National Affairs: Campaigns

In some half dozen big U. S. cities, Nov. 2 will be election day, and in such places last week off year political campaigns were at their height. Some which enjoyed pleasurable excitement:

Philadelphia. Having been a Republican in 1905, a Wilson Democrat in 1912 and 1916, a Republican officeholder in 1927, a successful candidate for Democratic city controller in 1933 and for Republican mayor in 1935, Philadelphia's boisterous Mayor Samuel Davis Wilson was last week plunking his oratorical hardest for the Democratic slate in a city election for four job-dispensing offices—controller, treasurer, coroner, register of wills —for all of which the Democrats were conceded a better-than-even chance. Mayor Wilson had most fun with two rich but politically unsophisticated socialites who undertook to revive Philadelphia's Republican organization—City Chairman Jay Cooke, descendant of the Civil War financier, and Vice President Joseph Newton Pew Jr.. of Sun Oil Co., who financed Wilson's last mayoralty campaign. Cried the irrepressible mayor: "I'm going to take all the oil out of Pew. There isn't anything to take out of Cooke. . . . Why, every time 'Jumping Jay' Cooke hands out a statement prepared by the high-priced utilities' publicity department, the stench of crude oil causes the public to say 'phew,' sometimes pronounced Pew.'

Stung by his opponent's tactics, bald, amiable Mr. Cooke charged that Mayor Wilson and his allies had succeeded in ''muffling" a Grand Jury investigation of Philadelphia vice ordered by Socialite Judge Curtis Bok, who is also up for reelection. Ordered to explain to the Grand Jury what he meant by "muffling," Mr. Cooke last week took the witness stand, floundered: "Well, the word—muffled—as I understand it, is generally applied to drums. In other words, you have heard of a muffled drum The muffling . . . simply insulates the drum from the outside influences which in that case would be the drumsticks." Judge Bok calmly dismissed the charges. Crackled Mayor Wilson: "... A complete repudiation of the . . . innuendos made by Mr. Cooke."

Cleveland. Reform Republican Mayor Harold Hitz Burton was embarrassed when his Democratic opponent, Engineer John O. McWilliams, accused him of collecting a "slush fund" to swing votes in tough wards. The Board of Elections, investigating, found that Mayor Burton had spent $12,860 more than he had reported, bringing his total to $41,212. Cried Engineer McWilliams, who reported an expenditure of $4,700: "The Mayor is carriying deception and falsification even into his campaign." Mayor Burton's campaign treasurer explained that he had borrowed and supplied the $12,860 personally. Betting odds continued to favor Mayor Burton 2-to-1.