John F. J. Herbert

John F. J. Herbert (May 14, 1874 – December 4, 1932) was an American military officer who served with the 102nd Field Artillery Regiment during World War I. After the war, he helped organize the American Legion and was a prohibition officer in Maryland, Montana, Illinois, and Hawaii.

Early life Herbert was born on May 14, 1874, in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Military service Herbert joined the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia as a lieutenant on May 18, 1904. He served with Battery B of the 1st Battalion of Field Artillery. He was a captain when the battalion was mobilized to the Mexican border in June 1916.

American Legion In May 1919, Herbert led the Massachusetts delegation the American Legion's St. Louis Caucus and was elected to the organization's national executive committee.

After the caucus, Herbert served as acting state commander. He organized the Legion's first state convention and reviewed applications of new posts. After announcing his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts on August 5, 1919, he submitted his resignation to the state's executive committee, but it was declined, as they believed his departure during the formative days of the Legion would harm the group and did not think he would be involved in any serious political activity until after officers who could take over his duties were elected at the first state convention. Both Herbert and the committee believed that statewide candidates for political office should not serve as state officers in the American Legion, so he declined to run for state commander. On October 16, 1919, Edward Lawrence Logan was elected commander at the first state convention.

Herbert was the Massachusetts delegation's choice for National Commander at the 1920 national convention. He received 233 votes on the first ballot, which put him in third place behind Frederick W. Galbraith and Hanford MacNider. After losing votes to Galbraith on the second ballot, Herbert and MacNider withdrew and called for Galbraith's unanimous election. In 1924, it was reported that Herbert was being considered for National Commander by a joint caucus of 22 states. The caucus chose to vote for James A. Drain, who was elected on the first ballot.

Campaign for Lieutenant Governor On August 5, 1919, the Massachusetts Democratic state committee selected Herbert as its candidate for Lieutenant Governor. It was believed that Herbert would bring the veteran vote to the Democratic ticket. Herbert won the Democratic primary unopposed. The Democratic ticket was swept in that year's state elections. Herbert lost to Republican incumbent Channing H. Cox 298,010 votes to 188,127.

Veterans' Bureau Herbert was the employment officer for the New England district of the United States Veterans' Bureau. In 1923, he became temporary district manager after Arthur Brides was suspended pending the results of an investigation. Brides was cleared, but resigned. Herbert expressed a desire to hold the office permanently, but did not believe he would receive the appointment because he was a Democrat.

Bureau of Prohibition On December 1, 1926, Herbert became the prohibition director of the district of Maryland and Washington, D.C., which was headquartered in Baltimore. In 1929, his assistant, John J. Quinn, was dismissed and Herbert was transferred to the Montana–Idaho district. According to United States Senator William Borah, an investigator from the Department of Justice told him that Herbert and Quinn had a "record of malfeasance and corruption", and, along with Senator Burton K. Wheeler, demanded his removal from their district. Herbert was defended on the floor of the United States House of Representatives by George R. Stobbs, who represented Herbert's home district. On January 31, 1930, prohibition commissioner James M. Doran promised he would hold an inquiry into the charges against Herbert. On February 4, Senator David I. Walsh of Massachusetts arranged for Borah to meet with Herbert and Borah promised not to press for further investigation if Herbert was cleared by Doran. The following day, Doran cleared Herbert of all charges and ordered his return to duty. Frank S. Flynn, a clerk of the Bureau of Prohibition who had made the allegations against Herbert, was fired.

On July 1, 1930, the Bureau of Prohibition was transfer from the United States Department of the Treasury to the Department of Justice and number of prohibition districts was consolidated from 27 to 12. Herbert was made administrator of district seven, which was headquartered in Chicago.

In February 1932, Herbert was transferred to Hawaii. On February 21, 1932, he suffered a stroke, which left him semi-conscious, unable to speak, and partially paralyzed. He died on December 4, 1932, at Tripler General Hospital in Honolulu. His body arrived at Worcester's Union Station on December 24, 1932, and was met by over 500 people. He received a military escort from members of the 102nd Field Artillery Regiment and the Worcester Post of the American Legion to the State Armoy, where he lay in state for two days. A requiem was held at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament and he was buried at St. John's Cemetery.