Christopher Magee

Christopher Lyman Magee memorial, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Christopher Lyman Magee (April 14, 1848 – March 8, 1901) was a powerful political boss in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Along with William Flinn (1851–1924), his political partner, the two ran the Republican Party machine that controlled the city for the last twenty years of the 19th century.

Early life

He was born in Pittsburgh and was educated in the Pittsburgh Public Schools and the Western University of Pennsylvania, today's University of Pittsburgh. When his father died, he became an office boy for the iron manufacturing firm of Park, McCurdy, and Company. By 1864 he took a job in the city controller's office, and in 1869 a better position in the city treasurer's office.

Politics

Magee came from a large family which was prominent in local politics. His uncle, Squire Thomas Steele, had been president of city council and also had run the office of controller. Through Steele's influence, Magee obtained his first jobs in government.

At age 22 Magee ran on the Republican ticket for city treasurer, but lost. In 1873, however, he won. He then helped to pass a bill revising property assessments upward, and another bill to collect from tax delinquents. Magee cut city debt in half during his term.

In 1879, in the city's Sixth Ward, one of Magee's brothers ran for office against William Flinn, an upstart in local politics. However Magee and Flinn struck up a partnership, as Flinn eyed a seat in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and Magee had a natural enemy at the state level, the political boss Matthew Quay. So Flinn became Magee's man.

In 1887 the two succeeded in changing the city charter at the state legislature that took the power of appointments away from city council and granted it to department heads. Magee and Flinn also consolidated Republican control within both the city and Allegheny County. Finally, the two were successful in placing public monies into banks and financial markets associated with industrial Pittsburgh's phenomenal growth after the American Civil War. This won them untold favors from big business, especially allowing them to grant jobs to thousands and thus build their political machine.

In The Shame of the Cities, the landmark 1903 book by Lincoln Steffens on political corruption in American cities, Steffens wrote about the alleged Flinn-Magee collusion: "Magee wanted power, Flinn wealth.... Magee spent his wealth for more power, and Flinn spent his power for more wealth.... Magee attracted followers, Flinn employed them. He was useful to Magee, Magee was indispensable to him.... Molasses and vinegar, diplomacy and force, mind and will, they were well mated." Reformers eventually reined in Flinn by passing legislation to curb corruption and kickbacks.

Magee did win two terms to the state senate, but his political influence was largely limited to Pittsburgh.

Magee made his early forturne in the local street car industry. He began as president of Transverse Railway Company, secured franchises through his political maneuverings, and eventually gained control over competing lines. He then merged the street car companies into the Consolidated Traction Company, of which he served as president.

Magee also owned much real estate in the city and he served on the boards of many banks and corporations. Magee's chief business partner was Joshua Rhodes, chairman of the National Tube Company, which later became part of U.S. Steel.

He also served on the boards of nonprofit institutions such as hospitals and universities. In 1895 he gave $100,000 to established the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Personal life

He married Eleanor Louise Gillespie in 1878. They built a stately home called "Maples", where they frequently entertained business and political associates. The house was at the corner of Forbes Avenue and Halket Street in the city's Oakland district. The couple had no children. The Magees were members of the First Methodist Church of Pittsburgh.

Illness

Magee fell ill in 1899 and took a leave of absence for treatment and rest. During this time his partner Flinn became involved in a flap over the rigged bidding system the two had concocted for city contracts. The "lowest responsible bidder" scheme, as it was known, assured that Flinn's company, Booth and Flinn, won most large construction and paving contracts in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.

Edward Manning Bigelow, director of public works and a cousin of Magee's, was moved by public reform pressure to liberalize specifications for streets, which allowed competition. Flinn retaliated by having city council fire Bigelow. Bigelow's brother Thomas, who had a long grudge against Magee because of "bad" deals involving street car lines, enlisted the help of Matt Quay at the state level. A new bill was introduced in Harrisburg to amend the city's charter, and it passed, effectively dismantling the Magee-Flinn machine.

Magee died on March 8, 1901 at the age of 52 and was buried in Allegheny Cemetery days later. According the Register of Wills of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, J.N. Mackrell, his personal property and real estate at his death exceeded $4 million.

Magee is honored with several monuments throughout the city of Pittsburgh, including one on Schenley Plaza created by the sculptor Augustus Saint Gaudens.

His home "Maples" became a maternity hospital, which continues today as Magee-Women's Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

References

• Fleming, George Thornton (1922). History of Pittsburgh and Environs. New York: The American Historical Society. 
• Steffens, Lincoln (2004). The Shame of Cities. New York: Dover Publications. 0-4864-3709-4. 
• Zink, Harold (1930). City Bosses in the United States: A Study of Twenty Municipal Bosses. Durham: Duke University Press. 

External links

• Magee memorial

Persondata
Name	Magee, Christopher
Alternative names	Magee, Christopher Lyman
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	April 14, 1848
Place of birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of death	March 8, 1901
Place of death	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania