Thomas Kinney

Thomas Elwood "Snake" Kinney (born March 3, 1868 in St. Louis , Missouri ; † May 15, 1912 ibid) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) in the state of Missouri and at the same time one of the founding members of the Egan's Council alongside Thomas Egan , a criminal group that ruled St. Louis between 1890 and 1924.

Childhood and youth

Thomas Kinney was born on March 3, 1868 in the Irish-influenced Kerry's Patch of St. Louis. Kinney was only in school for a short time and began working as a newsboy in his youth. This phase of his life is said to have been the origin of his nickname , which was to accompany him to the end. In the newspaper business there were regular physical arguments with other newspaper boys in the fight for the cheapest sales places or the newspaper packages. Kinney was one of those who grabbed the biggest packages early in the morning, but by then he was also showing some signs of generosity and justice by always dividing his winnings of the day with his victims at the end. Probably another boy complained to a policeman with the words: “That little Kinney sneaked the papers.” (In German something like: “This little Kinney has snatched the newspapers under the nail”) Policeman, however, spoke with a strong Irish accent, so that the word "sneaked" sounded like "Snake" (in German: snake). A nickname that stuck with Kinney. However, other opinions claim that Kinney got this nickname because he was two-faced and cunning.

Entry into politics

Until around 1886 Kinney worked in a billiard hall, where he often duels with opponents for money, which he mostly won. He soon strengthened his reputation as a result. After the death of his parents, Thomas Kinney began working in a butcher shop and then in a hardware store, but he discovered his true potential in local politics. In 1890 he was elected to the Democratic City Committee , where he soon revealed his potential and established his reputation in political circles with his extroverted manner and behavior towards the masses.

Kinney had been close friends with Thomas Egan since childhood, who, unlike his friend, embarked on a criminal life and established himself in a group called the Ashley Street Gang . This gang (which later became the core of the Egan's Council) worked closely with Kinney in the period that followed, especially during the elections in St. Louis, where it was customary for politicians to use thugs to ensure that they did Votes received. Kinney began to involve the Ashley Streeters in this political process. On February 14, 1894, he opened a saloon that served as the first headquarters.

The greatest rival for the Ashley Streeters around Kinney and Thomas Egan (who had established himself as the leader of the street gang by 1895) was to represent George "Baldy" Higgins in the 1890s. This conflict would erupt on September 20, 1896, when an attack by Higgins supporters on a Kinney colleague resulted in a battle on the street. During the argument, Higgins managed to throw Kinney on the ground where he tried to stab him with a knife . Kinney picked up his revolver and was able to shoot Higgins, who died from his injuries on September 22nd. That Kinney escaped conviction on the basis of self-defense / self-defense already revealed the power he held behind the scenes. So was shortly after Kinney's arrest of the influential Democratic politician (he represented the First Ward in the House of Delegates) James Cronin , the deposit paid for Kinney, who set him free again. Both Cronin and Kinney were part of Ed Butler's political machine , who in the background exercised his political power over St. Louis.

Promotion to Senator

By the end of the 19th century, however, Kinney's claim to being a minor subject was no longer enough and he realized that Butler's power was slowly waning. Kinney decided to show his power. At the beginning of 1900 the Democratic City Committee was restructured by Harry B. Hawes , chairman of the police commission. In the turmoil for Democratic leadership, Kinney also decided to run for the House of Delegates and entered into an alliance with Hawes, which old companions of the butler machinery did not like. Another group that had allied with Butler at the end of the 19th century was the Walnut Street Gang , which in 1900 was led by John "Bad Jack" Williams and his deputy William "Tough Bill" Condon , and a lengthy argument with the Kinney Gang started.

In 1901 Kinney succeeded in becoming a representative for the Fourth Ward with a large majority, meanwhile the dispute with the Walnut Streeters and other "democratic gangsters" had already resulted in several deaths on both sides. On December 22, 1901, one of Kinney's competitors, John J. Ryan , was shot, allegedly by Thomas's brother Michael Kinney , according to his own statements . Ryan managed to escape an attack on his life the year before, and in 1902 he finally fled to New Orleans after facing charges of fraud. Thomas Kinney could watch calmly while his opponents eliminated themselves. Instead, he increased his influence and managed to increase the membership of his supporters and the number of clubs.

Kinney began planning to run for the post of Missouri Senator in 1904, a project that he announced publicly in early 1904. On February 19, 1904, however, he risked this career when he shot and injured an African-American singer named Walter Sloan while drunk . At the same time, however, this incident made it clear to Kinney that he would have to separate himself more from the activities of the gang in public if he were to be successful in politics. His brother-in-law Thomas Egan (Kinney had already married his sister Catherine Egan at the end of the 19th century ) took over complete control of the grouping of the former Ashley Streeters / Kinney Gang - the official birth of the Egan's Rats (they got their actual name at the beginning 1907 after the attack on William Gagel, who refused to give the names of his assassins - in the course of the assassination attempt on Fred Mohrle the name was used for the first time in the media in 1909).

In the fall of that year, Kinney was elected to the Missouri Senate, making the councils the most influential group in St. Louis, be it from a criminal or political point of view. In the course of the first decade of the new century, however, the former ally Hawes turned out to be a major political rival in St. Louis. In 1906 this succeeded in defeating Kinney's ticket at a Democratic meeting, whereupon Kinney withdrew the Egan gang from the election in November 1906, which allowed the Republicans enough delegates to come to power in St. Louis.

Political defeat, sickness and death

Kinney suffered a first major political defeat in 1910 when he lost the battle for the place of Congressman for the Twelfth District in the city elections to Republican Leonidas C. Dyer . Kinney tried to challenge this result, but did not succeed, so that the Egan gang was denied an opportunity to gain influence in Washington, DC . At the beginning of 1912, Thomas Kinney fell ill with tuberculosis , which weakened him further and further. A final attempt to halt the disease by moving to an area with better air quality ( Kirkwood, Missouri ) failed and Senator Kinney died on May 15, 1912.

He was taken through St. Louis in great procession and buried in Calvary Cemetery . Successor in the office of Senator was Thomas' brother Michael Kinney , who thus maintained the political connections of the Egan's Council.

literature

• Daniel Waugh; Egan's advice. The Untold Story Of The Prohibition-Era Gang That Ruled St. Louis ; Cumberland House 2007; ISBN 1-58182-575-7