Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-23
General Refuses to Quit Phil
adeIphia Post Until Actual
Iy Dismissed.
INTIMATES REPRISAL
ON POLITICAL LEADERS
officer Incurred Hate of Party
Chiefs in Cleanup of
Quaker City.
BY the Assnclated Press

BY the Associated Press.
PHILADELPHIA, December %
Mayor kendrick today formally dis
missed Gen. Butler as director Of pub
lie safety. effective at noon
The general received the letter of
dismissal shortly after the mayor
reached his office. 1t was delivered
by the mayors secretary. A group
of friends We're in the directors office
as he read it quickly.
We'll, I'm OUT he exclaimed.
The mayor has fired me. Now we
can shoot at him." and the mayors
secretary looked at him in surprise.
There's nothing to stop me now;
I'm a free man." the general said.
Asked his plans, the brigadier gen
eral. who has seen fighting service
all over the world, said:
I'm going to my home in Over
brook and I'm going to drive there
in a car of the United States Marine
Corps. The Marines can take care
of me. and I'd rather be in the Ma
rine Corps than in 15.000,000 cities
like Philadelphia.
The general said he would remain
here for a few days, and added,
there may be something doing in
that time"
Refused to Resign.
The formal dismissal came as a
result Of the directors s refusal to re-
sign. as requested by the mayor yes
terday. The general earlier announc-
ed he would leave his Office today
as under suspension and that the
mayor would have to fire him be-
fore he would quit.
The mayors letter of dismissal was
as follows:
Your letter of December o. in
uuiring why l request your resigna-
ton and would relieve you from duty,
is received.
Il am not required by law to give
2 reason for dismissal of a director.
In order to comply with your request.
| may say that you have not a proper
appreciation of the obligation which
you hold TO the mayor as your supe-
rior officer.
The confidence and harmonious re-
: iationship which should exist between
us as mayor and director of public
safety has by your actions been COM
pietely destroyed.
LAS YOU have failed to comply with
my request for your resignation.
hereby dismiss you as director Of the
department Of public safety at ,Phila-
uelnhla. the dismissal 10 take erect
AT II o'clock noon today.
You will turn over your depart
ment to Assistant Director Elliott
Won Politicians Enmity.
Gen. Butler incurred the enmity of
certain local political leaders shortly
after he took Office on January {.
1924. From the start he let 1t be
known that he wanted no interfer-
ence with his method of handling the
uolice. who. he said. were to be di-
VorCed from politics.
He gave his captains and lieutenants
IS hours to start campaign to rid
the city of vice and crime. Raids fol-
lowed in quick succession. Butler fire.
uuently accompanied the raiders and
made night inspection tours to see
that the policemen We're ION the job
He raided gambling places and closed
saloons said to be owned or operated
by politicians, and upon one occa sion
he bodily elected from his Office sew
eral political leaders. During his first
week in office 431 raids were made and
,i2S saloons closed.
II can still spit in their eve" COM
mented the general on the fact that he
seemed to be neither Marine nor DO
liCenan.
At the end of last year when Gen.
Buffers leave from the Marine Corns
was about to expire. Mayor Kendrick
requested President Coolidge to extend
the leave another year. In granting
the request the President asked that
IL be not made a second time The
mayor, however, headed committee
hat went to Washington last month
to urge the President for A further
extension of the generals leave This
was refused by Mr.. Coolidge
Elliott Takes Office.
George w. Elliott. assistant direc-
tor. named by Mayor Kendrick as
General Buffers successor accepted
the appointment shortly before noon
/ His nomination must be confirmed
by the City Council. Elliott said he
accepted the place on terms salts
factory to the mayor.
Acknowledging the mayors letter
of dismissal Gen. Butler sent reply
in which he charged the mayor with
/ lack of moral courage and stated
, that the reason given for his GUST
ing was simply camouf1age"
You have not interfered in the en-
, forcement of law against the power
! less violators or those in whom YOU
are not interested" Gen. Butler
wrote, but when you baked and di.
,
ceed with the paddock PROCEEDINGS
against the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, against
which establishment there was as
much and as vicious evidence as
against any of the other places we
have closed, and when you refused to
revoke the dance license of the big
hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton, the
/ Walton and the Bellevue Stratford,
controlled by your friends, on evidence
as damaging as has caused revocation
of many other licenses, all of which
action was urgently recommended by
me. and when on December q,
igain pressed you to act and indicated
that 1 would find other means of doing
so if you did not act, you on Decem.
Der % dismissed me from office.
Submits Case to People.
You called me disloyal because
pressed you to be a man and carry
out your oath of office and your
promises YOU have publicly declared
and pledged to the people who elect
ed you, and to me. In order that the
people of Philadelphia who are your
superiors, may know that the failure
to take action on my part is due to
your lack of moral courage ana
Continued on Page ., Column 81