The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-01-20
Everybody Said "Yes'. To Mayor Hague, Until---
CIO Came Along, And Now All U. s. AnxiOuSly Watches Jersey City'S War
By WALTER C. PARKES NEA Service Staff Corresnondent

NEA SerVlce SLa9 correspondent
 Jersey City, N. J., Jan. 20-The eyes of politicians and public, rad icals and reactionaries, open-shop- pers and unioniSts are focused on Frank Hague, seven-t time mayor of Jersey City.
 They see him with his we'll tailored coat off, shirt-SleeveS rolled, galluses hitched and his palms spit upon for the battle of battles in a Kilkenny career-a fight whose outcome will affect them all.
 For Hague, ever the broth of a boy in a Shindy, has taken on the giant CIO, no less. The casus belli is simple: the CIO wants in, and Frank Hague says "Stay Out!" And for enough years to form a habit, Frank Hague, undisputed boss of the State of New Jersey, potent in national affairs, has been able to say "Stay Out!" and make it stick. If he can make the CIO conform to his habits, it may affect the whole nascent labor movement. Last of Bosses"
 Energetic, 62-year-old Hague, with aging Tom Pendergast of Kansas City, is the last of the old time, two listed, up-from-the- ward political bosses who were as commonplace as horse-cars at the turn of the century. He is proud of his self-propelled ascension from Jersey City's poverty -strick- en End Ward, proud of his prow- ess as an outsmarting "smoothie" as well as No quarter!" slam banger.
 A sickly child, his first year was fight, fight, fight-to keep alive. The infant Hague won, with the stamp of ruthless combat on his life pattern. He wasn't much for schooling, going to work as soon as he achieved the 12-year work ing age," and to this day his lack of formal education crops out in his speech, which, though fluent, takes grievous toll of grammar and syntax.
 Young Frank was weaned on talk of political plums, what with his dad and older brother active in 2nd Ward affairs. At 19 he held his first elective office, Constable v of the Ward, no salary, after which the record is one direc- tional-up, up, up.
 Avoids Others Errors
 The frail child grew into plus six feet of lusty man, but, more important, developed a shrewd brain that analysed the "big shots" above him, spotted their weaknesses, and cagily de- termined to avoid them. And he has.
 "No Vice, No Crime, No Racket eering" has been his slogan, and he has made it stick. An FBI in- vestigation indexed Jersey City with less crime than any other city over 100000, and there hasn't been a gang there since 1918, sig nificantly before national prohlol- tion.
 Continuously has the Hague machine overpowered or out smarted opposition. Republican op- ponents hollered NO cricket" when he entered his henchmen in strictly Republican primaries and got away with it, and they've been hollering "hallot-box stuffing," "thuggery' and dictator" right along. Hague flaunts booming laughter, doesn't deny, but sneers: "Cry babies!"
 Defies CLOS Rights"
 So his power, waxing from ward to county to state to national scope via the National Democratic Committee, has bred the habit of hearing "Yes."
 The obstreperous CIO was some | thing of a shock. Unafraid of old time unions, Hague had been trying to wangle ax-potential New York