Meet the Mayor

Portland, Ore.'s breezy Mayor Robert Earl Riley smoothed his pin-striped suit, tossed away a cigar butt, kissed his wife and daughter goodby, lit a new cigar and was off for England. He lands this week, will tour the countryside for eight weeks under the auspices of the Office of War Information, make speeches, answer questions, give Britons a chance to know--and, OWI hopes, to love--a typical U.S. mayor.

Mayor Riley is probably typical enough. He used to sell tires, found politics more fun, was elected mayor in 1940. He wears sailor straws ("boaters" in Britain), flashy double-breasted suits, a red-rosebud and an American Legion pin in his lapel. He likes clambakes, gag pictures and calling people by their first names. As mayor he is noisy, hard-working and efficient, should be a gaudy contrast to the traditional English mayor who should be efficient, hard-working but definitely not noisy.

He has already had some experience in Anglo-American relations. Once Portland entertained Lord and Lady Halifax; Mayor Riley sent an official car to take Lady Halifax to a luncheon. The official car turned out to be an old Chevrolet, driven by a shirt-sleeved policeman slightly moist with heat and embarrassment. Relieved to find the Mayor's wife in Lady Halifax' party, the policeman struck up a lengthy conversation.

Leaving Portland last week, Mayor Riley was unabashed by his mission. Said he: "I'm going to talk to everyone, from the hoi polloi on down. . . . I've got one helluva responsibility ahead of me. . . ."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.