Red Hot Campaign For Mayor Likely

New students will quickly be introduced to Cambridge politics in a mayoralty campaign that promises to be one of the hottest in recent years, when the issue of taxing tax-exempt Harvard is raised by one or more of the candidates.

Primaries of both Democratic "ins" and Republican "outs" will be over before another sheet is torn from the calendar, and the election follows in the first week of November.

Harvard, whose property in this city of 100,000 exceeds the value of all other property combined, is always a battle ground for the local politicians. They point to its $164,000,000 worth of property and compare it to the paltry $161,000,000 on which they can levy taxes.

Harvard's Appeasement

Perhaps a fight over this sore point may not develop this year since the University has just offered to give the Cambridge City Hospital a complete X-ray plant and guarantee its upkeep.

In its own back-yard Councilman Michael A. Sullivan of Ward 9, Harvard's best friend and severest critic, faces a stiff battle for the Democratic nomination which is equivalent to election.

"Mickey the Dude," as he is known, earned himself some notoriety last fall by personally trying to break up a fake Nazi parade which was an initiation stunt by the Lampoon, College humorous magazine. For his pains he was rewarded by a much-publicized kick in the pants.

Mayor Lyons, running for re-election, although he has lowered the Cambridge tax rate by 50 cents to $41 per thousand assessor real estate valuation, faces opposition on two fronts. The police force is down on him for closing the path to advancement for many years by twenty-one receipt promotions, and Labor is angry at his refusal, for obscure political reasons, to accept Federal money for building improvements.

Ex-Mayor John Lynch, victorious over the incumbent in a libel suit but loser in the 1937 election, has also thrown down the glove. Another important candidate may be ex-Mayor Richard M. Russell '14, who could probably repeat his previous reform and economy victory