The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-18
DOOR CH5SED TQ<WEAVER Philadelphia Mayor is Asked to Retire. COMMITTEE BEGINS WORK First Nesting is Not Without
 Its Sensations. supc rintendent of Police Declares He Was Instructed Not to Moiest
 Repenters--IncIiaatio to White
 Wash is Evident.
COMMITTEE BEGINS WORK

Philadelphia, Pa, Oct l7.--The spe- | cial committee of seven Select Council | appointed last August to investigate
 the affairs of the various departments | of the city as conducted by Mayor | Weaver and his directors. began the l taking of testimony today. The meet" l ing of the committee was not without | its sensations. chief of which was the request 10 Mayor Weaver and those of | his directors to leave the room during | the hearing. and the statement of John | Taylor, superintendent of police. that I David c. Smythe, former director of 1 public safety. had told him not to mo- lest election repeaters.
 | Superintendent Taylor's statement was made despite the vigorous efforts 1 of Milton C. Work. the chairman of | the committee, to confine him to the | questions propounded by the commit tees attorney. The committee brought out statements from witnesses that po- l licemen attended meeting of a poe Iiticai club when they should have been | on duty. Mayor Weaver and the City Party insist that the police are not In | politics, while the leaders of the Re- publican organization claim that po- | licemen are as much in politics now as ever they were.
 only a Few Admitted. Unusual precautions had been taken ] to exclude from Councils in the Finance | Committee room, where, the meeting l was held. all persons except a limited number of newspaper men and wit l nesses Only one of the latter was ad- | mitted to the chamber at time. The meeting was called for 3 o'clock. Prior | to that time Mayor Weaver sent let | ter by messenger to the committee asking permission for himself and his directors to be present at the hearing and render such aid as he could. The Mayor in his letter said:
 T am extremely anxious that every act of wrong doing committed by any person in any way connected with the administration may be fully and inn partially disclosed. I do not see how this can be done under the rules you have adopted, excluding the responsi- l ble heads of the departments, as well as myself.
 q have noted that the counsel. whom you have retained are the counsel for certain officials and contractors now under criminal charges and indictments for frauds upon the city or inculpated in such frauds. It seems to me that it Is impossible for these counsel to occupy the dual relationship of repre- senting at the same time those now under formal criminal accusations (whose acts I presume, you will also
 
 and impartially aiding you in an in- vestigation touching the integrity of the municipal administration"
 No Reply to Weaver.
 The committee did not reply and on the minute of 3 o'clock Mayor Weaver, accompanied by Colonel Sheldon Pot ter, director Of Public Safety; A. Lin- coin Acker, director of Public Works and F. J. Shoyer, director of the De- partment of Supplies. walked into the committee room before the committee had assembled. The sergeant-at- arms politely informed the Mayor that, inasmuch as only witnesses and news paper men would be admitted to the room. he and the directors would have to retire. Mir. Weaver demurred and then Chairman Work notified the Mayor that the committee would not change It's rules and that he and the directors must leave the room
 The Mayor and Director Potter again and again thied vainly to get more definite answer, the Mayor and his dele gates finally leaving.
 There was a large crowd in the cor ridor. but no demonstration was made.
 When the committee convened the first witness called was Superintendent Taylor. He testified that he was pres ident of the Twentyfourth Ward Re- publican Gu band that the greater num- her of policemen of the district in which the club is situated were members of the organization.
 Policemen Left Beats.
 He said on the last meeting night of the club forty or fifty policemen at- tended the meeting, some of them leav- ing their beats to do so He said tho absent policemen's beats were covered, but he refused to answer in what man ner. The police emen attended the meet ing by permission of the lieutenant of the district. who had received orders from the former Director of Public Safety Smythe that policemen were to be permitted to attend political meet ings This order. he said, had not been rescinded by the present director
 The superintendent was pressed so hard by counsel regarding police in politics that he beC anne angry and started to make statements that star tied the commits emen. He said If the committee wanted to know the whole truth about the police business he could tell then how Director Smythe told him to take care of the repeaters and how he had to take from the rogues gallery the photographs of men who were on the police force.
 In vai1 the oh Airman tried to check him md threatened to eject him, but Superintendent TayIGr kept on.
 One of the attorneys said the commit tee did not want to know anything about that, but wanted to know how the homes of the people were protected.
 I'll tell yon," exclaimed the witness. By men who have spent three and four years in the penit sntiary and whose pict lres were taken from the ROgues' Gallery by Director Smytnc