The roots of organized crime in Kansas City trace back to the beginnings of the Pendergast political machine, which had its origins in the 1890s. James Pendergast was born in Gallipolis, Ohio in 1856. Twenty years later he arrived in Kansas City with little in his pockets. In 1881 he won big at the local racetrack by betting on a horse named Climax. With his winnings Pendergast purchased a combination hotel and saloon. The saloon, which he named Climax, was located on St. Louis Avenue in an area of Kansas City called the West Bottoms, not far from the banks of the Missouri River.
Kansas City was on the rise. A year before Pendergast opened his saloon, the population was less then 56,000. By 1910 it was nearing a quarter million. The population was diverse. In addition to native-born whites, there was a sizable African-American population as well as large pockets of Germans, Irish, and Italian immigrants.
In 1884 when Jim Pendergast made his political entrance, politics in Kansas City were still in their frontier mode, lacking in leadership, characterized by colorful election days marked by gala events and parades, as well as fisticuffs. Pendergast was elected a delegate to represent the "Bloody Sixth" Ward in that year�s Democratic City Convention. After that, he stayed out of politics for the next few years. When he got back involved it was in the restructured First Ward. By 1892, Pendergast was recognized as the undisputed leader of First Ward Democratic politics. For the next 18 years, he continually won reelection as alderman. The Kansas City Star dubbed him, "King of the First Ward."
As an alderman, Pendergast was known as a fighter for the workingman. Early on, he championed lower telephone rates and construction of a city park in the West Bottoms. He opposed the city�s effort to cut the wages of city firemen. His popularity was reflected on voting days when his ward consistently supplied the majority of votes to the city�s Democratic candidates.
Pendergast also supported local gamblers. Once, after a dozen were arrested for involvement in a bunco game, "Alderman Jim" personally put up their bond in police court. Many of the laborers in the West Bottoms liked to gamble and Pendergast was looked upon as a friend. His saloon served as a bank on payday for the hundreds of railroad and packinghouse workers. With cash sometimes scarce, Pendergast kept a large supply on hand in order to cash the workmen�s checks. Many spent part of their money in his bar or in the gambling rooms above it.
Pendergast closed the Climax in 1892, but kept open the Pendergast Hotel. He soon opened two new saloons, each with gambling dens on the second floor, and placed Edward Findley, one of Kansas City�s most notorious gamblers, in charge of running them. In August 1894, one of the dens was raided and 38 men were arrested. The problem, as Pendergast saw it, was with the Board of Police Commissioners that oversaw the Kansas City Police Department. This was the type of problem he was adept at solving because the governor appointed the commissioners. In April 1895, Missouri Gov. William J. Stone appointed a new Board of Police Commissioners, which promptly removed Police Chief Thomas Speers. Gambling resumed at Pendergast�s saloons. Pressure from the newspapers, as well as local reform organizations, forced the new chief to make a few token raids on the Pendergast saloons, but the gamblers were usually tipped off.
In 1895, the Republican candidate for mayor ran on a platform that pledged to end the gambling and run Ed Findley out of town. Although the Republicans won, Pendergast�s control of the members of the Police Commission kept the gambling dens from being shut down.
As the "King of the First" ward, Pendergast�s popularity continued to increase as he looked out for his constituents� interest without regard to race, religion, or nationality. In Lyle W. Dorsett�s, The Pendergast Machine, the following description of Pendergast is offered:
"He had a big heart, was charitable and liberal�No deserving man, woman or child that appealed to "Jim" Pendergast went away empty handed, and this is saying a great deal, as he was continually giving aid and help to the poor and unfortunate. The extent of his bounty was never known, as he made it an inviolable rule that no publicity should be given to his philanthropy. There never was a winter in the last twenty years that he did not circulate among the poor of the West Bottoms, ascertaining their needs, and after his visit there were no empty larders. Grocers, butchers, bakers and coal men had unlimited orders to see that there was no suffering among the poor of the West Bottoms, and to send the bills to "Jim" Pendergast."
As Pendergast strengthened his political organization in the West Bottoms, he also was building a power base throughout the North End, a section of Kansas City referred to as "Little Italy." In this area the "power elite" consisted of men who were in control of the liquor and gambling interests. Pendergast got close with these men and began to solidify his power.
Ed Findley, in addition to overseeing the Pendergast gambling houses, was entrenched in other North End gambling operations. As Pendergast�s influence over the Kansas City Police Department increased, Findley used it to build a gambling combine. During one of the many investigations instigated by various reform groups, one independent gambler testified that he was warned by Findley to either join the combine or be raided. When the gambler refused, the police closed down his operation.
As Pendergast�s influence increased the newspapers began to call him "Boss Pendergast" To this he responded:
"I�ve been called a boss. All there is to it is having friends, doing things for people, and then later on they�ll do things for you. You can�t coerce people into doing things for you � you can�t make them vote for you. I never coerced anybody in my life. Wherever you see a man bulldozing anybody he don�t last long."
According to Dorsett, "An important vehicle which was used by Pendergast for making friends and doing favors was the police department. It brought him friends by affording protection to the North End gambling interests and by making jobs available to his followers." The reformers fought back by trying to strip Pendergast of this power. The mayor, political opponents, the newspapers, and civic leaders campaigned for "home rule" of the Kansas City Police Department. An amendment to the City Charter was drafted. A special election, requiring a three-fifths majority for passage of an amendment to the City Charter, was scheduled. On election day, the Pendergast machine did what made it such a powerful force for such a long period of time: it turned out the vote. The reform was so soundly defeated that "home rule" of the police would not be advanced again for over a quarter of a century.
In 1896, as political power on the North End shifted, a new prosecuting attorney was elected. In his first month in office, 57 gamblers were indicted, including Findley. Pendergast and the saloon and gambling interests in the North End responded during the next election by running their own candidate, James A. Reed, for prosecutor. During the elections of 1898, Pendergast, for the first time, attempted to organize the Italian vote. He appointed Joe Damico, Kansas City�s "King of Little Italy" to make campaign speeches in Italian to the North End community. Meanwhile the message Pendergast got to the black community was that a vote for Reed would mean less police interference in their shadier activities. Reed won.
With the recent defeat of home rule for the police and the election of Reed as prosecutor, Pendergast solidified his position of influence over the First, Second, and Sixth Wards, which at this time made up the West Bottoms and the North End.
The city elections in 1900 provided Pendergast with even more power when James Reed was elected mayor. The Kansas City Convention Hall was filled nearly to capacity with more than 10,000 men and women on election eve. The local Republican newspaper, the Kansas City Journal, reported, "It was the largest Democratic meeting of the campaign, but only because scores of Italians were herded by �King Joe� Damico and the riff-raff of the North End swarmed into the hall."
The major advantage for Pendergast in this victory was he now had more patronage jobs at his disposal, more oil to keep his machine running. Through these jobs, Pendergast�s power grew exponentially. He filled these positions with loyal supporters who, in order to keep their jobs, became more dedicated and willing to campaign for any slate of Pendergast candidates. Between 1900 and 1902, Pendergast appointed 123 out of the 173 patrolmen in the police department.
In 1904, a Republican mayor won office and Pendergast�s influence over the police department dissipated. The Kansas City Journal predicted in headlines the, "DECLINE & FALL OF PENDERGAST." Although his political strength, and health, were on the decline, the loyalty of his followers was still strong. Dorsett writes:
"Even though Jim Pendergast had lost much of the city hall patronage which he had won by 1900-1902, even though he had been forced to split his county patronage fifty-fifty with Joe Shannon after 1900, it is not difficult to see how he continued to maintain his control over the river wards during the ensuing years. Jim�s river ward followers did not forsake him because he no longer had as many jobs to pass out, they loved him just the same. They never forgot the many ways in which the saloonkeeper had helped them.
When a devastating flood nearly destroyed the river wards in 1903, families went to Pendergast for help. Although his own property was destroyed, Pendergast led the relief effort to provide homes and furnishings for the victims, and helped many families get back on their feet.
By 1906, Pendergast was playing a less active role in Kansas City politics and had come to rely heavily upon his brother Tom to carry on the family enterprise. Tom was 16 years younger than Jim. He had come to Kansas City in 1890 from St. Joseph, Mo., some 50 miles to the north, with brothers Mike and John. All of the brothers would play an important role in making the Pendergast machine successful, but Tom would make the machine the stuff of legend; in the process a prot�g� of his would ascend to the White House, the Pendergast name would become synonymous with political corruption, and Boss Tom would die in disgrace.
For almost two decades Jim Pendergast had tutored Tom in machine politics. In 1900, Mayor James Reed rewarded Tom with one of the most plum patronage positions the machine earned � superintendent of streets.
Like his brother, Tom Pendergast was popular with the voters because he supported popular issues. Tom had to fight harder to prove himself because many people believed he achieved his position by riding on his brother�s coat tails. The fact that some people had previously considered him ineffective helped to fuel his fighting spirit.
Tom did not run for elected office, but instead looked to command the local Democratic Party. He helped organize new neighborhoods in his move to control the city. But unlike his brother, Tom used illegal voting tactics to ensure his success. Early on, this was an indication that Tom would go to any measure to build his power. James Henry "Blackie" Audett explained part of those illegal voting tactics in My Life Story:
"My first job in Kansas City was to look up vacant lots."
"I looked them up precinct by precinct, and turned them lists in to Mr. Pendergast � that�s Tom Pendergast, the man who used to run Kansas City back in them days. When we got a precinct all surveyed out, we would give addresses to them vacant lots. Then we would take the address and assign them to people we could depend on � prostitutes, thieves, floaters, anybody we could get on the voting registration books. On election days we just hauled these people to the right places and they went in and voted�"