention to the name and
not the thing. were much exercised over
my s'breakfasting with Platt-" Whenever
breakfasted with him they became sure
that the fact carried with II some sinister
significance The worthy creatures never
took the trouble to follow the sequence
OF facts and events for themselves. II
they had done 20 they would have seen
that any series Of breakfasts with PIatt
always meant that ! was going to do
something he did not like, and that
was trying. courteously and frankly, to
reconcile him to IL My object was to
make 1t as easy as possible for him To
come with me. As long as there was no
clash between us there was no object In
my seeing him; II was only when the
clash came or was imminent that had
to see him. A series Of breakfasts was
always the prelude to some active war
fare.
TO ulztnte my meaning quote from letter
q mine to senator Platt q peeember i. pse. he
had ben trying to get me to PROMOTE 4 certain
Judge x. over the head Of anoth1 Judgs T.
wrote: There Is strung feeling among the judzrs
and the leading members ot the bar that Judge Z.
ought not to have judge X. Jumped over his bead.
and do not see my way clear to doing It. am
inclined to think that the solution I mentioned 70
you ID the solution shan have TO ADOPT. Renembef
the breakfast at Dougias Robinsuns at s1n"
In every instance I substantially car
ried my point, although in some cases
not In exactly the way in which I had
originally hoped
Gains Are Made.
There were various measures to which
he gave a grudging and querulous assent
without any break being threatened 7
AZ r1H Gasrfn
Service law, which under my predecessor
had very foolishly been repealed I se-
cured a mass Of labor legislation, inciud-
ing the enactment OF laws to increase the
number OF factory inspectors, to create
tenement-house commission (whoss
findings resulted In further and excel
lent legislation to Improve housing condi-
tions), to regulate and improve sweat
shop labor, to make the eight-hour and
secure the genuine enforcement Of the
act relating to the hours Of railway
workers, to compel railways to equip
freight trains with air-brakes, to regu-
late the working hours Of women, and
protect both women and children from
dangerous machinery, to enforce good
scaffolding provisions for workmen on
buildings. to provide seats for the use
Of Mattresses in hotels and restaurants,
to- reduce the hours Of labor for drug
store clerks, to provide for the registra-
ton OF laborers for municipal employ
ment. I tried hard but failed to secure
an employers liability law and the Stats
control OF employment offices. There was
hard fighting over some Of these bills,
and, what was much more serious, there
was effort to get round the law by trick
cry and securing its inefficient enforce
ment 1 was continually helped by men
with whom had gotten in touch while
in the police department; men such as
James Bronson Reynolds. through whom
I first became interested in settlement
work on the East Side. Once or twice I
went suddenly down to New York City
without warning any one and traversed
the tenement-house quarters, visiting va
rious sweat shops picked at random
Jacob Riis accompanied me. and as a res
suit OF our inspection We got not only an
Improvement in the law, but q still moro
marked Improvement in its administers
ton Thanks chiefly to the activity and
good sense of DR.. John II. Pryor, Of Buff
faio. and by the use OF every pound Of
pressure which as Governor 1 could bring
to bear in legitimate MISUNDERSTANDING
a special emergency message-ve, suc-
ceeded in getting through a bill provide
ing for the first State hospital for incip-
lent tuberculosis We got valuable laws
for the farmer. laws preventing the adul-
teration OF food products (which laws
were equally valuable to the consumerl,
and laws helping the dairyman- In ad-
dition to labor legislation, / was able To
do a good deal for forest preservation
and the protection Of our wild life. All
that later stroye for in the nation in
connection with conservation was fore
shadowed by what 1 stroye to obtain for
New York State when 1 was Governor;
and / was already working in connection
with Clifford Pinchot and Newell ! Sc
cured better administration, and SONS
Improvement in the laws themselves.
The Improvement in administration. and
in the character Of the game and forest
wardens, was secured partly as the re-
suit of a conference in the Executive
chamber at which l had forty of tha
best guides and woodsmen Of the Adiron-
dacks-