ABSTRACT
On September 15, 1910, Thomas Woodrow Wilson received the votes of the delegates Boss Smith controlled and no others. Wilson realized that his political stature and his chance to obtain the Democratic nomination for President of the United States would be increased if he should become known to the nation as a Boss-destroyer. To determine the exact source of the mingled affection and distrust which Wilson felt for Joseph P. Tumulty seems at first sight somewhat difficult. After his second marriage and re-election, Wilson became so displeased with his Secretary that he asked Tumulty to resign; but he was so moved by Tumulty's tears that he withdrew his request. Wilson, having destroyed Boss Smith and inaugurated a program of progressive legislation, started on a speaking tour to promote his chances for the presidency by showing the Boss-destroyer to the radical West. He explained his inconsistency by saying that experience had forced him to new beliefs.
