The sun., 1918-09-05
FIREMEN'S LEADER
PUNISHED BY SHIFT
Alfred E. Guinness Trans
ferred From Long Island
City to Manhattan.
HE LED UNION IN PARADE
City Halls Hand Seen in Incl
dent-Kenlon Disclaims
Responsibility.

ofhcers and men Of the Fire Depart
ment saw the rigorous hand OF punish
mont In the transfer yesterday Of Fire
man Alfred E. Guinness from Hook and
Ladder Company 1io. located in Metro
politan avenue. Long Island City. to
Hook and Ladder Company 20. In Thir-
ty-third street, near Broadway.
The transfer. apparently made In the
ordinary course Of department routine.
would be without Significance IL It were
not that Guinness is president Of the
Uniformed Firemen's Association, which
was so largely instrumental In bringing
about the Increase in nremen's pay last
July. and which, with Guinness at its
head, participated as a labor union In
the Labor Day parade.
F1remen do not believe that the trans
fer Of Guinness was recommended by
Chief Kenlon or that Commissioners
brennan was directly responsible for IT.,
as both Mr.. brennan and Chief Kenlon
have been heartily In favor OF an In
crease in pay for the firemen ever since
the SUN began the campaign which ul-
timately made the advance In pay an
accomplished fact. Chief ksnlon him
self said last night that he had not
recommended Thea transfer.
Panishment By Transfers.
It, has long been the custom in the
Fire Department to assign men to COM
panias located as near as possible to
Of favor at headquarters. but against
whom there was nothing on which
charges could be based, have been har-
ried by transfers from one post to an
other. the assignments always being to
posts as remote as possible from their
homes.
Guinness, who lives near the Ore
house In Queens from which he has
been transferred, will have to spend
considerable time travelling between his
home and his present assignment In
obliged to take In Manhattan and at
his own expense a number of the meals
he could otherwise get at home.
The Uniformed Firemens Association
became afflliated as union with the In
ternational Association of Fire Fighters
only after a long courtship on tho part
Of labor organizers, who had tried every
device and expedient toward bringing II
into the fold, and only after Its MEM
bers, comprising practically every fire-
man in the city who Is not an officer
were in despair Of ever obtaining an in.
crease in their pay II they did not seek
It as an organisation. They Joined the
international organisation with the full
knowledge that their action did not
have the approval Of certain ofacials al
City Hall.
Guinness's Opposition.
Before the association Joined the
larger fremen's organization no one ir
II was more opposed to its doing so thar
Guinness. He believed that the nremer
OF the city should avoid anything which
might appear to have even the sem
biance Of coercion IN their campaign for
better pay and was anxious that they
should base their campaign on the
straight proposal that they should bt
better paid because Of the impossibility
Of their living in decency on the money
they were receiving.
He agreed to the unionisation OF the
firemen only after his patience and the
patience Of thousands OF others had be
come exhausted with the delays and ex'
cuses at City Hall.
His transfer yesterday was not made
In list containing the names of a mum
Der of other men shifted to new posts
For this reason and because 1t followed
almost Immediately upon his appearance
Day parade, his fellow nremen are un
able to regard 1t as otherwise than 6
move to discipline and punish him.