Abstract

The Republican machine, the mayor of Philadelphia, and the head of public safety all had input with regard to the enforcement of Prohibition in Philadelphia in 1924–25. W. Freeland Kendrick, a member of the Philadelphia machine, had won the mayoralty overwhelmingly in 1923 because he was the choice of machine head William S. Vare. The Republican machine did not support Prohibition and Vare expected Kendrick to turn a blind eye to the Prohibition laws. Kendrick, however, decided to appoint a Marine brigadier general, Smedley D. Butler, as the head of the Department of Public Safety. It was Butler’s belief that all laws had to be upheld, including the Prohibition laws. Butler’s methods of Prohibition enforcement were not popular with either the machine or the populace. Kendrick found himself between Vare and Butler. The result was that Kendrick fired Butler, and the machine destroyed Kendrick’s future in politics.

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