Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-04-23

government"
QUESTION OF ELIGIBILIrY
FOR GOVERNOR BROUGHT uP
When was the question OF your cliG-
My remembrance is that Mr. Root
was present during the first discussion
OF that question.
Was Mr.. Root asked to advocate
your nomination. and asked to Justify
your eligibility"
Il think he was.
Was MIR. Choatc asked to do the
same thing"
THINKS CIIoATE; SAID
Ill: WAS NOT ELIGIBLE
81 do not recollect. My memory is
that l was told Mr.. Choate had said
was not eligible"
Had you learned that Louis Payne
and Governor Black had also said you
were not clsiblc?'
81 think | heard that"
DO You remember 4 discussion be-
tween all these gentlemen about your
elieibilty?"
Il do; AIR. Odcll was there. too"
do YOU remember Mr.. Odcll asking
the lawyers there who could raise the
question of your eligibility, If YOU were
clectcd?"
no, do not remember that. ] be-
licvc some one said the Attornev-Gen-
eral alone could
Did some one ask what difference
that made. as if YOU were elected the
whole ticket. including an Attorney
General, would be elected"
Not just that. Ii was said no ono
would ever Insist upon the eligibility
after my election
Mr.. Wins returned to the question
of taxes. Colonel Roosevelt said:
After I returned from tho Spanish
War I'm 1895, l found that my taxes had
not been paid. My uncle, James y.
Roosevelt, was supposed to pay them,
hut he died before he had the oppor-
tunity When l got back from Cuba.
the books had been closed. SO I could
not pay the taxes"
do you remember writing to your
Cousin John In New York in 1898. ask
ing him whether YOU had to pay these
personal taxes IL you were a resident
of Washington, and not of New York;
II do tho Colonel replied.
Did YOU intend to stand by Plat
and Odcl when the Republican ma
chine nominated you?"
Yes: as long as they went straight.
They knew ] would stand by every
body as long as they were honest.
They knew l would stand for no dis
honesty
do YOU stand for righteousness,
with due regard for opportunisn?"
II do not. stand for righteousness.
and always have"
LETTERS nlcTNNEEN
ROOSEVELT AND PLNTT
After 4 few more questions, Mr.. WINS
produced n series of letters between
Senator Plat and Colonel Roosevelt.
One was from Senator Plat to Roose
Welt when he was Governor. urging him
TO veto the franchise tax bill: another
was Roosevclt's answer. explaining his
refusal 10 comply With the request.
Il, i'll -,
Plat, discussing the character of a man
to he nominated to succeed Roosevelt
rs Governor. The franchise tax letters
were written in May, 1899. In urging
the veto OF tho franchise tax bill, Sen
ator Plat wrote:
"Whcn the subject of your nomi-
nation was under consideration there
was one matter that gave me real anN-
icty. / think you will haze no trouble
in approaching the fact that 1t was
not the matter of your independence. ]
did have a little mite of apprehension
1T what has been called your impulsive
nature. But il seemed to mo that the
element of danger there could not he
very great l reminded myself of the
fact that YOU have gone through n
great many different political expert
cuccs, and that however large may
have been the fund Of impulse with
which YOU started out. YOU must by
this time have realized the fact that il
is not himself only who is committed
and rendered responsible by the act of
4 party executive.
II assumed that you would easily APP
preciate the fact that anything done
ny YOU az Governor OF New York tended
to commit your whole party and cs-
pccially those OF us who were asso-
ciatcd in the public mind with your
candidacy, ana l had small doubt that
YOU would give fair consideration to
this fact before YOU began to move in
any novel dircction-novcl, l mean, as
to party policy.
But the thing that did really bother
me was this: had neard from n good
many sources that YOU were a little
loose on the relations OF capital and
labor on trusts and combinations, and,
indeed, on those numerous questions
WhiIh have recently arisen in politics
affecting the security of earnings, and
the right OF a man TO run his own bust
ness in his own way, with due respect.
Of course TO the ten commandments and
the penal code. Or, 10 get mt il even
more clearly, ! understood from n mum
Der OF business men, ana among them
many of your own personal friends.
that YOU entertained various aitrustic
IDEAS, all very we'll in their way, but
which. before they could safely DO put
into law. needed very profound con-
sidcratiOu. ! answered these sugges-
y
felt. You Will remember that in our
Fifth Avenue talk ] brought this mat
ter up, but, of course, we had no time
TO 20 into IT carefully, and. anyway, Ly
that time. your candidacy had become
practically a settled matter"
IJ.hI"r REFERS TO
rOpULiSM AND BRYhNISM
Senator Platt then spoke of populism
ana Bryan, ana continued:
You have just adjourned a Lcrisla-
tUrc which. Notwithstanding the con-
spiracy which seemed 10 exist in the
Senate for the destruction OF certain
party Duls which YOU ana ! had agreed
upon rs cmincntly wise. created n good
opinion throughout the State. ] con-
graduate YOU heartily upon this fact,
because ! sincerely believe. as anybody
else does that this good Impression
exists very largely 40 "a result of Your
personal influence IN the legislative
chambers.
But at tho last minute and 10 my