NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND POLITICS
By WELLINGTON G. FORDYCE
The importance of the immigrant in the
political life of Cleve-
land was recognized at an early date,
both by their own leaders
and by native born politicians. The
foreigner realizes the value of
team
play and may organize for spoils, but he has frequently
shown independence and has voted a split
ticket. With the in-
crease in naturalization which has taken
place since the war, the
foreign vote has become increasingly
important. The party in
control at the time of arrival usually
has had the greatest in-
fluence. In general most of the
immigrants have been Democrats.
In 1924 Robert M. LaFollette carried the
city, in 1928 Alfred E
Smith, and in 1932 and 1936 Franklin D.
Roosevelt. In the first
two elections the county was carried by
the Republicans, due to
the vote in the suburbs which was
largely native born.1
In the period 1870-1913 the
immigrant reaching Cleveland
from eastern seaports had the same
political importance that the
Irish immigrant of an earlier day had in
the elections of seaboard
cities. That early Irish immigrant
frequently voted several times
the day he landed. While no evidence
exists that this happened
in Cleveland, many of the political
abuses which were character-
istic of American cities in the last
fifty years were to be found
in the control of the immigrant voter in
Cleveland. Until 1913
the immigrant arriving in Cleveland was
entirely dependent upon
being met by relatives, friends, or a
representative of a local
political boss. The latter was usually
an opportunist, and this sit-
uation gave him the advantage of placing
the new arrival under
obligation to him. Uncertainty of the
time of arrival of special
1 Principal sources for the material in
this article were newspapers and personal
interviews. The writer is especially
indebted to Mr. Clark E. Miller for valuable
introductions and suggestions, and to
Mr. Louis J. Simon for assistance in obtaining
figures from the records of the Board of
Elections.
(109)
110
OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
trains carrying immigrants made it
difficult for friends and rela-
tives to meet them, and their place was
taken by political hench-
men of various ward bosses.2
The political boss of the foreign wards
in Cleveland was the
same type to be found in most American
cities. He was either
a naturalized citizen or native born of
the first generation, a resi-
dent of the ward he ruled, spoke the
mother tongue, and of com-
mon race and religion with the people he
controlled. The new
arrival was gathered into the fold at
the railway station and
through further services was made to
feel his obligation to the
ward boss. Among these services were
boarding houses and hotels
to which the stranger was guided, aid in
getting a job, small loans,
and saloons and eating houses which
served as clubs. Within the
community, donations to charity,
contributions for the celebration
of various local and racial holidays,
bail and legal aid for the
immigrant in court, acting as mediator
in domestic and community
disputes, and supporting all projects
for church and community
welfare added to his influence and power
within the ward. In the
early 1900's Jews and Russians asked for
Harry Bernstein, Ital-
ians for Theodore Garabelli, Hungarians
for Theodore Kundtz.3
Among the early political bosses in the
foreign wards "Czar"
Harry Bernstein, a Jew, was the
outstanding figure. He used
many of the devices to obtain power
which had been previously
mentioned. A Jewish theatre, a bank, a
saloon, and a restaurant
were numbered among his business
interests. The old Fifteenth
Ward which he controlled was a Russian
Jewish colony with a
scattering of Italians and Negroes. He
made loans on unsecured
notes, and his Christmas celebrations
and ready charity made him
a power. So great was his influence that
politicians who knew
him claim that when he promised to
deliver the ward by a specific
margin the "Czar" never missed
his prediction by more than fifty
votes. One street in Cleveland is still
known as "Bernstein's
Elbow." This title arose from an
incident where in cutting
through a new street, the city
ordinance, at Bernstein's request,
provided that the new street was to take
a bend, instead of follow-
2 Annual Report of the City of
Cleveland, 1913, 1481ff.
3 The Foreign Population in the City of
Cleveland and Where They Live, MS.
(in the files of the Cleveland Public
Library) 10ff. The author of this paper is
unknown. Conditions described seem to
have been in 1904-1905.
NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND
POLITICS III
ing a straight line. This demonstrates
his tremendous power over
the City Council. Another local boss
whose career was similar to
that of "Czar" Bernstein was
William Welfeld, a Polish Jew, who
flourished during the 1890's. He founded
the first uniformed
Polish marching club in 1893. Welfeld
was prominent in the po-
litical machine headed by Mark Hanna,
coaxed the immigrants of
the old Twelfth Ward into
naturalization, and maintained almost
absolute control over his ward.
Maurice Maschke was probably the most
outstanding of all
the political figures which have come
from the immigrants in
Cleveland. American born of German
Jewish parents, he became
a dominant figure in Ohio politics,
received recognition in national
politics, and was the most important
individual in Cleveland poli-
tics between 1909-1933. Maschke
graduated from Harvard and
Western Reserve Universities, and began
his political career under
"Czar" Bernstein. By 1899 he
completely controlled the downtown
wards. He was in eclipse during Tom L.
Johnson's reign. The
death of Hanna wrought confusion in the
Republican ranks, but
by 1909
Maschke emerged as the party leader. He
selected Her-
man Baehr as the man to beat Johnson.
Johnson's reign as mayor
of Cleveland ended because Maschke
picked a candidate of Ger-
man ancestry who carried the German
wards which had been
solid supporters of the reformer
Johnson. From 1916-1932 the
City Hall was in Maschke's hands by one
device or another. From
1920-1928
both city and county were under his
control. Even
during the period of the city manager
government Maschke man-
aged to retain his control over
patronage and the jobs were di-
vided on the basis of sixty per cent.
for Republicans and forty
per cent. for Democrats. This situation
assisted materially in
undermining the public confidence in the
city manager plan. In
1920
Maschke was chosen a member of the
Republican National
Committee, and in 1928 he successfully
fought for Herbert
Hoover in the face of a favorite son
movement to nominate the
late Frank B. Willis. From this battle
he emerged more powerful
than ever. Regardless of political
practice, Maschke seems to have
commanded respect from all who knew him.
This is perhaps
112
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
best demonstrated by the comments
appearing in the press at his
death.4
Among the other immigrant leaders in the
early years of the
century were Kundtz of the Hungarians
and Conrad Mizer among
the Germans. The real contributions of
these two men were in
fields other than government. Joseph and
Louis Black also had
great influence among the Hungarians
during the 1890's although
they were Jewish in origin. Since the
war a new type of leader
has appeared. The evils of bossism, the
disintegration of the
foreign colonies and increased political
experience on the part of
the immigrant voter have made it
difficult for the old type boss to
survive, except in a few isolated wards.
The most prominent Hungarian political
leader since the
war has been Louis Petrash, who has been
city commissioner of
licenses, member of the City Council,
and holds a place on the
municipal bench. W. J. Nowak, as
publisher of the Polish Mon-
itor Daily, has had great influence among his people. Adam Damm,
who was of German origin, was friendly
with the Slovenian group,
and has represented Slovenian wards in
the post war period.
Anton Grdina, a Slovenian who has
extensive business interests in
the colony, has had considerable
political influence among his
people. In the same colony Louis Pirc,
editor of the Slovene
daily, has been one of the group's most
important figures polit-
ically. Among the Czechs Anton Sprosty
has been prominent.
Herman Finkle and Alexander Bernstein,
the latter a nephew of
"Czar" Bernstein, have been
important in the control of the old
East 55th-Woodland districts.
The Czechs have been generally
Democrats, with a tendency
towards Socialism. Independence is a
characteristic and they fre-
quently split their votes. In I917 the
Czech wards voted for a
Republican mayor, a Democratic
councilman, and a Democratic
congressman.5 They have
elected members of their race to Con-
gress, City Council, and the State
Legislature. Their political
importance has won them recognition in
the jayor's cabinet. In
1916 when Americans made little distinction between Czech
and
4 The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland
News, and the Cleveland Press, No-
vember 20, 1936.
5 Eleanor E. Ledbetter, The Czechs
in Cleveland (Cleveland, 1919), 35.
NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND
POLITICS 113
Austrian, John J. Babka, a Czech, was
elected to Congress.6 The
Twenty-third Ward in the heart of the
Jugoslav colony has been
solidly Democratic. One reason for this
has been that their leading
newspaper had a Democratic editor, and
one of their earliest
friends, Damm, was of this party. John
Mihelich, the former
councilman from this ward, is one of
their later leaders. Proba-
bly the outstanding figure that has
appeared in Cleveland politics
from the Slovenian group is Frank J.
Lausche. His promotion in
politics has been rapid and his service
has been of the highest type.
Efficient service on the municipal bench
has resulted in promotion
to the Common Pleas Court. Of judicial
type he has added much
to the dignity of the bench, his support
coming from all sections
of the city and county.
The Syrians have held no important
offices. They have been
Republicans largely because their
leaders, being conservative mer-
chants, have received most of their
favors from this party. Two
Syrian social clubs became affiliated
with party organizations in
1928, the Syrian
American Club with the Republicans and the
Arteneet Club with the Democrats. They
seem to be of im-
portance in spite of the size of the
group, as some of the most
prominent political figures are always
careful to attend Syrian
social affairs to which they are
invited. The Rumanians have been
Democrats. The name and the belief that
it is a workingman's
party were the chief reasons. They have
a Newton D. Baker
Democratic Club, which is also a social
group. There has been
a smaller Republican Club. They have
held no offices, and their
only recognition has been in receiving
laboring jobs for newly
arrived immigrants.
Early Italian voters were pretty evenly
divided, with Repub-
licans in the majority. The period
1926-1933 has seen them greatly
disturbed, with a shift toward the
Democrats. They have been at
times under the influence of political
bosses. The Twelfth Ward
under the leadership of Alexander
Bernstein has a large Italian
element. This man has held an important
place in the councils of
the local Republican organization, and
has been mentioned as a
possibility for the county chairmanship.
The Italians have not re-
6 Thomas Capek, The
Czechs (Bohemians) in America (Boston, 1920), 90.
114 OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
ceived the recognition their numbers
warrant. The action of
Governor Myers Cooper in making a
judicial appointment, in
which he ignored the Italians, cost him
the Cuyahoga County
Italian vote. A growing feeling of
resentment over this situation
has made the Italian vote ripe for the
politician who can take
advantage of it. The appointment of
Frank Celebrezze to the
municipal bench by Governor Martin L.
Davey was announced
January 2, 1937. This is the first
appointment from the Italian
group to any court in Ohio. At the same
time Joseph Artl, a
Bohemian, was named to the same court.
Artl was for some time
a member of the City Council.7
The Greeks, found in occupations similar
to those of the
Syrians, have been their opposite
politically. They are liberal and
independent political thinkers and have
been Democrats. A Greek
Democratic Club has been of considerable
importance. It has not
been a plum-seeking organization, but
has been interested in pro-
moting citizenship. Although a small
group, its political influence
was one factor which forced the
newspapers to abandon the prac-
tice of designating an arrested criminal
by race. The Poles have
assumed an active role in politics since
1920. Prior to the war
they were slow to become citizens. The
change in the Poles' po-
litical status is shown by the fact that
while only 493 voted in
1904,
the number of voters has increased to the point that over a
score of active political and civic
clubs existed in the Polish col-
ony in 1929.8
Poles prominent in Cleveland politics
since the war include
Joseph Sawicki, municipal judge, Felix
Matia, director of parks
under Mayor Harry L. Davis, and Joseph
Trinastic, councilman
and assistant director of the Citizens'
Bureau, Rose Laskowski,
of the Police Bureau in charge of social
work in the Broadway
settlement, four members of the City
Council, a number of cabinet
members under various mayors, and
several members of the State
Legislature.9 Any civic
gathering of Poles since the war has re-
ceived careful attention from all
politicians. They are becoming
one of the most powerful of all the
immigrant groups, and as their
7 Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 2, 1937.
8 W. J. Nowak, ed., Survey and Maps
of Polish Cleveland (Cleveland, 1930), 8
9 Ibid., 9.
NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND
POLITICS 115
settlement has shown less disintegration
than others, will probably
continue as an important political
factor in Cleveland.
The Germans long have been an important
factor in Cleve-
land politics. They were not
professional politicians, but due to
the fact that they retained their racial
unity longer than other
immigrants they have formed the
connecting link between the
older immigrants and the new. In the
late 1890's and early 1900's
they were Democrats, believing this
party to have more liberal
policies. They split on the money
question, however, into fairly
even divisions. It was a German
Republican, Baehr, who finally
defeated Johnson, Cleveland's famous
liberal mayor. In 1917
every ward contained several German
families, and in Wards
1-7, over half the foreign vote was
still being cast by Germans.10
An attempt was made in 1931 to organize
them into a political
union. The Stadtverbandt Society,
consisting of delegates from
each of the scores of German societies
in the city, was organized
for the discussion of local civic and
political questions. The
founders claimed it to be non-partisan.
The majority of Cleveland Russians are
Democrats because
they believe that party to be more
interested in the workingman.
Few political leaders have come from
this group. Those who
have been candidates, have been
generally unsuccessful because
they were not "organization"
men. On the whole they are anti-
communistic because of the large Jewish
element in the Commis-
sariat. The Russian Civic League was
founded as a non-partisan
political club. It has met monthly for
the discussion of civic and
political questions. Politicians have
been glad of the opportunity
to speak before it. The Russians have
received political recogni-
tion only in smaller offices. August
Bessenyey served as assistant
law director, Dr. Eugene Mankovich as
city industrial physician,
and John Klamet as one of the city
engineers.
Americans associate communism with
Russians, whether in
Europe or America. One writer has said
that the Russians in
America are under the influence of their
workingmen's organiza-
tions, and that they tend towards
communism in spite of the active
opposition of their priests, lawyers,
and other intelligentsia. He
10 David
E. Green, The City and Its People (Cleveland, 1917),
9.
16
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
has also pointed out the existence of a
great many communistic so-
cieties in America.l1 This
may apply to other American cities, but
not to Cleveland. The Russian liberals
have refused to have any-
thing to do with communism. The reason
was that many returned
to Russia, but came back to America,
disappointed with the Soviet
State. Before May, 1932, there had not
been formed in Cleveland
a communistic society which was purely
Russian.12 Communism
in the Cleveland foreign population has
been made up from the
malcontents of all racial groups, and
from the Russians came
only a small minority. Most of these are
Galician Russians. In
general, communism has made little
progress among the immi-
grants. They came to America to better
their economic status,
and their ambition has been to obtain a
home and a little piece of
land of their own. This frequently takes
them into the suburbs
of Cleveland, where many of them have
built their homes with
their own hands. The depression was
particularly difficult for the
immigrant. The vast majority were
employed in Cleveland's in-
dustry, and the later immigrants held a
very humble place in the
economic life of the city. These
laborers were the first to feel the
pinch of unemployment and hard times.
When they faced the loss
of their homes, their savings, and
economic independence, it was
not unnatural that they should do what
many native born Amer-
icans did--turn to radical political
ideas as a possible remedy for
their difficulties. Communist
propagandists took full advantage of
this situation to circulate printed
materials in the foreign colonies.
The recovery of industry and increasing
employment has nullified
any gains that communism made among
them. The fact that the
immigrant is naturally conservative, and
the opposition of their
churches were factors which radical
agitators were unable to
overcome.
The number of Hungarian voters in
Cleveland has been small
due to slowness of naturalization. They
have been divided as to
parties, with a large number of them
Socialists. This may possibly
be due to the leadership of the group of
Magyar intelligentsia
which has flourished in Cleveland since
the war. Louis Petrash,
11 Jerome Davis, The Russians and Ruthenians in America (New
York, 1922), 65.
12 Ina Telberg, Russians in
Cleveland, MS. (Master's thesis in Western Reserve
University Library), 43ff.
NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND
POLITICS 117
councilman, Julius Kovachy, municipal
judge, and Hugo Varga,
a vice president of the Cleveland Bar
Association and a member
of Mayor Harold Burton's Cabinet, have
been the outstanding
political figures among this group since
1920.
One of the sensational figures in
Cleveland politics since
1900 has
been Peter Witt, American born of German parents who
came to Cleveland as a result of the
Revolution of 1848. He was
one of the group of young men, which
included Baker, Morris
Black, and Frederick C. Howe, who
absorbed the liberal political
ideas in vogue during the administration
of Johnson. Witt held
a number of minor offices, and was
especially interested in taxa-
tion. His speeches, delivered from a
soap box in public square,
dealt with the irregularities of
taxation and the dangers to society
from this condition. He established a
school of taxation in his
office, and characteristically was
willing to argue the matter at
any time. This training later made him
an authority on municipal
taxation, especially in the field of
utilities and transportation.l3
Witt was found always on the radical
side, and while considered
a Democrat, was a practical Socialist.
He was twice a candidate
for mayor, but lost on both occasions.
One of the factors which
cost him the first election was that he
offended the foreign element
by a statement made in the heat of the
campaign. This statement,
detrimental to the foreign born, was
published by the Republican
Committee in a pamphlet written by Ven
Svarch, a Bohemian.
This threw the foreign vote in certain
wards to Davis, the Re-
publican candidate, who became mayor,
from which office he
moved on to the governorship.
The Jews have held many political
positions of importance.
Maschke and his importance has already
been discussed. Alex-
ander Bernstein was director of public
service under Davis. Alfred
A. Benesch was director of public safety
under Baker, served in
the Council as president of the Board of
Education, and in the
Cabinet of Davey. Maurice Bernon served
as common pleas
judge, in the Council, and as president
of the Board of Elections.
Louis J. Simon served as a member of the
Civil Service Commis-
sion, and as secretary of the Board of
Elections. In the latter
13 Charles E. Kennedy, Fifty Years of
Cleveland, 1875-1925 (Cleveland, 1925), 141.
118
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
position he assisted in putting into
effect the State system of
permanent registration, and other
suggestions he has made to pre-
vent fraud and corruption during
elections have been enacted into
law. He has also served as consultant to
Chicago and Detroit in
the installation of permanent
registration. Two Cleveland Jews
served in the diplomatic service,
Benjamin Peixotto appointed the
first American minister to Rumania, and
Simon Wolf as minister
to Egypt. Many have filled places on the
bench with distinction.
Mary Grossman has served as a municipal
judge, and one of the
outstanding liberals has been Judge
Manuel Levine of the Court
of Appeals.
The principal Italians to hold office
have been Benjamin D.
Nicola, United States commissioner,
Charles I. Russo, first assist-
ant United States district attorney,
Anthony Fioretti, assistant law
director, Michael Picciano, chief police
prosecutor, Samuel Lo-
grasso, assistant police prosecutor,
Alexander De Maioribus, coun-
cilman, and Eleanor C. Farina, assistant
police prosecutor. The
Office of Police Prosecutor has been
distributed among attorneys
of various races. In 1922 Director of
Law Judson Paul Lamb
abolished all distinctions of rank among
police prosecutors, and
adopted a system of rotation of
assignments in order to avoid all
racial considerations in police cases, a
problem which had been
causing some difficulty and criticism.14
An examination of the nationality of the
members of the
City Council over a period of years
gives some idea as to the im-
portance of immigrant groups in the
politics of Cleveland. The
council was composed of twenty-five
members during the period
1923-1929. In 1923 there were four Irishmen, three Germans, one
Welshman, one Negro, two Jews, one
Jugoslav, one Pole, one
Hungarian, and eleven of native American
stock. In 1925 the
Irish and native stock each lost a
representative, the gain being
taken by the Jugoslavs and by the
addition of a Czech. In 1927
the native stock lost five, there were
two more Irish representa-
tives, a gain of one each for the Jews,
and Jugoslavs, and a new
Italian member. In 1929 there were four
of native stock, two
Irish, six German, three Negro, two
Jewish, two Jugoslav, two
Poles, one Hungarian, one Bohemian, and
one Italian members.
14 The Cleveland Year Book, 1923, 18.
NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND POLITICS 119
From the trend of these figures it would seem that the power of
the foreign vote was steadily increasing, especially among the
newer groups. A number of those listed as Germans represented
districts which were not German, and one of the Irishmen repre-
sented a district of Finns. An abstract list of names of the
Council's membership during this period shows how completely
the politics of an American city absorbs its immigrant element.
Some of them were: Gallagher, Witt, McGinty, Finkle, Sulzman,
Orlikowki, Sprosty, Petrash, Mihelich, Goldman, Walz, De Mai-
oribus, Bohn, Furth, Szcznka, and Krueck.l5
The importance of the immigrant as a voter is demonstrated
by a reference to Census figures.16 In 1906 one out of every
five
persons in Cleveland was Jewish, one out of every six was Slavic,
and one in five was German. One-half of the teachers in the pub-
lic schools were of foreign parentage the same year. In the elec-
tion of 1905 men of forty-four nationalities voted, and thirty-six
per cent. of the electors voting were born in Europe.l7 In
1920
about fifty per cent. of the foreign born in Cleveland of voting
age were naturalized citizens. Approximately eighty-five out of
every hundred persons in Cleveland are either foreign born or
have at least one parent who has been born abroad.
ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN VOTE CLEVELAND, OHIO18
Foreign Foreign
Registration
Registration Total Vote percentage of total
Vote cast
1911 28,917 84,204 34.3
1912 28,821 87,958 32.7
1914 31,859 105,066 30.3
1916 33,095 111,138 29.7
1918 30,682 93,325 32.8
1919 32,652 112,571 29.0
1920 43,084 184,048 23.4
1921 39,265 154,123 25.4
1922 35,880 122,397 29.3
1924 49,072 197,084 24.8
1928 59,548 255,215 23.3
1930 69,986 198,936 35.1
1932 66,476 257,122 25.8
1934 74,728 258,100 28.9
15 Official Records of the
Board of Elections, Cleveland, Ohio.
16 For a detailed study of
immigrant population in Cleveland consult Wellington
G. Fordyce, "Immigrant Colonies in Cleveland," Ohio State
Archaeological and Histor-
ical Society Quarterly (Columbus,
Ohio), XLV (1936), 320-40.
17 David E. Green, The
Invasion of Cleveland by Europeans (Cleveland, 1906),
10ff.
18 Compiled from Official Records
of Board of Elections.
120 OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The accompanying table shows vividly the
importance of the
foreign vote in Cleveland. It will be
noticed that the foreign
registration has kept pace with the
total vote cast, and it must be
remembered that a large percentage of
the increase in the total
vote cast comes from the first and
second generation of foreign
born parents. This latter element was
not included in the per-
centage figures given in the table.
During the era of the city
manager plan in Cleveland's government,
the foreign born learned
a lesson which has made them realize
their potential political
power. Under this regime councilmen were
elected by districts un-
der a system of proportional
representation. This system gave the
opportunity for a united vote, and
although the mayoralty system
has been restored, the foreign born
continued to be influenced by
racial considerations in municipal
affairs. The vote on the repeal
of the city manager system was close,
61,448 to 51,931. This
seems to indicate a division among the
foreign born on this ques-
tion. Some opposed it because they did
not understand it, and
others because it enabled one group to
dominate a district.
Another change in the political
situation has been the shift
of colonies. Regions such as the old
Twelfth Ward, where suc-
cessive groups have appeared, have been
subject to almost as
many changes in politics as in races.
The early Germans in this
ward were Democrats. The Bohemians who
followed tended to-
wards socialism, and the Russian Jews
and Italians were fairly
divided between the two major parties.
The Negroes who have
taken over the ward since 1917 were
staunch Republicans. This
was typical of other foreign districts.
In the west side wards the
Germans, who were Republicans, have
scattered before an invasion
of Slavs who were Democrats. The rapid
disintegration of the
foreign sections which has taken place
since 1920, has also had
its effect. The great power formerly
enjoyed by the political
bosses in these districts has been
rudely shattered in a number of
instances. That this will continue as
long as immigration remains
stationary seems to be a fair
presumption.
The most interesting non partisan
organization in Cleveland
politics is the Citizens' League of
Cleveland. This organization
was founded in 1896 by a group of
business and professional men
NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND
POLITICS 121
led by Harry A. Garfield. Its purpose
was to clean up corruption
both in the City Hall and Court House,
and to promote honest
and efficient city and county
government, to foster the election
of competent officials, and to
disseminate accurate information
relative to the city and county
government. It has numerous
activities. Its members attended Council
meetings, board meet-
ings, and sessions of the State
Legislature, investigated candidates,
and published a weekly bulletin on
governmental affairs. It forced
a civil service on unwilling
politicians, cut the profit made by the
sheriff on prisoners' food, forced an
investigation of the Board of
Elections, and investigations of
departmental abuses. It has taken
positive action upon various franchises,
increasing salaries of
police and firemen, and it was one of
the organizations to support
the city manager plan of government. It
has numbered many
naturalized citizens among its members,
and its president for
eighteen years was Morris A. Black, a
prominent merchant, whose
parents fled from Hungary in 1850.19
Since 1900 the activities of this
organization have influenced
the course of local government in
Cleveland. It has always been
an independent organization. It is
financed by the dues of its
members, and pays homage to no
individual or organization. Its
name was changed in 1913 to the Civic
League of Cleveland and
in 1923
to the Citizens' League of Cleveland,20
The Citizens'
League of Cleveland is the "watch
dog" for the people of Cleve-
land, and politicians walk warily.
Reform lapses into indifference,
but this organization has remained
active. It represents an out-
standing contribution to the progressive
and constructive political
history of Cleveland. Its director for
the greater part of the last
twenty-five years has been Mayo Fesler.21
A common practice during the elections
early in the 1900's
was that of aiding naturalization in
order to obtain the foreigner's
vote. In 1900 the county courts were under Republican control,
and from the middle of October until
election, the foreigners were
brought up for a hurried examination for
naturalization papers.
In the last few days before election,
four and five hundred a day
19 The Cleveland Year Book, 1927, 318.
20 Malcolm B. Vilas, "The Citizens'
League of Cleveland," National Municipal
Review, XIX (October, 1930), 685.
21 Frederick C. Howe, The
Confessions of a Reformer (New York, 1925), 84.
122 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
were granted papers. The foreigners
appeared with an application
approved by the County Republican
Committee, and were rushed
through by the county officials. The
Republicans paid the bill and
the Democrats raged helplessly.22 Another
curious feature of this
campaign was that Judge Frank E.
Dellenbaugh, who had held
night sessions to conduct these
naturalization examinations, had
been disbarred on March 13, 1899. He
continued to serve on the
bench for over two years after his
disbarrment.23
In October 1900 eighteen hundred
certificates of citizenship
were issued. In 1903 the fee was
doubled, and only two hundred
and fifty were issued after the
increase. In October 1904 the cost
was cut to the original price, and the
motive of the county clerk
was under attack as a result.24
The Registration Law at this time
required all voters not American born to
show either citizenship
papers or an affidavit as to date and
place where they had been
granted. Both parties protested that
many reputable citizens were
unable to do either on such short notice
and were deprived un-
justly of the right to register. The
Democrats, who depended on
the foreign vote, had a number of
registrars arrested for
refusing registration, but these cases
were dismissed. The court
decided that registration might be
permitted, but that before voting
the required papers must be produced.25 The newspapers during
October, 1904, carried stories which hinted
at the presence of
Federal Secret Service operatives in
Cleveland, who were watch-
ing for naturalization and registration
frauds. The County Clerk
announced the theft of six hundred blank
citizenship certificates.
All they needed for use was the forged
signature of the County
Clerk and a common pleas judge. The
thief was not caught, and
no evidence of their use was uncovered.26
This situation resulted in increased
activity to prevent any
further fraud in naturalization and
voting. Threats of prosecution
with prison terms and fines were made by
the immigration in-
spector. One councilman was reported to
be carrying a stack of
blank affidavits, which needed to be
filled in with the name of some
22 Cleveland Plain Dealer, October
23, 1900-November 5, 1900.
23 Cleveland Press, July 9, 1904.
24 Cleveland Leader, October 8,
1904.
25 Cleveland Press, October 24,
1904.
26 Cleveland Leader, October 26,
1904.
NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND
POLITICS 123
immigrant. Some of the papers presented
were mailed to Wash-
ington for verification.27 A
number of arrests were made on the
charge of falsification of affidavits
and naturalization papers. Two
of them, Simon Tache and Anton Matyjank,
had their bonds
signed by Kundtz, the Hungarian leader.28
At this time Maschke
was the ward leader of the Ninth Ward.
One of Maschke's aids
was arrested for bribery when he gave a
dollar to a one-armed
man in the presence of a newspaper man.
Maschke claimed it
was charity, that he and his assistants
had a right to help the
needy, and that the bribery charge was
politics and newspaper
sensationalism.29
The agitation in the press over
naturalization and registration
frauds reached its peak during the
election of 1904. In 1908 the
question did not receive any attention
in the press. Changes made
in the naturalization laws which
required a longer residence in
Cleveland for voting, and a change in
the registration law, did
away with the practice of railroading
immigrants to citizenship.
Practically every politician and racial
leader interviewed by the
writer agreed that the ethics were
questionable, but pointed out
that this citizenship might not have
been attained for many years,
and that a movement with a sordid motive
behind it actually
had a permanent beneficial result, as it
started a movement for
citizenship which continued after the
original cause had disap-
peared.
An analysis of the past reactions of the
immigrant voter pre-
sents to the investigator two
conflicting pictures. The first is the
most commonly accepted one that the
immigrant, inexperienced
and without true understanding of the
principles of self govern-
ment, is entirely a machine guided by a
rather sinister kind of
political boss. An investigation of
various elections in Cleveland
shows that this at times has been a true
picture. The men who
have been most prominent as leaders in
the immigrant colonies
have been able to influence the votes
fairly completely in their par-
ticular districts. There have been
occasions, however, where the
reverse has been true. The naturalized
voter and the voter of the
27 Cleveland Press, October 29,
1904.
28 Ibid., November 1, 1904.
29 Ibid., November 8, 1904.
124
OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
first generation have shown a surprising
capacity to break away
from their leaders when the issues have
been clearly explained to
them. More often than not the matter of
personalities has decided
their vote, and has smashed the
immigrant leadership temporarily.
In the late 1890's Morris Black, of
Hungarian Jewish an-
cestry, returned to Cleveland from
Harvard and became interested
in political reform aimed at the bosses
who controlled the foreign
vote. Black surrounded himself with a
group of young men of
similar ideals, and they conducted a
crusade which placed him on
the City Council where he was a thorn in
the side of the party
machines. He was an intellectual
radical, and fought for political
honesty in a period when Cleveland
politics was a game of bossism
and corruption.30 The first
attack under Black's direction was
made upon a group of politicians called
"The Notorious Thirteen."
This was a group of thirteen of the
twenty-two members of the
Council controlled by the two Cleveland
railway companies, and
whose principal purpose was to protect
the company franchises.
The young reformer completely smashed
their power. This is one
of the earliest instances where a
candidate of integrity won enough
votes in the foreign wards to defeat the
bosses' candidates. Black
lived only a few months after his
election to the Council.
In the latter part of the 19th century
the figure of "Golden
Rule" Samuel M. Jones of Toledo
loomed on the horizon of Ohio
politics. Of Welsh descent, and with a
successful business and
political career in Toledo as a
background, he became an inde-
pendent candidate for governor in 1899.
Cleveland's foreign wards
at that time were in the hands of the
typical bosses. Witt, whose
influence has already been discussed,
was chairman of the commit-
tee which sponsored Jones' candidacy in
Cleveland. He faced the
fight with a campaign fund of some $500.
Three hundred of this
sum went for facsimile ballots. Through
political juggling of the
party organizations, the independent
candidates for the Legisla-
ture that should have appeared in the
same column with Jones
were separated on the ballot and placed
to one side. The independ-
ent campaign centered around the
education of the voter in mark-
ing this ballot. The voter had to be
taught to mark the ballot for
30 Howe, Confessions, 80.
NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND
POLITICS 125
Jones, and then to skip over several
columns on the ballot in order
to vote for the independent candidates
for the Legislature. How
successful this campaign was, is
indicated by the fact that Jones
carried the county, getting some 37,000
votes, over the Hanna
machine's candidate, George K. Nash. The
independent slate for
the State Legislature was entirely
victorious. The result of this
election showed that the immigrant voter
could be reached through
a campaign that appealed to his
intelligence and that he was not
always quiescent under the leadership of
ward bosses even at that
early date.31
The career of Johnson furnishes another
example of the same
type. Johnson's political philosophy was
that it was possible to
operate a municipal government free of
graft and corruption, and
that such a policy would be politically
profitable. Johnson served
as mayor from 1901 until 1909. His program
appealed to the po-
litically oppressed and to the
underprivileged, and from the foreign
wards came most of his support. Johnson
received especially
strong support from the Croats, Poles,
and Irish, and his regime
served as an excellent political
education for the foreign born.
The difficulty of holding the American
voter with a sustained
reform program led to his final defeat
by Herman Baehr, who
was of German descent, and carried the
German wards which had
previously supported Johnson.
A recent election illustrates the fact that
as immigration falls
off, naturalization proceeds, and the
children of immigrants be-
come more experienced politically, the
ability of ward bosses to
control their organization has become
increasingly difficult. In
1934 the candidates for sheriff, Herbert
Twelvetree, and the in-
cumbent John Sulzman, were
unsatisfactory to the newspapers
because of the refusal of the former to
commit himself in the
matter of certain gambling houses, and
the refusal of the latter
to take any action in their suppression.
The three Cleveland papers
sponsored the candidacy of William
McMasters, a Cleveland police
inspector. In the campaign which
followed McMasters polled the
surprising total of 119,583 votes.
Sulzman was reelected, but the
amazing total rolled up by McMasters
indicated that the foreign
31 Cleveland Leader, November 12,
1899.
126 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
wards were also dissatisfied and that
they were responsive to
appeals for better government. The
newspapers charged that a
deal was made between the Democratic and
Republican organiza-
tions to throw some of the sure wards
from Twelvetree to Sulz-
man in order to defeat McMasters.32
A study of the vote cast
by wards shows that in a surprising
number of wards which were
almost entirely occupied by naturalized
voters or their children,
McMasters held a majority. His strength
was with no particular
immigrant group, but scattered through
them all. Bohemians,
Poles, Slovaks, Jews, Hungarians,
Slovenians and others gave
their support to the independent.33
One implication of these illus-
trations must be that a politician of
unquestioned integrity and
sincere purpose has little cause for
worry over the presence of a
large percentage of foreign born voters.
A new proposal to change the Charter of
Cleveland has been
made by Councilman Ernst Bohn, who is of
German descent. The
amendment proposes to elect councilmen
at large instead of by
ward as at present.34 The
election by district, which took the
place of the ward, was one of the
reasons for the failure of the
city manager plan in Cleveland. Under
the district organization
the number of councilmen was
approximately the same, and this
enabled the old ward political
organizations to function as be-
fore. Under the district system some
racial groups, which had
been unable to elect a councilman under
the ward divisions, found
several colonies of their race within a
single district. They were
able to combine the votes in these
scattered colonies and elect a
member of their particular race. This
happened in the case of the
Italians of the Mayfield Road and
Collinwood colonies. The res-
toration of the ward system did not end
this situation. The
leaders of race groups under the
district set-up continued to hold
their leadership in the new wards, and
legislation in the Council
was frequently guided by pressure from
racial groups. This pro-
posed amendment marks a step in the
direction of independent
balloting. Racial combines will be more
difficult to create, and for
32 Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland
News, and Cleveland Press, November 1-10.
1984.
33 Official Records of the Board of
Elections, Cleveland, Ohio.
34 Cleveland Plain Dealer,
December 7, 1936.
NATIONALITY GROUPS IN CLEVELAND
POLITICS 127
the foreign born voter it would mean a
greater freedom from the
pressure of his own group in casting his
ballot.
Every political campaign from 1896 to
1912 found
both
parties working for the foreign vote.
The press carried stories of
rallies, meetings, and parades in which
appeared descriptions of
marching clubs in colorful native
costumes. The speakers who ad-
dressed them were the most prominent
leaders of both parties.
Since the war these practices have been
largely abandoned. The
immigrants in Cleveland intend to stay,
and while they are still
proud of their race, the extreme
nationalism which has been char-
acteristic of the post-war period has
made them realize that racial
issues in local or national elections
should be avoided. The record
of the immigrant in assuming the duties
and obligations of citizen-
ship is typical of the long struggle for
democracy. Through pe-
riods of corruption, exploitation by
unscrupulous leaders, ignor-
ance and lack of political experience,
the immigrant is fast ap-
proaching the best type of citizenship
which can be expected from
our native born citizens.