The age-herald., 1898-11-19
MIR. LESSER'S GARD E sh
 TO ALDER RMAN PEARCE

In an interview with the Age-Herald Mir. Pearce asserts that the present police commission Is a political machine. If this be so, then this machine must be the crea- tion of the city council, and indirectly, of MT. Pearce himself. Here is the proof
 When I was appointed member of the
 police commission I refused to accept the
 appointment My nomination was made
 entirely without my knowledge, and with
 out my being candidate for office. Only after being requested by the mayor and majority of the councilmen (Mr. Pearce was then already a member of the coun- ciD, who held consultation on the sub- ject did l agree to accept the appointment not on my account, but solely in the inter- est of the city The same is true of MT. Lane.
 When MT. Crawford resigned 1t was nec-
 essary to get the governor to appoint in his
 place another commissioner who would be agreeable to the city council. When I gave
 the mayor the names of two parties, he
 told me: "For Gods sake let the governor
 appoint MT. Lane," and his appointment
 was made an issue at that time, and the
 appointment was therefore made at the di-
 rect request of the city administration. For
 this reason MT. Lane is an administration
 man. the same as I.
 In the later appointment of MT. Fox, the
 mayor and the majority of the members
 of the present city council wrote to the
 governor, recommending and requesting ms
 appointment. Therefore MT Fox must also be considered as man of the present ad- ministration.
 Regarding MT. McCartin. 1t is known that until his appointment he was mem- Der of the present council. Where, then, are the politics, unless MT. Pearce means his own as the politics of the city councilY He must have been dreaming when he talked of friction between the two bod ies. The fact is that the greatest harmony prevailed between them. and the commits sion showed by it's resolutions that 1t was always ready to carry out the wishes or the city council.
 NRut now comes Mir McCartin. the very man on whose account the police commits sion is to be abolished, and says that 1t ex- ists for no other purpose than to pay po- litical debts. As a proof, he cites the in- stance of the election by the commission of policeman who resides in another county. We must admit that this is news to us, and If this Is really a fact, neither nor the other members of the commission Knew of 1t. If MT. McCartin did know of it, he committed wrong against the city and violated his duties by not informing the commission of the fact.
 We repeat, the city authorities are re- sponsible for the insecure condition of the outlying districts, because they refuse to grant the commission the means to increase the police force When endeavor to throw a little light on these matters, l am actu- ated solely by the desire to have the people know the true facts in the case. Nothing could induce me to accept the appointment for a second term as police commissioner, and am under obligations to no one, and the question of chief of police is therefore not personal one with me. But l shall always oppose any attempt to use me for demagogical purposes. B. LESSER. Down With the II utch
 Truly, the German element has received great consideration at the hands of the