Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-20
THOMPSON DEPICTS
FOES WITH HALTER
MayoraIty Opponents Under
Control, He Charges in
Chicago Campaign.
This is the second OF a series OF
three stories dealing NTH the Chi
cdqo mdyordlty campaign.

BY the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, February 20.-William
Hale Thompson-"Bi Bill Thompson
to Chicago-hailing his way through
the campaign for the nomination as
the Republican candidate for mayor. Is
fighting one of the most bitter and
vir1lent battles of his long and colortul
career
Rounding out his siXty-second year.
an even dozen of them as mayor OF
Chicago, Thompson has set his cowboy
hat at a Warlike angle and emerged
again with the bludgeons of battle. =,
Municipal Judge John H. Lyle ana
Alderman Arthur F. Albert are oppoS-
ing the mayor in next Tuesdays prl-
mary. and the poison darts they nave
aimed at "Thompsonism" have brought
him full tilt into the fray, with all the
vigor. vituperation and showmanship OF
his past campaigns.
Uses All Sorts Of Stunts.
Making and 10 speeches a day,
sending out thousands OF workers ana
bales of literature. engineering all sorts
of stunts. including jackaSs paradeS ana
airplane advertising. Thompson is gun
ming for a fourth term. which would
give him a longer tenure in the office
than any other man. What Is more
important, it would give him the oppor-
tunity of welcoming visitors to the 1883
Worlds Fair.
welcoming and backslapping% have
been strong points with Big Bill the
Builder" Strangely enough; the Dig
moments" in Thompson's life as an
international news figure came when ne
pulled in the welcome" mat.
His fame was only regional until ne
refused to invite Marshal Joffre to
Chicago during the World War. This
brought down charges of traitor" and
showers of press clippings on his head.
Refused to Ask King.
Then, in 1927 he not only refused
to invite King George to Chicago. but
he promised to bust him in the snoot"
if he did come OF course. the British
monarch had no intention of coming
1t was. merely Thompsons orama1l .c
way of emphasizing his campaign
issue-that of eliminating 'pro-Brit-
ish influence" which, he said, per-
meated Chicago schools.
This dramatic manner has marked
Thompson's political life right from
the start.
Thompson frankly makes his appeal
ton a valuable adjunct to his bonn
bastic style of address.
Pictures His Opponents.
A mule and a burro now take the
place once occupied by two white rats
to represent Thompson's opponents
and the old fife and drum corps OF
1915 has been replaced by mobile talk
ing movie machines.
There is always a large crowd this
opponents say City Hall employees are
forced to attend and cheer, and when
Thompson appears in his cowboy hat
and raccoon coat he invariably gets an
ovation that he acknowledges with
smile and a wave.
He speaks easily, in an informal, al
most conversational manner, but his
voice is loud and throaty. He refers to
himself as your mayor" and tells OF
the bridges he has built and the streets
he has widened.
The preliminarieS over. Thompson
seems to brighten up. He takes a
frmer grip on the halter he has been
holding and, with boyish grin, starts
out on what the people have come to
hear
Now, about this halter" he says.
1.-The nutty judge wears one and it
leads to the Chicago Tribune. Little
Arthur wears one and it leads to the
Daily News But Bill Thompson wears
no mans halter" And it goes crash
ing into the footlights.