The Washington herald., 1913-10-26
Efforts Were Made to Save the Palisades from Destruction
by Having Them Included IN Public Park-The
~ Street Car Franchise Case.

curity of earnings and the right OF a
man to run his own business in his
own way, with due respect. Of course,
to the Ten Commandments and the
penal code. Or. to get at Il even more
clearly. / understood from a number
of business men. and among them
many OF your own personal friends.
that you entertained various a1trulstic
ideas. all very well in their way, but
which before they could safely be put
into law needed very profound con-
sideratfon. You have Just ad-
Journed a Legislature which created a
good opinion throughout the State.
congratulate you heartily upon this
fact, because I sincerely believe. as
everybody else does, that this good i'm
preston exists very largely as a re-
suit Of your personal influence In the
Legislative chambers. But at the last
moment, and to my very great surprise.
you did thing which has caused the
business community of New York to
wonder how far the notions of Popu-
lism. as laid down in Kansas and Ne
braska, have taken hold upon the Re
publican party of the State of New
York"
Reply of Roosevelt.
In my answer l pointed out to the
Senator that 1 had as Governor unhesi-
tatingly acted, at Buffalo and elsewhere,
to put down mobs, without regard to the
fact that the professed leaders of labor
furiously denounced me for so doing, but
that could no more tolerate wrong COM
mitted in the name Of property than
wrong committed against property. Ny
letter ran. in part, as follows: Il knew
that you had just the feelings that you
describe; that Is. apart from my i'm
pulsiveness,' you felt that there was
Justifiable anxiety among men OF means.
and especially men representing large
corporate interests, lest / might feel too
strongly on what you term the 'altruistic'
side in matters OF labor and capital and
as regards the relations Of the State to
great corporations know that
when parties divide on such issues (es
Bryanism) the tendency is to force every
body into one of two camps and to throw
out entirely men like myself, who are as
strongly opposed to Populism in every
stage as the greatest representative OF
corporate wealth, but who also feel
strongly that many of these representa-
tiyes Of enormous corporate wealth have
themselves been responsible for a portion
Of the conditions against which Organism
is in ignorant revolt. I do not believe
that 1t is wise or safe for US as a party
to take refuge in mere negatfon and to
rected. 1t seems to me that our attitude
should be one of correcting the evils and
thereby showing that, whereas the Popu-
lists, 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 i'm
proper corporate influence on the one
hand as against demagogy and mob rule
on the other. understand perfectly that
such an attitude OF moderation is apt
to be misunderstood when passions are
greatly excited and when victory Is apt
to rest with the extremists on one side
or the other: yet I think II is, in the long
run, the only wise attitude. ap-
preciate absolutely (what Mr.. Platt had
said that any applause get will be too
evanescent for moments consideration.
/ appreciate absolutely that the people
who now loudly approve of my action
in the franchise tax bill will forget all
about il in fortnight, and that, on the
other hand, the very powerful interests
adversely affected will always remember
it. CThe leaders, urged upon me
that personally could not AFFORD to take
this action, for under no circumstances
could / ever again be nominated for any
public office. as no corporation would sub
scribe to a campaign fund II 1 was on the
ticket. and that they would subscribe
most heavily to beat me; and when
asked IL this were true OF Republican cor
poratfons the cynical answer was made
that the corporations that subscribed
most heavily TO the campaign funds sub
scribed impartially to both party organ
izations- Under all these circumstances
II 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 1883. express clearly the views OF the
two elements OF the Republican party,
whose hostility gradually grew until il
eliminated thirteen years later. In 1872
the political and financial forces of which
Mr.. Platt had once been the spokesman
usurped the control of the party ma
chinery and drove out Of the party the
men who were Loyalty endeavoring to ap-
ply the principles of the founders of the
party to the needs and issues of their
own day.