Daily Press

TROUBLES OF FIRE DEPT. GIVEN AIRING

Council, as Committee of Whole Hears Testimony Until After Midnight.

JUST TWO FACTS ESTABLISHED

Chief Stow Does Not Want Lenz as Assistant—Central and North End Companies are Liable to Resign if Latter is Appointed—Action is Deferred.

Sitting as a committee of the whole from 8 o'clock until after midnight last night, examining witnesses under oath, the common council learned two things—and practically only two things bearing upon the question being investigated.

First, the city fathers found that the only reason the Central and North End volunteer fire companies oppose the appointment of G. A. Lenz, Jr., as assistant chief is that Fire Chief W. K. Stow does not want Mr. Lenz. Incidentally it was brought out that the chief and Mr. Lenz had been enemies for several years, although they work in harmony at fires.

The second important bit of information imparted by the witnesses was that the Central and North End companies met Thursday and decided to resign from the department in case the council should appoint Lenz assistant chief. According to the testimony there were about forty members of the North End Company present at the meeting of that company and ten or twelve at the meeting of the Central company.

The committee decided to have a sub-committee appointed to draft a report to be presented to the council at the adjourned session next Friday night. Messrs. Harris, Jones, Marshall, Via and Ketchum were appointed to draft the report. The sub-committee will report to the committee of the whole next Friday night at 7:30 o'clock and an hour later the committee of the whole will report to the council.

When the committee of the whole was called to order by Chairman Livezey last night the council chamber was filled with spectators, a majority of whom were volunteer firemen. The chairman was excused for a short time and during his absence Mr. Wilkins presided. The members present were: Christie, Davis, Harris, James, Kellum, Ketchum, Llewellyn, Livezey, Marshall, Morgan, Via, West, Wilkins and Jones.

All nine members of the joint "assistant chief committee," Chief Stow, G. A. Lenz, Jr., and Assistant Chief Thomas had been summoned to appear at the investigation. All of the Central and North End men were examined first, then the East End men were examined and Mr. Lenz, Chief Stow and Mr. Thomas followed.

Members of the department were permitted to question the witnesses. J. B. Gordon, a driver at the Central station and secretary of the Central company, was brought to the chamber by Sergeant J. E. Gray, acting as sergeant at arms, and required to testify concerning the number of men attending the meeting of his company Thursday night. He said there were eleven, including two paid men, present. Gordon at first refused to be sworn, but upon being informed by the city attorney that the committee could compel him to do so, he submitted.