THE LATE MR GAYNOR.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 18, 22 September 1913, Page 5

THE LATE MR GAYNOR.

BODY LIES IN STATE

[By Electric Telegraph—Copyright]

[United Press ass3o a e:t>s. > New York, September 21

Gaynor's body lies in state in the City Hall, wrapped in the folds of the American and British flags. The latter was added at the wisli of the widow, who desired to acknowledge the respect shown when the body lay in state in Liverpool. Thousands of citizens viewed the bier.

Mr William J. Qaynor was born in 1851, and .worked on New York and Brooklyn papers while studying for the law. He was admitted to the Bar in 1875, and began practice, appearing in many important cases. He was a writer on legal subjects. He became nationally known for his work in breaking up rings within the Democratic party, and his action in securing the conviction of John Y. M'Kane for election frauds. He was elected judge of the Supreme Court of New York for terms 1898-1907, 1907-12 ,and was elected Mayor of New York 1909. He twice declined the Democratic nomination for Governor, and also for judge of the Court of Appeals, and for Mayor of Brooklyn in 1890. Deceased was one of the first to speak upon favoritism in freight rates.

"Outside ex-President Roosevelt, Mayor Gaynor was one of the most picturesque figures .in American public life," says one who knew him. Mr Denis M'Sweeney, now visiting Sydney. "He will be remembered as one of the bset mayors that New York has ever had. During his term of office he accomplished many notable reforms —the closing of the gaming-houses, the reorganisation of the Police Department, and the suppression of all forms of "graft," for example. Yet there was nothing Puritanical about him. Ho believed in healthy enjoyment and outdoor games, and could not see any harm in drinking a glass of beer on Sunday.