New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-08-28
PARKER'S BAD BEGINNING
FRAUD WON FIRST OFFICE.
Old Opponent Calls Him Most As
tute" and Manipulatcr.

From the candidacy for the Office of surrogate
Of an upstate county TO that OF President OF the
United States IS a long STEP but it represents
the range OF political aspiration of Alton B.
Parker. who by the shrewd politics OF his
ayers was made the Democratic nominee for
.he highest Office IN America at st. Louis few
weeks ago. Twenty-seven years intervene be-
tween Judge Parker's first nomination for po-
Itical Office and this last one. He was elected
IN 1877. and I'm January of the following year
became surrogate OF Ulster County. That cleo
u'ya tiIe uesiIIisil-s tayrE'-sa1
which has made him CHEZ Judge of the Court
of Appeals of New-Yo State.
There is no point in Judge Parker's career
more interesting than the election which gave
him his first political Office. In the minds OF
many It even surpasses the sending of the now
famous telegram from Esopus the day aftec his
nomination He won by a margin so marrow,
and that margin wholly made up OF votes from
a district notorous!y corrupt thai charges Of
fraud were freely made at the time. contest
urged his opponent. Peter Cantine and
sufficient facts put in Cantipe's possession to
make II practically certain that he would be
successful in gaining the oftce- For some per-
sonal reason which rever made clear to
his friends the Republican candidate declined
TO contest, and Parke. stepped into what was at
that time the best office in Ulser County outside
Of the shrevalty.
on account of the obvious frauds of this elcc-
tion and those of the following year. the people
Of the town of Kingston demanded a redistrict-
ing. This demand was :cceded to at a ses-
sion of the Board of Supervisors held In No
vember. 1879 OF the olJtow of Kingston one
district went into the tom of Woodstock, three
were taken TO form a lew town called Ulster
and Stony Hollow ard Jockey Hill-the dis
trIcts in which election frauds particularly
prevalent-were left y town by themselves
The campaign of 1877 was not particularly
exciting and party feeling did not run strong.
There was tendency the part Of the vot-
ers 10 support the best man, regardless OF
party. at least so far as concerned the county
ticket TIE candidates for surrogate were
Peter Candne who then held that Office and
Alton B. Parker who had been clerk OF the
Board of Supervisors. which is not an elective
office from 1873 TO 1915. Inclusive, and who was
then practising law IN Kingston.
The day Of election was without incident. ex-
cept for the riotng at the polling place at
Humphreys Hotel, the Stone Road, where
the rowdes rom Stony Hollow and Jockey Hill
cast their btllots, and that rioting mder
than usual Only one man, Hugh DAILY, was
badly injured Before midnight the returns had
beer received from all Of the districts I'm the
couaty EXCEPT District No. of the town OF
Kingston, be ter known the Jockey Hill Dis
trict Though the voting place only few
miles AVA. no report at hand. and
one knew .1at had become of the returns.
The onlycIose contest was that between Can
tine and Parker for the office of surrogate
Cantine WIS in the lead even If Parker polled
every knon vote In the Jockey Hill district
The peop. went home convinced that he had
been elecsd.
The net day the returns from Jockey Hin
we're still missing. and messengers We're sent
ouf TO rand up the election officials The re-
turn, wee finally produced, properly signed and
eliee out They gave the Democrats majority
larsr flsn the entire vote OF the district and
,lesed Parker surrogate by the narrow margin
20 l1a ,,oter Although the voting population
oc he district did not greatly exceed two hum
ara tbe figures on the returns gave Parker
az end Cantine 30 making their respective
,o,ls 739o and 7.249. Parker WAS the only
,,,,, candidate whose election depended
tip Joclley Hill vote
DEMAND For INVESTIGATION.
-bee WAS all Immediate cry for an investi-
ga,io, and the apprehension OF those respons. Die
g. -. obvious Irregularities. An editorial In
..-r,.. .,nqston Freeman on November 9. 1871
,ba situation with exceeding modera-
ton. II reads:
:, s..rent that "irreguiarites, to use no harsher
.,o,tipued on second page.
-. ttorse. Shelter Island. open until sept.
= -sI.i,.y tta popular autumn season Golrns,
Al