The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1904-10-12
UPRIGHT JUDGE PARKER
Peculiar Circumstances In Which
lie Began His Political Career.
Early Election Questioned.
lis First Election as Surrogate the
Beginning OF Influence
as Boss.

ICharles MarsciIlcs. formerly editor of the
Kingston Freeman, tells the story
When | went to Kingston he G'ar-
kerr was In his first year as surrogate.
The Republican leaders accused him Of
being out of his place, for Peter Can
tine. one Of the ablcst lawyers and
most esteemed and honOred citizens of
the state, had preceded him In office
and had been his opponent at recent
election But the Democratic purity.
having met with II number of success
es, had obtained the mastery OF the
county at last and devised and worked
with success system that had filled
them with confidence OF their lnylnct-
bfllty They no longer had any respect
for the rights Of their opponents. or
even for majorities on the other side.
The town of Kingston, surrounding
the city of the same name, covering Il
large extent OF wealthy farming terri
tory ami including also II portion Of
the Gutskills in which were valuable
blucstone quarrics worked by foreign
ers, all of whom voted the Democratic
ticket and prohtcd enormously in CON
sequence, gave Parker his first major
ity in political life. This majority was
drawn from two stone quarry pre-
cincts which contained not more than
loo voters, but gave Parker 600 votes.
This was done by simply holding back
the votes till the rest OF the county
WAS heard from and then returning Il
sufficient number to elect him. Wheth
er Parker connivCd at this fraud Is not
publicly known. 1t Is known, however,
that he accepted and held the office for
six years. This was the beginning OF
political career more successful than
that of any other Democrat In Ulster
county. He quickly developed into "a
powerful political boss debating nom-
nations and appointments, and kept
busy with declining honors for him
self, if we are to believe all the reports
of his friends.
But the plan of campaign" devised
tunate for Parker, brought very little
benefit TO other leaders of that party.
The result in dollars and cents was
more costly than the taxpayers could
bear. The same 100 voters who cast
600 ballots for Parker levied $4,000
taxes upon the town for outdoor re-
lief, but though the men of property
protested and went To law, II Demo
cratic court decided that they must
pay. md they did. But the papers
the Kingston Daily Freeman and the |
kingston journal which owned and
edited took up the subject and spent |
the entire winter publishing these ex-
penditures item 10y item. The same
forces that give Parker his dishonest
majority had absorbed all the offices
of the town and seemed equipped for u
long and luscious lease Of power. But
the people read the papers which eX-
posed the rHscalitics perpetrated by
/ the quarry statesmen backed by II
| Democratic board of supervisors with
more than twothrds majority
There WAS new board to be elected
/ in the spring, and not day passed
without the printing OF from one 10
| three columns of Democratic doings.
The result was sweeping revolution.
the Republicans clectlng seventeen
and the Democrats nine members.
When the new board met almost the
first act was to divide the town, set
ting Off the little stone quarry section
10y itself and creating the large town
OF Ulster. inhabited by prosperous
farmers and manufacturers The eff
feet was to make the county permu-
nently Republican and To suppress re
pcating and ballot box stuliing in the
little remnant of the old town. The
new town of Ulster, which had puid
Sl6.uou for feeding the paupcrs OF the
stone quarries the previous year, up
propfIated $500 for outdoor relief, and
il sulhCcd for the purpose for three
years other reforms of more gen
crnl nature were instituted and the
taxes for county purposes fell from
S}3l 80 Is in 1917 to Sl9S. 31S 90 in
1919. The decline continued. and In
lSS3, the last year of my stay In
kingston they fell To Slot, auI ~.
The effect upon the Democratic purity
WIS terrible More than half of the
leaders were driven out of office. Al
most alone Parker remained undisturb
ed. lie had been elected for six years
and before his term expired the county
had passed into Republican control,
the strieteSt economy was insisted up
on. and when the Democrats had the
good fortune 10 eject one of their
number lac VAS II man OF integrity ami
one ly one the members of the old
ring were dropped.
Protection md Soup House.