The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-11-09
FAGAN'S DEBTS.
Police Department to Pay
the Mayors Ante-elec-
tion Obligations.
MCCARTHY COMMISSIONER
Trouble Feared as The re Are
Many More Promises
Than Places.

Many More PROMISES
Than Places.
Under the administration of Mayor
Fagan the Board of Police Commission
ers will be Republican. Commissioner
Walter, the present Democratic member
will go out of Office on January and
Mayor Pagan will appoint a SUCCESSOR
DR.. John D. McGill, president of the
Board, holds over. The third member,
Thomas Tilden, is a Republican, SO that
DR. McGill will be the minority member.
AS he has expressed himself as deter
mined to allow the majority to have full
swing and to be only a sort of adviser
and curb to any undesirable steps that
may be contemplated by his colleagues,
the Board will only have to refuse to be
curbed or to accept advice to go into a
wholesale effort to fulfill some of the
promises that were made prior to cleo
tion.
According to the rumors now circulate
ing the entire complexion of the Board
will be changed. 1t is said that Commis-
sioner Thomas Tilden will be appointed
a Tax Commissioner. to fill the vacancy
to be caused by the retirement of James
Clarke, whose team expires on January 1.
Commissioner Tilden will then resign
from the Police Board. Rumor has it
tnat the place of Commissioner Walter
will be filed by George T. Mccarthy,
president of the Society for the Preven-
ton of Cruelty to Animals, and that
Commissioner Tilden's successor may be
Thomas Degnan. real estate dealer, who
is said to be Mayor Fagans closest
friend and for years his adviser and
staunch supporter. 1t has been said of
Mr.. Degnan by those in close touch with
the two that he will get the best Office
Mayor Fagan can give, wherein legal
knowledge is not essential.
Since the advent of DR.. McGill to the
Police Board there were made vacant by
promotions the places of three rounds
men, two sergeants and a detective. None
of these has been filled because Dr. Nc
Gill has held that there were too many
superior officers. Heretofore DR.. McGill
has kept these places vacant be
cause of his strenuous efforts to keep the
expenses of the force down to the mini
mum and to add to the number of men
ION the street" He has announced that
he would keep them vacant If it was pos
sible, but the managers of Mr.. Fagan's
campaign have other schemes and with
their majority have every power TO
carry out their ante-election promises.
One of the promises made was that
Sergeant Harrington, now in a Suburb
an" station, would be assigned to the
desk at Police Headquarters. That place
is now filled by Sid O'Donnell, a
patrolman on detail. He is Democrat
and a member of the Robert Davis Asso-
citation. He was formerly a telephone
clerk, and when John Kelly, who, as
sergeant, was in charge of the desk at
Headquarters, was promoted to the rank
of captain, O'Donnell was detailed to fill
the position.
Immediately there was a great howl
from the sergeants who had ambitions
for the place. Among these was Harring-
ton, who had a. taste of the job for a
time before Captain Kelly. 1t has been
promised that Harrington will be placed
in O'Donnelps position, and that O'Donnell
will be "put on post" that is, go on duty
on the street.
Telephone Clerk John Murphy, also a
Democrat. has a berth that many Repub-
lican patrolmen yearn for and it has been
promised. Herbert Sniffin, a patrolman
and a Republican, who was Chief Muir
phys lieutenant in the campaign of police
partisanship, is an applicant for the place
and is looked upon as more than pos
sibility These changes, with Chief MUIR
ply, Inspector Samuel Archibold and
Clerk Robinson and his son. William, will
place the headquarters of the department
in the hands of the Republicans without
a Democrat in sight
Then the general shakeup that is ex-
pected by every member of the force will
be in order. More promises Of promotion
to the rank of roundsman and sergeant
have been made than can possibly be
fulfilled, but it is confidently expected
that so far as the places will go they
will be distributed
The place made vacant in the Detective
Bureau by the expulsion of Robert Bum
sted is plum that many grasping hands
in the patrol force are searching for and
at least three are said to have been prom
ised the promotion This is in spite Of
the fact that DR. McGill is utterly OPP
posed to detectives, but an act
of the Legislature protects the "plain
clothes men and they cannot be disturb
ed by the Board of Commissioners. The
place is vacant and can be filled and
will be.
Numberless promises of appointments
to the force have been made and there
is sure to be great deal of disappoint-
ment as the law says that only ten men
may be added to the police forces of
cities of the first class each year.
Perhaps the most novel promise made
was that held out to a number of men
that they would be made detective to the
Mayor with standing in the Police De-
partment and in the Mayors office There
never has been such sinecure, but there
will be when Mayor Fagan takes office,
according to current stories. The ap-
pointment can be made legally because
there are such officials in other cities
A News" reporter called on DR.. McGi
al the Hudson County National Bank yes
terday, and the President of the Police
Board made his plans and the position he
will take during the remainder of his
term plain. With a view to moving the
men in the department to greater and
heroic effort DR.. McGill has borrowed an
idea from the army that he thinks IS a
great one, and ali to whom he has men
toned it are of the same belief The idea
is to establish in the department sort of
Order Of the Bronze Cross.
The cross will be of bronze It will hang
f,.,,x,, q 1,s, ar, which will he stamped the