in connection with the Superintendent of Insurance, a man whose office made him a factor of immense importance in the big business circles of New York.  The then incumbent of the office was an efficient man, the boss of an up-State county, a veteran politician and one of Mr. Platt’s right-hand men.  Certain investigations which I made—­in the course of the fight—­showed that this Superintendent of Insurance had been engaged in large business operations in New York City.  These operations had thrown him into a peculiarly intimate business contact of one sort and another with various financiers with whom I did not deem it expedient that the Superintendent of Insurance, while such, should have any intimate and secret money-making relations.  Moreover, the gentleman in question represented the straitest sect of the old-time spoils politicians.  I therefore determined not to reappoint him.  Unless I could get his successor confirmed, however, he would stay in under the law, and the Republican machine, with the assistance of Tammany, expected to control far more than a majority of all the Senators.

Mr. Platt issued an ultimatum to me that the incumbent must be reappointed or else that he would fight, and that if he chose to fight the man would stay in anyhow because I could not oust him—­for under the New York Constitution the assent of the Senate was necessary not only to appoint a man to office but to remove him from office.  As always with Mr. Platt, I persistently refused to lose my temper, no matter what he said—­he was much too old and physically feeble for there to be any point of honor in taking up any of his remarks—­and I merely explained good-humoredly that I had made up my mind and that the gentleman in question would not be retained.  As for not being able to get his successor confirmed, I pointed out that as soon as the Legislature adjourned I could and would appoint another man temporarily.  Mr. Platt then said that the incumbent would be put back as soon as the Legislature reconvened; I admitted that this was possible, but added cheerfully that I would remove him again just as soon as that Legislature adjourned, and that even though I had an uncomfortable time myself, I would guarantee to make my opponents more uncomfortable still.  We parted without any sign of reaching an agreement.

There remained some weeks before final action could be taken, and the Senator was confident that I would have to yield.  His most efficient allies were the pretended reformers, most of them my open or covert enemies, who loudly insisted that I must make an open fight on the Senator himself and on the Republican organization.  This was what he wished, for at that time there was no way of upsetting him within the Republican party; and, as I have said, if I had permitted the contest to assume the shape of a mere faction fight between the Governor and the United States Senator, I would have insured the victory of the machine.  So I blandly refused to let the thing become a personal fight, explaining again and again that I was perfectly willing to appoint an organization man, and naming two or three whom I was willing to appoint, but also explaining that I would not retain the incumbent, and would not appoint any man of his type.  Meanwhile pressure on behalf of the said incumbent began to come from the business men of New York.