The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-01
FIRE AND PoL1oE CONFESSION.

cupying a very great amount Of time
in the Legislature, or at least of the
senate and 1t is very likely that it will
do the same in the house.
One features of the debate in the
senate has been unfortunate, the intro
duction of personalities which, to ad-
vantage, could have been omitted; for
If on the one side it is alleged that the
bill is drawn with view to perpetu-
ate certain men in office: it can with
equal propriety on the other side be
urged that the attempt to defeat the
law, or failing in that, to mar
it with amendments. is simply
an attempt to Gust certain men
from office and give coveted
power into hands itching to receive it.
Nothing either way is to be made by
this style of contention, except to
arouse i'll feeling of which there is
enough already
Go to the merits of the proposed law.
gentlemen, and consider if they appeal
to your understanding. Beyond doubt
the drift of recent propular sentiment
is toward non-p artisanship in munich
pal government; but where that can
not be obtained in bulk, people have
pretty generally demanded that it
shall obtain as to the police and fire
departments, and that for reasons SO
obvious that they need not be stated
The method of carrying this general
idea into effect in Salt Lake city was
by creating a bipartisan board Of po-
lice commissioners, proceeding upon
the idea that the best way to secure its
on-partisanship was to make it BIZ
partisan Under the present law the
chiefs OF the departments named If
they find an incompetent or uncon-
trolable member he can only be dis
missed from the service for cause and
then by action Of the board
after a public hearing. And since
those accused of INSTRUMENTATION. or
other conduct unbecoming a member
of the fire or police force of the city
could employ attorneys to defend them.
the result has been that it has proven
as difficult to dislodge a man from
either of those forces as it is to prove
one guilty Of murder or other in
famous crime. The experience of the
past two years since the law has been
in force has demonstrated that these
provisions do not conduce to the good
of these departments. They tend to
make the men careless Of discipline.
and half defiant of the authority of the
chiefs.
If charges are brought by the chiefs
and they fail for any reason to secure
the discharge of the men complained
of. it will be readily seen that bitter
ness. lack of confidence. dtstrust. even
hatred. will inevitably follow. accom-
panied in many cases with a determin-
alton to be revenged. And all this
will be attended with fault finding.
SANDER. malicious whisperings, plots
and counter plots. until there is no
telling where the matter will end.
It will be admitted without argu-
ment or illustration that both police
men and firemen are engaged in such
periIous occupation. are called 10 sup
mort each other in such critical situa-
tons. must face danger and even
death together so often. that the ut
most confidence must exist between
them and Their chiefs. and between
each man and his fellow workman,
that admits of no doubt of each sup
porting the other at need. That kind
of confidence cannot exist among men
where there is distrust 1ealousies.
chickering's. hatred and desire for re-
venge Efficiency of these forces and
these conditions are absolutely incom-
patible,
1t is this defect of the old law that
the present bill aims chiefly to re-
move, by giving to the chiefs of these
departments power TO remove men
from the force and then make state
memt of the cause to the board of COM
missioners 10 which they are ac-
counta bile. This is the pivotal Point
around which the issues chiefly turn.
and the question is not whether the
design is to perpetuate certain ruen
in Office. or TO abolish this board that
its powers may be conferred upon men
anxious to employ it to personal or
pau " olU c1IiIdsSC. Lie QUESTION IS,
win it be conducive to the harmony
and efficiency of the police and fire
departments of the chief cities Of the
state? II it will then it should be
passed.
The test by which the value of the
proposed change. so far as increasing
the powers of the chiefs of departments
is concerned. is this: Could a private
corporation. especially if transacting
business involving the same amount
OF danger as these departments of the
city government do-run their business
with the hands of The heads of it's de-
partments tied as the hands of the
chiefs Of the fire and police depart
ments are now tied? And would it
relieve the situation if the hands of
those officers in the private corpora
ton were released as it is proposed
in the pending bill to loosen the hands
of the chief of fire and police depart
ments? If so the change should be
made We are most emphatically of
the opinion 1T would have the effect de-
sired.