The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-03-30
NEA Service Writer

Washington What do you think of this guy Schofield?" Major General Smedley Butler was asked as he and your correspondent passed each other on the run.
 'I think he's a hell of good feCa" replied Butler, who had at least as many troubles with politi- clans as Lemuel Schofield is having when the general himself tried to en force the law as public safety direc- tor of Philadelphia.
 You think he will get away with it?"
 Yeah" Butler hollered back, T think he will"
 That wasn't much of an interview, but this story happens to be about the important connection that exists between national politics and poli-
 tics in big. bad cities.
 Schofield has created terrific com-
 motion in Philadelphia by trying to | enforce prohibition on everybody, a
 much broader application of the law than the federal enforcement organ
 ization has ever used.
 | He has made Philadelphia a far dryer town than either Chicago or
 New York. And, by getting the big
 politicians there to fighting over his policies and tactics, he has called
 attention to the fact that our other
 largest cities are going through per- iods of great political excitement
 whose reverberations are more than
 audible in Washington.
 l You see, one thing about politics
 Is that President Hoover and other
 high republican officials find among | the important party politicians such
 gents as Big Bill Thompson and Bill Ware, while Governor Franklin Roosevelt and other respectable
 democrats have to admit the im-
 portance of Tammany whenever
 they want to carry New York state. | The New York situation is most
 engaging for politicians at the
 moment. Tammars' is fighting the
 Investigations whi.Si have exposed
 graft and corruption in the city's judiciary and it's police department. | Governor Roosevelt is the out
 standing candidate for the next democratic presidential nomination.
 His future attitude toward Tam many may be the cause of his politi-
 cal ruin or 1t may be sufficiently
 bold and effective to rouse the coun-
 try to the point where his nomina- ton will be almost certain. i Roosevelt has by no means ig-
 nored the New York City situation.
 Already he has incensed Tammany
 leaders by naming Judge Samuel
 Seabury to investigate the Tammany
 district attorney, who was accused
 of inaction in the face of all the re- lve1ations.
 The governor ordered the Grain investigation in response to public demands, but he scorned the chance
 to cater to 'Tammany by putting 1t
 in the hands of a man more satis-
 factory to its leaders.
 | The worst, however, may be yet to come as a result of further de-
 mands upon him for action leading
 to the busting of Mayor Jimmy l Walker.
 l If Jimmy becomes an insistent issue Roosevelt will be at the crisis of his political career to date; ac- ton against a Tammany mayor would turn that powerful machine against him with the definite deter imitation to crush him.
 Firm action. however, would tend
 to set Roosevelt up as something of
 a national hero. make Tammany an asset rather than liability to him outside New York and wipe out the serious handicap which he would labor under if he obviously truckled | to the organization.
 In Philadelphia, MT. Schofield has