Newspaper Page Text
BfflHHKES
4
7
MERRIAIrl CALLS CITY ADMINISTRATION "
"LOCAL IMITATION OFTAMMANY"QUITS
the mayor is the desire to, make, as
surance doubly sure thai there
should be no investigation not under,.
In a letter bristling with denuncia
tion of the city administration as a
"local imitation of Tammany," Aid.
Chas. B. Merrlam last night resigned
from the committee appointed to in
vestigate city expenditures.
Merriam declared that every move
of organization of the committee
since it was appointed pointed to a
"whitewash" of the administration.
The specific act which led to his
resignation was the decision of Alder
men Richert, Holding and Beilfuss to
add the civil service commission to
the investigating body. "
"Merriam declared that no branch
of the city government needed Inves
tigation more than the civil service
division Itself.
Following Merriam's resignation,
Aid. John: A. Richert arose to defend
his position on the examining body,
and in a voice broken with emotion
charged that Merriam was trying to
tear down his character and that of
Aid. A. W. Beilfuss, who resigned lat
er in the evening. '
Richert collapsed in the middle of
his speech, and it was several min
utes before he could continue.
Beilfuss in resigning also resented
Merriam's attitude and said he be
lieved the investigation would be fair
and impartial. Eress of other busi--neshe
declared, forced him to with
draw. Merriam's letter, after reciting the
events of the committee's organiza
tion, read, in parti
"On Oct. 24 the committee voted
to add three members of the civil
service commission, Lower, Flynn
and Campbell, to its number.' The
council resolution, creating the com
mittee, did not mention these addi
tional members, and up to that time
no one thought of the committee ex
cept as a committee of four.
"The only interpretation Ithat can
be placed on the packing of the com
mittee by the three appointees of
the complete control of the persons
investigated.- m '
'"I do not believe' that "an inves
tigation controlled by men who are
afraid of the bureau of public effi-
ciency, and snnnk even rronr an in
dependent investigation lay aldermen, t
will be able to go far into the real,
causes of the present enormous-
waste of public funds!
"Such men will not saw off the
branch they are sitting on as long as
they hold the'saw. They will riot fol
low the trail of commercialized vice,
or of the 20,000 automatic tele-
phones, or the garbage contract, os
the voting machine, bridge and piei
contracts.
"They cannot follow Sabath an&i
Redfield, Mclnerney, Bloom andj
Byrne, for these trails lead to the
wigwam of our local imitation of i
Tammany.
"Thev will not seriouslv interferon
fwith the machine whose bidding thejM
do, and of which they are a part.
Richert launched into adefens'e of
the addition of the civil service com-4
mission, and declared Merriam was
an obstructionist and destroyer. ,
"He- has tried to tear down the
character of Beilfuss, that has taken
years to build up," he shouted. "He
has struck me down because he has
made up his mind to -destroy our
characters. I said the other day that
such a condition as this will drive the
best men out of the city council. I
will not permit him to tear down' mjr
character when my conduct does not
deserve it. This investigation, will be
fair, and will be impartial."
In replying to Richert, Merriam
said he meant no personal criticism
of the alderman's honesty. He said
he believed Richert was being made
a tool of "by men with whom he was
not really1 in sympathy, and whose
gfc&frggfr, . ,,.
