Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-15
Chicago Primary Is Fiery
WINDY CITY APATHETIC TO BALLYHoo.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

pared to the wild and woolly fight
now raging in the Chicago mayor
atty primary campaign. Big Bill
Thompson, battling for political life and
another term in the City Hall, is in
the throes Of knockdown and drag
out for the Republican nomination
with Judge John H. Lyle, foe of gang
sters and gunner.
Lyle has made the issue clean
cut contest between continued gang
domination of Americas second largest
city and decent municipal government.
BY inference hardly distinguishable
from downright assertion, the judge Is
holding big Bill" up to public scorn
as the principal prop of gunman rule.
Every time Lyle takes the platform,
he surrounds himself with an exhibit
of machine guns, sawed-of shotguns.
pineapple" bombs and belly" pistols
seized from gangsters, and tells the
meeting these are the symbols OF
Thompson's power and the source OF
his stranglehold on Chicagos city ad-
rninistration. big Bill retortS by call
ing Lyle a "lunatic,'' aspersing his
parentage, and clubbing him -four
fluSher."
The Sky's the Limit.
Accustomed as Chicago is to rough
and tumble municipal campaigns, the
oldest inhabitant can hardly remember
anv of them that matched the Thomp-
son-Lyle imbroglio in invectiye and VI
tuperation. The sky Is the limit. No
body knows which one of the candidates
began it. Be that as it may, the war
of words is on, and how.
THAT f1abby- jowled counterfeit, our
mayor" thunders Lyle, cant intimi-
date me. deal with crooks every day.
He likes to refer to himself as cow
boy. AS a matter of fact, the closest
he ever came to being COW hand was
to perform the duties OF chamoermald
in a ranch bunk house in wyoming"
Then the learned Judge filings this one
at King Georges arch foe: But 1t
isn't so important whether he was a
real cow hand or just a bunk house
turnkey. The important question Is,
how did 1t happen that he went out
West where few questions are asked
strangers about their past?
Thompson sent paid emissarieS
down to my birthplace in Indiana ana
to my boyhood home in Tennesse3, to
try to dig up some boyish wrong Of
mine, II they could find one. He was
boy, Pitchfork Bill, wants to dig into
the past, I'll ask him this: what hap
pened at his home in this part Of the
country that suddenly made 1t neces-
sary for him to take UP his residence
in wyoming? Let him tell us that"
Thompson Sues Lyle.
The day after Judge Lyle hurled this
bunch of posies at Thompson, big
Bill filed a suit against him for
500, 900 damages. The accusations OF
Lyle included the suggestion that the
mayor had Incorporated funds col
lected by him for relief Of Mississippi
flood victims. Lyle has attacked my
integrity" roared Thompson at his
MONDAY meeting. mo man, no matter
who he is, can do that and get away
with it. He defied me to sue. I have
sued. But I don't expect to collect.
Lyle overdraws his pay and he Is broke. "
The judges rejoinder TO this sally was
that Thompson is a chronic filler of
libel suits against Chicagoans who dare
to utter the truth about him. i've
looked UP the records" said Lyle, land
during his term of ONCE Thompson has
sued IS people for something like
81, 900, 900 in damages, and never col
lected a cent"
Thompson, a born Snowman, puts on
q daily circus parade designed TO heap
ridicule on his opponents and enemies
The parade consists of an elephant from
the zoo, proudly en1blazoned big Bill
In honor Of the mayor himself. The
elephant is followed by a limping and
decrepit jackass labeled THE Judge"
Behind The Judge" trudges a smaller
and still more pitiable-looking donkey
pIacarded Little. Arthur" a take-off
on youthful Alderman Arthur Barrett
Of the City Council, who Is running IN
the mayoralty campaign as a Deneen
Republican independent, supposedly for
the sole purpose Of keeping Senator
Deneens organization intact.
Circus Raps Press.
The circus procession ends up with
q couple Of unkempt hoboes identi-
fed, respectively, as THE Tribune"
and THE Daily News" the two Chi
cago Newspapers which are fighting
Big Bills" attempt to perpetuate his
regime in City Hall.
Jumbo, the fiood-relief quack," is
one, of Judge Lyle's favorite names
for Thompson William Hale-1tosis
Thompson, the bad-breath of politics
Is another choice bit. big Bill" in
one Of Lyles thrusts, is depicted as
declaring that he cant stop crime
How does he know he can't stop crime7
He's got to try first"
The mayor comes back with what
he claims are some recent Department
Of Justice figures from Washington In
dicating that "Chicago's reputation
enemies within the gates. The indis-
putable records show that people are
safer on our streets than they are
in any large city you can name"
The figures Big Bill" cites appear
to show that 81 cities in the United
States have worse per capita crime
records than Chicago. Eventually all
America must accord our CITY," says
Thompson, "itS earned esteem as a
leader in industry, finance, commerce
culture and ideals. with compare
shining shield"
Book Tells Killings.
Fred Paisley, Chicago newspsperman,
who Is winning literally golden laurels
with his best-seller book, "Al Capone-
Self-made American" seems to take
issue with Thompson's Chicago crime
statistics. According to Paisley, Chi
cago has had 500 gangster killings
since 1928, without q solitary convic-
ton or execution.
How deeply Is the great metropolis
by the lake throbbing with civic virtue
at this witching hour? Is a grounc
swell of reform shaping up? The
mayoralty primary on February ~
should tell the story.
Many authorities here feel there is ne
really deep-seated arousing of the pub
lie conscience over the issues raised ir
the Thompson-Lyle set-to. Apathy Il
said to prevail amid the economic
gloom Of the day. The commonest ex.
HHAHXnH II" OYHOnT