141st New York State Legislature

141st New York State Legislature

New York State Capitol (2009)
Duration: January 1 – December 31, 1918
President of the State Senate: Edward Schoeneck (R)
Temporary President of the State Senate: Elon R. Brown (R)
Speaker of the State Assembly: Thaddeus C. Sweet (R)
Members: 51 Senators
150 Assemblymen
Senate Majority: Republican (36–14)
Assembly Majority: Republican (97–43–10)
Sessions
1st: January 2 – April 13, 1918
<140th 142nd>

The 141st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 13, 1918, during the fourth year of Charles S. Whitman's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1917, 51 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts; senators for a two-year term, assemblymen for a one-year term. The senatorial districts were made up of entire counties, except New York County (twelve districts), Kings County (eight districts), Erie County (three districts) and Monroe County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county.

In 1917, the Legislature redistricted the Senate seats,[1] and re-apportioned the number of assemblymen per county. Bronx County—which had been part of New York County at the time of the previous apportionment and occupied roughly the area of four Assembly districts—was properly separated, and was apportioned eight seats. New York County (without the Bronx) lost eight seats; and Erie, Jefferson and Ulster counties lost one seat each. Queens County gained two seats; and Broome, Nassau, Richmond, Schenectady and Westchester counties gained one seat each.[2]

At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Socialist Party and the Prohibition Party also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1917, was held on November 6. The three statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the three incumbents: Attorney General Merton E. Lewis and two cross-endorsed judges of the New York Court of Appeals, viz. Democrat Benjamin N. Cardozo and Republican Chester B. McLaughlin. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Attorney General, was: Republicans 697,000; Democrats 542,000; Socialists 169,000 and Prohibition 26,000.

Also, a constitutional amendment was adopted by the voters, which gave women the right to vote.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1918; and adjourned on April 13.[3]

Thaddeus C. Sweet (R) was re-elected Speaker, with 88 votes against 33 for Charles D. Donohue (D) and 9 for Abraham I. Shiplacoff (S).

State Senate

Districts

Note: The senators had been elected to a two-year term in November 1916 under the 1907 apportionment, as stated below. Although the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts in 1917, the first senatorial election under the new apportionment occurred in November 1918.

Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

District Senator Party Notes
1st George L. Thompson* Republican
2nd August E. Farrenkopf Democrat elected to fill vacancy, in place of Peter M. Daly
3rd Thomas H. Cullen* Democrat on November 5, 1918, elected to the 66th U.S. Congress
4th Charles C. Lockwood* Republican Chairman of Public Education
5th (William J. Heffernan)* Democrat did not attend the session, and resigned on January 1 to
accept an appointment as Deputy Clerk of Kings County
6th Charles F. Murphy* Republican
7th Daniel J. Carroll* Democrat
8th Alvah W. Burlingame, Jr.* Republican Chairman of Revision
9th Robert R. Lawson* Republican Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bill
10th Alfred J. Gilchrist* Republican Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
11th Bernard Downing* Democrat
12th Jacob Koenig* Democrat
13th Jimmy Walker* Democrat
14th James A. Foley* Democrat
15th John J. Boylan* Democrat
16th Robert F. Wagner* Democrat Minority Leader; on November 5, 1918, elected
to the New York Supreme Court
17th Courtlandt Nicoll Republican elected to fill vacancy, in place of Ogden L. Mills;
Chairman of Penal Institutions
18th Albert Ottinger* Republican
19th Edward J. Dowling* Democrat
20th Salvatore A. Cotillo* Democrat
21st John J. Dunnigan* Democrat
22nd John V. Sheridan* Democrat
23rd George Cromwell* Republican Chairman of Affairs of the City of New York
24th George A. Slater* Republican on November 5, 1918, elected Surrogate of Westchester Co.
25th John D. Stivers* Republican Chairman of Military Affairs
26th James E. Towner* Republican Chairman of Insurance
27th Charles W. Walton* Republican Chairman of Conservation
28th Henry M. Sage* Republican Chairman of Finance
29th George B. Wellington* Republican Chairman of Canals
30th George H. Whitney* Republican Chairman of Public Health
31st James W. Yelverton* Republican
32nd Theodore Douglas Robinson* Republican
33rd James A. Emerson* Republican Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
34th N. Monroe Marshall* Republican Chairman of Banks
35th Elon R. Brown* Republican Temporary President; Chairman of Rules;
Chairman of War Measures
36th Charles W. Wicks* Republican Chairman of Agriculture
37th Adon P. Brown* Republican
38th J. Henry Walters* Republican Chairman of Judiciary
39th William H. Hill* Republican on November 5, 1918, elected to the 66th U.S. Congress
40th Charles J. Hewitt* Republican Chairman of Internal Affairs of Towns,
Counties and Public Highways
41st Morris S. Halliday* Republican Chairman of Privileges and Elections;
resigned on March 1 to join the U.S. Army Signal Corps
42nd William A. Carson* Republican Chairman of Labor and Industry
43rd Charles D. Newton* Republican Chairman of Codes;
on November 5, 1918, elected New York Attorney General
44th John Knight* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Villages
45th George F. Argetsinger* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Cities
46th John B. Mullan* Republican Chairman of Civil Service
47th George F. Thompson* Republican Chairman of Public Service
48th Ross Graves* Republican
49th Samuel J. Ramsperger* Democrat
50th Leonard W. H. Gibbs* Republican Chairman of Public Printing
51st J. Samuel Fowler Republican elected to fill vacancy, in place of George E. Spring

Employees

State Assembly

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Assemblymen

District Assemblymen Party Notes
Albany 1st Clarence F. Welsh* Republican
2nd John G. Malone* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Cities
3rd James M. Gaffers Republican
Allegany William Duke, Jr.* Republican Chairman of Codes
Bronx 1st Earl H. Miller* Democrat
2nd Edward J. Flynn Democrat
3rd Benjamin Gitlow Socialist
4th Samuel Orr Socialist
5th Charles B. Garfinkel Socialist
6th Thomas J. McDonald Democrat
7th Joseph V. McKee Democrat
8th J. Fairfax McLaughlin Democrat
Broome 1st Edmund B. Jenks* Republican
2nd Forman E. Whitcomb Republican
Cattaraugus DeHart H. Ames* Republican Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies
Cayuga L. Ford Hager* Republican
Chautauqua 1st Hermes L. Ames Republican
2nd Joseph A. McGinnies* Republican
Chemung John J. Richford Republican
Chenango Bert Lord* Republican
Clinton Wallace E. Pierce* Republican
Columbia William J. Alvord Republican
Cortland George H. Wiltsie* Republican Chairman of Banks
Delaware James C. Nesbitt Republican
Dutchess 1st James C. Allen* Republican
2nd Frank L. Gardner* Republican Chairman of Insurance
Erie 1st Alexander Taylor* Republican
2nd John W. Slacer* Republican
3rd Nicholas J. Miller* Republican Chairman of Excise
4th James M. Mead* Democrat on November 5, 1918, elected to the 66th U.S. Congress
5th Alexander A. Patrzykowski* Democrat
6th George H. Rowe Republican
7th Herbert A. Zimmerman* Republican
8th Nelson W. Cheney* Republican Chairman of Claims
Essex Raymond T. Kenyon* Republican Chairman of War
Franklin Warren T. Thayer* Republican Chairman of Public Printing
Fulton and Hamilton Burt Z. Kasson* Republican
Genesee Louis H. Wells* Republican Chairman of Internal Affairs
Greene Harding Showers* Republican
Herkimer Edward O. Davies* Republican
Jefferson H. Edmund Machold* Republican Chairman of Ways and Means
Kings 1st Patrick H. Larney* Democrat
2nd William H. Fitzgerald Republican
3rd Frank J. Taylor* Democrat
4th Peter A. McArdle* Democrat
5th James H. Caulfield, Jr.* Republican Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
6th William M. Feigenbaum Socialist
7th Daniel F. Farrell* Democrat
8th John J. McKeon* Democrat
9th Frederick S. Burr* Democrat
10th Hoxie W. Smith Democrat
11th Thomas E. Brownlee Republican
12th Albert Link Democrat
13th Morgan T. Donnelly* Democrat
14th Joseph A. Whitehorn* Socialist
15th Jeremiah F. Twomey* Democrat
16th Kenneth F. Sutherland Democrat
17th Frederick A. Wells* Republican Chairman of Military Affairs
18th Marshall Snyder Republican
19th Benjamin C. Klingmann* Democrat
20th George J. Braun Democrat
21st Wilfred E. Youker* Republican
22nd James J. Morris Democrat
23rd Abraham I. Shiplacoff* Socialist Socialist Leader
Lewis Albert A. Copeley Republican
Livingston George F. Wheelock* Republican
Madison Morell E. Tallett* Republican Chairman of Public Education
Monroe 1st James A. Harris* Republican
2nd Simon L. Adler* Republican Majority Leader
3rd Harry B. Crowley* Republican
4th Frank Dobson* Republican Chairman of Social Welfare
5th Franklin W. Judson* Republican Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
Montgomery Erastus Corning Davis* Republican Chairman of Revision
Nassau 1st Thomas A. McWhinney* Republican
2nd Franklin A. Coles Republican
New York 1st Peter J. Hamill* Democrat
2nd Caesar B. F. Barra* Democrat
3rd Peter P. McElligott* Democrat
4th William Karlin Socialist
5th Charles D. Donohue* Democrat Minority Leader
6th Elmer Rosenberg Socialist
7th Abram Ellenbogen* Republican Chairman of General Laws
8th Louis Waldman Socialist
9th Martin Bourke* Republican
10th Eliot Tuckerman Republican
11th William C. Amos Republican contested by Joseph Shalleck (D)
12th Martin G. McCue* Democrat
13th Charles M. Havican Democrat
14th Mark Goldberg* Democrat
15th Schuyler M. Meyer* Republican
16th Maurice Bloch* Democrat
17th August Claessens Socialist
18th Owen M. Kiernan* Democrat
19th Edward A. Johnson Republican
20th Charles A. Winter Democrat
21st Harold C. Mitchell* Republican Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
22nd Earl A. Smith* Democrat
23rd Ellis A. Bates Republican
Niagara 1st William Bewley* Republican Chairman of Labor and Industries
2nd Nicholas V. V. Franchot II Republican
Oneida 1st Henry D. Williams Republican
2nd Louis M. Martin* Republican
3rd George T. Davis* Republican
Onondaga 1st Manuel J. Soule* Republican
2nd Harley J. Crane* Republican
3rd George R. Fearon* Republican
Ontario George M. Tyler Republican
Orange 1st William F. Brush* Republican
2nd Charles L. Mead* Republican Chairman of Penal Institutions
Orleans Frank H. Lattin* Republican
Oswego Thaddeus C. Sweet* Republican re-elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules
Otsego Allen J. Bloomfield* Republican
Putnam John P. Donohoe* Republican
Queens 1st Peter A. Leininger* Democrat
2nd Peter J. McGarry* Democrat
3rd John Kennedy Democrat
4th L. Eugene Decker Democrat
5th Albert J. Brackley Democrat
6th William H. O'Hare* Democrat
Rensselaer 1st John F. Shannon* Democrat
2nd Arthur Cowee* Republican
Richmond 1st Thomas F. Curley Democrat
2nd Henry A. Seesselberg* Democrat
Rockland Gordon H. Peck Republican
St. Lawrence 1st Frank L. Seaker* Republican Chairman of Railroads
2nd Edward A. Everett* Republican Chairman of Public Institutions
Saratoga Gilbert T. Seelye* Republican Chairman of Public Health
Schenectady 1st Walter S. McNab* Republican Chairman of Canals
2nd A. Edgar Davies Republican
Schoharie George A. Parsons* Democrat
Schuyler Hiram H. Graham Republican
Seneca Lewis W. Johnson* Republican
Steuben 1st Samuel E. Quackenbush* Republican Chairman of Soldiers' Home
2nd Richard M. Prangen* Republican Chairman of Electricity, Gas and Water
Suffolk 1st DeWitt C. Talmage* Republican Chairman of Conservation
2nd Henry A. Murphy* Republican
Sullivan William B. Voorhees Republican
Tioga Daniel P. Witter* Republican Chairman of Agriculture
Tompkins Casper Fenner* Republican
Ulster Joel Brink* Republican
Warren Frank C. Hooper Republican
Washington Charles O. Pratt* Republican Chairman of Judiciary
Wayne Frank D. Gaylord* Republican
Westchester 1st Bertrand G. Burtnett Republican
2nd William J. Fallon Republican
3rd William Belknap Democrat
4th Mitchell A. Trahan, Jr. Republican
5th George Blakely* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Villages
Wyoming Bert P. Gage* Republican
Yates James M. Lown, Jr. Republican

Employees

Notes

  1. ↑ For the exact boundaries of the senate districts see Manual for the Use of the Legislature (1921; pg. 549–560)
  2. ↑ For the number of assemblymen per county, and the exact boundaries of the Assembly districts, see Manual for the Use of the Legislature (1921; pg. 596–633)
  3. ↑ LEGISLATURE ENDS SESSION FOR YEAR in NYT on April 14, 1918

Sources