The Portland daily press., 1883-04-23
Mayor Deering Fails to Make Out
Case.
Deputy Marshal Crowell Retained
in Office.
A Full Report of Saturday Nights
Proceedings.

clined to comply. Saturday night Mayor
Deering called a meeting OF the Board OF
Aldermen in his private office at the City
Building. There were present the Mayor, all
the Aldermen, City Clerk Burgess, City Soil
citor Looney, Deputy Marshal Crowell, his
counsel, Gen. c. p Mattooks ex-Mayors SEN
ter and Libby, ex-Judge Knight of the Num-
cipal Court, ex-Marshal Bridges, Marshal
Andrews and the reporters.
The Mayor called the meeting 20 order and
stated that he had called it for the purpose of
preferring charges against Deputy Marshal
| Crowell of ineficiency and intimidation.
| Mr.. Melcher moved the hearing be public,
and was seconded by Mr.. Hawkes..
The Mayor said he had seen tit in his official
capacity to call private meeting at his office.
in relation to the matter before the Aldermen.
Perhaps the hearing might not DO finished at
this meeting and therefore it would be mad
visable to have tho proceedings public.
Mr.. Melcher said II the meeting was a
private one he would willingly withdraw.
| Mr.. Winslow didn't think it proper to hold
the meeting in the Aldermen s room sabjec,
to the gossip and talk that must necessarily ac-
company such course. Furthermore public
hearing might be disagreeable TO Mr.. Crowell
as well as the Aldermen. He thought IL better
the meeting should be held in the Mayors
office.
Mayor Deering said the statutes did not re-
quire public hearing.
The question was put and public hearing
denied, nays, yeas.
Mr.. Emery thought the matter belonged
alone to the Mayor and Aldermen and there
fore it should be private.
was to be tried was not a public servant, the
Aldermen public servants.
Mayor Deering did not consider Mr.. Mel
cheers question pertinent.
Mr.. Melcher moved to adjourn to the Alder
mems room. The motion wrs lost 4 nays, 8
yeas.
Mr.. Melcher then presented his protest
against the proceedings on the ground that
their doings were public, not private.
Mayor DeeFing informed the speaker that
the majority ruled
Mr.. Tukesbury said this was public room.
and be objected to the proceedings being con-
Quoted other than in public way. He wanted
to know If this was a private meeting why was
the chief of poles present?
The Mayor said he had invited the chief Of
police to be present.
Gen. Mattocks here offered the notification
by the Mayor TO his client OF the hearing for
that evening and his protest sgainst the pre-
ceedings.
Mattocks to be heard until the proper time.
Gen. Mattocks said it was matter of law to
file the protest then with the clerk, and re-
questsd the City Clerk to record his appear
ance, and to file the protest.
The Mayor said be didn't care about the
Law. He had the law before him in this mat
ter in the statutes. and that the Aldermen
were the jurors.
The Aldermen refused to receive the pro-
tests yeas, nays. I'm all OF these votes the
party lines were observed
Mr. TnkeshnrY objected again to any person
being present at the hearing except the Mayor
and Aldermen, i. it was a private affair. but
the motion was not seconded and therefore
was not put.
The Mayor thea spoke as follows in regard
to the case:
My reasons for asking you to consent to the
removal of Mr.. Cfowell by the Mayor are, SIS
have stated, not of personal nature, bns Of a
public nature--that is, of general negligence
of his duties. There is an ordinance existing
which requires the outer doors OF this building
to be open at all hours, under a severe penalty,
| when the hall is full of people. have seen
| Mr.. Crowell myself standing upon those steps
with those doors, every one OF them closed
except the middle ones. and two thousand peo-
| pie in the hall, time after time. I have re-
| quested him to disperse the boys and loafers
from this building and the sidewalk since /
have been in the office of Mayor. Instead OF
dispensing them himself, he went down to the
station and sent up an officer, who. of course,
is expected to be on duty all the time, but
whose duty did not commence until O'Clock
in the evening to do this work that he was re-
quested to do himself.
l am informed that Mr. Crowel does not
| give his instructions or orders in such way
! that the men readily understand them. The
| gentleman is deficient in sight and deficient In
| reading his orders in an intelligent manner.
| and there is feeling among the force that
| Mr.. Crowell is inefficient.
| Now / have another besides that that de-
| sire TO talk about little. Mr.. Crowell has al
| ways been a very Jealous political person. He
has called the officers into the Marshal's Office
| them, and certain outside men have gone In
| there and told the men that they wanted them
| to pay them $40 apiece for political purposes.
| Some OF those men have demured, and Mr..
1
| you had better step out and let men in who
| will pay" The men have paid as high as S13
| in year, for political campaigns. They have
| always paid So, and often $40 for such purposes.
| Now these matters, as well as matters which
| do not know as will bring forward, IL being
| unnecessary, have caused me to ask you your
| advice, and IL you consider that am right In
| this matter, to consent to the removal Of Mr..
Crowell from the police force Of the city.
| Now these are charges of inefficieney and
frftr dufr hat hat
| and If Mr.. Crowell desires TO enter any protest
| against these charges, ON willing the protest
should be received, so far as am concerned.
| Mr.. Mattocks said, will state, Ia behalf Of
| Mr.. Crowell, that the notification and protest
were filed With the clerk at the beginning of the
hearing, and / will request that they be read
| The Mayor will state that they were not
| accepted then.
Mr.. Mattocks--I will state that here is the
| protest.
| Alderman Emery-It seems to me entirely
/ improper that the protest should be read before
the indictment should be read
Mr.. Mattocks-The indictment was served
upon my client to-day.
Alderman Emery--I 1t seems to me that it Il
highly improper that any protest should bs re-
ceived until the charges are made against the
gentleman.
The Mayor-I will say, Mr.. Emery, that w
don't care anything about these protests at all
1t is matter Of Indifference to us. II they
wish to file these protests we will receive them
at the proper time. The protest may be read
III 1T is too long it may be laid upon the table
Mr.. Mattocks--I can read them in half thu
time the alderman from Ward has been Civ
ing me lessons in this matter.
THE protest was read by Gen. Mattocks +
stated denial Of the charges Of ineficenc,
and intimidation
The Mayor-I will say, gentlemen, for th,
information Of the Board, that all the law ",
have get to go by is contained in a very small
| section-Section 6--and the information tina
the counsel gives US gratuitously Is very thank
fully received, but at the same time those fou
or five lines are all we have to do with in re
gard to this matter. The counsel called upoI
me at noon for a list Of specifications; the,
were all in the letter addressed to Mr.. Crowell
which was quite sufficient. There is no ques
ton but that the accusations have made cal
be substantiated; there Is plenty Of proof, an,
/ do not care to rely entirely upon my owl
| judgment have the whole night force il