Cox—The Man

by Roger Ward Babson

On March 3, 4, and 5, 1919, a conference of governors and mayors was held at the White House, having been called by the President. The Honorable W. B. Wilson, Secretary of Labor, was designated as Chairman of the conference and the writer had the honor of serving as its Secretary. The proceedings of the conference have been published by the United States Government and a copy can be obtained without charge by addressing the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.

Conservatism and Vision

After the conference had been in progress one or two sessions, it was deemed advisable to appoint a committee on resolutions. Almost every Governor and Mayor had some special things which he desired to have favorably passed upon. There was a maze of suggestions and counter suggestions ranging all the way from the conservative teachings of Governor Sproul of Pennsylvania to the socialistic propositions of Mayor Hoan of Milwaukee. Therefore, a committee was appointed and of this committee Governor Cox was appointed chairman. After sifting the various reports and suggestions, he presented a set of resolutions which were a wonderful combination of conservatism and vision.

Whatever others may say regarding Cox’s great labor following, I can vouch that he is fair, and that all legitimate interests will be absolutely safe in his hands. The days which I spent with him in Washington at this Governors’ and Mayors’ conference and what I have since seen of his later work, absolutely convince me of this point. One incident illustrates what I have in mind. There was a clause in the resolutions which suggested “that the federal government continue its helpful offices with the view of averting serious consequences in financial affairs of public utilities.” There was much interest among the governors and mayors on the street railway situation thruout their states and cities. In certain localities there were real conflicts between the different interests. In some cases the fight was over the wages and in other cases the fight was over the fares.

Any members of the Conference who were seeking votes would naturally take the side of the municipalities and object to federal interference. The fares were already low and federal interference could result only in increasing and not in decreasing the fares. Just as soon as the discussion opened, it was evident that it would take courage for any governor or mayor to defend this portion of the resolution.

Governor Cox had the courage not only to write but also to defend and fight for the resolution in question. He made the point that the end never justified the means; that two wrongs do not make a right; and that altho the corporate interests have been wrong in the past this does not justify the public in doing wrong at the present time. He emphasized that true progress could come only thru justice and fairness to all interests whether such justice temporarily hurts or harms us. Altho the cause of the street railways was most unpopular, Governor Cox fought for them diligently and whole-heartedly. The resolution was finally passed with only a few votes against it.

A Friend of Man

Because Governor Cox would not call out the militia during various coal strikes and refused to send troops to Cincinnati at the time of the street car strike and to Steubenville at the time of the steel strike, some have called him a radical. Such criticism simply shows ignorance on the part of him who criticises.

Naturally James M. Cox likes the working man and has a friendly feeling toward him. When Governor he worked hard for the new Ohio constitution. Before the new constitution was in effect, workmen’s accident compensation was voluntary; now it is compulsory. As Governor he went all over the state using his influence to get the voters to adopt the constitution, having personally visited eighty-eight counties. Ohio people tell me that the new constitution was adopted largely on account of Governor Cox’s personal campaign in its behalf. That service pleased the wage workers of Ohio greatly and they naturally say so. On the other hand, James M. Cox often gives very pointed advice.

In talking with the Democratic candidate I was impressed by his sane and clean understanding of the industrial situation. Yet I cannot say that I gained from him any hope of a panacea for our labor problems. He presented no vitally new ideas, and while I confidently believe that he has the grasp of the situation, in other words the vision, the hope of an immediate and complete solution of our industrial difficulties seems little short of absurd. Nor did I find Cox disposed to sanction campaign orating holding out such hope.