Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-07
CHICAGO WATCHES
CERMAK CLEANUP
New Mayor, Three Months in
Office, Now "AtoneS"
for Thompson.

BY the Associated Press
CHICAGO, July Now that Mayor
Anton Cermak has rounded out ms
cabinet with an official 'greeter," Chi
cagoans may answer the standard query
of outsiders, "How's your new mayor
getting along?"
Cermak, the Democrat, mas peen At
It three months.
His first act was to discharge 5000
City Hall employees. Economy was to
be the WatchWord for a city plagued
with uncollected taxes and unpaid bills.
Glad Handler Saves Time.
His latest act was to appoint a mu-
nicipal glad-hander of the Grover
Whalen type. What his predecessor,
former Mayor William Hale Thompson,
supplied in showmanship Cermak Will
supply in George D. Cav, riding the
boulevards with distinguished visitors
in his pure white automobile escorted
by two white motor cycles.
Thus Cermak, passing the baton OF
ceremony to a proxy, borroWs time TO
study the civic budget-a study in red
ink-and set his household in order.
His efficiency expert offers figures
purporting to show an 81 per cent re-
duction Of monthly expenditures from
March to May-$6, o00,0 900 a year, if
carried through.
That is only superficial job-only
n trimming of the obviously unneceS-
Rary Jobs" said Mayor CermaE.
His economy campaign, embracing
proposal of vacations without pay Tor
City Hall employees, drew one OF the
few utterances of William Hale Thomp-
son since his defeat IN April LOT
fourth term.
we always paid the City Hall EN-.
Moves when was in Office" said
Thompson tersely. ;,
But vacations without pay" replied
Cermak ARE the atonement Tor
Thompson extravaganza.
Before he left Office he spent all OF
Che money necessary to run the city,
Cermak charged, land, in addition,
some he had no right to spend"
Disowns School Board.
It has not been wholly smooth going
for the new mayor, despite his election
BY a tremendous majority, his firm grip
on county as we'll as city government
and his party control. IL.
He caused CONSERVATION among City
Hall department heads by dismisSlng
thousands, then building up the city
staff through a Central Employment
Bureau under his own direction. De
partment managers had less to say
about their subordinates.
He met rebuff from the Board OF Ed
ucation when he solicited enough reSlg-
nations to insure control, saying the
people asked for new deal all around.
The designations failed to flow IN. Ger
max was accused by his foes of greed,
and he subsequently washed his hands
of the school board and said he could
not be responsible for its conduct.
He travelled to Springfield With q
hamper full of bills he wanted enacted
Immediately for Chicago's relief from
a two-year famine OF tax collectlons
the result of reassessment delay. But
the legislators took no action.
Job hunters, in numbers enhanced by
a iob-hungry year. besiege him daily
They find him in, albeit not always re-
ceiving.
MAYOR Cermak is at his desk five or
six days week. and Sits the phalanX
of Job hunters and favor seekers
through an elaborate system OF waiting
rooms and secretaries. The unknown
visitor must argue his way through at
least four rooms and overcome the OBJ
1ections of five satellites before ach1ev-
ing the mayoral presence.
Has Advisory Commission.
In his tiny sanctum the executive
sits, coatless, signing papers and brus-
ouely answering telephone calls, while
he hurries through an interview, which
he terminates by rising and walking
toward the door. Now he has cut visit
ing hours from 10 am. until noon.
The press divided between outSpoken
friendship and violent hostility toward
Thompson, this far has evinced toward
the new mayor a disposition to "let be. .
A novelty CT the Cermak regime is
an Advisory Commission" composed
of public-spirited business men and
women, non-partisan in nature. Bank
ers, real estate men, authors, political
scientists, engineers, manufacturers and
merchants compose the council Among
them are William r. Dawes, banker;
Janet Aver Fairbank, author; Prof
Charles E. Merriam Of the University of
Chicago. It's chairman is Sewell Avery,
president of the United States
Gypsum Co.
How goes the new mayor?
great city is watching and reserv1ng
Judgment.