Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-12-23
So Says Mayor Bransford, Who
Quotes American City At
torney on Subject.
L. b. MARTIN is NOT IN LINE.
Chairman Of. Council Fire COM
mittee Wants Absconder
Brought Back.
some Interesting sideliehts OF Fire
mems Fund Scandal, Including
A,Lettcr Written by Wife.

MAYOR BRANSFORD---sHrl ca',
viii be no prosecution OF Vail, as fal
as the city is-sconcerned. The cit
attorney says the city las no lega
ground for action
Chairman Ii. d. Martin, of Council
Fire Comnllttee-..BS all means, say
bring Vail back and force him tc
g render an accounting Of the iiremcn'.
fund.-
Chief GIore s'.Something must be
done. Vail should be proceeded
against foryan accounting of the fund
for the, good of the fire department
and tile protection OF innocent pco-
+ pic" IS
Mrs. Charles 4. Vail--..I4 don't want
YOU to think that ever got II cent
OF that money he squandcred, for Mr..
burnett, never did, not one dollar.
Twas trying to save him from it and
he camc very near killing me-.
have papers in my possession which
show where the money went to-
Extract from letter from Mrs. 9. I.
Vail, written to Jesse i. Burnett,
dated Los Angeles, Oct. 10.
MAYOR BRANSFORD.
So far as L know any thing concerns
ing the case, there vii be no prosecu-.
! ton Of Vail, and consequently no at
tempt made TO force MS return mere"
Z sald Mayor BransLord this morning
Z r
35iiltenueuE uulng III Inc matter OF the
alleged ucralcatlOn OF the eX-tire chlet.
5cnler. = l
At the time twas first known that
Vail had gone, and the funds Of the
tiremen We're M sslsig, 4 nau the cass
laid before the city attorney and 1t is
ON his opinion that i base Lie state
1nent thar there Will be no steps taken
by the city to force the8return OF AL.
a $ MI. Dlnlnny Eg aye lie the opinion sSte
the ti...e That tnere was nothing To-
be done in the matter legally. OF
course, that was as tar as could go
in the matter, and there the case rests,
IL there Is any case.
CHIEF w. H GLORII.
Chief w. II. Glore, successorjto Chief
Vail, thinks the matter should be
probed to the .,ottom. Il have asked
the council for authority to make out
Il complaint against Vail and proceed
against him in order to recover the
fund which has been accumula ting for
years for the benefit of the tiremen,
said Chief Glore today. Il sent a COM
,nunication to the council asking that
the matter be probed three weeks ago,
but have not heard a word from it.
While everybody might underst and
how the things stands now" continued
Chief Glore, Sin 10 years from now
someone not acquainted with the facts
might ask what became of the money,
and figure out that Chic. Bywater got
the fund from Chief Devlne, and Chief
Vail got it from Chief EyWater, bit
when Chief Glore came in where was
The fund? do not propose to see the
matter supinely passed by as being of
no interest, which seems to be the dis
position even OF some of those inter-
5osted in the fund. have not a doll
lar interest in it, or would bring the
matter up in the courts. Oraif the
council will authorize me to do SOL will
proceed against Vail. Anyone who has
ever given a check to the fund could
file complaint, Something must be
done for the sake Of tbe dnnartment,
and to protect innocert parties.
Shortly after / calae into office as
Wallis successor, tho matter. of the fund
came up and the boys wanted to APP
point q committee to investigate the
matter OF the fund. They asked me to
act on the committee. I met Chief Vail
soon after and asked him about the
fund, and he promised$to come into my
office in n few. days and turn the fund
over The day set for him to come in
PASSED and he did not show ZIP. Sew
erai days passed and I met MI. Vail
again. 7 asked him why he did not
come insand turn over t he fund tts!fhe
promised. He said he had been busy,
1S1N yJS,F
In and the next time saw him 1 asked
him IL he had the fund to turn over. He
said yes. he had IT. but did not propose
to turn 1t over to every Tom, Dick and
Harry in the country, and II the fire.
men would organize and name a presi-
dent and secretary and officers to re-
ceiye the fund, he would turn it over.
Meantime! a petition was circulated
among the firemen, asking that the
Vail. I have heard nothing. further
from Chief Vail on the matter, except
as to his detention at Reno, and sub
seauent release by the authorities on
receiving word that he was not want
ed
WHO GOT THE MONEY?
what has become of the firemen's
fund.- Did Chef Vail appropriate it to
his own use? If not, where Is the
money -
& these are questions which are asitat-
Eng the minds of some of the men be-
longing to the fire department of Salt
Lake city although there are members
who are not agitated over the matter
and seem to take the fact that no
trace of the six or seven thousand
dollars that were in the fund q short
fine ago can be found with indiifer-3
ence. 4 ~, 8
1t is n we'll known fact that Ghler
Vale has not made an accounting or
tbe fund; but it is limited that 9TH
ers3 we're in on the division of spoils.
ana that Chief Vale did not realize the
entire amount for himself.
There is pretty good evidence at ha li'.
showing that the fund was handed
nserf 10 Chief Vale Wien he took the 1
oatl, OF. office as chief of the fire de-
M ttnient early in 1905. Chief w. H
Bvwater, who was in the office prior
n Yale, received the moneys ana Sc
c,,,etias wlic.ihe went into office from
FORMER Chief James Deyine. and he de- de-
iiverel them, over to his successor.
CHARLES T. Vale, and took Vale'si re-
ceipt for the same.
There is also very good evidence to
chow that Chief Vale did not hand 4