The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-02
LIEUT.. HEES' SIDE.
Ee Admits Being Unbusiness-like in
Assuming City Debts.

Assuming City Debts.
Lieut.. Rees, who had charge Of the work
at Fort Pulaski last week when the trouble
arose over the failure Of the men to "a
back without getting paid. has taken
Offense at Mayor McDonough's statement
that unbusiness-hke methods Of those in
/ charge had caused all the unpleasantness
which resulted.
Il wrote to Mayor McDonough Friday, 81
said Lieut.. Rees, asking whether arrange
ments could be made to bring the working
party 70 Savannah Saturday afternoon and
1 70 take it back to the fort Monday morning.
10 this letter l gave the number Of men
employed, with their ratings, as foreman,
driver, lRborer5, cook, and the average
daily expenses. l thought in unnecessary
! to state more explicitly that if a gang Of
/ labOrers were brought to the city on a Sat
urday, end with wages due them, that they
would expect to be paid off An answer to
this letter on the same day informed me
| that the necessary arrangements
! would be lhade and tina; the
| quarantine boat would bring the party up.
THE quarantine boat brought the party
up, but it was by accident. The foreman
of the party at the fort Saturday morning
| sent a note TO the quarantine station, ask
/ ing whether arrangements had been made
/ to tako his party TO the city that afternoon
and the answer from the quarantine station
/ was: i have nothing To do with Lieut..
/ Rees' men. The tug will take Hghter
| up and the men can 90 II they wish ms
| was written on the back OF the IyTemans
| note and returned TO him. Inc foreman
/ then stationed a man on tue ramparts OF the
| fort to watch for the tug. When she was
seen coming in from the roads Work was
/ stopped tools put away and the wharf
reached as quickly as possible. The tug
came for the lighter and wa ted for moth
| ing else One man who stopped TO get his
! clothes together was left behind, and all this
/ after assurances from the mayors office
| that the tug would take the men up.
'If such were the arrangements for bring
| ing the men 60 the city they were made
quate The query suggests itself, Whose
methods were unbusiness-likeP The fore
man brought 60 me, between o'clock and
o'clock in the afternoon, his time roll,
which he checked approved and sent to the
city exchange Learning from the foreman
how the men reached the city, feared that
the arrangements for paying of the
men would be as incomplete
were those for bringing them up
from the fort, and / therefore told the fore
man to let me know if the men were not
paid. In short time | was npprised of
this fact and thereupon paid out of my own
pocket half the amount due the men.
Il admit that this may have been 'un-
business like, but it appeased the laborers
and allayed any trouble that might have
been brewing. After paying the men l
told them to return to work
Monday morning. l sent my fore
man TO Mayor McDoHough that morning,
wi h a statement Of all tue circumstances.
The mayor had left his office to return at
1890. but the foreman was Informed, how
ever, that the men could be paid as soon as
their pay roll had been submitted and had
passed through the proper channels, and
that the party might go back to the boat by
tie 8 O'CLOCK Iybee train, transferring at
Lazaretto creek to the boat that would meet
it there.
Hoping to save the time that would be
consumed In paying off, asked one OF the
laborsrs, suOforeman, if he and his men
ouId 60 back to work and wait until the
next Saturday for their full pay He
that he would go back aud
thought the rest would also, if l would as
sure them that they would be paid in full
on that Saturday. This assurance was
given, and the men were ordered to get to-
gether and go down on the $3.50 O'Clock
train. reporting at once to the foreman.
Clerk Rebarer of this new
but at o'clock, after every
thing had apparently been amicably ad.
justed, the foreman reported the men still
30 go back without their previous
weeks pay.
II was uuprepared for this, but in struot-
ed Foreman Daniels to make out pay roll,
try TO have the men paid off and use every
effort to catch the train, explaining to the
city exchange officials the need of haste.
Foreman Daniels did this, and what hap
pened then is told by one who saw every
thing that happened and heard all that was
uttered. He said Daniels proceeded to the
exchange building with the pay roll,
and met Mayor McDouough coming
down the steps. He handed the roll
with the remark that the men refused TO go
back to the fort until they were paid off in
full for the previous weeks work.
THE mayor interrupted Daniels to ask
why he did not bring the pay rolls after
9 O'Clock, which was a fine piece of irony
on the mayors part. This remark was
taken by Daniels as a fling at his lateness in
reaching the exchange on Satur-
day previous. Daniels resented this.
aud put the blame where it
belonged He retorted that he was run
ming all over town trying to straighten out
matters that were solely the citys. The
mayor handed the roll back to Daniels and
directed hun to take it to Clerk Re-
onrer, which he did, and at tbs same time
explained the situation to that gentleman
Mr. Rebarer said he would have 10 see
the mayor aud both of them went down.
stairs looking for him. The mayor saw
| them approaching, but before word could
be uttered b. either Of them he consigned
all tho workinRmen to warmer climate
than this IN language with a halo around
it ana ordered that the pay rolls be
made out, all work be discontinued, and the
men be brought there at O'Clock for pay
ment. TIE men were paid OF aud the
working party dispersed
IE has beenslearned from another trust
worthy source that Foreman ID lniels went
down to the fort Tuesday morning with in
structions to the ordna ce sergeant to allo "
no further work by the city to be carried
on, as the mayor ordered its discontinue
auce. This state OF affairs existed until
Friday when the embargo was raised. In
spite OF gil declarations TO the contrary the
worked was stopped. Not a stroke of work
was done Wednesday and Thursday, and on
Monday and Tuesday but "a few carpenters
and one laborer, who did not come to the
city Saturday, we're the only ones engaged
in active operations.
THE RAILROADS. SIDE OF IT.