The Democratic National Convention, Denver 1908: The New York Delegation Arrives
Like other travelers, I often try to identify those traveling with me who are returning home and those who are visiting for pleasure or business. My fellow New Yorkers are usually “road warriors,” so they tend to gravitate to the front of the plane boarding lines, and the stereotype of New York women primarily wearing black generally holds true for plane travel; the men, whether wearing sweats or suits, are recognizable for a pulled-together look (without the coiffed “do’s” of Dallas businessmen.)
New Yorkers of 1908 – and to be fair, the Chicagoans’ were also recognizable by their “look.” A New York Times reporter describes these urban dwellers as “..noticeably better dressed than the average. … The delegates from the larger cities, easily distinguishable because of their clothes, are apparently held in some awe by the multitude.” Most of them don’t seem to like the distinction. They travel in groups of three and four, and if left alone for a few minutes are obviously ill at ease. And the arrival of the men from Tammany Hall was a much-anticipated event. The Rocky Mountain News said: “Five trains bulging with 600 Tammanyites shed their enthusiastic cargoes in the morning…” Another newspaper, The Denver Republican, wrote: “With a rumbling purr that was distinctly heard out by City Park, the Tiger, the Tammany Tiger, whose switching tail has lashed the voters of so many historic elections into line, stuck his head out of the Union Depot yesterday morning, shot a rapid fire of penetrating glances to right and left, and finding the place to his liking, moved majestically up the street.”
The article went on to describe them as the men with the “molting bank rolls.”
After the convention, The Denver Republican reported that 50 Tammany Tigers took the Union Pacific to Yellowstone “for the purpose of verifying the report that up there one can see things that spout more persistently than a bunch of Democratic spellbinders seconding presidential nominations at 3 o”clock in the morning.”