100 years ago in The Saratogian
Monday, Sept. 17, 1917
Supporters of Republican county chairman candidate Frederick W. Kavanaugh accuse a Saratoga newspaper of breaking a contract to publish pro-Kavanaugh ads under pressure from from County Judge Lawrence B. McKelvey.
The Kavanaugh camp makes the charge in an ad appearing in today’s Saratogian. The ad alleges that the weekly Saratoga Sun sold ad space in their next edition, due to appear tomorrow, to the Kavanaugh slate of candidates, only to turn down the advertising “through the dictation of L. B. McKelvey.”
As a Democratic paper, the Sun would seem to have no dog in the fight between Kavanaugh’s insurgent faction and the faction led by state senator George H. Whitney. However, McKelvey, a former district attorney and part-owner of the Sun, is considered a political ally of Whitney, whose lobbying is credited with securing McKelvey’s judgeship from Governor Charles S. Whitman.
“What is there about these advertisements that any paper could not print, and the people should not see?” the Kavanaugh ad asks.
Kavanaugh and Whitney have been rivals since 1914, when both wanted to succeed Edgar T. Brackett in the senate. Brackett convinced Kavanaugh, a former sheriff, to stand down that year, on the understanding that Whitney would step aside for him in 1916. When Whitney refused to do so, Brackett and The Saratogian backed Kavanaugh in a bitter primary campaign. Despite carrying Saratoga County, Kavanaugh lost the primary due to overwhelming support for Whitney in Washington County.
BIG FAREWELL ASSURED
Thirty more Saratoga Springs soldiers are scheduled to leave for the Camp Devens training facility in Ayer MA next Saturday in the latest call-up of draftees selected in the July 20 draft lottery.
The Spa City troops and 33 others from the rest of Saratoga County will receive a “big city demonstration” on Saturday afternoon, organized by the local Business Men’s Association. The BMA meets tonight to “show that Saratoga Springs is still on the map and proud of her boys who have been honored by being a part of Uncle Sam’s great army.”
While attendance at the meeting is “very sparse,” The Saratogian reports that “most of the live wires were on the job and apparently willing and anxious to put their shoulders to the wheel to strive for a proper farewell to the soldiers.”
The local Women’s Relief Corps will serve lunch to soldiers at the city armory Saturday morning, and local baker Michael J. Rowland “immediately offered to donate all the bread needed to make sandwiches.” The BMA urges local businesses to close early that afternoon and join in the soldiers’ parade to the train station.