Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-16
The Deposition OF Major FurreVs
The Police EmbrORliO.

The Police EmDrORnOs
The community wSs no little aston
ished yesterday when it was mooted
about that the Council at its meeting had
removed Major W. G. Furrey from the
Board of Police Commissioners. There
had been rumors of dissension, and it
was known that trouble was brewing,
but such a peremptory action as TINS
burst like a thunderbolt from clear sky.
Major Furrey has no hesitation in
branding his removal as a triumph OF
the "boodle' element in Los Angeles.
He denounces the method of his decapl-
tation as treacherous and cowardly in the
extreme. He informs the HERALD that
when it was originally sought to place
him upon the Board Of Police Commits
sioners he opposed the effort, and only
yielded to the repeated solicitations OF
Mayor Hazard. His indignation at the
summary action of the Council knows
no bounds. He thinks that an honorable
business career of eighteen years in Los
Angeles ought to have protected him from
what he denominates an outrage. Wesre
inclined to think that the community will
agree with the deposed Commissioner,
and that the almost universal opinion
will be that il is the result of some dark
intrigue. Major Furrey dubs his enc
mics "boodle" and "whisky." He claims
that he stood up infiexibly against allow
ing the gambling games to run, and that
while he is not fanatically opposed to
saloons under proper conditions, he
thinks that there are too many of them,
nineteen of them being grouped together
almost in block.
Certainly the majority of the Police
Commission has had hard road to travel
from the first. Major Furrey says that
when it came to the question of appoint
ments on the police force, he felt obliged
to recognize the spirit OF the new charter,
which contemplated Board composed
equally of Democrats and Republicans,
and made his official action conform to
what he regarded as the plain intent OF
the municipal law. After "boodle" and
"whisky" he believes that much of the
enmity with which he has been pursued
is owing to his determination to give
Democrats of reputable standing show
on the police force.
The community will follow the devel-
opments in this Police muddle with
great interest. 1t was undoubtedly the in
tention of the trainers of the new charter
and of the people who adopted it, to take
the Police force out of the hands of the
Council. For years the people of Los
Angeles had been wearied almost unto
death by the repeated brawls over the
Chief of Police of this city. Year in and
year out, chief has scarcely been in
stalled in Office until wrangle of formid-
able proportions has sprung up, gener-
ally accompanied by serious allegations
of official malversation.
At last we were supposed to have
reached the millennium. A Council un-
animously Republican was elected under
great cry of reform. Everything was
now to be lovely and the goose was to
hang high. At last the incessant din
about the Police force was to cease for.
ever. 1t broke out, however, to the sur.
prise of every body at the very first meet
ing of the Board, and the Council has
now taken a hand in it. After few
weeks of the new era of reform we are
being treated to a caterwauling almost
without precedent.
There is evidently something very
rotten in the municipal Denmark, and
the HERALD will see to it that the people
understand the exact situation as it de-
l.velops. One thing is assured, and that
is that the citizens of Los Angeles will
never approve of the peculiar methods
adopted by the Council towards man
whose career in this community raises a
violent presumption that his motives
were honest and philosophical. We
will add another thing: there is already
most profound disgust amongst voters,
irrespective of party, at Republican re-
form, and it bids fair to increase with the
passing days.