Word: pendergasts
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...Boss Tom Pendergast, having been ill for more than five months, announced that he was turning over control of his organization to his nephew James who had done so well during the campaign as boss pro tern (TIME, Dec. 14). A banquet was given for Fred Bellemere, chairman of Kansas City's election board and he was mentioned as a sure-fire future prospect for Governor. Then suddenly in mid-December Judge Reeves impaneled a grand jury of 20 men. Instead of saying, "Everybody is doing it, let it pass," he said to them...
...work. Thus it was a fine organization which Tom Pendergast handed over to his nephew James.- The various indictments charged local election officials with fraudulent vote counts, erasing and changing ballots; a precinct captain was indicted for intimidating a grand jury witness. The grand jury recounted the ballots and got quite different results from those reported by the officials. Typical contrast in one of the many precincts...
...those indicted were mere cogs in the political machine. Only one big shot has been subpoenaed-Representative Joe Shannon. He ran one of his own candidates against a Pendergast candidate in the primary as he sometimes does. He complained afterward of "rough stuff, kidnapping, beating of my workers and the worst padding and fraudulent voting I have seen in my long political career." He departed for Washington before a subpoena could be served upon him. Said he: "Sure, I'll return to Kansas City if they want me." But a month went by. Last week he was finally...
Retired Boss Pendergast, his nephew or other big shots of the organization may possibly be subpoenaed, but there is little chance of their being indicted. Those wise in the ways of Kansas City politics feel sure that the Pendergasts have taken no direct part in irregularities, have never even hinted that votes be stolen or lists padded; that they merely told their subordinates to get all voters to register and vote Democratic, ward patronage to be apportioned according to results. Hope that this week's trial might break up the Pendergast Machine rested not so much on getting...
...Pendergast family tree of politics included three brothers: 1) "Big Tom," 2) James, boss of the First Ward, who died in 1911, 3) Michael, boss of the Tenth Ward, who died in 1920. Nephew James is a son of the late Michael, was successor to his father as ward boss before succeeding his Uncle Tom as boss of the Works...