Rudolph Kelker Hynicka (or Rud Hynicka; 6 July 1859 – 21 February 1927) was an American politician who led the
Republican party in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio, for many years during a period when politics in Cincinnati was scandal-ridden. Hynicka was also involved in operating a chain of burlesque houses, and was a partner in an attempt to form a theatrical "wheel" in 1910.
Early years
Rudolph Kelker Hynicka was born on 6 July 1859 in
Myerstown, Pennsylvania
Myerstown ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Moyerschteddel'') is a borough located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Lebanon, Pennsylvania Metropolitan statistical area. The population was 3,103 at the 2020 census. It is home to over 100 b ...
.
Hynicka was from a Pennsylvania Dutch family.
In the 1880s he moved to
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, the county seat of
Hamilton County, Ohio, and became a reporter for ''
The Cincinnati Enquirer
''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, al ...
''.
He joined the Republican party, initially as a supporter of
George Moerlein.
He was appointed by the Moerlein faction to positions in the offices of the county auditor and county treasurer.
In the 1890s Hynicka was elected police clerk. He became the Republican captain of Cincinnati's 9th ward.
Political career
Hynicka moved to the camp of
George B. Cox, and took responsibility for maintaining Cox's voter card file.
This contained records on every voter in Cincinnati, including where they worked, which church they belonged to and any scandals in which they had been involved.
Hynicka became the most powerful of Cox's supporters. He headed Cincinnati's influential Republican Central Committee of ward and township captains and managed allocation of the 2,000 political patronage jobs in the city.
By the start of the 1890s Hynicka, Cox and
Garry Herrmann
August "Garry" Herrmann (May 3, 1859 – April 25, 1931) was an American political operative for Cincinnati political boss George B. Cox, an executive of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, and president of National Baseball Commission. In 1946, ...
dominated Cincinnati politics.
In 1897 they lost a mayoral election campaign in which the Democrat
Gustav Tafel
Gustav Tafel (October 13, 1830 – November 12, 1908) was a German-born colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1897 to 1900.
Biography
Tafel was born in Munich, Germany (München). He ...
promised to clean up the city. Various scandals emerged after the Democrats took office. One involved Hynicka using his office as clerk of the police court to earn bribes of $150–$200 a week.
The Republican candidate
Julius Fleischmann was elected in 1900 and reelected in 1903.
Hynicka was elected treasurer of Hamilton County in 1903, his only elective office.
In October 1905 the Cox machine was attacked by
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
in a speech linked to President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's drive to eliminate corruption in business and politics.
In 1911 Cox announced "I am retiring. I hope my enemies will find other targets".
When Cox retired Hynicka became leader of the Republican party in Hamilton county.
Hynicka and Herrmann agreed to reorganize the Republican Advisory Committee without Cox at the request of
Charles Phelps Taft
Charles Phelps Taft (December 21, 1843 – December 31, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician who served as editor of the ''Cincinnati Times-Star'' and owned both the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs baseball teams. From 1895 to 1897 ...
, the president's brother.
On 2 April 1912 Hynicka announced that he had withdrawn from politics to devote himself to his business interests.
Cox and Herrmann had already made similar announcements.
Later Hynicka was chosen to represent Ohio in the
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...
, holding this position until 1924, when he was succeeded by Maurice Mashke of
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
.
In the 1920 elections the Republicans won the White House by a landslide.
In Cincinnati, however, Hynicka's candidates were less successful, indicating that his power was waning.
A letter from
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
of 4 October 1921 said "... I should not grieve if Hynicka should be overturned in Hamilton County, but I do not subscribe to the theory that the way to overturning is to put the Republican party out of power in the municipality of Cincinnati."
In 1926 Hynicka retired from his position as chairman of the Hamilton county executive and central committee of the Republican organization.
Other interests
In 1905 the old Vine Street Opera House in Cincinnati was renovated and reopened as the Standard Theater.
It was managed as a burlesque house by Hynicka and Charles B. Arnold until 1915.
In November 1906 ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' noted that a corporation controlled by John J. Ryan and Rudolph K. Hynicka, of Cincinnati, was operating a theater in St. Louis.
Rudolph K. Hynicka came to own a chain of burlesque houses.
In 1910 Hynicka became involved in the
Columbia Burlesque Circuit, playing a leading role in that organization.
On 4 December 1910
L. Lawrence Weber
L. Lawrence Weber (c. 1872 – 22 February 1940) was an American sports promoter, stage show producer and theater manager. He was active in arranging Vaudville, vaudeville shows, legitimate theater and films. He once tried to bypass laws against im ...
announced a plan to form a circuit of popular theaters, the Lawrence Weber Co-operative Booking Circuit.
The investors were Weber,
Sam A. Scribner, John Herbert Mack and Rudolph K. Hynicka.
They planned to acquire forty theaters in cities around the United States and Canada, and to supply them with forty theater companies playing in rotation. They would put on equal numbers of melodramas, society plays, comedy dramas, farce comedies and musical comedies, charging popular prices. The partners were all associated with the "Eastern Wheel" of burlesque theaters, which had a similar business model.
By 1914 Hynicka had acquired a large stake in Cox's interests in theaters in New York, and was spending growing amount of time in that city.
Hynicka invested in the ''Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune'', a newspaper, and became president of the company.
The paper supported the Republican party, and expected assistance in return.
Hynicka's first wife died in 1912, and he remarried.
He died on 21 February 1927 in
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
.
His funeral was attended by many people involved in theater.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hynicka, Rudolph Kelker
1839 births
1927 deaths
Ohio Republicans
The Cincinnati Enquirer people