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Show Drowning in a sea of self k;c imaop serious damage. Well, all this worn D. , done his image serious damage. Well, all this worry on Barb, probably unnecessary, because his image probably Wasn s spotless to begin with. Nevertheless he is worried. His motives seem to go farther tk, however. Indeed, his actions seem to be those of a rr! ' conscience has him by the coattails. f i The problem is basically that no one is taking James Barker as seriously as he is. , , , Cty Commissioner James Barker, in charge of public safety, has his department ransacked by scan dal f jn marijuana-smoking-in-the-radio-truck incident afterfcbeing which two city employees in Barker s department resigned repeatedly caught blowing grass in a cty vehicle. Then tn city-employees-doing-work-for-private-people-on-cty time sc which dated back slightly farther. This charge was even ual y d , s proven to the satisfaction of those investigating, but it receive publicity nevertheless. . The clincher, however, ri''Thhitalelnman years political scandal the size of which has not h t th, st V im-Two im-Two top officials in- Barker's public safety dePame"rr cated'in the hiring and maintenance worked an hour for the city, as far as could be des Signed paid over $16,000 over a two-year period. The two were later indicted on criminal charges and the charges were r e e n ly dropped due to insufficient evidence. Barker came through the t m tense publicity and lengthy investigations IooN P" J the Italian octogenarian who polishes Pope Paul's miter and staff every other day. Now, we don't want to go stacking cards against Barker We feel the cards can stack themselves quite adequately. But ,n light of all the scandal going through his department, several "t.zens of no specia prominence suggested that he resign. But then, PJ asking commissioners to resign, even when there is no particular reason at hand. Anyway, Barker seems to have taken this all quite seriously More seriously, in fact, than anyone else has. just a week ago he received letter from somebody accusing him of trying to extort $30,000 out ot some innocent citizen. Knowing full well that the charges were a baseless and probably resentful fabrication, Barker rushed right over to the authorities and demanded that he, himself, be investigated. And then, as nobly as if his face were carved on Mount Rushmore, He leaked it to the press that he was being investigated. He was, or course, exonerated immediately, and he just as immediately became his own hero, if no one else's. Now he has announced that he, James Barker, in person is going to lower himself to ride along in a patrol car with some of his police officers, just to check on everything (especially West 2nd South he said) and make sure the metropolis is running according to plan. Imagine the self-sacrifice: James Barker, commissioner and nice guy, rolls up his sleeves and dares to go out and wade in the putrefication of the city first-hand. What a hero! Barker's strategy is obvious. He is worried about his image as the city's protector and guiding light; the scandal, he fears, may have |