The Sentinel=record., 1915-04-23
MADE PROMISES TO PLATT
Broke With the Easy Boss" Over the Enactment of a Franchise Law in New York-Roosevelt Asks Many Questions of Lawyer.

dore Roosevelt spent five strenuous hours under cross examination in the supreme court here today. He ad- mitted, without any hesitation, that he had verbally and in writing dis cussed with bosses" the question of obtaining the nomination for governor of the state of New York.
 He identified as being his a letter he wrote to LemueI E. Quigg of New York. republican leader, and now e delegate to the state constitutions. convention in which he acquiesced in Quigg's assurances to former United States Senator Thomas C. piatt, that he would in the event of his election respect the senator's position as head of the republican party and would consult with him freely and fully on all important matters"
 He testified that he did confer with Mir Platt, the so-called easy boss. l But, he added. he did so with regard | to the interests of the party, with a l general desire to keep the republican 1 party together and minimize the l centrifugal influences" within that party and prevent. ii from flying asunder.
 The colonel stepped from the stand at the end of the day amid roars of l laughter he had caused He had been answering questions and incidentally asking few of the attorneys cross examining him about Mir. Platts oppo- sition to bill in the New York legis- | lature, providing for q tax upon fran | chises
 The witness told how he finally had obtained the passage of the bill against the wishes of Mir. Platt and other leaders of the republican organ. izaton Then he was asked whether, on the final passage of the bill which caused the break between himself and Senator Platt, he had sent to the senator in Washington a telegram containing nothing but the two words, Three cheers"
 T don't remember the telegram, the colonel solemnly replied Then he made a grim face, smiled, slapped his thigh with his open hand and added
 "But it is characteristic"
 On several occasions Colonel Roose- welt was more cross-eXaminer than cross-examined, His eyes sparkling behind his glasses, he would snap out a monosyllable as an answer to a | question put to him. then proceed to | make a statement upon his own ac- count, and finally conclude with a | query to William Twins, chief counsel for William Barnes, who is suing to | recover $50OO0 from Colonel Roose- | welt for allegg d libel And Mir. Wins | nearly always replied to the questions | of the witness before resuming his eX- animation in a soft voice that was | scarcely audible in the rear of the court room,
 Mir. Wins regarded in legal circles | as a master of the art of cross-eXami l nation, alternately stood and sat in | front of the witness chair, a great | pink carnation carefully placed iu the lapel of his coat and a little black l skullcap on his head Once, after the | tOiOUbl uttdlut tuluuSldhLltduy tHl- | phatic, the grey haired counsellor re- marked that the witness was treating | him 'as a mass meeting" while on | another occasion he declared that he | had no desire to be eaten up here
 However, while lengthy letters be- tween Colonel Roosevelt and Senator | Platt, and Colonel Roosevelt and Mir. | Quigg, were being read to the jury | Mir. Wins stepped up on the stand and | engaged the witness in a whispered | conversation which both of them | seemed to enjoy. The letters had to do with relations between Colone; | Roosevelt and Senator Platt in regard l to legislative and political affairs be fore, while, and after the former was governor.
 The colonel remarked during the day that he believed e had written 150,000 letters upon various subjects while he was governor and president.
 This was only the first day of Cole nel Roosevelt's cross-examination He will resume the stand again tomor- row.
 Al conclusion of the proceed ings today the Barnes attorneys piled