Having delivered his first message, which contained a full and detailed
discussion of his whole programme, he applied himself with great energy
and industry to the task of preparing bills for introduction in the Senate
and House. Not content with the mere delivery of his message, he put
himself entirely at the disposal of the members of the Legislature and
industriously applied himself to the task of preparation until the
following measures: _Regulation of Public Utilities, Corrupt Practices
Act_, _Direct Primaries Act_, and the _Employers' Liability Act_, were in
shape to be introduced.

While his leadership was vindicated as a result of the Smith-Martine
fight, the contest had undoubtedly left many bitter scars and enmities
which soon manifested themselves in the unfriendly attitude of the Smith
men in the Legislature toward the new Governor and particularly toward his
programme of constructive legislation. For awhile after the election of
Martine they seemed subdued and cheerfully resigned to defeat; but when
the new Governor launched his legislative programme they began eagerly to
attack it in many subtle ways. While there were some members of this group
who honestly opposed the Governor's programme because of their
conservative tendencies, the majority of the opposition were bent upon
"putting it to sleep," because, forsooth, it bore the Wilson label. The
new Governor quickly grasped the full significance of the situation and
openly challenged the opposition. To accomplish his purpose, he did an
unprecedented thing. He invited the Democratic members of the Legislature
to meet him in the Supreme Court Room of the State House and there, face
to face, he laid before them various items of his programme and challenged
the opposition to lay their cards on the table. In the course of this
conference one of the leaders of the Smith-Nugent faction expressed his
dissatisfaction with the whole programme, challenging the new Governor's
right to be present at the conference; even intimating that his presence