Overview
There was a time in Columbus, Ohio where the good guys and bad guys had a little too much in common.
Politics and vice were closely aligned during the Ragtime Era in Columbus, Ohio. The political machine needed ward heelers to deliver votes and the ward heelers needed politicians to protect their constituents—the saloonists, gamblers, and brothel keepers. “Smoky” Hobbs, “Pod” Connelly, and “Guinea” Long were the three kings of The Bad Lands, those impoverished, crime-ridden districts of the city. An African American, Hobbs controlled the Black voters, while Irishmen Connelly and Long held sway over the poorer white ones.
The father-daughter writing team of David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker once again draw back the curtain on a forgotten episode of city history in which votes could be bought and bribery, graft, extortion, cronyism, and patronage were the rule.
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