138th New York State Legislature

138th New York State Legislature
← 137th 139th →
New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1 – December 31, 1915
Senate
Members	51
President	Edward Schoeneck (R)
Temporary President	Elon R. Brown (R)
Party control	Republican (34-17)
Assembly
Members	150
Speaker	Thaddeus C. Sweet (R)
Party control	Republican (99-49-2)
Sessions
1st January 6 – April 24, 1915

The 138th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 24, 1915, during the first year of Charles S. Whitman'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. Assemblyman William Sulzer, who had been removed from the office of Governor in 1913, founded an American Party and ran also on the Prohibition Party ticket for Governor. The Independence League, the Progressive Party, the Socialist Party and the Socialist Labor Party also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1914, was held on November 3. D.A. of New York County Charles S. Whitman and Edward Schoeneck were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor; both Republicans. Of the other seven statewide elective offices, six were carried by Republicans and one by a Democrat. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republicans 687,000; Democrats 412,000; Independence League 125,000; American 71,000; Prohibition 54,000; Progressives 46,000; Socialists 38,000; and Socialist Labor 2,000.

Also elected were 34 Republicans and 17 Democrats to the State Senate; 99 Republicans, 49 Democrats and two Progressives to the State Assembly; and 168 delegates (15 at-large; and three per senatorial district) to the Constitutional Convention.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 6, 1915; and adjourned on April 24.

Thaddeus C. Sweet (R) was re-elected Speaker,

Elon R. Brown (R) was elected Temporary President of the Senate.

On April 6, the Constitutional Convention met at the State Capitol in Albany; and adjourned on September 4. All proposed amendments to the Constitution were rejected by the voters at the state election on November 2, 1915.

State Senate

Districts

2

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Charles C. Lockwood, Alvah W. Burlingame Jr., Jimmy Walker, Franklin W. Cristman, Samuel A. Jones, Clinton T. Horton and William P. Greiner changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

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

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	George L. Thompson	Republican
2nd	Bernard M. Patten*	Democrat	contested by Christian Weiland
3rd	Thomas H. Cullen*	Democrat
4th	Charles C. Lockwood*	Republican	Chairman of Public Education
5th	William J. Heffernan*	Democrat
6th	William B. Carswell*	Democrat
7th	Daniel J. Carroll*	Democrat
8th	Alvah W. Burlingame, Jr.*	Republican	Chairman of Revision
9th	Robert R. Lawson	Republican	Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
10th	Alfred J. Gilchrist	Republican	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
11th	Christopher D. Sullivan*	Democrat
12th	Henry W. Doll	Democrat
13th	Jimmy Walker*	Democrat
14th	James A. Foley*	Democrat	also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention
15th	John J. Boylan*	Democrat
16th	Robert F. Wagner*	Democrat	Minority Leader; also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention
17th	Ogden L. Mills	Rep./Progr.
18th	William M. Bennett	Rep./Progr.
19th	George W. Simpson*	Democrat
20th	Irving J. Joseph	Democrat
21st	John J. Dunnigan	Democrat
22nd	James A. Hamilton	Democrat
23rd	George Cromwell	Republican
24th	George A. Slater	Republican
25th	John D. Stivers*	Republican	Chairman of Military Affairs
26th	James E. Towner*	Republican	Chairman of Insurance
27th	Charles W. Walton	Republican
28th	Henry M. Sage*	Republican	Chairman of Finance
29th	Walter A. Wood, Jr.	Republican	Chairman of Conservation; died on October 8, 1915
30th	George H. Whitney*	Republican	Chairman of Public Health
31st	Arden L. Norton	Republican	Chairman of Canals
32nd	Franklin W. Cristman*	Republican	Chairman of Privileges and Elections
33rd	James A. Emerson*	Republican	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
34th	N. Monroe Marshall	Republican	Chairman of Banks
35th	Elon R. Brown*	Republican	elected Temporary President; Chairman of Rules
36th	Charles W. Wicks	Republican
37th	Samuel A. Jones*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Villages
38th	J. Henry Walters*	Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
39th	William H. Hill	Rep./Progr.
40th	Charles J. Hewitt*	Republican	Chairman of Internal Affairs
41st	Morris S. Halliday	Republican	Chairman of Penal Institutions
42nd	Thomas B. Wilson*	Republican	Chairman of Agriculture
43rd	Charles D. Newton	Republican	Chairman of Codes
44th	Archie D. Sanders	Republican
45th	George F. Argetsinger*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Cities
46th	John B. Mullan	Republican	Chairman of Public Printing
47th	George F. Thompson*	Republican	Chairman of Public Service
48th	Clinton T. Horton*	Republican	Chairman of Civil Service
49th	Samuel J. Ramsperger*	Democrat
50th	William P. Greiner*	Democrat
51st	George E. Spring	Republican	Chairman of Labor and Industry

Employees

• Clerk: Ernest A. Fay
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles R. Hotaling
• Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Samuel Russell
• Principal Doorkeeper: Lee V. Gardner
• First Assistant Doorkeeper: George W. Van Hyning
• Stenographer: John K. Marshall (also Stenographer of the Constitutional Convention)

State Assembly

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

Assemblymen

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	Harold J. Hinman*	Republican	Majority Leader; also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention
	2nd	John G. Malone*	Republican	Chairman of Excise
	3rd	William C. Baxter*	Republican	Chairman of Villages
Allegany		Elmer E. Ferry*	Republican
Broome		Simon P. Quick*	Republican
Cattaraugus		DeHart H. Ames	Republican
Cayuga		William F. Whitman	Republican
Chautauqua	1st	A. Morelle Cheney*	Republican
	2nd	John Leo Sullivan*	Republican	Chairman of Internal Affairs
Chemung		Horace K. Walker	Rep./Progr.
Chenango		Bert Lord	Republican
Clinton		Alexander W. Fairbank*	Republican
Columbia		William Wallace Chace	Republican
Cortland		George H. Wiltsie	Republican
Delaware		Edwin A. Mackey*	Republican
Dutchess	1st	James C. Allen	Rep./Progr.
	2nd	Francis G. Landon	Republican	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
Erie	1st	Allen Keeney	Republican
	2nd	Ross Graves	Republican
	3rd	Nicholas J. Miller	Republican	Chairman of Public Institutions
	4th	James M. Mead	Democrat
	5th	Arthur G. McElroy	Democrat
	6th	Peter C. Jezewski	Rep./Progr.
	7th	John F. Heim	Republican
	8th	Leonard W. H. Gibbs	Republican
	9th	Frank B. Thorn*	Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
Essex		Raymond T. Kenyon*	Republican
Franklin		Alexander Macdonald*	Republican	Chairman of Ways and Means
Fulton and Hamilton		James H. Wood*	Republican	Chairman of Claims
Genesee		Louis H. Wells*	Republican
Greene		George H. Chase*	Republican
Herkimer		Selden C. Clobridge	Republican
Jefferson	1st	H. Edmund Machold*	Republican	Chairman of Conservation
	2nd	Willard S. Augsbury	Republican
Kings	1st	R. Hunter McQuistion*	Rep./Progr.
	2nd	William J. Gillen*	Democrat
	3rd	Frank J. Taylor*	Democrat
	4th	Peter A. McArdle	Democrat
	5th	Fred G. Milligan, Jr.	Republican
	6th	Nathan D. Shapiro	Republican
	7th	Daniel F. Farrell*	Democrat
	8th	John J. McKeon*	Democrat
	9th	Frederick S. Burr	Democrat
	10th	Fred M. Ahern*	Rep./Progr.	Chairman of General Laws
	11th	George R. Brennan*	Republican	Chairman of Insurance
	12th	William T. Simpson*	Republican
	13th	Herman Kramer*	Democrat
	14th	John Peter La Frenz*	Democrat
	15th	James J. Phelan*	Democrat
	16th	Samuel R. Green*	Republican
	17th	Frederick A. Wells	Republican
	18th	Almeth W. Hoff*	Republican	Chairman of Cities
	19th	William A. Bacher	Democrat
	20th	August C. Flamman*	Rep./Progr.	Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
	21st	Isaac Mendelsohn	Democrat
	22nd	Charles H. Duff	Republican
	23rd	Nathan B. Finkelstein	Rep./Progr.
Lewis		Henry L. Grant*	Republican
Livingston		Edward M. Magee*	Republican	Chairman of Revision
Madison		Morell E. Tallett*	Republican	Chairman of Education
Monroe	1st	James A. Harris	Republican
	2nd	Simon Louis Adler*	Republican	Chairman of Banks
	3rd	John R. Powers	Republican
	4th	Frank Dobson	Republican
	5th	Franklin W. Judson	Republican
Montgomery		Erastus Corning Davis	Republican
Nassau		Thomas A. McWhinney	Republican
New York	1st	John J. Ryan	Democrat
	2nd	Al Smith*	Democrat	Minority Leader; also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention; on November 2, 1915, elected Sheriff of New York Co.
	3rd	Carmine J. Marasco	Democrat
	4th	Henry S. Schimmel*	Democrat
	5th	Maurice McDonald	Democrat
	6th	Nathan D. Perlman	Rep./Progr.
	7th	Peter P. McElligott*	Democrat
	8th	Sidney Scharlin	Democrat
	9th	Charles D. Donohue*	Democrat
	10th	Walter M. Friedland	Democrat
	11th	John Kerrigan*	Democrat
	12th	Joseph D. Kelly*	Democrat
	13th	James C. Campbell*	Democrat
	14th	Robert Lee Tudor*	Democrat
	15th	Abram Ellenbogen*	Republican
	16th	Martin G. McCue*	Democrat
	17th	Martin Bourke	Republican
	18th	Mark Goldberg*	Democrat
	19th	Patrick F. Cotter	Democrat
	20th	Frank Aranow	Democrat
	21st	Harold C. Mitchell	Republican
	22nd	Maurice Bloch	Democrat
	23rd	Daniel C. Oliver	Democrat
	24th	Owen M. Kiernan*	Democrat
	25th	Francis R. Stoddard, Jr.*	Republican	Chairman of Military Affairs
	26th	Joseph Steinberg*	Progr./Rep.
	27th	Charles E. Rice, Jr.	Republican
	28th	Salvatore A. Cotillo	Democrat
	29th	Howard Conkling*	Republican	Chairman of Canals
	30th	Dennis G. Donovan	Democrat
	31st	Aaron A. Feinberg	Republican
Bronx	32nd	William S. Evans	Democrat
	33rd	Earl H. Miller	Democrat
	34th	M. Maldwin Fertig	Democrat
	35th	Joseph M. Callahan	Democrat
Niagara	1st	William Bewley*	Republican
	2nd	Alan V. Parker	Republican
Oneida	1st	Fred Frank Emden*	Democrat
	2nd	Charles J. Fuess*	Republican
	3rd	John Brayton Fuller*	Republican	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
Onondaga	1st	Edward Arnts*	Republican
	2nd	J. Leslie Kincaid	Republican
	3rd	Jacob R. Buecheler*	Republican
Ontario		Heber E. Wheeler*	Republican
Orange	1st	James B. Montgomery*	Republican	Chairman of Soldiers' Home
	2nd	Charles J. Boyd*	Republican
Orleans		A. Allen Comstock	Republican
Oswego		Thaddeus C. Sweet*	Rep./Progr.	re-elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules
Otsego		Allen J. Bloomfield	Republican
Putnam		Hamilton Fish III*	Progr./Dem.
Queens	1st	Nicholas Nehrbauer, Jr.*	Democrat
	2nd	Peter J. McGarry*	Democrat
	3rd	William H. O'Hare	Democrat
	4th	George E. Polhemus	Democrat
Rensselaer	1st	John F. Shannon	Democrat
	2nd	Edwin S. Comstock	Republican
Richmond		Stephen D. Stephens	Democrat
Rockland		Frederick George Grimme	Democrat
St. Lawrence	1st	Frank L. Seaker*	Republican	Chairman of Railroads
	2nd	Edward A. Everett	Republican
Saratoga		Gilbert T. Seelye*	Republican	Chairman of Health
Schenectady		Walter S. McNab	Republican
Schoharie		Edward A. Dox*	Democrat
Schuyler		Henry S. Howard*	Republican	Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies
Seneca		William J. Maier*	Republican	Chairman of Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
Steuben	1st	Reuben B. Oldfield	Republican
	2nd	Richard M. Prangen	Republican
Suffolk	1st	DeWitt C. Talmage*	Republican	Chairman of Labor
	2nd	Henry A. Murphy*	Republican
Sullivan		H. Blake Stratton	Dem./Progr.
Tioga		Wilson S. Moore*	Republican
Tompkins		John W. Preswick*	Republican
Ulster	1st	Henry R. DeWitt*	Republican
	2nd	Abram P. Lefevre*	Republican
Warren		Henry E. H. Brereton*	Republican	Chairman of Privileges and Elections
Washington		Charles O. Pratt*	Republican
Wayne		Riley A. Wilson*	Republican	Chairman of Printing
Westchester	1st	George Blakely*	Republican
	2nd	William S. Coffey	Republican
	3rd	Walter W. Law, Jr.*	Republican	Chairman of Penal Institutions
	4th	Floy D. Hopkins*	Republican	Chairman of Social Welfare
Wyoming		John Knight*	Republican	Chairman of Codes
Yates		Edward C. Gillett*	Republican	Chairman of Agriculture

Employees

• Clerk: Fred W. Hammond
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Harry W. Haines (also Sergeant-at-Arms of the Constitutional Convention)
• Principal Doorkeeper:
• First Assistant Doorkeeper:
• Second Assistant Doorkeeper:
• Stenographer:

Sources

• FULL TICKETS OF THE PARTIES in NYT on October 25, 1914
• THE LEGISLATURE RESUMES WORK in The Yonkers Statesman on January 14, 1915
• Journal of the Senate (138th Session) (1915; Vol. I, from January 6 to March 31)
• Journal of the Senate (138th Session) (1915; Vol. II, from March 31 to April 24)
• Laws of the State of New York (138th Session) (1915)
• Documents of the Constitutional Convention of the State of New York 1915 (1915)