Edward Davis Bass

Edward Davis Bass (March 28, 1873 – March 12, 1960) was a grocer who became mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1927. He held the office for nearly 20 years. Health problems forced him to refrain from pursuing the office in 1946, and he ultimately had to resign three months early. He was quite proud of the fact that during his term, at the height of the Great Depression, Chattanooga was one of the few cities to not default on its debts and was able to keep paying city employees without a raise on taxes.

Edward Davis Bass in Joe Steele
Mayor Edward Davis Bass was present to thank President Joe Steele for coming to Chattanooga in the minutes before Roland Laurence South's attempt to assassinate Steele in March, 1937.

Literary comment
Bass isn't identified by name, but there is no reason to think that another person was mayor at this time.