The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-07-16
THE REMOVAL OF MARSHAL
FREY.

The action of the two republican police
commissioners, constituting majority of
the board. in dismssing Monday summar-
ilv without trial Marshal Frey and after
trial Captain Gilbert and Sergeant Meehan,
of the central district police, was probably,
saws the Baltimore Sun, less Of surprise
t. the community than it was 4 shock to
its preconcelyeu ideas of Justice and fair
play Coming events often cast their
shadow before them, and this event has
proved no exception 70 the rule. When
Captain Gilbert and two sergeants of his
district were put on trial upon charges
contained in report made by Mr.. Roger
W. Gull to the Reform Lea que, but formu-
lated as 4 basis for investigation by the
board by its president, Mr.. Heddinger, it
was not difficult to forecast the result. As
the trial or investigation proceeded it be-
came even more plain that While no charges
had been formulated against Marshal Frey,
and while he was not technically 'on trial.
the whole proceeding had been initiated
and was being conducted with view to
securing grounds for his removal. 1t was
plain from the first that while the subordi-
nate officers were on trial the marshal was
the game aimed at.
This, if possible, was made palmer than
ever by the extraordinary outbreak of
President Ecddingcr during the ''trial,
so-called, when he imported into the case
extraneous and wholly irrelevant matter,
excepting as showing his own animus to-
ward the marshal, when he spoke of Mar
shall Frey having made by his intrigues
and his prodding 'the life of Marshal Frey
a hell upon earth" Every reader of the
newspapers then felt that the marshars
case was preiudged and his removal GER
tainty.
We speak of these features of the inves-
tigation first because we sincerely deplorc
them and because We know that they will
be the first to impress themselves upon the
public mind, and are calculated not only
to rob the decision of the commissioners
of much of its moral effect, but to serious
" weaken the public confidence in the i'm
partially and fairness of the majority of
the board.
1t is very questionable whether the men
who will suffer most and longest in the
public estimation because of the decision
rendered Monday will not be the two com
missioners by whom it was rendered.
There is one thing that the American peo
pie, without distinction of party or politics,
hold dear, and that is fair play. 1t is
doubtful whether the people of Baltimore
will think it fair thing to condemn and
dismiss Marsha! Frey without trial, with
out charges formally promulgated against
him and without hearing evidence or coun-
sci in his defense. Few people will be
satisfied with Commissioner Johnson's
specious suggestion that he was on trial in
the person of his subordinate officers and
that their defense was his defense.
The reasonable presumption is that Mar
shall Frey's removal and possibly other
changes in the force were foredoomed
when the last Legislature elected Messrs.
Heddinger and Johnson as police commits
sioners. The law, it is true, and the Off
cial oaths of the commissioners were sup
posed to constitute barrier against re-
movals for merely political reasons. They
made it impossible, at all events, for the
new commissioners to make changes open
ly and ostensibly upon political grounds.
There will be many people, however, to-
day who will believe that politics had
more to do than anything else with the re-
movals which the board have ordered upon
the ostensible ground of failure to sup
press the crime of policy playing in the
central district