Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-22
POLICEMEN ASK
COUNCIL TO ADD
$500 A YEAR TO PAY
And Even at That Captains VIII
Get Less Than Street
Car Men.
CITY DADS ARE RECEPTIVE

Council was last night asked 20 grant
an increase of pay, aggregatlng about
5000 a wear per mau To the police force.
And even should il be given. the captains,
the topmost rank of the service, excluding
Chief Black, will not got as much rs The
local trollcvmCn for duties which require
Il decidedly higher type OF mental moral
and physical efficiency. The clty dads
who were in session rs committee
on the whole appeared To be IN very
respective mood and favorable To the
increase, although Of course no action was
taken.
The men had been granted permission
10 make their request and were represented
by delegation composed OF Sergeant
William +. Schell.a veteran of 20 years
standing. Detective Sheldon Falrchllds,
Sergcants kevscr, McDermott, Fox and
Lewis and patrolman Dutton, Abrahams,
PAYNE, Barr AlcGillen and Gayner.
And even while they were on the Job n
fellow policeman, Wallace, was taking
his life in his hands on the East Side IN
capturing an armed individual who was
virtually running amuck and had seriously
stabbed a man.
Sergeant Schell who was spokesman
presented petition signed ny ever
member OF the force, volcIng request
for a general increase ot five and one-halt
cents nm hour. Tins rating Sergeant
Schcll stated would tlN the wage seal
as follows: Captains, 30 cents an hour;
ScrrcYnts. Il cents an hour; PATROL
man after one wear 35 l-2 cents and
the hr~t wear Patroiman 30 cents. This
last figure he added was less than he sum
now paid the street cleaners by he city
W ilt. the wages ni the captalnsat present,
which il about II cents an hour, Is one
cent les per hour than that paid street
car men
Sergeant Schcl pointed out that at
the prcSrnt time there WCrr - vacancies
in the department, and while II men were
eligible to retire nc did not know any OF
then contemplating such a move lie
added that IL had been eligible "a retire
hInlscl. for months, hut he did not think
than man should retire unless he was
tall III. and hc was not IN that class,
rs vet, hc said
Conjinuctng Sergeant Schcll said,
eve are thankful for the grant OF m
increase OF S1O0 allowed us by Council
sometime ago. but YOU men who employ
labor realize that the wages paid the
police are small compared with those
YOU have to pay for help. Some Of us
have served Is wears and others - or more
We have given the best of our lives 70 the
city. and We feel that in asking for tins
increase NC arc asking IN justice 70 our
selves
Tie then explained with the - vacancies
now III the department, which the Com
missloners were having trouble 10 fill,
would mean that at the end Of the year
the wages saved the city would amount
to about S3S, 900, and that with thiS sum,
the first wears increase would not cost
the city one cent additional, lIc also
pointed ont that some OF the patromcn
who had been street car men al one tlma
could all secure their old positions back
at Is cents an hour.
Sergeant Schcll made it plain that
the police Were not making any threats
OF quitting, however, and stated that
they were willing At alI times from the
Chief down to the ianitor 70 do their
extra turn OF duty
The Councilmcn also gave a hearing
to William J. LWz, Joseph Thomas
Edward a. Kane and Michael J. Conway
representing the local fire department.
who asked that Council take steps to
have the government place chaIffcurs
employed by tho local fire companies
eligible Tor tho present draft. and those
TO he drafted soon. IN the deferred classes.