The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1904-09-08
Chairman Of Police and Fire Com.
mission Follows the Lead of
Secretary and Resigns.
PETTY POLITICS The CAUSE
City Council Accepts designations and
Mayor will Name New Men
Other Business Acted on.

Police and Fire Commission into poll
tics, had bad jar at the meeting of
the Common Council Tuesday night,
when, following close upon theshee1s
of the resignation of Secretary Buck
master Of the Commission, resigna-
ton was received from 6. H. Curtis,
the chairman of that body. In his
letter to the Council, Chairman Cur
tbs places the matter before the peo-
pie just as it is, and shows that the
work Of the Commission has been null
flied.
The letter of resignation follows:
To the Honorable Mayor and Common
| Council of the City Of Kenosha,
/ Wisconsin.
Gentlemen: l hereby tender my
resignation as member and president
of the Board of Police and Fire Com
missioners, resignation to take effect
at once.
| find, after giving considerable
thought and no little time to the
work, as | understand it, pertaining
to the Board of Police and Fire Com
missioners, that such time and ,work
is absolutely of no account or value,
as there seems to be a great deal of
misunderstanding as to the duties of
the Board of Police and Fire Commits
| sioners.
| Some time back this Board approved
the appointment by the Chief of Po-
lice of Theodore Dunnebacke and
Joseph Bienemann as police officers.
We also approved the appointment by
the Chief of the Fire Department of
William Smith for position on the
Fire Department.
Possibly these appointments may
not have been absolutely technical,
and it is for this reason partly, but
more soon account of petty politics,
that the Mayor has Withheld their pay
for all the time they have been in
| that service.
He acknowledged before your hon
orab1e body in June that it was not on
account of the technical errors that he
withheld their pay. But understand
his honor is willing to sign their GER
tihcate of pay if one of the members
of this commission resigns.
| So If the approval of these officers
and fireman was void then, it is void
today; they should be so advised by
your honorable body.
! 1t is this manner of putting injus-
tice, as we'll as hardship, on the ap-
| pointed men that moves me to resign.
Hoping this will have your. early
consideration, am,
Yours most respectfully,
G. H. CURTIS.
At Kenosha, Wis, Sept. s, 1904
heTresignation of Mr.. Buckmaster
was similar to that of the Chairman
with the exception that it had been
expected by the Mayor. Mr.. Buck
master said:
To the Honorable the Mayor and the
| Common Council of the City of Ke-
| nosha.
Gentlemen: On April 8, 1904, was
reappointed by Mayor Pfennig as a
member of the Police and Fire Com
mission of the city of Kenosha, Wis,
and the appointment was unanimously
confirmed by the City Council. filed
the usual oath of office and have since
continued to act as such officer. That
such appointment was entirely legal
and valid has been clearly decided by
the Supreme Court in State ex rel.
Emberson VS.. Byrne, SO Wis, Is.
Mayor German holds otherwise, how
ever, and has attempted TO make an
other appointment, and has since re-
fused to sign the orders for the pay
ment of salaries of certain officers of
the police and fire departments,
choosing rather to make the guar
dams of the city's safety suffer than
to bring an action in court to test his
position. The result is that three ex-
ce1lent officers have been deprived of
their pay for three months, and this
has been to them severe hardship.
have appealed to the Mayor on their
behalf, but he has refused either to
sign the orders or to ask the courts to
sustain him. There is no question
but that the court would compel
Mayor German to sign these orders,
but this would involve long, tedious
and expensive litigation, with in
creasing hardship to these officers,
Such a condition is harmful to the
public interests and without profit to
any person concerned.
AS last resort have proposed to
/ Mayor German, and he has agreed
that upon the filing of my resignation
with the City Clerk and its acceptance
by the Council, he will Immediately
sign orders for the payment Of said
4 officers for and during the time of
their service in their respective de
partments.
In order that these officers may be
paid what is rightly due them and in
order that the efficiency of the Police
and Fire Departments may not be i'm
paired by situation which is both
Improbable and undignifed, hereby
resign my Office as a member of the
Police and Fire Commission of the
City of Kenosha, and request that my