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Title: Pendergast Photos Offer Proof of a KC Legend
Description: Article on Pendergast family photographs used for a documentary on the Pendergast organization and Harry Truman. The photos were provided by Robert Patrick Pendergast, a grand-nephew of Tom Pendergast, showing the Climax Saloon, the Pendergast Exchange at 1320 St. Louis Avenue, and various family members. Robert Pendergast is briefly interviewed on the photos and his family's relationship to Harry Truman.
Date: 2012-10-19
Object Type: Newspaper Article

Title: Politics: Pendergast Trouble
Description: Article about indictments of Kansas City government officials connected with the Pendergast machine for fraudulent procedures in the 1948 election, with supposed ties to President Harry Truman, etc.
Date: 1947-05-19
Object Type: Magazine Article

Title: SC205 Organized Crime Files - Series 5: Records and General Data
Description: This series contains miscellaneous police records, newspaper clippings, Kansas City Star staff correspondence, and information on various mafia members, including Charles Gargotta and several others listed in Series 2, all suspected of having ties to organized crime, mafia, and mob activity in Kansas City. Loose mug shots were removed and interfiled with Series1-3.
Date: 1947/1959
Object Type: Archival Material

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about the escape from federal police in Kansas City of Sam Randazzo, "a St. Louis gangster" being released from Leavenworth, with the help of police officials Otto Higgins and Jeff Rayen. Other featured articles include: “Patriots Go to Riverside” (p. 2), about the gambling on horse racing in Riverside, Missouri, "(owned by Pendergast associates)" and its effects on gambling salons or saloons in Kansas City such as "the Bowery and the King Kong"; “The Eagle Hovers” (p. 2), about the meeting of the Fraternal Order of Eagles (led by Conrad Mann) in honor of Thomas J. Pendergast to initiate 1,000 new members affiliated with the local Democratic Party including Charles Carrollo ("companion of John Lazia when the North End Democratic leader was machine-gunned to death"), Dominick Binaggio ("political gambling king here"), et al.; “New Pussys” (p. 3), about the "Pusateris" operating gambling machines, prostitutes, bootleg liquors, and "juicy steak dinners" "about a block east of police headquarters" during the Prohibition era, moving in 1935 to a new building near 79th and Holmes Streets "outside the city limits" and projected to be "one of the swankiest night clubs and casinos in the Middle West"; “Pathetic Case of Leonard Claiborne” (p. 3), photo and article about Leonard Claiborne, "for fifteen years a city detective" for the Kansas City Police Department and sentenced to "a four-year term for a lie he told to save the neck of Charles Gargotta, North Side gangster" under John Lazia in 1933; and “May We Present Mrs. George H. Hoxie” (p. 5), photo and profile of Ida S. Hoxie, who worked with the Consumers’ League to ensure that local dairies were hygienic and was also active with the Red Cross and League of Women Voters; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-05-24
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Rebel at Large: Recollections of Fifty Crowded Years
Description: Chapters of the book about Harry Truman and his rise to political power from Jackson County as a member of a local family of Jackson County Goats (especially his father).
Date: 1947
Object Type: Book

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, describing the inequality of property tax assessments throughout Jackson County and other costs of homeownership. Other featured articles include: “He Beats the Rap but You Take It” (p. 3), photo and article about the murder trial of Charles Gargotta, "rat-faced Pendergast political lieutenant and gangster" reportedly interrupted by Sheriff Thomas Bash in "a killing party on Armour boulevard and Forest avenue" on August 12, 1933, including details about the case and information about other Kansas Citians involved, including the following: "Ferris Anthon, a rival Fifteenth street bootlegger" allegedly killed in the shooting by Gargotta; Sammy Scola and Gus Fasone, "friends of Gargotta and fellow workers in the North Side Democratic club" killed by Bash; John Lazia, "North Side gangster king" and owner of the Gargotta Buick; and presiding judge Merrill Otis, et al; “His Country Needs Him” (p. 4), article about Matthew Murray, "director of public works and a city hall protegee of Henry McElroy," recommended "to direct the expenditure of Missouri's share of the president's $4,880,000, 000 work relief fund" by "Senators Truman (Pendergast) and Clark of St. Louis"; and “May We Present George O. Pratt” (p. 5), photo and article about Pratt, local lawyer and associate director of the Regional Labor Relations Board; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-05-17
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about the crime rate for auto theft and parts stripping in Kansas City compared to Saint Louis and description of its inaccurate measurements by the Kansas City Police Department not accepted by the FBI, with photo of a stripped car and a portrait of J. Edgar Hoover. Other featured articles include: “One Year Ago This Week” (p. 2), with descriptions of incidents in Kansas City on March 12-13, 1934, involving the blockage of registered voters from the polls and bringing in of paid voters by the Pendergast machine for "[t]wo bits a vote," and mention of mistreated and beaten Fusion voters Mrs Mary Brown (1208 East 14th Street), Miss Bessie Morgan (3030 McGee Street), and Tommy Jackson (a black man) and police officer Tom Farley and "Eddie Collins, Pendergast precinct captain"; “Is Your Insurance Costing Too Much?” (p. 3), an article and portrait of Cliff Jones, "Chairman of the Committee Against Fake Claim Racket" in an article about fraudulent insurance claims in Kansas City; and “May We Present Otto P. Higgins” (p. 5), photo and biographical article about Otto Higgins, the 45-year-old director of the police department (replacing Eugene Reppert) and former "police reporter of the Kansas City Star," with description of his life and career as a native of Illinois coming to Kansas City before World War I and becoming a lawyer; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, letters to the editor, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-03-08
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes a photo and article, continued on page 8, about the cleanliness and purity of Kansas City’s milk supply and how to regulate that industry. Other featured articles include: “Fanfaronade” (p. 3), about the bars, saloons, and similar "joints" on 12th Street in Kansas City, describing the types of people and businesses prevalent there in the Great Depression, including "underworld tycoon and termite, the glib and gandy, the dime store dips, dime-a-dance dames, prostitutes, peanut politicians and pimps, and precinct captains who 'handle' the dive collections" for the Pendergast machine, etc.; “Men of the Month” (p. 3), about Lieutenant Jeff Rayen (pictured), "head of the police motor theft bureau," and Otto Higgins, "director of police," both "indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of perjury recently," and describing Rayen's transfer from the motor theft bureau to detective work due to high automobile theft and resulting high insurance rates; and “May We Present Ralph T. Harding” (p. 5), a photo and biographical sketch of Ralph Harding, "president of the Kansas City Bird Store, notary public and attorney-at-law," born in Ohio about 1900 and coming to Kansas City as a pet store proprietor, later defending Walter McGee, "the kidnapper of Mary McElroy" in court; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-05-03
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about the mismanagement and financing of garbage removal in Kansas City, rating the city the worst among its other cities of its size for annual garbage production, from statistics garnered by the Civil Research Institute. Other featured articles include: “Only a Bootlegger” (p. 2), biographical article about "Mr. Joe," a 60-year-old bootlegger, "a power in the Kansas City North Side neighborhood in which he lives," coming to Kansas City at the age of 18 from his native Sicily and becoming a street paver connected with John Lazia; “New Hall—And those Cruel Federal Men” (p. 3), about the soon-to-open new Municipal Auditorium and its federal funding; “May We Present Sig Harzfeld” (p. 5), a photo and biographical article about Siegmund Harzfeld, a clothing store owner and former "President of Kansas City's first Symphony Orchestra," arriving here in 1890 from Chicago; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-04-12
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about President Franklin D. Roosevelt and “Tommy Wommy” Pendergast’s insistence on standing by the president, as well as other local leaders such as Truman and Shannon’s diplomatic efforts with the federal government. Portraits of of FDR and Pendergast are included. Other featured articles include: “Little Merchants” (p. 2), about children employed to sell magazines being exempt from state child labor laws; “President’s Birthday Funds (p. 2) mentions a fundraiser that benefits research into infantile paralysis chosen by Roosevelt, as well as numerous local children’s healthcare organizations, including Children’s Mercy Hospital; “Mr. Truman Makes an Effort” (p. 3), a photo and biographical article about Harry Truman, U.S. senator from Missouri, and his legal bill designed to "end county inefficiency" and description of his past problems in enforcing Jackson county budgets as "presiding judge of the county court"; “Whitewash” (p. 3), including a photograph of city manager Henry McElroy, describing instances where he, Pendergast, and others have made statements or donations to “whitewash” budget scandals and other issues; “May We Present Rossiter Howard” (p. 5), photo and biographical article about Rossiter Howard, director of the Kansas City Art Institute and a native of New Jersey with residence on East 47th Street; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on sports, fashion, finance, cooking, music, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-01-25
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about the Bond Advisory Committee of the Ten-Year Plan, made up of prominent Kansas Citians including R. Crosby Kemper and J. E. Woodmansee, and chaired by Conrad H. Mann. Other featured articles include: “The Sport of Kings” (p. 2), about the Riverside horse racing track and the machine-controlled gambling that takes place there; “Will They Be Able to Silence Mr. Bash?” (p. 3), a photo and article about Thomas Bash, "shooting sheriff" of Jackson County testifying in trial about the shooting regarding Charles Gargotta, including speculations about his reasons for testifying against the Pendergast machine despite its offers made to him to keep quiet; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-06-28
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: First issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes a statement on the newspaper's objective, maintaining that the newspaper is not against any certain political party or vice, but that it is simply for "good government." Featured articles include: “Council Passes Cab Ordinance” (pp. 2 & 4) discussing councilman Frank H. Backstrom’s reaction to the ordinance and detailing other ordinances appropriating bond funds.; "Adult Education--A Fine Work" (pp. 2 & 6) concerning "the program of adult education going forward under the FERA, with the hearty co-operation of the city's Board of Education" and supervised by Roy Gallemore. It describes courses offered at Lincoln High School and its "sixty-three colored teachers employed, a goodly number as compared with the hundred and sixteen white teachers."; “Trivia” (pp. 2 & 6) and "Borderline Businesses Pay Most Sugar" (pp. 3 & 8) on the bombing of the Harlem Nightclub as an example of the vulnerability of semi-legitimate ("borderline") nightclubs and other businesses in Kansas City to its strong-arm tactics of organized crime through the police department. A photo of the Harlem Nightclub bombing is included.; "What, Precisely, Is a Machine?" (pp. 3 & 5) on the definition of political machines and the Pendergast machine in Kansas City fitting this definition through unofficial financing, voting fraud, etc.; "A New Administration for the County" (pp. 3-5) detailing the new administrative officials, new budget laws, and efforts to reduce the city deficit. A picture of J. W. Hostetter, Eugene I. Purcell, and Battle McCardle is included.; “NYM” (p. 4) on the National Youth Movement began in Kansas City in May 1932 with a portrait of Joseph C. Fennelly.; "May We Present Mrs. Charles N. Seidlitz" (p. 5) on Alice Richards Seidlitz "one of the founders of the Junior League of Kansas City," wife of Charles Seidlitz ("president of the Seidlitz Paint and Varnish Company"), and daughter of George Richards ("son of the founder of Richards and Conover Hardware Company"). A photo of Alice is included.; "Be Proud, Citizens!" (pp. 5 & 8) on the ironic description of Kansas City by Judge Brown Harris "as 'probably the most law-abiding city in the United States.'" Irony due to the judge's association with the Pendergast machine and "federal indictments" in relation to the Union Station massacre of Eugene Reppert ("former director of police"), Thomas Higgins ("chief of detectives"), George Rayen ("of the police motor theft bureau"), Tom Bash (sheriff), etc.; Book review (p. 7) of "Heaven's My Destination" by Thornton Wilder (author of "Our Town" and "The Bridge of San Luis Rey"), describing a scene in the book with the main character (a devoutly religious man) unknowingly eating at one of Kansas City's "bawdy houses" and experiencing other misadventures.; Also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on sports, fashion, finance, cooking, music, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-01-11
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, with a photo and description of Kansas City FBI agent Lieutenant William Gordon, "commended by J. Edgar Hoover," in an article about the crime-fighting operations of the Federal Bureau of Investigations and its relation to Kansas City crime. Sheriff Bash, Chief Coffey, Director Reppert, Chief of Detectives Thomas Higgins, and Lieutenant George Rayen are also discussed. Other featured articles include: “Journey to the K.C. Market” (pp. 2 & 6), about visiting the City Market, where the vendors are described as local farmers or Greek importers and noting the bad car and trolley traffic; “Nicking Street Car Riders’ Nickels” (p. 3), photo and biographical article about Brigadier-General E. M. Stayton, "Kansas City street railway commissioner," resident of Independence, and former teacher in Independence starting in 1907. Description of his "farcical" role in actual city government and high salary coming from the Pendergast machine; “Sock! Splat!” (p. 3), about boxing competitions at International Arena, at 15th & Troost, attended by “the henchmen of Boss Cash Welch”; “The King’s Men” (p. 4), arguing that there is no hope for clean government from local and state leadership, but expressing hope for better leadership from Senators Bennett Clark and Harry Truman and encouraging readers “to work, day and night, … to vote against the existing regime”; and “May We Present Thomas Leslie Johnson” (p. 5), photo and biographical article about Thomas Leslie Johnson, or Thomas Johnson, "insurance executive, churchman, Y. M. C. A. leader and all around efficient citizen of this community," growing up in Kansas City; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on sports, fashion, finance, cooking, music, letters to the editor, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-02-08
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on pages 3 and 8, about the election frauds in Kansas City government, with a photo of fraudulent signatures in a precinct book and a photo of Gil Bourk, promoter of "permanent registration." Other featured articles include: “Missouri Valley Authority” (p. 2), about a proposed Missouri analog of the New Deal Tennessee Valley Authority; “Better Driving” (p. 2), a notice about the decrease in automobile-related deaths in Kansas City from 14 in 1934 to 5 in 1935; “Harlem Afternoon” (pp. 2 & 5), about the village of Harlem, Missouri, on the north side of the Missouri River across from Kansas City, including an interview of "Captain Kade," former pilot of the Annie Cade ferryboat during the 1903 flood; and “May We Present Mrs. Herbert V. Jones” (p. 5), a portrait and biographical article about Mrs. Herbert Jones, or Eleanor Jones, president of the Women's City Club at the Gate City Bank Building in 1921, president of the Consumers' League in 1922, president of the League of Women Voters in 1932, and general chairman of the Jackson County women's work committee in 1933; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on sports, fashion, finance, cooking, music, letters to the editor, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-02-01
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about the high number of night clubs in Kansas City (“more … per capita than in any other city in the United States”) and their status as jazz music venues as well as fire hazards, and including photos of Dante's Inferno, the Harlem Nite Club, the Red & Dutch club, the Hey-Hay Club, the Wiggle Inn, the King Kong, the Dump, and the DeLuxe Night Club, etc., with brief descriptions of others including the Sportsman Club and the Chesterfield Club. Other featured articles include: “One Place the Machine Failed” (p. 2), photo and article about C. Whit Pfeiffer, "secretary of the charity bureau" and "[p]erhaps the man most responsible for the high level that relief work has been carried on in Kansas City and Jackson county," and describing lack of influence by the Pendergast machine in the favorable "distribution of Federal Emergency Relief Administrations funds" to Kansas City during the Great Depression; “May We Present Henry D. Ashley” (p. 5), portrait and biographical article about Henry Ashley, a prominent local lawyer and former "president of the Park Board," as well as co-founder of the "Country Day School" with A. Ross Hill and facilitator of the location of the Kansas City Art Institute on "A. R. Meyer's estate"; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, letters to the editor, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-03-29
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about the “lug,” “an involuntary or forced contribution to something a luckless employee isn’t nearly as interested in” as his and his family’s own welfare. Other featured articles include “T. J. and W. T.” (page 2), about patching up of differences between William Kemper, Sr. ("Democratic national committeeman for Missouri") and Tom Pendergast (Democratic No. 1 man in Missouri"), "concerning an outgrowth of the Lazia case here"; “May We Present Mrs. A. Ross Hill” (p. 5), a photo and profile of Vassie Hill, or Mrs. A. Ross Hill, "Missouri chairman of the National Women's Committee for Mobilization for Human Need," describing her life and career as the daughter of J. Crawford James and former wife of Hugh Ward, starting out "in charge of enlisting women for foreign work in the Red Cross" during World War I and "organizing the Jefferson Democratic Club, an independent organization of women" in 1923; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-07-12
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about J. C. Nichols and his city planning projects in Kansas City with the Country Club residential district and Country Club Plaza shopping center, etc., including a photo of Nichols. Other featured articles include: “To Better Serve His Clients” (p. 2), about Michael Konomos retiring as assistant county prosecutor after "'los[ing] the records' in one of the most infamous murder cases in court history here last March" involving a murder by John Mangiaricina, "alleged killer, ward politician in well with an organization power"; “Bye Bye Adam (p. 2), photo and article about Adam Richetti, "associate of Charles (Pretty Boy) Floyd, in the circuit court … being tried on a charge of murder in connection with the Union Station massacre"; and “May We Present Jimmy Maroon” (p. 5), profile of Jimmy Maroon, or James Maroon, "hoodlum, city employee, and man-about-Twelth-Street," starting out as a criminal in Kansas City in 1927 as a car thief and kidnapper and arrested as part of a criminal gang in Kansas City in 1935; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-06-21
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Future: The Newsweekly for Today
Description: Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about the apartments on the Country Club Plaza and Armour Boulevard managed by the Assured Rental Company (led by George Goldman and Herman Shapiro), in the city's "South Side," voting against the Pendergast ticket City Council nominees. Apartment buildings involved including "the White Hall apartments, 323 Brush Creek boulevard; the Alcazar, 101 West [39th Street]," and "the Armour Plaza apartments, 1216 East Armour boulevard, and the Ricardo, 811 East Armour boulevard." Other featured articles include: “Ah! Union!” (p. 3), about the 1936 election for Missouri state senator, with Bennett Clark winning over Pendergast candidate Charles Howell despite being "robbed of 20,000 votes in Kansas City"; and “May We Present Bryson Ayres” (p. 5), a photo and profile of Bryson Ayres, an Independence florist and anti-Pendergast activist born in Missouri and growing up in the Pacific Northwest before coming to Kansas City; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
Date: 1935-06-07
Object Type: Newspaper

Title: Perspective: Truman's Home State
Description: Article about the influence of President Harry Truman as a Pendergast machine supporter in the 1946 Missouri state elections for national representative (supporting Enos Axtell) and senator (supporting Frank Briggs).
Date: 1946-09-16
Object Type: Magazine Article

Title: The Bosses
Description: Descriptions of Harry Truman (1886-1972) and his ties to and disagreements with Kansas City political boss Tom Pendergast during Truman's tenures as judge, senator and then president.
Date: 1972
Object Type: Book

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