The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-03-06
COUNCIL.
AN INTERESTING sESSION-THE
LAW AND ORDER PARTY ON
THE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
TEN 70 NINE.
A Committee Appointed to Present
Articles of impeachment Against
The. City Marshal.


Meeting last evening, Alderma
Robertson in the chair and quorum
present. City Attorney Pendextel
Z reported in reference to resolution
passed at the last meeting, that h
concurred with his predecessor, MI
Walton, in the opinion that the cit,
has no right to lease the river walk t,
private persons to be used for pr1vat
purposes. Report received.
A REPORT WAS READ
from DR.. Burt, city physician, rela
tive to diseased meat and suggesting
as a remedy the establishment of {
slaughter house and making 1t mis-
demeanor to sell or offer to sell meal
without inspection and allowing fees
of S1,OO for inspecting beef and TWEEN.
ty-fYe cents each for other animals
Referred to the city attorney to draft
ordinance. Report was read from the
city marshal relative to the deficiency
in the police service. He suggests as
the causes for this the smallness OF
the force when some of them are
sick, the fact that the force
is appointed by the board, subject to
removal only by the board, and the
fact that the force has not received
the
MORAL SUPPORT
of the council. He suggests as rem
edy that the police committee and
chief of the force be entrusted with
the appointments of the men who are
to be subject to him so that he may be
the chief in fact as well as name. Re
port referred.
City Mashal Lees report, in full,
was as follows:
To the Honorable Mayor and Board of Alder
men;
GENTLEMEN-At the last meeting
of your honorable body Alderman
Hancock offered preamble and reso-
luton, which was adopted, and which
said resolution, emitting the preamble,
reads as follows:
"Be it resolved, That the city mar
shall be and is hereby instructed to re-
port in writing to the council at its
next regular meeting the causes which
render said force thus inefficient, and
to suggest means to remedy the
same"
In accordance with said reolution l,
as city marshal, have given the sub
ject
MY BEST CONSIDERATION,
and state that the causes to which are
largely due the failure of the existing
police force of Austin to come up to
the expectation of the public may be
classed under two heads, both of which
will probably affect the police
force under any city marshal
who may hereafter serve, aud
which have greatly affected me in my
official duties, and to a great extent
crippled me in my efforts to serve the
peace. Under one of these heads may
be stated the manner of appointing
the police of the city, who, under the
present charter and existing ordinance,
are appointed by and removed by the
board of aldermen, and thus are not
directly accountable to the city mar
shall, who, while held responsible for
the efficiency of the police, is not
vested with the power and authority
to select and reject the mater ial COM
prisiDg the same.
IN MY JUDGMENT
no police force can be made thoroughly
efficient in this city until their head
in NAME shall be their head in FACT,
cLlQ Uluo udtO blO pOWOI W AdNO
it comprised of persons who are
in harmony with him and his views,
and who, having him and him alone
to look to, will not be guilty of insub-
ordination and want of respect for
their chief, as many of the present
force have shown themselves to be.
The second cause of the inetficiency
of the police force lies largely in the
fact that to a great extent, / as its
head, have not received the moral sup
port of the aldermen of this city in the
peri ormance of my duties; but /, and
the police under me, have been made
to feel that my every action would be
scrutiniZed by unfriendly eyes anx-
ious to seek occasion to blame.
lido NOT INTEND TO
imply by this that all the aldermen
have thus acted, for some, am glad
to say, have given me all the support
have felt due my position; but there
has been sufficient to have greatly i'm
peded me in my efforts to do my full
duty.
1t may be that the some state of
facts will not occur again to any sue
cessor of mine, but it has certainly
been most unfortunate for me, per-
sonally, that my leading opponent
for the position / hold by
your suffrageS should be a
member of your body and
seemingly disposed to carry toward
me feelings not of the most friendly
character. Having thus briefly pointed
out what it seems to me are the main
causes of the,complaint of inefficiency
against the police force, it becomes
my duty to suggest remedy therefor,
and fear that in so doing 1 may be but
able to dimly indicate what you, in
your superior wisdom, may be able to
more fully digest and mature.
AS STATED IN THE FIRST
portion of this report, have pointed
out that ] believe one principal cause
of any ineftciency of the police is to be
found in the manner of their appoint
ment and discharge, and this indicates
what, in my Judgment, is the remedy,
and that is, that the power of appoint
ing and discharging from the force
should be taken from the board of
aldermen and left with the police
committee and city marshal, who
should be held strictly and directly re-
sponsible for the workings of the force.
lam not prepared to say how far such
plan of appointment may conflict
with the existing city charter, and
ordinances under it upon the subject,
but feel satisfied that if such change
can be legally made it will result in
great good.
IN ALL OTHER DEPARTMENTS
of our government, heads of depart
ments and bureaus select their own
subordinates, and sheriffs and their
deputies offer an apt illustration, and
it seems to me anomalous that the
head of the force whose duty it is to
protect the lives and property of the
citizens, should be denied the right to
appoint such men as he may deem eff
Gent, and discharge those whom he
may find untitled, but must accept
men, whose only qualification, moral
and physical, may be subseryience and
friendship to the alderman by whose
efforts and influence he has received
his appointment, and to whom, rather
than to his nominal chief, he looks fol
orders, advice and support. In view
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