The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-03-10
Harry j. M%ilIigan Makes His Report
to the CiviI-Service Reform
Association.
THE DISCHARGE OF EMPLOYEES
Is SHOWN NOT TO HAVE BEEN DONE
TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY.
Protection to Certain Saloon Keepers
-Amdavits Made by Ex-PatrOl-
men-Mayor's Reply.

The report to the executive committee of
the Civil-service Reform Association was
made yesterday by Harry ]. Milligan on
the investigation of the Board of Public
Safety growing out of the discharges last
December of the large number of police
men and fremen. The report is a most in
teresting one and it handles the present
Democratic administration and the Board
or Safety under it without gloves. The re-
port says:
"'In the middle of December, 1899, twenty
one policemen and twelve firemen, In the
, service of the city of indianapolis, were
summarily dismissed from service. No
charges were preferred against any of these
men and they were not given any trial
but were unceremoniously put out. Suit
was brought in the Superior Court to test
the question of the power of the Board or
Safety TO discharge the men without
charge or trial. The only question before
the court was the naked one, whether the
Board of Safety Gould act except upon for
NAL charges and trial. The morals or char
acter of the men was not in issue, but the
defense, for the purpose apparently or
prejudicing the public against the men, and
OF intimidating them, filed an answer con-
tanning charges of a serious nature against
the private character or the men, and this
a 6lNth W IlC puDtl1 IlilOu6h NH1 y"
papers; but such answer was not properly
filed and had no connection with the merits
OF the controversy, the motive apparently
being to blacken in advance the reputation
of the men and this act serves as an exam
pie of the spirit manifested by the city adj
ministration from first TO last in this dis
graceful affair.
RULING OF COURT.
1.-THE court held that the men were not
properly dismissed and that they could be
discharged only after formal charges and
trial. Afterwards. the Board of Safety pre-
ferred charges and tried a large number
Of the men. II appeared that as to some
of them there were nc charges and they
were left on the force. AS to a large num-
Der of the remainder the evidence was of
a fiimsy character. The men were accused
OF winking. blinking and con%gregating and
they were suspected of not holding in high
regard some of their superior officers.
There was an attempt made to show that
some of the men had been guilty of i'm
moral acts and the evidence upon this sub
Ject, in the main, was given by harlotS and
the criminal classes, whose testimony
would be of doubtful value under any cir
cumstances and utterly unworthy Of be-
lief where. as in this case, these witnesses
were held in terrorum by the police de-
partment, which at all times has the power
TO wreak vengeance upon them. The evil
oC III al Lht la VI lAC a
as TO most OF the men, and in fact as TO
all who stood trial. entirely insufficient TO
have convicted them before a fair tribunal,
or any serious neglect OF their duties and
1t certainly was not sufficient to justify
their discharge. Many of the men dis
missed were the best men on the force,
far above the average in Intelligence. eff
cincy and reliability. 1t Is too plain for
mistake that, with a few exceptions, the
men were let out from personal spite, for
political reasons, and to make places for
faVorites. The offenders are not the dis
charged men, but the administration that
first ignored the law. and be-
ing compelled so to do, followed the letter
OF the law but violated its spirit and under
a legal process accomplished its avowed
purpose to get rid Of good and efficient Of
lcers without sufficient cause.
ALSO TRUE OF FIREMEN.
What has been said OF the policemen is
largely true of the firemen. AS TO some Of
them no charges were preferred and they
were left on the force. AS to others the
evidence was vague and of no consequence.
The offenses were trivial and the charges
paltry. The evidence against both the po-
licemen and firemen was. in part, of acts
which occurred after they were dismissed.
showing that they were not originally dis
missed for the offenses charged later. In
fact, in nearly all the cases the men had
v o(Si AkRAA ~ IL " tdIltu " d.
count for any of their miSdeeds, though
evidence was brought i'm some cases of al
leges offenses running back over a period
of years.
.sThis action of the Board of Safety.
while peculiarly unjust and cruel to many
of these men, who nav given some of
their best years to the public service, and
who have thus been deprived of their
means of living at a period of their lives
when II is difficult for them to get other
places. and who have been cut off from
the benefit of the pension literally provided
by the taxpayers of INDIANAPOLIS. has at
the same time degraded the police and fire
forces of the city and permanently injured
the discipline and morale of the depart
ment. TIL best men will not seek these
places If they are to be turned out in the
manner and upon the trifing and INSULT
cient evidence which made the trials of
these men a ridiculous travesty upon jul
dicial proceedings. 1t has been stated I'M
officially by at least one member of the
Board of Safety that the board would al
ways get rid of any man they desired off.
This was an open avowal of a conclusion
already drawn from the official act of the
board.
CHARTER PROVISIONS.
1.-THE charter of Indianapolis provides
that the Board of Safety shall adopt rules
for the appointment of the fremen and
policemen. The Denny administration did
adopt rules and men were appointed on the
force only after a competitive examination
conducted according to the civil-service
rules. but since Mr.. Taggart has been
mayor these rules lave not been followed
nor nave any other rules been adopted.
The entire effort. so far as one can judge
by what has been done, has been to make
every man working for the city in high or
low places a. Taggart man, a subservient
tool of the Taggart machine.
Under Mr.. Taggart's administration IL
has frequently happened that the police
surgeon has reported a nan physically I'M
ence has caused the surgeons report TO be
been repeatedly charged in newspapers,
n not once denied, that Mayor Taggart
himself has caused such changes to be
made in order TO get his favorites On the
pay roll. In 1899 the Legislature provided
that a tax should be levied upon all city
property TO create a pension fund to be
paid disabled policemen and firemen. II is
OF the highest Importance, therefore, that
no man should so on the force who is not
physically fit. and the above acts of the
city administration were unlawful and
fraudulent.
NO PART IN POLITICS.
1.-The charter OF Indianapolis forbids men
on the police and fire forces from taking
an active part in politics. The city admin
istration permitted 10 be levied upon po-
licemen and nremen an assessment of $40 a
head for the benefit of the Democratic city
campaign of 1899. and the payments of this