Francis Hague (January 17, 1876 – January 1, 1956), known as Frank Hague, was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, from 1917 to 1947, and vice-chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1924 until 1952. Hague ran a political machine that dominated the politics of Hudson County, and of the entire state of New Jersey. During his 30 years as mayor, Hague's influence reached the national level. His ability to secure huge majorities in Hudson County for the Democrats won statewide races for governor and U.S. president, and his machine dispensed jobs and aid in exchange for votes. Among the projects built under Hague were the Jersey City Medical Center, then the third-largest hospital in the world, and Roosevelt Stadium.
Hague was born in Jersey City, the son of Irish immigrants, and left school in the sixth grade. In 1896, he began his political rise with his election as constable for Jersey City's Second Ward. In 1913 he became commissioner of public safety as one of five members of the city's governing body, and over the next four years he did much to clean up Jersey City's decrepit police and fire departments. Re-elected in 1917, his fellow commissioners chose him as mayor.
Hague quickly became a power in New Jersey, electing three Democratic governors in succession who would have lost if not for Hudson County. He successfully campaigned to defeat a proposal to move the governor's election to a presidential year, as all three Republican presidential candidates of the 1920s won New Jersey. This changed in 1932 when, after a shaky start, Hague allied with Franklin D. Roosevelt, staging a huge rally for him. Hudson County outweighed the rest of the state to win New Jersey for Roosevelt, and Roosevelt rewarded Hague by steering federal money through him, greatly increasing his power, and by shielding him from possible prosecution.
By the 1940s, Hague was spending much time vacationing outside the city, which was changing as other ethnic groups challenged the longtime Irish dominance. He resigned in 1947 in favor of his nephew, Frank Hague Eggers, who was defeated in the 1949 municipal elections. After that, Hague remained in exile from Jersey City for fear of legal action until his 1956 death.
Early life
Francis "Frank" Hague was born January 17, 1876, in Jersey City, New Jersey, the fourth of eight children to John D. and Margaret Hague (née Fagen), immigrants from County Cavan, Ireland. John Hague had fled Ireland due to his involvement in a conspiracy against the British, and served as a soldier for the Pope during the Italian Wars of Independence. He then journeyed to New Jersey, where he served as a blacksmith for the Erie Railroad and later as a bank guard, a job gotten for him by the local Democratic Party leader. Margaret Hague ruled the family with an iron hand, and was called by one neighbor, "a bitch on wheels".
Jersey City in the late 19th century was an important rail terminus and manufacturing center, with close trade ties to nearby New York City, and a destination where many recent immigrants lived. In the Horseshoe, money was scarce but saloons plentiful; recreation for the local youths included visiting the wealthier parts of town to battle young "lace curtain" Irish.
Frank Hague was born in a tenement known as "The Ark" – after a rainstorm, it was surrounded by stagnant water. Hague was expelled from school for poor attendance and unacceptable behavior before completing the sixth grade at Public School No. 21 in Jersey City. This completed his formal education before the age of 14. He worked briefly as a blacksmith's apprentice for the Erie Railroad, joining his father on the payroll. Why he left the employment of the railroad is not known. While training at a local gym for his own potential debut as a prizefighter, he arranged to become manager for Joe Craig, a professional lightweight boxer. Craig was successful enough to allow Hague to buy a few suits that made him appear successful. In 1896, Hague's apparent prosperity gained him the attention of local tavern owner "Nat" Kenny who was seeking a candidate for constable in the upcoming primary to run against the candidate of a rival tavern owner, though Hague was a lifelong teetotaler. Kenny provided Hague with $75 to "spread around", and Frank Hague, at age 20, won his first election by a ratio of three-to-one.
Political rise
Early advancement
In entering politics in Jersey City, Hague joined a world where massive voter fraud was commonplace, accompanied by violence, though clubs were more often the weapon of choice than firearms. Hague's victory in the constable election brought him to the attention of Hudson County Democratic political boss Bob Davis, and Davis asked Hague to help get out Democratic votes for the upcoming 1897 mayoral election. Hague's efforts were credited with generating large voter turnout in the Second Ward for the 1897 and 1899 elections. As a reward for his work, Hague was appointed as a deputy sheriff at a salary of $25 per week.
In 1901, Hague became a precinct leader in the Davis organization. In that year's mayoral election, Republican Mark M. Fagan was elected to the first of three consecutive two-year terms. Hague's Second Ward was one of only two that voted Democratic. Hague survived a Republican challenge for another term as constable the following year. Hague spent much time at City Hall, expanding his political contacts, and occasionally served a summons or took a convict to the state prison at Trenton. In 1903, he married Jenny Warner, also of the Horseshoe; they had two children, a daughter who died in infancy, and a son, Frank Hague Jr., who would become a judge of New Jersey's highest court. They also adopted a daughter, Margaret.
As a ward leader, Hague was approached by a woman to aid her son. The son, Red Dugan, had been a classmate of Hague's and had been arrested in Massachusetts for forging a check. Hague ignored a subpoena to testify in Hudson County court and provided an alibi for Dugan. Hague and another deputy sheriff, Thomas "Skidder" Madigan, claimed that they had seen Dugan in Jersey City on the day of the offense, but their testimony conflicted with Dugan's confession. Both were threatened with perjury charges. Upon returning to Jersey City, Hague was found guilty of contempt of court for ignoring the subpoena. He was fined $100 and stripped of his office as deputy sheriff, but his willingness to help a friend endeared him to the residents of the Second Ward. Progressive voters outside the Horseshoe were less impressed, and the Dugan affair caused Hague difficulty in his citywide elections until he became mayor.
Hague rose through the Democratic machine of Hudson County, which drew much of its strength by providing newly arrived immigrants with rudimentary social services. Hague took a job as a bill collector for a local brewery, leaving him with time to spend in the streets and the local taverns which were hubs of political activity. By 1906, Hague had become prominent enough that he could ask a job of Davis. He was given the position of sergeant at arms for the New Jersey General Assembly–the lower house of the legislature had just been captured by the Democrats, and in the division of the political spoils, the position of sergeant at arms fell to Hudson County. Davis also named Hague to the Democratic executive committee for Hudson County.
City official
Hague broke ties with "Boss" Davis in 1906 over a difference of opinion on a candidate for appointment to the city Street and Water Board. As a result, Hague supported H. Otto Wittpenn for mayor in the 1907 election. Wittpenn was a reformer who opposed the control Davis held over Hudson County politics. Nevertheless, he made a deal with Davis to gain election over Fagan in 1907. Over the objections of Davis, newly elected Mayor Wittpenn appointed Hague as chief custodian of City Hall – an easy job with plenty of patronage opportunities. Davis tried to deprive Hague of the office, but Hague outmaneuvered him.
Hague also became friendly with Wittpenn's secretary – a Presbyterian Sunday school teacher named A. Harry Moore. Probably the first Protestant Hague knew personally, Moore would be presented by Hague to the Irish Catholics of Jersey City in future elections as a WASP trustworthy because Hague controlled him. Moore would serve three terms as governor of New Jersey. Another lasting alliance Hague made was with John Milton, a young lawyer who would advise him in the decades to come, and who would become a United States Senator.
In 1909 Davis supported Wittpenn's successful re-election against former mayor Fagan. Hague's Second Ward produced the largest plurality of Wittpenn votes of any of Jersey City's 12 wards. Wittpenn in 1910 sought the Democratic nomination for governor, with Hague's support. Davis worked to defeat him, and the nomination went to the president of Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson. The nominee requested that Wittpenn withdraw a rival slate to Davis's in Jersey City to ensure party unity; Wittpenn agreed over Hague's objection, who kept the slate in the Second Ward from withdrawing. Hague's candidates were defeated, and the incident could have ruined Hague's political career, but by then Wittpenn and Hague had learned of Davis's maneuvering to defeat the mayor's candidacy and allied against Davis. Hague and Wittpenn were able to claim credit for Wilson's victory, and Davis died in early 1911.
Davis's death contributed to Hague's rise, since Wittpenn, who desired to succeed Wilson as governor, did not control Democratic politics in Hudson County as thoroughly as Davis had. Hague in 1911 was elected street and water commissioner. The new position greatly expanded Hague's patronage powers. While City Hall employed a few dozen custodians, there were hundreds of workers in the Street and Water Department.
One of the greatest boosts to Hague's rise to power was the Walsh Act of 1911. This legislation, backed by Governor Wilson, allowed municipalities to adopt a nonpartisan commission form of government, with each commissioner assigned specific responsibilities. Jersey City adopted it, with the first elections held in 1913. Originally, Hague opposed commission government, but saw that it would be easier to control a five-member commission than a large city council, and was a candidate, presenting himself as a reformer who was sacrificing two years of his elected term as street commissioner to serve on the new body. He broke with Wittpenn, who was again seeking election as governor following Wilson's elevation to the presidency, backing James Fielder, who defeated Wittpenn for the nomination. Hague's work as head of the Department of Street Cleaners even convinced The Jersey Journal to endorse him as a reform candidate.
Under the Walsh Act as adopted in Jersey City, power would mean controlling at least three of the five commissionerships. Hague and Moore allied with former mayor Fagan to form a slate before the June 10, 1913, election. Although two Wittpenn men were also chosen, Hague, a member of Jersey City's largest ethnic bloc, Irish Catholics, was seen as a voice of change in a city long dominated by Protestants of the Republican Party.
Hague took steps to curb the police department's lackadaisical work ethic, purging the force of drunkards and others who had gained and kept their jobs through their political connections. He announced that no longer would it be possible to break the law and bribe a politician to get away with it. Commissioner Hague led high-profile campaigns against threats to public safety, which had the effect of promoting him as someone who knew how to get things done. He kept his immigrant base onside by ignoring violations of the blue laws by saloons.
Upon discovering in early 1916 that millions of pounds of munitions were being stockpiled on the Jersey City waterfront prior to their shipment to the Allies of World War I, Hague traveled to Washington, D.C. to register concerns for the safety of his constituents. His meetings with congressmen resulted in no action. Hague's concerns were shown to be valid in July 1916 when the Black Tom explosion caused $20 million in damage, including to the nearby Statue of Liberty.
Hague's influence grew, and he was able to undermine Wittpenn's 1916 campaign for governor. While the evidence is scant, Hague is believed to have made a deal with Republican candidate Walter Edge's campaign manager, the Republican boss of Atlantic City, Nucky Johnson. Instead of receiving a 20,000-plus vote margin in Hudson County, as had the past two Democratic candidates including Wilson, Wittpenn, who lived in Hudson County, won there by only 7,400 votes and was defeated statewide. According to author and judge Nelson Johnson, "From then on, Otto Wittpenn and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party were no longer a factor in Frank Hague's political calculations."
Hague gained popularity with a well-publicized incident where he led a posse to Newark and captured Michael Rombolo, who had killed Frank Kenny, son of saloon owner Ned Kenny. Hague himself took down the armed killer, who was returned to Jersey City in Hague's car amid a parade of honking vehicles crossing the Hackensack River from Newark.
In 1917, Hague, with his reputation as the man who cleaned up the police force, ran for re-election. He put together a commission ticket called "The Unbossed". Hague led the battle against the proposal, which was defeated thanks to Hudson County voters' overwhelming opposition. To defeat a critic, Robert Carey, who sought the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1928, and who Hague believed would be harder to beat, Hague got 20,000 Democrats who had not voted in the previous year's primary to vote for Morgan F. Larson in the Republican primary. State law at the time allowed those who had not voted in the previous year's primary election to vote in any party primary without penalty. Hague's string of victories in gubernatorial elections ended, though, as Larson was elected.
left|upright|thumb|alt=Two well-dressed men in suits and hats stand on outside a building.|Hague (left) with three-time governor [[A. Harry Moore, 1936]]
Hague's meddling in the 1928 Republican primary led to the last serious effort by Republicans to deny him re-election, in the 1929 municipal elections. Despite this effort, Hague's ticket defeated a fusion ticket of Republicans and dissident Democrats by just under 45,000 votes, the smallest margin by which he ever won re-election. A joint legislative committee investigated the goings-on in Hudson County; Hague testified before it. The subsequent report showed that Hague had taken advantage of loopholes in the election laws, but the report did not show he had committed any crimes.
By 1930, Hague controlled 5,600 city positions and 1,700 Hudson County jobs. Following his success in the 1933 municipal elections, the Republican county supervisor of elections alleged massive fraud and demanded access to the ballot boxes. He was blocked by an injunction issued by Judge Thomas J. Brogan, former Jersey City corporation counsel, who ruled that the supervisor had no power to inspect the boxes even though no votes had been recorded for the opposition in one district. Several affidavits had been filed by voters saying they had voted for opposition candidates in that district. The new county prosecutor, appointed by Governor Larson, a Republican, attempted to bring charges, but there was conflict with the grand jury which lasted until the prosecutor's term expired in 1934, and he was replaced by Governor Moore (then serving his second term) with a Hague adherent.
In a similar case in 1937, Brogan ruled that though the boxes could be opened, no one had the right to look inside, therefore it was pointless to open the boxes. In that year's gubernatorial election, Moore won over Republican Lester Clee with Hudson County turning an 85,000-vote deficit into a 45,000-vote victory for Moore. This time the Republicans demanded a recount in Hudson County, and it was performed by the county board of elections under Brogan's supervision. Brogan dismissed a petition challenging the outcome. In January, he swore in Moore for a third term.
National figure
thumb|upright=0.8|alt=An apartment building|Building at 2600 Hudson (now Kennedy) Boulevard, one of Hague's residences
Hague met the governor of New York, Al Smith, at the 1920 Democratic National Convention. The two quickly formed a close friendship, bonded by similar slum upbringings as Irish-American Catholics at a time when there was much prejudice towards them. In addition to their personal friendship (the Hagues and Smiths often vacationed together), Hague backed Smith for president at the 1924 Democratic National Convention, switching to him after initially backing New Jersey's favorite son, Governor Silzer, but after 103 ballots, the nomination went to former West Virginia representative John W. Davis. Although his candidate was not nominated, the convention made Hague a national figure as he was elected vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Nevertheless, Hague could not deliver New Jersey for Davis, as Calvin Coolidge won the state by more than 378,000 votes. Smith was nominated by the Democrats in 1928 for president, but did not win nor take New Jersey. Hague characterized investigations into him that year as an attempt to prevent Smith from winning the state.
In the 1932 United States presidential election, Hague backed Smith against Franklin D. Roosevelt during the race for the Democratic nomination. At the convention Hague alleged that Roosevelt could not win the election and would lose every state east of the Mississippi. Nevertheless, Roosevelt was nominated, and Hague acted quickly to preserve his influence and power in the party. He telephoned Roosevelt's campaign manager, James A. Farley, and offered the New Jersey governor's summer residence in Sea Girt for Roosevelt's campaign kickoff. Farley accepted, and on August 27, 1932, Hague arranged for a crowd of more than 100,000 people, many brought by train, to greet Roosevelt. The nominee stated, "There is no general who could have assembled such a host as my old friend, the mayor of Jersey City", words that were taken as forgiveness of Hague. In November, Roosevelt won the presidency and became the first Democratic candidate since Wilson to win New Jersey, by 31,000 votes, aided by a margin of 118,000 votes from Hudson County. Hague died on January 1, 1956, at his duplex apartment in Manhattan, New York City. His body was taken to Jersey City for the funeral. While hundreds gathered to see the casket depart Quinn's funeral home on Academy Street in Jersey City, only four men were seen to remove their hats for the passing of the coffin. despite being second in population to Essex County per the 1920 census. Dayton David McKean, who wrote a well-researched book hostile to Hague in 1940, deemed Hague's ability to get out almost as many votes to defeat the 1927 constitutional amendment referendum as he did for a gubernatorial election as "almost miraculous... [it] surpasses comparison, almost belief".
Hague went beyond the standard of many political bosses who were shadowy figures behind the scenes, for he was on the ballot every four years. In a time when there was only a limited social safety net, he provided jobs for his supporters in exchange for votes, acting through his network of neighborhood leaders, male and female. Despite frequent stories of electoral fraud, he perfected techniques of canvassing, getting his base of working class voters, who held Hague in high esteem, to the polls.
Those wanting to work for Jersey City or Hudson County were expected to repay the favor of their hiring with loyalty, votes, and three percent of their salary to Hague's machine. Hague has often been described as corrupt, something Leonard Vernon, who wrote a 2011 biography of Hague, believed unfair and derived from McKean's earlier book on Hague. Vernon cited as an example Hague's characterization in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, about 1930s Atlantic City and its Republican boss, Nucky Johnson, in which Hague is seen with a glass in his hand and a woman on his lap, something uncharacteristic of Hague, a lifelong teetotaler about whom there was no hint of extramarital scandal. Vernon believed that McKean's book has done more damage to Hague's reputation than any other work. Nelson Johnson agreed, "No one did more to sully Frank Hague's name in American history than Dayton David McKean. Thanks to McKean's book, Hague's image in twentieth-century urban history is beyond rehabilitation."
Hague is remembered for saying, "Listen, here is the law! I am the law!" William Safire noted that this famous quotation is taken out of context. Hague was trying to allow two boys to go to work, as they wanted, and fulfill their schooling requirements at night school, which he was told by officials was not legal. According to Safire, "but because Mayor Hague was surely an autocratic political boss, the words were taken out of context and used against him. Today, the attempt to help a couple of poor youths is forgotten, and the line is always quoted as the American equivalent to Louis XIV's 'I am the State'."
According to Hart, "In terms of power and longevity, only Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley rates as Hague's peer as a political boss." McKean, writing in 1940, stated, "Even Tammany Hall, the prototype of all machine politics, never dominated New York as Hague and his political associates have dominated Jersey City and Hudson County. Richard J. Connors, in his book on Hague's years in power, believed that Hague fell because he would not put in the same amount of work to keep power as he had to gain it, "The Boss game has its rules. Frank Hague violated too many of them." According to Fleming, "the boldness with which the boss of bosses combined corruption and power became a legacy that continues to haunt New Jersey".
Vernon believed the negative portrayal of Hague by historians to be unjust, or at least incomplete: "History, legend and lore has firmly planted Frank Hague's career in the spectrum of morally gray, and there is no doubt that the placement is an accurate one. But if one is to delve further into this often-used analogy, one must first concede that gray is not a true color, but rather a blend of black and white. The reviewers of Hague's clearly ambiguous legacy have chosen to separate out the two elements and concentrate entirely on the black." According to Matthew Raffety in his journal article on Hague's early career, "It will be impossible for Jersey City to forget the Hague years. The city is dotted with buildings and monuments erected during his mayoralty, including the massive Jersey City Medical Center that continues to dominate the skyline. But just as Jersey City bears the physical legacy of Frank Hague's reign, so too do its politics." According to historian Robert Fishman in the American National Biography entry on Hague: