republicans

The Governor's daughter Olive Whitman named the Naval Militia's hydroaeroplane. See article in The New York Times, November 2, 1915 "NAMES FLYING BOAT FOR NAVAL MILITIA"

B-59: Thanks for the information about Olive Whitman who is seated in the front row here. We will add more information to the description.

"President Woodrow Wilson appointed Bainbridge Colby as his third Secretary of State on March 23, 1920. He was confirmed by the Senate and entered into duty the same day. Colby served until the end of the Wilson administration, leaving office on March 4, 1921."
history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/colby-bainbridge

"Bainbridge Colby (December 22, 1869 – April 11, 1950) was an American lawyer, a political progressive, a co-founder of the United States Progressive Party and Woodrow Wilson's last Secretary of State. Colby was a Republican until he helped co-found the National Progressive Party in 1912; he ran for multiple offices as a member of that party, but always lost."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bainbridge_Colby

See also

Thanks for the information, Art Siegel! We will include some of these details when we update the record.

"Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868 – March 29, 1947) served as the 41st Governor of New York from January 1915 to December 1918."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_S._Whitman

The photo was most likely taken on the occasion of the handover of a flying boat to the NY Naval Militia. See comment under

Thanks B-59 for linking this image to the related ones about the NY Naval Militia ceremony. We will add more details when we update the description.