The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-06
4 CLUB FOR SULLIVAN
Buckley Gets the Grand
Jury After the Fire
Department.
SLEUTHS ON ITS TRAIL.
Investigation of the Use Of Red
Investigation of the Use Of Red
BuggieS in the Political
Fight.
TO MAKE THE CHIEF QUIT
The Junta Begins It's Enrolment and
the Buckleyites Are Ready
to Meet.

The Grand Jury is going to investigate
the working of the Fire Department as a
political machine right away.
AS the Fire Department is just now up
to its neck in the fight to repel the Buckley
invasion of the party the investigation will
be interesting.
1t is mainly because Chief Sullivan is
turning the hose on Boss Buckley just now
that the Grand Jury is being rushed into
play, though that inquisitorial body is not
going about this work with the purpose of
helping Buckley. But Buckley has started
the play.
Now the thing of immediate political
import ance is the district club enrolment
of the two factions. The Juntas began
last night, and the size of the enrolment
secured will be one of the most important
things the Junta will be able to show in
support of its claims when it comes TO
demand recognition as the party before
the State Central Committee. In this
enrolment the Fire Department is under
orders to get out and hustle. The mem
bers are prohibited by the rule of the com
mission which took the department out
of politics from joining any political or
ganization or having anything to do with
among their friends, as an army of others
are to do, with individual lists, to which
they will get signatures which Will be
added to the district rolls.
Many efforts have been made by the
Buckley leaders TO get the Fire Depart
ment into camp. Rainey has put an
almost prohibitive price on himself, but
naturally belongs and would rather be,
though not at a bargain, if Chief
Sullivan had not held out so de-
terminedIy. Sullivan's opposition to
Buckley is unyielding. He proposes
TO keep the department out OF Buckley's
hands because he believes that it is the
only salvation for himself and because he
sincerely wants an efficient department
that is not political machine. During
men in the department have been steadily
worked out Of 1t, and now it is in a condi-
ton TO be used on its old boss.
During the past month there have been
many conferences between Rainey and
Buckley leaders and three or four be-
tween Rainev and Buckley Buckleyites
have tried to talk Sullivan into quitting.
Maurice Schmitt went to see Sullivan
one day and Sullivan said, "Tell
be ought to be in jail" Rainey
has never missed chance to expose his
loathing for the Junta reformers that he
was politically associated with and his
pitying contempt for their abilities in
practical politics. But he was never offered
what he wanted in the Buckley camp, and
his friend Sullivan was relentless.
About four days ago the last effort to get
Chief Sullivan to quit on Buckley and call
off his men was made. Three or four
Buckley ENJOYS extraordinary, with power
to make terms, held a conference with
Rainey and Sullivan. They offered Sulli-
van Buckeyes pledge that he would be let
alone himself and that his fire department
would be let alone, but Sullivan said that
he wouldn't put any faith in Buckley's
promises and wouldn't make any terms
with him.
Since then the situation has been one of
relentless war, and now the Buckley fac
ton is out for blood.
1t was coincidence that this happened
Just as several members of the Grand Jury
were about ready to begin a thorough in
vestigation of the Fire Department. The
is now quietly on. The bust
ness transactions, the expenditures, the eco
nomlcal administration, and so on of the
will be thoroughly overhauled
and the extent to which the engineers,
foremen and men of the department may
have gone into politics at the expense of
the City will be gone into also.
There is already organized an able Buck
ley secret service bureau which will dig
and dig and scrape together every pointer,
witness and bit of evidence that can be
discovered. The Grand Jury may lust
open chute whenever it wants to 90 to
work and receive information from the
hopper.
Where the red buggies went during the
day or two before that Watkins-O O. Brien
contest viii be hunted up by the Buckley
detectives. 1t is asserted, for instance, by
some people that on the day before Jim
Q Brien was defeated District Engineer
Johnny Dougherty made three trips in
red buggy to see Anthony Quill of the
Thirtythird District ont at Twenty fourth
and Florida streets. Quill voted for Wat
kins, but he is in the Buckley camp now
and he would tell anything he knew.
When the red buggies makes such long
trips the City pays for the axle grease, re
pairs, etc, and the buggy and the man are
not ready for a fire: Buckley wants to
know if il is the business of the Fire De-
partment to do primary politics or to put
out fires, and be thinks that it is shameful
for the depar tment to be put to such base
uses