131st New York State Legislature explained

Number:	131st
Start:	January 1
End:	December 31, 1908
Vp:	Lt. Gov. Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler (D)
Pro Tem:	John Raines (R)
Speaker:	James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. (R)
Senators:	51
Reps:	150
S-Majority:	Republican (32-19)
H-Majority:	Republican (96-54)
Sessionnumber1:	1st
Sessionstart1:	January 1
Sessionend1:	April 23, 1908
Sessionnumber2:	2nd
Sessionstart2:	May 11
Sessionend2:	June 11, 1908
Previous:	130th
Next:	132nd

The 131st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to June 11, 1908, during the second year of Charles Evans Hughes's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1906 and 1907, 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.

On April 27, 1906, the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts, increasing the number to 51.^[1] The apportionment was then contested in the courts.

The Legislature also re-apportioned the number of assemblymen per county. Nassau County was separated from the remainder of Queens County; Albany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego and Rensselaer counties lost one seat each; Erie, Monroe and Westchester gained one each; and Kings and Queens counties gained two each.

On April 3, 1907, the new Senate and Assembly apportionment was declared unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals.^[2]

On July 26, 1907, the Legislature again re-apportioned the Senate districts, and re-enacted the 1906 Assembly apportionment.^[3]

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

Elections

The New York state election, 1907, was held on November 5. The only two statewide elective offices up for election were two judgeships on the New York Court of Appeals which were carried by a Republican and a Democrat both of which had been endorsed by the other major party.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 1, 1908; and adjourned on April 23.

James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. (R) was re-elected Speaker.

The Legislature met for a special session at the State Capitol in Albany on May 11, 1908; and adjourned on June 11. This session was called to consider enacting reform legislation which had been recommended by the governor at the beginning of the session, but was ignored by the Legislature. Among the measures advocated by the governor were an anti-horse-race-track-gambling bill (enacted as the Hart–Agnew Law), a plan to extend the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission to the telephone and telegraph companies, and a ballot reform.

State Senate

Districts

Note: The senators had been elected to a two-year term in November 1906 under the 1906 apportionment, as stated below. Although the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts in 1907, the first senatorial election under the new apportionment occurred in November 1908.

Members

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

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	Carll S. Burr Jr.		Republican
2nd	Dennis J. Harte		Democrat
3rd	Thomas H. Cullen		Democrat
4th	Otto G. Foelker		Republican	on November 3, 1908, elected to the 60th U.S. Congress
5th	James A. Thompson		Democrat
6th	Eugene M. Travis		Republican
7th	Patrick H. McCarren		Democrat
8th	Charles H. Fuller		Dem./Ind. L.
9th	Conrad Hasenflug		Democrat
10th	Alfred J. Gilchrist		Republican
11th	Dominick F. Mullaney		Dem./Ind. L.
12th	William Sohmer		Dem./Ind. L.
13th	Christopher D. Sullivan		Dem./Ind. L.
14th	Thomas F. Grady		Dem./Ind. L.	Minority Leader
15th	Thomas J. McManus		Dem./Ind. L.
16th	John T. McCall		Dem./Ind. L.
17th	George B. Agnew		Republican
18th	Martin Saxe		Republican
19th	Alfred R. Page		Republican
20th	James J. Frawley		Dem./Ind. L.
21st	James Owens ^[4]		Democrat
22nd	John P. Cohalan		Dem./Ind. L.	on November 3, 1908, elected Surrogate of New York Co.
23rd	Francis M. Carpenter		Republican
24th	John C. R. Taylor		Democrat
25th	Sanford W. Smith		Republican
26th	John N. Cordts		Republican
27th	Jotham P. Allds		Republican
28th	William J. Grattan		Republican
29th	Frank M. Boyce		Democrat
30th	H. Wallace Knapp		Republican
31st	William W. Wemple		Republican
32nd	James A. Emerson		Republican
33rd	Seth G. Heacock		Republican
34th	William T. O'Neil		Republican
35th	George H. Cobb		Republican
36th	Joseph Ackroyd		Democrat
37th	Francis H. Gates		Ind. Rep.
38th	Horace White		Republican	on November 3, 1908, elected Lieutenant Governor
39th	Harvey D. Hinman		Republican
40th	Owen Cassidy		Republican
41st	Benjamin M. Wilcox		Republican
42nd	John Raines		Republican	President pro tempore
43rd	William J. Tully		Republican
44th	S. Percy Hooker		Republican
45th	Thomas B. Dunn		Republican	on November 3, 1908, elected New York State Treasurer
46th	William W. Armstrong		Republican
47th	Stanislaus P. Franchot		Republican	died on March 24, 1908^[5]
	William C. Wallace^[6]		Republican	elected on May 12 to fill vacancy^[7]
48th	Henry W. Hill		Republican
49th	Samuel J. Ramsperger		Democrat
50th	George Allen Davis		Republican
51st	Albert T. Fancher		Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Lafayette B. Gleason

State Assembly

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

Assemblymen

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	Ellis J. Staley		Republican
	2nd	William E. Nolan		Republican
	3rd	Robert B. Waters		Republican
Allegany		Jesse S. Phillips		Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
Broome		Harry C. Perkins		Republican
Cattaraugus		John J. Volk		Republican
Cayuga		Frederick A. Dudley		Republican	Chairman of Soldiers' Home
Chautauqua	1st	Augustus F. Allen		Republican	Chairman of Federal Relations
	2nd	Charles Mann Hamilton		Republican	Chairman of Military Affairs
Chemung		David C. Robinson^[8]		Dem./Ind. L.
Chenango		Julien C. Scott		Republican
Clinton		Alonson T. Dominy		Republican
Columbia		Lester J. Bashford		Democrat
Cortland		Charles F. Brown		Republican
Delaware		Henry J. Williams		Republican
Dutchess	1st	Myron Smith		Republican
	2nd	Frederick Northrup		Democrat
Erie	1st	Orson J. Weimert		Republican	Chairman of Indian Affairs
	2nd	John Lord O'Brian		Republican
	3rd	George J. Arnold		Republican
	4th	William Jordan		Democrat
	5th	Edward P. Costello		Democrat
	6th	Frank S. Burzynski		Democrat
	7th	George W. Walters		Democrat
	8th	Clarence MacGregor		Republican
	9th	Frank B. Thorn		Republican
Essex		James Shea		Republican
Franklin		Harry H. Hawley		Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		William Ellison Mills		Republican	Chairman of Fisheries and Game
Genesee		Fred B. Parker		Republican
Greene		William C. Brady		Republican	Chairman of Villages
Herkimer		Thomas D. Ferguson		Republican
Jefferson	1st	Alfred D. Lowe		Republican	Chairman of Public Lands and Forestry
	2nd	Gary H. Wood		Republican
Kings	1st	Edmund R. Terry		Democrat
	2nd	James Jacobs		Democrat
	3rd	Arthur L. Hurley		Rep./Ind. L.
	4th	Andrew C. Troy		Democrat
	5th	Charles J. Weber		Republican
	6th	Thomas J. Surpless		Republican
	7th	Thomas J. Geoghegan		Democrat
	8th	John McBride		Rep./Ind. L.
	9th	George A. Voss		Rep./Ind. L.
	10th	Charles F. Murphy		Republican	Chairman of Codes
	11th	William W. Colne		Republican	Chairman of Canals
	12th	George A. Green		Republican	Chairman of General Laws
	13th	John H. Donnelly		Democrat
	14th	James E. Fay		Democrat
	15th	John J. Schutta		Democrat
	16th	Michael J. Grady		Democrat
	17th	John R. Farrar		Republican
	18th	Warren I. Lee		Rep./Ind. L.
	19th	John Holbrook		Rep./Ind. L.
	20th	Harrison C. Glore		Republican
	21st	Samuel A. Gluck		Democrat
	22nd	Emil Rose		Dem./Ind. L.
	23rd	Isaac Sargent		Republican
Lewis		C. Fred Boshart		Republican	Chairman of Agriculture
Livingston		James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.		Republican	re-elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules
Madison		Orlando W. Burhyte		Republican
Monroe	1st	George F. Harris		Republican
	2nd	James L. Whitley		Republican
	3rd	George L. Meade		Republican
	4th	Bernard J. Haggarty		Republican
	5th	Henry Morgan		Republican
Montgomery		T. Romeyn Staley		Republican
Nassau		William G. Miller		Republican	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
New York	1st	Thomas B. Caughlan		Democrat
	2nd	Al Smith		Democrat
	3rd	James Oliver		Democrat
	4th	Aaron J. Levy		Democrat
	5th	John T. Eagleton		Democrat
	6th	Adolph Stern		Democrat
	7th	Joseph W. Keller		Democrat
	8th	Moritz Graubard		Democrat
	9th	John C. Hackett		Democrat
	10th	Anthony M. McCabe		Ind. L./Rep.
	11th	Frank K. Johnston		Ind. L./Rep.
	12th	James A. Foley		Democrat
	13th	James J. Hoey		Democrat
	14th	John J. Herrick		Democrat
	15th	William M. Bennett		Rep./Ind. L.
	16th	Martin G. McCue		Democrat
	17th	Frederick R. Toombs		Republican
	18th	Mark Goldberg		Democrat
	19th	William B. Donihee		Democrat
	20th	Patrick J. McGrath		Democrat
	21st	Robert S. Conklin		Republican
	22nd	Robert F. Wagner		Democrat
	23rd	James A. Francis		Republican	Chairman of Banks
	24th	Walter Spriggins		Democrat
	25th	Artemas Ward Jr.		Republican
	26th	Solomon Strauss		Rep./Ind. L.
	27th	Beverley R. Robinson		Rep./Ind. L.
	28th	Edward W. Buckley		Democrat
	29th	Walter H. Liebmann		Democrat
	30th	Louis A. Cuvillier		Democrat
	31st	Abraham Greenberg		Democrat	contested by Philip Reece^[9]
	32nd	Jesse Silbermann		Democrat
	33rd	Phillip J. Schmidt		Democrat
	34th	George M. S. Schulz		Democrat
	35th	John V. Sheridan		Democrat
Niagara	1st	Charles F. Foley		Democrat
	2nd	W. Levell Draper		Republican	Chairman of Privileges and Elections
Oneida	1st	Merwin K. Hart		Republican
	2nd	Ladd J. Lewis Jr.		Republican
	3rd	Arthur G. Blue		Republican
Onondaga	1st	John C. McLaughlin		Republican
	2nd	Fred W. Hammond		Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Cities
	3rd	J. Henry Walters		Republican
Ontario		George B. Hemenway		Republican
Orange	1st	Henry Seacord		Republican
	2nd	Charles E. Mance		Republican
Orleans		Myron E. Eggleston		Dem./Ind. L.^[10]
Oswego		Fred G. Whitney		Republican	Chairman of Excise
Otsego		Charles Smith		Republican
Putnam		John R. Yale		Republican	Chairman of Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
Queens	1st	Thomas H. Todd		Democrat
	2nd	William Klein		Democrat
	3rd	Conrad Garbe		Democrat
	4th	William A. De Groot		Republican	Chairman of Claims
Rensselaer	1st	Frederick C. Filley		Republican	Chairman of Public Education
	2nd	Bradford R. Lansing		Republican	Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies
Richmond		William A. Shortt		Democrat
Rockland		Frank DeNoyelles		Democrat
St. Lawrence	1st	Fred J. Gray		Republican	Chairman of Revision
	2nd	Edwin A. Merritt Jr.		Republican	Majority Leader; Chairman of Ways and Means
Saratoga		George H. Whitney		Republican	Chairman of Public Health
Schenectady		Miles R. Frisbie		Republican
Schoharie		George M. Palmer		Democrat	Minority Leader
Schuyler		Charles A. Cole		Republican
Seneca		William B. Harper		Democrat
Steuben	1st	William H. Chamberlain		Republican	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
	2nd	Charles K. Marlatt		Republican	Chairman of Unfinished Business
Suffolk	1st	John M. Lupton		Republican	Chairman of Public Institutions
	2nd	Orlando Hubbs		Republican	Chairman of Internal Affairs
Sullivan		George W. Murphy		Republican	Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
Tioga		Frank L. Howard		Republican
Tompkins		William R. Gunderman		Republican	Chairman of Trade and Manufactures
Ulster	1st	Joseph M. Fowler		Republican	Chairman of Public Printing
	2nd	William E. E. Little		Democrat
Warren		William R. Waddell		Republican	Chairman of State Prisons
Washington		James S. Parker		Republican	Chairman of Labor and Industries
Wayne		Edson W. Hamn		Republican	Chairman of Insurance
Westchester	1st	Harry W. Haines		Republican
	2nd	Marmaduke B. Wright		Democrat
	3rd	Isaac H. Smith		Republican
	4th	J. Mayhew Wainwright		Republican	Chairman of Railroads
Wyoming		Robert M. McFarlane		Republican
Yates		Leonidas D. West		Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Ray B. Smith
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Frank W. Johnston
• Stenographer: Henry C. Lammert
• Postoffice Messenger: James H. Underwood^[11]

Notes

1. see APPORTIONMENT PLAN MADE; ODELL BEATEN in NYT on April 27, 1906
2. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/04/04/106745819.pdf OLD APPORTIONMENT IS DECLARED VOID
3. see HUGHES WINS ON APPORTIONMENT in NYT on July 24, 1907
4. James Owens, five-term NYC alderman, died March 7, 1911
5. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/03/25/104720975.pdf SENATOR FRANCHOT DEAD
6. William C. Wallace (died 1928), of Niagara Falls, see EX-SENATOR W. C. WALLACE in The New York Times on July 8, 1928 (subscription required)
7. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/05/13/104803726.pdf HUGHES MAN WINS SENATE ELECTION
8. David C. Robinson (c.1853–1912), son of Gov. Lucius Robinson, see FATALLY STRICKEN ON TRAIN in NYT on September 22, 1912
9. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/12/27/106771889.pdf BEATEN CANDIDATE CONTESTS
10. Eggleston was a Republican assemblyman in 1907, but was voted down at the Republican county convention. He then ran on the Democratic and Independence League tickets, and defeated the regular Republican candidate.
11. Book: Murlin, Edgar L.. The New York Red Book. J. B. Lyon Company. 1908. Albany, N.Y.. 603. Google Books.

Sources

• Official New York from Cleveland to Hughes by Charles Elliott Fitch (Hurd Publishing Co., New York and Buffalo, 1911, Vol. IV; see pg. 355f for assemblymen; and 366 for senators)
• DEMOCRATS GAIN SIX ASSEMBLYMEN in NYT on November 6, 1907
• REVISED LIST OF ASSEMBLYMEN in Johnstown Republican on November 14, 1907
• ASSEMBLY MACHINE RIDES OVER BAXTER in NYT on January 1, 1908
• WADSWORTH NAMES HIS COMMITTEES in NYT on January 7, 1908
• GOVERNOR HISSED, CALLS EXTRA SESSION in NYT on April 24, 1908