USA > New York > History of the state of New York, political and governmental, Vol. IV 1896-1920 > Part 6
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Democratic ticket before the same constituency, was defeated. He retired to Paris, where he lived until his death in 1918. No State officers or Senators were elected. The Republicans gained one vote in the Assembly, while the regular Democrats lost three. The Assembly stood: Republicans, 106; Democrats, 42; Independent-Democrats, 2. Nixon was elected Speaker for his fourth term.
Odell in his second year continued the policy of enforcing economies by establishing the office of Fiscal Supervisor of State Charities and centralizing the management of State hospitals in the Lunacy commis- sion. He also sought to establish a system of good roads throughout the State.9 Although Platt was not entirely cordial to him his renomination was conceded. For his running-mate Platt picked George R. Sheldon, a New York banker, who had held no office but who had been influential in the councils of the party.10 Odell agreed to this nomination, and harmony promised to prevail until William Berri of Brooklyn attacked Sheldon in his paper, the Standard Union, on the charge that he was connected with the trusts.11 Platt was incensed over this, attributing it to an intrigue to force a fourth nomination for Woodruff, who had professed not to be a candidate. On that account he brusquely refused Woodruff's request to name Norman S. Dike of Brooklyn for Secretary of State.12 He
9Lincoln, Messages from the Governors, X, pp. 336, 332, 340.
10Platt, Autobiography, p. 431.
11Brooklyn Standard Union, September 18, 1902.
12Platt, Autobiography, p. 439.
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[1902
showed no disposition to abandon Sheldon, who denied that he had trust connections. As a banker, he explained, he had helped to reorganize a distilleries corporation, which had nothing to do with the trust. Odell, however, was fearful of the trust cry in the cam- paign. He had not expected to attend the State conven- tion, which was held at Saratoga on September 23 with L. E. Quigg acting as temporary and Nathaniel A. Elsberg as permanent chairman. But at the last moment he hastened to Saratoga and protested to Platt against the nomination of Sheldon.13 Nevertheless Platt continued to announce that he would support his friend in the convention until Sheldon, in the interest of harmony, voluntarily retired, and the nom- ination for Lieutenant-Governor went to Senator Frank W. Higgins of Olean.14
The most important party policy declared by the convention was in favor of a referendum on the issue of long term bonds for a comprehensive scheme of good roads. It indorsed Roosevelt and said it looked "for- ward with confidence" to his reelection. The lack of an explicit pledge to Roosevelt was in some quarters taken to indicate a hope by Platt and Odell of finding another candidate, but no declaration two years in advance had binding force, and this one was as good as any.
13Platt, Autobiography, p. 434 et seq.
14The ticket was: Governor, B. B. Odell, Jr., Orange; Lieutenant-Gov- ernor, Frank W. Higgins, Cattaraugus; Secretary of State, John F. O'Brien, Clinton; Comptroller, Nathan L. Miller, Cortland; Treasurer, John G. Wickser, Erie; Attorney-General, Henry B. Coman, Madison; State Engi- neer, Edward A. Bond, Jefferson; Judge of the Court of Appeals, William E. Werner, Monroe.
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The decisive Democratic defeat in the Low- Shepard campaign broke the power of Croker as a State leader and indeed led him to give up the manage- ment of Tammany and take up his residence in Ireland. Lewis Nixon was made leader of Tammany and attempted to reform it, but he soon retired, announcing that he could not retain "self-respect and remain leader of the Tammany organization," hampered by what he described as a kitchen cabinet in cable consultation with Croker. The leadership was then placed in the hands of a committee of three, composed of Louis F. Haffen, Daniel F. McMahon, and Charles F. Murphy, who were called by Patrick T. Relihan, of the New York Press, "Joke, Two-Spot, and Sport," respectively. But in September, 1902, the triumvirate was dissolved and Murphy was recognized as the sole leader of Tammany. With Croker out of the way, Hill and Mclaughlin were left in command of the situation. John B. Stanch- field was temporary and Martin W. Littleton perma- nent chairman of the Democratic State convention, which met at Saratoga on September 30. The platform for the most part contained the usual demand for tariff revision and condemnation of the Republican Philip- pine policy. It also contained one startling innovation. The anthracite coal miners of Pennsylvania were on strike. President Roosevelt had not yet succeeded in composing the differences, and New York faced the danger of a serious coal shortage at the beginning of winter. Hill determined to capitalize the fears and unrest and stake his victory on the price of coal.15 He
15New York Tribune, October 3, 1902.
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[1902
astonished everybody by incorporating in the platform a plank declaring for national ownership and operation of coal mines, a policy that ran counter to every Demo- cratic tradition of State rights and restriction of govern- mental activities.
Looking to the development of an available Presi- dential candidate, and to putting the conservatives once more in control of the party after Bryan's second failure, leading Democrats, among them St. Clair McKelway in the Brooklyn Eagle, advocated Chief- Judge Alton B. Parker for Governor.16 If Parker could go before the national convention with the record of having restored to the party the Governorship of New York, he was almost certain to be the candidate. Parker, however, did not care to try his fate at that time. At least he repelled all efforts to make him say he would be a candidate, though McKelway charged that he had been plied with questions that should never have been asked, and threw suspicion on Hill's good faith. But Parker did not doubt Hill's loyalty.17 Hill again brought forward Bird S. Coler. Croker being no longer in the way, Mclaughlin agreed and the nomi- nation was made by a vote of 444 to 3 cast for Jacob A. Cantor by Brooklyn enemies of Coler.18
16Brooklyn Eagle, September 30, 1902.
17Brooklyn Eagle, October 1, 1902. Statement of Judge Parker to the writer, May 15, 1921.
18The ticket was: Governor, Bird S. Coler, Kings; Lieutenant-Governor, Charles N. Bulger, Oswego; Secretary of State, Frank H. Mott, Chautauqua; Comptroller, Charles M. Preston, Ulster; Treasurer, George R. Finch, Warren; Attorney-General, John Cunneen, Erie; State Engineer, Richard P. Sherman, Oneida; Judge of the Court of Appeals, John Clinton Gray, New York.
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No rival candidate was presented, though Nathan Straus of New York attempted to protest against Coler from the platform, but was not allowed to speak. The convention was enlivened by the attempt of William S. Devery and his delegation from the Ninth Assembly district of New York, who had carried the primaries, to obtain seats.19 Hill shut them out on charges of fraud. Devery was allowed to speak before the conven- tion, and his friends made a demonstration from the galleries, but all to no purpose. Hill picked Bulger, who in the last State convention had denounced Tam- many, for Lieutenant-Governor, and forced Grady to speak for him. He relented, however, from his plan to humiliate Tammany further by naming for Secretary of State Duncan Campbell Lee of Ithaca, who had pro- jected the ice trust issue on the previous convention, and named Frank H. Mott of Chautauqua.20
A close campaign followed. Never did Hill appear more cynically indifferent to principles. In 1896 he had warned the Democrats that they could not hope for victory unless they avoided the paternal doctrines of the Populists. Now he was advocating Federal seizure of the coal mines and staking his reputation as a lawyer on the constitutionality of his policy. Attacks upon State assessment of franchises figured prominently in his campaign speeches. Yet it was his argument against the bill for local assessments of franchises as real estate that induced Roosevelt to call the extra
19New York Tribune, September 30, 1902.
20New York Tribune, October 1, 1902.
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session, which conferred the power on the State Tax Commissioners. Hill denied that he specifically asked this change, but other representatives of the corpora- tions at the hearing followed his complaint with the suggestion. He attacked Odell's centralized manage- ment of State charities, though he himself had initiated that policy. He went further in attacking Odell's personal honesty, charging that the Governor was profiting from grocery contracts with the State, a charge from which Odell completely vindicated him- self. Coler's position was scarcely more consistent. After gaining a reputation as an opponent of Tam- many, and as the author of "Commercialism in Poli- tics," which everybody understood to be a reflection on Croker,21 he sought Croker's favor for Mayor and issued a signed statement on August 26, 1901, saying : "Excepting in humor I have never made any statements reflecting upon Mr. Croker or Mr. Platt or even Mr. Low.22
Concerning the article entitled "Commercialism in Politics," Coler's friends give this explanation: The article was written by a newspaper man connected with the New York Evening Sun. He had submitted it to several magazines, and each had rejected it. In a casual conversation with Coler the reporter mentioned having covered the subject matter under discussion in this article that he had written. Asked by Coler why the article had not been published he replied that if a man
21New York Tribune, September 6 and October 1, 1901.
22New York Tribune, September 9, 1902.
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of Coler's standing, instead of himself, were the author it would have been already published. Coler asked per- mission to read the article, and in the belief that it con- tained sufficient merit to warrant its publication after- ward permitted the use of his name as its author. These facts, it is said, were known to the Tammany leaders and influenced their attitude toward him.
Coler soon found the coal plank troublesome, and, while not absolutely repudiating it, sought to get away from it by proposing that other remedies be tried first and that seizure should be made only as a last resort. Coler, profiting by the reaction against the Low administration, polled an enormous vote in the city and was only defeated by Odell's strength in the country. The nomination of Judge Werner, a Justice of the Supreme Court who had been sitting by designation in the Court of Appeals, against his colleague, Judge Gray, one of the elected members whose term had expired and who had been renominated by the Demo- crats, displeased a large element of the bar. Another complication of the campaign was the indorsement by the Prohibitionists of Cunneen for Attorney-General. This party commonly ran a straight ticket, but the desire of a Prohibitionist lawyer of Brooklyn, Coler- idge A. Hart, who claimed an election to the Supreme Court on a technicality when only a handful of votes was cast, to have an Attorney-General who would bring quo warranto proceedings in his behalf, operated to secure the indorsement of Cunneen, who was expected to further the scheme.23
23New York Tribune, November 10, 1902.
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Odell carried the State by 9,752 plurality. The vote was : Odell, 665,150; Coler, 655,398; Alfred L. Manierre (Prohibition), 20,490; Daniel DeLeon (Socialist Labor), 15,886; Benjamin Hanford (Social Democrat), 23,400. The Republican candidates for the other executive offices, except Attorney-General, won by pluralities ranging from 10,000 to 13,000. The Prohibitionist vote carried Cunneen through by 9,465 plurality, and the popular feeling for the retention of Judge Gray manifested itself in 14,821 plurality for him over Werner.
The Democrats gained seven Senators and seventeen Assemblymen. The Senate stood: Republicans, 28; Democrats, 22. The Assembly was made up of 89 Republicans and 61 Democrats. The Republicans elected 20 out of the 37 Congressmen. Nixon was elected Speaker for his fifth term.
CHAPTER VI ODELL IN CONTROL
1903-1904
T HE retirement of Senator Ellsworth forced the Republicans to choose a new Senate leader for the session of 1903. Three Senators, Brown, Brackett, and Elsberg, refused to support John Raines on the ground that he was being forced on the Senate by outside dictation.1 After Raines's election, they continued their opposition, refusing to enter the caucus of January 19 when Platt was renominated for Senator by 108 votes to 1 cast for Elihu Root by Assemblyman Denison of Jefferson.2 On January 20 Platt was reelected. In the Senate he had 25 votes to 21 for Stanchfield, while the three revolting Senators each spoke against Platt's fitness to represent the State and voted for Root. Brown urged that the party ought to attract young men through leaders like Choate, Porter, White, Root, and Roosevelt, who appealed to them,- and that every one of these men had been honored in the State not through Platt but in spite of him.3 In the Assembly party regularity was unbroken and Platt re- ceived 86 votes to 57 for Stanchfield.
1New York Tribune, January 7, 1903.
2New York Tribune, January 20, 1903.
3New York World, January 21, 1903.
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[1903
POLITICAL AND GOVERNMENTAL HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The differences between Platt and Odell, which developed in the Governor's first term, became more acute in his second and were accentuated by his foresee- ing Platt's disposition to shelve him from politics and his determination not to be shelved. He enforced economies, developed indirect revenues, abolished the direct tax except a nominal sum constitutionally required for the canal fund, and steadily supported the Low administration, promoting the home rule measures desired by it and uniformly vetoing attempts to pass local bills disguised as general legislation. In 1904 a long desired unification of the Regents of the University and the Department of Public Instruction was achieved with a Commissioner of Education as executor of the whole educational system under the supervision of the Regents. Whitelaw Reid became Chancellor of the University and Andrew S. Draper Commissioner.
The only State officer elected in 1903 was a Judge of the Court of Appeals, both parties nominating Judge Denis O'Brien to succeed himself, and he was elected without significant opposition. By a majority of 245,000 the people voted in favor of a bond issue to carry out the $101,000,000 canal improvement.
More important than the State election was the contest for the control of Greater New York. The Fusionists renominated Low and his associates, Edward M. Grout, Comptroller, and Charles V. Fornes, President of the Board of Aldermen. Charles F. Murphy determined to split the fusion ranks by putting Grout and Fornes on his own ticket. When the Fusionists asked if in taking these nominations they
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1903]
would continue to oppose Tammany and its candidate for Mayor, they refused to recognize that they had any more reason to oppose Tammany than the Republican party, though they had been elected on the issue that Tammany was hopelessly corrupt.4 In consequence of this action the Fusionists displaced them from the ticket.5 Murphy's adoption of them produced a break with McLaughlin.
Murphy picked George B. McClellan for Mayor, and probably would have had no opposition from Brooklyn on that score alone, but the proposed ticket gave no representation whatever to
Mclaughlin. He organized to fight the whole Murphy program, threw his strength to Gaynor for Mayor, and marshalled 219 votes to Murphy's 434. He cast a somewhat larger vote against Grout.6 The Brooklyn Democratic leaders, with the exception of Senator McCarren, who allied himself with Murphy and began to lay the foundation for Brooklyn leader- ship on the wreck of Mclaughlin's power, openly repudiated the ticket. Martin W. Littleton, who had been put on the Tammany ticket for Borough President of Brooklyn, and who had been induced by McLaugh- lin and Shevlin to reconsider his declination, which he had written, denounced Tammany, Grout, and Fornes from the platform of the Academy of Music in the only speech he was permitted to make during the campaign, and practically urged his own defeat, while Hugh McLaughlin listened from a box.7 Nevertheless the
4New York Tribune, October 1, 2, 1903.
5New York Tribune, October 8, 1903.
6New York Tribune, October 2, 1904.
7New York Tribune, October 20, 1904.
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[1903-4
great body of Brooklyn Democrats supported Tam- many, and Low suffered from the apathy of organiza- tion Republicans and the dissatisfaction of all the professed supporters of reforms whose particular reforms had not been completely achieved. McClellan was elected by a plurality of 62,696. The Republicans carried the Assembly by the same majority as in the year before, electing 98 members, while the Democrats had 52. Nixon was elected Speaker for his sixth term.
In his last year as Governor, Odell reduced Platt to little more than nominal leadership of the organization, although the Senator had followers who were ready to fight against his displacement and who indeed resented Odell's domination. Odell won control of the State committee, and to confirm his hold decided himself to take the chairmanship while still Governor. His friends met criticism of such a combination by saying that the irresponsible party boss who held no office had been an object of popular distrust, and that a Governor responsible to the people was the logical leader of his party and should not be a subordinate forced to choose between his obedience to outside direction or revolt against his own party policy. Facing the fact that resistance to Odell was useless, George W. Dunn announced his voluntary retirement in March, and Platt's friends declared for Odell as chairman on his statement that all agreed in recognizing Platt as the leader of the party and that he had made no commit- ment against the reelection of Depew to the Senate.8 When the State convention met in New York City on
8New York Tribune, March 20, 1904.
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1904]
April 12 to choose delegates to the national convention held at Chicago on June 21, Odell put his plan into execution.9 Depew and Sereno E. Payne presided over the convention, which chose Platt, Depew, Odell, and Black delegates-at-large, and directed them to support Roosevelt for President.
Elihu Root was temporary chairman of the national convention. Platt was made head of the New York delegation, and Black was put forward to make the nominating speech for Roosevelt and performed this task in an eloquent speech glorifying Roosevelt's mili- tant leadership in peace and war. Neither Black, Platt, nor Odell had any liking for Roosevelt, but they accepted the inevitable gracefully, though the delegation showed so little enthusiasm that when Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Higgins offered to pay for a band to enliven the headquarters Senator Raines complimented his gener- osity with sarcastic acknowledgment of its need.1ยบ Odell in starting a movement to make Speaker Cannon Vice- President gave the humorous reason that he would stir up needed enthusiasm, as if Roosevelt did not possess that gift in an almost unparalleled degree.11 Some political prophets thought that his real purpose was to make a vacancy in the Speakership for the benefit of Congressman James S. Sherman. Whitelaw Reid, ac- cording to his biographer, favored the selection of Elihu Root and suggested it to the President, though it is difficult to understand how a leader of such experi-
9New York Tribune, April 13, 1904.
10New York Times, June 21, 1904.
11Platt, Autobiography, p. 452.
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[1904
ence could have ignored the constitutional provision that forbade the New York Electors to vote for both a President and Vice-President from their own State. Platt favored Fairbanks for Vice-President, and after Cannon himself had peremptorily killed his boom the New York delegation unanimously indorsed Fairbanks and Depew seconded his nomination. Both Roosevelt and Fairbanks were unanimously nominated.
While the Republicans were still at Chicago they began to talk of Elihu Root for Governor. Platt was anxious for this, hoping to bring forth a man who might challenge Odell's leadership; but Root refused to be drawn into the race and Platt then sought to nominate Timothy L. Woodruff.12 Odell went to Europe in the spring, and in Paris tried to induce Horace Porter to run. He also offered his support to Nicholas Murray Butler, but neither would be a candidate.13 When the State convention, over which J. Sloat Fassett and George R. Malby presided, met at Saratoga on Septem- ber 14 he had no avowed candidate, though he was be- lieved to look with favor on Higgins or Francis Hen- dricks. Platt asserted that he had promised to keep his hands off. If that had been his intention it was modi- fied by the disposition of county leaders not to take Woodruff seriously, and finally by Roosevelt's insist- ence on some other nomination. Nevada N. Stranahan, Collector of the Port of New York, ostensibly repre- sented Roosevelt on the ground, but Francis Hendricks had the President's entire confidence and was entrusted
12Platt, Autobiography, p. 455.
13Statement of Mr. Odell to the writer, June 25, 1917.
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ODELL IN CONTROL
1904]
by him with the task of selecting the candidate who would receive the support of the national administra- tion. Both were close friends of Higgins, and with Roosevelt's consent threw the entire influence of the administration to the support of the Lieutenant-Gover- nor. Woodruff was a ready speaker, and generally well liked. A somewhat showy taste in dress, much exaggerated by newspaper cartoonists, and the familiar nickname of "Tim," militated against the appreciation of his real abilities. His standing with his party asso- ciates also suffered from his proverbial lack of stability in a fight. Platt resisted all invitations to join the conference intended to agree on some candidate other than Woodruff, but most of the leaders, including Black, Payn, Raines, Barnes, Hendricks, Ward, and Aldridge, joined with Odell in a conference, and its outcome was an agreement on Higgins after Odell had discovered that any other solution meant an open break with the President, which he could not afford to have.
As it was clear that Odell controlled the convention, Platt in conference with him finally agreed that after a demonstration had been made for Woodruff the opposition would not be prolonged. The demonstra- tion, however, was carried further than Woodruff himself intended. As the speech prepared by Frederick E. Crane to herald Woodruff as a successful candidate was obviously inappropriate, Woodruff asked William A. Prendergast to present him. Prendergast, who had previously opposed Woodruff and was only an alter- nate, consented on condition that he have a free hand. After Arthur C. Wade had nominated Higgins,
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[1904
Prendergast named Woodruff in a speech full of cutting phrases about the "open convention" that had been promised them, in which the only thing they found open was a trap-door prepared for their friends. Odell was compelled to listen in silence to this arraignment of his own good faith because he could not reply that the exclusion of Woodruff, which passed as his own ruthless policy, had really been decided upon in Washington.14 James T. Rogers of Broome followed with a plea against the humiliation of Platt. For a few minutes it looked as if the division was irreconcilably bitter, but just as the roll-call was about to begin Woodruff asked to be heard. He said it was clear that the action of the convention was determined, and he wished to save the delegates from the embarrassment of choosing between two good friends. The convention could keep him from command, but could not drive him from the ranks of the party. He paid a warm personal tribute to Higgins and moved his unanimous nomination.15 The rest of the ticket was nominated without dissent.16
The nomination of Edgar M. Cullen for Chief- Judge of the Court of Appeals to succeed Judge Parker was brought about by the New York Tribune, which
14Statement of Mr. Prendergast to the writer, April 30, 1918.
15New York Tribune, September 15, 16, 1904.
16The ticket was: Governor, Frank W. Higgins, Cattaraugus; Lieutenant- Governor, M. Linn Bruce, New York; Secretary of State, John F. O'Brien, Clinton; Comptroller, Otto Kelsey, Livingston; Treasurer, John Wallen- meier, Jr., Erie; Attorney-General, Julius M. Mayer, New York; State Engineer, Henry A. Van Alstyne, Columbia; Chief-Judge of the Court of Appeals, Edgar M. Cullen, Kings; Associate-Judge of the Court of Appeals, William E. Werner, Monroe.
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