Lomasney
The Life, Legend and Lessons of
Martin Lomasney: Ward Boss &
West End Icon
By Susan Minichiello
From th e late 1800s well into the first half of the 20th centu ry,
Boston 's polit ical landscape was combative at best, an d corrupt at worst.
Such was t he arena a young Martin Lomasney entered when he first
stepped onto the City's poli tical stage at the tende r age of 16. But far from
falling victim to this lion's den, Lomasney endured and went on to wield
substantial political power, pr imarily as a ward boss.
Tod ay, there is no real equ ivalent to the old ward bosses, even tho ugh some politicians have played a sim ilar role on occasion and some non-elected/ non -appointed
ind ividua ls do exert significant po litical clout. In Lomasney 's d ay, everyon e knew
their ward boss an d, largely, either revered or loathed him. Lomasney certainly had
his detrac tors, but most of his constituen t s, includi ng reside nts of the Old West
End, held him in high regard.
"Martin Lomas ney is without a doubt one of the cen tral figures in West End
lore," says Duane Lucia, executive d irector of the West End Museum. "His influen ce
on the com m un ity, both socially and politicall y, cannot be overstated. To this day,
the stree t n amed afte r him (Lom asney Way) is a testament to the legendary st at us
he hold s with many curre nt and former residents of th e area."
Born in Boston in 1859, Lomasney was the son of Irish imm igrants who fled
to t he U.S. dur ing the great potato fam ine. His p arents an d t wo of his siblings died
when he was still a ch ild, forcing Mar t in and h is b rothe r Joe to move in with an
aunt. After leaving schoo l in the eighth grade, Lomasney befrien ded a local ward
boss, who steered h im from t roub le an d gave him a job as a lamplighter and healt h
inspector. In 1875 he entere d polit ics as an aide to Boston's Democr atic boss,
Michae l Wells.
With in 10 years, Lomasney had become ent renched as the ind isputable boss
of Ward 8 (late r Ward 5, then Ward 3), whic h encom passed the West End. He
and Joe soon founde d t he Hen d ricks Club at the corner of Lowell and Causeway
streets. The establishmen t began as a soc ial club. wh ere neighborhood men wou ld
gath er sim ply to enjoy each ot her's co mpany. But, with no existing social welfare
net, the Hendricks Club also bec ame th e place that members of the community
turned to for shelter, food and help finding work. Ultim ately it became the heart of
Lom asney's political mach ine, with a pr imary function of rallying an d organizing
of voters.
The ward bosses of t omasney 's er a were widely known for grafti ng and voter
fraud, and while Lomasney was no angel, h e earned a reputation as a man of great
intelligence and integrity th roughou t his political career. He did part ak e in the
pervasive "mattress voter" ca mpaig ns of the day, bringing in homeless men to
temporar ily stay in ward residences dur ing the annua l Apr il 15th vote r cou nts.
But when it came to co rruption in such matte rs as city infrastructure contrac t s,
Lom asney openly fought against it, somet im es at great personal risk. In I 920, he
dis covere d t hat a contractor was bilki ng t he city and successfully got that contractor fired. Subseque ntly, the contractor showed up at Cit y Hall, pulled a gun and
shot Lomasney. While recovering at the hosp ital, Lomas ney said, with his typical
wit, "People might not like their Aldermen, but t hey don' t think we shou ld be shot
without a fair trial :
When Lincoln Steffens, a New York journalist known for invest igati ng corruption in m un icipal govern m en t, came to Boston to spend t ime with Lomasney, he
fou nd a man who was an excep tion to the rule. Steffens said Lomasney was probab ly the best public servant he had ever met , that he was scru pulously honest and
wholly commi tt ed to his co nstituents. Historian Dor is Kearns Goodw in wrote of
Lom asney, "He lived a simple, low-key life, ren ting a small apartment and wearing
th e same old battered straw hat year roun d, but to the people of the West En d he
was a god. Ar riving ea rly each morning at his headquarters, Lomasney worked 365
days a year, cari ng for 'his' peop le in all phases of their lives."
A lifelong bachelor, Lom asney dedicated his life to bu ilding h is polit ical ma ch ine throug h a base of unwavering ly loyal aid es and constituents. Accordi ng
Suffolk Un ivers ity History P rofessor Robert Allison, "Lomas ney wou ld walk the city
every n ight, often g reeting immig rants as they arrived on Boston's docks. He was
very bright an d invested a lot in real estate. In fact, he's res ponsib le for the Bosto n
Garden being bui lt."
He was a man of few words, unless a particular occasio n . like a high ly contested elect ion, require d more. Lomasney's best kn own quote exemplifies his affinity for pithiness as well as his advice to fellow politicians, "Never write if you can
speak; never speak if you can nod ; never nod if you can wink." (Also attr ibuted to
Lomasney in abbreviated form as "Don't wr ite when you can tal k; don't talk whe n
you can nod you r head.")
Lomasney was un deniably steadfast, tough and ferven t , all of which made him
a remarkably effective political organizer. O n the eve of an election, he wou ld bring
together his const ituents at the Hendricks Club and tell them who to vote for.
Often . his urgings grew qu ite animated, wit h Lomasney taking off h is jacket, then
tie, then colla r as he got more and mo re agitated in his bid to persuade residents to
vote one way or another. Lomasney always main t ained tha t his reasons for pushing
a particula r candidate or dera iling another were str ictly based on the best interests
of the war d.
Despi te his unq uest ionable politic al po wer and position, Lomasney hated being
called a ward boss. He repeatedly downplayed this title, once saying," A boss gives
orders. I don' t. When I want somet hing done I ask for it. Just before the election we
send out suggestions to the voters. We don 't tell 'em how to vo te. We j ust suggest."
He equally dism issed the moni ker of "cza r," which journalists applied to him. On
one occas io n when Lomasney refuted the ward boss term, a repo rter asked, "Wha t
about mah atma? " Understanding tha t m ahatma indicated more of a spirit ual leader,
Lomasney agreed that term would be acceptable.
Historians poin t to additio nal ways that Lomasney distinguished himself from
th e othe r Irish ward bosses of his era like Patrick Joseph "P.J." Kennedy, "Smilin g
Jim" Donovan, James Michael Curley and John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgera ld.
Many of the Irish bosses were slow to embrace constituent s of other ethn ic and ra·
cial backgrounds. But , as long as t hey registered to vote, Lomasney t reated all residents of his ward the sam e. When it came to recom mending cons tituents for cit y
and state jobs, which all of the bosses did, Lom asney would just as easily recommen d someone of Irish descent as he would someone of another ethnicity or race.
As long as a resident was relatively fit for a job, Lomasney would recomme nd him
and even try to get him there first, ahea d of the other war d bosses' applicants.
At different points in his political career, Lomasney served as Alder man, State
Rep resentative and State Senator, but he prefe rred not to serve in for mal office. The
ward boss posi tion was infor ma l; no one was officially elected or ap po inted to this
role. "You became ward boss by being ward boss, " says Allison. In reality, the ward
bosses of the day had more political influence than those in elected office because of
th e pe rsona l relationsh ips they cultivate d with voters, helping them find jobs, ho us·
ing and the like. "Theserelationships trans lated to a strangle hold on elec lions, with
th e ward bosses essentially able to dictate t heir co nst ituen ts' votes. For Lomasney's
part, over the course of nearly 50 years, no politic al candidate from his d ist rict ran a
successfu l campaign without h is endorse ment.
But Lomasney's legacy is about for more than politica l prowe ss. He stoo d for
community-ba nding togethe r for the common good and tak ing ca re of one anothe r.
Today, as new apa rtments are drawing mo re residents to the West End, Allison says
th ere are vital lesso ns to be learne d from Lomasney's example. "He pull ed seemingly dispara te people -Irish, Italian, Jewish, African American -together. He showed
th at a neigh bor hood can be b uilt and a true sense of commu n ity instilled even in
apparently difficu lt circumstances. "
As the West End co nt inues to grow, its rich history should be hono red and celebrated, all the wh ile creating and fostering a renewed app reciation of commu n ity
coh esion and ident ity. That's how Boston 's mahatma wou ld want it.
(Reproductionsof W. Norman Ritchie'spoliticalcartoonsfrom theBoston Post and
othersfrom the BostonGlobecourtesyof tlie BostonPublicLibrary)