The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-06
KNEW MORE THAN THEY'D TELL
Ftremen CuIIOm, Murphy and FO
garty Dismissed by the Commits
sion.

Firemen CuIIOm, Murphy and FO-
garty Dismissed by the Commits
sion.
The ak Of the fire commission fell with
a dull thud yesterday at noon, and three
heads went into the basket, metaphor
caIy speaking. Foreman J. r. CuIlom
Of No. 2 engine company. Engineer John
c. Murphy of No. 8, and Driver Thomas
J. Fogarty, Of headquarters, were the vic
Tins.
The dismissals were the result of the in
vestigation by the commission of the as
sault upon Chairman Grayson Of the fire
commission by John Hanley, an ex-em-
ploye Of the department week ago.
The order for the discharge Of the three
men named was issued after a lengthy
investigation, held the night before. and
a conference with Mayor Myers yesterday
morning. The reasons for the discharge
may be summed up brieny-a belief on
the part of the commission that the dis
charged men were acquainted with the
intention of Hanley to assault Mr.. Gray
son, and to the extraordinary ignorance
OF the affair which thev afterWard dis
played, although all three were in a short
distance Of where the assault occurred,
and where, as the commission believed
they could hardly have helped seeing and
nearing everything that occurred. The
nrst reason applies more especially to
Gullom and the second to Murphy and
Fogarty
Chairman Grayson, when seen by a
Morning News reporter, declined to say
anything about the discharge of the men
There was nothing which came up in the
investigation, he said, which the public
was not welcome to know, and he re-
GREETED that the reporters had not been
allowed TO be present. As it was a per
sonal matter with him, however, the only
part which he had taken in the investi-
cation, he said, was to preside as chair
man OF the meeting, and for the same rea-
son ne dld not desire to say anything fur
The evidence before the commits
sion, 1t was learned, was sim
lice. court, with some additional infor-
nation Foreman Cullom did not deny
coming to the headquarters with Hanley.
AFTER spending some time there they went
70 wedding and then returned to the
neauquarters. A damaging point was that
on their way back to headquarters they
was some talk of Mr.. Grayson being a
member of the A. p. A. The party who
Ilaue the charge was afterwards called
TO account by Mr.. Grayson and denied
making ii. The inference was that in
named by this discussion and the drink
when he had taken, Haniey had gone
PACK TO the headquarters with the inten-
tion OF assaulting Mr.. Grayson, having
already learned that there was to be a
meeting OF the commission that afternoon.
Cullom denied leaving the house with
tdanley after the fight 1t was shown thai
ne left about the same time, however
llst OF the men at headquarters, show
ing where each man was at the time Of
the assault. on duty or at supper. or on
leave Of absence, was furnished the COM
mission by the chief. and also a map of
the engine house, showing where each man
present, who could have seen the affair.
was sitting or standing a the time. This
map was damaging evidence against Muir
ertrl ~. 40
were each within about sixteen feet from
the spot where the assault occurred with an
unrestricted view. Both men insisted,
however, that they did not see or hear
anything of the affair, holding to the
same statements which they had made
from the beginning
All of the discharged men have good
RECORDS in the fire department. Cullom
had been member of the department
over ten years. He was electrician for
some time and had been foreman Of No
station for the last three or four wears.
hogarty had been member of the depart
ment about two years, and Murphy about
one year me vacancies have been filed
Tor the present by supernumeraries but
| appointments will be made shortly by the
superintendent W. y. Claiborne of the
fire alarm telegraph service, who was sus-
pended Saturday by Chief Mcguire for in
| subordlnatlon, was reinstated with pay
rlmanded for refusing to obey the chief 5
orders. Claiborne and the chief had a
difference OF opinion about some work
me latter wanted done, and which the
| electrician objected to doing.
The action of the commission in dis
! charging the three fremen has a political
| side of course. The friends of the dis
| charged men are mostly with the Liberal
! Club, and the adherents of the latter
charge that the severity of the commission
was due TO political influences. The re-
workers, and an increased bitterness of the
campaign.