alton brooks parker
jurist
biography
Alton Brooks Parker graduated from Albany Law School in 1873 and entered practice at Kingston. From 1877 to 1885 he was surrogate of Ulster County. In 1884 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and in the next year was chairman of the Democratic state committee. From 1885 to 1889 he was a justice of the state supreme court, a member of the court of appeals, serving until his resignation in 1904 to accept the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
when notified of his nomination he sent his famous "gold telegram" to the convention stating his opposition to "free silver." After his defeat by Theodore Roosevelt he resumed the practice of law in New York City. He was universally regarded as one of the ablest lawyers at the New York bar and handled many important cases. He appeared for the city of New York in its fight for 80-cents gas and was finally victorious in that case in the United States Supreme Court.
He had charge of the litigation out of which grew the government suit against the Drug Trust under which it was dissolved in 1907. He was counsel for Mayor George Brinton McClellan of New York throughout his fight against William Hearst. He was attorney for Samuel Gompers, John Mitchell and Frank Morrison in their great battle with Judge Silas Wright of Washington who sought to punish the three labor leaders for an alleged violation of the court’s injunction.
He was chief counsel for the plaintiffs in the impeachment of Governor William Sulzer of New York. He was president of the American Bar Association in 1906, was re-elected for the two subsequent years, and was president of the New York State Bar Association. He presided a number of Democratic State conventions and was a chair of the national convention in 1912.
