A Man Who Deserves Public Support

New York, 1895

Justice Lester's nomination by the Democratic convention was in line with public sentiment. He has made a model public officer during the three years that he has served the public of this town. It is true that the town board have gotten out of the beaten track in some things, but the new methods have justified their adoption by improving the public service. It can always be said of Mr. Lester that he has convictions and the courage of his convictions, and his convictions are usually sound. He has not been an office seeker with the sinister motive of making money. On the contrary, his time and labor have been largely given to the people without compensation. His annual bill against the town has seldom exceeded $100. This is a remarkable circumstance, and one the people must appreciate and approve, for the opportunity to run up a bill of a thousand or more every year has never been lacking. There have been few officeholders so thoroughly unselfish. As a member of the Macadam Road Commission, and its secretary for three years and longer, he has never accepted a penny in compensation for his services, and never will. He is the stamp of man who deserves public office, having no other motive than an honorable ambition to be distinguished among his fellow citizens. He has been prosperous in business, owns an extensive farm and considerable other real estate, has been long a resident here, and has no need of office to live out of. A workingman himself, he has done a great deal to benefit working men by engaging in various enterprises which provided labor at good wages. These things should not be forgotten by the people on election day. It would be folly to vote for a man who has lived in the town just about long enough to gain his citizenship, who wants office for what he can make out of it, and who was detected and defeated in an attempt to cheat the county out of a large sum of money. A man who would attempt such a wrong upon the county calls into question the degree of honesty with which he would administer a public office in which there are peculiar opportunities for personal enrichment. The man whose good record speaks volumes for him, and whose character is above suspicion, should be preferred by the citizens.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, March 29, 1895, p. 4.

Note: Judge Lester was a candidate for the office of Justice of the Peace. His opponent, referred to in this article as "a man who has lived in the town just about long enough to gain his citizenship" was B. Frank wood, proprietor of The Jamaica Standard. He's referred to in this article and some of the other articles here.