The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-05-24
A VERY FUNNY MEETING.
OF tho Council Committee on Po-
lice Last Evening.
IS NO BUSINESS BEFORE It
And a Rather Abrupt Adjournment
Is Takcn...A Little Interesting Talk
on Chief McNlchol's Communicn.
lions Sent In DIT the Last Meeting.

Chairman Happy, Messrs. Jefferson,
O'kanc, Zarnitz and Warnckc were tho
members OF the Councils police com.
mittee who responded to tho call for 4
meeting last evening.
Clerk Hanko read again tho commun.
ication from Chief Of Police 5NtcNichol,
in which he complained that members
OF this committee Ind vilifcd and
abused policemen, for tho discharge Of
their duties under the orders of tho
chief, and that this had a;tcndencyi to
cripple and embarrass the force: ;stt
In response to nm inquiry Captain
McNichol said he referred in this com.
nunication 10 Chairman Happy, who
had called Officer Joe Daum "ad-d
sneak" and had in other ways justified
the charge. =
Mr.. Happy said no vas told Tint OH,
Ger Daum had gone back into:an' alley to
watch Herman IwiCker's a~aloonto see II
he was selling Illegally, and.that no had
seen n girl OF good character come out
Of a side door from Wprivate house, the
door being also the side entrance to
Smaller & Lacy's saloon, and Daum rails.
cd the girls shawl to see il she had not
q GROWER OF beer under it, Under
these circumstances he had told Daum
he was a id sneak" MIR. Happy
added:
81 say so now. IfDaum. did that no
isa sneak. think Mr. Daum owes that
young lady an apology, and mo one,
Mr.. jefferson: az have always re.
garded Daum as q good officer. | think
Il ina ought to enforce tho law to the
best OF his ability. How is ho going to
find out who violates the law if lie does
not exercise vigilance? l do not think
raising q girls shawl under such cir
cumstances rs are here related was a
very heinous crime"
Chief McNichol said the sllawl-raisins
episode was news 10 him, but on former
occasions he had been told of remarks
OF Mr.. Happy's, and he thought these
were u sort OF declaration OF war on the
department. He did not propose to get
the worst Of it. So long as the law said
beer must not be sold on Sunday, he
proposed to enforce that law and to have
his men enforce it. There was com
plant among saloon men that some
were allowed to sell and others were
prosecuted. The trouble was to catch
the offenders, and when an officer tried
he ought not to be vilified and black.
guarded. I" %.
Mr.. Happy said the chief had proba.
bly, never given a thought to his (Mr.
Happy's) peculiar position. For him.
sell ne did not believe in enforcing the
laws rigidly. He agreed that tlie;front:
doors ought to be kept G0sedl ana2bfisI-,
ness run quietly, but ifaaaan @sHteG to;
go in, on Sunday and take a quiet drink
there was no harm in it any more than
in drinking u cup OF coffee at home.
Mr.. Happy concluded his argument:
I'VE don't all so to Sunday school,"
Mr.. O'kane: "Alr. chsirman, what .
was this committee called:iorT sut snh
Mr.. Happy: 80 consider those com
munications from the chief"
Somebody mentioned the commune
cation as to Officer Deku's case, but was
reminded tina. it had been deferred to
the next regular meeting. .55s
Mr.. Happy recalled, Mr.. TJeferson's
remarks as to the desirability Of a more
stringent ordinance regulating houses
OF i'll fame, but it was finally decided in
a brief informal talk that there could
probably be q reform without any
further legislation.
Then came up the communication re-
questing that the committee recon-.
mend to Council q change in the or
dinances giving the chief the power to
discharge policemen instead OF merely
suspending them. Mr.. Jefferson said
he thought this was an important mat
ter. When nine men arc responsible
for the conduct OF the police depart
ment, no officer is directly responsible
TO anybody. The man who ought to BIO
at the head OF the police is tile chief,
and it ought to be SO that all the men
understand that ii they do not obey his
orders, they go, and nobody will inter
fere to protect them from that Just
penalty.
In the original ordinance. Mr.. Jefcr-
son said, the word was discharge" At
that time the chief OF police was a bad
man, nm immoral man, without any ca
Dacity whatever for the conduct of his
department, and fearing hat with his
haDitual righteousness, he would con-
ccive enmity for members OF his force,
and discharge them without any reason
whatever,-"Council, very sinjndicious-
ly, as l believe, to provide for a mo-
mentary difficulty only, amended SO as
to allow the chief to suspend only. and.
not discharge" :gr -
Mr.. Jefferson paused, andiM O'Kane
asked in an aside, mir. Clerk, have you
any business for the committee to, con-.
sider2" ...y
NO." said: Clerk Hanke.. ~.
Mr.. O'Kane: "Mr. Chairmans;;I move
We adjourn"
Tho chair: "The motion is to I'D.
journ. Any objections? The Commit
tee stands adjourned" ~ '25!AS;
The Wlrcimcn's lace. i4t"t!
All arrangements for the relay; races
oil the Both OF May are complete. There
will be. seven men, stationed eight miles
apart. They will leave Brownsville at
S a. m. There will be two riders from
Brownsville, two from Washington and
three from Wheeling. The time will