The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-23
CLERKSHIP FACTION FIGHT.
ODELL ESPOISES BAXTER'S
CAUSE, WOODRUFF, SMITHS.
There Are or Places In the once OF the
Clerk Of the Assembly and About
Every Man who Gets One Is Expected
10 he q Cog In Somebody's Machine.


There were Republicans from the up
State counties in town yesterday who said
that the fight for the Assembly cierkship
between Col. Archie f. Baxter of Elmira
and Ray b. Smith Of Syracuse was tending
TO produce a marked alignment of two
Republican State factions, one helded
by Chairman Timothy l.. Woodruff and
his friends and the other led by Benjamin
B. Odell, Jr.
Mr.. Odell has had frequent meetings
at the Murray Hill Hotel and elsewh ere
within the last few days with Republican
Assemblymen, including John r. Yale
Of Putnam, James X. Apgar OF the Third
district OF Westchester and several others
who were supporters in the Assembly OF
Supreme Court Justice Warren b.. Hooker
when Arthur G. Wade of the First district
Of ChautauQua led the fight on the Assembly
floor to prevent Justice Hooker's retire
ment from the bench. Wade has been
put upon the shelf by the Republicans
OF ~ChautauQua county because of his adj
vocacy of Justice Hooker. Yale narrowly
escaped defeat for reelection in Putnam,
even though Hughes carried the county
by 675 plurality. Yale's plurality was
81, whereas a year ago il was in the neigh
borhood OF 800. Apgar was reelected
by only 154 plurality, whereas Hughes
carried Westchester by 5,57s, and Apgar's
plura atty a year ago was ,49s.
Mr.. Odell in his support of Col. Baxter.
it is stated. has gathered about him all
the Republican Assemblymen who stood
by Justice Hooker at Albany, and IL he
wins with Col. Baxter the patronage Of
~. oln.lxB. 1Qp.o - SAa A.1,oHlx 1, 20 10
distributed by Mr.. Odell In his effort TO
rehabilitate himself in Republican State
machine politics. Mr.. Odell lost his Senator.
Louis GoodselI, on election day. and yet
he saw ar opportunity to begin all ger
again il he could reflect Col. Baxter Clerk
OF the Assembly and capture the patronage
OF the clerks Office.
Col. Baxter has always beer a supporter
OF Senate Plat. He even quarrelled with
his old friend Representative }. Sioat Fas-
sett when Mr.. Fassett temporarily retired
as one Of Mr.. Platt's lieutenants in the
southern tier. The relations between Mr..
Fassett and Col. Baxter have been only
partially friendly since that time. Yet Mr..
Fassett's newspaper in Elmirs spoke up the
other day for Col. Baxter's reelection az
clerk.
Mr.. Odell has publicly announced that he
il for Col. Baxter and he has criticised Mr..
Woodruff, Francis Hendricks and others
for putting forward Ray r. Smith for Col.
Baxter's place. The Woodruff people and
thSHendricks people and other Republicans
as William l.. Ward and William Barnes,
Jr., while personally friendly to Col. Baxter
do not believe that Col. Baxter's place az
clerk Of the Assembly should be made the
stepping stone for Mr.. Odell's Ell ort to re-
turn to influence in the State machines
affairs.
Mr.. Smith il now assistant clerk Of the
Assembly. He has been Col. Baxter's chief
subordinate. He was associated with Mr..
Woodruff, Mr.. Ward and MIR. Barnes in
the management OF the Hughes campaign
at Republican State headquarters in New
York city.
The patronage of the clerks Office OF
the Assembly cuts a great figure in Re-
| publican State machine politics. All told
there are n~inety-two appointments at the
command of the clerk Of the Assembly.
and these places are distributed among
Republicans in nearly all the counties
The present employees Of the Assembly
clerk hail from Chemung, Onondaga, Sara
toga, Albany, Chautauqua, Chenango. Ale
gany, Herkimer, Suffolk, Orleans, Wayne.
Erie, Orange, Oneida. Seneca, New York
Monroe. Cattaraugus. Kings, st. Lawrence,
Westchester. Livingston, Erie. Washing
ton, Yates. Otsego, Nassau, Ontario, o.
wego, Putnam. Broome. Montgomery.
Genesee, CayuRa, Duchess, Cortland,
Franklin. Delaware. Columbia, Steuben.
Niagara. Ulster, jefferson, Madison, suni-