The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-05-15


rejoice to see Croker retire, it was
different at the time of his debut
in office.
His elevation to the head of the de-
partment to succeed the generally
admired and respected Hugh Bonner
was looked upon as just another
Tammany scandal. Croker was only
thirty-seven then, the youngest chief
in the history of the department In
the subordinate grade he had had no
opportunity to show the whole city
his qualities as a fire fighter. The
town at large simply felt that Hugh
Bonner a popular idol, was to 60 to
make room at the top for an upstart
kinsman of Richard Croker.
Firemen themselves hated him. be-
cause they thought he was a mar
tinet. But that should be qualified.
The men Of his own company or bat
TALON hated him when they were on
duty in their stations waiting for
alarms. But the instant the fireman
jumped to the brass pole to slide to
his place on the truck or hose-tender
for the gallop to blaze. he forgot all
about the harshness of Croker in his
realization that the same martinez
was the best and ablest sort of a
commander in action.
However, as hremen spent more
time loafing and doing station chores
than in fighting flames, they were
sorry when Croker became chief
But they, too, have changed their
minds about that. Several years ago
they got the permission of the COM
missioner to give the chief a present
and make him the hero of a testimo-
NAL affair in honor of the twenty
fifth anniversary of his entering the
department. But the chief would
have no testimonials and no loving
cups. He sent out an order from
headquarters prohibiting his men
from contributing to the gift fund, and
declaring that the plan must be
abandoned. Croker is on duty
twenty-four hours a day, eleven
months in the year. That is literally
true. When not in action at a fire
or on tour of inspection, he is at
Fire Hall by day and at his headouar-
tiers in Great Jones street by night
Scores and scores of times he has
qualified as a fire hero, but nobody
ever thinks of that, because being a
hero with him is a part of routine bust
ness, and he never talks about it.
not so far as his own case is con-
cerned. But on the old records of
the department, covering the period
when he was in the ranks, there are
enough one-line items crediting him
with life-saving exploits to fill sew
eral pages.
HIS early career in the service was
one to cause grave misgivings in the
heart of any friend of the depart-
ment. He was first appointed June
", 1884, when his uncle was a fire
commissioner. 1t is said that Rich
ard Croker had no great oninion of
his nephew then. He saw in him \
muscular, clean-cut young man Of
twenty-one who was as we'll able tn
serve the city in the fire department
as any other young man. It seemed
to the commissioner that he might as
we'll look out for his nephew nv
pushing him up a little in the fire
department as in any other wav. Tao
pushing-process was startling in its
rapidity. Edward F. Croker was
made an assistant foreman forty
seven days after he first put on
blue shirt. The department laughed
and pointed to him as the most in
competent man who had ever as
sumed command of a company. II
was of course impossible for him to
gain the experience in month and
a half that other men had spent three
and four and five and ten years in
obtaining.
He was made a foreman on Feb
ruary 25, 1886, and, being rough with
his men to the point of brutality
was well hated for it. But as a fro
fighter and a man of courage. thew
acknowledged him to be without an
equal.
His promotion to be battalion chief
did not come until January %, 1892.
and on May / of 1899, after Chief
Bonner's voluntary retirement, Com
missioner Scannell put Croker tenn
porarily at the head of the depart
ment. The appointment was made
permanent after a few months, but
its legality was condemned by the