The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-24
ECLIPSE OF THE STARS,
How the SeVenty-Five New Po-
licemen Were Not APP
pointed.
No Favors Asked and None Given,
but There Was a Change Of
Feeling.

The action of the Health and Police
Committee of the Board of Supervisors in
delaying the appointment of the seventy
five new policemen was the general topic
of conversation yesterday among mer-
chants, politicians and policemen. The
merchants looked surprised, the politicians
looked wise and the aspiring policemen
looked panied. Something had happened,
the latter said, and they wondered thereat.
Some people who did not want positions
for themselves but did want them very
badly for their friends were unkind enough
to say that certain Supervisors wanted
everything for themselves.
But this was evidently a mistake. The
Solid Eight did not want anything.
Everybody might not believe this, but the
records show that they had not put in
single written application.
But there was the minority of four who
might like to have an officer or two, and to
them it was whispered in confidence by
one OF the working eight of the board that
"there was four in it for each Supervisor"
The Financial Committee inserted in the
tax levy an appropriation of $95, 84S to pro-
vide for the payment OF Seventy-tiYe addl-
tional men on the force.
This was little over week ago, and in
the mean time there came another whis-
pered communication to the unsophistica-
ted four, to the effect that the board was
only to have two appointments to a man.
After this report went into circulation
things moved smoothly but slowly. The
Police Commissioners were particularly
slow for they refused to appoint police
man until the appropriation was a per-
manent fixture in the tax levy. Then
came the cruel report that the Supervisors
Il
man each. The Police Commissioners
scoffed at the idea that any bargain had
been made or contemplated did the
Supervisors. Not a favor had been asked
by the latter, not policeman named. 1t
may have been indignation at the report,
and it may be that the report never
reached the ears of the Solid Eight. At
any rate the following resolution was in
troduced and carried at Mondays meeting
of the board:
RESOLVED, That under the existing conditions
the Board Of Police Commissioners be hereby
respectfully notified to make no appointment
OF additional police officers until this matter
has been determined and levy for the pur-
pose agreed upon and approved by this board
The minority was too small to make an
objection. They had declined to ask for
any appointments, and they knew not what
to make of the latest move. 1t seemed all
right and they let it go.
On June 1 the Supervisors received
communication from the Police Commits
sioners asking for authority to appoint 125
policemen to bring the number of the
force up to the 900 ordered by the Legisla-
ture in February, 1891. On June 10 the
Health and Police Committee, to whom
the communication was referred, reported
in favor of amending section %, order 1903,
relating to the Police Department, so
that the force shall consist of 600 officers
and men. The officers were enumerated
as follows: Six captains at $3.50, five lieu
tenants at $40, forty-three sergeants at
S125, fifteen detectives at SIPS, twelve cor
porals at SLY.
Four of the Supervisors objected to APP
pointing the full number of men, on the
ground that the tax levy would be too
high. The Health and Police Committee,
Benjamin chairman, amended its report
on June II, and asked for only seventy-fve
men. It was then that the Finance Com
mittee incorporated the sos, 848 in the tax
levy, and the Police Commissioners began
to consider the names presented to them
for new policemen. All of a sudden
shock came, and the resolution was intro
duced on Monday afternoon by Chairman
Benjamin of the Health and Police Com
mittee. The resolution was referred to the
Health and Police Committee, with in
structions to determine whether it is abso-
lutely indispensable to the peace of San
Francisco that the new policemen be ap-
pointed this year. If the right kind of
men are appointed, there is no doubt that
an additional seventy-fve are absolutely
indispensable, but there are others who
might not fill the bill.