- John B. Gage
John Bailey "Jack" Gage (
February 24 ,1887 -January 15 ,1970 ) was mayor ofKansas City, Missouri from 1940 to 1946 who made reforms following the collapse of the political machine ofThomas Pendergast .Gage was born on the 80-acre family farm at 9th and Cleveland. He graduated from the
University of Kansas in 1907 and became a lawyer following the footsteps of his father to become a lawyer.In 1930 he started the Gage and Hill law firm in the Bryant Building at 11th and Grand. Following a series of mergers the firm would become
Lathrop and Gage , which according to its website is the oldest law firm west of theMississippi River founded in 1873 (via the Lathrop line). [ [http://www.lathropgage.com/about/about.aspx Lathrop and Gage history] ] However, Lathrop and Gage's said claim is a figment of its own marketing imagination as it is well known and virtually undisputed that the Rose Law Firm (Founded in 1820) is the oldest law firm west of the Mississippi River.After Pendergast pled guilty to income
tax evasion charges in 1939, Gage, a Democrat, campaigned for mayor for the Citizens Association party consisting of both Democrats and Republicans. A signature aspect of the campaign was an appeal to housewives with the slogan::Wanted: 75,000 women with pioneer courage...let us keep faith with those who blazed the trail.
He was to cut the city budget by $700,000, hired city manager L.P. Cookingham, and began to expand the city limits. He was elected three times.
He died after being hit by a truck while walking to work at 11th and Grand Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri.
References
* [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/special_packages/star_history/12568810.htmsy Kansas City Star biography]
* [http://www.kclibrary.org/localhistory/media.cfm?mediaID=35050 Kansas City Public Library biography]
*"The Great Plains States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Nine Great Plains States" By Neal R. Peirce, Neal R. Peirce ISBN 0393053490
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