Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Alexander HEMPHILL
Alexander Hemphill, 64, former city controller and unsuccessful candidate for mayor, collapsed and died yesterday at his law offices in the Fidelity Building. He lived in Chestnut Hill.
He was a partner in the Center City law firm of Monteverde, Hemphill, Maschmeyer & Obert.
Born into a socially prominent, politically active family, he was groomed from boyhood for public office.
A native of West Chester, he was the son of John M. Hemphill, the 1930 Democratic candidate who ran an unsuccessful race for governor against Republican Gifford Pinchot.
Father and son were raised in the family tradition. Seven generations of those in the Hemphill family had been Democratic County chairmen.
They were also direct descendants of Joseph Hemphill, judge and congressman, who lived in the historic Strawberry Mansion. A supporter of Andrew Jackson, Judge Hemphill helped Thomas Jefferson form the Democratic Party.
Alexander Hemphill attended St. Andrew's School in Middleton, Del., and went on to the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, he plunged into activities, serving as president of the freshman class and editor of the yearbook and putting in three years as a member of the varsity soccer team. He was also a member of the Friar's honorary society.
He left Penn for World War II, serving in the Marines, then transferring to the Navy and its air arm. At the war's end, he returned to Penn to earn his law degree.
He entered practice in 1949 and was quickly caught up in the city's political reform movement. He helped in the campaign that carried Democrats Joseph S. Clark and Richardson Dilworth into office - Clark as city controller and Dilworth as district attorney.
Mr. Hemphill watched Clark build a political career from his base as the city's financial watchdog, viewing the Clark-Dilworth team operation with wonder. Clark found the rascals and chased them out of office into the hands of Dilworth, who prosecuted them for their misdeeds.
He got his feet wet in 1954 when he made a sacrificial race for the Sixth Congressional District seat held by a young Republican named Hugh D. Scott.
But when Mr. Hemphill's real chance came, he didn't hesitate. He knew what he wanted to run for - he opted for the city controller's post and he won the race. He served from 1957 until 1968, when he resigned to make a primary race for mayor.
He campaigned for controller, as he would later for mayor, in the Dilworth- Clark tradition. Like them, he was a prototype Chestnut Hill blueblood, charted in the Social Register and educated in the right schools.
He was a liberal reformer and he looked the part. Tall (5 feet 11), slim, (170 pounds), balding and bushy-browed, he dressed in tailored tweeds, spoke with courtroom authority and was as thoroughly identified with his corncob pipes as was Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
Once elected, he turned it all loose, watching an all-out, no-holds-barred, take-shelter-if-you-can-find-any campaign against wrongdoers, in and out of City Hall. He spared no one, friends, associates, party members. If he found them out of line, he hit them.
The public loved it. He was twice re-elected, and, most political figures agreed, he could have held the post for life had he wanted it.
His most publicized feat was uncovering the Frankford El scandal, in which a contractor was found to have lavished gifts upon Philadelphia Transportation Company officials and on city officials while shortchanging the city on El repairs. Several top officials were fired. Indictments and suits for recovery followed, all to the embarrassment of Mayor Dilworth.
He halted substandard street repair contracts, ferreted out friends taking care of friends in excessive overtime, ruled out overpayments for snow removal, and generally proved to be the scourge of City Hall.
Many in public life were critical of his take-no-prisoners policy. Even a close friend and political associate such as Dilworth found him hard to take. Dilworth called him "a pious phony" on occasion. City Democratic chairman Francis R. Smith termed him a "professional hairshirt."
Their views didn't concern him. He felt he had done the right thing. He told an interviewer in 1975:
"The most important thing a watchdog can do is let those being watched know it. And the only way is to get it in the press.
"I believe I deterred or discouraged more people (from stealing) than I ever caught. That's because I wanted everybody to know he had a damn good chance of being caught."
Mr. Hemphill was equally sure that he was doing the right thing when in 1967 he decided to run in the mayoral primary against James H.J. Tate.
He made the race, he recalled, "clean, without strings, no debts and no ties." He thought that was how politics should run.
The City Committee looked favorably upon his race, and he felt that "the right would prevail." Then James J. O'Neill, leader of the plumbers' union and a major force in organized labor, entered the scene.
O'Neill, a friend of Tate's, tied labor to his campaign. Then he helped Tate organize city workers to support his cause. And, as the final touch, he pulled together a coalition of businesses that did business with the city and those who wanted contracts with the city.
The net effect was that Tate had a well-financed campaign and Mr. Hemphill's team didn't even have "street money" for Democratic workers.
A Democratic committeeman since 1960, Mr. Hemphill knew what was happening, but he couldn't stop it. He had to stand by and watch Tate roll to victory.
Mr. Hemphill was not discouraged. He regularly ran for City Council every four years. He did so, he admitted, in spite of a vow never to run again after his loss in the mayoral race.
He explained that he was still making the race for Council because he knew he had "no chance to win." Even with that knowledge, he felt impelled to run. His knowledge of city government and what should and should not be done was too great to waste, he said. He had to keep entering the lists to keep faith with himself.
One reason for his continuing defeats, he conceded, was his somewhat abrasive nature. He wounded many, friends included, in carrying out his duty.
Some, such as Tate, grumbled for a time. But when they met on the streets of Longport, N.J., where they summered, all was forgiven.
He said he kept his friends. His only losses, he said, were enemies.
Mr. Hemphill led a vigorous life, keeping in shape with golf, fishing, swimming, sailing and ice hockey. He maintained an interest in sports throughout his life and was involved in efforts to bring professional soccer to Philadelphia.
He served in posts with the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations and was active in service organizations.
He was active in the U.S. Naval Reserve and was a member of the Houston American Legion Post, the Lions Club of Mount Airy and the Optimist Club of Germantown.
Mr. Hemphill served on the Germantown Community Council, the Germantown Historical Society, the Germantown Businessmen's Association, the Philadelphia Fellowship Commission and the Sons of the Revolution,
He served on the boards of Chestnut Hill Hospital, of the American Cancer Society and the Citizens Council on City Planning. He also served as general chairman of the American Cancer Crusade, president of the Christian Hall Library Company, chairman of the Christian Assembly of Germantown, chairman of the Pastorius Park Summer Concerts, chairman of the Watertower Recreation Center Advisory Council and chairman of the Chestnut Hill Community Association.
Surviving are his wife, Jean Calves Hemphill; daughters, Anne Price Hanna, Lisa Burns, Jean Hemphill Warner, Dallett Hill, Louisa Zendt, Eleanor and Rebecca; a son, Alexander Jr.; six grandchildren; a brother, and a sister.
A memorial service will be held at noon tomorrow at Our Mother of Consolation Church, 9 E. Chestnut Hill Ave.
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