PENNSYLVANIA: Stinking

Franklin Roosevelt, who has a long nasal memory, last week remembered an odor he had smelled 24 years ago when he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy. The odor was Philadelphia.

He was in the city in 1917 on a visit to the Navy Yard, said the President, and he had to hold his nose the whole time. What stirred this olfactory reminiscence was the confession of a Philadelphia newsman that the situation in his home town was "stinking."

To unhappy Philadelphians, sniffing the sewage-polluted Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, the President's 24-year-old smell was a daily experience. Brought to...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!