New Britain herald., 1915-11-05
CURTIS PICKS THE , LABOR BUREAUPLUM
Councilman From Third War Re-
 CeiVes Appointment Today
REMUNERATION S5 PER DAY

REMUNERATION $5 PER DAY First Political Office He Has Occupied With Honorium Attached Since He
 First Jumped Into the Field Nine-
 teeh Years Ago.
 ] Appointment of Councilman Orson F. Curtis of this city to be special 1 agent of the state labor department was announced today by Labor Com 1 missioner w. S. Hyde. It was | rumored few days ago that MT. Cur tiS would be the choice of the commis- sioner to succeed George A. Parsons, | who resigned immediately Wednesday when informed that his services would not be required at the expiration of his term of office, which occurs on =December 1. There was no certainty that MT. Curtis would secure the ap- 1 pointment as John Costello of South l ington was also live candidate and his friends were exerting every infiu- l l plum into his lap. The office pays a salary of $5 per day for actual ser 1 vice.
 The news of MT. Curtis selection 1 will probably be received with mixed | emotions by local politicians There 1 will be some who are not members or his wing of the G. O. P. who will not l order the garcon to bring on another bottle of grape with which to ceie- brate the victory. Friends of MT. Cur tis will rejoice, however, feeling that it is a reward well deserved after long l years of service in office to which no honorium has been appended. On the whole, the selection will probably be I pleasing because the appointee is New Britain man and the choice shows that the powers-that-be in state affairs recognize the importance of the Hard ware city from a political standpoint. In Politics Since 1896.
 For many years the name of Orson | F. Curtis has been connected with re- publican politics in New Britain, l What the elephant has been to the 1 party nationally, he has been to il locally. To think of the c. O. P. was to think of O. F,iCurtis and the men,
 ton of his name brought up memories
 of hard fought battles on the political ! turf. ..s-.--. -:-.... .--.
 The Hmelight first switched it's
 gleam to the section of the stage oc- cupied by MT. Curtis in 1896, which is several years before the world ever l heard of some of the beardless youths | who are now acting in the capacity of 1 official mahouts of the republican ele- | phant. It was in '96 that Mr. Curtis | made his initial bow and he has en- l joyed a fair share of the calcium since 1 that date. On his first time to bat he l made a hit and was elected alderman l from the third ward, which has sup ported him through all sorts of polit- 1 ical storms ever since. For eleven years he represented the third ward as an alderman and during those elev- en years his opponents were aware of his presence and proximity, Yes, in- deedy.
 Candidate for Mayor
 After he had worn callouses on his shoulders carrying the political bur- dens of the third ward he decided to go higher and become mayor of New Britain. But his popularity in the third ward was not sufficient to pro- pei him to the desired heights and In a race for the nomination he was de- feated by Morris c. Webster, the present state comptroller. MT. Web ster was elected to office. Two years later MT Curtis decided to seek the nomination again but once more his hopes were shattered, the honor of representing the party at the polls l being annexed by former Post Master Ira Hicks. The latter's joy was short lived, however, as Samuel Bassett, the democratic nominee, was successful at the polls.
 Lands c. o. P. Nomination Perseverance was recognized by the republican party in 1902 and MT. l Curtis was named as the party candi- l date for mayor. Mayor Bassett was l again chosen as the one best bet of the 1 democratic party and on election day 1 he was elected over MT. Curtis. Two 1 years later saw the same forces lined LID against each other after hot l-caucus in which Mr. Curtis received ] the nomination over Ernest N. Hum- phrey, now the president of the board of public works and a member of the water commission. This caucus was one of the most famous in the history of the G. O. F. in New Britain and feeling became so bitter that on elec- tion day Mayor Bassett had a sine cure and passed under the wire under wraps.
 But MT. Curtis was not disheartened by defeat. He was not a peace-at- any-price man by any means and in 1900 he secured the nomination for representative. The late Thomas H. Brady was the choice of democracy and after the warmest kind of a cam