The power broker : Robert Moses and the fall of New York
Page 185
Notes for pages 247-259
1192
and NYT, Jan. 27, 1930. Knew he was dying: De Forest to Smith, June 22, 1926, Smith Papers. Schoellkopfs cooperation: "Transcript" cited below, p. 163. Clearwater swaying Treman: Society Minutes. RM embarrassed: "Transcript" cited below, p. 21; on p. 45, RM says, "We have made ourselves ridiculous at Albany." Dispute over parkway: "Transcript," pp. 16-32: RM's real worry, although he never states it in so many words, is revealed by a statement he makes on p. 25. Doctors gave him no chance: Wilcox to Smith, June 22, 1926, Smith Papers.
RM moving against the old men: Three documents are central—a 210-page "Transcript, Joint Conference, Special Committee of State Council of Parks and State Reservation at Niagara, July 15, 1926" (hereafter referred to as "Transcript"); "Report of Special Committee Appointed by the State Council of Parks to Examine and Report on the Matter of a Connecting Parkway from the State Reservation at Niagara across Grand Island, and Upon the Matters Referred to in the Letter of His Excellency, Hon. Alfred E. Smith, Governor of the State of New York, dated June 3rd, 1924, Adopted by the State Council of Parks at a Meeting Held on July 24th, 1926, at Binghamton" (hereafter referred to as "Report"); Wilcox's last letter to RM, Aug. 5, 1926 (hereafter referred to as "Wilcox letter"). These documents were found in a sealed manila folder in the Smith Papers that had apparently never been opened. The folder is identified only as "200-276-2."
Wilcox believes RM wrote "Smith" letter: "Wilcox Letter," pp. 5, 6; the original draft cannot be found in the Smith Papers, but if RM did not actually write it, and Smith send it out substantially unchanged, over his signature, it would be the only such letter from Smith on the subject of parks, out of hundreds the author examined in the Smith Papers.
June 26 Parks Council meeting: The Niagara Commission's resolutions are contained in "Minutes, State Reservation at Niagara," attached to Wilcox to Smith, June 22, 1926, Smith Papers. Moses never even told the council of their existence: Wilcox to Lutz, Aug. 21, 1926, Smith Papers. "The stenographer was told to omit things": "Wilcox Letter," p. 7. In the "Transcript," there are "discussions off the record," on pp. 93 and 164; the unreported "argument" is on p. 132.
Not an investigation: "Transcript," p.
7. RM's interruption: p. 11. "Just one minute": p. 153. Downer's "I have no fault to find": p. 155, repeated on p. 166. "What if it was, Mr. Moses?": p.
164.
"The opportunity is slipping": Wilcox to Smith, Aug. 4, 1926, Smith Papers. Sure Downer would be fair: "Wilcox Letter," p. 8. Downer's exoneration. "Report," pp. 4-5. Report not distributed: "Wilcox Letter," pp. 3-9.
Letter to Lutz: Wilcox's innocuous letter is in Smith Papers; RM to Wilcox Aug. 4, 1926, Smith Papers. "In Wilcox's view": "Wilcox Letter."
"Commission not functioning": RM to Smith, May 25, 1927, Smith Papers. De Forest to Smith: No date visible, Smith Papers. Clearwater's letter: Clearwater to Smith, Mar. 28, 1927, Smith Papers. RM convinces Smith: RM to Smith, May 25, 1927, Smith Papers. (Smith sent the letter embodying the changes, a letter written by RM, same date.)
Al Smith stuck: "I am very sure": De Forest to Smith, no date visible, Smith Papers. "You idiot!": Graham, p. 139. Smith on Mills and the barons: NYT, Oct. 26, 28, 1926. Emily's analysis: Interview with author. Parks were an improvement he could see: Perkins OHR and several interviewees made this comment. Smith didn't realize how drastic ...: Emily Smith Warner.
"We could have done nothing without him": Moses, A Tribute to Governor Smith, pp. 17-18; Israels, Proskauer. "I wonder what Bob's doing tonight": Cullman. "A tie": Cullman."You could tell": Rabenold.
15. Curator of Cauliflowers
SOURCES
Books:
Dahlberg, The New York Bureau of Municipal Research; Freidel, Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Ordeal and Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Triumph; Handlin, Al Smith and His America; Hapgood and Moskowitz, Up from the City Streets; Lipson, The American Governor; Moscow: What Have You Done for Me Lately?; Pringle, Alfred E. Smith; Rodgers, Robert Moses; Schlesinger, The Age of Roosevelt, Vol. I: The Crisis of the Old Order and Vol. Ill: The Politics of Upheaval; Warner, The Happy Warrior. See also "Sources" for Chapter 6.
Notes for pages 260-279
Author's interviews:
Israel Ben Scheiber, William S. Chapin, Richard S. Childs, Ernest J. Clark, Jane Moses Collins, John A. Coleman, Perry B. Duryea, Jr., Mrs. Hilda E. Hellman, Mrs. Elmer B. Howells, Carlos Israels, John Krumenacker, William Latham, Richard Mayes, Robert Payne, Joseph M. Proskauer, Mrs. Helen Roth, Jimmy Roth, Sidney M. Shapiro, Bertram D. Tallamy, Hazel Tappan, Emily Smith Warner.
NOTES
State reorganization: Three books— Dahlberg, pp. 93-H2, Hapgood and Mos-kowitz, and Lipson—describe it in detail, as did Richard S. Childs in interviews with the author.
Al Smith said so: Quoted in Warner, p. 173. His daughter herself says, "In his own belief the work he did in reorganizing the state government stood first" among all his achievements, p. 173. "Against the tide of the Twenties": Frei-del, Triumph, p. 11; Handlin, p. 186. Roosevelt was to say: Schlesinger, Politics, p. 520. Lippmann: To Smith, Nov. 6, 1925, Smith Papers. Wagner: Hapgood and Moskowitz, p. 218. "The great classic": Lipson, p. 90.
Secretary of State: RM to be a "Deputy Governor": Brooklyn Eagle, Jan. 25, 1927. An unidentified GOP senator is quoted as saying: "We were given to understand by the Governor that the new Secretary of State job is to be-the most important of them all." Politicians raged: Pringle, p. 258. "The most hated man in Albany": Israels. Wanted to formalize the arrangement: Hapgood and Moskowitz, p. 186. "None of the objectors": Eagle, Jan. 21, 1927; see also Feb. 2, 1927. Brown postcard and Thompson reply: Quoted in Eagle, Jan. 24, 1927. Relatives commenting: Hellman. Bella's comment: Ben Scheiber, the Madison House head worker to whom she made the comment when he brought her the news.
Boxing: W. O. McGeehan's "Down the Line" columns in the Tribune in 1927 furnish many humorous anecdotes about the Annie Oakley controversy. Quote is from his column of Mar. 24, I9 2 7- F ar " ley: NYT, Feb. 19, 1927. "Any decision should be unanimous": RM quoted in Rodgers, p. 65. "Frankly admitting": Tribune, Jan. 20, 1928.
Put RM in charge of Cabinet; made RM personally responsible: RM, Proskauer, Coleman.
1193
He set his life into a hard mold:
piro, Latham, Jane Moses ( oli Howells, Miss Tappan Lazarus, I Childs, confidential sources. Duryta: In terview with author. A woman: I dential source. One executhe: I.at, Secretaries: Confidential sources. "I^ved that bay": Mrs. Howells "He wasn't so tense then": Latham. Picking men, chain of command: Shapiro. Chapin afraid to leave desk: Chapin. Observer: Moscow, p. 205. Tallamy: Tallamy. Overcoming Shapiro's shyness: Shapiro. Suicide: I he name of the aide involved, a young assistant counsel of the LISPC, is'withheld at the request of a friend because, forty years later, his mother still suffers from the recollection. Executives' homes: One row of homes is on a secluded, difficult-to-reach street in Belmont Lake State Park, south of the Southern State Parkway.
The satisfaction of working for him: Although this was a theme repeated to the author by many architects and engineers, it was stated especially forcefully and perceptively by Ernie Clark, president of Andrews & Clark, in an interview with the author. Summary of achievements under Smith: Rodgers, pp. 58-64. Firing the engineer: Coleman. The two speeches: Transcripts made by stenographer Lloyd Record on commission for W. Kingsland Macy (found in Macy Papers) of speeches by RM before the Eastern Long Island Real Estate Board at the Canoe Place Inn, Hampton Bays, June 16, 1927; and before the Long Island Real Estate Board at the Montauk Manor, Montauk, Sept. 9, 1927.
"Whether the commissioners . . .": RM quoted in Tribune, Feb. 4, 1927.
Bathhouses: Perkins OHR, Vol. Ill, p. 367. Speeding motorcade: RM denied the charges of speeding, but residents of the villages still remember the incident, and articles in the Babylon Leader (for example, Aug. 12, 1927) and the Brooklyn Daily Times quote people who saw it. Cooper editorial: Aug. 5, 1927.
Compromising with the barons: Latham, Richard Mayes, Robert Payne; FDR to Francis P. Garvan, Apr. 9, 1929, FDR Papers.
The Roths: The author's interviews with Mrs. James J. (Helen) Roth and Jimmy Roth. The feelings of other farmers were obtained by Ina Joan Caro from John Krumenacker, who owned an adjoining farm. The author also interviewed RM's aide William Latham, who handled the engineering under which the route was shifted. Latham recalled vividly
Notes for pages 280-293
1194
the negotiations with De Forest. He couldn't remember the farmers at all.
"Bob, it's over": Warner, p. 205; Hand-lin, pp. 112-36. RM ran the state for Smith: Proskauer, Cullman, Warner. Screened out hate mail: Warner.
16. The Featherduster
SOURCES
The relationship of the three men— Smith, Roosevelt and Moses—before and during FDR's Governorship is described —from widely varying points of view but never in sufficient depth—in Bellush, Roosevelt as Governor; Farley, Behind the Ballots and Jim Farley's Story; Hand-lin, Al Smith and His America; Proskauer, A Segment of My Times; Rodgers, Robert Moses; Warner, The Happy Warrior; as well as in Flynn, You're the Boss; Freidel, Franklin D. Roosevelt: The Ordeal and Franklin D. Roosevelt: The Triumph; Ickes, The Secret Diary of Harold L. Ickes, Vol. I: The First Thousand Days; Perkins, The Roosevelt I Knew; Rosenman, Working with Roosevelt; Schlesinger, The Crisis of the Old Order; Stiles, The Man Behind Roosevelt; Moley, 27 Masters of Politics; Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins. But the primary sources used for these chapters are the Smith, FDR and Morgenthau Papers; the Reuben A. Lazarus, George Van Schaick and Frances Perkins OHR's (Miss Perkins is franker in her OHR than in her book); interviews with observers of the Albany scene at the time, including Adolph A. Berle, Jr., Carlos Israels, Michael J. Madigan, Lazarus, Proskauer and Albert L. Warner—and RM himself, who discussed Roosevelt with some tact in Dangerous Trade but whose hatred spilled over in "Why I Oppose the Fourth Term," The Saturday Evening Post, Oct. 17, 1944, and in interviews with the author. These sources —taken all in all—present a picture of the Smith-Roosevelt conflict that suggests more strongly than do any of the Roosevelt biographers, except, possibly, Freidel, a picture of the older Governor as wronged.
NOTES
FDR's relationship with Smith circle:
Schlesinger; Freidel, The Triumph; Hand-lin, pp. 138-40. Eleanor and the teapot: Freidel, The Ordeal, p. 200. FDR telephoning RM: RM, Israels. "Pissroom":
Albert Warner. "Featherduster," "a harmless bust": Schlesinger, pp. 323, 331. Haughtiness in Albany: Schlesinger, p. 338. "Happy Warrior" speech: This story was related to the author by Proskauer and RM in interviews. Carlos Israels says that Belle Moskowitz had told it to him, and Emily Smith Warner says she was told it by her father. "Showy but harmless"; Mrs. M worried: Proskauer.
"Secretary and valet": Rodgers, p. 39; RM, Madigan; the incident, although not the exact wording of what RM said to FDR, is confirmed in Smith Papers. FDR "cared deeply about nature": Schlesinger, Pp. 334-35- 1922 proposal: Freidel, The Ordeal, p. 149. FDR's plans for the Ta-conic region: In great detail and with great enthusiasm, in various letters to Smith, most notably Dec. 3, 1926, Smith Papers, "Splendid project": FDR to Smith, Dec. 3, 1926, Smith Papers. RlVTs feelings: Confidential source. "Absurd and humiliating": FDR to Smith, Dec. 3, 1926, Smith Papers. "I suggest you write him": RM to Smith, Dec. 23, 1926, Smith Papers; Smith did so, sending the letter out, over his signature, exactly as written, Jan. 10, 1927. "No function left": FDR to Smith, Dec. 30, 1927, Smith Papers. Revealing letter: FDR to Smith, Jan. 30, 1928, Smith Papers. "I know of no man": Smith to FDR, Feb. 3, 1928, Smith Papers.
Roosevelt nominating Smith: Freidel, The Ordeal, p. 243. "It's a pity": Perkins OHR Vol. Ill, pp. 40-41. Decision to urge FDR to run: Freidel, The Ordeal, pp. 250-56; Emily Smith Warner; RM. RM to Emily at the convention: Warner, p. 239. Rosenman: Schlesinger, pp. 283-85; Freidel, The Ordeal, pp. 261-62. RM to Perkins: Perkins OHR Vol. I, p. 422; Vol. Ill, p. 40. "Vicious": Confidential source. Berle told the author RM "always talked badly about Eleanor Roosevelt. Roosevelt to Perkins: Perkins OHR, Vol. Ill, pp. 11, 372. "Real hatred": Lazarus.
He meant it: Most of Roosevelt's biographers take Smith's post-1928 disclaimers of presidential ambitions at less than face value, but the author's interviews with such Smith intimates and observers of both men as, among others, Smith's daughter, Proskauer, Lazarus, Cullman, John A. Coleman and RM, have led him to conclude that this assessment is unfair. He feels the definitive word on the subject is provided by the recollections of Edward J. Flynn (in You're the Boss) and James A. Farley (in Behind the Ballots, written while
Notes for pages 294-305
Farley was still friendly with Roosevelt). "Same team": Proskauer, p. 64. Roosevelt had pledged to continue Smith's work: Freidel, The Ordeal, pp. 261-63. He "forgot": Schlesinger (pp. 386-87) gives a different, more pro-FDR interpretation of this period.
"Generally, for that is what we said": Freidel, The Triumph, p. 12.
Roosevelt's character: Moley, pp. 36-44; Sherwood, p. 9; Handlin, p. 144.
Conflict over RM: "That was the way it was set up": RM. RM meeting with Roosevelt: RM.
Letter of resignation: RM to Roosevelt, Dec. 18, 1928, printed in NYT, Dec. 19. FDR reply: NYT, Dec. 20, 1928. Editorials: World, NYT, Dec. 20, 1928.
Roosevelt pursuing Flynn: Flynn, pp. 74-77. The fact that Flynn never devoted much time to the job rankled RM, who had wanted it to be one of continuing importance, and he told the author that one day, at least a year after his appointment, Flynn arrived at the building in which the Secretary of State's office was located, and didn't know what floor it was on.
FDR's "wistful smile": Quoted in Freidel, The Triumph, p. 20. RM stalking out: RM, confirmed by Albert Warner, who was covering the inauguration for the NYT, and by Lazarus.
17. The Mother of A ccommodation
SOURCES
Books:
Farley, Behind the Ballots; Flynn, You're the Boss; Handlin, Al Smith and His America; Josephson and Josephson, Al Smith: Hero of the Cities; Rodgers, Robert Moses; Sobin, Dynamics of Community Change. See also "Sources" for Chapter 16.
Author's interviews:
Howard S. Cullman, Eugene Hurley, Reuben A. Lazarus, Ann and Louis Lubin, Sidney M. Shapiro, Emily Smith Warner.
Oral History Reminiscence:
Frances Perkins.
NOTES
Northern State Parkway fight: The author's understanding of the veiled phrases
1195
in the correspondence from the FDR Papers was aided by Sidney M. Soft] who offered the assistance with the stipulation that he not be named unless he died (which he has since done), and by two confidential sources, one on RM staff. It was when the author attempted to question RM about the $10,000 Kahn "gift" that RM broke off the interviews and refused further cooperation with this book. Clark and RM writing to FDR at Warm Springs: FDR refers to Clark telegram in FDR to RM, Nov. 23, 1928, FDR Papers.
FDR backing RM at first: Conversations referred to in Clark to FDR, Mar. 29, 1929, FDR Papers.
Hutchinson and Hewitt telegram to RM: Mar. 21, 1929. RM defiant: RM to FDR, Mar. 21, 1929, FDR Papers. (The crucial sentence: "Mr. Kahn generously offered to buy three of four small pieces of land owned by farmers who could not afford to dedicate.") "Will not make a creditable chapter": Clark to FDR, Mar. 29, 1929, FDR Papers.
Clark ultimatum: ". . . while we are ready and anxious to arrive at some adjustment and agreement, in the event that this cannot be done, there seems to be nothing to do but to fight the matter out to a conclusion by presenting the matter carefully on its merits. It would be too bad if we have to go through a long controversy on this subject. But what is there to do . . . ," Clark to FDR, Oct. 23, 1929, FDR Papers. Actual cost $2,250,000: Sobin, p. 105. RM has to promise no parks: Shapiro, Hurley, confidential source.
"A bond on your signature": Lazarus. A new routine: RM, Emily Smith Warner.
Begging Lutz: FDR to Lutz, Jan 17, 1931, FDR Papers. LI Democrats: Nassau Democratic leader Krug to FDR, Sept. 14, 1930, FDR Papers.
"An old school boyfriend": FDR to RM, Apr. 23, 1930, FDR Papers. Among other humiliations the Governor had to suffer over the question of patronage was one that occurred when he began running for the presidency in 1932. A key Massachusetts supporter wrote him asking for a promotion for a relative on the LISPC staff, FDR wrote RM, and RM replied, in a letter to FDR's secretary, James J. Mahoney, "I think the efforts of this young man to get himself some sort of special preference through political channels in Massachusetts is wholly improper. . . . The best thing this young man can do is to take his medicine and be glad that he has a job of any
Notes for pages 305-324
1196
kind." Buckley to FDR, Apr. 9, 1932; FDR to RM, Apr. 12, 1932; RM to Mahoney, Apr. 19, 1932, FDR Papers.
Fort Schuyler: A long series of letters from FDR to the Army and from influential to FDR in "Fort Schuyler" folder, FDR Papers. Straus speech: NYT, June 24, 1932.
Executive budget fight: The definitive discussion is in Freidel, The Triumph, Chapter 4. RM's advice: RM to Mark Graves, State Budget Director, Oct. 15, 1931, FDR Papers.
Jones Beach: Attendance: Newspapers and Annual Report of the LISPC, 1929. Biehl: NYT, Aug. 18, 1931. Englishman: Rodgers, p. 56. "You will feel like a heel": Shell Progress. "Magical": Rodgers, pp. 188-89. "No concessions"; attendance: Relevant Annual Reports of the LISPC. "More than doubled": Annual Report of the LISPC, 1930, p. 6.
$75,000: RM. Ocean highway: RM quoted in NYT, June 25, 1930. The Smith sisters: RM to FDR, Aug. 17, 1931; Waldridge, another Fire Island landowner, to RM, Aug. 21, 1931, FDR Papers. Typical RM threat to resign: RM to FDR, Nov. 10, 1930, FDR Papers. Typical FDR backing away: FDR to RM, May 9, 1933, FDR Papers.