The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-13
BLACK SUSTAINS PARKER.
DISkPPRo1Es 1rIToR BTR0NG'g
ORDER OF Removal.


ORDER OF Removal.
Inarrnities OF Othsr rEcrnbeFs Arc what ATS
the Police heard. ne says-HEuch OF the
Testimony Against Parker P~reuounocd
Trivial ana nnadeausto 70 the Charge.
ALBANY, July 12.-Gov Black to-day disap-
proved Mayor Strong's decision for the removal
Of Police Commissioner Andrew d. Parker OF
New York city. Tho Governor filed tho follow
ing memorandum In refusing to approve Mayor
Strong's action:
TN the mattor Of tho charges preferred
against Andrew D. Parker, q Police Commits
sioner In the city of Now York. Disapproval Of
tho Mayors order OF removal.
This Is q proceeding for tho removal Of FAN
drew d. Parker from the Office Of Police Com
missioner Of the city Of New York. Tho proceed
ing was conducted before tho Mayor, who de-
cided that such removal should DO made, and IL
was made. subject to the approval Of the Gov
ernor. Tho charge against Parker upon which
no was tried was that ho had neglected his Off
cial duties. 1 have carefully read oil tho testi-
mony taken upon tho trial and tho briefs sub
mitted by counsel. In my Judgment tho charge
has not been sustained. A roview Of the tosti-
mony here is neither necessary nor proper.
That the efficiency Of the Police Board should
have been greater is undoubtedly true, but the
failure to attain such efficiency seems to have
been due rather to the inarmitios Of several Of
Its members than to the neglect OF one. Tho
S q e. G, - s oF e s;,, but the S,s testimony III a Wbo r. sin npspfl.
Client. u,o..oro,.,
instituted unless evidence exists which ie at
least partially adequate to the gravity OF The
SoaeEei q AT tho sH Mayors but sI / ssiieso tits i IS S sae
Sh,sS ! { SS't sssn aieIssi hero would : Se analIy
Of the Mayors decision"
The charges. against Commissioner Parker
Mayor or' s strong with tho Gov. Black last January.
Those familiar with the case have expected all
sMlons th str Goy: Black 5sci., would dn Tefq iSs to o1 SIPpr s,r.
prise was that the Governor waited SO long be-
fore acting.
Charges and specifications wore framed by
Corporation Counsel Scott against Police Com
Information on which they were based was fur:
nished by Police Commissioners Roosevelt and
eased Sommissioner in The ad%ipistration Of
the Police 9, Department tna &h particularly Htnra.s S.r over eeg Pre-.
Of duty, and tho specifications related to alb
seneo from board meetings and failure to at
tend promptly to certain complaint and pension
The trial on tho charges before tho Mayor
began in Juno, 1895. with Elihu Root acting. as
RF SSS defeness. eMsi Syos strong eoa had had 70 return tf4' from
sion Ct p. the tt trial Rl]c SGd b9 sb soGn the SI RspSS5 Im In t as
was expected 70 decide the case on his return In
August, but the matter was permitted to drop
into its wrangle over putting. Chief Conlin on
trial. Then the Mayor surprised everybody hy
sioner Parker ON the old charges. To be efec.
tive. the act of removal had to DO approved by
the Governor.
Commissioners Parker said yesterday:
"0f course La, an very much pleased w Tith the tn
kN II h4.,n alx..n- a fA1t go chat
Governor would ind himself compelled. upon
the record, to disapprove the Mayors action.
he or the court had to correct the ,May9r'a
error. and 1t was best to correct 1t at this earlier
"Of the Mayor and his action l prefer to say
nothing. am well aware that he has publicly
made Insulting statements about me. but ! have
add one feathers weight to all he has to bear
Besides. he is Mayor and I only q Commissioner
sss1 e eneire H' free RI : p puSli eS 0 to 81 SPEAK ea'e my Se' @ind
The proceeding to remove me vas noj
motors that I had been guilty Of neglect Of duty
They felt that I was doing not too little. but toe
i Rp' Il a ans hsd0 ana s8SP snrassd them sen II th psEi ] ss
tually dared to have m opinion and maintain, Il
feat before the Lesisiature and elsewhere
which drove Commissionsrrs Roosevelt eta and ! An n
ne%i a@ pssu la aSs p1e sSassy too. that Just at shi.
time comes the Corporation Counsel o opinion
upon the eligible list for Inspectors 1t was the
determination Of the majority, at first secret
and then clumsily avowed, to force the promo
tion of their two favorites to the exclusion Of
other candidates which began the Police Board
trouble. At the back Of every attack upon me
was that utterly illegal and nnjustiflable pur
pose. For fifteen months l resisted, and / woulC
have gone out OF Office a hundred times rathel
than have yielded my convictions or compound
ed their offence. 1t was useless to argue; the,
wanted submission, not and each
successive defeat only. made them tho les
amenable to reason. At length in May las
the newspapers printed in full M, statemen
showing the illegality Of the list, and some edi
torial columns forcibly characterized the actor
Of the majority as an evasion OF law. The Cor
poration Counsel. after reading the statement
said to Chief Conlin that 1t would not take hin
Eve minutes to declare the list illegal; II was re
ferred to him on May IA last. Twice since the
no has been reminded of its pendcncy. To-day h
renders IN opinion. which says in snbstanc
that 1t 10 unnecessary to decide the question r.
ferred to him. because tho new law requires tn
creation of a new list under any circumstance
While I should have liked q plump answer I
the boards question, which would have passe
upon my year-long contention. ! am not who'll
disseminated with this disposition OF tho board
inquiry. 1t Is eloquent OF the real fact. Had
been wrong, / can Imagine tho promptitude an
emphasis Of tho opinion"