Omaha daily bee., 1884-05-03
A SlAMESE.
The Fire Department Seems to Have
fWOlHGadS.
Trouble Threatened and n Poor Show
for Fire Protection.

The city council has by its desire to
deal out political plumber brought about
a demoralized condition of the fire de-
partment, and caused a condition of af-
fairs which makes property owners very
nervous as what would be the outcome
in case of a great fire breaking out.
BY the old ordinance the chief of the
fire department was to serve until re-
moved for cause. The city attorney holds
that this part of the ordinance is illegal,
and the council has passed an amendatory
ordinance fixing the term at two years,
and Immediately upon the passage of this
ordinance the council elected Walters as
the chief.
Aid. Heating, who with Aid. Sieden-
tofp, voted for the old chief Templeton,
now insist that the election of Walters
is illegal because theI ordinance,
like other ordinances, cannot be-
come in force until ten days after pub
lication. With this view of it the friends
Of Templeton claim that he Is still chief,
under the old ordinance, he having
neither resigned or having been removed
for cause. He has been instructed by
Aid. Heating and Siedentopf that he is
expected to serve as chief and proposes
to serve. He has had no official notitica-
ton that his successor has been chosen, or
that he has been deposed. Until such
pNt,na bn ,u,1I ,n.@sp,n ar ,h,,c a,I @ha
men who have sent in their designations,
but who whose designations have notbeen
accepted, express their willingness to obey
his orders and a determination not to
recognize Walters.
On the other hand Walters declares
that he is duly elected and has qualified.
He, too, proposes to act as chief, and
some of the men, especially the newly ap-
pointed ones, will obey him. Thus the
department stands divided and Just what
will be the result in case of a fierce fire
can only be guessed at.
The majority of the council, who thus
sought to make a change in the chief
tainship of the department must feel
decidedly ashamed Of themselves. There
is not the least intimation that the at
tempt to put Walters in was an honest
endeayor to better the department, to
gain a better chief, or to enhance any of
the interests of the city. 1t is openly
acknowledged that it is purely a matter
of political favoritism, a reward for SER
vice done by Walters, not to
the democratic party, but to
the Vaughan faction of the democratic
party, for Templeton is a democrat as
well as Walters. 1t is simply an extern
sion of the strife between these two To-
cal factions of the democracy, and the
faction winning demands the spoils, ven
at the cost of the efficiency of the fire
department, and at the risk of great loss
of property. The council have shown
their inconsistency by declaring the old
ordinance defective because it bound
the action of future councils, and yet
Immediately passing an ordinance bind
ing the next council, for they have fixed
the term Of office of chief at two years,
and elected q man to serve two years.
The learned city attorney must, to be
consistent, pronounce the amendment
fixing the term at two years illegal.
Mayor Vaughn himself acknowledged
yesterday UHhU tluo COuuCll COulu HUI uA
it for more than n year, and later in
the conversation held hat a council
could elect a new chief at any time it
saw fit.
The situation is alarming. If both
and Walters insist on acting
as chiefs at q fire, the department will be
thrown into confusion, and the flames
meanwhile can have their W way.
The council may call it ~''acting in the
interests of the people" to thus trife with
of the most important departments
of the city, and to openly defy the writ
ten request of nearly all the business
men and heavy property owner in the
city, not to attempt any change in the
position of chiefs. Bent on satisfying
petty factienal schemes, the majority of
the council has not even actedo on matured
and wise thinking, but has rushed ahead,
until they have thus brought about an
archy and disorder.