Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1880-08-30
OUR NEIGHBORS.
NEWS FROM ABOVE AND BELOW
Rowdyism at BeIIaire-The Mayor on the
Police Situation-Polities at Steu-
benviIle-An "0ld Vet" on
the Outlook.
BELLAIRE.
Bad Behavior and Outlawry-The Police
Case and Mayors Card.

BELLAIRE.
Bad Behavior and Outlawry-The Police
Case and Mayors Card.
The usual quiet Of our ordinarily quiet
CITY was disturbed more last Saturday
night than for long time before. About
midnight some drunken rowdies got IN
to a quarrel on Union, between Thirty.
second and Thirty-third streets. and
were about to have a right lively fist and
club blowout, when. Officers Curran.
Brown and Allen put in an appearance.
Three OF the participants, John Muller,
Dennis Curran and Johnny Cullen were
taken in. Considerable difficulty was
experienced in arresting Mullen,
who is regular bully OF q fell
low at best. He resisted, and vas
encouraged by large crowd to per-
ist in refusing to 90. As q conse-
ouence he was tapped on the head with
billy, after which he moved along a
little better. Not much trouble was
had with the other arrests
This element OF outlawry is
not apparently very much afraid OF the
officers. Even Saturday night, after
having had terrible struggle on Union
street with Muller, who was encourage
ed by several OF his cronies, the officers
were stoned before getting him in the
cooler, and Officer Curran received q
painful wound on the hand from one OF
the stones hurled at the officers OF the
law by the hackers OF an outlaw and
ruffian. Our officers are too tlmid. No
such conduct as that OF Saturday night
should be permitted while making an
arrest, neither should they be backward
in making charges against such men as
those now in the lookup. They are
guilty of disturbing the peace, OF using
proianc and indecent language, OF using
language calculated to provoke a breach
OF the peace, OF drunkenness, and pos.
sibly more, and they should he fined for
each offence. 1t is the duty OF the Off
GERS to see that they are prosecuted Tor
each offence.
The Republican meeting on the
Square, nn SATURDAY Night, Was TAR
sized one. Mr.. Jones rrpved himself
to be AN entertaining speaker, bnt That
what he sad will have any influence 8
extremely ucub:'ul. II was simply the
old Radical story. retold.
A CARD FROM THE.NAYoR.
Edi :or o the Register.
A great deal OF abuse has hecn heap
ed upon me IN relation 10 the police
trouble. ami | Ilsh Ia make plain
statement of all the iac;s in relation
thereto.
!. An ordinance oi the city provides
that any able bodied male person over
the age oi is Years VINO ncglects or re-
fuses TO iay any fine or costs shall he
compelled to perform hard labor, &c,
until the same is paid.
>. The Council by resolution made'it
the duty OF the Mayor to appoint some
one OF the police under whose directions
prisoners failing TO pay their fines
should work the same out.
Andrew Rouler, railroad policeman,
arrested two men for jumping OIL train
when in motion within the corporate
limits Ct Bellaire in violation of an
ordinance OF the city. The men plead
guilty ami were fined. but refused to
paw their fine.
Now, reader, pause and ask yourself
what it was my duty TO do under the
ordinance and resolution OF Council
above referred to? Was j to
discharge them and let them go
Unpublished OF was TO keep
them living III G IN the lookup, fed by
the city at en- exp, nse OF so cents a dar,
or was TO compel them las require b,
the ordinance and resolution aforesaid
to work ont their fines in breaking stone
for the benfit OF the city? Every one
will saw that the latter was my duty,
and that was what | tried to 10.
At this point the police held con.
vention. and passed resolution that
thep would not work their men. ] mp.
pointed one after another oi the police
to work these men. and they all success.
fully refused The Municipal Code
gives the Mayor power to suspend any OF
the police for cause until the next regu.
lar session of Council, and in the mean
time fill the vacancy by appointment.
Again ask the reader what WAS to
do? The police had refused 10 do their
duty as required by law and ordinance.
Was this not good cause for their sus.
pensionl / did discharge them until the
next regular session of Council, and ap.
pointed men ten porarily to act in their
place.
Some of the Council complained that
| had used the word d;scharge TO the po.
lice instead OF suspend (the word used in
the Code), but | respectfully submit
that the words "lischarse until the next
session OF Council" and suspend until
the next session of Council" mean the
same thing.
At the next session after these facts
had been reported to Council. they sus.
tanned the police. They refused u sus.
tain Inc in an honest effort to enforce
the ordinance and resolution AZ they had
made them, and sustained the police for
refusing to do as they had by the same
ordinance and resolution required them
10 do Beautifully consistent Council,
you have heard the expression From
bad to worse" Here is an example!
The Council had sustained the action of
the police for refusing to comply with
their own resolution.
The decision OF this learned body and
their resolution made two beautiful
twin pictures in the same frame. /
name tIllb plCtute SOHbibttuCs, bOtuc
irreverent wag called it "knuckling to
the Police" and it was up in the Coun-
Gil room for Sc, eral nights. and woefully
bothered that body how to dispose OF it.
At last they threw their resolution over.
board. repealed it and let their decision
remain for a precedent. Now how is it?
The city has built workouse at con-
siderable cost, and the streets need the
stone that was formerly broken there.
Migrants and law breakers are put in
the lock up. refuse to pay their fines,
and are turned loose, UNPUBLISHED, or
are fed at the expense Of the city, and
this class OF criminals are largely in the
majority, and | say to every citizen that
have that have to turn all OF this class
out as soon as they are fined, or keep
them in idleness and feed at the expense
Of the city.
This should not he. II is bad state
OF affairs, and ought to be remedied at
an early day by Council. | have no
hard words fer any one OF Council, and
would like to be treated with the same
consideration. The only object have
is to do nv duty, and l make this ex.
planation of this trouble that eyery one