Kelly Assumes His Duties as Hamilton’s Chief Executive
Kelly Assumes His Duties as Hamilton’s Chief Executive
Kelly And Other Newly
Elected Officials Are
Given An Elaborate
Reception
Gambling in Hamilton was conspicuous for its absence last night at what soft drink places and saloons apparently being conducted legitimately as a result of the inauguration of Mayor Howard E. Kelly’s reform. If liquor was sold at all it was in blind tigers established to beat the clean-up.
Disreputable places were closed and the midnight closing ordinance was rigidly enforced.
After receiving their instructions and feeling confident that they would be backed to the limit in the clean-up campaign of the mayor, police last night started upon their work in earnest.
In many incidents the proprietors of soft drink stands, pool rooms, and other places had evidently believed campaign promises and had removed gambling paraphernalia and stopped card games.
Yet there was one or two places where card games, supposedly not gambling were stopped by police to make their work more effective.
Police report that practically every place in the city where gambling, liquor sales and vice existed were suspected was visited bu not violations were being made to the edict of the new mayor.
Disreputable houses had their doors locked and appeared to be deserted.
In short, the city was “closed up.”
Several minutes after he had assumed the duties of office Tuesday Morning the Mayor signed papers giving Frank Brown, traffic patrolman, a leave of absence for one year. Brown will take up a position with the police and fire insurance company. The officer made an application for a leave to Police Chief Frank Clements and Clements referred the officer to the Mayor.
When the Mayor signed the leave it was the first time he had dipped a city pen to an official municipal document.
City hall machinery today is working under the control of Howard E. Kelly and a solid republican party for the first time in a dozen years.
The G.O.P. officials who rode into office in the Republican landslide at the city election in November 1923 took the reigns of administration early Tuesday morning amid the most elaborate reception held at the city building in years.
The walls of the ancient municipal court chamber seemed to vibrate with cheers and applause which greeted the impromptu address delivered by Mayor Kelly from the municipal bench.
Hundreds of men and women were crowded into the small courtroom thirty minutes before the inaugural ceremonies started.
Briefly, Mayor Kelly outlined major planks in his platform of municipal administration. The Mayor declared a general clean-up will be started and carried to the finish.
“I will see that all laws are enforced,” the Mayor declared, “and that the city is given a cleaning.
“But I do not mean to go to the opposite extreme and create a “Blue Law” town. There will be no “Blue Law” Sundays.”
Mayor Kelly touched shortly upon financial difficulties which will arise and spoke of a determination to get to the root of the troubles, find a remedy and use the best remedial measures possible.
The Mayor’s plan was for cooperation on the part of all citizens....
One veteran political “war horse” in the crowd which cheered Kelly paid the new Mayor the “greatest tribute”.
“He’s a scrapper,” the aged campaigner said, “and he will make good. The odds are not at all in his favor but I have known that boy for a long time and he’ll come through all right. Kelly will make a good Mayor and he will give the city a good administration. I’ve seen them all for a number of years and I know this man has the right stuff.”
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A safety director has not yet been appointed. From the mayor’s statement it is deducted [sic] that a safety director will not be appointed unless the law requires that an appointment be made...
The mayor’s reluctancy [sic] to make appointments unless they are required by law, is in support of his announced policy of cutting expenses. Should it be possible to eliminate the position of safety director and mayor’s clerk, a saving of more than $4,000 annually would result.
In the event that a safety director is not appointed, the mayor would serve in the capacity of safety director, it is believed.
A crowd of several hundred persons and many beautiful floral pieces greeted the new mayor when he arrived at the city hall in the morning.
Instead of a reception given by him to provide an opportunity for the public to see him go into office, it seemed more like a happy welcome given by the people to the new mayor.
Congratulations, compliments and many other forms of tribute rained upon the new executive until he responded with an extemporaneous talk from the bench in the courtroom.
As soon as Mayor Kelly stred his address, persons who lined the corridors and filled practically all the downstairs offices in the building attempted to pack themselves into the courtroom but many were disappointed because they couldn’t get within a distance to enable them to distinguish his statements.
Living up to his campaign promises, the mayor reiterated his declaration to “clean up” the city, but stated that his reform would not be so vigorous as to bring about “blue law” Sundays in the city.
“I want the cooperation of everyone during my administration, and if you see anyone violated a law I want to know about it whether or not he is a friend of the republican party. I do not intend to permit politics to influence me in granting favor. All the laws will be rigidly enforced.”
The mayor spoke over a bank of beautiful flowers that had been sent by friends and relatives as a token of their good wishes.
The closing statement of his address appeared to be the signal for those who had not congratulated him to push their way forward and express their appreciation of his intentions as the city’s chief executive.