Rud K. Hynicka
| Rudolph Kelker Hynicka | |
|---|---|
Hynicka in 1918
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| Born |
6 July 1859 Myerstown, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Died | 21 February 1927 (aged 67) St. Petersburg, Florida, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Politician |
Rudolph Kelker Hynicka (or Rud Hynicka; 6 July 1859 – 21 February 1927) was an American politician who led the Republican party in Cincinnati, 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.
Rudolph Kelker Hynicka was born on 6 July 1859 in Myerstown, Pennsylvania. Hynicka was from a Pennsylvania Dutch family. In the 1880s he moved to Cincinnati, the county seat of Hamilton County, Ohio, and became a reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer. 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.
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 dominated Cincinnati politics. In 1897 they lost a mayoral election campaign in which the Democrat Gustav Tafel 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 in a speech linked to President Theodore Roosevelt'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, the president's brother.
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