New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-30


would have TO be shut up or business
stopned. and as result all business
throughout the country stopped.
| received notice one night that next
morning. before or after breakfast. two
representatives of the Steel Corpora,
ton Mr.. Frick and Mr. Gary wished
10 see me. Mr.. Gary and Mr. Frick
represented. to me that II the steel
Corporation that Is, II Mr.. Plerpont
Morgans company took possession AT
once Of the Tennessee Coal and Iron
Company stock. which was deposited
az collateral in threatened banks and
institutions in New York. that they
were sure the storm would be wealth
cred and the panic stopped. and mat
this was the general sentiment IN New
York.
Advised by Root.
The court: Now. Colonel Roosevelt,
on that advice you consented to the
combination? A. On that advice. ad-
vised by Elihu Root and ratified by the
Attorney General, and with this fur
Their statement which ] should be al
lowed to put in on the ruling of your
honor: They did not wish to purchase
that stocI because their policy was TO
reduce their percentage of holdings.
and that they were only purchasing II
as the only way of getting rid OF the
dangerous financial situation. | asked
them if they could not defer action
until the Attorney General came from
Baltimore. The answer was that the
panic had reached such a crisis that il
it was not stopped that morning they
doubted if they could stop it at all
without ruin to the country every
where, and that before the market
opened in Wall Street.
The court: | don't think il is i'm
portant to go into so much detail.
Witness: | want TO say that pub
lished it,
Q-Now, Mr.. Roosevelt, I want to
ask you how many statutes you have
signed, how many tfficers you have
appointed by your signature. since the
correspondence between you and MIR.
Plat and Mr. Barnes that has been
offered in evidence, since you became
Governor of the state? A.-Since |
became Governor of the state ! have
written over 10000 letters. | have
made 10000 appointments where my
signature has been affixed to the com
mission. have signed over 10000
laws, and signed Appropriation laws
whose total items aggregated several
billions of dollars, and have made sew
eral thousand speeches.
o. notice in the correspondence
some letters referring to the appoint
ment of judges. ! would like you TO
tell the jury whether you in all cases
conferred with Mr.. Plat or with any
body else in the organization on such
appointments, and your purpose in
doing il when you did. and what action
you took concerning the information
that was given to you by Mr. Platt or
any of the other members of the or
ganization. An almost all the cases
consulted with Mr.. Plat about the
appointment Of judges. was, how
ever, obliged to disregard his advice in
q much larger percentage OF cases.
No Invisible Government.
Q.-I want TO ask you whether,
while you were Governor or you were
President, there was any invisible gov
eminent on your part? A.-Ther, was
not one particle of II.
Mr.. Bowers tried TO get into evidence
that Senator Plat had testified before
the insurance investigating committee,
Of which Charles +. Hughes was coun-
sci, that various insurance companies
had made contributions TO the New
y ork state committee. Colonel Roose-
welt was out with a ready "Yes." when
Mr. Bowers started off by asking if he
remembered the testimony of Senator
Plat. Right there it was checked.
however, and the court ruled that so
long as it could be shown that the
contributions had been made directly
to Mr.. Barnes or that he had knowl-
edge of it the evidence was not per-
missible
Q. by Mr.. Bowers - Now. Mr.
Roosevelt. there is another matter
have not touched upon. You were
asked on your cross-examination con-
corning the question of your residence
that came before the Republican con-
vention of 1898, when you were nomi-
mated, and there was a statement
made by you at one time concerning
Mr.. Roots action in that matter. |
would like you to tell me whether or
not Mr.. Root made a speech upon that
subject at the convention. Ale did.
Q-After that speech the convention
nominated you? A.-Unanimously.
Q.-Mr. Roosevelt, | want to ask you
whether the attitude which you took
in your speeches of 1911 was different
from the attitude which you took in
1910 concerning Mr.. Barnes? Alt
was.