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.
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.