Evening star., 1948-04-07
The Friede Cuse

s@On the face of the matter the explana-
ttpn which Commissioner Mason has given
M his position, and that Of Engineer
Commissioner Gordon Young and the
Evaporation Counsel, In the Friede case
q reasonable enough.
This is one of those issues which boils
down to q question OF fact II Commis-
sioner Mason and his associates are correct
in their facts there is no reason to criticize
the stand they have taken. Conversely, II
their assumptions of fact are wrong, then
their decision is equally wrong.
y The nub of the question concerns the
relationship between Herbert A. Friede,
district electrical department official, and
fhe Gamewell Company, suppliers of fire
Harm equipment 1t is alleged that Mr..
griede, when in charge of preparing con-
Facts for the purchase of fire alarms by
The District, unduly favored the Gamewel
concern, and this aroused suspicion that
he might have received some improper per-
sonal benefits from the transactions.
This suspicion was stimulated when the
Commissioners transferred the fire alarm
system from Mr.. Friede's department to
the Fire Department, and when, at about
the same time, Mr.. Friede's salary was
reduced.
Commissioner Mason has now made 1t
clear, however, that neither Of these things
was concerned in any way with the Game
well episode. The decision to transfer the
nre alarm system, he says, grew out of
desire for better administration and was
made before the Commissioners had any
knowledge Of the Gamewell charges. He
disposes OF the salary reduction in similar
fashion, explaining that Mr.. Friede was
assigned special duties during the war, for
which he received extra compensation. and
that when the need for the special work
was ended the extra pay was withdrawn.
This explanation Is reasonable enough,
and disposes of the erroneous belief that
Mr.. Friede had been disciplined.
Commissioner Mason turns next to the
Gamewell affair, which he treats as an
entirely separate incident, having nothing
to do with the transfer of the IRE alarm
system.
1t Is clear that Mr.. Friede had specifica-
tionS inserted in contracts for Gamewell
equipment which kept competitors of that
firm from bidding, and which cost the city
more money. He defends this on the
ground that Gamewell equipment Ii su-
perior and worth the additional money.
Commissioner Mason says that this, with
other things, has raised in his mind, and
In the mind of his associates "a definite
uneasy feeling" about the cloSeness of Mr.
Friede's relationship to employees Of the
Garlewell Arm. Mr.. Mason states, how
ever, that no punitive action against Mr.
Friede has been initiated for three
reasons: % There is no proof that Mr..
Friede was actuated by improper motives.
(2) There Is nothing to show that he
gained personally. (3) The Corporation
Counsel is satisfied that no trial board or
similar agency would sustain charges
against Mr. Friede based on the Gamewell
incident.
These conclusions by Mr. Mason and the
others rest upon factual determinations,
the soundness of which the public cannot
appraise. 1t may be noted, however that
Mr.. Mason says Commissioner j. Russell
Young is not in full agreement with his
views. That being so, it seems clearly the
duty of Commissioner Young to give the
public the benefit of his own views.