William S. Vare
Encyclopedia
William Scott Vare was an American
construction contractor and Republican Party
politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. He represented Pennsylvania
in the U.S House
and won a contested election to the United States Senate
.
known in local slang as "The Neck
", or the area of South Philadelphia that calls the Wachovia Center
, Lincoln Financial Field
and Citizens Bank Park
home.
Bill, although not the product of a dysfunctional family
, nevertheless had a rough childhood. At age six, he witnessed the death of his father, his mother died while in labor and with the exceptions of his two older brothers mentioned above he witnessed the deaths of all his brothers and sisters. This seems to have instilled in him a dark side, a bright side and a real drive to succeed. The renowned merchant of Philadelphia, John Wanamaker
, took young Bill under his wing, by paying for his tuition at Philadelphia's famous Central Highschool, and a little later he worked at Wanamaker's
.
on New Years Day and realized that this system of drill marches could be employed in political campaigns. In 1890 he started contracting with his two older brothers. By 1909, this contracting firm, known simply as "Vare Brothers," had contracts with the City of Philadelphia whose aggregate worth was over $
100,000,000.
Bill was elected to City Council in 1898. Four years later, he was elected as Recorder of Deeds
. In 1911, he decided to try a run for mayor as a moderate Republican. The primary was won by George H. Earle, Jr., but it split the Republican organization in Philadelphia three different ways, and it was these splits that accounted for Independent Rudolph Blankenburg
's election in 1911.
, Vare was elected to the first of seven terms in the House of Representatives upon the death of Henry H. Bingham
. At this juncture, Vare's voting record took a much more pronounced turn to the left. He supported the abolition of child labor, the federal income tax, the rights of unions to bargain collectively, and voting rights for women and the ending of segregation on passenger rail cars. In 1921 Vare's rival, Senator Boies Penrose
, died. The following year his older brother Ed also died. This left Bill Vare as the undisputed leader of Philadelphia, with broad influence over the burgeoning industrial and economic region of the middle Atlantic seaboard.
Vare's voting record in the United States House of Representatives
was classically Pennsylvania Republican, or more liberal on social issues and then more conservative on issues of pure business. Vare repeatedly pursued the repeal of Prohibition
because of the cruel police state it imposed, and was actually able to show, statistically, that alcohol-related crimes increased threefold in Philadelphia during the first years of Prohibition
. It was a testament to his moral character that he argued this way, as it has been inferred that the Philadelphia Republican Party machine relied on alcohol-related revenues to fund its core activities, and Vare thus stood to lose much of his financial backing by pursuing Prohibition's repeal.
The Republican organization in Philadelphia received many offers to do business from the likes of Waxey Gordon
and "Lucky" Luciano
. But this was no ordinary arrangement, as Vare forced both Gordon and Luciano to agree that Vare would hold a veto power over any racket operating in Philadelphia. In a further bid to gird the fiscal foundation of the Party, Vare decided to extract "loyalty oaths" from the entire Philadelphia Republican organization. Vare was also able to exert tremendous influence over Philadelphia's legal business. This was a strong form of politics, because Vare had lots of influence with the unions
.
Vare announced his candidacy for the United States Senate. Both the primaries and general election were scandals. After Vare apparently won the election, Governor Gifford Pinchot
, who had been drubbed by Vare in the primary, refused to certify the election. In January 1927, Pinchot testified before the Senate, producing several thousand illegal paper ballots. Nevertheless, the Senate informed Vare that they would contact him. In the interim Vare began smoking, drinking and eating to excess. This led in August 1928 to a stroke
that nearly killed him.
In December 1929, Vare was summoned before the Senate where he was informed that while he won the election, they could not agree to his being seated. However, Vare took it to mean that he was being denied the seat because of Pinchot's charges. As a result, in the 1930 gubernatorial primary, Vare supported the Democratic nominee John Hemphill
, who lost to Pinchot. At this point a palace coup emerged at the Republican City Committee, where he was ousted and replaced by Secretary of Labor James J. Davis
.
Four years later, Vare was attempting a comeback as a Democrat. However, the symptoms of the 1928 stroke had become worse in the ensuing six years, and he died on the sixth anniversary of the stroke. He is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery
, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
construction contractor and Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. He represented Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the U.S House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and won a contested election to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
Youth
Bill Vare was the youngest of three Vare brothers who were all contractors and politicians. George (1859–1908), Ed (1862–1922) and William were all born in the area of South PhiladelphiaSouth Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
known in local slang as "The Neck
South Philadelphia Sports Complex
The South Philadelphia Sports Complex is the current home of Philadelphia's professional sports teams. It is the site of the Wells Fargo Center, Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park...
", or the area of South Philadelphia that calls the Wachovia Center
Wachovia Center
The Wells Fargo Center is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, Lincoln Financial Field
Lincoln Financial Field
Lincoln Financial Field is the home stadium of the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles. It has a seating capacity of 68,532 . It is located in South Philadelphia on Pattison Avenue between 11th and 10th streets, also aside I-95 as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
and Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the...
home.
Bill, although not the product of a dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
, nevertheless had a rough childhood. At age six, he witnessed the death of his father, his mother died while in labor and with the exceptions of his two older brothers mentioned above he witnessed the deaths of all his brothers and sisters. This seems to have instilled in him a dark side, a bright side and a real drive to succeed. The renowned merchant of Philadelphia, John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker was a United States merchant, religious leader, civic and political figure, considered by some to be the father of modern advertising and a "pioneer in marketing." Wanamaker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Biography:He was born on July 11, 1838.He opened his first store in...
, took young Bill under his wing, by paying for his tuition at Philadelphia's famous Central Highschool, and a little later he worked at Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's department store was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States. At its zenith in the early 20th century, there were two major Wanamaker department stores, one in Philadelphia and one in New York City at Broadway...
.
Early career
His political career began in 1884 when he observed the MummersMummers Parade
The Mummers Parade is held each New Year's Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Local clubs compete in one of four categories . They prepare elaborate costumes and moveable scenery, which take months to complete...
on New Years Day and realized that this system of drill marches could be employed in political campaigns. In 1890 he started contracting with his two older brothers. By 1909, this contracting firm, known simply as "Vare Brothers," had contracts with the City of Philadelphia whose aggregate worth was over $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100,000,000.
Bill was elected to City Council in 1898. Four years later, he was elected as Recorder of Deeds
Recorder of deeds
Recorder of deeds is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property.-Background:...
. In 1911, he decided to try a run for mayor as a moderate Republican. The primary was won by George H. Earle, Jr., but it split the Republican organization in Philadelphia three different ways, and it was these splits that accounted for Independent Rudolph Blankenburg
Rudolph Blankenburg
Rudolph Blankenburg was a mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1911 to 1916.Blankenburg was born in Hillentrup, Lippe-Detmold , Germany. He came to the United States in 1865. He married Lucretia M. Longshore , April 18, 1867, who was a prominent women's suffragist, a militant Quaker and an...
's election in 1911.
United States House of Representatives
In 1912United States House election, 1912
The U.S. House election of 1912 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1912 which coincided with the election of President Woodrow Wilson....
, Vare was elected to the first of seven terms in the House of Representatives upon the death of Henry H. Bingham
Henry H. Bingham
Henry Harrison Bingham was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, who received the United States Military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of the Wilderness....
. At this juncture, Vare's voting record took a much more pronounced turn to the left. He supported the abolition of child labor, the federal income tax, the rights of unions to bargain collectively, and voting rights for women and the ending of segregation on passenger rail cars. In 1921 Vare's rival, Senator Boies Penrose
Boies Penrose
Boies Penrose was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1897 until his death in 1921.-Biography:...
, died. The following year his older brother Ed also died. This left Bill Vare as the undisputed leader of Philadelphia, with broad influence over the burgeoning industrial and economic region of the middle Atlantic seaboard.
Vare's voting record in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
was classically Pennsylvania Republican, or more liberal on social issues and then more conservative on issues of pure business. Vare repeatedly pursued the repeal of Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
because of the cruel police state it imposed, and was actually able to show, statistically, that alcohol-related crimes increased threefold in Philadelphia during the first years of Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
. It was a testament to his moral character that he argued this way, as it has been inferred that the Philadelphia Republican Party machine relied on alcohol-related revenues to fund its core activities, and Vare thus stood to lose much of his financial backing by pursuing Prohibition's repeal.
The Republican organization in Philadelphia received many offers to do business from the likes of Waxey Gordon
Waxey Gordon
Waxey Gordon was an American gangster who specialized in bootlegging and illegal gambling. An associate of Arnold Rothstein during prohibition he was caught up in a power struggle following his death...
and "Lucky" Luciano
Lucky Luciano
Charlie "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian mobster born in Sicily. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission...
. But this was no ordinary arrangement, as Vare forced both Gordon and Luciano to agree that Vare would hold a veto power over any racket operating in Philadelphia. In a further bid to gird the fiscal foundation of the Party, Vare decided to extract "loyalty oaths" from the entire Philadelphia Republican organization. Vare was also able to exert tremendous influence over Philadelphia's legal business. This was a strong form of politics, because Vare had lots of influence with the unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
.
Senate Scandals and End of career
In 1926United States Senate election, 1926
The U.S. Senate election, 1926 was an election for the United States Senate which occurred in the middle of Republican President Calvin Coolidge's second term. Although Coolidge remained popular, the Republican majority was reduced by six seats....
Vare announced his candidacy for the United States Senate. Both the primaries and general election were scandals. After Vare apparently won the election, Governor Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania...
, who had been drubbed by Vare in the primary, refused to certify the election. In January 1927, Pinchot testified before the Senate, producing several thousand illegal paper ballots. Nevertheless, the Senate informed Vare that they would contact him. In the interim Vare began smoking, drinking and eating to excess. This led in August 1928 to a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
that nearly killed him.
In December 1929, Vare was summoned before the Senate where he was informed that while he won the election, they could not agree to his being seated. However, Vare took it to mean that he was being denied the seat because of Pinchot's charges. As a result, in the 1930 gubernatorial primary, Vare supported the Democratic nominee John Hemphill
John Hemphill
John Hemphill is the name of:* John Hemphill , U.S. Senator from Texas and Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court* John Hemphill , American comedian...
, who lost to Pinchot. At this point a palace coup emerged at the Republican City Committee, where he was ousted and replaced by Secretary of Labor James J. Davis
James J. Davis
James John Davis was an American steel worker and Republican Party politician in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served as U.S. Secretary of Labor and represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate...
.
Four years later, Vare was attempting a comeback as a Democrat. However, the symptoms of the 1928 stroke had become worse in the ensuing six years, and he died on the sixth anniversary of the stroke. He is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery
West Laurel Hill Cemetery
West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the site of many notable burials, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1992...
, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.