The Washington herald., 1914-02-19

of the spectators. The witness. himself.
sat throughout the arguments, appar-
emily calm. but his jaw-bones moving
mechanically all the while, his teeth
grinding on a Chew"
When, shortly after his arraignment OF
the deputy cp'ef, Corporation Attorney
Syme bent over Sullivan's shoulders ana
ask him for a ''Dite.' sthe veteran nre-
| fighter smilingly reached into his pocket
and with the words. take It all" offered
his prosecutor the plug.
The accusations hurled at Chief Wagner
and Battalion Chief Proctor were greeted
by half-suppressed exclamations from the
crowd Z onlookers. When the defend
ants counsel claimed that the whole
| trial is based upon stateuents that have
been proven to be infamous lies and have
been retracted under OATH" a murmer
went through = e crowd. causing Chair
man Brooke 10 pound lis gavel upon the
table. No obj ;ction came from Capt.
Brooke. however. when, after Attorney
Darr had finished his dramatic appeal for
Sullivan, the crowd voiced its sentiments
by spontaneous and prolonged ovation.
syme Predicts Reform.
\ TO the probable result of the inquiry,
made by Corporation Attorney Syme was
this:
''The District of Columbia is entitled
to, and is going to have. a fire-fighting
service that will not be interferred with
by in competence. misunderstanding or
politics This trial has shown beyond
doubt that there is an almost absolute
lack CT appreciate of official RESPONSE
bility ror the safety Of subordinates. The
IL a-Fr s=l.f gsl.sIs, a
censure is painfully in evidence. The
people of the District are going TO get a
fire department unhampered by such
detrimental elements, il l have anything
to say about - and If ] know anything
about the purpose and ideals Of the Com
miSsionCrs."
The District heads, as well as the trial
board. were highly praised both by Syme
and counsel for Sullivan. At the close
of the hearing, compliments were eX-
changed, each thanking for the others
fairness, patience and consideration.
Herald Reporter Testihes.
The arguments were preceded by the
reading OF dispositions by Charles NJ. Nc
Cam, reporter for The Washington
Herald raken at 'McCann's residence,
where he is confined TO his bed by illness,
and of Cornelius h. Lanahan. dryer for
No. engine company, one of the men
buried in the debris during the fire.
McCann corroborated the testimony of
Thomas III. Simpson. another reporter. to
the effect that both lad heard cries com
ing from the BURNING building and that
they had called the attention OF Chief
Wagner to this fact. whcrrupon, they
testified. he answered: Il don't think so.
all the men have been accounted for"
Lanahan testified that when he and
the other mon WpTp into the luiII-
ing there was no danger. that the hose
leading to them coCld be plainly seen. Al
the conclusion of his testimony he said:
Il hold nobody responsible. II was an
unavoidable accident"
Chief Wagner also was recalled TO the
witness stand and asked about the re-
pOrters' testimony. He said he had been
''racking his brain ever since. hut cannot
remember anybody telling me about sug-
sesting that any one was in the building"
Retracts His Assertion.
Chief Wagner. on the opening day Of
the hearing, testified that he remembered
about No. having gone into the build
ing.
Capt Dixon, OF No. . Truck Com
pany, and his men were right along
side of me-they never said word.
though they knew the men were in
there" said Chief Wagner. in conclu-
sion.
An attempt by Mr.. syme to call Pri-
vste MoXley, former driver of Chief
Wagner, to the stand failed when At
torney Darr objected. on the ground
hat Moxley had heard part Of the tes- !
timOny. Darr was sustained by Chair |
man Brooke. and MoXley was not al |
lowed to testify.
Private Gill chauffeur for Chief /
Wagner, was also recalled. and testi- |
fed that the condition OF fires" is |
usually reported TO the chief engineer. |
His testimony was not given any !
weight.
Then the arguments began. Corpor- !
alton Attorney Syme, in laying the !
case before the Commissioners, as he !
saw it, said. in part:
This trial has shown that the safe |
ty of the men engaged in fighting fires !
appears to be a matter Of very small !
on the part Of those in /
authority. 1t seems necessary to make !
such changes as to make responsibility |
not imagined.
sullivan was responsible for these /
mems safety. because the unwritten
rule in the department is that a cap
tain should stay with his men in a
position and kill fire either
until they are driven out or ordered
out He was the only man in authority
who knew of their position.
Despite the unanimous testimony to the
Mr.. Symc called the position
of the men. when they were ordered in,
dangerous Something drastic has
to be embodied in the rules to arouse
more positive idea i'm the minds of the
officers as to their obligation toward their
he said.
MIR. Syme emphasized repeatedly that
he had gone into the case and worked
it up with absolute purity of heart"
and the sole aim to ascertain all the
facts.
O'DonoGhse's Argument.
Attorney O'DonoShue said. i'm part:
There is not a line of testimony Of
L. .I..-