At his request I went with him to
the meeting. It developed almost immediately that the labor men
had taken a wrong measure of the man. They met him as a politician
playing for points, and hinted at trouble unless their demands were
met. Mr. Roosevelt broke them off short:
"Gentlemen!" he said, with that snap of the jaws that always made
people listen, "I asked to meet you, hoping that we might come to
understand one another. Remember, please, before we go farther,
that the worst injury any one of you can do to the cause of labor
is to counsel violence. It will also be worse for himself. Understand
distinctly that order will be kept. The police will keep it. Now
we can proceed."
I was never so proud and pleased as when they applauded him to the
echo. He reddened with pleasure, for he saw that the best in them
had come out on top, as he expected it would.
It was of this incident that a handle was first made by Mr. Roosevelt's
enemies in and out of the Police Board--and he had many--to attack
him. It happened that there was a music hall in the building in
which the labor men met.
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