Tom remained a close friend of James Reed, who would eventually be elected a U.S. senator from Missouri. The two men would exchange political favors for years. In Tom�s ever-expanding organization, as more and more Pendergast candidates were elected, his patronage power grew in both the city and the county. Neither his loyal workers, nor his constituents were forgotten in his ascent. Much of the money Pendergast provided as aid to the needy seemed to exceed the income he received from his legitimate investments, leading many of his detractors to conclude that he was receiving payments from the prostitution and gambling that was taking place in his own establishments.
In 1914, the Metropolitan Street Railway Company in Kansas City sought a new 30-year franchise from the city. A special election was held. The issue passed mainly because of an over abundance of votes from the wards controlled by Pendergast. Later, during an inquiry, witnesses testified that Pendergast worked "with the Republicans, and used money, repeat voters, and toughs to produce North Side majorities that pushed the franchise to victory."
This victory helped Pendergast solidify his relationship with his Republican counterpart, Thomas Marks, and forge a relationship with businessman and Republican Party leader Conrad Mann. By the spring of 1914, Pendergast had gained control of the Democratic City Central Committee.
One of Pendergast�s goals was to muster enough votes from his own organization�s efforts to become independent of other ward bosses or faction leaders. Another goal was to regain control of the police force from rival Joseph Shannon, who headed the "rabbit" group of the Democratic Party.
In the 1916 political battle, Pendergast�s "goat" faction supporters bragged that they were registering voters at a four-to-one clip against the Shannon forces. Pendergast received the support of the American Federation of Labor; in the Italian neighborhood he had Mike Ross working for him. Ross, though Irish, had a group of tough Italians working for him, including a rising hood named Johnny Lazia.
Shannon knew he was in trouble. In a last ditch, election-day morning-effort he had the police herd hundreds of Pendergast supporters from the North End to the police station for "investigation." The paddy wagons were at work as early as 3 a.m. The Kansas City Star reported, by 6 a.m. "two-hundred Pendergast men had been arrested by the Shannonized police department." The brazen actions of the department would result in the acting police chief being sent to jail.
Shannon�s efforts proved futile. Pendergast crushed the "rabbits" and took control of the Democratic Party in the county. The following November the entire slate of Democratic candidates was elected. Pendergast�s reacquired power over the Kansas City Police Department and quickly let the police force know that harassment of his "friends" would result in immediate firings. The "friends" he was referring to were the city�s prostitutes.
The patronage that Pendergast received from Gov. Frederick D. Gardner in 1917 was used to protect the interests of the liquor men throughout Kansas City. County and city commissioners were appointed by the governor at Pendergast�s suggestion. With Pendergast men in all of the commission posts, including his brother Mike, he used his power to gain favor with the city�s wealthy businessmen. Now, not only were the prostitutes, gamblers, and liquor interests controlled, but business contracts with the city and county were also at his discretion. Pendergast�s own cement company made a fortune in such contracts.
Pendergast�s rule did not go unchallenged though, and when that happened he would resort to shifting allegiances to combat it. When Second Ward leader Mike Bulger rebelled against him in the 1920 primary, Pendergast made a deal with former foe Joe Shannon to close him down. As mentioned before, he would also work with Tom Marks, the Republican boss, to exert his influence.
The Republicans were starting to see this misuse of power and began to use it to their advantage. Much of this abuse was through Pendergast�s control of the police department. In the 1920 elections, police stood by as both "rabbits" and "goats" stuffed the ballot boxes in several Kansas City wards. Nonetheless a Republican was elected governor and Pendergast lost control of the all-important three-judge county court.
To help regain control of the patronage he lost, Pendergast found it necessary to relinquish his special favors to contractors. He did so by supporting Harry S Truman as the machine candidate for county judge. Truman had been a friend of James M. Pendergast, Mike�s son, having served with him during World War I. Truman won the Democratic nomination in 1922 and won again in the November election. With Truman�s victory, corruption ceased in the court, but Pendergast�s control of the county administration � and the patronage that went with it � would last until he was sent to prison in 1939.
Truman became an integral part of the Pendergast machine, but, according to Dorsett, was not corrupt. Dorsett states:
"Truman would not deal in graft, but he was successful in running the Pendergast machine in rural Jackson County because he was an astute organizer who used patronage to the organization�s advantage. In addition, Truman managed the court so efficiently, and accomplished so much while in office that he won a large following. By leaving Truman alone to manage the county administration as he saw fit, Pendergast lost the graft which he had bestowed upon his associates during the Bulger regime. By endorsing honest government and settling for patronage alone, he (Pendergast) had entrenched his machine in the county administration by the mid-1920s."
At the same time, Pendergast became recognized as the undisputed leader of the Kansas City Democrats. In achieving this, the lieutenants of his most powerful opposition, Joe Shannon, deserted their former boss and climbed on the Pendergast wagon. Helping Pendergast achieve this goal was Jim Aylward, a Kansas City attorney who would become Pendergast�s right hand man.
By the mid-1920s the Pendergast machine was in a fine-tuning stage. Boss Tom seemed to be making all the right moves, no matter how wrong they looked to his confidants. When another reform movement pushed for a new City Charter that was designed to place control of city government in the hands of a non-partisan city manager, Pendergast, knowing that most citizens were in favor of it and knowing that he had enough votes on the City Council to control the appointment of the new city manager, backed it. On Feb. 24, 1925, the new Charter passed.
Passage of the reform helped create a new-look Pendergast image. As a backer of the new Charter, Pendergast could now be the poster boy for honest elections. With this new image he became the symbol for effective city government, and this gained him prestige in the state as well as additional power in the Missouri Democratic Party.
Over the next decade, Pendergast helped expand his empire by creating political clubs in various wards. The clubs provided a social center for many lower and middle-income citizens who couldn�t afford the fees for country clubs. During this same period, Aylward was named chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Party and established the Missouri Democrat newspaper in 1925.
While Pendergast moved into a higher social and economic stratosphere, he did not forget the people who got him there. He kept two offices and was at one or the other everyday to meet with people from all walks of life who cared to call. No one was given special consideration; each waited his or her turn to see the boss.
In 1926, the City Council appointed a Pendergast lieutenant, Henry F. McElroy, the new city manager of Kansas City. Although he was supposed to act in a non-partisan manner, McElroy gave most of the city�s department head positions to Democrats.
With Prohibition the law of the land, the Pendergast machine allowed the local liquor interests to continue unabated in supplying citizens with illegal alcohol. Even when the "Noble Experiment" ended in 1933, lively night spots were still protected by Pendergast�s influence and there were many proprietors who were thankful that outsiders flocked to Kansas City for a taste of the night life that was not available in the outlying Midwestern communities.
Despite the Republican-run country, Pendergast performed a remarkable job in delivering Democratic candidates. When the Great Depression came and the Democrats won favor, Pendergast enjoyed his greatest success and was eventually elevated to direct the Missouri State Democratic Party. Pendergast used his powers to direct loyalists into positions at all levels. He even supported his old rival Joe Shannon in his election to the U.S. House of Representatives. With his ever increasing patronage, Pendergast not only took care of loyal Democrats in Kansas City, but he also helped Republicans who had supported his efforts along the way.
In 1932, just weeks before the November election, Francis Wilson, a Pendergast-backed candidate for governor, became ill and died. Pendergast quickly endorsed Guy B. Park, a rather obscure county judge for the position. In three short weeks Park went from an unknown to governor of Missouri. Although he was not corrupt, Park was overwhelmed and allowed Pendergast to virtually run the state � at least in the areas that were valuable to the machine.
In 1935, at Pendergast�s request, Park named Emmett O�Malley state superintendent of insurance. Working with Pendergast, O�Malley orchestrated a compromise between insurance companies and the state of Missouri to increase insurance premiums. In this settlement, Pendergast received $750,000 for his services.
With the support that Pendergast had lent to the selection of Franklin D. Roosevelt as the Democratic nominee for president in 1932, the Roosevelt administration showed its appreciation by giving Pendergast patronage and control over Missouri�s federal relief welfare program. Pendergast used his influence with the administration to obtain a presidential pardon for his old Republican friend Conrad Mann, who had been found guilty of involvement in an illegal state lottery; and to have Judge Harry Truman appointed state director of federal re-employment for Missouri.
With his grasp of the state Works Progress Administration (WPA), Pendergast was able to control all jobs funded by the federal program within the state. His appointment of Matthew Murray to oversee the state�s administration of the program would be a tremendous boon to the machine and further strengthen Pendergast�s position throughout the state. Of course this would not have been possible without Truman winning election as U.S. senator in 1934. Dorsett tells us:
"The story of Truman�s victory in 1934, and Clark�s (Missouri Senator) consequent surrender to Pendergast, is one of the most fascinating in the annals of Missouri politics. The battle for the senatorial nomination was unusually bitter. Clark took to the stump for his candidate, (Jacob) Tuck Milligan�The Senator did all that he could to curb Pendergast�s power. He charged that Kansas City�s municipal employees were being assessed to support Truman�s campaign, and that most of the state employees were being forced into line. In much the same vein Milligan attacked Truman by arguing that Gov. Park�s administration was doing so much for the Kansas City machine�s candidate that the executive mansion would be more appropriately named �Uncle Tom�s Cabin.�"
Pendergast�s success in routing Milligan would later come back to haunt him.
With Truman�s victory in the 1934 election the newspapers declared, "Pendergast as the undisputed boss from one end of the state to the other." While the New Deal added considerably to Pendergast�s power, it was Murray�s selection to lead Missouri�s federal work relief that would prove to be the most important contribution to the machine. Most of the district directors were appointed for their loyalty to the boss. With control of the state WPA, federal employees now worked for Pendergast�s candidates and were used to support them.
Although part of the New Deal was to eliminate the powerful political machines that were operating around the country, in the case of Missouri and Tom Pendergast, the New Deal only served to enhance it. Pendergast and his organization seemed invulnerable during the mid-1930s. With the machine controlling Kansas City and Jackson County, and having the WPA employees working as troops for his benefit, Pendergast reigned supreme.
Above all, Pendergast considered himself a respectable businessman and civic leader. Once when visiting Chicago he told reporters that Kansas City had less gambling and racketeering than any comparable city its size. Gloating, the boss stated, "Ours is a fine, clean, and well-ordered town�"
In 1936, Lloyd C. Stark would begin to tumble the Pendergast ivory tower. By realizing he needed Pendergast�s influence to become governor, Stark sought the benefits of a relationship with the Democratic boss. He convinced Pendergast that he was the man to replace Guy Park in the governor�s mansion.
During the elections of 1934, Italian gangsters in Kansas City murdered four people. The city experienced the same violence as Chicago had during the 1920s with gunmen driving around intimidating voters while the Pendergast influenced police department stood idle. Suspicion of Pendergast�s involvement in these shootings subsided a week later when mobsters tried to gun down City Manager Henry F. McElroy, one of the boss�s men. While these incidents created minor headlines, they could not compare to the scandals that surfaced after the 1936 elections.