Show MAYOR mm REMOVES RE FIRE CHIEF y VAIL L FROM HIS OFFICE OHler Charges of Grafting Enter Into Situation Which Are Strenuously Denied JAMES DEV NE NAMED AS DEPARTMENT HEAD HEADMAN MAN WHO HAS WORN COAT OF MANY POLITICAL COLORS SELECTED Charles T P VII VaIL chief of the tire Ore de tie department and antI Byron Uron Crosby chief are to be removed for the good goodof of or the service It Is alleged they the are suspected of oC re receiving 10 each from the Consolidated Consolidate Wagon Machine company as commis commission commission sion Ilon for purchasing a supply wago from that concern Mayor laor Bransford gave gRe Vail Vall a chance to resign yesterday before he left loft for the Pacific coast but he be refused refu ed to do so 5 and the mayor maor Immediately dictated a let letter letter letter ter to the council which will M b pre pro presented J Monday m a night asking that they be removed Chief Vail last right in a statement ridi ridiculed ridiculed the chare charge of graft raft and in a brief b et way wa gave his stile aWe of the situation which the mayors action has brought about More startling indeed than the an announcement announcement of or this action comes the In Information Information information formation that James Devine Devint former chief of the fire department has been selected to take Vails place and that he heill will ill be allowed to name his own assist assistant assistant ant chief Charges of Grafting The ThO charges Vail Vall and Crosby have ha been by the council counell fire committee for far five the weeks and are said to have been made by b Grant Hamp Ramp Hampton Rampton ton tOil assistant secretary and treasurer of the th Consolidated Wagon agon Machine com corn company compan pans pan It Is i stated slated l that Mr Hampton shortly after the supply wagon was sold 10 to the department came caine into the city treasurers Measurers office with a it heck check for I payable to Salt Lake City He explained that there had been iKen an overcharge of f that amount on the purchase of a wagon agon It was vas turned over to the mayor maor by the treasurer and an investigation l was WItS imme immediately Immediately immediately begun It was wasi learned from Hampton that ac at according according cording to his understanding Vail VaU and Crosby Crash were to have W 1 each for lair pur purchasing chasing the wagon Ion from hi his concern an and i that he was under the impression that they the had received the money mone For 01 thU reason he thought it only right to return the tIle money It developed that a check cheek for sm 20 O had been drawn by b the company payable to toJ toJ J 1 D Harrison Harrl on cashier who was sup supposed supposed posed Jl led to turn it over oer to Harry H 11 Peter Petersen PeterI t I sea sen the salesman saleman and he In turn was to pay it to Vail Vall and Crosby Both Harri HaITI Harrison son and Petersen Peterson deny that any an money was ever given glen to either of or these th e men ft en but Petersen intimates according to the story stor told the fire tire committee and the mayor that he received the check but never neer delivered it The check has ha not been produced Charges Are Denied I Both Vail VaU and Crosby have tune been asked to explain the situation and both have I denied the charges absolutely The mayor yesterday gave both a chance to resign i and allow their resignation r i n to be based b sed sedon on the recent trouble at Fire Station No 4 where one of or the men nien n was wall injured in a fight The mayor maor said he could die dis discharge charge them for tailing f to maintain dis die discipline discipline and ami that the public would never know of or the other charge After the trouble at station No Xo 4 the chief discharged Wallace Knight lieuten lieutenant ant in charge of or he station at the time and his case Is now being investigated by the fire committee which heM hekl a pro protracted protracted protracted session Ion Friday night at the eta sta station ta tation tion and examined a number of wit witnesses It nesses flosses About Mr Devine Devine Deine on Monday will wiil assume J command corn com mand of the department It is 13 supposed he lie has become ome an American again If It Ithe he now it will be he an easy matter for him to transfer his allegiance from the Republican party part to the Amen Ameri Americans cans before the council meeting to tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow morrow night For years he held the re remunerative officer of Justice Just of the peace pa but with unsatisfactory results to him He was chairman of ot the Republican n or organization organization organization in the last city campaign and assisted In the coup by which with the aid of President Mclaughlin of Pioneer I stake and several bishops in the First ward enough Democratic Mormons were bought Into the Republican party and enough more driven to the American Am rican ticket to insure the th winning of the bets lieU betson betson on Plummer against Marris Republican until a convention laughed at his Ills candidacy candida e for the congressional congressional s nomination Then he went to the Americans The latter make him even een fire tire chief and anti he returned to his first love lothe the Republicans It is pre he be is going headon for the American headquarters now During the period Devine has as been out of the fire department he spent some time in I Idaho where he made a gallant but I unsuccessful race for the highly honor honorable honorable honorable able position and since then Mr 11 Devine has made but one spectacular public ap appearance appearance appearance was in the Republican state convention when Devine and other insurgents Insurgent were shown their places In Inthe Inthe the time organization or by Jake Greenewald Fred Price PrIE Glasmann of Ogden and andI Harry Joseph who were In control I Vail in Department Charles f T Vail was first appointed to toa toa toa a position in the fire department on July 2 1880 O by b Major W V A Stanton who was fire tire chief under the th liberal administration tion His first work worl was electrician In Inthe Inthe inthe the department The following January Januar he was wa sa appointed senior captain in com corn command command mand of No 1 J station and superintendent of the fire alarm system s He Ik fe resigned from the department in March 1903 1003 but on Page 2 MAYOR REMOVES FIRE CHIEF VAIL FROM HIS OFFICE Continued From Page 1 returned to the department six months mouths later accepting the position from which lie he had resigned re On June 19 lOOt 1904 Chief Vail Vall was made of the fire nrc alarm system b by the fire tire commission re relieving relieving lieving him of ot the tile additional dutIes duller as captain He lie held this position until 1904 19 H when wilen h he resigned resl ne from the department and for tor two years was line foreman for forthe forthe I the Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone com corn company pany On January 16 1906 he lie was wa ap appointed appointed appointed pointed chief of the fire department by 1111 Major Maur or Ezra Thompson Record of Service Byron Bron v has hall been a It member of the fire tire department with the exception of two periods of ot on one and ami four tour years ears each since ISO when he was as driver of the buggy buy of Chief Stanton Later he was driver of the chemical He Ill resigned In 1898 1 and was reappointed In 1890 The following year be lie was made mad captain and ami served as aa such h until when he again ag ln resigned For FTh J four years he was in the livery business He lie was wae appointed as ItS assistant assistant chief of the fire fir department by Chief Vail YaU in 1906 Chief ChieP Vails Statement Chief Vail VaU when interviewed last night said It It Is true that tutt I was asked to re resign sign n this morning by b Mayor Bransford I declined to do d so I intend to remain in the department lert ent until I am removed remove 1 With the exception of two years I 1 have han been in the th department since 1 1890 30 and have bays nothing to regret I purchased two 10 supply wagons recently one from the Studebaker company compan andone one from the tile Consolidated Wagon Machine company Both were purchased for the time city elt at less than cost The charge of graft against me is a job probably put up by someone who wanted to get me Further than that I do not care to discuss the mat matter toy ter Assistant Fire Chief Crosby said last night that he had not been asked to re ze resign resign sign and that if he ha were he did not Intend in intend Intend tend to do so He said that he would remain in the department until he was removed r It a T to Is I understood that h a O t J U American 1 party tv chairman of t th the thu a to a J American 1 party tv chairman of t th the thu precinct and formerly a fire fireman fireman I man at No lo 4 station has haR been active in attempting to secure Chief Vails removal from roam the fire department wag wa a discharged from the service of or the fir fire department because when he was as assigned assigned assigned signed to duty at the Grand theatre one night he was found by the chief drinking I In a 8 saloon across the street i The time the theatre th atre employee told the chief there had been no fireman present at the theatre during the performance Since the trouble troubie in engine house No 4 I it is understood b by friends of the tIme chief that has joined forces with Lieutenant Knight In attempting to secure Vails Valls removal Another possible charge that Is being made Is that Councilman Thomas Black has opposed Chief Vail Vall Assistant Chief Crosby Crosb and Jacob Jacoh Raleigh superintendent dent of streets streett and that because of this opposition he has opposed oppose 1 the tho th bond issue until the mayor ma or would agree to remove the time three employee objection objectionable able to Black Dlack Final Finally it is said an agreement was reached whereby Black and his two friends and Wood were to vote ote for the bond issue and Vail Vall Crosby and Raleigh were to be removed from office Raleigh has not yet et re ra received received eivet a request for his hiM resignation but hut It is understood that it will wll be forth forthcoming forthcoming forthcoming coming |