The herald., 1895-08-29
WTTER RAISED A BREEZE
A Resolution Aimed to Prevent
JOllying
BECOMING GENERAL
New Rule in One Of the Departments
of the City Government
Walter S. MORE Responsible for Q
Scene Enacted Yesterday

The custom of making promiscuous
valuable testimonials of confidence. love
and esteem by the subordinates of the
various municipal departments to their
respective chiefs which has been rather
indiscriminately prevalent here. as it is
in all of the larger cities throughout the
country, bids fair to become at an early
day defunct so far as Los Angeles is con-
cerned, the board of fire commissioners
having yesterday adopted upon the sub
ject the following positive resolution of
dispproval:
Resolved, That inasmuch as favoritism
and iealousles NAV result from subordin-
ates in public service bestowing presents
upon their superior officers. it is hereby
made rule of the Los Angeles fire de-
partment that no member of the depart
ment shall be party TO making pres
ent OF pecuniary value to an official OF the
department without first obtaining the
consent and approval of the board of fire
commissioners. The penalty for violation
of this rule to be fixed by the board of
fire ommissioners.
Upon introduction of the above by Fire
Commissioner Louis F. Vetter twas adopt
ed unanimously. 1t was brought before
the board because of the fact that some
of the very good but rather indiscreet
friends of Chief Walter S. Moore OF the
iie department have during the past two
months been soliciting the members OF
the department to contribute toward a
cash fund aimed to be utilized by the
chief in the payment of his expenses to
the national convention of fire chiefs to
be held next month at Atlanta, Georgia,
which the chief intends to attend.
The chief had no knowledge of the at
70 u-bi hein do to 80
the expenditure by himself of something
ko $500. which it will cost him to go
east, until an evening paper printed q
communication from member of the fire
department obje,ting to being held up.
Then the chief sat down upon the
scheme hard. The order. however. refused
to down IN some quarters, and the ene-
mics of the chief, IN and outfof the de-
partment, quickly realizing their oppor-
tunity, used the incident to Moore's dis
advantage in every direction. The mat
ter finally became so notorious that sew
eral councilmen hunted up individual
members of the fire commission and in
formed them that unless some oticia c.
tion was taken upon the subject at once
by the board, the council would air the
thing and there would be a public row.
When Commissioner Vetter presented
his resolution yesterday Chief Moore was
taken very much by surprise. The whole
thing was being done without his having
had an opportunity for explanation. and
the chief thought that the resolution. if
adopted, would place him in an unfa-
vorable light. Every member of the
board thought that Moore was in h,s own
mind distorting the facts, making them
appear to himself AS they did not exist.
The chief pleaded hard to be granted,
for his own satisfaction, his month s
leave of absence before the resolution
was adopted, put to this missioner
Netter would not consent and then the
chief remarked hotly that he would not
need to go east at ali. "Do:you suppose
that | would accept thar money from
those men, had it been offered?" asked
the chief of the members of the board.
These resolutions are in the light of a
censure of myself and they will be made
the most of by the enemies of the de-
partment to my disadvantage"
While the board was considering the
resolutions, Acting Mayor Freeman G..
Teed said: This practice OF giving and
receiving presents by subordinates to
their official superiors has for years been
a disgrace to the city ana il ought to
stop. l shall at the first emporium ty
seek to have the resolution now under
discussion here adopted in every depart
ment of the city government.
The purse for the benefit of Chief Moore
would have aggregated about $500, avery
member of the fire department, it is un-
derstood, having asked to contribute the
amount of his increase of pay for the
month of August. There is no doubt
that the testimonial in his behalf was
kept from the knowledge of the chief
and he discouraged the idea and njpped
it in the bun as soon as the facts were
learned by him.
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