Pendergast Prosperity
| ".people
were hungry, people were cold, people were starving. The organization
fed them and gave them coal. We bought coal by the carload and delivered
it to people." |
| |
Judge
Bernard Gnefkow
|
Pendergast's
political machine turned out more than coarse nightlife and crooked politics.
To keep the constituents happy, it also generated jobs, support, and a measure
of prosperity that other cities could only hope for, especially during the
Great Depression. Due in large part to the necessity to buy votes, reward
supporters, keep the nightlife swinging, and his own liquor and building concerns
thriving, "Pendergast Prosperity" shielded Kansas City from the worst of the
Depression, albeit at the loss of civic integrity.
|
Musicians,
gangsters, and corrupt public servants weren't the only ones to benefit
from Boss Tom's machine. The stories of coal deliveries in the dead
of winter and food distributions to entire neighborhoods are legion.
Though Kansas City didn't escape the Great Depression entirely-as some
Pendergast loyalists still claim-it fared much better than most cities.
Even so, Kansas City was not immune to unemployment, homelessness, and
hunger, as this downtown soup line from 1929 attests.
|
 |
 |
The
city's political machine aided many Kansas Citians. For some it was
a small handout-a bucket of coal or a Thanksgiving turkey for a needy
family, a ride to the polls for an elderly voter-for others it was a
more lucrative gift, such as a city job or a construction contract.
Still, whether it was a county judgeship or a food basket (such as this
machine-sponsored giveaway at Main Street and Warner Plaza), the price
was cheap compared to the payoff in return: votes and continued control.
|
|
Kansas
City's political muscle knew that votes equaled power. They also realized
that even though polling places were separate, the votes they produced
were equal. For this reason, Pendergast prosperity didn't stop at Troost
Avenue. Though inequality remained a fact of life, Kansas City's African-American
community was an important voting bloc, and benefited accordingly.
|
|
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The
city's already thriving jazz scene exploded during the Pendergast years.
Not because Pendergast liked jazz, but because of the payoffs and kickbacks
his political machine got by keeping the city's nightclubs, brothels,
and gambling halls open. Musicians flocked to Kansas City where jobs
were plentiful and clubs, such as the Lone Star Gardens pictured here,
never closed. They were followed by revelers, dancers, gamblers, and
music fans all taking advantage of the underside of Pendergast prosperity.
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Despite
the bounty of the Pendergast machine, the real beneficiary was always
Boss Tom himself. During the Depression Pendergast kept Kansas City's
unbridled nightlife jumping, which, in turn, kept his wholesale liquor
business thriving. He was also instrumental in getting a $40 million
bond proposal passed that helped the local economy almost as much as
it did his own Ready Mixed Concrete Company. From the late '20s to the
mid '30s, Kansas City witnessed a construction boom that was the envy
of the nation. It brought well-paying jobs, a new county courthouse
and city hall (above left), police headquarters, and a municipal auditorium-and
even the paving of Brush Creek! (above right)
|
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