Anton 
 
 THE 
 
 Martyr 
 
 
 
 H* K. BARNARD 
 
UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 ILLINOIS LIBRARY 
 
 AT UFCANACHAMPAIGN 
 
 ILL HIST. SURVEY 
 
ANTON 
 
 THE 
 
 MARTYR 
 
Copright, 1933, by 
 
 Marion Publishing Co. 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Printed in U. S. A. 
 Foreign rights reserved. 
 
To VIVIAN GRAHAM, whose young 
 life suffered its first great tragedy in the 
 passing of her grandfather, Anton Joseph 
 Cermak, this story of a great Chicagoan 
 and a great American is dedicated with 
 profound sympathy and sincere hope 
 that it may be of some help in lonely days. 
 
 THE AUTHOR 
 
hH 
 
 ANTON J. CERMAK, 1873 — 1933 
 
"IT IS NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT THE NEWS 
 OF THE DEATH OF MAYOR CERMAK AFFECTS 
 ME VERY DEEPLY AND VERY PERSONALLY. 
 
 "ASIDE FROM THE TRAGIC CHAIN OF 
 EVENTS OF WHICH HIS DEATH IS THE RE- 
 SULT, A VERY WARM FRIENDSHIP AND A 
 VERY HIGH RESPECT FOR MAYOR CERMAK'S 
 ABILITY, FRIENDSHIP AND LOYALTY TO HIS 
 FRIENDS WOULD HAVE MADE HIS LOSS A 
 HEAVY ONE TO ME UNDER ANY CIRCUM- 
 STANCES. 
 
 "THE BRAVE FIGHT HE MADE SHOWS 
 CLEARLY THE WONDERFUL COURAGE OF 
 THE MAN. THE COUNTRY AT LARGE AND 
 THE GREAT CITY OF CHICAGO IN PARTICU- 
 LAR WILL MISS A STRONG AND RESOLUTE 
 CHARACTER." 
 
 FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT 
 
 In a Public Statement on learning of the 
 
 Death of Mayor Anton J. Cermak, 
 
 March 6, 1933. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/antonmartyrOObarn 
 
INTRODUCTORY MEMENTO 
 
 If there be people who would deny that America is 
 still a land of opportunity for all of ability, let them read 
 carefully this life of Anton Joseph Cermak, martyred 
 mayor of Chicago. 
 
 No one could have had a more humble beginning and 
 less in his favor, either in material possessions or in those 
 vague but important things known as "connections." Yet, 
 in the space of an average period, Cermak had elevated 
 himself from a driver of mules in a coal mine to one of 
 the most powerful men of his time in the affairs of his 
 city, state and nation. By sheer ability, character, deter- 
 mination and application he ascended to heights that men 
 who start with far greater advantages seldom reach. 
 
 Born in Bohemia, of a poverty-stricken family, with 
 none of the opportunities for education that every child 
 today possesses, he became mayor of the second largest 
 city in his adopted country and the leader of his political 
 party in Illinois. In his life, then, is the proof of the 
 soundness of democracy, of the theory that in America, 
 not wealth and fine family, but ability and character are 
 the means by which men obtain power and position. In- 
 
deed, the life of Cermak may well be considered an Epic 
 of Democracy, a story as significant of the spirit of Amer- 
 ica as the stories of Washington and Lincoln. 
 
 History, of course, has its own way of reaching the 
 permanent estimate of a man, and no attempt by the 
 author is made to predict History's verdict of Mayor Cer- 
 mak. Certain it is, however, that he will not be forgotten ; 
 that neither the nation nor Chicago will cease to think 
 of his name with admiration and respect. 
 
 Chicago will remember Cermak as the man who took 
 the helm at a time of grave crisis — as grave as that which 
 came with the Great Fire. The city was floundering; in- 
 deed, had crashed against the rocks of bankruptcy, moral 
 as well as financial. With Cermak in command, Chicago 
 not only was spared from the fate of complete wreckage, 
 but proceeded on a newly-charted course in the direction 
 of Progress It is an old saying that each crisis breeds 
 a master. This was true in Chicago's case, and the master 
 was Cermak. 
 
 The nation will honor the name of Cermak, not only 
 because of his achievements as Mayor of Chicago, but be- 
 cause of the manner of his passing. Mortally wounded, his 
 thoughts were not of himself, but of President Roosevelt. 
 
 "I'm glad it was me instead of you," were words that 
 only a true patriot could speak. They deserve to be, and 
 will be, enshrined in the hearts of men with the inspira- 
 
 10 
 
tional sayings of the nation's other true patriots. They 
 were spoken at a time when, if ever, a man is tested. Cer- 
 mak passed the test. And the world was immeasurably 
 enrichened. 
 
 State's Attorney, Cook County, 
 
 11 
 
Contents 
 
 I . Tribute from President Franklin D . Roosevelt 7 
 
 II. Up From the Mines 15 
 
 III. The Rising Statesman 27 
 
 IV. "Big Bill" and "Tony Boloney" 43 
 
 V. In the Mayor's Chair 53 
 
 VI. "Boss" Cermak 67 
 
 VII. "I'm Glad It Was Me Instead of You!". ... 77 
 
 VIII. Farewell 85 
 
Wide World 
 
 u Fm glad it zvas me instead of you." 
 
Up from the Mines 
 
Chapter I 
 UP FROM THE MINES 
 
 It is 1889. A group of toil-grimed men are talking 
 in low voices — so the mine boss won't overhear. They are 
 saying: 
 
 "We oughta get more money. One dollar, ten cents is 
 not enough." 
 
 "Let's tell the boss he gotta pay us more." 
 
 Everyone agrees. Then silence. 
 
 "Who'll tell the boss?" 
 
 More silence. 
 
 Each agreed that he ought to be paid more than $1.10 
 a day for mule-driving in the mine. But which one had 
 the nerve to voice the demand? 
 
 "I'll tell him!" 
 
 All eyes turned toward the speaker, who could have 
 been the son of any of the others, so young he was. 
 
 17 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 It was Tony — Tony Cermak, coal mine mule-driver of 
 Braidwood, Illinois. 
 
 If there is any one milestone in the life of Anton 
 Joseph Cermak that could be set apart from the events 
 of his life and marked "the beginning," this incident in his 
 youth very well could be the one. 
 
 "I'll tell him!" 
 
 There you have the courage, the leadership, the capac- 
 ity for assuming responsibility that marked his whole 
 career. 
 
 There you also have the event which caused "Tony" to 
 leave the tiny town of Braidwood, a dot on the Illinois 
 prairie-land between Chicago and Springfield — two cities 
 he was to dominate in later years. As a matter of fact, 
 now that his full history is known, it is plain that young 
 Cermak would have departed from Braidwood anyway. 
 Chicago already was in his blood ; it already had awakened 
 in him the desire to "make good in the big city." 
 
 Five years earlier, when "Tony" was eleven, he left 
 his father's farm near Braidwood and hit straight for 
 Chicago. At the age when youngsters of lesser fibre 
 would have hied themselves back home in tears, or at best, 
 have been picked up by the policeman on the corner, Tony 
 
 18 
 
UP FROM THE MINES 
 
 Cermak started right then and there to get a foothold on 
 Chicago. He landed a job in a sash and door mill. It 
 paid $2 a week. 
 
 Tony spent $1.50 for board and room. The excess 
 fifty cents he sent home "to help the folks." The young 
 Tony felt then that he was on his way — to fame, to riches, 
 to power. These were the thoughts of the 11 -year-old 
 boy. He was, however, to suffer a setback. Depression 
 came to Chicago, work slacked at the mill, and Tony was 
 laid off. A chance to get work at Br aid wood, opening 
 and closing the trapdoor at the mine for eighty-five cents 
 a day, caused him to return home. 
 
 He was sixteen, a full-fledged mule-driver, when he 
 agreed to voice the demand for higher wages. Tony 
 "told" the boss, and the boss "told him." 
 
 "You want a raise, eh?" said the boss, John Cherry, a 
 name remembered now only because of this unhappy asso- 
 ciation with the young "labor agitator." "I'll give you a 
 raise. Get in that cage!" 
 
 Tony was raised in the cage — to the mine surface — 
 then fired on the spot. 
 
 A hard youngster to keep fired long, Tony,, a couple 
 of hours later was working again at the same mine, this 
 
 19 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 time on "outside" work. That evening he was fired again 
 when his new boss learned of the earlier incident. This 
 double action was too much. Braidwood the next day 
 suffered a population decrease of one. Tony Cermak 
 was in Chicago — to stay. 
 
 Consider this beginning of the Chicago career of this 
 young Bohemian-born lad, bred on niggardly farm land 
 and in the black atmosphere of coal. Tens of thousands 
 of Chicagoans had similar beginnings before him — and 
 after him. It is the beginnings of the New American; 
 not of the Mayflower, but of the steerage ; not of the pure- 
 blooded, but of the strong-blooded. 
 
 Tony Cermak was the New American, the New Chi- 
 cagoan, when he came to Chicago that second time as the 
 Twentieth Century was about to dawn. 
 
 It was the period when the lowly, but strong, dug their 
 roots deep and solidly in the life of America. The young 
 Cermak was one of the strong. He had the spark which 
 was destined to lead him to power — a spark struck off in 
 the tiny mining town of Kladno, in Bohemia, where he 
 was born May 9, 1873, and carried with him over the At- 
 lantic as he, a one-year-old, suckled at the breast of his 
 Bohemian mother in the steerage of an immigrant ship. 
 
 20 
 
UP FROM THE MINES 
 
 Chicago was only then giving real promise of its future 
 greatness when the young Cermak settled there for good. 
 
 The railroads, the stock yards, the genius of the Mc- 
 Cormicks, the Fields and the Palmers were working their 
 magic on the city by the lake. Three years hence, Chicago 
 was to challenge the world with its boisterous, youthful 
 energy by staging the Great Columbian Exposition, the 
 World Fair of 1893. It was the period when Mayor Car- 
 ter Harrison the First galloped his great white horse 
 through Chicago's streets while the crowds gaped and 
 applauded. 
 
 The young Cermak must have seen that first World's 
 Fair mayor — and perhaps gaped with the others. Did he 
 dream then that he would be mayor some day soon? Could 
 he have foreseen, then, another World Fair in Chicago, 
 with himself as the city's chief executive, proudly inviting 
 the world to come and visit? And, when the first World 
 Fair opened, bringing with it the assassination of that 
 same Mayor Harrison, could Anton Cermak by any 
 chance have envisioned so similar a fate ? 
 
 Probably not. 
 
 Anton Cermak was no dreamer. He was a worker. 
 
 21 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 First, he worked for a railroad, the E., J. & E. Then 
 came a job as towboy for the street car lines. The cars 
 were drawn by horses, and young Oermak's duty was to 
 ride an old white horse down Blue Island avenue. Here, 
 then, was one thing he had in common with Chicago's other 
 martyred mayor, even at that time — this riding a white 
 horse. 
 
 Little imagination is needed to recall the temptations 
 Chicago offered in those days to youths "on their own." 
 The "most wicked of cities," the "modern Sodom and 
 Gemorrah," was the way out-of-towners, jealous no doubt 
 of its progress, referred to Chicago. No plaster-saint was 
 youthful Tony, to be sure. But he had a head on him, 
 a head that told him that money in a bank was preferable 
 to wild Saturday nights. At 19 he had saved enough to 
 purchase two horses and a wagon. 
 
 "A. J. Cermak, Teaming Contractor," had emerged. 
 
 He obtained small odd-lot jobs of hauling. Then, 
 with characteristic vigor, he went to the biggest company 
 in the city, the International Harvester Company, and 
 came away with the contract for hauling waste wood for 
 this huge concern. This contract was the foundation of 
 the business career which was to make of him a million- 
 aire. He never gave it up, the contract remaining in his 
 
 22 
 
UP FROM THE MINES 
 
 name always, even though the business later was taken 
 over by his father and brothers. It wasn't in his char- 
 acter to give up things. 
 
 By the time Cermak was 21, he had an established 
 business, a teaming firm with forty teams and employing 
 forty men. There was a comfortable balance in the bank. 
 Thoughts of marriage were in order. Already he had 
 met 18-year-old Mary Horejs, a milliner. There was a 
 common bond at once, in that she, too, had been born in 
 Bohemia. A hard- worker herself, she admired the hand- 
 some young teaming contractor. Friendship grew into 
 love. In 1894 they were married. 
 
 The young couple built their first home at Twenty- 
 fifth street and Marshall boulevard, in the district where 
 Cermak was later to be almost a feudal lord, and not far 
 from the present Criminal Courts Building, which Cer- 
 mak, thirty years afterward, built as president of the 
 Board of Commissioners of Cook County. He had his 
 office in the home, and Mary Cermak worked with him, 
 keeping the books of the thriving business. They made 
 an unbeatable team. 
 
 Politics began in these days to have a fascination for 
 him and he kept an eye on the political events in his pre- 
 cinct and ward. But Cermak was not yet ready for a 
 
 23 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 political career. He had other things to tend to first — 
 among them patching up his meagre education. So, after 
 working at his business all day, he attended an adult grade 
 school at night. Then he went to a business college "to 
 brush up some more." 
 
 It was a period of rising real estate values. The young 
 contractor had a "feel" for land and he began dabbling 
 in real estate, buying a lot here and there, selling later 
 at a handsome profit, and repeating the process. Soon he 
 was devoting as much energy to real estate as to his con- 
 tracting business. Later it claimed most of his attention, 
 coupled with two home loan associations which he headed. 
 His thrifty bank account was growing. 
 
 During all this time, the shrewd young contractor- 
 realtor was building himself a following among his own 
 people. His superior knowledge, gleaned by tremendous 
 diligence, caused many of his neighbors to call upon him 
 for help and advice. 
 
 "Ask young Cermak," became a stock phrase in the 
 neighborhood. Soon, young as he was, he became the 
 recognized counsellor in the community. 
 
 Here, in the confidence that his neighbors had in him, 
 was Cermak's first bid for power, although it was some 
 
 24 
 
UP FROM THE MINES 
 
 time before he realized it. That he should now "enter 
 politics" in earnest was only natural. But with all the 
 strength which the confidence of his neighbors gave him, 
 the young Cermak had no illusions of personal greatness. 
 
 He saw the value of organization. Hence, while he 
 might have gone against the "organization," he chose to 
 go with it — and served as a lowly precinct worker in his 
 neighborhood. This meant ringing doorbells to see that 
 his neighbors were informed on the election candidates 
 and that they went out, not only to vote, but to vote 
 "right." 
 
 He who later was to be dictator over this same "organi- 
 zation" and give orders to so many, knew how to take 
 orders — and took them. He was on the job, and when the 
 votes were counted, Tony Cermak's district stood out as a 
 bulwark of the "organization." The ward leaders began 
 to count on his district at every election, and were never 
 disappointed. It was not long before his name began to 
 be mentioned with pride by the "big fellows" downtown 
 as they sat in the councils of the Democratic organization 
 presided over by Roger Sullivan, Chicago's first real po- 
 litical "boss." 
 
 Among the "big fellows" was George Brennan, then 
 secretary to Sullivan. Years before, Brennan had lived 
 
 25 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 in Braidwood; indeed, had taught school there. One of 
 his pupils had been Tony Cermak. And in that fact was 
 the germ of the political career that was to make Cermak 
 a "boss" even more powerful than Brennan, greater even 
 than Roger Sullivan. 
 
The Rising Statesman 
 
Chapter II 
 THE RISING STATESMAN 
 
 It was 1902. "Boss" Roger Sullivan was at the 
 height of his power as overlord of the Democratic organi- 
 zation in Chicago. First assistant, with the title of "secre- 
 tary," was the genial George Brennan, former school 
 teacher at Braidwood, Illinois, later boss in his own right. 
 A meeting of Democratic precinct captains had been 
 called at a downtown Chicago hotel. The lobby over- 
 flowed with them. Among the hundreds was the young 
 West Side precinct leader, "Tony" Cermak. It was the 
 first such gathering he had attended. 
 
 The young Cermak was now thinking seriously of a 
 political career. For one thing, the "boys" in his district 
 had been suggesting that he run for some office. 
 
 "Why not the State Legislature?" some were saying. 
 
 Why not, indeed? thought Cermak. He determined 
 to talk to the "Big Fellows" at this meeting. 
 
 Precinct captains, as a rule, in a big city political 
 
 20 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 organization have about the same standing with the "big 
 fellows" as children used to have with Victorian parents. 
 In other words, they were to be seen, but not heard. But 
 the young Cermak was bent on being heard. Hunting 
 out George Brennan, he presented himself. Cermak 
 thought Brennan's face was familiar, but he did not sus- 
 pect why. 
 
 Brennan looked at the young Bohemian quizzically for 
 a moment. 
 
 "Tony Cermak!" he exclaimed finally. "I'll be 
 damned! Here I've been hearing a lot about a Tony Cer- 
 mak over on the West Side, and never dreamed it was the 
 same kid I had for a pupil in the Braidwood school !" 
 
 The two warmed up to each other immediately. 
 
 "And what can I be doing for you?" asked Brennan. 
 
 "I'd like to run for the Legislature," said the young 
 Cermak. 
 
 Brennan chewed on his cigar. He hummed and he 
 hawed. He didn't know. He wasn't sure. After all, he 
 protested, he was not the boss. "Sullivan was. And you 
 know how a lot of things are in politics." 
 
 30 
 
THE RISING STATESMAN 
 
 Cermak left the meeting without knowing if he had 
 accomplished anything by his bearding of Brennan. But 
 when the time came around some months later, young 
 Cermak was among the Democrats slated for the State 
 Assembly. At that time, Cermak's legislative district was 
 rated as Republican. A Democratic candidate was not 
 given much of a chance. But the dopesters failed to count 
 upon the hundreds of friends, particularly among the Bo- 
 hemians, who predominated, that the young teaming con- 
 tractor had. 
 
 Cermak went to the Legislature, one of the youngest 
 ever to sit as a State Representative. And at the next 
 election he was returned with an even larger vote. It 
 was the same story in 1906 and again in 1908. 
 
 Not many sessions passed before the other members of 
 the Legislature began to look with respect upon the young 
 representative from Chicago's West Side. He knew what 
 he was about. He learned how to get things done, how to 
 get bills safely past committees — and how to keep them 
 safely in committees. Cermak, the political strategist, 
 was developing. 
 
 Prohibition was still many years in the future, but 
 even at this time Cermak was emerging as a leader of 
 the liberals, leading the battle against the forces who 
 
 31 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 sought to restrict men's drinking privileges. Bill after 
 bill was introduced with the purpose of closing the saloons 
 and hampering the sale of beer and other beverages in 
 other ways. 
 
 Cermak was as well aware of the evils in the abuses in 
 liquor as any man. But he knew the pleasure that the 
 working man, the foreign-born American particularly, de- 
 rived from a stein of beer. He knew what it meant to a 
 man to be able to go into a corner saloon and spend an 
 enjoyable evening over beer mugs with his fellows. So, 
 from the beginning he fought the prohibition forces in the 
 Legislature, raising the banner of personal liberty years 
 before other politicians had the courage to withstand the 
 pressure of the dry and so-called reform elements. 
 
 As a leader of the famed United Societies, he led the 
 fight against the Illinois Prohibition Laws. That fight 
 was lost, but Cermak never gave up. Just before his 
 death, those laws were repealed by the State Legislature 
 of 1933, many members of which recognized Cermak as 
 their leader. To most there was a marked touch of sadness 
 in the fact that an assassin's bullet cut down Cermak be- 
 fore he could see, not only the State, but also the National, 
 prohibition laws amended. He had given so much of his 
 energy toward that end. 
 
 32 
 
THE RISING STATESMAN 
 
 Some men are content to remain in the State Legisla- 
 ture all their lives, their constituents permitting. But 
 Cermak wanted more power, more action. His real in- 
 terest was in the affairs of Chicago rather than in the 
 state as a whole. Thus, after four terms at Springfield, 
 he grabbed at the opportunity of running for alderman 
 in 1909. The ward was still Republican and Cermak had 
 a sitting Republican alderman to beat. It was a tough 
 assignment, but he did it. And the following two years 
 he was re-elected. 
 
 To the city council Cermak brought a practical vision 
 and a level-headedness that at once made him a conspicu- 
 ous member, just as he was in the State Legislature. Dur- 
 ing his service in the city council he learned much about 
 the workings of the city government that was to stand 
 him — and Chicago, in such good stead when not many 
 years later he was to preside over that same council as 
 Mayor. That Mayor Cermak possessed a knowledge of 
 municipal affairs that few mayors had, was one reason 
 for his unusual achievements. 
 
 In 1912, Cermak added his first executive office to his 
 career. This was Bailiff of the Municipal Court of Chi- 
 cago, one of the important local offices. Occupying a 
 post which gave him control over a number of city em- 
 ployes, he was now looming as a power in the councils of 
 
 33 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 his party, although to be sure he was still far from being 
 a "big fellow." 
 
 The fact that as Bailiff, Cermak had the duty of carry- 
 ing out eviction orders brought out the characteristic of 
 brotherly sympathy which he had in good measure. It 
 was not in Cermak to put a family out on the street be- 
 cause a judge ordered him to perform this duty, and let it 
 go at that. On his own initiative, he would see that the un- 
 happy family was cared for and had shelter. Many times 
 that meant digging into his own pocket. Cermak was not 
 one to boast of these incidents, but it is known that he 
 helped hundreds of families in this manner. 
 
 When the number of evictions grew so that it was im- 
 possible for him to personally help all, he met this prob- 
 lem with characteristic resourcefulness. He organized 
 the Bailiffs' Benevolent Association of Chicago, which ex- 
 ists to this day. A number of citizens contributed to a 
 fund for the aid of evicted families, and financial assist- 
 ance was distributed under Cermak's direction in a sys- 
 tematic, although sympathetic, manner. In 1919 he went 
 back to the city council as alderman, serving two more 
 terms. 
 
 Up to this time, Cermak as yet had no real oppor- 
 tunity to reveal his great capacity for administrative work. 
 
 34 
 
THE RISING STATESMAN 
 
 the executive ability which in his private life steadily 
 pulled him up from poverty to comparative riches. That 
 chance came when in 1922 his party designated him as 
 candidate for President of the Cook County Board of 
 Commissioners. Again, Cermak won the office by a large 
 majority — the first time he was voted on by citizens out- 
 side his own neighborhood. 
 
 The Presidency of the Cook County Board is a job 
 nearly as important in Chicago's civic life as that of 
 mayor. The county's financial budget is nearly as large 
 as the city's. There is a large school system, comparable 
 to the city educational system. The County Board ad- 
 ministers large welfare institutions such as the Cook 
 County Hospital, the old people's homes, the homes for 
 the poor and the relief agencies. In addition, the county 
 has jurisdiction over widespread recreational grounds, no 
 less important than the city park system. Administration 
 of the jail and Criminal Court agencies come within the 
 duties of the county government. 
 
 Even the political enemies of Cermak were forced to 
 view with admiration the record he made as President of 
 the Cook County Board, At a time when other govern- 
 mental agencies, particularly the city government, were 
 causing tax burdens on property owners to rise steadily, 
 
 35 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 Cermak actually decreased county taxes. At the same 
 time he was broadening the activities of the county gov- 
 ernment, increasing its efficiency and giving the taxpayers 
 more than they had ever gotten before for their money. 
 The county institutions, such as the hospital and the poor 
 farms, were raised by Cermak to among the finest in the 
 country. The unfortunates cared for in the institutions — 
 and the taxpayers — profited by the administrative and 
 humanitarian wonders worked by him and under his per- 
 sonal direction. 
 
 Practical as he was, Cermak had vision, coupled with 
 a clear understanding of the life of the millions of people, 
 common people, within Cook County. One of his realized 
 dreams was the establishment of restful havens and play- 
 grounds within reach of the ordinary citizen, so that the 
 toiling masses could find surcease from the grime and 
 strain of metropolitan existence. The well-to-do could 
 live along the lake-bound North Shore, where forests were 
 private property. The comfortably fixed could pile into 
 their automobiles and drive into the Wisconsin woods. 
 But the residents on the West Side, the men and women 
 and children in the poorer districts, the neighbors he never 
 forgot, had no such advantages. 
 
 As President of the Cook County Board, Cermak saw 
 
 36 
 
THE RISING STATESMAN 
 
 and seized the opportunity to create and preserve for the 
 masses — within easy access from their homes — a vast 
 wooded territory which would be the "people's play- 
 ground" in every sense. The great recreational system 
 known as the Cook County Forest Preserves, which skirts 
 Chicagoland to the West and Southwest, was the result. 
 That these expanses of shrubbery and grass and sheltering 
 trees should be kept in perpetuity for the common men 
 and women, and their children, was Cermak's goal. 
 
 Under his direction, the county purchased hundreds of 
 acres of forest land, all within walking distance from street 
 car lines. Shelter houses were erected. Picnic grounds 
 were cleared and equipped with tables, benches and fire- 
 places. Swimming pools were constructed for the young- 
 sters and recreation building erected. Golf courses were 
 laid out. Thus Chicago's underprivileged, the masses from 
 which Cermak himself sprang, came into "country clubs" 
 all their own. No monument of marble or stone could be a 
 greater memorial to Cermak than this people's playground 
 which he developed. Every Summer season, thousands 
 upon thousands of Chicagoans find rest and wholesome 
 pleasure in these woodland preserves. Young Chicagoans 
 — future mayors, perhaps — play ball on green fields, fish 
 by shaded brooks, "duck" each other in clean pools. Par- 
 ents of all nationalities and creeds and trades find ref resh- 
 
 37 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 ment there from hard city toil. Laughter echoes through 
 the trees. A life never before open to millions of Chi- 
 cagoans is now theirs — thanks to Cermak. 
 
 While engaged in developing the Forest Preserve Cer- 
 mak established a custom which marked a new departure 
 in municipal government, distinguished him as a public 
 official of superior type and helped win for him even 
 greater confidence on the part of the citizenry of Cook 
 County. This was the formation of a "citizens' commit- 
 tee" to advise with him on administrative problems. A 
 Democrat, he selected as chairman of the "Citizens' Forest 
 Preserve Advisory Committee" a leading Republican 
 business man. Other Republicans served on the com- 
 mittee. In all his acts relating to the Forest Preserves, 
 he consulted with this committee of representative men 
 and women. He sought and received their advice. More 
 important, he received their support when he went to the 
 people for approval of bond issues necessary to develop- 
 ment of the recreational system. 
 
 Here was a new note in Chicago politics. It was in- 
 stantly recognized by the citizens as an indication that in 
 Cermak they had a public official who placed public wel- 
 fare and the public interest first. When he became Mayor 
 of Chicago, one of Cermak 's first acts was the appoint- 
 
THE RISING STATESMAN 
 
 ment of a similar committee of representative citizens to 
 advise with him on all municipal problems. It was a step 
 calculated to win for him the confidence of all groups in 
 the city, all-important in view of the desperate condition 
 of the city's finances. And it did just that. Chicago had 
 reason to believe that in its period of crisis — the years 
 from 1931 to 1933 being no less a period of crisis for Chi- 
 cago than that of the Great Fire — it had in the Mayor's 
 chair a man superbly equipped for the job at hand. 
 
 Before Cermak's memorable and overwhelming elec- 
 tion as Mayor of Chicago, he was to make an unsuccessful 
 campaign for United States Senator from Illinois. This 
 was in 1927 — a bad year for a Democrat to seek a na- 
 tional office, particularly in a state as historically Repub- 
 lican as Illinois was. George Brennan, then "boss" of the 
 Democratic organization in Cook County, was to have 
 made the race for Senator, but was stricken fatally before 
 the time came. 
 
 None of the surviving leaders of the party cared to 
 be the candidate. It had been years since Illinois had 
 elected a Democrat to the United States Senate. And 
 1928, the peak of "Coolidge prosperity," was obviously 
 not the time for an upset. It took no Warwick to make 
 that diagnosis. 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 Yet, the Democrats had to put up a candidate. Not 
 just any candidate, either, but one who could command 
 the confidence of large numbers of persons and fill the 
 office capably if, by some miracle, elected. But who would 
 make the sacrifice — for sacrifice it was — and endure the 
 physical punishment that a state- wide campaign entails? 
 One after another, the available men declined, offered 
 excuses of this and that. 
 
 Then, once more, up spoke "Tony" Cermak: 
 
 'Til do it!" 
 
 While destined to end in failure — and Cermak had 
 none of the illusions that a less shrewd candidate might 
 have had on that score — the campaign he waged for the 
 Senatorship was one of the most notable in the political 
 history of Illinois. Cermak knew he couldn't be elected, 
 not in a Republican year, but the Republicans were not 
 so sure after he went into action. For one thing, his oppo- 
 nents preferred to talk of other things besides prohibition, 
 particularly in metropolitan Chicago where anti-prohibi- 
 tion sentiment was strong. And Cermak liked nothing 
 better than to hit at prohibition with both fists. 
 
 All through the State he went, carrying high the ban- 
 ner of personal liberty, assailing the forces that saddled 
 
 40 
 
THE RISING STATESMAN 
 
 the Eighteenth Amendment on the nation. Nor did he 
 compromise with this principle while campaigning in 
 "dry" districts of the State, of which there were many 
 outside Chicago. Unlike many politicians who talked 
 "dry" to "drys"' and "wet" to "wets," Cermak talked 
 "wet" to all, and, whether they agreed or not, his listeners 
 admired him for his courage. 
 
 As was expected, Cermak was defeated in the Hoover 
 landslide. But his campaign efforts were not lost. The 
 gains which he made revealed that with intensive efforts, 
 with real organization, Illinois could be carried for the 
 Senatorship by a Democrat. This was proved two years 
 later in the election of Senator James Hamilton Lewis, 
 who obviously profited from seeds sown by Cermak in the 
 1927 campaign. And it was demonstrated more con- 
 clusively than ever in 1932 when Cermak was in supreme 
 command of the Illinois Democracy. 
 
 A few months after his Senatorial campaign, Cermak 
 suffered the first real tragedy of his life. Mary Cermak, 
 his wife, mother of his three daughters and constant help- 
 mate, died after a long illness. 
 
 He never really recovered from his grief. But Chi- 
 cago profited through his tragic loss, for more than ever 
 he threw himself into efforts to serve his city, working as 
 few men can. 
 
 41 
 
"Big Bill" and "Tony Boloney" 
 
Chapter III 
 "BIG BILL" AND "TONY BOLONEY" 
 
 April 7th, 1931, may well go down in the history of 
 Chicago as the date of the city's "redemption." Redemp- 
 tion from forces which were making Chicago a byword of 
 derision the world over. Redemption from elements which 
 were causing the world to refer to Chicago as the "crime 
 capital" and "gangster city." It was the date when Anton 
 Joseph Cermak, the Bohemian-born former mine boy, was 
 elected Mayor of the second largest metropolis in the 
 United States. 
 
 Of course, Chicago was not the only city, in either the 
 United States or the world, that had sinister elements in 
 its midst. The liquor gangsters, the racketeers, the 
 crooked politicians and the corrupt police officials were 
 not Chicago "products" and Chicago had no monopoly 
 on them. But the city did have more than its share. And 
 it did have the most notorious gangsters, notably Capone 
 and his henchmen. 
 
 Gang murders, kidnapings, bombings had happened 
 so frequently that the average Chicagoan began to take 
 
 45 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 reports of them in the newspapers as ordinary news. 
 Racketeers began making inroads on legitimate business, 
 imposing by strong-arm methods extra-legal taxes on 
 trade. The business community groaned under the ex- 
 tortion, but appeared helpless. 
 
 Rumors of corruption at the City Hall filled the at- 
 mosphere. There were, indeed, indictments and even con- 
 victions of public officials. The expenditure of public 
 funds increased by leaps and bounds. While prosperity 
 continued, there were only a few voices raised at the 
 mounting budgets and tax rates. Civic morale was at low 
 ebb. Chicago was drifting. Protesters were shouted 
 down as "reformers." 
 
 But Chicago was due for an awakening. Two hap- 
 penings hastened its coming. The first was the murder 
 in the Illinois Central railroad station tunnel of a reporter 
 for the Chicago Tribune, Alfred ("Jake") Lingle. Not 
 even the murder of seven men at one time in a North Side 
 garage on the St. Valentine's Day of 1927 had the forti- 
 fying effect that this outrage had on the city. 
 
 The murder of the newspaper man forced Chicago to 
 take stock. The citizenry arose as one man and called for 
 a cleanup in the city's crime situation. In no uncertain 
 terms, demand was made for a final and definite separa- 
 tion of alliances between politicians and gangsters, police 
 
 46 
 
"BIG BILL" AND "TONY BOLONEY" 
 
 and criminals. The inability of the city government to 
 cope with the crime problem was brought into bold relief. 
 The Lingle murder was an effective lesson to Chicago. 
 
 The other happening was the stock market collapse 
 of 1929, herald of the depression to come. With the 
 stocks, incomes fell. Rents declined. Property owners 
 faced ruin — particularly unless their tax burdens were de- 
 creased. And the only way taxes could be decreased was 
 by cutting the costs of government. 
 
 Here was a man's job. Who was the man? 
 
 Chicago's two main governments, city and county, are 
 housed in the same building. Separated only by corridors 
 were the city and county offices. But close as they were 
 physically, the two governments were miles apart by other 
 standards. 
 
 While the city's financial credit was slipping, the 
 county's was never in better shape. While the city's taxes 
 were mounting, the county's were decreasing, or at least 
 remaining constant. While inefficiency in city adminis- 
 tration was becoming notorious, business-like procedure 
 governed in the county offices. While the Mayor of Chi- 
 cago was away on boat trips and other expeditions, so that 
 it was deemed unusual for him to occupy his office, the 
 
 47 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 President of the County Board was on the job, working 
 overtime more times than not. 
 
 The contrasts were so marked that the citizens of Chi- 
 cago, as the time for the mayoralty election of 1931 drew 
 near, began to watch the President of the County Board 
 — Cermak — more closely. They liked the way he tackled 
 the county's problems and solved them. 
 
 Hence, when the Democratic organization nominated 
 Anton Joseph Cermak for the office of Mayor, there was 
 immediate favorable response on the part of the public. 
 Men and women of independent political thought rallied 
 to his support. Business leaders, college professors, 
 women's clubs' leaders joined with the "men on the street" 
 in the work of electing Cermak mayor. 
 
 Cermak's opponent was William Hale Thompson, 
 otherwise "Big Bill, the Builder," who was then mayor 
 and had been mayor three terms previously. A master 
 showman, keen political psychologist, clever strategist, 
 Thompson was no easy opponent to overcome — not even 
 with the poor condition of the city in Cermak's favor. 
 
 It was a memorable campaign, probably the last of its 
 kind that Chicago will ever see. Giant opposites were 
 arrayed against each other; the master of arousing crowd 
 
 48 
 
BIG BILL" AND "TONY BOLONEY 3 
 
 emotions against the master of hard facts. Thompson 
 dispensed ballyhoo; Cermak, arguments. Thompson 
 talked of "America First" and assailed the League of Na- 
 tions. Cermak talked of municipal finances, high taxes, 
 efficiency in government. It was a war between intellect 
 and emotion. 
 
 Thompson might even have won that election had he 
 not made one serious mistake in campaign tactics. His 
 "America First" platform was a subtle dig at the fact that 
 Cermak was foreign born. But Thompson, as he became 
 desperate, dropped subtlety and openly sneered at the 
 former mine boy's nationality. He referred to Cermak as 
 "Tony Boloney" and attempted to belittle his opponent 
 with songs about "Tony, where's your push-cart at?" 
 
 While the crowds that attended these political circuses 
 laughed at these sneers at Cermak's nationality, Thomp- 
 son had failed to consider that when he poked fun at the 
 name Cermak, he was also poking fun at all except purely 
 Anglo-Saxon names. And such names were borne by 
 hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans who would pour out 
 to vote on election day. 
 
 And these Chicagoans resented Thompson's tactics. 
 They felt an un-American issue had been injected into 
 the mayoralty campaign. It was not only the people of 
 
 49 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 Cermak's nationality, of whom there are many thousands 
 in Chicago, who felt this way. The Poles and the Rus- 
 sians and the Italians vowed vengeance at the polls. Like- 
 wise the Jewish citizens, and even a large number of Ger- 
 mans, whose solid vote Thompson was in the habit of 
 counting on because of his stand before America entered 
 the world war. Thompson actually made thousands of 
 votes for Cermak. 
 
 Throughout this type of campaign on the part of his 
 opponent, Cermak never lost his characteristic dignity. 
 Some of his advisors at times counseled that he return the 
 Thompson tactics in kind, but Cermak overruled them. 
 He put his trust in facts — and in organization. The louder 
 Thompson became, the harder Cermak pounded at facts 
 and at the work of getting his organization to function at 
 top speed. Most candidates for high office are content to 
 be just candidates and leave the organization work to 
 others. But Cermak was not. He had a hand in the 
 organization work, too, pushing the buttons and pulling 
 the levers that make a political machine function effec- 
 tively. Cermak the Leader was beginning to emerge. 
 
 The result was an overwhelming victory for Cermak. 
 The whole nation had watched that election battle. In- 
 deed, the whole world had. Whether rightly or wrongly, 
 
 50 
 
BIG BILL" AND 'TONY BOLONEY' 
 
 the judgment of the world was that victory for Cermak 
 meant that Chicago was prepared to put its house in order. 
 
 In the tiny town of Kladno, where Cermak was born 
 and where his father had worked as a coal miner, a public 
 celebration was held. 
 
 Over on the West Side of Chicago, the thousands of 
 foreign-born citizens felt a new sense of patriotism and 
 loyalty. Chicago, a "melting pot" as great as New York, 
 had elected its first foreign-born mayor. 
 
 51 
 
In the Mayor's Chair 
 
Chapter IV 
 IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 
 
 On assuming the position of Mayor of Chicago, Anton 
 Cermak inherited a state of affairs that would have paled 
 a less capable and strong executive. 
 
 There was little or no proper morale among most of 
 the city employes. Only a few were in the habit of giving 
 a full day's service for a full day's pay. Cermak was faced 
 with the task of rebuilding virtually every department in 
 order to give the service to the citizens which he insisted 
 upon. 
 
 Worse than that, he found the city's treasury in a hope- 
 less position. 
 
 "I knew," he said some months later, "that the city 
 was in bad shape financially. But I never dreamed that 
 it was entirely broke, flat broke. Hardly a nickel was 
 left." 
 
 He found that not only was the corporate treasury 
 virtually bare, but the city was in debt for millions of dol- 
 
 55 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 lars. In addition, various funds such as the policemen 
 and firemen's pension funds and the traction fund, to be 
 used for building a subway, were virtually gone, I. O. U.'s 
 in their place. The I. O. U.'s were legal — but they were 
 not money. 
 
 What made the situation even more serious was that 
 the city's two sources of revenue for operating — credit and 
 tax payments — were about dried up. The bankers, who 
 already held millions of dollars' worth of city paper, re- 
 fused to buy more. And thousands of taxpayers were con- 
 testing their assessments, meanwhile refusing to pay any 
 of their taxes. No mayor in the whole history of Chicago 
 ever faced so serious a problem. 
 
 Cermak faced it — resolutely and with courage that 
 defied defeat. All his tremendous energy was thrown 
 into the task of rescuing Chicago, not only from its finan- 
 cial muddle, but from its crime state as well. Many times, 
 at midnight, a light burned on the fifth floor of the City 
 Hall. Chicago's mayor, who knew how to work, was at 
 his job, not infrequently sixteen hours and more a day. 
 
 One thing stood out clearly in Mayor Cermak's mind. 
 This was that expenses of the city had to be cut, not here 
 and there, nor in driblets "to make a showing," but dras- 
 tically. Millions, not thousands, had to be saved. Cermak 
 
 56 
 
IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 
 
 set out to save them — and succeeded. In the first nine 
 months of his term, from April through December, he 
 saved the city eight millions of dollars. As he went along, 
 he accomplished even greater savings until the cost of run- 
 ning Chicago under his administration was $1,500,000 a 
 month less than under the administration of his prede- 
 cessor. 
 
 Miracle of miracles — for Chicago — the city was being 
 run more efficiently, the taxpayers were getting more for 
 their investment in the government, although the cost of 
 government was much less. Cermak was at the helm! 
 City employes were now actually working, not loafing. 
 They had been ordered to either give real service or receive 
 the "axe" — and they gave the service. Cermak himself 
 set the pace. 
 
 By April, 1932, the whole Chicago picture had been 
 changed. Within one year, Cermak had restored Chi- 
 cago's credit to such an extent that the bankers again were 
 willing to loan the city funds for operating until taxes 
 began coming in. Moreover, that part of the world that 
 had become accustomed to looking down upon Chicago 
 scornfully, began to look up to her with respect. Efficient, 
 economical government became the demand throughout 
 the nation — and Chicago, under Cermak, was leading the 
 way. 
 
 57 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 Thus, the Syracuse, New York, Herald remarked 
 editorially a year after Cermak became mayor : 
 
 "They call it the capital of gangdom, but actually Chi- 
 cago is the capital of American hope. Watch the town. 
 For all its Page One lawlessness it may play an important 
 part in leading the country out of its present difficulties." 
 
 But Mayor Cermak 's efforts at putting the Chicago 
 city government back on its feet did not meet with praise 
 from all quarters. He made enemies, many of them, as 
 any public official who seeks to do his duty, particularly 
 the unpleasant duty of keeping expenditures down, must. 
 Thousands expected to get political jobs under Cermak. 
 Many of these according to the rules of the game were 
 entitled to jobs. But new rules had to be made to fit the 
 circumstances. And Cermak, politician though he was, 
 made the new rules. He informed his organization that 
 there would be no soft jobs and not as many jobs. Ordi- 
 narily, this would have meant political suicide — but Cer- 
 mak gained in power rather than lost. 
 
 For one thing, Cermak saw to it that he kept the con- 
 fidence of the public. Without that he realized his efforts 
 would fail. Therefore, from the beginning he had a citi- 
 zens' committee, composed of leading men and women 
 of the city of both parties. He had learned the value of 
 
 58 
 
IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 
 
 this while President of the County Board. Nor did he per- 
 mit the committee to be a mere paper affair. Real prob- 
 lems were put up to its members and they worked with 
 the mayor. When the time came to push through a pro- 
 gram, either in the city council or in the legislature, the 
 support of this group proved invaluable. 
 
 In addition, Mayor Cermak inaugurated a series of 
 radio programs, by which he went directly to the people, 
 discussing with them the problems he faced and how he 
 intended to solve them. Heads of various departments, 
 at his direction, also talked over the radio about their indi- 
 vidual problems. Thus the people knew what Cermak 
 was doing — and backed him up. It is noteworthy that 
 President Roosevelt has made similar use of the radio for 
 keeping the confidence of the people in his administration 
 of national affairs. 
 
 It is hardly possible to exaggerate the amount of will 
 power Mayor Cermak had to exert in behalf of his econ- 
 omy program. The depression was having its effect in no 
 uncertain fashion on Chicago. Jobs began to become 
 scarce. Business was falling off. That meant more than 
 ever "deserving" Democrats were looking for jobs with 
 the city. Not just precinct captains, but men important 
 politically brought tremendous pressure upon the Mayor. 
 
 59 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 That he was able to resist most of this pressure re- 
 vealed that Cermak was Mayor first and a Democrat sec- 
 ond. Luckily, for Chicago he was now by dint of his per- 
 sonal character and personal following, emerging as the 
 real head of his party — thus was in a position to with- 
 stand the avalanche of requests and demands for political 
 appointments. Every time he refused to make an addi- 
 tion to the city payroll, he was making enemies and losing 
 future votes. Cermak knew that. 
 
 "I know I'm hurting myself politically," he said once. 
 "But I've got to do this. The city just hasn't the money." 
 
 Cermak attacked the crime problem by making the 
 police department function as it never had before. Al- 
 though he was forced to cut down the size of the force, 
 Cermak actually had more uniformed men on the streets. 
 He did this by ordering a drastic reduction in the number 
 of "desk" and other "inside" jobs on the police force. The 
 result was that Chicago suffered from less crime — despite 
 the amount of unemployment and distress in the city. 
 
 While cutting out numerous jobs in the city payroll, 
 Cermak acted intelligently and with sympathy. The 
 fad and frill jobs were the first to go, necessary functions 
 being maintained when at all possible. From some quar- 
 ters there came demands upon him to discharge nearly 
 
 60 
 
IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 
 
 3,000 men and women at one time in order to save a cer- 
 tain percent of the budget. However, Cermak resisted 
 the pressure for this wholesale slaughter of city employes 
 and worked out a plan whereby all employes sacrificed 
 seventy-eight days' pay a year. Under that plan every- 
 body was happy — and the desired saving achieved. It 
 goes without saying that Cermak eliminated devices and 
 schemes by which Chicago's treasury had been milked 
 in former years. For example, the so-called "real estate 
 experts," who had been employed in former administra- 
 tions at fabulous fees for work that was more invisible 
 than real, disappeared entirely. 
 
 The problem of the payless paydays for city employes 
 was the most discouraging of all. No man in Chicago felt 
 more keenly the distress that this situation occasioned 
 among the honest municipal employes. And no one worked 
 harder to bring them relief than did Cermak. It was not 
 yet solved at his death, but there was reason to believe 
 it was then near solution. 
 
 Political enemies would taunt the Mayor on the fact 
 that employes were paid regularly under Thompson. 
 
 "Sure they were," admitted Mayor Cermak. "But 
 how? When the bankers shut down on loans, he dipped 
 
 61 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 into the various funds, leaving I. O. U.'s. Well, those 
 funds haven't anything else in them now." 
 
 This statement stopped further comment. There 
 wasn't much answer to that. 
 
 Although legally it was not his responsibility, and 
 despite the fact that he had enough problems that were 
 his, Mayor Cermak nevertheless also shouldered the spe- 
 cial problem of the payless paydays for Chicago's school 
 teachers. Even some Chicagoans to this day may be sur- 
 prised to know that paying the school teachers was not 
 up to the Mayor. As a matter of fact, a great many 
 of the teachers themselves did not know this — and a num- 
 ber unthinkingly blamed Mayor Cermak because they 
 went without pay. The true situation was that Mayor 
 Cermak was laboring unceasingly, to the extent of endan- 
 gering his health, to help the teachers. 
 
 The school pay problem was not Cermak 's, because 
 the board of education is a separate government body in- 
 dependent of the city. While the Mayor appoints the 
 members of the board, they serve terms that overlap 
 mayoralty elections. At that time the school board mem- 
 bership was dominated by Thompson appointees, who 
 were not anxious to cooperate with the Democratic city 
 
 62 
 
IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 
 
 administration. There was opposition to Cermak's econ- 
 omy program in school affairs. 
 
 Because he knew the general public held him re- 
 sponsible for the situation in school finances, Cermak 
 asked the Thompson appointees to resign, that he might 
 install members of his own choice who would carry out 
 his policies. The Thompson men refused. Because the 
 school board balked at economy proposals, the banks re- 
 fused to purchase its paper which would have made pos- 
 sible salary payments to the school employes. 
 
 Cermak could have washed his hands of the problem. 
 He had trouble enough of his own. But he didn't. It 
 grieved him that Chicago's school teachers were going un- 
 paid for months at a time. Hence, each time he was able 
 to scrape up sufficient cash to permit a payday for the 
 city employes, Cermak ordered that the money be divided 
 so that the teachers might also be paid. This was done 
 by having the city buy the school board paper that the 
 banks refused. Many persons advised Cermak against 
 using the city money to pay the teachers unless the Re- 
 publican school trustees resigned. But it was not in 
 Cermak's character to make the teachers suffer for po- 
 litical stubbornness on the part of a few men. 
 
 To the day of his death, the plight of the teachers, 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 as well as of the city employes, weighed on Cermak. 
 Indeed, it was to obtain help from the federal government 
 for them that caused him to go to Florida to meet with 
 President Roosevelt — and to his death. Teachers, some 
 of whom had attacked him while he lived, acknowledged 
 their great debt to him by public resolutions passed as 
 he lay on his deathbed in Miami. 
 
 Few mayors have worked at their job as hard as 
 Cermak did. Not in the best of health, anyway, in his 
 later years, he was continually warned by his associates 
 to take things easier. But he couldn't — not while Chi- 
 cago still had serious financial problems to be solved. On 
 top of everything else, Cermak insisted on presiding over 
 every meeting of the city council, a custom which pre- 
 vious mayors had abandoned more or less. Cermak be- 
 lieved it his duty — and did it religiously. 
 
 But what his friends feared — a breakdown — came in 
 the summer of 1932 after the Mayor had gone through 
 the strenuous activity attending the state primary elec- 
 tion and then the Democratic national convention in Chi- 
 cago which nominated Franklin D. Boose velt and in 
 which he played a leading role, both as official host and as 
 Democratic national committeeman of Illinois. After a 
 period of confinement in a hospital, his doctors and friends 
 finally persuaded him to go abroad for six weeks to rest. 
 
 64 
 
IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 
 
 But even while abroad, Cermak couldn't keep from 
 working. He selected two jobs for himself. The first 
 was to counteract the impression in Europe that Chicago 
 is a city of gangsters and none else. The second was to 
 act as "salesman" for the Century of Progress Exposi- 
 tion, of which he so proudly expected to be official host. 
 His fame as an administrator had preceded him, and he 
 was given rousing ovations in the capital cities of the old 
 world. The celebration that pleased him most was the 
 one given him in the tiny town of Kladno, his birthplace 
 and that of his father and mother. The entire town turned 
 out to greet its most distinguished son. It was one of 
 Cermak's happiest moments. 
 
 Refreshed by his European sojourn, Cermak returned 
 to Chicago to receive a civic welcome that exceeded, in 
 enthusiasm and in the size of the throngs, almost any 
 similar event in the history of the city. It was estimated 
 that more than two hundred thousand Chicagoans lined 
 the streets to greet him "hello." A huge parade followed 
 the car that carried him through the cheering throngs 
 from the railroad station to the City Hall. Deeply moved, 
 although not an emotional man, he delivered an address 
 of optimistic tone to a huge gathering on the LaSalle 
 Street side of the City Hall. He said afterward that this 
 welcome amply repaid him for the worry and concern 
 
 65 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 which the city's onerous financial problems caused him. 
 
 Firm in his conviction that he could find the solutions 
 to those problems, he set to work with renewed vigor. 
 That he would have solved them had he been spared from 
 an assassin's bullet, his friends were convinced. 
 
 How well he grappled with those problems is indi- 
 cated by a statement of the "Citizens Committee on Pub- 
 lic Expenditures," Fred W. Sargent, president of the 
 Northwestern Railroad, chairman. It was : 
 
 "Since he took office, Anton J. Cermak endeavored 
 with all his force to bring order out of the chaotic condi- 
 tions that had existed in our city. His efforts and those 
 of his department heads, aided by the city council, have 
 brought very definite and beneficial results. Aside from 
 an increase in the efficiency of government, Mayor Cer- 
 mak, to meet this period of financial and economic stress, 
 had caused to be made substantial reductions in the cost 
 of government. This is and will continue to be of vital 
 importance to the taxpayers." 
 
 That Mayor Cermak succeeded in erasing from the 
 minds of non-Chicagoans the belief that it is not safe 
 to come to Chicago is indicated by one simple but signi- 
 ficant fact. Before he became mayor, Chicago was sixth 
 among convention cities. At his death, it was first. 
 
 66 
 
"Boss" Cermak 
 
Chapter V 
 'BOSS" CERMAK 
 
 Chicago has had a number of men who could qualify 
 for the label political "boss." Most powerful were the 
 Democratic "bosses." There was Roger Sullivan, great- 
 est of his time. Then "Boss" George Brennan, who ruled 
 through his genial ability to get along with the "boys." 
 Both, of course, were Irishmen. The large cities of the 
 United States have been accustomed to seeing sons of 
 Erin climb to the posts of political overlordship. It re- 
 mained for Cermak, native of Kladno, Czechoslovakia, 
 to be the most powerful Chicago "boss" of them all. 
 
 Whether Cermak would have increased his power, ex- 
 tending it nationally, or whether he was at his peak, will 
 never be known. The fact remains that just before his 
 death he had more power, wielded greater political in- 
 fluence than any man in the history of Illinois. Not only 
 was he Mayor, in his own right, of Chicago, a city of 
 more than three million. He virtually controlled with 
 dictatorial power the Chicago city council. He named 
 and elected United States senators and congressmen. He 
 
 69 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 named the Governor of Illinois. A good portion of the 
 Illinois State Legislature, in which he had served as a 
 greenhorn hardly more than twenty years before, acknowl- 
 edged him as leader. Moreover, he controlled many of 
 the Cook County officials and was soon to have extended 
 his influence among federal officials. 
 
 In many ways, Cermak was the "ideal" political boss — 
 if a political boss under a democracy can be called ideal. 
 While other bosses frequently ignored the real bosses, 
 the citizens, Cermak definitely sought public favor. At 
 no time in his career can it be said that he acted on a 
 policy of the "public be damned," which many other 
 bosses have followed. There was in him a subtle com- 
 bination of the principles of Mussolini and of Jefferson. 
 
 Cermak took over the reins of the Democratic organ- 
 ization in Cook County gradually and naturally. Fol- 
 lowing the death of Brennan, a group conducted the 
 affairs of the party. They represented a number of na- 
 tionalities and faiths, the Irish Catholics predominating. 
 It was expected that out of the inner struggle for per- 
 sonal power that was bound to be waged another Irish- 
 man would emerge as the recognized leader. Instead, 
 the leader was the Bohemian, Cermak. 
 
 A number of reasons may be given to explain Cer- 
 
 70 
 
"BOSS" CERMAK 
 
 mak's ascendancy to the thrones heretofore occupied by 
 the Brennans and the Sullivans. Some would have to 
 do with his personal characteristics. Well-built, not un- 
 attractive in appearance, he had the physique, the per- 
 sonality and the carriage that stood out, dominated. Like 
 most successful men in politics, he talked little, but when 
 he did talk he knew whereof he spoke and, when necessary, 
 could shout down the loudest. Other reasons would have 
 to do with his large personal following among the Bohe- 
 mians. It is no exaggeration to say that he "carried in 
 his pocket" at least 100,000 votes — no unimportant item 
 in a political organization. Still other reasons might have 
 to do with his policy of retaining, personally, positions 
 of power. Thus, while most political leaders are content 
 to name others to offices, remaining in the background 
 themselves, Cermak believed in holding office himself. 
 It meant more work and from some viewpoints it was 
 riskier, but it was wiser. In line with this, even after he 
 became Mayor, he retained the post of ward committee- 
 man and later obtained for himself the post of national 
 committeeman. 
 
 But probably the most potent reason for Cermak's rise 
 to power was his understanding of the part nationalities 
 can play in a political organization. Member of a mi- 
 nority nationality himself, Cermak realized that if most 
 
 71 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 of the minority groups, the Bohemians, the Poles, the 
 Germans, the Russians, the Greeks, the Irish, etc., could 
 be marshaled under one banner, the most powerful, nu- 
 merically, political organization in Chicago would result. 
 Past leaders of the Democratic organization had placed 
 greatest emphasis on the Irish. In former years this was 
 probably the correct position. It remained for Cermak, 
 however, to see that greater strength lay in catering more 
 to si combination of other national groups. 
 
 When in power, Cermak placed his policy into action 
 by causing nearly all candidates for office and prospec- 
 tive jobholders to pass the "nationality test." In other 
 words, a man was slated for an elective position not 
 merely for personal reasons, but because he was calculated 
 to draw to the whole ticket 50,000 Polish votes or 25,000 
 Italian votes, as the case might be. Every county and 
 state ticket with which Cermak had to do was built along 
 those lines. The most successful state and county ticket 
 in the history of Illinois Democracy — that of November, 
 1932 — was practically perfect in balance according to 
 nationalities. Virtually every national minority was rep- 
 resented. Such a system may not always place the best 
 men in office, but it did win elections which, to the organ- 
 ization, is the important thing. 
 
 By applying this method, Cermak became one of the 
 
 72 
 
BOSS" CERMAK 
 
 fairest of party dictators. Holding in most cases to the 
 nationality test, not excluding, however, other tests, he 
 rarely permitted purely personal reasons to decide whe- 
 ther or not a certain individual was or was not to be a 
 candidate. Thus, while he may not have had affection 
 for John Doe, if he knew Doe could swing a good number 
 of voters the party's way, Doe got on the ticket. Cermak 
 had thus introduced a kind of "merit" system into party 
 politics. Its fairness to the other men in the organiza- 
 tion was apparent. For that reason, while Cermak ruled, 
 there was a minimum of dissension within the party coun- 
 cils. Such had not always been the case. 
 
 That Cermak definitely was conscious of a responsi- 
 bility to the citizenry and entertained no desire of forcing 
 the voters to accept "anybody" for public office, was in- 
 dicated by his choice for the Democratic candidate for 
 Governor in 1932. This was a year in which it was fairly 
 certain that almost any candidate on the Democratic ticket 
 would win. If he had been a different type of boss, 
 Cermak might have dictated the nomination of a mere 
 political puppet, an anybody or a nobody. Instead, he 
 selected the type of man who would have been chosen by 
 thoughtful and independent citizens themselves — Henry 
 Horner, of clean record and unimpeachable integrity. It 
 was agreed generally when Governor Horner's nomination 
 
 73 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 was announced that probably no finer candidate for office 
 had been offered Illinois in generations. Such was Cer- 
 mak's brand of bossism. 
 
 The victory for Governor Horner in the primary elec- 
 tion of April, 1932, and in the election in November defi- 
 nitely established Cermak, if there were any question, 
 as the most powerful figure in the Democratic party of 
 Illinois. For one thing, Cermak was made the main issue 
 in both campaigns. Michael L. Igoe, leader of a great 
 portion of the Irish element in the party, ran against 
 Horner for the nomination for Governor and based his 
 campaign almost entirely on attacks on "Cermak dic- 
 tatorship." The Republicans in November followed 
 Igoe's lead, seeking to elect former Governor Len Small 
 over Horner by "warning" the state against the "Cermak 
 Tammany." Had Governor Horner been defeated in 
 either of those contests, the party would have blamed Cer- 
 mak, and his regime as dictator would have ended. As it 
 was, he emerged stronger than ever. 
 
 Although "boss," Cermak assumed no lordly airs. To 
 the end, he remained among the easiest of men to talk to 
 and approach. As if Kipling's "If" were his creed, he 
 kept the common touch, although his power was as great 
 as many kings'. He treated subordinates in the party 
 as equals, although he did insist on having orders carried 
 
 74 
 
"BOSS" CERMAK 
 
 out, brooking no disobedience once he was convinced of 
 his position. 
 
 In Cermak's makeup there was no desire for ostenta- 
 tion or glorification. Politics was his business and he 
 "worked at it" as a business man. Other political leaders 
 affected flashy attire, flowery oratory, craved public at- 
 tention. Cermak was the exact opposite. He was con- 
 servative in speech, in mannerisms, and in appearance. No 
 orator, he expressed himself in straight-forward fashion, 
 preferring to tell his listeners facts rather than entertain 
 or stir them emotionally. He neither understood nor 
 admired the artifices of political hokum. 
 
 Cermak looked upon politics as a profession for spe- 
 cialists, just as the law and medicine. In an article con- 
 tributed by him to a business journal, he definitely took 
 issue with the claim that business leaders ought to be 
 elected to political offices. He insisted that business lead- 
 ers most generally fail, that a successful mayor or gov- 
 ernor or president results, not from good intentions, but 
 from experience in the "game of politics." 
 
 He could have cited his own record. 
 
 Many observers of Cermak's career and his develop- 
 ment had begun to feel that Chicago's mayor would raise 
 
 75 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 to unsuspected heights the moral level of political organ- 
 izations in Illinois. His vision was constantly broadening. 
 Of wealth, he had sufficient. Possessed of his great po- 
 litical power only a short period, he was on the threshold 
 of using that power for — who can tell? There was much 
 basis for believing that it would have been used to further 
 great movements in Chicago and the state to better the lot 
 of the common citizen, from whose ranks he came. If 
 so, the system that produces political bossism would have 
 been, for probably the first time, amply and sufficiently 
 justified. 
 
 76 
 
"I'm Glad It Was Me 
 Instead of You !" 
 
Chaptee VI 
 "I'M GLAD IT WAS ME INSTEAD OF YOU!" 
 
 February 15, 1933. 
 
 It is evening in Florida. Already a tremendous crowd 
 has gathered in Bay Front Park in Miami to greet Frank- 
 lin D. Roosevelt, still president-elect, on his return to the 
 mainland from a yacht cruise. There is much excitement 
 and great tenseness. Popular everywhere, President 
 Roosevelt is especially so in the South, and the Floridans 
 are determined that he be given a rousing welcome. In 
 seventeen days he becomes President of the United States. 
 
 Men and women of all walks of life stream into the 
 park. There is a mardi gras atmosphere, none except 
 one man having any inkling of the tragedy that is to 
 come soon, shocking not only a nation, but the world. 
 
 That man is small, rat-like, unkempt Guiseppe Zangara. 
 Of warped mind, he had come, not to cheer the new presi- 
 dent, but to kill him. Only the day before he had pur- 
 chased the gun — in Miami. 
 
 In another section of the park, pushing his way cheer- 
 
 79 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 fully through the crowd, disdaining any honors that were 
 rightfully his because he was one who played a major part 
 in making Franklin Roosevelt president, was Chicago's 
 mayor, Anton Joseph Cermak. One thing he had in com- 
 mon with the maniacal Zangara. Both were foreign-born. 
 
 Now that he was here, Cermak was enjoying this 
 demonstration in honor of Roosevelt. As a matter of fact, 
 however, he had preferred to remain in Chicago. There 
 were so many city problems that needed his attention. 
 Most important of them had to do with getting money to 
 pay the salaries of the city employes and the school 
 teachers. Their condition was becoming more desperate 
 daily, and Cermak was bending every effort in their re- 
 gard. He wanted to stay in Chicago, but went to Miami 
 with the thought that he would be able to make a strong 
 personal appeal then to Roosevelt for federal aid for Chi- 
 cago's teachers, policemen and firemen. 
 
 Cermak was thinking of this appeal as he pushed his 
 way toward the spot where Roosevelt's car had stopped. 
 Roosevelt was speaking now. After he had finished and 
 the throng was roaring its approval, Chicago's mayor ap- 
 proached. The Roosevelt car was about to start up when 
 the president-elect saw Cermak, motioned him to come 
 over. 
 
 This was the chance Cermak had hoped for. In a few, 
 
 80 
 
"I'M GLAD IT WAS ME INSTEAD OF YOU!" 
 
 forceful words he was prepared to tell Roosevelt of Chi- 
 cago's problem, urge him to give aid quickly. 
 
 But Guiseppe Zangara at this moment was drawing 
 his gun. He fired. And Anton Cermak slumped for- 
 ward, a bullet in his back. Four others in the crowd 
 were wounded also. Roosevelt was spared, miraculously. 
 But the joy felt by the crowd, echoed through the nation, 
 that the President-elect was saved, quickly gave way to 
 profound concern that Cermak had fallen a victim of the 
 crazed assassin's bullet. For he, too, was needed by the 
 nation. 
 
 Supported by Roosevelt himself, Mayor Cermak was 
 transported, more dead than alive, to the hospital in 
 Miami. 
 
 The President-elect was saying: 
 
 "Tony, don't move." "Keep quiet." 
 
 Not Mr. Mayor, nor Mr. Cermak, but Tony, the 
 President-elect called him. 
 
 As he lay against the supporting shoulder of Roose- 
 velt, perhaps through Cermak's mind ran the recollection 
 of that derisive campaign song, "Tony, where's your push- 
 cart at?" 
 
 They called him Tony then, to belittle him. 
 
 81 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 Now, the President of the United States, called him 
 Tony. . . . He stirred a bit, then was quiet as if obey- 
 ing the President's command. 
 
 At the hospital, Cermak rallied from his coma. Con- 
 scious completely now, all his concern was for Roosevelt. 
 When Roosevelt came to Cermak's side in the hospital, 
 Chicago's mayor spoke words that the world will not soon 
 forget. 
 
 "I'm glad it was me instead of you," he said. 
 
 Mist came over the eyes of those who heard him thus 
 speak from a patriot's heart. 
 
 "I'm glad it was me instead of you." 
 
 Not grammatical, some academic student of grammar 
 may argue. But what grammarian has expressed loftier 
 thought? 
 
 Choked for a moment from the pain of Zangara's 
 bullet, Cermak spoke again to Roosevelt. 
 
 "I wish you would take care of yourself," he said. "The 
 country needs you." 
 
 Said President Roosevelt: "We need you and men 
 like you." 
 
 It was a scene the nation will long remember and 
 cherish. 
 
"I'M GLAD IT WAS ME INSTEAD OF YOU!" 
 
 As Cermak lay on his deathbed, heroically fighting 
 to live, bearing tremendous pain uncomplainingly, mes- 
 sages of hope for his recovery poured into Miami. They 
 came from all parts of the nation and the world. They 
 came from men and women high in the ranks of govern- 
 ment, business and society. And they came from the hum- 
 blest citizens on Chicago's West Side. Quickly, his fam- 
 ily came to his bedside. Hiding his pain, Cermak asked 
 his three daughters and their husbands, to whom he was as 
 a father also, to cast aside gloom. 
 
 "IH get well," he said. 
 
 Even then, his body attacked by a score of pains, Cer- 
 mak thought, not of his own suffering, but of the suf- 
 fering of Chicago's school teachers. In delirious moments, 
 he talked of that problem of their salaries. 
 
 When he discovered a week after he had been shot 
 that money could be paid to teachers if his signature 
 could be obtained, Cermak insisted on signing against 
 the wishes of his doctors. Because he felt it would help 
 the teachers, again he defied the doctors to give an inter- 
 view expressing the hope that if he did not recover, his 
 successor would make it a first duty to bend every effort 
 in behalf of the teachers. If his wounding would focus 
 greater attention on the teachers' plight and speed help 
 to them, he was glad he was shot, the Mayor said. 
 
 83 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 Days passed, days of mixed anxiety and hope, cheer 
 and despair. Governor Henry Horner came from Spring- 
 field to be at his bedside. Forced to return to Illinois, 
 the Governor left with the feeling that the man who had 
 meant so much to him would recover. Soon the attend- 
 ing physicians were issuing bulletins radiating optimism. 
 Amazing vitality on the part of the patient, the vitality 
 that had pulled him up from the coal mines of Braidwood 
 to chief executive of America's second city, appeared to 
 have won the battle against the bullet. 
 
 Just as Chicago and the nation began to feel that 
 Cermak would be spared, pneumonia developed. Then 
 more infections. On the morning of March 6, the nation 
 awakened to learn that Cermak had gone to a martyr's 
 fate, joining Lincoln, McKinley and that former World 
 Fair mayor of Chicago, Carter Harrison, Senior. 
 
 In his office in the Chicago City Hall was a group of 
 men. They were strong men, picked by Cermak for his 
 associates because they were strong. 
 
 His secretary for many years, Henry Sonnenschein, 
 had just received the word by telephone from Miami. 
 
 "Gentlemen," he said, "Tony is dead." 
 
 There were tears in the eyes of those strong men, tears 
 which they made no effort to hide. 
 
 84 
 
Farewell 
 
Chaptee VII 
 FAREWELL 
 
 As few times in its history, the nation mourned. 
 Through the breadth and length of the land there was 
 realization that Cermak's tragic, untimely passing was 
 not just Chicago's loss, but the country's. It was a time 
 when many strong men, capable leaders, were needed — 
 and the former mine boy was one of the strongest. 
 
 In Washington, Roosevelt, then president but two 
 days, struggling with the monumental national problem 
 of the collapse of the banking system, shoved aside his 
 tasks to reveal profound grief. Zangara's bullet was meant 
 for him and he shared the belief of the nation that Cermak 
 had given his life for him. 
 
 The President, in a public statement, paid this tribute 
 to the assassinated Mayor: 
 
 "It is needless to say that the news of the death of 
 Mayor Cermak affects me very deeply and very per- 
 sonally. Aside from the tragic chain of events of which 
 his death is the result, a very warm friendship and a very 
 
 87 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 high respect for Mayor Cermak's ability, friendship and 
 loyalty to his friends would have made his loss a heavy 
 one to me under any circumstances. 
 
 "The brave fight he made shows clearly the wonderful 
 courage of the man. The country at large and the great 
 city of Chicago in particular, will miss a strong and reso- 
 lute character." 
 
 From far off Utah, came to Cermak's family this mes- 
 sage from the Utah House of Representatives, exemplary 
 of the national sentiment: 
 
 "Soldiers of war literally shield their country with 
 their bodies. Mayor Cermak, as a glorious peace time 
 soldier, offered his body in sacrifice that our beloved Pres- 
 ident might be spared. The entire membership of the 
 Utah House of Representatives offers its condolences and 
 grieves with you in this tremendous hour." 
 
 Silent, ashamed, now were those who not many months 
 earlier had ridiculed the Mayor because he bore a foreign 
 name. The name now was honored throughout the world, 
 by high and low. 
 
 As was fitting, it remained for Chicago, the city he 
 loved and for which he literally slaved, to pay the deepest 
 tribute to the Mayor. 
 
FAREWELL 
 
 First, in a flag-draped casket, his body was borne to 
 his home on Chicago's West Side. All day and through 
 the night, the thousands came. Ermine mixed with calico. 
 Laborers with bankers. Scrubwomen with aldermen. One 
 by one they walked into the house of mourning to pay a 
 last tender tribute and breathe the words: "Goodbye, 
 Tony." 
 
 This ceremony in the home was his neighbors'. But 
 Cermak was all Chicago's, and the next day his body 
 lay in state in the great corridor of the City Hall. Offi- 
 ciating at the ceremonies held at the City Hall, Dr. Pres- 
 ton Bradley, pastor of the People's Church, paid the slain 
 mayor a stirring tribute. It was a day of bitter cold. 
 Chill winds whipped through the steel and stone canyons 
 in Chicago's Loop. But from early morning to late at 
 night, Chicagoans by the hundreds of thousands braved 
 the cold to pay their mark of respect to Anton Cermak. 
 All day they stood in silent lines around the mourning- 
 draped City Hall. Here too, were Chicagoans of all 
 classes, all creeds, all stations in life. One by one, the 
 thousands passed down the candle-lighted corridor, paused 
 for a brief moment before the casket, whispered their 
 sorrow. All Chicago was mourning. 
 
 Not in the memory of any living Chicagoan had there 
 ever been such a manifestation of civic grief as was dem- 
 
 89 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 onstrated at the funeral services for the slain Mayor. 
 While perhaps a million Chicagoans lined the streets, 
 heads bowed, fifty thousand citizens marched in the sad 
 procession from the City Hall to the huge Chicago Sta- 
 dium on the West Side, where public services were held. 
 It was in this same Stadium, only a few months before, 
 that Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for the Presi- 
 dency with the aid of Cermak. Not far from the spot 
 where Cermak stood that final evening of the convention 
 and proclaimed that Illinois and Indiana votes were for 
 Roosevelt, his body now rested, surrounded by a military 
 guard of honor. 
 
 A personal representative of the President was there. 
 The Governor of the State was there. So were the state's 
 two United States senators and its representatives in Con- 
 gress. Again high and low, indeed all Chicago, bowed at 
 the bier of Anton Cermak. 
 
 Heart-felt tributes to the martyr were voiced by a 
 Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and a Protestant minister, 
 for no one creed encompassed the spirit of Cermak. 
 
 "Chicago is better for his having been, even as it is 
 poorer for his passing/' said the rabbi, Dr. Louis L. 
 Mann. "He was the symbol of democracy, embracing 
 the opportunities of a country which elicited the best from 
 
 90 
 
FAREWELL 
 
 him and to which he gave his last full measure of devo- 
 tion, and which loved him even as he loved it. He wielded 
 mighty power with practical wisdom. . . . His reforms 
 seemed too slow to the impatient idealist and too fast to 
 the practical politicians, but they contained that wisdom 
 of experience in public affairs through which, alone, real 
 progress can be made." 
 
 "His was a dynamic personality, loaded with enough 
 dynamite to pulverize all obstacles/' said the Protestant 
 minister, Dr. John Thompson. "This masterful person- 
 ality of his explains his successful career. Many em- 
 phasize talents in explaining successful careers. But per- 
 sonality is even more the chief asset. Others emphasize 
 education, and by this mean education in schools and be- 
 hind four walls. But all education is not acquired in that 
 way. Anton J. Cermak was educated in life's university 
 of hard knocks." 
 
 "Mayor Cermak possessed the precious trait of loyal 
 friendship to an unusual degree," said the priest, Father 
 Daniel J. Frawley. "It was this, not learning, nor wealth, 
 nor influence, that carried him from a humble and ob- 
 scure beginning to the highest office that this great city can 
 confer upon any of its citizens. At the very outset of 
 his career we see him winning friends and as he advances 
 in public recognition ever increasing their number by his 
 
 91 
 
ANTON, THE MARTYR 
 
 loyalty. His proud boast was that he never broke faith 
 with them." 
 
 To his friend, Henry Horner, Governor of Illinois, 
 fell the task of voicing the civic tribute. With sadness, 
 the Governor sketched the life of Anton Cermak as a 
 "shining example of democracy." 
 
 "It was characteristic of him," said the Governor, 
 "that while suffering excruciating agonies on his death 
 bed, he worried not as to whether or not he would re- 
 cover, but whether the school teachers, the policemen 
 and firemen and other public employes who were depen- 
 dent upon his efforts for their compensation would be 
 paid. 
 
 "He took command of his own political party and 
 vitalized it into an instrument for unselfish public service. 
 His industry was tireless, his judgment of men sound, his 
 mind did its own thinking, and men could not frighten 
 nor cajole him. Seldom has opportunity so well served 
 talent. 
 
 "The thought that should be uppermost with us now 
 is how best we may show that the mourning for our loss 
 is not mere idle form. What would please him best is to 
 know that we, his friends, were to carry on the great civic 
 work he has undertaken." 
 
 92 
 
FAREWELL 
 
 To the assemblage, President Roosevelt sent a special 
 message, sorrowful because he could not leave Washing- 
 ton to personally pay his respects to the martyred Mayor. 
 He telegraphed: 
 
 "It is a sincere regret to me that the emergency of 
 the present situation makes it impossible for me to leave 
 Washington at this time, as otherwise I should have wanted 
 to pay a last tribute to a true friend. Even without the 
 tragic setting of his death, the passing of Anton Cermak 
 would have brought me a sense of deep loss, and under 
 the circumstances his untimely end came as an even deeper 
 personal loss. I want you to feel that I mourn with his 
 family." 
 
 Such were the tributes to Anton Joseph Cermak, who 
 in little more than three decades had climbed from pen- 
 niless mule-driver in the Illinois mines to rank among the 
 nation's great. 
 
 He was laid to rest in a family tomb in the Bohemian 
 National Cemetery. Among the many floral tributes, 
 none was so expressive of his character as that which in 
 flowers repeated: 
 
 "I'm Glad It Was Me Instead of You!" 
 An epic of democracy had ended. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 93 
 
CHICAGO PRINTERS, INC. 
 
..ANTON,. 
 
 THE MARTYR 
 
 HERE, in simple, straight-forward 
 language, is the life story of 
 Anton Joseph Cermak, Chicago's 
 martyred mayor. 
 
 No effort is made in this vol- 
 ume to tell all the minute details 
 of Mayor Cermak's life and career. 
 But the numerous steps he took 
 upward on the ladder to unusual 
 success and great power, and the 
 tremendous obstacles which he 
 met and overcame — they are all 
 told here in vivid, human fashion. 
 
 The story of Anton, the Martyr, 
 is essentially a human document, 
 an Epic, not only of Chicago, but 
 of America. It is the kind of story 
 that people of all classes, creeds 
 and groups will treasure because 
 of its warmth, its inspiration, and 
 its proof that America still is a 
 land of opportunity, where men 
 of lowly birth and meagre means 
 may reach the heights. 
 
 The author knows his man and 
 understands the forces which 
 Mayor Cermak encountered. He 
 bas treated Mayor Cermak with 
 sympathy and understanding. He 
 has produced a work which will 
 bear re-reading, which many par- 
 ents will wish to read to their 
 children for the great lessons it 
 enfolds. 
 
 TRIBUTES 
 TO MAYOR CERMAK 
 
 Qovemor Henry Horner of Illinois: 
 
 "No power of destruction that 
 Death can conjure will ever be 
 strong enough to crush those 
 forces which Anton Cermak set 
 in motion and which will con- 
 tinue to live as long as recorded 
 history will be read by men." 
 
 Alfred E. Smith: 
 
 "I learned with deep regret of 
 the death of Mayor Cermak. 1 
 lose a good friend and the country 
 loses a good citizen." 
 
 Speaker Rainey of the U. S. House of 
 Representatives: 
 
 "A great man and a great exec* 
 utive has passed. Illinois and the 
 country mourns his loss." 
 
 Ma^or R. B. Qautier of Miami: 
 
 "He was a martyr who died in 
 the cause of human rights. '•