The boss, or the governor;
'oK • a 0 ^"^ ♦'jA'^^A'*' '^^ A^ *•<> %.A^ : ♦ f^ ^. ^o ^ I 0 « O ^^ • / * ' %^^ '' //^;:X <'°*:r^'> /'•^•\ ''<*-^ •♦bv* •<U » « 6 "I have yet to meet a single person who believes, or even pretends to believe, that a single honest motive has animated the proceedings of your antagonists —Letter of tol. Roosevelt to Governor Sulxer. "I refused to listen to the tempters, and resolved to go forward with the work for decent _ citizenship and honest government— come weal or woe/' —Letter of Gov. Sulzer to Col. Roosevelt. jr/^"tu^ •j*-^^ Ur^ ^ux^w^yo-v^-^— I ) THE BOSS, OR THE GOVERNOR THE TRUTH ABOUT THE GREATEST POLITICAL CONSPIRACY IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA By Samuel Bell Thomas 1914 THE TRUTH PUBLISHING CO. New York Copyright, 1914 SAMUEL BELL THOMAS JUN 26 t9l4 ©CIA376462 ^0/ -r^' LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS William Sulzer Frontispiece Page Chester C. Piatt 5 Col. Alexander S. Bacon 15 The Author and the Governor 47 Samuel Friedman 61 Wm. Sulzer — The Constitutional Governor 74 The Governor and the Pretender 96 The Treason of Tammany 119 Shall the People Rule ? 131 The Delmonico Conspiracy 151 The Governor's Last Meeting with the Chief 171 More Power to This People's Governor 271 "Impeaching Sulzer" 301 How Murphy "Impeached" Sulzer 341 The Triumph of the System 381 Doomed 405 Murphy Seeing Things 433 -• • CONTENTS CHAPTER I Preface 1 Introduction 3 By Chester C. Platt CHAPTER n A Short Sketch of Governor William Sulzer 13 By Col. Alexander S. Bacon CHAPTER HI Mr. Sulzer's Brilliant Record 46 CHAPTER IV The Constructive Record of Mr. Sulzer's Eighteen Years in Congress 50 CHAPTER V Congressman Sulzer's Remarkable Record 53 CHAPTER VI Sulzer's Record as a Member of Congress 57 CHAPTER VII Sulzer the Unspoiled Public Servant 64 CHAPTER VIII The Truth About Wm. Sulzer 68 CHAPTER IX The Truth About the Trial of Gov. Wm. Sulzer 72 CHAPTER X Mr. Sulzer's Speech of Acceptance as the Democratic Candidate for Governor 78 CHAPTER XI Mr. Sulzer's Great Campaign for Governor 89 CHAPTER XII At First Mr. Sulzer Tried Hard to be at Peace with Mr. Murphy 95 CHAPTER XIII The Boss C. F. Murphy 105 CHAPTER XIV Graft! Graft! Graft!. 109 CHAPTER XV Road Fund Looters 123 CHAPTER XVI Graft in the Prisons 133 CHAPTER XVII Legislative Graft 143 CHAPTER XVni War with Mtirphy and Tammany IW CHAPTER XIX Murphys War on Gov. Sulzer in Light ©f Actoal Developments •* • • • ^^^ CHAPTER XX "What is Greatness?" Speech of Gov. Sulzer at Executive Chamber March 31, 1913 173 CHAPTER XXI "Patriotism" Speech of Gov. Sulzer at the Unveiling of the Mame Monument .v 175 CHAPTER XXII Gov. Sulzer's Remarks to a Delegation of the Hudson Valley Loyal Order of Moose 178 CHAPTER XXIII Speech on Fire Prevention, April 2, 1913"^ 180 CHAPTER XXIV Speech of Gov. Sulzer at the Dinner to Celebrate las Fiftieth Birthday 183 CHAPTER XXV Gov. Sulzer's Speech on Political Independence at Albany, March 25, 1913 185 CHAPTER XXVI Gov. Sulzer's Fight for the Full Crew Law 195 CHAPTER XXVII Gov. Sulzer Drives Boss Barnes from the Capitol 211 CHAPTER XXVIII Justice to Our Negro Soldiers 213 CHAPTER XXIX Gov. Sulzer's Veto of the Foley-Walker Act 215 CHAPTER XXX Mr. Sulzer's Great Fight to Compel Honest Dealings on the New York Stock Exchange 218 CHAPTER XXXI * Governor Sulzer Frustrates the Attempt to Inject Religion into the Public Schools 231 CHAPTER XXXII Mr. Sulzer's Successful Efforts to Repeal the Notorious Charter of the Long Sault Development Company 233 CHAPTER XXXIII Mr. Sulzer's Great Fight for Direct Primaries 237 CHAPTER XXXIV Sulzer's Ringing Veto of the Fake Primary Bill 246 CHAPTER XXXV "Why I am for Direct Primaries." Speech of Governor Sulzer in Buffalo, May 19, 1913 253 CHAPTER XXXVI Speech of Gov. Sulzer at Corning, N. Y., May 20, 1913 259 CHAPTER XXXVII Address of Governor Sulzer at Elmira College, May 21, 1913 266 CHAPTER XXXVIII "What arc You Going to do About it ?" 272 CHAPTER XXXIX "Shall the People Rule" 275 CHAPTER XL Remarks of Governor Sulzer in the Executive Chamber, Albany. N. Y., June 23, 1913, on the bill for Direct Primaries 282 CHAPTER XLI Governor Sulzer's Last Message on Direct Primaries 287 CHAPTER XLII Governor Sulzer's Speech in the Executive Chamber, July 22, 1913 295 CHAPTER XLIII Mr. Sulzer's Great Fight Against the Grafters 299 CHAPTER XLIV Report on the Great Meadow Prison 302 CHAPTER XLV Sulzer, Hennessy and the Road Grafters 309 CHAPTER XLVI Presentment of the Rockland County Grand Jury on the Highway Frauds 321 CHAPTER XLVH Sulzer's Last Meeting with the Boss 334 CHAPTER XLVHI The Delmonico Conference 389 CHAPTER XLIX The GoTcrnor's Last Message to the Legislature 338 CHAPTER L Sulzer, Murphy and the People of New York 337 CHAPTER LI The Bosses' Reasons for the Governor's Removal 344i CHAPTER LH The Paradox of Sulzer, the Triumph of Duty 351 CHAPTER LHI An Analysis of the Sulzer Case 354 CHAPTER LIV Gov. Sulzer's Denial of Frawley Charges ". 369 CHAPTER LV Gov. Sulzer's Reply to Martin H. Glynn Refusing to Sur- render the Governorship 371 CHAPTER LVI Who Got the Money ? 374 CHAPTER LVH Col. Henry V\[atterson's Leading Editorial in the Louis- ville Courier-Journal 375 CHAPTER LVni Honesty First Mark of Mr. It is the custom of authors to give by way of preface the reasons for the book they write and ask the pubUc to read. There are three reasons for this book: First : Truth. Second : Law. Third: Justice — "And for Justice, all seasons sum- mer and all places a Temple." The removal of Governor William Sulzer marked the zenith of the arrogance and the brutality of corrupt boss- ism in New York State. Up to this time political bosses had controlled party organizations ; they had commanded legislatures and administrative officers of the state gov- ernment; they had nominated, for a consideration, jus- tices of the supreme court, but it remained for Charles F. Murphy, the reigning boss of his period, to impeach a governor because that governor refused to do the bidding of the boss. In that respect, and for many other reasons, the re- moval of Governor Sulzer is without a parallel in his- tory— since civilized government began. It is one of the crises in human affairs, an event of epochal importance in the evolution of popular govern- ment. Only the perspective, which time and vision cre- ate, can reveal its tremendous significance. It is doubtful whether any executive of New York State ever accomplished so much of permanent good to the public as did William Sulzer by his courageoas and unswerving assault upon graft and bossism during the seven and a half months he was permitted to exercise the functions of the office. History will record that William Sulzer proved faith- 2 THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE ful to his trust while he was governor. He was the powerful instrument during that brief and interrupted term to strike the fatal blow to a political oligarchy, and to inaugurate a new era of freedom in the state gov- ernment. Governor Sulzer immediately was the victim of a cor- rupt boss, but primarily he was the victim of the Invisi- ble Government — those sinister forces which stealthily and powerfully operated through the bosses. His fate was designed by his assailants to be a warn- ing forever to governors who dared to harbor any no- tions of independence. The future historian will say Mr. Sulzer was removed from office not because he was corrupt, but because he would not be dishonest. Samuel Bell Thomas. The Boss, or the Governor CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION By Chester C. Platt, Former Secretary to Gov- ernor SULZER. The removal of William Sulzer, Governor of New York State, marked an epoch in the history of the commonwealth. Corrupt political bossism had shown amazing power in many ways, in many states, but never in such a startling manner as in the removal from office of a duly elected governor of the greatest state in the Union. Mr. Sulzer was elected by a plurality of over 205,000, the largest ever given to a gubernatorial candidate. His administration had won popular approval, and when the impeachment resolution was passed in the assembly, Gov- ernor Sulzer was stronger with the rank and file of the voters of the state than he was on election day. In the fall of 1912, when the defeat of the Democratic Party seemed impending, owing to the popularity of Oscar S. Straus, the leaders of the Democratic Party turned to William Sulzer, who had won such nota- ble victories in the Tenth Congressional District, in New York City, and nominated him for governor. He not only 4 THE BOSS, -OR saved the party from defeat, but led it to a triumphant victory, and Woodrow Wilson, for President, carried the state by a vote almost as large as that given to Mr. Sulzer. And then what startling events followed ! No sooner was William Sulzer made governor than it at once ap- peared that he meant what he had said in his campaign speeches, when he declared that if elected governor he would be THE Governor, and that he never had a boss, and that he never would have one. Not such a startling utterance to come from a candidate for public office ; but it was surprising to many w4io did not thoroughly know the man, that the implied promise in this utterance was faithfully carried out by Mr. Sulzer. And it was carried out, although to do so Mr. Sulzer often calmly sat and looked political death in the face, and although carrying out the promise brought attacks from Charles F. Murphy, the State boss, calculated to ruin Mr. Sulzer's reputation and to drive him in disgrace from public life. Yet none of these things moved him, nor tempted him, to depart from his steadfast purpose to be the people's, and not the bosses' governor. He was determined to administer the duties of his high office; to promote all the reforms so much needed; to remedy the corrupt political conditions of the times — re- forms in line with those for which he had been struggling during eighteen years of faithful service to the people in the halls of Congress — reforms calculated to make easier the hard and cruel conditions surrounding the life of the wage-earners of our great cities — reforms calculated to curb the power of avaricious wealth, gained by grinding the faces of the poor, of wealth accummulated through evasions of law, of wealth piled up, mountain high, through the insidious passage of laws granting special privileges to the few, at the cost of the many — of re- forms calculated to abolish political, economic and social injustice, to give uplift and succor to the friendless poor, THE GOVERNOR CHESTER C. PLATT Progressive Democrat. Editor of the Batavia Times. Former Secretary to Governor Sulzer. 6 THE BOSS, OR to give to the world's workers a fair share of the wealth they produce, that the homes of the honest toilers of our land may be the homes of happiness and plenty, and not homes of poverty and squalor. "To make a happy hearthside clime to weans and wife, ''That's the true pathos and sublime of human life." How often had these immortal words of Burns been quoted by William Sulzer in his pleas for social justice, for conditions of employment uphfting and not degrad- ing, for wages enabling the toiler to give to his loved ones some of the comforts as well as the bare necessities of existence; for remuneration that may place some adornments in the homes of the wage-workers ; that may place some good books and magazines by the fireside; that may give him some hours of leisure to enjoy the pleasures of home, or to go to theatre, lecture or concert, and that may also give him that which is dearer to the human heart than all else, the opportunity to give his children a better education, a better training, and a better start in life than he had himself, in the years gone by. Mr. Sulzer's career in Congress has demonstrated the truth of this characterization. He was the author of measures to grant liberal pensions to the old soldiers ; to increase the pay of letter-carriers; to curb trusts and mo- nopolies ; to place government close to the people through the direct election of United States senators; to reduce tariff taxes ; to provide an income tax ; to establish postal savings banks, the parcel post, and to create a de- partment of labor, with a secretary having a seat in the Cabinet. He showed himself the friend of the'poor and oppressed of all nations by his resolutions of sympathy for the Cuban patriots, for the oppressed Jews in Russia, for the abrogation of the Russian treaty, and for the rec- ognition of the Chinese republic. Therefore, when Mr. Sulzer went to Albany and be- THE GOVERNOR "7 came governor none of those who knew him best were surprised that a battle against grafters and corrupt boss- ism was begun. It was this battle, coupled with his de- termination to secure the enactment of measures that would give the people of the state an opportunity to nominate all candidates for offices that aroused the vin- dictive hatred of all the bosses of the state. Muttered warnings of hostility were heard when the governor refused military pageantry at the inauguration ceremonies. The threat direct came in Murphy's message, "Gaffney or war" — a message meaning that a state highway com- missioner was to be appointed who would be indulgent to such men as Bart Dunn, the Tammany Hall member of the state committee, and William H. Whyard, the dem- ocratic boss of Rockland county, who were both indicted for highway frauds. There were warnings which preceded the threat direct when the governor removed Hoefer for frauds in the state architect's department, and Superintendent Scott for corruption in the Prison Department, and thus took the first step which resulted in twelve indictments in connec- tion with Great Meadow Prison, and five indictments in connection with the management of Sing Sing Prison. There were more warnings when the governor removed C. Gordon Reel, of the highway department, and just in the nick of time to prevent the letting of a big bunch of bonanza highway contracts. It grew more vindictive when the governor refused to turn the public service commissions over to the railroads by appointing George M. Palmer, Packey McCabe, and John Galvin to the commissions. To remove the gov- ernor from office was fully determined upon when he appointed a practical railroad man and a union wage worker as a member of the Public Service Commis- sion, and sierned the Full Crew bill. William Sulzer was governor of New York State for 8 THE BOSS, OR only nine months, but they were months big with accom- phshments. During the three quarters of a year that he occupied the governor's chair, in pursuance of the ad- vice of the best authorities in the field of sanitary science, the governor secured the passage of a bill reorganizing the public health department and increasing its efficiency to a degree that promises to check preventable diseases, prolong human life, and greatly increase the general health of the people. The governor secured the passage of a bill reorganizing the labor department, which John Mitchell declared will make that department the most efficient and helpful to wage earners of any labor department of any state in the Union. The governor started a movement to reform prison management, to reform our banking laws, and our laws relating to taxation. It is needless to say that none of these things won any approval from Charles F. Murphy, nor his manikins of the court of impeachment. They should have been particularly interested in the movement to make our prisons more decent, but they were not ; they were concentrating all their endeavors to prevent grand jury investigations, from Lake Erie to Long Island — in- vestigations which promised to greatly augment the over- crowded condition of the prisons of the state. The Governor was not charged with wrong doing in office, except in trying to secure the passage of his bill for direct primaries to destroy boss rule. It was not claimed at the time of the impeachment that corruption existed then in any department of the state, except the department of public works, and it was known that evidence for a grand jury investigation of this de- partment had then been obtained by a commissioner ap- pointed by the governor for this purpose, and that ex- cept for the starting of the impeachment proceedings the removal of Duncan W. Peck, the head of the department, would have been made. THE GOVERNOR 9 It was not claimed that directly, or indirectly, the Governor had connived at corruption in any department or office of the state. It was not charged that the Governor had violated any law, in the slightest degree, in any official acts. On the contrary it was his integrity, his incorruptibility and his refusal to turn the state over to grafters, coupled with his efforts to send the grafters to prison, that led to the impeachment proceedings. He sacrificed himself and his official career in an endeavor to save the state from civic pollution. His jury was packed ; his trial was a farce. A large proportion of the members of that court, although in form selected by the people, yet, in reality, were placed where they were by the appointment of the Governor's arch enemies, Charles F. Murphy, William H. Fitz- patrick and William Barnes. In violation of the law, and of common sense, the gov- ernor's vindictive accusers, who had declared him guilty before the trial began, were allowed to sit as his judges, and to join in the issuance of a verdict which they determined should be rendered before a word of testi- mony had been taken. With these men admitted as duly accredited members of the court, ready at every executive session to attack the governor, what a travesty it was for the presiding judge to warn members of the court, after the testimony had all been taken, that they should not discuss the case with anyone outside their own numbers. No wonder that even that conservative newspaper, the Boston Transcript, declared that "not since the days of King John has there been a greater travesty of justice than was presented by the composition of the New York court of impeachment." The governor was in fact de- prived of the right which is accorded the meanest criminal in a jury trial — the right to an unprejudiced court. Preju- dice, vindictiveness and political hatred were all deeply 10 THE BOSS, OR rooted in the composition of the court of impeachment, which, according to all established standards of justice, should have been impartial. With regard to questionable evidence, unfavorable to the governor, the court adopted the convenient theory, most agreeable to the governor's enemies, that the evi- dence sliould be received, and go on record, but the valid- ity of it was not to be determined until the close of the trial. The principle of this ruling, however, was not fol- lowed with respect to proffered testimony in the gov- ernor's favor, which would have been given by John A. Hennessy, Samuel A. Beardsley, John N. Carlisle, and others; ; The prosecution was permitted to roam at will, and go on all sorts of fishing expeditions, but the governor's law- yers were promptly checked when they sought to intro- duce evidence contradicting this questionable testimony. To impeach an official for alleged offenses committed before he assumes the duty of the office, was in violation of all law and precedent. Furthermore, the court was without proper jurisdiction to try the governor on the impeachment resolutions passed at an extraordinary ses- sion of the legislature. The Constitution plainly says : "At extraordinary sessions no subject shall be acted upon except such as the governor may recommend for consideration." The attorneys for the prosecution were unable to ex- plain away the plain meaning of these words to the average citizen of the state. During his short career as governor Mr. Sulzer made a peculiarly effectual appeal to the moral and religious sentiment of the state. After the verdict of the impeach- ment court, every mail brought testimonials of confidence and esteem from ministers, teachers, and others^ who were devoting their lives to political, social and moral reforms. The country newspapers, throughout the state, de- THE GOVERNOR 11 fended the Governor in their editorial columns. He re- ceived the support of such independent newspapers as the Albany Knickerbocker Press, the Albany Arg«s, the Troy Standard Press, the Troy Observer, the Rochester Herald, the Rochester Union and Advertiser, the Buffalo Courier, the Buffalo Inquirer, the Buffalo News, the El- mira Gazette, the New York Evening Mail, the New York Globe, and all the progressive papers in the state. Why the governor's case looked so differently to the editors of the New York Times, Sun, and World, I will not undertake to explain, except to say that the moral and intellectual standard of such editors as Albert Shaw, of the Review of Reviews, Lyman Abbott and Theodore Roosevelt of the Outlook, Henry W. Stoddard and James Creelman of the Evening Mail, will compare favorably with those of the editors of the daily newspapers of New York City that turned against the Governor about the time that he signed the full crew bill, and vetoed the McKee school bills. I have outlined the causes which led to Governor Sul- zer's expulsion from office by what will be known to future historians not as it was called at the time "the high court of Impeachment," but as ''Murphy's high court of infamy." Soon after the close of the trial, in a notable speech, delivered at the Broadway Theatre on Sunday, October 26, Governor Sulzer uttered these imprsessive words : "The judgment of that court will not stand the test of time. The future historian will do me justice. There is a higher court than Murphy's — ^the court of public opin- ion. I appeal from Murph3^'s court of infamy to the calmer judgment of posterity." A few days after this Mr. Sulzer was elected a member of assembly, from, the sixth assembly district, of New York City, a district forming part of the tenth congres- sional district which he represented for many years at the national capital. He was elected by a majority of 12 THE BOSS, OR almost three to one over all his competitors, in a campaign unparalleled in the history of New York, At every meeting at which he spoke he was given a great ovation. No halls could hold one-tenth of the people who turned out to do him honor. The streets were choked with people for blocks in the neighbor- meeting Mr. Sulzer, from his automobile, addressed, in hood of the meeting places. Before and after each the streets, thousands of cheering men and women. The campaign was a striking demonstration of the fact that the voters considered his impeachment a badge of honor. His election was a vindication. The ver- dict of the people reversed the verdict of Murphy's court, and William Sulzer has taken his place In history as one of the greatest, one of the most faithful, and one of the most courageous of New York's Governors — one of America's Great Reformers. Wm. Sulzer is a real Tribune of the People — a great man — a great Governor — a great Reformer — his place in the hearts of the masses is secure — his fame in the annals of his country will endure. All honor and all praise to this brave, farseeing, Godfearing public servant — who loved Right, and did not fear Might. Chester C. Platt. THE GOVERNOR 13 CHAPTER n A SHORT SKETCH OF GOVERNOR WILLIAM SULZER By Colonel Alexander S. Bacon William Sulzer, the forty-first Governor of New York State, was born in an old brick house on Liberty Street, Elizabeth, New Jersey, on March 18, 1863. He is the second son of a family of seven children — five boys and two girls. Lydia Sulzer, his mother, was of Dutch and Scotch- Irish ancestry. Thomas Sulzer, his father, was born in Germany, and while a student at Heidelberg University, in 1848, joined the patriot army and fought to establish constitutional government. He was captured and put in prison, but made his escape to Switzerland — thence emi- grating to New York City in 1851. He married there, and the family afterward moved to Elizabeth, N. J., and subsequently bought a farm at Wheatsheaf, a suburb of the former place, where the son, William, aided in the farm work, until he went to New York to study law. William Sulzer was educated in the country school, and graduated from a grammar school in 1877. His parents desired him to study for the ministry, but he became interested in the legal profession and entered Columbia College Law School. He also studied law with Parrish and Pendleton in New York City. In 1884, at the age of twenty-one years, he was admitted to the practice of law at a General Term of the Supreme Court held in New York City, and at once opened a law office and began his life work as a lawyer. Early in his career he became a successful lawyer, and throughout his long 14 THE BOSS, OR public service has been more or less engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. He first entered political life prominently during the Presidential campaign of 1884, which terminated in the election of Grover Cleveland as President. Mr. Sulzer upon this occasion was one of the campaign speakers of the Democratic National Committee. Ever since 188-i he has participated actively in the speaking campaigns of the Democratic Party at each successive election. In 1889 Mr. Sulzer was elected an Assemblyman from the fourteenth Assembly district on an independent ticket, being then only twenty-six years of age, winning the election by a plurality of about 800 votes, his platform being that the Broadway railway franchise should not be granted in perpetuity to a private monopoly. He was re-elected to the Assembly in 1890, 1891, 1892 and 1893, and each year by increased majorities. Soon after Mr. Sulzer's election to the Assembly he became widely known as an advocate of social, political and economic reforms, the chief among which were em- bodied in bills abolishing ''sweat shops"; providing free lectures for working people ; abolishing imprisonment for debt ; providing for a Constitutional Convention ; estab- lishing ''Freedom of Worship"; providing for the State care of the insane; for ballot reform; for the punish- ment of corrupt election practices; abolishing corporal punishment in the prisons ; limiting the hours of labor ; estabHshing a Saturday half holiday; providing for a weekly payment of wages ; establishing a woman's re- formatory; and for an epileptic colony. These bills, in- troduced and advocated by Mr. Sulzer, became laws. The "Freedom of Worship" bill gave to the inmate of any State institution the right to worship God ac- cording to the dictates of his conscience. Up to the passage of the "State Care Act" a large proportion of the insane people of the State whose relatives were too poor to have them cared for in private hospitals for THE GOVERNOR 15 COLONEL ALEXANDER S. BACON Prominent lawyer, and well-known citizen. Chairman of the Executive Committee of the American Party. One of Mr. Sulzer's counsel in the proceedings brought against the Governor by Tammany. »v*- 16 THE BOSS, OR the insane were in charge of local authorities. The "State Care Act" placed all the hospitals in charge of the State government and greatly improved the means taken to restore the inmates of these hospitals to health. The title of the Saturday "half-holiday" act indi- cates the purpose of the measure — to give a longer period of rest for all w^orkers. The women's reforma- tory was a much needed institution, and since it was established has finely accomplished the aims of those who suggested it. The law providing for free lectures for workingmen and working women has developed since in New York City into its magnihcent lecture and musical entertainment system, where hundreds of lectures and musical entertainments are yearly given. Mr. Sulzer, as a member of the assembly, also intro- duced and persuaded the Legislature to pass a law for the Columbian Celebration in New York City ; a law codifying the statutes of the State; a law codifying the laws relating to the quarantine station ; a law opening Stuyvesant Park, New York City, to the use of the people; a law opening New York's greatest art gallery, the Metropolitan Aluseum of Art, to people on Sunday; a law providing a prevailing rate of wage for working people; a law for a State forest park; the law for the preservation of the x\dirondack forests ; a law for the protection of the head waters of the Hudson River and the conservation of the natural resources of New York State; a law for the completion of the State Capitol; a Constitutional amendment for the enlargement of the State's canals ; a law establishing the Aquarium in New York City; a law establishing Bronx and Van Cort- landt parks in New York City ; the law establishing the great New York Public Library, with funds largely con- tributed by Ex-Governor Samuel J. Tilden ; and the law compelling the New York Central Railroad Company to ventilate and light the Fourth Avenue tunnel. Entering the Assembly as one of its youngest mem- THE GOVERNOR 17 bers in 1890 he rapidly won fame and power and in- fluence, and was one of the leaders in 1892, the Demo- crats being in control of the body; Speaker of the As- sembly in 1893; and leader of the minority in 1894. As Speaker of the Assembly he gave the people one of the chanest, one of the most economical, and one of the shortest sessions of the Legislature in years. He was one of the fairest and most impartial presiding of- ficers in the history of the state. In 1891 ]\Ir. Sulzer declined a renomination to the Assembly, and was nominated for Congress by the Democratic party in the Tenth Congressional District, which then formed a part of New York County, on the "East Side" — a strong Republican bailiwick. That year there was a Republican "landslide" and the Demo- cratic party carried only five Congressional districts north of ]\Iason and Dixon's line. Three of these were in New York City and one was Mr. Sulzer 's district. Mr. Sulzer was elected by over 800 majority, although David B. Hill, the democratic candidate for Governor, lost the district by over 11,000. Two years later Mr. Sulzer, as a candidate for Congressman, was the only Democrat elected in his district, which he carried by three times the majority he received the first time he ran. This was the year of William J. Bryan's first campaign as a Democratic candidate for President, and although Mr. Sulzer was a staunch supporter of jMr. Bryan, the latter lost the Tenth Congress District by over 17,000 votes while ^Ir. Sulzer carried it by over 1,400. Four vears later Mr. McKinley, running against Mr. Bryan the second time, carried the Tenth Congress District by 11,000, while Mr. Sulzer was elected by over 5,000. In 1906 :\Ir. Sulzer carried the district by over 11,000, receiving seventy-five per cent, of the entire vote cast. He is the only Democrat who has ever been able to carry the old Tenth District since Cleveland carried it for President in 1892. 18 THE BOSS, OR For eighteen years Mr. Sulzer was a member of Con- gress. In that period he was the author of more than twenty-five distinct bills embodying progressive legisla- tion. One law passed provided for the raising of the battleship Maine; a second law provided a light for the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor; a third law increased the pay of the letter carriers of the country. One of the chief laws framed and pressed by him, created the Bureau of Corporations — by which the anti-trust laws have since been enforced. He was the author of and succeeded in passing a pension law for the orphans and widows of the deceased soldiers and sailors of the Union army. He introduced the bill to regulate the interstate commerce railroads; the bill in behalf of vic- tims of the disaster to the steamboat "General Slocum" ; a bill to restore the merchant marine by giving prefer- ential duties to American ships; a bill for federal ail in the construction of good national roads ; a bill to reduce the tariff, especially on goods, wares and mer- chandise manufactured in the United States and sold cheaper in foreign countries than here; a bill placing on the free list meat, wood pulp, coal, lumber and white print paper ; a bill to establish postal savings banks ; a bill to establish a Department of Transportation ; a bill to improve the Foreign Consular and diplomatic service ; and a bill prohibiting the sailing of any ship from the United States unless equipped with safety devices. He introduced and secured the passage of a resolu- tion expressing sympathy with the Cuban patriots ; the resolution of sympathy for the Boers in their heroic struggle to maintain their independence ; the resolution of sympathy with oppressed Russian Jews ; and the reso- lution abrogating the treaty with Russia, because that government refused to accept passports issued to Jewish citizens of this country. He also introduced and secured the passage of a resolution congratulating the people of China on the establishment of a republic. THE GOVERNOR 19 Mr. Sulzer wielded a large influence in Congress, espe- cially when he became Chairman of the House Commit- tee on Foreign Affairs. He steadily opposed intervention in the affairs of Mexico. He stood firmly for peace, and became the eloquent champion of the rights of Latin America. He was the author of the resolution to abrogate the Russian treaty of 1832, already referred to. It was passed by a vote of 300 to 1 — a memorable victory for the rights of American citizens. A resolution of which he was the author provided for an investigation of the corrupt sale of the New York Custom House ; he started the movement for the election of United States Senators by the direct vote of the people ; originated the income tax amendment to the United States Constitution ; brought about the abroga- tion of the Russian Treaty; and the establishment of the parcels post. We give here two short speeches on matters of national moment — one delivered by Mr. Sulzer in the House of Representatives on the 27th of February, 1909. The bill to do justice to the negro soldiers was before the Con- gress. Mr. Sulzer took the floor and delivered the fol- lowing eloquent address : Mr. Sulzer said : "Mr. Speaker: I am in favor of doing justice to the negro soldiers of the Twenty-fifth U. S. Infantry. I want to give these men their day in court. They are entitled to this. They never have had an oppor- tunity to prove their innocence. If one be guilty let him be punished, but the innocent should be re-enlisted in the army and given all their rights and emoluments. "The innocent should not be punished for the guilty. I voted in favor of this bill in the Committee on Military Affairs, and I shall vote to pass it through the House. No fair-minded man can consistently op- pose this measure. It is honest and it is just. "It will be justice to the innocent men. If we fail 20 THE BOSS, OR to do justice in this case, we will be false to ourselves and false to every principle that we revere. If we refuse to do justice to the colored soldiers who are innocent, we will violate every tenet of our boasted love of fair play. In my opinion, if this bill becomes a law, no guilty man will be able to re-enlist in the army, and no innocent man should be prevented from doing so. "I have no race prejudice where justice is concerned. I want to say that I am now, and always have been, and I trust always will be, in favor of equal and exact justice to all men — here and everywhere throughout the world — without regard to race or to creed. "We must do justice in this matter. We cannot do less without stultifying ourselves and bringing our free institutions into strange contrast w^ith our per- formances. I want to see justice done, and I hope the bill wall pass. It is never too late to do justice. 'For justice all seasons summer, and all places a temple.' " On December 18, 1905, Mr. Sulzer, speaking on his resolution, delivered the following eloquent tribute to the Jews : ''Air. Speaker: I arraign Russia before the' bar of civilization for great crimes against a common hu- manity. The Russian government is responsible for these outrages on the Jews. ''Why should we refrain from aiding the Jew in Russia? I say, in my judgment, it is the duty of our government to condemn these Jewish atrocities and to protest against these unspeakable crimes against the Jewish people in Russia in words that^cannot be misunderstood, and I believe that if we do, that if we pass this resolution, that it will have the desired result and effectively put a stop to the Jewish out- rages, atrocities and massacres in Russia. Tliat right we have; let us exercise it. It w^ill be a declaration THE GOVERNOR 21 to the Czar, and to the grand dukes, who are directly responsible for these crimes, that the House of Repre- sentatives of the United States sympathizes with the Russian Jews the same as we would with any other outraged and oppressed people, and that we are op- posed to these race crimes, and that the ruthless ex- termination of the Jews in Russia must cease. If this is all we can do, let us do it, and do it quickly; and I believe that if we do, our protest will be heard in St. Petersburg and that the Russian government will quickly see to it that the wholesale butchery of Jewish communities is stopped. Wt cannot ignore these crimes against humanity. We cannot escape our re- sponsibility. These innocent victims are our brothers and our sisters — mankind throughout the world are one. A continuing crime against one race is the con- cern of all the other races. *'My heart goes out to the ravished and plundered and oppressed Jews in Russia. I grieve with those who grieve for the dead. I sympathize with the liv- ing and the terror-stricken. I have enlisted with all my soul in their cause, and in Congress and out 'of Congress I shall do all that I can to aid them to ameliorate their condition. I am not a bigot. I care naught for creed. I have no race prejudice. I stand for humanity, and a man is a man, for all that, to me. I have struggled all my life to help those who needed help, to do something to better the conditions of the poor and the humble, to aid oppressed humanity in every land and In every clime, and to raise the lowly to a higher plane and push them forward a step In the march of civilization. "T am a friend of the Jews. It is, however, unneces- sary for me, or any one else to eulogize the Intrepid sons and the virtuous daughters of Israel. The Jew needs no eulogy. All he asks Is justice. All he de- mands is equal opportunity and equality before the 22 THE BOSS, OR law. The records of his race from the dawn of time down to the present day is the history of the march of humanity along the highways of progress and the avenues of civilization. In all ages of the world the ostracized Jew has done his share for his fellowman, for enlightenment, for liberty, for freedom, for progress and for civilization — and he has done it all in the face of adverse circumstances. In science and in art, in literature and philanthropy, the Jew, in all lands and in all times, has written his name high in the temple of fame. In statesmanship and diplomacy, in law and in medicine, in ethics and philosophy, in research and discovery, the greatness of the Jew is and ever has been unchallenged. In commerce and in trade, in industry and husbandry, overcoming forces that would deter another, he has held his own in the vanguard of progress. Persecuted for thousands of years, he has surmounted all obstacles ; shunned for centuries, he has kept in the very front of the higher and the better civilization. In trial and in triumph, in sunshine and in storm, in war and in peace, on land and on sea, in all eras and in all places, the Jewish race has written its enduring name and its eternal fame all over the pages of human history." Foremost among the achievements of Mr. Sulzer's career in Congress was the passage in the House dur-- ing the session of 1912 of his bill establishing a De- partment of Labor with a Secretary in the Cabinet. Smiled at as a preposterous idea ten years ago, this bill finally passed the lower House unanimously. Its passage in the Senate followed. The signing of this Department of Lal5or bill was the last official act of President Taft, and he did so on the personal appeal of Mr. Sulzer. The bill was first introduced by Mr. Sulzer in 1904, and was reintro- duced and advocated by him in every Congress since that time. In support of the measure, on one occasion, THE GOVERNOR 23 he thus addressed the House of Representatives : '*Mr. Speaker : My bill for a department of labor is a meritorious measure and it should be a law. It is the first bill ever introduced in Congress to create a Depart- ment of Labor. It is the first attempt to systematically classify labor in an intelligent way that has ever been presented in a bill in Congress, and its enactment into law will evidence a disposition on the part of the Gov- ernment to see to it that labor gets full recognition, the dignity of having a voice in the councils of State, and the opportunity to have its claims dispassionately discussed. Give labor this boom and the 'labor ques- tion' will be reduced to the minimum. *'The expense of maintenance of the Department of Labor will practically be but little more than the ex- pense for the maintenance of the various bureaus at the present time. These bureaus will all be in the Department of Labor. I do not think anyone will take exception to the bill on the ground that it is going to increase the expenses of the Government. A few thousand dollars in a matter of so much moment will be of little consequence. I believe that if this bill were on the statute books to-day it would be a long step toward better social, economical, and commercial con- ditions ; a progressive advance along the avenues of industrial peace ; that it would go far to allay jeal- ousy, establish harmony, promote the general welfare, make the employer and employee better friends, pre- vent strikes, lockouts, blacklists, boycotts, and busi- ness paralysis, and every year save millions and mil- lions of dollars of losses which necessarily result therefrom. "Capital as well as labor should favor this Depart- ment of Labor, because it will go far to solve the labor problem and bring about industrial peace. For years this legislation has been advocated by the wage-earn- ers of the country. The bill meets with their appro- 24 THE BOSS, OR bation and has the approval of the best thought in our land. It has been indorsed by some of the ablest thinkers, some of the wisest political economists, and many of our leading newspapers. The time is ripe, it seems to me, for the creation of a Department of Labor with a secretary having a seat in the Cabinet, with all the rights and powers conferred by this bill. 