Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-26
THE MAYORS DENIAL.
He Says Mr. Magee Is Wrong-Tells Why
He Has Taken His Stand and Lets Loose
Some Pretty Office Secrets He Hereto
fore Kent Ouiet

He Has Taken His Stand and Lets Loose
Some Pretty Offioe Secrets He: Hereto
fore Kept Quiet.
As a result of yesterdays proceedings
Mayor Gourley has declared war on Mr..
Magee and all his followers. The storm that
has been lowering about City Hall for weeks
past has broken. The fight is at its hottest
and the Mayor proposes to keep up the tur-
moil a day or two at least. At the conclu-
sion of the Council meeting he was found in
his office where he had just learned of Mr..
Magee's letter and its contents He was
talk about 1t, and said:
That Mr.. Magee should publicly take the
part of Chief Evans does not surprise me in
the least. But that he should take occasion
to accuse me of making a dishonorable effort
to shield a fugitive from Justice is more than
1 can understand. The charge is untrue in
police protection for q criminal. This will
not hesitate to say under oath. In several
instances where women or helpless persons
have come to me to ask leniency on some
relative, have gone to the police authori-
ties as any other citizen would and pre-
sented the case. / have also written several
Which Which regretted @ t aft afterward, % but never ne did II
try to thwart justice or help a criminal es-
cape the punishment he deserved.
Couldn't Think What Was Meant.
81 have no idea what case Mr.. Magee re-
fers to, when he charges me with dishonor-
able work. However, Mr.. Magee has pub
licly accused me of working for personal
ends, and / shall answer in due time. NV
letter about Chief Evans was not prompted
by any personal feeling against the man.
stated so in the letter. Practically / knew
nothing about Mr.: Evans ability to lead the
firemen, but based my whole statement ON
what Chief Brown told me himself.
''Chief Brown has frequently informed me
that he was dissatisfied with Mr.. Evans but
lint han nnYll6 rllQ lyQ n RhnT aHcia n +
Magee insisted on Mr.. Evans remaining in
his position. Chief Brown will not deny
this.
regard to superintendent of Police Gamble
Weir. Chief Brown has told me that Mr.
Weir could not perform the duties of Super
intendent of Police, but that he was forced
to retain him, and had to look around for
some light duties for Mr.. Weir to perform.
This is the condition of affairs existing
about the Department of Public Safety,
which / endeavored to have changed with
out any noise. But since the man who is re-
sponsible for it all has deemed fit to wrongly
accuse me of looking after personal aims in
the matter, have no hesitation in speaking
out.
81 will have more to say about this matter
1t cannot be allowed to drophere. These
people will hear from me, and that very
soon"
The Case to Which Mr.. Magee Referred.
1t was learned last night that the case re-
ferred to by Mr.. Magee in his letter, where
the Mayor asked for police protection, was
that of Jack Borden. He, together with
"Dude" Clair and Jerry Mahoney, on the
2oth of June, 1889, assaulted Raffale Gala
gions, an Italian, at Seventh and Webster
avenues. Calagions was knocked down and
robbed. The same night they assaulted
Mark Ffnklehart at Federal street and
Wylie avenue. The grand jury found true
bills against the men, but only Mahoney and
Clair were arrested. The former was sent
20 the penitentiary for six years and
the latter four. 1t is said that Borden 'saged
mother came to the Mayor and asked him to
intercede for her son who was her only sup
port. The Mayor went to Inspector NC
Aleese about il and was told that Borden
would be arrested as soon as he came into
the city. 1t is claimed he then went to
Chief Brown and met with a similar refusal.
He was told that since the grand jury had
indicted Borden for highway robbery, the
police could not drop the prosecution even
If so desired.
The Mayor was last night informed of the
statements made by the police. He said he.
remembers having gone to Mr.. Brown on be-
half of a man whose name he could not re-
member. He had gone, after repeated soli-
citation of an old lady, the mans mother,
who was heart-broken and wanted her son
home with her, but the Mayor denied hav-
ing any personal interest in the man or in
his being at liberty.