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. Frank Hague was raised in Jersey City's Second Ward, an area known as the Horseshoe because of its shape, which wrapped around a railroad loop. 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. Fagan, Moore and Hague were all elected commissioners, with Fagan made mayor and Hague commissioner of public safety.
Commissioner