The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-09-27
Other Mems Views
An Editorial That May or May Not
Square With The Forums
Opinions.

The Christian Science Monitor:
Some day. perhaps, the reasons, i'm
pulses, and motives that have i'm
PEELED the mayr of Chicago, Will
liam Hale Thompson, to run counter
to his own early record. to his party,
TO public sentiment. to the national
government, and to the generally rec
Ognized interests of the country In
time Of war, will be made clear.
The change that has come over the
man since he was elected, for a term
Of four years, to the highest Office
within the gift of the second NUM-
cipality in the United States, on
April 6, 1915. has been no more re-
markable than mysterious. A Bos-
tOnian by nativity, a descendant Of a
long and respectable line OF New
Englanders, he was taken to the west
as child. and. in a very large sense,
has been identified with that section
from early manhood.
He was OF the Rooseveltian type Of
young American. an athlete, fond Of
the great outdoors, a cattle ranch
man, a. progressive Republican. He
was wealthy. He became actively
Identified with politics, and number
ed among his political friends some
of the strongest men of the Republi-
can party. He was nominated for
the mayoralty, and was declared
elected by the remarkable plurality
of 100000 votes. His victory dis
armed all opposition. In a prosper
ity parade intended to celebrate his
triumph $4,000 people, of all shades
Of opinion. participated. There were
no less than $500 automobiles in the
procession.
Strangely enough, the man whom
he defeated for the mayoralty was of
German descent, and bore the Teu-
tonic name of SweitZer. Friends of
the latter used these facts to advo-
cate the candidacy of his oppnent.
William Hale Thompson was COM
monty accepted, by the voters of
Chicago, as representing pro- Ally
sentiment in the campaign. The pa
triotic men. as well as the patriotic
women, of the city, gave him their
support. He received the votes Of
148,S25 women. During the cam
paign the cry went forth that a vote
for Sweitzer would mean a vote for
the Kaiser. The overwhelming cleo
ton of Thompson was, therefore, re-
garded as a sentimental victory for
the Allies In one of the leading CEN
tiers of German population in the
United States.
Thompson settled a threatened
general tie-up of the traction lines
when everybody else, seemingly, had
failed. This enhanced his popular
ity still further. In his difficulties
with the board Of education. public
opinion was divided. He dared the
saloon, brewing. and distilIing inter
ests by stopping the sale OF liquors
on Sunday. He opposed extravagan-
ces in administration. His agrees
siveness, in the course of time. made
for him many enemies, but also won
for him friends.
Suddenly he began to oppose the
war attitude Of the national Admin
istration. He criticized the Presi-
dent. He antagonized war measures
in congress. He undertook to in
terfere with the Liberty Loan, refus-
ing canvassers the right Of soliciting
in the city hall. He
talked of Chicago as the sixth Ger
man city of the world, and, conse-
community in which Ger
man interests should be considered,
and German opinion should have
weight. He opposed the entertain
ment by the municipality of the
French mission. He let it be known
LAidL lie WOuiA ilOl "6lCOIlG the bElL-
ish mission. The city council CEN
sured him for discourtesy and dis
loyalty. He was treated coldly in
the clubs. and threatened with
e X pu 8 n from member
ship. The friendship for the man and
his policies displayed by a notorious
daily publication strengthened the
popular antipathy which his course
invited. liberation, and even en-
Of the wandering and
repudiated pacifsts is the
latest blow which the once popular
and respected mayor has inflicted up
on the civic pride of the community.
1t is evidently the desire of all pa
triotic, right thinking Chicagoans
that the world shall understand how
keenly they feel the disgrace heaped
upon the city by its chief officer. The
people are hoping and
looking for a way out, and they are
hoping and looking expectantly, for,
to most of them. nothing appears
more certain than that the present
conditions cannot long endure.