America 1929: John F. Kennedy, the Great Writer

Chapter 114 You are a tool of the Tammany Society

Tammany Association Headquarters, Federation Building.

This building, located on East 14th Street, may look ordinary on the outside, but inside it is the most central nerve center of New York City's political operations.

Since the late 19th century, most of the city’s election results, municipal contracts, and judicial appointments have been decided in advance in a conference room in this building.

When Walker entered the building at six o'clock in the evening, the corridor was much quieter than usual.

Those staff members who usually bowed and scraped to him looked away today and quickened their pace.

He was led into a conference room where two people were already seated.

John Collier was seated in the main seat.

Walker had known him for many years, ever since he first stepped into the local organization of the Tammany Society, and this man had been sitting in this position.

In this building, Collier's words sometimes carried more weight than the Chairman's.

Sitting next to him was Patrick Dewey, the association's treasurer.

Walker sat down across the table.

No one got up to greet him.

Collier spoke first, placing his hand on the table and tapping his knuckles lightly: "Jimmy, we all read the newspapers about last night's dance. The situation is very unfavorable."

Walker explained, "Those newspapers are being manipulated by Kennedy. I'm trying to figure out how to turn the situation around."

Collier raised a hand to interrupt him: "I'm not here to hear your explanation. I'm here to tell you how this has gotten out of hand."

He took a stack of documents from the table and pushed them in front of Walker.

Walker glanced down. There were several reports, from different neighborhoods.

In Brooklyn's 7th ward, membership renewal rates dropped by eleven percentage points.

Collier tapped the number with his finger and then turned to the next page.

In East Harlem, three workers' clubs began discussing replacing their leaders in the next election.

In Queens, two local councilors approached the association this week, asking if it was possible to make some adjustments before the mayoral election.

Walker closed the file and pushed it back.

Collier continued, "Dila's in. The Sebry inquiries issued new subpoenas today. Hearst's newspapers are now in Kennedy's hands. A bunch of celebrities publicly refused to be photographed with you in any setting yesterday."

Collier said, "Jimmy, do you know how we got to this point?"

Walker did not speak.

Collier said coldly, "It's because you've forgotten who you are. You think that just because you're mayor you can do whatever you want, that executive power can solve everything. You personally get involved, personally threaten, and personally put those things out in the open for everyone to see."

"The Tammany Society has been in New York for eighty years and has never done anything like this before."

"What were the methods in the past? They were to negotiate in secret, to have a middleman handle things, to have someone take the blame if something went wrong, and to have no one know who did it once the matter was settled."

"And you, you made the calls and sent the documents yourself, getting the tax bureau and fire department to storm into someone's store in broad daylight. And now? Who handed Kennedy that timetable the knife? It was yourself."

17

Walker tapped his fingers lightly on the table. He said, "What do you want me to do?"

Collier glanced at Dewey. Dewey took a document from his briefcase and pushed it in front of Walker.

That was a list.

Walker glanced down and his expression changed slightly.

There are several things on the list.

First, from now on, all actions involving administrative pressure must be reviewed by the association's traditionalists. Direct instructions from the mayor's office can no longer be issued directly.

Second, the positions of the city hall staff need to be adjusted, with Dewey's side taking over the external liaison work.

Third, the relevant response strategies of the Westbury Commission on Inquiry will be uniformly formulated by the association. The mayor's office must not act alone, nor may it give interviews to the media without authorization.

Fourth, for the next round of municipal contracts and personnel appointments, the association's nomination rights will revert to the pre-1926 model. This means there will be no need for a second screening process by the mayor's office.

Walker stared at the list and remained silent for a long time.

This is to make him relinquish power, or rather, to seize power.

He handed over everything he had gradually accumulated over the years to the old men in the association, one by one.

Looking at his expression, Collier said, "Jimmy, you've done a great job these past few years. You've won the hearts of the people, gotten the newspapers to report on you, and have women swarming around you."

"But you've forgotten who's behind you. The Tammany Association isn't your campaign tool; you're the Tammany Association's tool."

Walker looked up and said, "What if I don't agree?"

Collier picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and said without looking up, "Then the association needs to start considering how to find a more suitable mayoral candidate for New York City before the next election. Edward Corrigan's people are already asking about it. I told him to wait two more days."

Edward Corrigan was primarily responsible for grassroots constituency organization, ensuring that the association's mobilization capacity in each constituency did not decline.

Walker didn't see him sitting there, but he knew his opinion was already implied in Collier's words.

The meeting room remained quiet for a long time.

Outside the window, night had completely fallen. The streetlights at the entrance of the Federation building fragmented the light in the corridor, making it flicker. Occasionally, someone would walk by, but no one would stop.

Walker finally flipped the list back over, looked at it again, and then said, "The fourth one won't do."

Collier looked at him.

Walker said, "If personnel appointments and municipal contracts follow the old model, the city council will have objections."

I can supply you in other ways, but this cannot be written into the documents.

Collier was silent for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Dewey.

Collier said, "We can talk."

Walker folded the list and put it in his suit's inside pocket, saying, "I'll have McGuire contact your people tomorrow."

Walker walked toward the door, his hand already on the doorknob, but paused for a moment.

With his back to the two men, he said, "No matter what you told me today, I'll handle Kennedy's situation myself."

Collier's voice came from behind, seemingly tinged with sarcasm: "Jimmy, we're here today to tell you that you're incapable of handling Kennedy."

"If you can't deal with Kennedy through legitimate means, then don't touch him anymore. That's my personal advice."

Walker ignored him, pushed open the door, and walked out.

In the lobby on the first floor, the security guard on duty saw him and stood up to greet him, but Walker had already pushed open the door and walked out without looking back.