By The Greater Astoria Historical Society
The big news in Queens during September 1911 was the upcoming Democratic primary election scheduled for the 26th.
Primaries were a relatively new phenomenon in 1911, part of a wave of progressive “good government” reforms that would hit the United States in the first decades of the 20th century.
Previously, candidates had been picked at conventions and caucuses, in the proverbial “smoke-filled rooms,” where party bosses usually controlled decision-making. The reform-minded progressives believed primaries would allow the people to have a real say as to who was nominated.
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On Sept. 2, a transparently partial Daily Star announced that insurgent “Union” Democratic forces were “Uniting to Eliminate Bossism” from the party, while on Sept. 4 the Star informed readers that “reports from all over the borough” indicated that “Democrats everywhere” were declaring against bossism and emphatically proclaimed, “It is time that it was ended.”
The chief target of that tirade was party boss Joseph Cassidy. Known as “Curley Joe” because of his wavy hair, Cassidy assumed leadership of the Democratic organization in Queens after defeating the legendary Long Island City mayor Patrick J. “Battle Axe” Gleason.
The latter dropped out of political life after his spectacular failure to become mayor of New York City during the first citywide election after the consolidation in 1898.
Although Cassidy was widely regarded as corrupt and considered a dictator by many, he also presided over a period of great real estate and infrastructure development in Queens.
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Politics was back on the front page Sept. 18, with the Star reporting that the Democratic factions in Queens were “lining up for battle” and that the anti-Cassidy Union forces were daily gaining strength. Strong tickets were expected in each state Assembly district.
It was also rumored that Gov. John Alden Dix was ready in a few days to release a special commission’s report that alleged corruption by Borough President Lawrence Gresser.
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On Sept. 26, Primary Day, the Star implored its readers to “Suppress Cassidyism.”
The paper went on to claim that it was the most important primary election in Queens for years, but by the following day the paper was forced to concede, with exasperation, that Queens voters had decided to remain under the “Same Old Driver.”
Reformers were elected in only one Assembly district.
Gresser was not so lucky. The Star dropped a bombshell that Tuesday. Dix announced that he had decided to support the special commission’s report which recommended Gresser’s removal.
The report cited a damming litany of corruption going back as far as 1908. The sordid list included the extortion of political contributions, county employees terminated for political reasons, sewer construction unreasonably delayed and highways neglected or improperly repaired.
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The year saw a number of strikes and militant unions, like the International Workers of the World, also known as the IWW or “Wobblies.”
Queens was not immune to the trend. On Sept. 2, the Star reported on a strike by Ravenswood marble workers that was “beginning to develop some interesting incidents.”
At Gray’s plant on Vernon Avenue, a number of strikebreaking “scabs” were quartered with meals being brought in. The previous evening, a watchman was sent out to get a batch of hot suppers for the men. He was on his way back with a big basket of food in one hand and several pails of beer in the other.
Three strikers stopped him at the corner of Vernon Boulevard and Washington — 36th — Avenue. There were a few heated remarks. The watchman dropped the basket of food when one of the strikers threw a punch. Outnumbered, he soon took to his heels under a barrage of food that was intended for the strikebreakers.
After dumping the rest of the food on the street, the strikers drank the beer.
