24 Years after Big Bill

Chicago seems headed for a weird and ferocious three-way fight for mayor. The contenders: two-term Mayor Martin Kennelly, who has been dumped by the city's Democratic machine; County Clerk Richard J. Daley, who appointed the committee that picked him and dumped Kennelly (and then commented, "I never dreamed it could happen to me"); and Robert E. Merriam, who won election in 1947 to the city council as a Democrat, but turned Republican to run for mayor.

Kennelly, a courtly, white-haired bachelor who made a modest fortune in the warehouse business, had led the Democratic Party through dark days. In 1947, after 14 years of rule, the Nash-Kelly machine's odorous record seemed to be catching up with it. The Democrats, panicky at the possibility of an election defeat, retired aging Ed Kelly as mayor and ran respectable Martin Kennelly as a "reform" candidate. Elected, Kennelly did a fairly good job, but did not satisfy either the reformers or the machine politicians. Last fall he refused to work for or endorse his party's ticket, and the party got ready to throw Kennelly overboard.

This Is War. Kennelly reacted to the county committee's endorsement of Daley last week by announcing that he would run in the primary as an independent and by declaring war on the party bosses. In rapid order, Kennelly: 1) demanded the resignations of five ward committeemen with city jobs who had voted against him at the county meeting, 2) threatened to cut off the lucrative insurance and bonding business that the city does with some machine Democrats, 3) promised to fire all city employees (not covered by civil service) who work against him in the election, 4) stopped city patronage hiring through party headquarters at the Morrison Hotel.

Kennelly, however, extended civil-service protection to the point where he now has only about 3,700 jobs to play around with. Daley has some 10,000 county jobs under his control, and can hire machine Democrats as fast as Kennelly fires them. Most observers thought that Kennelly's belated fight against Daley was futile.

The Mutual Friend. Now 52, Dick Daley is a modern model of the machine boss, well-scrubbed and honest. He grew up in the "back of the yards" neighborhood on the South Side, got a law degree from De Paul University, became minority leader of the state senate. When Adlai Stevenson was elected governor in 1948, he appointed Daley state director of revenue. When Jack Arvey's ulcers became bad enough, Daley took over as Democratic county chairman. If he can win the mayoralty, Daley will probably cast longing eyes on the governorship.

Kennelly may not be the most formidable obstacle between Daley and city hall.

Last week the Republican slate-making committee met and picked Merriam for mayor. The young (36) alderman wrote speeches for his friend Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 campaign, but broke with the city machine this year. Reformer Merriam, with great public show, avoided voting in the 1954 elections so that he would be eligible to run for mayor as a Republican in 1955. He has the support of Republican County Chairman Ed Moore and the tacit approval of Governor William G.

Stratton. For the first time since 1931, when Big Bill Thompson carried his party down to crashing defeat, the G.O.P. has a good chance to elect a mayor of Chicago.

The fact that the G.O.P. candidate is a Stevenson Democrat will detract from the pleasurable anticipation of some Republicans, and some independent Democrats may be discouraged to learn that one of Kennelly's chief supporters is the Chicago Tribune.

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