Evening star., 1934-06-03

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tions, in whose embroilments he has
had no part.
Clubs Are Being Formed.
Justice Cotillo's availability has been
emphasized in letters received at the
office Of the Democratic State Com
mittee from various upstate Demo-
Gratis, and in New York City the
movement to nominate him Is said to
have the support Of Democratic
organization leaders as well as inde-
pendents. Cotillo-for Governor Clubs
are being formed and the leaders of
the movement are assembling ma
/ terial to accelerate their efforts.
Justice Cotillo, whose candidacy
represents the most formidable to date
to Gov. Lehman's denomination, Is
in his forty-seventh year. He was
1886, and was a pupil in the Asilo
Infantile there for two years. He ar
rived here with his parents when he
was years old. His father was the
son of Judge Francesca Cotillo Of the
Court Of Cessation, the highest court
in Italy. His grandfather, Pasquale
Carfagno, was a wood carver In Har-
lem before the arrival of his daugh-
ter and her husband, the parents Of
the future justice.
Young Salvatore attended public
school SO on East One Hundred and
Tenth street between Lexington and
Third avenues, its student population,
like the district, Overwhelmingly Irish.
His father, who continued his calling
Of caterer on arriving here, prospered
and sent Salvatore to De Witt Clin-
ton High School and subsequently to
Manhattan College, where he achieved
distinction as runner as well as a
student, and received his B. A. in
1908. Twelve years later his alma
mater awarded him the honorary de-
gree of M. A. He also studied in the
School Of Law Of Fordham Univer-
sity. earning the degree Of IL B. in
1911.
Made Secretary of Club.
Before his admission to the bar
he was thrust into the maelstrom of
a district contest. The late Nicholas
]. Hayes was the Tammany leader of
the district, then the twenty-eighth,
| now the eighteenth. Because of the
laissez faire policy Of the leader. a
considerable number of Democrats
formed the Tomahawk Club, q rival
Of the Pocasset Club, over which Mr..
Hayes presided This was in 1911, and
the insurgent Democrats made young
Cotillo secretary of their organization.
After the Hayes victory in the pri-
mary, many members Of the Toma-
hawk Club sought peace, but not its
secretary. who in 1912 was unani-
mously nominated for the Assembly
and elected. He served. except in the
Assembly Of 1914, until 1918, when
he was elected to the Senate. There
he labored for many progressive meas
ures. especially in the field of social
welfare, until the end of the 1923
session.
When the allies in the World War
were facing a crisis in the Spring of
4 1918, Washington received a call for
help from Italy to send an American
to assist in restoring the Italian mo-
rale. Senator Cotillo was appointed
by the Wilson administration for this
delicate diplomatic task. The disas-
trous Caporetta defeat had made
many Italians ready victims for the
propaganda of Austria and Germany
concentrated on the Italian front fol-
lowing the disintegration Of Czarist
Russia. In six days after the call for
help had been received in Washing
ton. Senator Cotillo was bound for
Italy.
Spoke to Throngs Everywhere.
His labors in Italy as the Wilson
administrations diplomatic represen-
tative astonished the land of his
birth. He spoke to the workers in the
|. factories, the soldiers at the front and
the citizens in the public squares
One mass meeting which surrounded
the Victor Emmanuel monument num-
bered more than 100000. In this
country the work won the commenda-
ton of President Wilson. Press dis
patches from Italy to this country on
September %, 1918, showed how his
work was regarded there. One of them
read:
"The King Of Italy, in recognition
OF the invaluable services rendered to
the allied cause, and to Italy in par
ticular, by Senator Salvatore A. Co.
tillo of New York, has conferred on
the Senator the Cross Of Commen-
datore of the Order of the Crown Of
Italy. The Cross of Commenda-
tore is seldom given outright to any
one, as it Is necessary to be deco
rated first with the Cross of Cavaliere,
but in the case of the Senator all
precedents were swept away in order
that he could be honored commen-
surately with the services he had
given"
The Cross of Commentators was
but one of many tokens of apprecia-
ton brought back to this country by
Senator Cotillo. Others included let
ters Of laudation, including one from
Premier Orlando. Senator Cotillo re-
corded his observations In q delightful
volume entitled Italy During the
World War"
Fought Pseudo Bankers.
On his return to the Senate he
championed bills for widows pen
sions, amendments to the workmens
compensation act and many other
liberal measures. He was the ranking
Democratic member of the Joint Leg
islative Committee on Housing Of
which Senator Charles c. lockwood,
now also a Supreme Court Justice,
was chairman. He was head of the
New York State Commission to Ex-
anime Laws Relating to Child We'll
fare. His fight against the pseudo
bankers resulted in the creation of
the Joint Legislative Committee to
Investigate the Exploitation of Immi-
grants Of which he was chairman.
His work on the last-named COM
mittee won him national acclaim, and