The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-01-08
"AMERICANS" TO.
CAUCUS TODAY
They Will Make Desperate Effort
to Divide the Loaves and
Fishes.
TROUBLE OVER BYWATER
PERFORMERS" FAR FROM BEING
AGREED OVER HIS SUCCESSOR.

Mayor Ezra Thompson and the
American" party members of the city
council will meet together in secret
conclave at o'clock this afternoon TO
oiv,de the loaves and fishes If an
agle ement is reached, the mayor will
send some appointments to the city
council tonight
The extreme radicals among the
American" cOuncilmen VIII endeavor
to force through a caucus resolution
binding the entire nine TO vote to con-
fIrm any and all appointments which
the mayor may make. and, among
those close to the situation The belief
prevails that tonight's council meeting
will at least witness the decapiJation
of Chief of Police w. J. Lynch and the
appointment and confirmation Of
George Sheets in his place.
Trouble Over By~ater.
The mayor has tough problem on
MS hands in his desire to get rid of
Fire Chief w. II. Bywater First of
all, some of the American" council
men are opposed to removing hir, to
make room for a Thompson .nenchman.
Then, even if it is agreed that By
water shall be removed. there is a
mighty lack of agreement over who
shall be his successor.
Mayor Thompson is partial to
Charles T. Vail: several of his Barty
associates in the council want James
Devine named. Mayor Thompson
doesn't want Devine, his reason being
that Devine is too close to the Tan
nan-Salisbury crowd" This DeVine-
Vail complication is the rock upon
which the "reformers" are likely 10
split
Those among the American CCun-
cilmen who favor wholesale cleaning
cat of everybody in the city govern
ment who failed to vote the "Ameri-
can" ticket in the city election, pro-
fess a bOundless belief in their ability
to club their more moderate ard less
hungry associates into line. and de-
clare that every appointment sent IN
by TIC mayor will receive q solid
"Amc-ican" vote for confirmation.
Some Delay Likely.
Signs for the removal of Bywater
were not propitious yesterday and it
is doubtful if his successor is named
tonight In the event of harmonious
action between the mayor and his
coUncilmanic associates, however.
Sheets name will probably go in for
chief of police.
For street supervisor Fergus Fergu-
son is said to have the inside track,
though Hal w. Brown is also an as
pirant. For city engineer L. G. KEEL
sey is regarded as having a cinch on
the place. Frank Mathews, according
to rumOr, is slated for water commits
siOner, and Earl Ripley is believed to
be Mayor ThompsOn's choice to sue
coed Frank L. Hines. The latter, It
is claimed, supported the American"
ticket in the recent campaign but that
fact, apparently, is not TO save his
official scalp.
To Reward Republican Boter.
w. J. Leaker, who acted as Republi-
can committeeman in the Fifth ward
in the recent campaign and supported
the American" ticket at the same
time, is to have his reward. He looks
good to Mayor Thompson for the DO
sitiOn of plumbing inspector. No man
in the american" party is said to.
possess the qualifications for city
chemist and an ambition TO fill the
job. so Herman Harms stands a chance
of being retained unless somebody can
be drafted.
Office-hungry patriots made life
burden TO several cOuncilmen yester-
day The rumor was circulated that
the mayor and his friends in the cOun-
Gil had caucused during the afternoon
and cut the pie, and the starving be-
sieged the cOuncilmen to know what
had been done Some, when Informed
that no caucus had been held. ex-
pressed disbelief and had dark visions
of the ''double-cr cross"