James Kerney was an American editor and author. During his career he served at some stage as statesman and diplomat, jurist and philanthropist.
Background
James Kerney was born on April 29, 1873 in Trenton, New Jersey, United States. He was one of nineteen children born to Thomas Francis and Maria (O'Farrell) Kerney, who emigrated from the impoverished west coast of Ireland sometime before 1870.
Education
Kerney's formal education was limited to a few years in a parochial school and attendance at night classes in Trenton. Then he was an apprentice in painting wagon-wheels.
Career
Kerney started his job experience as a stenographer and then as a reporter for New York, Philadelphia, Trenton, and Newark newspapers. For six months he served as editor of the Atlantic City Press, owned by Walter E. Edge, and in 1903 he became editor and part-owner of the Trenton Evening Times. Under his skillful direction the paper grew rapidly in circulation and influence, and later through the acquisition of the Trenton True American (1912, discontinued in 1913), the Trenton Sunday Advertiser (1912), and the Trenton State Gazette (1926), he obtained complete control of the newspaper field in Trenton.
Kerney proved a talented, vigorous, and responsible editor and sought to apply Byron's rule in literary pursuits: "Without, or with offense to friends or foes, I sketch your world exactly as it goes. " Progressive and independent in his political views, he was often sharply critical of political and business practices. Through the Evening Times he led the fight for the adoption of the commission form of government for Trenton, and his newspapers frequently championed worthy civic and charitable causes. Kerney himself became a leading sponsor and benefactor of municipal enterprises and social services in Trenton. Although long an active and constructive influence in New Jersey politics, he rarely accepted public office.
From 1908 to 1911 he was a member of the state civil service commission, and from 1931 to 1933 he served as a lay judge of the court of errors and appeals and of the court of pardons. In February 1918, he was appointed the director of the American Committee on Public Information, with headquarters in Paris. This agency disseminated data calculated to bolster Allied morale and sway public opinion in neutral and enemy countries. While in Paris he also dispatched confidential reports to the president on political matters. The success of his work was attested by Wilson, Pershing, and others.
In 1930 President Hoover appointed him to the special commission sent to study and report upon conditions in Haiti. While on this mission he suffered the first of a series of heart attacks which eventually caused his death, but he remained with the commission until it had completed its work.
The French Government made him a member of the Legion of Honor.
Interests
Politicians
Kerney opposed the nomination of Woodrow Wilson for governor in 1910, but once the nomination was made and Wilson had declared his political independence, Kerney became one of the candidate's counselors and encouraged his forthright attack on bossism in New Jersey. From that time until the close of Wilson's career Kerney remained a devoted friend and a discriminating advocate of his domestic and foreign policies. During the governorship and the presidency Wilson frequently drew upon Kerney's advice and his services for tasks requiring tact and political acumen.
Connections
Kerney married Sarah (Mullen) Kerney on October 4, 1897. They had six children, Mary, Thomas, Katharine, James, John, and Margaret.