New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-27

n request that young lfo"pi'"s'
allowed to bid. .;o,,
ST have one or two rather curious
things to tell you about the Situ"''''
The following letter was sent oo by
Roosevelt to Platt on February y 90 90,
81 have lust received your teiegr"
saving. anent Smith and ClarH, eT,
IDENTIFY YOU do not comprehehu '"0
merits OF the mem -
81 have spoken with n numoer VI
nrominent members OF the bar Hnu
their opinion TO be practlcaiIy uha.ii
nous that Smiths appointment WOMB
not be justifable. This was my o"t.
view. like Smith personally ! uon
think that in either ability or rSPu1"
ton he sizes up to what we 6houid 81,
meet in this office. Neither do l tninn IN,
that Austin should be appointed: al,
Inclined TO agree with your we" u
Beckett and the inadylsaDillty Oh "P
pointing him. roroo What
do you think OF Van Nechteh 49,
Personally / don't believe tnat any -,
them is anywhere near as Dlg nian
as Clark. Clark was very strone ima',
for me on the stump last year AS you
know, he was supporter VI 80
against Low, and | had always res"iT 7,
% him "a an organization man. II
yor remember, Blanchard, who was
also Tracy man, was suggested py
OJeII Do YOU think Tom Ihatcher
would take it? n. -
~ have already written 20 Eoot 10
get his judgment on the different men
lie has been very strong for Clarh'
shall tell him to exclude HIM IN inc
COMPARISON. II Cohen would take H. OF
course | should be only too dGligh'eu
"a apnoint him. Shall | try? what 90
YOU think Of Taft? -
"Hendricks has written me, ieeHns
badly about his man Gilbert APP"l
entity all the Syracuse people are nor
against Wheeler. At any rate, heh,
bricks wants Gilbert placed, ana
should like to try and place nm II
Johnston is not to be reappolnted on
the Commission of Mediation and ArDi-
trat;on why couldn't Gilbert be put IL
there =,
"Stranahan has just come IN 70
argue very strongly against turning
Hermance of the Board OF lax AS
SCISSORS. He states that he has no per
sonal interest in Hcrmance, DuJ mas
seen an immense amount or ms work
and ne also believes that 10 appoint
three new members will bring about
chaos and will be serious damage 70
the administration. lie evidently feels
yerv strongly about it, and Impressed
me n good deal. don't know but that
We might have trouble that Will be "a
our discredit IL all three Of them went
off il. What do you think about II
How would it do to put on Priest and
Leacraft and leave Hermance Tor 'he
time being?
81 asked Stranahan HOY Hermance
and Jenkins compared, and he said that
Jenkins was better than Adams, but
he was not at all in the class OF Her
nance. and that we certainly ought 70
have some lawyer on the board unless
we wished TO see them IN snarl, and
that as a countryman he would regte'
greatly seeing Hermance taken oil II
New York City man were put on az
though he entirely acqulesced IN the
desirability Of putting on a Ne" Tore
City man.
Bracket came in this morning WIN
the news that WOrden positively re-
fused
For and Against Candidates.
"P. 81 ought perhaps TO say that
Senator'S and Assemblymen here nave
all of their own accord been lnquirlng
whv | do not nominate Clarke.
ION looking over the letters filed
with me [ find a number strongly IN
favor of Beckett, but several strongly
against him. George ". Stevens spe-
cifcally charges that in number OF
cases Mr.. Beckett, while in the Surro-
gates office as probate clerk, used ms
position as such TO compel parties TO
refer TO himself cases which he could
have attended 20 without any charge
whatsoever.
-. Eyerts Tracy writes me conf
dentially giving a specific incident OF
an abuse on the part Of Mr.. Beckett OF
lust the type Arnold had been charged
with.
Prescott Hall Butler of the same
Office, writes saying that large mum
Der of the more prominent members OF
the bar would feel that the appoint
ment would be an unworthy one and
that he personally regards him as a
dangerous man. There are a number
of others who write against him in a
who urge anything specific.
Now, John Proctor Clarke, whom
have dropped entirely as out of the
race and whose appointment | shall
not consider, makes specific statement,
to show Beckett's undesrability fol
the position.
81 wish TO heaven Judge Cohen could
be persuaded to take the position, but
| suppose that is impossible. ! told
YOU this morning that various promi
nent lawyers had spoken to me against
appointing Beckett on the ground that
he was a small man. Do you think
Tom Thatcher would take it? This
Surrogate business is important. We
should get really first class man il
we can. Would Barnum, Henry Jesup
Taft?
by the way, will you tell Mr.. Quigg
that ! have seen his man O'Brien anC
like him, exactly as | like Jimmie
March. To prevent mistakes, a.
O'Brien is rather a common name, will
you ask Quigg to let me know if the
O'Brien | saw is the one he meant He
can find out at once by asking O'Brier
f he called on me.
THE two vacancies which will occur
are those Of Kidder as Port Warden
and Barker rs assistant factory i'm
spector. O'Brien strikes me as being
good man for the latter place, anC
| think he would get on with OLeary
There are charges against Barker, but
if | DO not intend TO reappoint | may
not go into them. OLeary is seeming
ly doing well and | understand you
want him roappointed. Then | will put
March in a. Port Warden.
Let me again say, my dear Senator
what | know you are aware of, that in
this business about the Surrogate
have not the slightest purpose be-
yond getting a thoroughly good mar
who will do the work well. who is q