N. Taylor Phillips

Naphtali Taylor Phillips (December 5, 1868 – April 30, 1955) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life Phillips was born on December 5, 1868, in New York City, New York, the son of Isaac Phillips and Miriam Trimble. His father was appraiser of the Port of New York, a commissioner of the New York City Board of Education, editor of various New York City newspapers, grand master of the New York State Freemasons, and an active member of the New York Chamber of Commerce. Phillips graduated from Columbia Law School with an LL.B. in 1888. He was admitted to the state bar when he was 21, and three years later he was admitted to the federal bar. He succeeded his father's law practice and, like his father, specialized in tariff and revenue laws. He later became a member of the law firm Phillips, Leibell & Fielding. By 1898, Phillips' law office was in the Equitable Life Building. In 1897, he was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Democrat, representing the New York County 9th District. He served in the Assembly in 1898, 1899, and 1900. A supporter of organized labor, he spoke in favor of and voted for public measures meant for the relief of the people while in the Assembly like cheap gas, cheap telephone, a constitutional anti-trust law, and a school teachers' salary bill. He was thanked in writing for his efforts by the American Federation of Labor, the Merchants' Association of New York, and prominent business houses in the city. He helped defeat bills that would have deprived poor people of protection in savings banks and a five-percent interest bill that would have prevented small shopkeepers from procuring credit. He also worked to compel street railroad companies to provide shelter stations at transfer points, fought to prevent four trolley tracks on Amsterdam Avenue, was a leader on the Ford Franchise Tax Bill that obliged corporations to pay their just share of taxation, passed a bill to provide for a Public Park, was instrumental in passing the Anti-Ramapo Bill, and was a member of the 1900 Joint Statutory Revision Committee that prepared plans to revise the state's laws.