In Philadelphia

A politician, a soldier, and a football coach all mixed up in a rumpus.

The politician was Mayor Freeland W. Kendrick of Philadelphia. Two years ago he announced his intention of "cleaning up the town." He set out to find a fighting police commissioner (Director of Public Safety). He found him. For one reason or another he got rid of him last week.

The soldier is General Smedley D. Butler of the Marines, the fighting police commissioner whom Mayor Kendrick found two years ago. He served as police commissioner for a year under leave of absence from the Marines. Then President Coolidge reluctantly extended his leave for another year--saying however that on Dec. 31, 1925, General Butler must return to the Marines. As the given date approached, it appeared that General Butler would leave Philadelphia. Mayor Kendrick announced that General Butler's assistant, George W. Elliott, would head Philadelphia's police. Last week General Butler changed his mind. He suddenly resigned his commission in the Marines without letting the Mayor know. The Mayor professed to be insulted and dismissed General Butler as police commissioner. So the General fell between two jobs and lost both--but General Lejeune, commandant of the Marine Corps, announced that the resignation could be withdrawn. So General Butler headed back to the Marines.

But before he went, he exchanged amenities with the Mayor. He sent back to the Mayor a blue steel 45-calibre Colt, a gift when he took office; he sent with it a note accusing the Mayor of putting a damper on his activities, especially of preventing him from padlocking the Ritz Carlton Hotel for violation of the liquor law. Philadelphia was in uproar. General Butler had a good record on statistics:

.....................1923.....1924.......1925

Arrests..............98,000...109,000....113,000 Highway robberies*......811.......566........249 Robberies*............1,984....1,866........1,504 Larcenies*............3,762....1,744........2,288 Stolen autos*.........2,917....1,896........2,444 Autos recovered*......2,198....1,634........1,851 Thieves arrested......3,588....4,191........5,595 Gambling raids..........133......227..........318 Speakeasy arrests.....1,015....4,563........8,340 Speakeasy convictions...424....1,117..........227

At this point the football coach came upon the scene. He is the only overt independent on the city council. He is William Roper, head coach of the Princeton eleven, inciter of great deeds on the gridiron, exhorter of youth in wholesome sport. He exclaimed in council meeting:

"In the published correspondence General Butler has made the assertion that he was summarily fired because of his insistence on prosecuting rich and powerful violators of the law as well as the poor and humble who are unfortunate enough to break it. . . .

"Mr. Chairman, I merely want to say that, in my opinion, the Mayor is playing with dynamite. The public official who arrests and harasses the poor and lowly and cringes to the power and influence of the rich will not last long in office."

But what the football coach told the Council was not as strong as what the soldier told a bible class federation: "Pennsylvania can't afford to have a cesspool at its doorstep. That's what Philadelphia is."

The next day General Butler reported to Major General Lejeune in Washington, formally withdrew his resignation from the Marine Corps and was assigned to command the marine base at San Diego.

*To Nov. 17.