The Washington times., 1914-01-22

at A'eventh and D street, mention Of
which was received with prolonged aD-
plause. o
Chief s iullivan," he said, and are ao-
Guaintad, with his conscientious
scrupIes with reference to his duty
know OF his sense Of loyalty to the
Fire Der 'artment which began with
his entraL zee thirty-five years ago. In
that time he has made for himself an
H,nsullIed rt cord. Time and time again
bss he faceN5 danger and death in de-
Tense of the lives and property of the
citizens of the District and now, with
out a specific charge against him, he Is
asked to retire from active service.
DEPUTY Chief Sullivan was publicly
Commended by Chief Wagner, for his
conduct at the fire in the mattress
factory at Seventh and D streets on
January 13. It was stated by the chief
that il was due to the deputy-chief
that the flames did not spread to the
adjoining stores, and prior to this he
demonstrated conclusively his ability
as a fre-fghter in the handling of a
IRE in Galt's feed store.
which / have supreme confidence, is
such a man to be retired with be-
smirched record after thirty-1ve years
service? Is such q man TO be retired
under a cloud. / further subrrit to
you that no matter what the circum-
stances surrounding the fire In the
American Five and Ten-Cent Store,
this mans record of long devoted and
faithful service, should receive the full
est consideration At the hands OF the
Commissioners before final acton is
taken in his case"
Following Attorney Dar's .-dlress,
Corporation Counsel Conrad i. Syrne
outlined the reasons which SOvCrner
the Commissioners in asking fer the
retirement Of the deputy chief, declar-
ing that II was from 2 sense OF pub
lie duty and reliZation of their re-
sponsibilides as the governing heaos
of the Fire Department
Entitled To Know Situation.
ct feel sure" said Mr.. Syme, that
there Is no man In this room that be-
heves the Commissioners would have
knowingly done an old and faithful pub
lie servant an injustice The Commits
sioners feel thta you are entitled to
know the situation in reference to the
ire on December a. which resulted in
some public anfInadversion and public
misunderstanding. To adequately main
tain proper fire protection demands a
discipline approaching the military. the
-inal responsibility resting on the Com
mIss1oners. If the Commissioners per
Ilitted sympathy to interfere with their
sense Of responsibility you would have
"A djSorganized ServLoa The safety or
the community depends upon the man.
ner in which the boards responsibility
is discharged"
Mr.. Syrne then re1ounted the events
connected with the Seventh street fire,
declaring that II was only the mercy of
Providence that the ave injured firemen
we're not killed The men, ne said, were
Under the debris an hour before d!scov-
ery of their peril was made. and they
lad been ordered into the building by
Deputy Chief sullivan After consider
alton of the testimony of all concerned,
ne said, the Commissioners decided that
the best policy to be pursued would be
70 ask for the retirement on pension OF
he deputy chief.
As the head OF the Fire Department,
he declared, it was the duty of Com
missioner SiddoHs to make the investi-
2ation, and that with the facts before
them and taking into consideration
Deputy Chief sSullivan's record, the
commissioners acted as their best judg-
rnent indicated
Lawyer Stirs Crowd.
Daniel w. O'DoRoghue, member of
the District barr then stirred the
.rowded room 10 APPLAUSE with an