The Washington times., 1922-12-11
WOMAN BOSS OF
TOWN LIKES
THEJ0b
Girl Mayor Of Freeport, Ohio
Punched In Eye But
Once.
By SARA b. LINDSAY.


NEW YORK. Dec. s.-It's quite
:. feeling to be boss of town;
tel like a Roman emperor. Only,
istead of waving my hand and
rdering. out with him. off with
is head I say. sixty days IN
,e work house,"
That isn what 1t Is like to 'pe
,ayor of a town. according TO
,r.: Amy Kaukonen. the 2S-year'
ID girl who rules over the des-
i:uies of Fairport, Ohio.
The young mayor Is tow
,eaded daughter of Finland VINO
eudied medicine at the woman's
,edical college in Philadeiphia
nd then went out to Cleveland
r special work and practice. She
ettled in Fairport, about 30 milee
rom Cleveland. and within q year
Jas selected by the men OF the
community to make the town safe
or soft drinks. !
1--WE don't put up with boot;
eggers out in. Fairport. We run
hem out of town." said DR.. kau-
omen, today. at q hotel where
nhe 10 honor guest OF a Finnish
organization.
Banishing bootleggers from their
field of trade is one OF the innova-
lions the young ruler has put over
IN municipal government. When
she was selected, the seven thou
sand citizens of y her town In
structed her to clean up the town
and not even husky saloonkeepers
who walk in and give her a
black eye can, stop her,
ELECTION "ACCIDENT." +
1T was elected by accident" she
declared, "A committee of men
waited upon me and asked me to
run for office.
They've given me splendid CO.
operation ever since. get along
better with men. Fairport women
are not interested in politics.
"Now I do everything, from CIV
ing bootleggers' babies soothing
syrup to sentencing the babies
fathers to penal servitude.
"The first thing did after TAX
ing the oath of office was to in
troduce an ordinance requiring soft
drink sellers and pool room
keepers to have licenses. When
We catch them selling liquor, we
revoke their license.
HIT HER IN EYE. /.
''Of course, had q little oppo-
sition at first. Once one man got
% angry he punched me in the
eye. Outside of that the men have
treated me with every respect.
II work with a council of six
men. They are neither patroni7-
ing nor over polite. They treat my
ideas and me as they would were
. man In my position. !
mo one has offered me a bribe.
I don't know whether they think
Q woman's integrity n inviolable
or not, but I think the lack OF
any sign Of graft around my Of
fice 10 q rather subtle compliment.
Besides rum running from
Canada. the town was pretty wide
open when I arrived. There was
one woman I had to Danish. We
closed up her house. suspended
part of the heavy fine we imposed
and told her II she ever came back
into the country she would have
to pay 1t up to the last penny"
Her honor admitted that the po-
Nee court work Is the most inter
esting of her duties. She likes to
plan bond issues and see the
streets paved and well lighted at
night, but more than anything else
she likes to grapple with the prob
lens presented in keeping the
mixed population living peaceably
together.
I'VE have q large per cent of
foreign population, and that com
plicates matters" she said. ''The
rinns are clannish. They do not
become Americanized as quickly
or completely as they should. /
urge them to take up American
customs every time ! get .
chance."