The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-06-28

the time of the board 1t would cause
a public scandal if you would sit here
day after day and hear them:
Then in that peculiar sneerinS manner
which is one Of his characteristics, Mr.
Zane took up the charges seriatim. He
said it would be useless to take up the
the rules of the department, while in tho
engine house. He sGtd this rule applied
only TO the men. The board was sup
posed TO govern the chiefs action.
Devine Was tight.
He contended there was no violation OF
the law when Chief Devine attended the
Provo league convention and helped to
against being a delegate and helping &c
nominate someone. Could il be said that
man was to be deprived of his liberty
TO such an extent that he could not be
a spectator to a convention. or could not
speak of his preferences, when asked in
conversation? This would indeed limit
his liberty. He treated in the same man.
her the charge that Devine was a men,
Der of the territorial executive commit
tee of the league. The same reasoning
was applied to the chiefs activity in the
last League convention and his use of
the fire department buggy for the dele
gates, as well as the charge of his go
ing down to Murray in the police buggy
10 attend Republican barbecue. The
street and held caucuses in his office was
ridiculed AS being insufficient to be
against his efficiency as chief.
Did Take a Drink.
As to the drink at the oxford in COM
pany with Chief Binford of Ogden. he af-
fected to laugh. He admitted that the
drink had been taken. But there We're
no rules prohibiting the chief from do
iIIg so. The rules cited We're those made
by the chief for the government of the
men. The act was merely one of hos
pitality. = would have been giving q
poor proof of the hospitality of Salt
Lake If the visiting chief had not been
treated to a glass of beer or something.
He pronounced the charge that the
chlet did not return the Salutes
OF the men TO be vague and triv-
ial The board was not called upon to
sit as d court OF etiquette. The chief
denied that the charge was true but il
was too trivial to be heard. So with the
charge that the chief did not give orders
TO the captains directly. but sent them
through third persons.
Ready to Meet 1t.
The charge that check had been re-
ceiVed and misappropTiated, the chief
was ready to meet. That was d matter
OF public importance.
Charges that ne did not handle fires
properly, that the steamers We're out of
service, that there was not sufficient
hose at No. :, TOO few men or the hook
and iaddec, that the apparatus was
patched UP. thai theirs was a top heaVy
<
steamer to keep Il frolS- freezing, were
all pronounced to be matters of discre-
ton on the part of the chief or the board
and therefore not TO be entered into.
The charge that he was not brave al
fires. in that he did not go into the thick
est Of the blaze they were prepared to
meet. Was il expected that the chief
should 90 in ard get burned up?
If there were only two men at No. 2
durii-g meal hours that was the fault
OF Captain Sullivan. not of the chief.
Could Not Make Harmony.
The charge that his bearing was
naughty and that he inspired d feeling
of loathing among the men was also
trivial. The board could not sit and hear
just how high a man held his head or
how sweet his smile or low his bow.
They were prepared to meet the charge
that the chief did not bring harmony
But almost any man would fail to bring
harmony IN a department made up of
such elements They We're also prepared
to meet the charge of using city sup
up as they came
Mr. stephens Should we not ascer-
tain if the chief is discourteous:
Mr. Zane-Yes. bat there should be
more specific charges.
Throughout his whole argument Mr.,
Zane appeared to look upon all the charges
ly turned and looked over TO the aggrieV-
ed men and opposing counsel.
Hard to See HumOr.
Judge Powers arose and began dryly.
He said that from the first the chief and
his counsel had evidently considered the
charges as being very humorous The
chief had laughed at them when they
were first presented to him and declared
they were written in Judge Powers best
vein, when he had not written a line of
them. New the counsel attempts to
make the board believe that they are In
dicrous. But it is somewhat difficult for
an ordinary man to see where the hui
NOR comes in. Here is a department of
e1ty of the city are dependent. Efficiency
is very important.
Devine vs.. All the Men.
Yet in the face of that demand for
harmony it is found that three-fourths
of the men of the department, unable
longer to bear the naughty, overbearing
manner of their chief, and witnessing his
acts contrary to discipline, have. present
ed a series Of charges, which taken as a
whole. present "A very formidable indict-
ment against his character. The very
fact that SO many men CONCUR IN this
should make the fullest investigation and
see where the blame lies. Either the
chief should be discharged or every man
in the department should go.
John NJ Zane-No, not all. There are
several who have not signed these
Judge Powers--Ycs, all should go. This
man cannot seem to get along with any
Of them. Those who are his friends to-
lay are alienated next week by his man
ners.
Must Retire From Politics.
tt is said that the political charges are
trivial That is not true. il is the plain
intent of The law that when d man be-
comes a member or officer of either of
he two departments he shall hold him
self absolutely aloof from politics. Just
IS a judge on the bench. If Chief De-
zine is anxious to exercise his peculiar
political ability he should have taken
some other position. The law intended
o allow the men to do their work eff
,iently without regard TO which party
The acts of the chief at Provo. IN be-
ny an active factor III the election of
he League president, was contrary to
aw If a man in the department had
lone such thing would he not have
,een compelled to answer charges for so
loing and pay the penalty for using pub
ic property for political purposes, as the
chief had done.
Chief Above All Rules.
The trouble in the department was due
o the fact that the chief had been
placed on a. higher plane than the men.
He had supposed himself above all rules
which he laid down for their conduct.
he unblushingly admitted that he had
zone into a saloon and drank with an
)ther. II a man in the department had
lone that. would he not have been Sc
Yerely punished: When man had been