title: 135th New York State Legislature
text: # 135th New York State Legislature
  
  The 135th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to March 29, 1912, during the second year of John Alden Dix'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.
  
  At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.
  
  ## Elections
  
  The New York state election, 1911, was held on November 7. No statewide elective offices were up for election. For the first time, a Socialist was elected to the Assembly.
  
  ## Sessions
  
  The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1912; and adjourned on March 29.
  
  Edwin A. Merritt Jr. (R) was elected Speaker with 95 votes against 45 for Al Smith (D).
  
  On April 19, Bronx County was created by the Legislature, to be effectively separated from New York County on January 1, 1914. To date, this was the last county created in the State of New York.
  
  ## State Senate
  
  ### Districts
  
  * 1st District: Nassau and Suffolk counties
  * 2nd District: Queens County, i.e the Borough of Queens
  * 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th District: Parts of Kings County, i.e. the Borough of Brooklyn
  * 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd District: Parts of New York County, i.e. the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx
  * 23rd District: Richmond and Rockland counties
  * 24th District: Westchester County
  * 25th District: Orange and Sullivan counties
  * 26th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam and counties
  * 27th District: Greene and Ulster counties
  * 28th District: Albany County
  * 29th District: Rensselaer County
  * 30th District: Saratoga and Washington counties
  * 31st District: Montgomery, Schenectady and Schoharie counties
  * 32nd District: Lewis, Fulton, Hamilton and Herkimer counties
  * 33rd District: Clinton, Essex and Warren counties
  * 34th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
  * 35th District: Jefferson and Oswego counties
  * 36th District: Oneida County
  * 37th District: Chenango, Madison and Otsego counties
  * 38th District: Onondaga County
  * 39th District: Broome and Delaware counties
  * 40th District: Cayuga, Cortland and Seneca counties
  * 41st District: Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties
  * 42nd District: Ontario, Wayne and Yates counties
  * 43rd District: Steuben and Livingston counties
  * 44th District: Allegany, Genesee and Wyoming counties
  * 45th and 46th District: Monroe County
  * 47th District: Niagara and Orleans counties
  * 48th, 49th and 50th District: Erie County
  * 51st District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties
  
  ### Members
  
  The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.
  
  | District | Senator | Party | Notes |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1st | James L. Long* | Democrat | |
  | 2nd | Dennis J. Harte* | Democrat | |
  | 3rd | Thomas H. Cullen* | Democrat | |
  | 4th | Loring M. Black Jr.* | Democrat | |
  | 5th | Barth S. Cronin* | Democrat | |
  | 6th | Eugene M. Travis* | Republican | |
  | 7th | Thomas C. Harden* | Democrat | |
  | 8th | James F. Duhamel* | Democrat | |
  | 9th | Felix J. Sanner* | Democrat | |
  | 10th | James H. O'Brien* | Democrat | on November 5, 1912, elected to the 63rd U.S. Congress |
  | 11th | Christopher D. Sullivan* | Democrat | |
  | 12th | Timothy D. Sullivan* | Democrat | on November 5, 1912, elected to the 63rd U.S. Congress |
  | 13th | James D. McClelland* | Democrat | |
  | 14th | (Thomas F. Grady)* | Democrat | did not take his seat, and died on February 3, 1912 |
  | 15th | Thomas J. McManus* | Democrat | |
  | 16th | Robert F. Wagner* | Democrat | President pro tempore |
  | 17th | John G. Saxe* | Democrat | |
  | 18th | Henry W. Pollock* | Democrat | |
  | 19th | Josiah T. Newcomb* | Republican | |
  | 20th | James J. Frawley* | Democrat | |
  | 21st | Stephen J. Stilwell* | Democrat | |
  | 22nd | Anthony J. Griffin* | Democrat | |
  | 23rd | Howard R. Bayne* | Democrat | |
  | 24th | J. Mayhew Wainwright* | Republican | |
  | 25th | John B. Rose* | Republican | |
  | 26th | Franklin D. Roosevelt* | Democrat | |
  | 27th | William P. Fiero* | Democrat | |
  | 28th | Henry M. Sage* | Republican | |
  | 29th | Victor M. Allen* | Republican | |
  | 30th | Edgar T. Brackett* | Republican | Minority Leader |
  | 31st | Loren H. White* | Democrat | |
  | 32nd | Seth G. Heacock* | Republican | |
  | 33rd | James A. Emerson* | Republican | |
  | 34th | Herbert P. Coats* | Republican | |
  | 35th | George H. Cobb* | Republican | |
  | 36th | T. Harvey Ferris* | Democrat | |
  | 37th | Ralph W. Thomas* | Republican | |
  | 38th | J. Henry Walters* | Republican | |
  | 39th | Harvey D. Hinman* | Republican | |
  | 40th | Charles J. Hewitt* | Republican | |
  | 41st | John F. Murtaugh* | Democrat | |
  | 42nd | Frederick W. Griffith* | Republican | |
  | 43rd | Frank C. Platt* | Republican | |
  | 44th | Thomas H. Bussey* | Republican | |
  | 45th | George F. Argetsinger* | Republican | |
  | 46th | William L. Ormrod* | Republican | |
  | 47th | Robert H. Gittins* | Democrat | on November 5, 1912, elected to the 63rd U.S. Congress |
  | 48th | Frank M. Loomis* | Democrat | |
  | 49th | Samuel J. Ramsperger* | Democrat | |
  | 50th | George B. Burd* | Democrat | |
  | 51st | Charles Mann Hamilton* | Republican | on November 5, 1912, elected to the 63rd U.S. Congress |
  
  ### Employees
  
  * Clerk: Patrick E. McCabe
  * Sergeant-at-Arms: Harry E. Oxford
  * Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: John J. Dillon
  * Principal Doorkeeper: Fred W. Theobold
  * Assistant Doorkeeper: Thomas Nolan
  * Stenographer: William E. Reynolds
  
  ## State Assembly
  
  Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."
  
  ### Assemblymen
  
  | District | District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Albany | 1st | Harold J. Hinman* | Republican | Chairman of Judiciary |
  | Albany | 2nd | John G. Malone | Republican | |
  | Albany | 3rd | John Gibeau | Republican | |
  | Allegany | Allegany | Ransom L. Richardson | Republican | |
  | Broome | Broome | Arthur J. Ruland | Democrat | |
  | Cattaraugus | Cattaraugus | Ellsworth J. Cheney* | Republican | Chairman of Public Education |
  | Cayuga | Cayuga | Michael Grace | Republican | |
  | Chautauqua | 1st | Julius Lincoln* | Republican | Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies |
  | Chautauqua | 2nd | John Leo Sullivan* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Villages |
  | Chemung | Chemung | Robert P. Bush* | Democrat | |
  | Chenango | Chenango | Walter A. Shepardson* | Republican | Chairman of Soldiers' Home |
  | Clinton | Clinton | Charles J. Vert | Republican | |
  | Columbia | Columbia | John L. Crandell | Republican | |
  | Cortland | Cortland | Charles F. Brown* | Republican | Chairman of Public Health |
  | Delaware | Delaware | Clayton L. Wheeler* | Democrat | |
  | Dutchess | 1st | Myron Smith | Republican | Chairman of Excise |
  | Dutchess | 2nd | Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler* | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 1st | Charles C. Page | Republican | |
  | Erie | 2nd | Clinton T. Horton | Republican | |
  | Erie | 3rd | Henry J. Rahl | Republican | |
  | Erie | 4th | Edward D. Jackson* | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 5th | Richard F. Hearn* | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 6th | James M. Rozan | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 7th | Gottfried H. Wende* | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 8th | Clarence MacGregor* | Republican | Chairman of Codes |
  | Erie | 9th | Frank B. Thorn* | Republican | Chairman of General Laws |
  | Essex | Essex | Spencer G. Prime II | Republican | |
  | Franklin | Franklin | Alexander Macdonald* | Republican | Chairman of Forestry, Fisheries and Game |
  | Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | Alden Hart* | Republican | |
  | Genesee | Genesee | Clarence Bryant* | Republican | |
  | Greene | Greene | J. Lewis Patrie* | Democrat | |
  | Herkimer | Herkimer | Theodore Douglas Robinson | Republican | |
  | Jefferson | 1st | Henry E. Machold | Republican | |
  | Jefferson | 2nd | John G. Jones* | Republican | Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills |
  | Kings | 1st | Daniel V. Barnes | Republican | |
  | Kings | 2nd | William J. Gillen* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 3rd | Michael A. O'Neil* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 4th | George Langhorst | Republican | |
  | Kings | 5th | Abraham F. Lent* | Republican | |
  | Kings | 6th | George Heiberger | Republican | |
  | Kings | 7th | Daniel F. Farrell* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 8th | John J. McKeon* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 9th | Albert H. T. Banzhaf | Republican | |
  | Kings | 10th | Fred M. Ahern* | Republican | |
  | Kings | 11th | William W. Colne* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Cities |
  | Kings | 12th | Frederick W. Singleton | Republican | |
  | Kings | 13th | Charles Schmitt | Republican | |
  | Kings | 14th | James J. Garvey | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 15th | Thomas E. Willmott | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 16th | Forrest S. Chilton | Republican | |
  | Kings | 17th | Edward A. Ebbets* | Republican | Chairman of Commerce and Navigation |
  | Kings | 18th | Almeth W. Hoff* | Republican | |
  | Kings | 19th | Jacob Schifferdecker* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 20th | Frank Bennett | Republican | |
  | Kings | 21st | Harry Heyman* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 22nd | Edward R. W. Karutz | Republican | |
  | Kings | 23rd | William F. Mathewson | Republican | |
  | Lewis | Lewis | Humphrey E. Slocum | Republican | Chairman of Labor and Industries |
  | Livingston | Livingston | John C. Winters Jr.* | Republican | |
  | Madison | Madison | Morell E. Tallett | Republican | |
  | Monroe | 1st | Jared W. Hopkins | Republican | |
  | Monroe | 2nd | Simon L. Adler* | Republican | |
  | Monroe | 3rd | August V. Pappert* | Republican | |
  | Monroe | 4th | Cyrus W. Phillips* | Republican | |
  | Monroe | 5th | William T. Keys* | Republican | |
  | Montgomery | Montgomery | Walter A. Gage | Republican | |
  | Nassau | Nassau | Jeremiah Wood | Republican | |
  | New York | 1st | Thomas B. Caughlan* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 2nd | Al Smith* | Democrat | Minority Leader |
  | New York | 3rd | John C. Fitzgerald | Democrat | |
  | New York | 4th | Aaron J. Levy* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 5th | Jimmy Walker* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 6th | Harry Kopp* | Republican | Chairman of Privileges and Elections |
  | New York | 7th | Peter P. McElligott* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 8th | Moritz Graubard* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 9th | John C. Hackett* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 10th | Meyer Greenberg | Democrat | |
  | New York | 11th | John J. Boylan* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 12th | James A. Foley* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 13th | James C. Campbell | Democrat | |
  | New York | 14th | John J. Herrick* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 15th | Henry J. Crawford | Republican | |
  | New York | 16th | Martin G. McCue* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 17th | Franklin Brooks* | Republican | Chairman of Military Affairs |
  | New York | 18th | Mark Goldberg* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 19th | Andrew F. Murray* | Republican | |
  | New York | 20th | Patrick J. McGrath* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 21st | Dean Nelson | Republican | |
  | New York | 22nd | Edward Weil* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 23rd | Sidney C. Crane | Republican | |
  | New York | 24th | Thomas A. Brennan* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 25th | Francis R. Stoddard Jr. | Republican | |
  | New York | 26th | Abram Goodman* | Republican | |
  | New York | 27th | Charles A. Dana | Republican | |
  | New York | 28th | Jacob Levy* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 29th | Thomas S. Coleman | Republican | |
  | New York | 30th | Louis A. Cuvillier* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 31st | Max Shlivek* | Republican | Chairman of Claims |
  | New York | 32nd | Morris S. Schector | Republican | |
  | New York | 33rd | William B. Ruddick | Republican | |
  | New York | 34th | Charles I. Fleck | Republican | |
  | New York | 35th | John Yule | Republican | |
  | Niagara | 1st | Karl S. Brong | Republican | |
  | Niagara | 2nd | Henry A. Constantine* | Republican | |
  | Oneida | 1st | Ralph Entwistle | Republican | |
  | Oneida | 2nd | Herbert E. Allen* | Republican | Chairman of Banks |
  | Oneida | 3rd | James T. Cross* | Republican | Chairman of Insurance |
  | Onondaga | 1st | Charles R. Milford | Republican | |
  | Onondaga | 2nd | David L. Edwards | Republican | |
  | Onondaga | 3rd | Thomas K. Smith* | Republican | Chairman of Revision |
  | Ontario | Ontario | Thomas B. Wilson* | Republican | Chairman of Agriculture |
  | Orange | 1st | Caleb H. Baumes* | Republican | Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment |
  | Orange | 2nd | John D. Stivers* | Republican | Chairman of Public Printing |
  | Orleans | Orleans | Frank A. Waters* | Republican | |
  | Oswego | Oswego | Thaddeus C. Sweet* | Republican | Chairman of Canals |
  | Otsego | Otsego | Willard G. Bullion | Republican | |
  | Putnam | Putnam | John R. Yale* | Republican | Chairman of Electricity, Gas and Water Supply |
  | Queens | 1st | Andrew Zorn* | Democrat | |
  | Queens | 2nd | Alfred J. Kennedy* | Democrat | |
  | Queens | 3rd | Adam Metz Jr. | Republican | |
  | Queens | 4th | James A. Bell | Republican | |
  | Rensselaer | 1st | Charles Fred Schwarz | Democrat | |
  | Rensselaer | 2nd | (Bradford R. Lansing)* | Republican | Chairman of Internal Affairs; did not take his seat, and died on February 4, 1912 |
  | Richmond | Richmond | Ralph R. McKee | Democrat | |
  | Rockland | Rockland | George A. Blauvelt* | Democrat | |
  | St. Lawrence | 1st | Frank L. Seaker | Republican | |
  | St. Lawrence | 2nd | Edwin A. Merritt Jr.* | Republican | elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules; on November 5, 1912, elected to the 62nd and 63rd U.S. Congresses |
  | Saratoga | Saratoga | George H. Whitney | Republican | Chairman of Ways and Means |
  | Schenectady | Schenectady | Herbert M. Merrill | Socialist | |
  | Schoharie | Schoharie | Daniel D. Frisbie* | Democrat | |
  | Schuyler | Schuyler | John W. Gurnett* | Democrat | |
  | Seneca | Seneca | Nelson Duntz | Republican | |
  | Steuben | 1st | Thomas Shannon* | Republican | |
  | Steuben | 2nd | John Seeley* | Democrat | |
  | Suffolk | 1st | DeWitt C. Talmage* | Republican | |
  | Suffolk | 2nd | George L. Thompson | Republican | Chairman of Public Institutions |
  | Sullivan | Sullivan | John K. Evans* | Democrat | |
  | Tioga | Tioga | John G. Pembleton | Republican | |
  | Tompkins | Tompkins | Minor McDaniels* | Democrat | |
  | Ulster | 1st | Andrew J. Cook | Republican | |
  | Ulster | 2nd | Samuel C. Waring* | Republican | |
  | Warren | Warren | Henry E. H. Brereton* | Republican | |
  | Washington | Washington | James S. Parker* | Republican | Chairman of Railroads; on November 5, 1912, elected to the 63rd U.S. Congress |
  | Wayne | Wayne | Albert Yeomans* | Republican | |
  | Westchester | 1st | Tracy P. Madden | Democrat | |
  | Westchester | 2nd | William S. Coffey* | Republican | Chairman of Penal Institutions |
  | Westchester | 3rd | Frank L. Young* | Republican | Majority Leader |
  | Westchester | 4th | George A. Slater | Republican | |
  | Wyoming | Wyoming | Henry A. Pierce* | Republican | |
  | Yates | Yates | Edward C. Gillett | Republican | |
  
  ### Employees
  
  * Clerk: Fred W. Hammond
  * Sergeant-at-Arms: Harry W. Haines
  * Principal Doorkeeper: Michael Kehoe
  * First Assistant Doorkeeper: James B. Hulse
  * Second Assistant Doorkeeper: D. C. Easton
  * Stenographer: Henry C. Lammert
  * Postmaster: James H. Underwood
  