The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1919-03-29

The previous Issue or the Rlp-SaW
told how Frank Heidman, q street
commissioner and favorite of Far
rell, was charged with petty graft Of
various kinds.
The most serious charge was that
Heidman once claimed that he got
$40 month extra for looking after
night flushing Of streets; that, dur
ing 1917, he never came near the
work so far as giving it any SUPER
vision and attention was concerned;
that the foreman was compelled to
keep the time and then, each day,
sign it with the name "F. Heidman,"
going against his conscience and be-
ing forced to falsify public records
to hold his job.
Then followed number Of stories
about free and easy ways Of handling
the city's time, men, equipment and
even materials by Heidman.
There was one story to the effect
that Heidman's garage was made of
city lumber and by city employees on
city time.
There was another allegation to
the effect that city team, city men,
with city salt sacks hauled coal from
dock to the Heidman home, at ex-
pense Of city time.
Then there was the case where
frozen water mains were thawed out
at the Heidman premises, No. 731
Third avenue E., with help of city
men and equipment.
It also was alleged that the Held
man automobile was overhauled at
the city repair shops by city men,
working on city time.
The undertone of the entire set of
sordid stories was that commissioner
Farrell had been entirely too COM
placent with favorite employees and
that he either winked at short cuts
to prosperity or was inexcusably
careless in his supervision of en-
ployes and administration Of the af-
fairs of his department. =
When the Rip-saw came out, the
famous. Boy Engineer waved his
arms wildly and swore like an an
cient trooper in Flanders. His auto
cratic mandate went forth that his
underlings must purge themselves Of
fault and him Of suspicion.
Purging of that sort is not often a
difficult task If superior officer be
dominant enough and his flunkeys
are scared enough of their jobs.
Last Saturday night, forty pre-
cious, expensive inches of advertis-
ing space were taken up in the dear
old Herald to try to refute the Rip
saws allegations.
There was a black head to the eff
feet that "Street Commissioner Held
man Answers Morrison's Lying
t Charges" That sounded very much
like the billingsgate of city attor-
ney Samuelson. Assistant O'Don-
nell usually is more polite in his Ian
guage.
Then followed a portion of the
life and adventures Of Herr Frank
Heidman. He set up q general denial,
as city attorney Samuelson naturally
would direct. The understanding is
that the entire advertisement was
written in the city attorneys office.
by member of the staff, at expense
of city time and brains, under city
hire.
Herr Heidman failed to deny that
he told his former foreman that he
was getting $40 a month extra for
looking after the flushing crew; that
he never came near the work during
the season of 1917; and that he COM
PEELED the foreman to make up the
time sheets and sign them "F. Held
man."
Herr Heidman then told his story
of the building of the garage. He
stated that one Emil johnson worked
on it Thanksgiving Day, 1917, New
Years Day and one evening In Feb
ruary, 1918; also that the work was
not done on city time and that the
lumber did not come from the city.
The Rip-saw did not allege that
Emil Johnson worked on the garage.
In fact the Rip-saw had entirely an
other man in mind. It looks as II
more Of this work was going on than
ever had been told to the Rip-saw.
It seems that Herr Heidman and
Emil johnson are making Happy
Davids" about one set of events and
the Rip-saw made allegations about
other persons and other bits of hu-
man endeavor.
The Rip-saw did not expect that
Herr Heidman and Rev. Mr.. john
son would lift the lid Of the box and
expose other doings.
Then, to back up Herr Heidman's
denial that men and teams and sacks
carried coal from dock to Heidman
bin, driver John Dulinski made a
Happy David" to the effect that no
coal was hauled on city time, by city
men, with q city team and in city
sacks.
The Rip-saw plainly sees that both
Heidman and Dulinski refer to other
times or acts than the ones the Rip
saw had in mind. It's wonderful
what an instrument the Rip-saw is
to develop hidden things.
The Rip-saw has witnesses who
will swear as to hour Of starting,