Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-11-27
70 personal INTERESTS CONTROL

no personal INTERESTS C0NTRoLs
Yesterday morning the Register pre-
santed IN its readers the fact that there
nolice officers had been dismissed from
tho force-not because they were not
good officers. for they were, and the
Chief admitted this fact-but TOT tue
s;mnle reason that they exercised the
right supposed to be dear to every
American citizen, and had personal
choice of a candidate Tor the party
nomination for the Sergeancy. Yester-
day another officer, as good man IN
the discharge of his duties as ever wore
blue clothes and a star, suffered ohclal
decanitation because he had also dared
to make known his personal preference
for ex-Chief Thomas D. Bennett, as
against present. Chief William M.
Clemans. 1t is rumored that others OF
the present force. are to go for the
same reason-or rather lack OF reason.
Notice is thus served upon the police
force, and upon the community at large,
that the police department of the city
of Wheeling is run in the personal in
terests Of one man, and that no mem
Der of the force, however competent ne
NAV be. or however popular or deserv-
ing of the position, can draw a salary
from the public treasury for public
duties we'll performed, unless he sinks
his manhood and becomes the tool and
creature of the appointing power. To
BE A GOOD POLICE OFFICER is NO
LONGER SUFFICIENT IN WHEEL
ING. To be a member of the force in
good standing you must sell your con-
yictions preferences and conscience for
sixty five dollars per month, paid by
the people If Messrs. Walker, Dud-
ley. Landmeyer and Bickerton had de-
voted a portion of the time for which
they are paid by the people to lacking
up cards and using arguments in ia
vor Of the candidacy of the present
Chief of Police, there would have been
no objection and no thought of re-
moval-that is the machine theory Of
what policemen are paid for; but
because they elected to be in
sympathy with another man their
official life is ended, and the action of
a Chief who hopes by such methods to
succeed himself will be endorsed by a
Committee and a Council equally desir-
Gus of maintaining hold upon the
public purse and renewal of the emolu-
ments of Office.
There is a rapidly growing DISPOSE
ton throughout the land to discounten-
ance that sort of thing The public
interests are not subserved by such a
course. 1t is the method of the ring
and OF the political machine, as against
a desire to give good service for COM
pensation paid. 1t is the endeavor or
the individual to scramble back into
office, through any means, fair or un-
fair, lawful or unlawful, commendable
or mean. It is the declaration that
no man can hold office, no matter how
competent he may be or how great his
public services, unless he is for ME-.
1t is the old French sovereign's declar-
alton over again: Il am the State"
with the added edict that 'if you do
not fall down and worship ME- you
cannot discharge sworn duty to the
public in exchange for public pay"
1t will be said, by way of extenua-
ton that police officers owe loyalty
to their chief. That is true so far as
they are bound by their oaths and
their conscience. but no farther. A
police officer ought to be as free in the
exercise OF his desires and wishes and
inclinations as any other man. One
chief might insist that his force should
be of one religious faith. or that they
must wear certain make .of shoes.
Carried to it's logical conclusion, to be-
come policeman under the present
standard one must abandon all liberty
OF thought and action, and become a
simple automaton, sans sense, eyes,
ears, mind or conscience, and coupled
with that is the ever present injunction:
You must not regard your solemn oath
OF office; simply do what l tell you;
the law is of secondary consideration;
am the State
The machine is running with a ven
geance-but the people are no longer
greatly in love with the machine.