The 134th New York State Legislature, consisting of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

and the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

, met from January 4 to October 6, 1911, during the first year of

John Alden Dix John Alden Dix (December 25, 1860 – April 9, 1928) was an American businessman and politician who served as 38th Governor of New York from January 1911 to January 1913. A native of Glens Falls, New York, Dix attended Cornell University befo ...

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the

New York Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

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 Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. The

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, the

Independence League The Independence Party, established as the Independence League, was a short-lived minor American political party sponsored by newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst in 1906. The organization was the successor to the Municip ...

, the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

and the

Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

also nominated tickets.

Elections

The

New York state election, 1910 The 1910 New York state election was held on November 8, 1910, to elect the Governor of New York, governor, the Lieutenant Governor of New York, lieutenant governor, the Secretary of State of New York, Secretary of State, the New York State Compt ...

, was held on November 8.

and Thomas F. Conway were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor; both Democrats. Of the other seven statewide elective offices up for election, five were carried by the Democrats, and two cross-endorsed incumbent judges of the Court of Appeals were re-elected. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for governor, was: Democrats 690,000; Republicans 622,000; Socialists 49,000; Independence League 48,000; Prohibition 22,000; and Socialist Labor 6,000.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1911; and adjourned on October 6. Daniel D. Frisbie (D) was elected

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

with 84 votes against 62 for Edwin A. Merritt, Jr. (R). Robert F. Wagner (D) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate. On January 17, the Legislature began proceedings to elect a

U.S. Senator from New York Below is a list of U.S. senators who have represented the State of New York in the United States Senate since 1789. The date of the start of the tenure is either the first day of the legislative term (Senators who were elected regularly before th ...

for a six-year term beginning on March 4, 1911. On January 19, Governor of Minnesota

Adolph Olson Eberhart Adolph Olson Eberhart (June 30, 1870 – December 6, 1944) was an American politician, who served as the 17th Governor of Minnesota. Background Adolph Olson Eberhart was born in Kil, in Värmland, Sweden, the son of Andrew and Louise Olso ...

addressed the members of the Assembly. On February 6, Ex-Governor of North Carolina Robert Broadnax Glenn addressed the members of the Assembly. On February 7, the Legislature elected Abram I. Elkus to succeed Edward Lauterbach as a Regent of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York (state), New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it i ...

, for a twelve-year term beginning on April 1, 1911. On February 8, Daniel E. Sickles, at the time the oldest living former assemblyman (a member in

1847 Events January–March * January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government. * January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California. * January 16 – John C. Frémont ...

), addressed the members of the Assembly. On March 9, UK Ambassador to the U.S. James Bryce addressed the members of the Senate and Assembly. During the small hours of March 29, a fire broke out in the

New York State Capitol The New York State Capitol, the seat of the Government of New York State, New York state government, is located in Albany, New York, Albany, the List of U.S. state capitals, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The seat o ...

, consuming most of the West Wing, and destroying almost completely the State Library and Archives. The Legislature moved to temporary quarters in the

Albany City Hall Albany City Hall is the seat of government of the city of Albany, New York, United States. It houses the office of the mayor, the Common Council chamber, the city and traffic courts, as well as other city services. The present building was des ...

. On March 31, after 74 days of deadlock, the Legislature elected New York Supreme Court Justice James A. O'Gorman (D) to succeed U.S. Senator

Chauncey M. Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as ...

(R). Afterwards the Legislature took a recess of two weeks while the Capitol was being repaired. On April 17, the Legislature met again at the State Capitol to resume the legislative business which had been delayed by the deadlocked U.S. Senate election. On July 21, the Legislature took a recess, and met again on September 6. Clerk of the Assembly Luke McHenry had become ill, and George R. Van Namee was designated to act as Clerk. McHenry died on September 17, and Van Namee was chosen to succeed to the clerkship.

State Senate

Districts

Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Felix J. Sanner, Loren H. White and J. Henry Walters changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

Employees

* Clerk: Patrick E. McCabe * Sergeant-at-Arms: James McMahon * Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: August Gerritson * 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

Employees

* Clerk: Luke McHenry, died September 17''LUKE McHENRY DIES''
in NYT on September 18, 1911 ** George R. Van Namee, acting from September 6 * Sergeant-at-Arms: Lee F. Betts * Principal Doorkeeper: Joseph Hurley, until January 24 **Peter J. O'Neil, from January 24 * First Assistant Doorkeeper: Edward Bourne * Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Edward Murphy * Stenographer: Josiah B. Everts

Notes

Sources

''Official New York from Cleveland to Hughes''
by Charles Elliott Fitch (Hurd Publishing Co., New York and Buffalo, 1911, Vol. IV; see pg. 360f for assemblymen; and 367 for senators)
''Journal of the Assembly'' (134th Session)
(1911; Vol. I, until March 29)
''Journal of the Assembly'' (134th Session)
(1911; Vol. II, from March 29)
''DEMOCRATS CONTROL LEGISLATURE BY 29''
in NYT on November 10, 1910
''WAGNER IS LEADER; GRADY STAYS AWAY''
in NYT on January 4, 1911
''LEGISLATURE MEETS; HEARS DIX MESSAGE''
in NYT on January 5, 1911
''LEGISLATORS MEET IN A DAMP CAPITOL''
in NYT on April 18, 1911
''LEGISLATURE RESTS; PRIMARIES BILL LOST''
in NYT on July 22, 1911
''LEGISLATORS RIOTOUS OVER PRIMARIES BILL''
in NYT on October 1, 1911
''PASS PRIMARIES BILL AS LEGISLATURE ENDS''
in NYT on October 7, 1911 {{NYLegislatures

134 134 may refer to: * 134 (number) * AD 134 * 134 BC * 134 (MBTA bus) *134 (New Jersey bus) 134 may refer to: *134 (number) * AD 134 *134 BC *134 (MBTA bus) The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus division operates bus routes in the B ...

1911 in New York (state) Fires at legislative buildings 1911 U.S. legislative sessions