St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-09
READY FOR ANOTHER.
War Clouds Gathering Again on
the Water Department Horizon.

War Clouds Gathering Again on
the Water Department Horizon.
The water works committee will meet
this morning. 1t is more than possible
that there will be some music IN the
air. Tweedie and Holl, the discharged
engineers, have asked for an investiga-
ton. Whether they will get it is a
question. 1t does not seem possible,
however, that the committee can deny
the DISCHARGED men an Investigation
at least hearing-if demanded. HOll
and Tweedie think they were removed
on the slightest preteXt. Holl says, in
regard to the oil being out of the tank:
1--WE are not supposed TO visit the oil
room at night, as it is dangerous. When
we takc our watch we examine the
pressure, and if there is two or three
feet of oil in the tanks it is deemed suf-
ticient. On this night the oil appeared
to be all right, and we paid no more at
tentlon to it until the fire commenced to
die down, when we discovered that the
supply of Oil had run out. The men are
supposed to fill the oil tanks during the
daytime and to leave them in shape TO
supply the engines during the night"
Aid. Rollins, the chairman of the
pump Investigating committee, is ready
to take hand in this latest develop
ment. He says that he was expecting
something like this discharge of Twee-
die and HOIl, but that he is looking for
couple of scalpS himself, and may get
them.
Now comes Aid. Schwartz and says
that the men were discharged without
authority. He is member of the cOun-
Gil committee on water works, but he
knew nothing about the discharge until
ne heard of it through the newspapers.
He says further: 1.-The committee did
not order the discharge of the men. and
if Supervisor Mcconnell gave the men
their walking papers under the impress
sion that it was the committees order,
he is very much mistaken. The I'M
derStanding among the members
CT the water works committee was
that nothing was to be done with the
men until we had first investigated the
charges against them. With this end
in view, we agreed to visit the north
station tomorrow morning at O'Clock
and see for ourselves how matters
stood. If the chairman of the committee
gave orders to discharge the men he
was acting on his own personal reSpon-
SIbility and OH nothing else.''
Supervisor Mcconnell is the man who
told Tweedie and Holl to quit. He says
he received his authority from the COM
mittee on water works. Aid. BarrOWS,
Lowell and FarnSwOrth being present.
Ii both Schwartz and Mcconnell are
telling the truth, the three memberS of
the committee mentioned must have
come together after the committee had
adjourned and ordered the discharge of
the two offenders. As to the discharge
itself Aid. Barrows says:
The committee discharged these two
men because it thought that they were
not the men to have in charge of those
pumps. l have not taken any hand in
this fight over the pumps, but think
that men should not be left in charge of
them who are unfrlendly to them.
Tweedie and Holl have shown that they
are opposed to the Worthington pumps.
For that reason | think they should go.
On the merits Of these pumps l have
nothing to say. They have been pur
chased and have cost the city a good
deal of money. They must be used as
long as they will do any sort of good
work. They will not do good work when
run by men who want to show that they
are poor pumps. No man will keep a
man in his employ who is known to be
unfriendly to the affairs of the employer.
And that was just the situation as re-
CARDS these pumps. DO not know now
the oil came to be out of the tank. 1t
seems to me. though, that an engineer
ought to know whether his tank is full
if he knows his business"
The places or Tweedie and Holl have
been taken by Thomas Cowan, recently
of the old pumping station, and James
FairWeather. promoted from oiler. 1t
said that Falrweather is not a licensed
engineer, but Supervisor Mcconnell says
he is a practical mechanic and has
passed the examination creditablV.