Henry Jager (1879–1952) was a

Romanian-American Romanian Americans () are Americans who have Romanian ancestry. According to the 2023 American Community Survey, 425,738 Americans indicated Romanian as their first or second ancestry, however other sources provide higher estimates, which a ...

politician from

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Life

He emigrated from the

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to the

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, and was naturalized in 1900 in

. In 1911, he removed to

Maywood, New Jersey Maywood is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,080, an increase of 525 (+5.5%) from the 2010 United St ...

. He engaged in the real estate business, and was active in politics as a Socialist organizer. In April 1914, he ran on the

Socialist Labor The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

ticket for Congress at a special election in

New Jersey's 7th congressional district New Jersey's 7th congressional district includes all of Hunterdon and Warren Counties; and parts of Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties. The district is represented by Republican Thomas Kean Jr., who was first elected in 2022, de ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Robert G. Bremner Robert Gunn Bremner (December 17, 1874 – February 5, 1914) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1913 ...

, and polled 104 votes. He came in last, behind Dow H. Drukker (Rep.), James J. O'Byrne (Dem.), Gordon Demarest (Soc.) and Henry C. Whitehead (Progr.). In May 1917, at a Socialist meeting in

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, Jager accused one Paul Strashun of testifying in court that Jager had called President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

a "murderer". Strashun denied this, and was called by Jager "a perjurer, skunk and liar", for which Jager was convicted of

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions, such as the United States and China. Typically, "disorderly conduct" is a term used to refer to any behavior that is considered unacceptable in a formal, civilized or controlled environment. ...

. He was sentenced to a three-month term in prison, and served the full term. Afterwards he lived at several boarding houses in different locations in

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, ending up in 1920 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, while his wife Irene remained in their home in Maywood where he spent many week-ends with her. In November 1920, Jager was elected on the

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

ticket to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

(Kings Co., 14th D.), and took his seat in the

144th New York State Legislature The 144th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 16, 1921, during the first year of Nathan L. Miller's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the p ...

in 1921. On January 12, Assemblyman George H. Rowe offered a resolution contesting Jager's eligibility to office because he had called President Wilson a murderer, had served a six-month prison term, and was a resident of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The resolution was referred to the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary, and a sub-committee was formed to investigate Rowe's claims. On March 29, the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary presented its final report in the matter of the eligibility of Henry Jager. There was consensus that the claim that Jager had called the President a murderer was false, and that neither a conviction for disorderly conduct and a short prison term, nor membership in the Socialist Party, were barring anybody from public office. Contentious remained the question of residence: The majority submitted a report concluding that Jager was a resident of

, and therefore was ineligible for office under the provisions of the Public Officers Law of New York. A minority concluded that Jager was a resident of

. On the next day, Jager's seat was declared vacant by a vote of 77 to 62. Henry Jager 1934

After his expulsion, Jager continued to stand as a Socialist candidate for public office, running for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

in New Jersey in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

, New York State Assembly again in 1934, for Congress in New Jersey's 7th district again in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, and for

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

References

External links

*
Our Campaigns - Jager, Henry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jager, Henry 1879 births Year of death missing People from Maywood, New Jersey Socialist Party of America politicians from New York (state) Politicians from Brooklyn Members of the New York State Assembly Romanian emigrants to the United States 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature