Louis Kuehnle, (; December 25, 1857 – August 6, 1934), known as "Commodore Kuehnle," was an American businessman and politician of German descent. He is considered a pioneer in the growing resort town of Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the late 1880s and the early 1900s. He was leader of the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

organization that controlled Atlantic City in the early 1900s.

New Jersey Governor The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, who later became a

US president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, pursued Kuehnle after his 1910 election as part of his campaign to clean up Atlantic City. That effort led to the unsuccessful prosecution of Kuehnle for election fraud and the successful prosecution and conviction of him for a conflict of interest in connection with a government contract. Kuehnle then had his name tarnished by scandal, and he was succeeded by

Enoch "Nucky" Johnson Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson (January 20, 1883December 9, 1968) was an Atlantic City, New Jersey, political boss, a sheriff of Atlantic County, New Jersey, a businessman and a crime boss who was the leader of the political machine that control ...

as leader of the organization.

Early life

Kuehnle was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on December 25, 1857. The son of German immigrants Louis and Katrina Kuehnle. His father was a successful chef. He attended the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, but did not perform academically and dropped out after a year. On 1858, Louis Kuehnle Sr. moved his family to

Egg Harbor City, New Jersey Egg Harbor City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 4,396, an increase of 153 from the 2010 Census.Atlantic City to open another hotel, Kuehnle's Hotel.

Rise to power

Louis Sr. died, which left Kuehnle, who was only 18, to take over Kuehnle's Hotel at the corner of South Carolina and Atlantic Avenues. A saloon, "The Corner," was within the hotel and became a popular meeting place for local politicians. The meetings included three

Atlantic County Atlantic County is a County (United States), county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 274,534.

power brokers, one of whom was Nucky Johnson's father Sheriff Smith E. Johnson. When one of those three politicians died in 1900, Kuehnle took his spot at the meetings and eventually took control of the club itself. Nicknamed "Louie," Kuehnle grew both in popularity and political power in Atlantic City and inspired other young politicians such as

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

and

Isaac Bacharach Isaac Bacharach (January 5, 1870 – September 5, 1956) was an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey who represented the 2nd congressional district from 1915 to 1937. Early life and education Born in Philadelphia, Bacharach ...

and Enoch Johnson. Kuehnle is credited as the architect and first leader of a partisan political machine in Atlantic City and held great control over the city from the late 1800s until his imprisonment in 1911. He responded to critics of his power by saying, "They'll build a monument to me someday; I built this town."

Community leader

Kuehnle was responsible for numerous improvements to the city, as he always remembered his goal of transforming Atlantic City into a major US

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

. Concerned with high rates for telephone and gas, he created his own telephone and gas companies, resulting in lower prices. His telephone company, the Atlantic Coast Telephone Company, would later be bought by

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

. Kuehnle also helped lower electric prices by supporting a competing utility in the area. He helped build the Boardwalk and even increased the amount of fresh water in town by building a water main from the mainland to

Absecon Island Absecon Island is a barrier island located on the Jersey Shore of the Atlantic Ocean in Atlantic County, New Jersey. On the island from north to south are the resort communities of Atlantic City, Ventnor, Margate, and Longport. The island ends a ...

. To show its possibility, he drilled an artesian well and created the city's

waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

company. Kuehnle was always an entrepreneur in the transportation industry and helped modernize the trolley system to improve intracity transport. Kuehnle was looked upon by many citizens of Atlantic City as a leader and protector. He would devise nonviolent ways to get the state militia to visit and to calm the community whenever a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

newspaper published an inflammatory article. He was charitable too and well liked by the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

community. Joining the Atlantic City Yacht Club during his prime, he later served as chairman, which is essentially the origin of his adopted unofficial rank of "Commodore." He kept that nickname until his death.

Corruption

Rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

such as prostitution,

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

, and liquor were available at his hotel. Additionally, he extorted gambling rooms and whorehouses, as well a variety of legitimate businesses, to fund his Republican political operation. Because he saw them as appointees, Kuehle would force government employees to "

kick back ''Kick Back'' is the third extended play by the Chinese boy band WayV with the lead single of the same name. It was released on March 10, 2021, by Label V and SM Entertainment, with Dreamus as the South Korean distributor and Owhat as the distri ...

" 5-7% of their salaries to the Republican Party. Election fraud was prevalent, with the Republicans paying black voters $2 per vote. The voters would be taken to multiple voting stations and vote in the names of the deceased who were still registered to vote. Kuehnle's Republicans increased their level of fraud in the 1910

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

campaign so that their candidate would be elected as governor of New Jersey. Despite their work, they lost.

won instead, becoming governor in large part due to his vow to address corruption in Atlantic City. Wilson, following his promise, investigated corruption by looking into the election results. He noted that there were more than 3,000 Republican votes identified as fraudulent in Atlantic City. Therefore, he elected a commission to prosecute. It received indictments but could not get a conviction of anyone important.

Legal trouble

Kuehnle's projects improved Atlantic City, but at a cost. The Republican Party, which he controlled, gave out city contracts but not necessarily to the lowest-cost bid. Quite often, business contracts were awarded to companies that Kuehnle owned. In 1909, Atlantic City awarded a contract to construct a water main from the mainland. The winning bidder subsequently assigned part of the contract to a company in which Kuehnle was a part owner. Kuehnle, as the chairman of the city's water commission, later approved contract changes that resulted in increased payments to the company in which he held an ownership interest. Wilson's team finally had a solid case against Kuehnle for conflict of interest. In 1913, Kuehnle was convicted of conflict of interest related corruption and was sentenced to one year of hard labor and a $1,000 fine. After six months, he traveled to

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

for vacation and took an extended trip to

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where had ancestors.

Return

When he returned to Atlantic City,

had become the unofficial boss of the city. After Kuehnle unsuccessfully challenged Johnson's leadership, Johnson agreed to support Kuehnle, his former mentor, for

city commissioner City commission government is a form of local government in the United States. In a city commission government, voters elect a small commission, typically of five to seven members, typically on a plurality-at-large voting basis. These commissione ...

. Kuehnle was elected in 1920 and re-elected every four-year term until his death in 1934. He served specifically as Commissioner of Parks and Public Property. As a commissioner, he proved to be independent and sometimes opposed Johnson's organization.

Death

Kuehnle died on August 6, 1934. He was buried in Egg Harbor City--a place of residence during his teenage years. On the day of his death, City Hall draped his chair in the Commission Chamber and itself in black. Flags hung at half staff on every

firehouse __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

. Kuehnle Avenue is the only visible monument dedicated to him in Atlantic City.

In popular culture

* Kuehnle served as the basis for the character Louis "The Commodore" Kaestner, played by

Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor. Coleman's best known films include ''9 to 5'' (1980), '' On Golden Pond'' (1981), ''Tootsie'' (1982), '' WarGames'' (1983), '' Cloak & Dagger'' (1984), ''The Beverly Hillbillies ...

and John Ellison Conlee in the television series '' Boardwalk Empire''.

References

Sources

* Martin Paulsson. ''The Social Anxieties of Progressive Reform - Atlantic City, 1854-1920''. New York University Press: New York, 1994. * Nelson Johnson. ''Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City''. Plexus Publishing: Medford, NJ, 2002 * ''Who's Who in New Jersey, Atlantic County Edition''. National Biographic News Service: New York, 1925.

External links

Original Woodrow Wilson Letter: Will Not Pardon Kuehnle
Shapell Manuscript Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuehnle, Louis 1857 births 1934 deaths American people of German descent New Jersey Republicans American political bosses from New Jersey Politicians from Atlantic City, New Jersey People from Egg Harbor City, New Jersey Politicians from New York City Nucky Johnson's Organization New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes