The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-03-18
ANOTHER ONE SUSTAINED.


Specification 4-The evidence upon
this specification shows that on the
evening of the 18th of February, 1896.
the chief left headquarters about
o'clock in the evening to go to the city
and county building to attend hear
ing before the house committee on mu-
nicipal corporations. having in consld-
GRAFTON senate bill No. s, relating 10 tue
administration of the FIRE and police
departments. leaving word with Dieu-
tenant Mccarthy where he was going;
about SIS p. m an alarm was runS IN
from No 227 South Main street in the
business district where FIRE broke
out resulting in a loss of nearly S2.uoo.
The department with the assistant
chief in charge responded promptly,
and handled the fire well, so far as we
are advised Mccarthy telephoned
Sadler's liquor store to learn OF
the character of the fire, and receiving
assurance that it would not amount to
much, waited about ten minutes, when
he telephoned again, this time ascer-
tanning that the fire was serious. He
then started the chiefs buggy with
the driver to the city and county
building. from which point the chlef
was conveyed to the fire arriving about
thirty or forty minutes after the alarm
was rung in. and after the fire was
out. In few minutes he returned TO
the committee meeting, remaining UNI
til II A p. m. to speak in advocacy of
the pending bill 1t appears from his
testimony that he was invited by a
member of the committee to attend
this committee meeting. We do not
consider the occasion OF the chief 5
absence an excuse for failure
to respond to this alarm While it is
true that every citizen has an abstract
right to participate in proceedings of
this nature. and to enforce his views
upon public questions with other per-
sons. there are other duties to the
public, which when once assumed by
this officer, require him to subordinate
everything else to his public function.
Therefore We sustain the specification.
SPECIFICATION 5.
This charge is not proven by the
evidence. There is evidence that upon
this occasion the chief was in attend
ance upon the legislature, and that he
had manifested an interest in the pas
sage of senate bill No. 8. relating TO
the fire and police departments, but it
is not known that he habitually neg
leoted his duties, and that he attended
the legislature for the purpose of
lobbying and soliciting or influencing
not prepared for a moment to concede
the right or propriety Of the chief
engineer to. in person, attend legisla-
tive bodies to urge the enactment of
laws affecting or regulating his depart
ment,. but would be inclined to view
such conduct as a serious offense
against discipline. yet we are unable to
find sufficient evidence that he did SO.
Therefore we do not sustain the speci-
fcation.
SUSPENDED FOURTEEN DAYS.
Upon a careful consideration of the
whole case. the judgment of the board
is Commissioner Jennings not voting)
that James Devine, the chief engineer
of the fire department of Salt Lake
city Utah. be. and he is hereby sus-
pended without pay for period of
fourteen days beginning with the 18th
day of February, A. D, 1896, the date
of his suspension.
Respectfully submitted.
c. s. VARIAN,
(SiSned) Chairman.
W. ?. NOBLE,
LOUIS COIN.