The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-28
GIendinning vetoes the Bill Abel
ishing the Office.
OBJECTIONS OF TIE MAYOR
EFFICIENCY OF THE DEPARTMENT
DEMANDS a CAPTAIN.
Thinks the Patrol Drivers Should Do
Duty as Mounted Policemen,
While the Patrol Wagon should
Be Attended to by the Members
of the Fire Department.

Mayor Glendinning has vetoed the ordi-
nance establishing the Office of captain
of police.
The veto was prepared on Monday and
would have come up in the council last
night but for the adjournment.
The mayors veto message reads as fol-
lows:
Salt Lake City. Utah. Oct. %. 1896.
To the Honorable the City Council:
Gentlemen:-I herewith return to the
council without my approval, bill No.
201. being an ordinance abolishing the
Office of captain of police, and providing
for an additional mounted patrolman in
this city. My reasons for withholding
my approval in this case are briefly as
follows:
The police department as now organ
lied consss>s of chief, a captain, two
duty sergeants, three desk sergeants,
two detectives, one mounted policeman.
twenty-0ne patrolmen and two patrol
drivers. total 90 officers and men.
1t seems to me manifest that during
the absence or disability of the chief,
there should be some subordinate officer
in the department whose rank would en-
title him as Of right to succeed the chief
in command of the forse. If the cap
taancy Is abolished, the department would
have no such subordinate officer, for the
reason that in law the sergeants all rank
alike. and to select one of these to COM
mand in preference TO another, might
and probably would involve an invidious
distinction which would impair the dis
cipline and efficiency of the department.
The patrolmen are divided into three
reliefs, each relief being on duty eight
hours. The chief should remain on duty
during the day, and a captain or other
officer above the rank of sergeant should
have command during the night, or. at
any other time in the absence Of the
chief. To secure the best service from
the police department, there ought to be
sergeant on duty with each relief; and
to anticipate and obviate any difficulty
which may arise from the absence of the
chief and captain at the same time, 1t
ought to be provided by ordinance that
the sergeants shall take rank according
to the date of their respective commits
sions. the oldest in commission being
first in rank; the next oldest in COM
mission being second in rank and so on
down the list. the junior in commission
being third sergeant.
The ordinance fixing the number Of
officers and men in the police depart
vide for any certain number of duty
sergeants. so that If deemed advisable
to have three instead of two as at pres
ent. l see no difficulty in appointing one
It would add only s687s per month to the
pay roll of the department, that being
the difference between the monthly pay
of a sergeant and asPatrolman. 1t will
De Setu t1dI lItlt dIt lWO pdtiO VI
connected with the department. | see
no good reason why these men enay not
be assigned to duty as mounted police
men; and have the police patrol wagon
attended TO by the fire department; and
the horses to the patrol wagon may, If
necessary. be cared for by the city pris-
oners, so that the onlyyduty which would
be added to the FIRE department, if. this
suggestion be carried out, would be to
respond to an occasional call f5r the
patrol wagon, and as there are from IA
to Is firemen continuously on duty at
the old city hall it would seem this added
duty would not be much of burden
upon them. yJs
These changes, if acted upon, will re-
tain the captaincy, provide an additional
sergeant and add two mounted policemen
to the department at an additional
monthly expenditure of S2s.67, that
amount being the total difference in the
monthly pay of the new sergeant and
two mounted policemen, and the patrol
men and drivers. as now provided by or
dinance or if desirable to add only one
mounted policeman, the services of one
of these patrol drivers might be dis
pensed with, thus reducing the monthly
expenses of the department while still
Increasing its number of effective men
! by the sum of 1888. Y ~
! Very respectfully, ue M
JAMES GLENDINNING. !.
Mayor.