Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-02-13
Washington
Lacks Cities
Boost Army
But George P. Marshall
Is One-Man Brigade
BY DAMON RUNYON

~ recent statement tndl w ASH
ington never had much of the
old booster spirit characteristic
of many other American cities
and that YOU seldom read bids
for tourist traffic there, a hotel
executive favors us with a batch
of hotel ads which stress invita-
ton 10 the nations wonder city.
They are not large ads, but
we Judge they are in proportion
10 the budgets of the various
taverns The space limitation
prevents any thing more than
genera All + ies.----- ------------,
They are somewhat restrained
in language. we think, consider
ing the exciting things they
could find TO talk about. yet
nonetheless they strike a more
personal and cordial note of well
come TO Washington than any
thing we have seen in print.
Possibly what we missed in
Washington was the booster
spirit in the individual citizen
that pops out on you without
warning in other cities The
Washingtonian is not enormous
~ eager TO show the visitor-the
local marvels and may not even
mention them.
He takes his city for granted.
Perhaps he feels that it would
be fatuous to brag about city
that is the na,ion's capital and
that everybody knows where il
is and what it is all about.
A ND maybe if we lived in
"A Washington and had nothing
to say about running the city,
and no voice in national affairs.
and with the richest government
in the world behind the munic-
ipality, we would not feel that
same glowing pride with which
the citizen of the average city
views the growth and progress
of his home community because
part in the advancement.
1t may surprise many Wash
ingtonians, and it will certainly
pain some, to be advised that the
greatest individual booster for
the city is the flamboyant
George Preston Marshall, owner
of a laundry business and d
dabhler in sports on the side.
Marshall is a man of great per-
Sonal ostentation, opinionated.
domineering, voluble, and be-,
cause of these traits he is not
beloved by all his fellow citizens.
But he is an outstanding ex-
ample of the type of which
Washington seems TO have too
few representatives.
Marshall is the old-fashioned.
loud, assertive. this-is-the-great-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS type. CJt
will hurt his feelings to be called
old-fashioned in anything) The
type may get on your nerves
now and then, but il has done
more to make American cities
progressive and prosperous than
any other
Marshall never misses an op-
portunity to tell a listener about
Washington He knows his city
thoroughly. He likes 10 display
its ever-increasing wonders TO
the stranger and boasts about
them to a point of eXaggeration.
TllE fact that Washington is
L a national enterprise and be-
longs to all the nation does not
trouble Marshall. AS far as he
is concerned. it belongs only to
the people of Washington. He
considers those who do not hold
permanent residence there as
just visitors and not partners in
the proposition. which in truth
and in fact they are.
He is not a native Washing
tonian. either. He went there
from West Virginia years ago as
a Young fellow. but Immediately
adopted Washington as his own.
He ran nubbin of a business
into big enterprise and he has
been yelling about the beauties
and blessings Of Washington ever
since. He lives there in the
Summer. possibly to prove his
point.
He operates a professional
football club in the Fall. but
with such an accent on Washing
ton in the operation as TO lead
to the suspicion that the bally-
hoo of his home town is more
important than anything else.
LIE HAS been trying to get a
IL great stadium built in
Washington and demanding the
Army and NAVY football game
and national conventions and
similar affairs ever since we
have know him. He thinks
Washington will one day be the
largest city on the eastern side
of the continent with the pos
Sible exception of New York,
He can tell you to the last
baby the increase in population
every month. lie pretends to a
cosmopolitan interest in all
cities and all sections. but he is
of the opinion that they are all
second rate compared to Wash
ington and its environs.
OF course. you. are not to be-
lieve that Marshall'S interest in
his home town is entirely I'M
selfish The bigger and better