The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-03-15

the apartment efficient under the
present law?
Al have answered that in my own
way.
Q.-Yes; but cannot you answer ii
yes or MOI
Al will say that could if we had
board of commissioners that would
take an interest in the department.,
and if / had the power to organize the
/ department
On other words. Mr.. Devine. YOU
think you'd could maintain an efficient
department if you had everything your
own way Is that it?
To this inquiry there was no reply
and then followed this question:
Q--Mr. Devine, you believe the pres
ent law is such that the efficiency OF
the department cannot be maintained?
Al will say that I believe the pres
ent law is a bad law, and that the
efficiency of the department, as I have
previously stated, cannot be main
tanned as well as under some other act.
FLAGRANT INSTRUMENTATION.
Could INSTRUMENTATION be worse than
this? And is it possible for this man
TO maintain discipline in his Depart
ment when he himself possesses none?
/ He says that IF we had board of
1 commissioners that would take an in
terest in the department. and if he had
power to reorganize the department"
he could give an efficient service. In
other words, he wants the ultimate
! power lodged in himself and not in this
! board. | repeat the question: Gould
/ characterization be more fragrant than
/ this?
Nor does it stop here He even goes
! to the legislature and to legislative
committees and lebors to effect
! change in the law to suit his purpose,
and destroys all respect his men may
/ have for him and for his position, by
making a speech in which he says that
there are several men in the depart
ment that 1 believe are unfit for their
places" and that there are a great
many inefficient men in the department
that ought to be discharged
Wat does this board think of this?
The ultimate responsibility for the
good of the service is by law placed
upon you. You keep these men in the
employ of the department, and you also
keep the chief, and the question comes
Can you give an efficient service with
this man in office? If you do, it is
clear that you will have to resign your
power to him in order to accomplish
such end
But l go farther and assert that Mr..
Devine has not only bred treason in his
own camp. but it is apparent that he
has lost the confidence and respect of
his men under him. This is shown be
fore this board in two ways; first, from
his testimony, that he wants several
of the men discharged as unfit for the
service; and second. the fact that with
three or four exceptions almost the en-
tire fire department has come before
this board to a man and given most
damaging testimony against Mr.. De
vine, and seem to do so with wonderful
readiness.
INDIFFERENT TO DUTY.
Now. is it any wonder that man in
the frame of mind Mr.. Devine is, should
be not only neglectful but Indifferent
to duty? His own testimony shows
that he is Indifferent to duty; and more,
that he is Indifferent to proper disci-
pine; and further that he does not !
possess the qualifications for the office
Let us imagine, if we can, some of
these qualifications:
In the first place, he must be a man
of intense application to every detail; |
he must know the city street by street. !
block by block and house by house; he |
must know every detail of his fire sta
tons, machinery and apparatus of all |
kinds, and be able to detect when the |
least of them is out of order; he must |
ignore politics so far as active partici- |
patton therein is concerned and be |
ready to act intelligently in any |
emergency. The rates of insurance de- i
pend on his special attention to detail |
in seeing that the ordinances are en-
forced in his capacity as fire warden.
To be all of this he must have had a
long and painstaking training and eX-
perience in the business. All this and
more he ought to have, but little of
this does he possess.
According to the proof, he not
only did not do his duty in being
present at the fire in the Wa
satch building on the 18th Of February,
but absented himself and failed to no.
tify the assistant chief of his absence,
and this failure was habitual with him.
Let us look at some of the conse-
quences of this. He absentS himself
and does not notify the assistant chief
nor leave him in charge. The duty of
the assistant chief when fire occurs
east of Main street is to go at once
to Headquarters and report and re-
main there for orders. A fire occurs in
the heart of the city east of Main
street. The chief is away; the assist
ant chief reports to headquarters and
waits for orders. supposing of course
The chief is in charge of the fire, who,
however, is absent, no one knows
where; and then. according to witness
mccarthy. 1.-The first fellow that gets
there is in charge of the fire
The overwhelming weight of the proof
S that Mr. Devine from the 18th of
January to the 18th of February, was
rot only habitually away from his
place in daytime, being there only at
neal hours, but such was the case at
hight and yet in all this time the east
side of the city was without fire chief
because he at no time notified the as
;istant chief.
That the charges are proved there
an be no doubt. WHAT shall the judg ,
nent be? i do not consider that it is
n my province to discuss this.
In closing let me say that one of 8
hree things must be done; the law will
lave no be so changed as to transfer
he power now possessed and exercised
" this board. to Mr. Devine, or the I
majority of the men in the department
must be discharged, or Mr.. Devine
must be dismissed. Otherwise scandal
viii not cease, the service will be in
ficient and insurance rates will be !
aised.
MR.. STEPHENS REPLY.
Mr.. Stephens, in replying. said but
or the many Measurements by the
receding counsel he would not occu-
Y any time. He contended Judge Judd I
ad attempted to go outside of the evil
ence as well as the charges upon
hitch the hearing was had to secure a
is conviction.
Before proceeding with the argument
e desired to put his client in a fair /
ght when making the remark as he .
id on the stand that if -