you will understand just what I mean. If I were out of office I
would have been in Wilson's campaign a year ago. If I wanted a
Cabinet position now I would resign from the Commission and go out
to help him. I think probably if I felt that California's vote was
necessary to Wilson's success and that I could help to get it, I
would take the latter course, although it is not clear that that
would be my duty, in view of conditions in the Commission.
With warmest regards, believe me, as always, faithfully yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To Francis G. Newlands Reno, Nevada
Washington, October 28, 1912
MY DEAR SENATOR,--I am delighted at the receipt of your long
letter, for I have been very anxious to know how you felt about
your own State. Of course it has been a foregone conclusion for
some time that Wilson would carry the United States, but I was
desirous that you should carry Nevada for your own sake ...
In my judgment the Interstate Trades Commission needs all of your
concentrated energy for the next year. The bill should be your
bill, and you should be the leading authority upon the matter.
Wilson should look to you for advice along this line of dealing
with the trust problem. He will, if you have the greater body of
information upon the subject. Of course Roosevelt did not know
where he was going as to his Trades Commission, and he would not
have had any opportunity were he elected to go any farther, ...
because that Commission has got to feel its way along. Wilson, you
can see from his speeches, has swallowed Brandeis' theory without
knowing much about the problem, but he certainly has handled
himself well during the campaign ... What he does will very
largely depend, I think, upon those who surround him. He must have
access to sources of information outside of the formal
administrative officers who make up his Cabinet. This is a very
delicate way of saying that he must have a sort of "kitchen
cabinet" made up of men like you and myself who will be willing to
talk frankly to him, and whom he will listen to with confidence
and respect. If he can get the Southerners into line with the
Northern Democrats he can make over the Democratic Party and give
it a long lease of life. If he cannot do this, and his party
splits, Roosevelt's party will come into possession of the country
in four years, and hold it for a long time ...
I am glad to see that you have been able to take so personal and
direct an interest in the campaign. Faithfully yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
Following the news of the Democratic victory, in the election of
Woodrow Wilson to the Presidency, Lane sent these letters:--
To Woodrow Wilson Trenton, N. J.
Washington, November 6, 1912
MY DEAR GOVERNOR,--The door of opportunity has opened to the
Progressive Democracy. I know that you will enter courageously.
The struggle of the next four years will be to persuade our timid
brethren to follow your leadership, "gentlemen unafraid." I am
persuaded from my experience here that no President can be a
success unless he takes the position of a real party leader--the
premier in Parliament as well as a chief executive. The
theoretical idea of the President's aloofness from Congress--of a
President dealing with the National Legislature as if he were an
independent government dealing with another--is wrong, because it
has been demonstrated to be ineffective and ruinous. We need
definiteness of program and cooperation between both ends of
Pennsylvania Avenue. There is generally one end of the Avenue that
does not know its own mind, and sometimes it is one, and sometimes
the other.
Your friends have been made happy through the campaign by the
manner in which you have conducted yourself. You spoiled so many
bad prophecies.
With heartiest of personal congratulations, believe me, faithfully
yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To William Jennings Bryan Washington, November 6, 1912
MY DEAR MR. BRYAN,--The unprecedented heroism of your fight at
Baltimore has borne fruit, and every man who has fought with you
for the last sixteen years rejoices that this victory is yours.
Now comes the time when it is to be proved whether we are worthy
of confidence. We shall see whether Democrats will follow a wise,
aggressive, modern leadership. Faithfully yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To James D. Phelan Washington, November 6, 1912
DEAR PHELAN,--Hurrah! Hurrah! and again Hurrah! You have done
nobly. The victory in California came late, but it was none the
less surprising and gratifying. We can dance like Miriam, as we
see the enemies of Israel go down in the flood.
I shall expect to see you here before long. With warmest
congratulations to you personally. As always, sincerely yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To Herbert Harley
Washington, November 18, 1912
MY DEAR MR. HARLEY,--... There are many hopeful signs, as you say,
not the least of which is that the Supreme Court has at last been
moved to amend its equity rules. The whole agitation for judicial
recall will do good because it will not lead to judicial recall
but to the securing of a superior order of men on the bench and to
simplified procedure. I find that it is better to decide matters
promptly and sometimes wrongly than to have long delays. The
people have very little confidence in our courts, and this is
because of one reason: Our judges are not self-owned; either they
are dominated by a political machine or by associations of an even
worse character. Few men on the bench are corrupt; many of them
are lazy, and others are chosen from the class who feel with
property interests exclusively. I am heartily in sympathy with a
movement such as that you are promoting. It is in my opinion a
very practical way--perhaps the only practical way--of heading off
universal judicial recall. This is a Democracy and the people are
going to have men and methods adopted that will give them the kind
of judicial procedure that they want. They are not going to be
unfair unless driven to be radical by intolerable conditions. ...
Sincerely yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
Immediately after Woodrow Wilson's election in November, telegrams
and letters from different parts of the country, and especially
from his many friends in California, began to reach Lane asking
that he should consider himself available for a Cabinet position,
offering support and requesting his permission for them to make a
strong effort in his behalf. This he emphatically refused, saying
that he was not a candidate, but in spite of his refusals,
editorials began to appear in many Western papers.
To Charles K. McClatchy Sacramento Bee
Washington, November 25, 1912
MY DEAR CHARLES,--I received your note and this morning have a
copy of the paper containing the cartoon on "Unfinished Business,"
the original of which, by the way, I should like to have for my
library. ...
I know absolutely nothing about the suggestion made by the Call as
to my being appointed to the Cabinet. I rather think that it was
Ernest Simpson's friendly act, though I have not heard from him at
all. Three men have been to me from the Coast who wanted to be in
the Cabinet, and I have told each one the same thing:--That I was
not a candidate; that no one would speak to the President for me
with my consent; but that I would not say that I would not accept
an appointment, because I would do almost anything to make
Wilson's administration a success, for I believe that he has faced
the right way and the only difficulty that he will have will be in
securing strong enough support to carry out his own policies. I
think he lacks somewhat in adroitness and that his campaign was
much less radical than he would voluntarily have made it. I do not
know him and shall not go near him unless he sends for me. If he
does send for me I shall tell him the truth regarding anybody of
whom he speaks to me. I shall advocate nobody. I am not going to
be a job peddler or solicitor. My present position makes all the
demand upon my imagination, initiative, and capacity that my
abilities justify. I could not work any harder or do any better
work for the people in any position that the Government has to
give. I am not at all enamored of the honor of a Cabinet place.
Now, I am talking to you in the utmost frankness as if you were
sitting just across the table from me. Of course what I am saying
to you is absolutely private and personal. ...
We will just let this matter rest "on the knees of the gods," and
I shall try to serve with as little personal ambition moving me as
is possible with a man who has some temperament.
Sincerely yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To Ernest S. Simpson San Francisco, Cal.
Washington, November 26, 1912
MY DEAR SIMPSON,--How it ever entered into your head to give me so
splendid a boom for a position in Wilson's Cabinet I do not know.
Someone suggested that the tip came from Ira Bennett at this end,
and I see that the Sacramento Bee suggests that the railroads wish
to remove me from my present sphere of troublesomeness; but my own
guess is that your own good heart and our long-time friendship was
the sole cause of this most kindly act.
Some of the California papers, I notice, have had editorials
saying I should stay where I am (which is not a disagreeable fate
to be condemned to, barring a slight surplus of work), but of
course Wilson is not going to appoint anyone to his Cabinet
because of pull. He has a more difficult job than any President
has ever had since Lincoln, because he has to reconcile a
progressive Northern Democracy with a conservative Southern
Democracy, and satisfy one with policies and another with offices.
My guess is that he will have to turn over the whole question of
patronage practically to his Cabinet and that he will become the
actual leader of his party and attempt to formulate the
legislative policies of the party. He has a distinct ideal of what
the Presidency may be made. Whether he can make good under
conditions so apparently irreconcilable is a question that time
only can answer. His political family he will choose for himself.
They ought to be the very largest men that our country can
produce, and I am not fool enough to think that I am entitled to
be in such a group.
With the warmest thanks, my dear Simpson, for your kindness,
believe me, as always, cordially yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To Fairfax Harrison
Washington, November 26, 191L
MY DEAR MR. HARRISON,--That is an exceedingly interesting and
philosophical presentation of your reason for adherence to the
Progressive Party. I understand your point of view and I
sympathize with it thoroughly. I had the hope that Colonel
Roosevelt would carry several of the Southern states. The
Democratic party of the North is distinct from the Democratic
party of the South, at least I fear that it is. The next four
years will demonstrate the possibility of these two elements
living together in effective cooperation. If Governor Wilson is a
mere doctrinaire the present victory will be of no value to the
Democratic party, but may be of great value to the country, for
the horizontal cleavage in the two parties will become manifest,
unmistakable, and open, and out of the breaking up will come a re-
alignment upon real lines of tendency. If President Wilson
attempts to do anything which satisfies the reasonable demand of
the progressive North he will run counter to the traditional
policy of the South; that is to say, effective regulation of child
labor, of interstate corporations--railroad and industrial--flood
waters, irrigation projects. [These,] and a multitude of other
matters make necessary the wiping out of state lines to the extent
that a national policy shall be supreme over a state policy. As
our good Spanish friend said some centuries ago, "Where two men
ride of a horse one must needs ride behind."
This fact is stronger than any written word, and facts are the
things which statesmen deal with. If the South is large enough to
see this--if it has grown to have national vision--the hope of the
Northern Democrat can be realized. Otherwise the traditionalists
of both North and South will make a party by themselves, and the
rest of the country will follow in your lead into THE new party or
A new party.
With warm regards, believe me, cordially yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To James P. Brown
Washington, November 27, 1912
MY DEAR JIM,--I see your point of view and am glad you have taken
the position that you have, because you can demonstrate whether
there is anything excepting a sawed-off shot-gun that will compel
some editors to tell the truth. ...
I shall not read your pamphlet because I have too much other
reading that I am compelled to do. My own guess, being totally
ignorant on the subject, is that you have violated the Sherman
Law, but everybody knows that the Sherman Law should be amended
and the conditions stated upon which there may be combination. Do
get out of your head, however, the idea that a railroad
corporation and an industrial corporation are subject to the same
philosophy, as to competition. One is necessarily a monopoly and
therefore must be regulated; the other is not necessarily a
monopoly, and the least regulation that it can be subjected to the
better. We have let things go free for so long that we have
created a big problem that sane men must deal with sensibly; not
admitting all there is to be right, but recognizing every natural
and legitimate economic tendency. With warm regards, believe me,
as always,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
TO ADOLPH C. MILLER
Washington, December 4, 1912
MY DEAR ADOLPH,--Hon. J. J. London, Minister from the Netherlands
to the United States, left last night for San Francisco and will
be there about the ninth of the month. I have told him somewhat of
you and I want you to call on him. He is one of the most charming
men in Washington, really a poet in nature. He loves the beautiful
and good things of the world and is totally unspoiled by success
and position. ...
It is very good to know that you and President Wheeler have a sort
of mutual agreement on me for a Cabinet position, but I don't
think of it for myself. ... I find that I do not have the ambition
that I once had, excepting to do the work in hand just as well as
possible, and I am altogether impatient with the way I do it. I
should like to see you Secretary of the Treasury. There is to be
some change made in our currency laws during the next four years,
and a man of perfectly sane, level mind is tremendously needed to
guide Wilson in this matter, for I guess he is very ignorant upon
the subject. Especially is this true if Bryan goes into the
Cabinet. E. M. House, who is Sid Mezes' brother-in-law, is as
close to Wilson as any other man, and I will drop him a note,
telling him something about you, for I know that he is interested
in selecting Cabinet officers as he has been talking to me about
possible Attorney Generals. I have told him that I wanted nothing.
...
Mezes is the same adroit diplomat that he has always been, since
receiving the Presidency at Texas. He is doing big things for his
University and says that in two or three years he will be in a
position to retire, and will retire and spend the most of his time
in Europe; but unless my guess is wrong, his ambition has at last
been fired and he will look for other worlds to conquer if he
achieves what he is after in Texas. Cordially yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
TO EDWARD M. HOUSE
Washington, December 13, 1912
MY DEAR MR. HOUSE,--Another suggestion as to the Attorney
Generalship. ... Have you ever heard of John H. Wigmore who is now
Dean of the Law Department of the Northwestern University? He is
one of the most remarkable men in our country. ... He has written
the greatest law book produced in this country in half a century,
WIGMORE ON EVIDENCE, besides several minor works. There is no
lawyer at the American bar who is not familiar with his name and
his work. ...
... Wigmore is a Progressive democrat with a capital P. and a
small d; can give reason for his faith based on his philosophy of
government. He has national vision and has rare good common sense.
The man who can write a good law book is rarely one who would make
a good lobbyist, although Judah P. Benjamin was this sort of
genius. So with Wigmore. He is practical, wise, in the sense that
this word is used by the boys on the street; knows men and knows
how to deal with them; never lets theory get the better of
judgment; commands as much respect for his strength as for his
reasonableness; has the enthusiasm of a boy for all good things;
and has infinite capacity for hard work; can say "No" without
developing personal bitterness; and is above all a gentleman in
face, manner, and nature. All this I have said with enthusiasm,
but every word of it is true. I have known him for thirty years.
...
He would not thank me for writing this letter, I know. The only
way he could be had to serve would be by persuading him that he is
absolutely needed. ...
You have brought this long letter upon your own head by the
gracious nature of your invitation to me to advise with you. Very
truly yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
TO BENJAMIN IDE WHEELER PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Washington, December 23, 1912
DEAR DR. WHEELER,--What you say regarding the President-to-be is
extremely interesting. That he is headstrong, arbitrary, and
positive, his friends admit. These are real virtues in this day of
slackness and sloppiness. I have just returned from New York where
I have talked with McAdoo and House who are extremely close to
him, and advising him regarding his Cabinet, and they tell me he
is a most satisfactory man to deal with. He listens quite
patiently and makes up his mind, and then "stays put." His Cabinet
will be his advisers but no one will control him.
I heard him make that speech at the Southern Society dinner, which
was really much larger than the audience could understand. It was
a presentation of the theory that the thought of the nation
determined its destiny and that we could only have prosperity if
our ideal was one of honor. His warning to Wall Street, that an
artificial panic should not be created, was done in a most
impressive way. ...
I was asked to give the names of men from California who would
make good Cabinet material, and I named Phelan and Adolph Miller.
The currency question will be the big problem in the next two or
three years, and I should like Wilson to have the benefit of as
sane a mind as Miller's; but I fancy that even if everything else
was all right there might be some difficulty in getting a college
professor to appoint another college professor.
I hope we shall see you here soon. With holiday greetings to Mrs.
Wheeler and the Boy, believe me, as always, faithfully yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
TO SIDNEY E. MEZES PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Washington, December 23, 1912
MY DEAR SID,--I have your letter enclosing a telegram from Miller.
I received a note from him acknowledging the telegram. He was
evidently extremely delighted at being remembered. The sturdy,
strong old Dutchman has a whole lot of sentiment in him; and he
makes few friends, has drawn pretty much to himself, I think, and
falls back upon those whom he has known in earlier days. I sent a
note to Mr. House regarding him. He would be a splendid man to
have here in some capacity connected with the Government, now that
we are to deal with currency matters. I told Mr. House that he
could find out all about Miller from you.
I saw House a couple of times in New York. He certainly is an
adroit and masterful diplomat. The fact is I do not know that I
have seen a man who is altogether so capable of handling a
delicate situation. By some look of the eye or appreciative smile
at the right moment he gives you to understand his sympathy with
and full comprehension of what you are saying to him. They tell me
in New York that he is really the man closest to Wilson, and he
tells me that Wilson is a delightful man to deal with because he
has got a mind that is firm as a rock. ...
I send my Christmas greetings to you both. We have a sick little
girl on our hands, but she is coming along all right now. As
always yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To John H. Wigmore
Washington, January 8,1913
MY DEAR JOHN,--... You may not know it, but I suggested your name
to Mr. House, an intimate of President-elect Wilson, for Attorney
General. ... He told me that he gave the letter to Governor
Wilson. ...
Like so many of the Southerners, I fear that Wilson's idea is that
he can declare a general policy and be indifferent as to the men
who carry it out. There is a certain lack of effectiveness running
through the South which makes for sloppiness and a lack of
precision. I have found that generalizations do not get anywhere.
The strength of any proposition lies in its application. The
railroads and the trusts and the packers, and all the others who
are violating the statutes, are indifferent as to how big the law
is and upon what sound principles it is based, provided they have
a lot of speechmakers to enforce the law. They don't care what the
law is; their only concern is as to its enforcement. I am going to
give the Democratic Party four years of honest trial, and then if
it has not more precision, definiteness, and clearness of aim, am
going to call myself a Progressive, or a Republican, or something
else.
Wilson is strong, capable of keeping his own counsel, and capable
of making up his own mind. In these three respects he differs
materially from our present President whose last flop on the
arbitration of the Panama Canal proposition is characteristic. ...
Now, old man, let me say to you that you must take the very best
of care of yourself, for we need you more than anybody else in
this country, right at this time. As always yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To John H. Wigmore Washington, January 20, 1913
MY DEAR JOHN,--I have received both of your letters, and I am very
glad that you made that mistake regarding my address for it
brought me two letters instead of one. I received your Continental
Legal History months ago and thought that I had acknowledged it
with all kinds of appreciation, but perhaps I only thought the
things. ... I turned the book over to Minister Loudon of the
Netherlands who knew the Dutch professor who had written one of
the articles, and the rascal has not returned the book, but I
shall get it from him one of these days. ... Washington is now
greatly stirred because Wilson has frowned upon the Inaugural
Ball--a very proper frown, to my way of thinking--but inasmuch as
all of the merchants who advance money for the inaugural
ceremonies recoup themselves from the receipts from the Inaugural
Ball, there is much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and
Wilson will enter Washington, in my judgment, a very unpopular
president, locally. The fact is, I think, he is apt to prove one
of the most tremendously disliked men in Washington that ever has
been here.
He has a great disrespect for individuals, and so far as I can
discover a very large respect for the mass. His code is a little
new to us; and I feel justified in proceeding upon the theory that
every man should help him, and that it is within his (Wilson's)
proper function to throw Mr. Everyman down whenever public good
requires it, and that his silence never estops him from
interfering at any time. Perhaps you cannot make out just what
this means. I am dictating, sitting in my room at home with a very
bad cold, and perhaps I do not know precisely what I mean myself;
but I am trying to say that under all circumstances Wilson regards
himself as a free man, and that he is bound by no ties whatever to
do anything or to follow any course; that he recognizes no such
thing as consistency, or logic, or gratitude, as in the slightest
embarrassing him. ...
I do hope that the President will get some capable effective
administration officers who will take the burden of patronage off
his shoulders and give him a chance to think on the money
question, which is his big problem. I like his Chicago speech, I
like his New York speech, but I do not find many people who
understand him, because he is really a sort of philosopher. He
teaches the psychology of new thought, the influence and effect of
thought upon government.