Curley Gestures

The Mayor of Boston is elected by the city's plain people, the fun-loving Irish-Catholics of whom James Michael Curley is one. And Mayor Curley knows how to make gestures to his constituents. Last fortnight he refused to issue a permit for a longstanding intercoastal football game between Stanford and Dartmouth Nov. 28 in Harvard Stadium. His reason: a game between the plain people's Boston College and Holy Cross (Roman Catholic) was scheduled for the same day at Fenway Park; the Stanford-Dartmouth game would cut the gate receipts of a home industry.

Mayor Curley's gesture last week was to insure his life for $102,285 and make these provisions: upon the death of the last of his four children who will share its income, the fund shall be invested at 5% shall be allowed to grow for two centuries, becoming $45,548,527 in 2131. Thereafter its income of $1,821,943 per year shall be used to care for Boston's unemployed.*

* Benjamin Franklin bequeathed part of his estate to Boston for 200-year investment, to be loaned to "young married artificers" who faithfully served their apprenticeships. Changed economic conditions have limited the practical usefulness of the Franklin fund, now worth about $458,000 (TIME, Aug. 25).

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