Evening star., 1939-04-09

has just been indicted, along with
Mr.. Pendergast, by a grand jury,
charged with evading Federal in
come taxes. Mr.. OMalley and Mr.
Pendergast, it is alleged, did pot
report receiving $62 900 and s315,-
900, respectively from slush fund
growing out of a settlement of So
100000 impounded fire insurance
premiums.
Election Fraud Indictments.
Gov. Stark had an understanding
with Mr.. Pendergast about patrol-
age appointments to State office,
it is true. But he took new tack
which greatly disturbed the boss
he declared that henceforth there
must be honest elections in Kan
sas City as well as the rest of the
State. AS a result there followed
200 or more Indictments in Kansas
City on charges of election fraud,
and great many convictions.
The Governor not only would not
keep Mr.. O'Malley on as insurance
superintendent. but he also de-
clined to reappoint the old cleo
tons board as requested by Mr..
Pendergast. Instead he appointed
a board hostile to the boss. He
drafted two former presidents of
the Chamber of Commerce of Kan
sas City. two Republicans and two
Democrats, one of whom was an
enemy of Mr.. Pendergast The new
board knocked between 10000 and
$4,000 names off the election list.
When this happened. Mr.. Pen
dergast remarked: From now on
let the river take its course He
figured he would show" the Gov
ernor. AS a matter of fact, the
Pendergast ticket won in the fol-
lowing city elections. Mr.. Pender-
CAST was encouraged to step out and
here he pulled boner.
Gov. Stark had appointed Judge
James M. Douglas to the State Su-
preme Court to fill an uneXpired
term. He had been a good Judge,
but Mr.. Pendergast, having cleaned
up in the Kansas City election. de-
cided he would 60 after Gov. Stark S
judge who came up for nomination
to succeed himself in the August
primary last year. The boss entered
James V. Billings as his candidate
That was the start of one of Mis-
souri's bltterest campaigns. Gov.
Stark dismissed from office all of
Mr.. Pendergast's friends, including
the liquor commissioner. The Gov
ernor took the stump himself. In
the end Gov. Stark landed his man
winner by 100000 votes. which
knocked down Mr.. Pendergast's pres
tige as a State leader.
Senator Clark. who was engaged
in his own campaign for renomina-
ton last year, did not compaign in
the interests of Gov. Stark judge,
but he did announce he intended to
vote for him.
President Starts Machinery.
When Gov. Stark got what he con-
sidered substantial information that
Mr.. Pendergast and Mr.. OMalley
had benefited from the insurance
slush fund-and that they had not
made any income tax returns re-
garding those benefts-the Cover
nor took up the matter with Presi-
dent Roosevelt, and the President
started the machinery which ended
with the indictment Friday of Mr..
Pendergast and his friend.
Mr.. Pendergast, iron-handed, DOM
mating political boss, is the direct
antithesis of Gov Stark. who comes
from an old established family.
While Mr.. Pendergast supported Mr..
Roosevelt in the 1882 election and
again in 1896. it is reported that the
President has had no particular re-
gard for him. At the 1882 Demo-
cratic Convention in Chicago, Mr..
Pendergast kept the Missouri dele
cation in line for former Senator
Reed when the Roosevelt forces were
seeking desperately for the neces-
sary votes to put Mr.. Roosevelt
across for the presidential nomi-
nation.
When one of the delegates let
it be known that he intended to
jump the Reed reservation and sup
port Mr.. Roosevelt, Mr.. Pendergast,
a man of immense strength, is re-
ported to have taken the man by
the throat and choked him back
into line. Anyway. the story was
brought to the President afterwards.
Gov. Stark is a man of consider
able wealth. His family own the
famous Stark Nurseries. to which
Burbank. when he died, bequeathed
his discoveries. He resigned from
the Navy after several years serv-
ice and went into the nursery busi-
ness. When the United States
entered the World War, Mr.. Stark
joined the Army, going through an
officers training camp. He served
with distinction through the war.
Stark Has Bulldog Tenacity.
The Governor of Missouri is
man OF distinction, marked by his
military bearing. He has intimate
acquaintance with business on
considerable scale. What he knows
of politics and government he ac-
quired in recent years. He has a
bulldog tenacity, as evidenced by
his fight with the Kansas City boss,
with whom he would have found 1t
far easier to 60 along than to
battle.
The Pendergast machine, 1t is