Editing Eben Sumner Draper (section)

==Governorship==
In 1905, Draper was nominated and elected as [[Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts]], considered by the party to be a stepping stone in an "[[escalator]]" of statewide offices culminating in the governorship.  Draper served for three terms under Governor [[Curtis Guild Jr.]], acting as governor for a significant part of 1908, when Guild was ill with [[pneumonia]] and [[appendicitis]].  Draper and Guild were emblematic of growing divisions in the party: Guild was progressive and reform-oriented, supporting tariff reform, while Draper was conservative, pro-business, and anti-reform.<ref>Abrams, pp. 117, 122, 177</ref>  While acting as governor, Draper rejected a pro-labor nominee chosen by Guild for the state's bureau of labor statistics.<ref name="Abrams, p. 188">Abrams, p. 188</ref>
[[File:Taft Visit to Worcester Massachusetts 1910 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Draper accompanies [[William Howard Taft|President Taft]] in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]] in 1910]]
In 1908, Draper was elected Governor, standing against Democrat [[James H. Vahey]]. Vahey attacked the Republican ticket, which included another pro-business conservative in [[Louis A. Frothingham]], as demonstrative of the influence of money in politics.  The Democrats were otherwise poorly organized, with Vahey, an [[Irish American]] from [[Watertown, Massachusetts|Watertown]] failing to get support from old-line Democrats and the [[Boston]] political machine, and Draper won a comfortable (60,000-vote) victory in a fairly listless campaign.<ref>Abrams, pp. 183-187</ref>

Draper's two terms as governor deepened the divisions in the Republican party.  He vetoed pro-labor bills, including one that would have closed a contractor loophole allowing extended work hours, and the party-controlled legislature refused to enact a bill lowering the maximum weekly work time from 56 to 54 hours.  These positions led to a loss of support in the state's urban centers, but did not prevent him from winning reelection over Vahey in 1909, albeit by a reduced margin.<ref>Abrams, pp. 225, 232-233</ref> Draper also signed a bill legalizing the ''de facto'' merger of the [[Boston and Maine Railroad]] with the [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad]], signaling approval of what were seen then as monopolistic business practices.<ref name="Abrams, p. 188"/>

In 1910, Governor Draper drove with President [[William Howard Taft]], in the state on an official visit, to pay respects to Taft's ancestral family homes in [[Mendon, Massachusetts|Mendon]] and [[Uxbridge, Massachusetts|Uxbridge]], just west of Hopedale.<ref name ="visits">{{cite news|title=Taft Visits Home of His Ancestors|work= New York Times|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/08/20/105086742.pdf|access-date=2007-11-27 | date=August 20, 1910}}</ref>