The San Francisco call., 1898-03-10
His Star Com es Off at tn e Order of the Police
 Commission.
Comment Caused by the Strange Attitude Of Chief Lees in
 the Matter.
He Souoht to the Last to Protect One Whose Guilt Had Been Made
 Clear as the Sun.

Sergeant Fred Davis was dismissed from the police force yesterday. After a period of nearly forty-eight hours Of suspense he heard the decision of the Commissioners at noon. Captain Gill; len at once relieved him of his star and authority At present a patrolman IS doing the duty for the performance of which Davis has been pronounced unfit.
 There is a feeling that the Commis- sioners acted with commendable promptness in taking up the case as they did. while with the result no fault is to be found. It Is taken as indicating aresolution tomaintain a high standard of morals in the department and to weed from it the individuals whose connection is a reproach. Davis had been found guilty of frequenting the boxes of a public place. always In com pany with a woman. He was there when supposed to be on duty, and there so much and so openly that the asso- citation became notorious. After the testimony against him had been heard his guilt was manifest, and yet his at tempted defense was so weak as actu- ally to emphasize the truth. Against the charge of endeavoring to levy black mail there was nothing but his own de- nial.
 The commission Is being praised be- cause it had to contend with the uneX- pected obstacle of opposition from Chief Lees He alone or that DodE seemed determined to clog the prog ress of Justice, to dwell on irrelevant points and to throw about the integrity of the overwhelming testimony shad-
 IQ,,f fny I attitude of the head of the department there is reason to believe Davis would have resigned and escaped the humilia- tion of dismissal Certainly, the fate of the accused would have been set tied the night of the hearing. The de- lay was due solely to Lees. The Chief was in a similar frame of mind yester- day. when in executive session the mat ter came up for final consideration. He still sought to discredit the testimony. Messrs. Tobin and Gunst would have none of 1t. They had made up their minds. and were not to be swayed by the prejudice of Lees.
 "There is no doubt about the guilt of this man." said MT. TGbin. His con- duct has been a disgrace to the depart ment, and 1t Is time for him to leave it."
 It was at this point that Lees put in a SDecldI Dled, put MI olOON "iti Tobin. and in the absence of MT. Al word they constituted a majority.
 The action of Lees excites particular comment in that it so sharply contrasts with his course in the instance of charges against Sergeant Wollweber, who was recently forced to resign. Wollweber became infatuated with a woman, and associated with her so much that the affair assumed the na- ture of a scandal. The man was ac- cused of nothing else. Nobody came forward with allegations of blackmail. Moreover, Wollweber did not visit the woman openly and in full uniform while supposed to be going his rounds. He had at least enough respect for the department to do his wooing as pri- vate citizen. Yet when Lees heard of the matter he at once demanded Woll- weber's resignation. Naturally, people in and out of police circles are making remarks.