Miles Brown Kitts
Encyclopedia
Miles Brown Kitts was a Republican
mayor
of Erie
, Pennsylvania
who served as mayor during World War I
and the Roaring Twenties
. He is considered to have been one of "most colorful" mayors because he brought about great changes to Erie but, was also investigated by a grand jury
in 1921 and almost was indicted
.
, Pennsylvania
. He attended the county
schools of Old Waterford Academy and the Edinboro State Normal School
. Kitts went on to teach at Glenwood School in Erie. He studied law
under Aaron Albert Freeman and was admitted to the bar
on October 28, 1907. He also practiced law with former Congressman Milton W. Shreve
.
in 1910, but was also defeated. In 1913, Kitts won the election for membership on the City of Erie General Assembly. During the mayoral elections of 1915, the Democratic
candidate Bernard Veit defeated incumbent
mayor William J. Stern but died before he could be sworn in. Former mayor and Erie's Democratic "political boss
" Michael Liebel
gave the Democratic nomination
to Kitts. A special election was held on February 20, 1916. Under the rules of the special election, a candidate needed 4,840 votes to win. Kitts lost by a margin of 204 votes and had to face Stern in a run-off election. The run-off election was held on February 29 (making it the only leap day election in Erie history). Even more strange was that the Republican Kitts was running on a Democratic "ticket
", while his opponent, Stern, was a Democrat running on a Republican ticket.
was the installation of the "Mill Creek tube". It was designed to prevent the Mill Creek
ad from flood
ing downtown Erie again, like it did on August 3, 1915. The building of the Perry Monument on Presque Isle
to commemorate the Battle of Lake Erie
was also put into action by Kitts. During World War I, Kitts was known to personally send off every train carrying troops destined for Europe
that left from Erie. Kitts also introduced ordinances
to reorganize the Erie Police Department and increased the chief's salary to $
2,100 a year.
went into effect in 1920, "the only dry [alcohol free] thing in Erie was the inside of a light bulb
." Speakeasies
, casino
s, and brothel
s were commonplace in Erie before Kitts took office, but when Kitts was elected the situation got out of hand. Reformists in the Republican party did not approve of this. When the 1920 mayoral election came up, the reformers supported their own candidate but Kitts was re-elected. The reformers became known as the "Committee of Sixteen" and demanded Erie's numerous "vice
s" be cleaned up. A grand jury was formed and most of the city government came under investigation, with over a hundred witnesses called to testify
, including 47 members of the Erie Police Department. Kitts would have indicted but the charges were dismissed because women had been members of the grand jury. Kitts continued to serve as mayor until 1924 and did not seek re-election again. Kitts said:
for two terms. In 1935, Kitts became the president judge
of the Erie County Court of Common Pleas
. Kitts was eventually removed from this position by a petition
to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court citing "mental incapacity" shortly before his death in 1947.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Erie
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
who served as mayor during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the Roaring Twenties
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
. He is considered to have been one of "most colorful" mayors because he brought about great changes to Erie but, was also investigated by a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
in 1921 and almost was indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
.
Early life
Miles Kitts was born on April 24, 1880 in Summit TownshipSummit Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania
Summit Township is a township in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,529 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 23.9 square miles , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He attended the county
Erie County, Pennsylvania
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 280,566. Its county seat is the City of Erie.- Geography :...
schools of Old Waterford Academy and the Edinboro State Normal School
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Edinboro University is a public liberal arts university located in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, USA and one of 14 schools associated with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The town is named after Edinburgh, Scotland. It is also not to be confused with the University of Edinburgh...
. Kitts went on to teach at Glenwood School in Erie. He studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
under Aaron Albert Freeman and was admitted to the bar
Admission to the bar
An admission to practice law, also called admission to the bar, is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. Becoming a lawyer is a widely varied process around the world. Common to all jurisdictions are requirements of age and competence; some jurisdictions also require citizenship...
on October 28, 1907. He also practiced law with former Congressman Milton W. Shreve
Milton William Shreve
Milton William Shreve was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Milton W. Shreve was born in Chapmanville, Pennsylvania. He attended the Edinboro State Normal School and Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Bucknell University in...
.
Political life
In 1908, Kitts unsuccessfully ran for county school superintendent. He ran for district attorneyDistrict attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
in 1910, but was also defeated. In 1913, Kitts won the election for membership on the City of Erie General Assembly. During the mayoral elections of 1915, the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate Bernard Veit defeated incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
mayor William J. Stern but died before he could be sworn in. Former mayor and Erie's Democratic "political boss
Political boss
A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...
" Michael Liebel
Michael Liebel, Jr.
Michael Liebel, Jr. was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Michael Liebel, Jr. was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. He was an accountant in the office of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad at...
gave the Democratic nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
to Kitts. A special election was held on February 20, 1916. Under the rules of the special election, a candidate needed 4,840 votes to win. Kitts lost by a margin of 204 votes and had to face Stern in a run-off election. The run-off election was held on February 29 (making it the only leap day election in Erie history). Even more strange was that the Republican Kitts was running on a Democratic "ticket
Ticket (election)
A ticket refers to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat. For example, in the U.S., the candidates for President and Vice President run on the same "ticket", because they are elected together on a single ballot question rather than separately.A ticket can also...
", while his opponent, Stern, was a Democrat running on a Republican ticket.
Accomplishments
One of biggest accomplishments of Kitts' administrationAdministration (government)
The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to jurisdiction.-United States:In United States usage, the term refers to the executive branch under a specific president , for example: the "Barack Obama administration." It can also mean an executive branch agency...
was the installation of the "Mill Creek tube". It was designed to prevent the Mill Creek
Mill Creek (Lake Erie)
The Mill Creek is a long tributary of Lake Erie in Erie County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It flows from Millcreek Township through the city of Erie, into Presque Isle Bay....
ad from flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing downtown Erie again, like it did on August 3, 1915. The building of the Perry Monument on Presque Isle
Presque Isle State Park
Presque Isle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on an arching sandy peninsula that juts into Lake Erie, west of the city of Erie, in Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The peninsula sweeps northeastward, surrounding Presque Isle Bay along the park's...
to commemorate the Battle of Lake Erie
Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...
was also put into action by Kitts. During World War I, Kitts was known to personally send off every train carrying troops destined for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
that left from Erie. Kitts also introduced ordinances
Local ordinance
A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...
to reorganize the Erie Police Department and increased the chief's salary to $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2,100 a year.
Scandal
When the ProhibitionProhibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
went into effect in 1920, "the only dry [alcohol free] thing in Erie was the inside of a light bulb
Incandescent light bulb
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...
." Speakeasies
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
, casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s, and brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
s were commonplace in Erie before Kitts took office, but when Kitts was elected the situation got out of hand. Reformists in the Republican party did not approve of this. When the 1920 mayoral election came up, the reformers supported their own candidate but Kitts was re-elected. The reformers became known as the "Committee of Sixteen" and demanded Erie's numerous "vice
Vice
Vice is a practice or a behavior or habit considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption...
s" be cleaned up. A grand jury was formed and most of the city government came under investigation, with over a hundred witnesses called to testify
Testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. All testimonies should be well thought out and truthful. It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on a Bible when taking an oath...
, including 47 members of the Erie Police Department. Kitts would have indicted but the charges were dismissed because women had been members of the grand jury. Kitts continued to serve as mayor until 1924 and did not seek re-election again. Kitts said:
Later work
When Joseph C. Williams succeeded Kitts as mayor, Kitts was elected to the Pennsylvania State SenatePennsylvania State Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such...
for two terms. In 1935, Kitts became the president judge
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Erie County Court of Common Pleas
Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas
The Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania .The Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state....
. Kitts was eventually removed from this position by a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court citing "mental incapacity" shortly before his death in 1947.