Newspapers / The Raleigh Times (Raleigh, … / May 11, 1909, edition 1 / Page 1
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wtitog Climes Weather. XCOXD. EDITION Washington, May 11 Forecast for North Carolina for. tonight and Wednesday: Fair and con tinued cool tonight. ESTABLISHED 1871. RALEIGH, N. C., TUESDAY, MAY 11, 1909. PRICE 5 CENTS CHIEF OF POLICE MULLINS MAKES ANSWER TO FILED AGAINST HIM BY BOARD Tells Why No Bond Was Given and No Report Made to Board as to Fines BOND NOT PRESENTED X Bond Was Presented to Him For Kxecution Xop Did the llty Ten der Him 'Any . Money to lny the Premiums on tlio Bonds Ordi nance Require That. Ci(y Prepare the Bond nnd Present it to Officer For JOxeoution, and This Was Not Done Chairman Hoard of AmL't and Finance Told Him It Was All Right 1II Not Slake Report As to Fines to Board of Aldermen, Bui Law Does Not Require Him to Do 8i Did Report to Proper Officers. The following i3 the reply in full of Chief of Police J. H.' Mullins lo the charges preferred against him by the police rommlssion: Raleigh, N. C, May 10, 1 909. To the Honorable Police Commission ers of the City of Raleigh: Replying to the charges preferred against J. II. Mullins specified In your communication dated Aprl 20, 1909, and served on h'm April 24, 1909, the following answers are made:' First. As to charge number one: "That the said J. H. Mullins failed to give bond required of him enter ing Upon the discharge of his duties as e.hlef of police." v-- -1 ' The said J. H. Mulling was elected chief of police of the city of Raleigh in May, 1899, and has boon continu ously acting as chief of police from said date until suspended by order of ' your board; he has given his bond from year to year as required by the charter of the city of Raleigh except for the years 1905 and 1907. The last bond on file of which there is record was given in 1901, this bond being continued in force by the pav ments of the premiums'duo thereon and as is customary no new bond was rewritten, as the bond filed In 1901 had heen prepared by the city attor ney and approved by him. And In stead of writing a new bond the said Mullins by paying his 'premium' took a renewal receipt which continued the same bond in force and efteet-thls is both the law and custom required as to bonds given by surety companies these renewal receipts conCnulng the bond in force were duly exhibited to the board of aldermen and passed on by the said attorney: What has become of them or whether there is a record of same the J. H. Mullins Is not chargable, he having done all that was In his power to do In respect to the bond. The said J. H. Mullins gave no bond at the May meeting, 1905, for the reason that his election did not take place in May, but by reason of the change of the charter of the city, took place at the regular meeting In the month of October,-1905. Prior to the charter of 1905 it was optional with the officers who had been elected to office to give a per sonal bond or a bond In a surety com pany but when the charter of 1905 was enacted it was required that such bonds should be given in surety com jianles and that the1 bond should be certified anew by the board of alder man annually during the month of May. The charter required that the' bonds to be given In a surety com pany and that the city pay for the premiums on said bonds and by ordi nance it was provided that: . "All officers who are required to give bond shall, as goon as elected, be furnished by the city with their res pective bonds, properly prepared for execution, and thoy shall present the name to a finance committee with sureties Justified." " It Is also required by charter that the bonds of all officers should be passed upon and approved, not only by the board of aldermen, but by tho board of Audit and finance. The respondent, J. H. Mullins, says that no bond was ever tendered to htm by the proper city officers prepared for execution, and that this being so he could not give the bond, as the form and tenor of said bond was first to be prepared by the proper city authori ties and presented to him ready for execution and that then this bond wan to be given in the .surety com pany and the city wag to pay the : premiums: No bond having been presented to him for' execution the ' said 'J." H. Mullins could not give bond, and that not only wag no bond presented for execution nor fonder of money to pay tho premiums on said bond made, but neither the mayor nor tlie bourd of aldermen, nor the board of audit and finance, nor the city clerk, nor your honorable board, nor any oilier officer or agent of i lie city has ever presented him with the bond ready for execution, nor have they tendered him the money to pay a premium .on',, the.' bond, nor have they requested'. .of him a bond or asked him for a bond sr tendered a bond to be passed upon and certified. The respondent, J. H. Mullins. says that Mr. James A. Briggs, a member of your honorable body, asked your respondent if he had given his bund f this was some time during the year 1907, as your respondent recalls it), when and where your respondent re plied that he hud not given a bond for that year. Your respondent then went to the chairman of the hoard of audit and finance 'and told him that, a member of the police 'commission had a-iked him if he had given a bond, and further stated that he wanted to give a bond, whereupon the chairman of the board of audit and finance in structed your respondent to go ahead, that it would be all right, . The bond required of the city of ficers were made for the term of their office, which was two years, so that your respondent should have given a bond in lOOfi and 1907, his term of office being for two years. Your re spondent is advised and believes that by the terms of the bond heretofore given by him, each bond was given and remained in force for the terni-of two years and until the successor of your respondent was duly elected and qualified. The failure of your res pondent to give a bond for 1905 and 1907 was not due from any desire on his part to disobey the law or to avoid the responsibility for his acts, but arose from the failure of the city to furnish him with a bond duly pre pared for execution, which your res pondent is advised and believes was a condition precedent to his giving bond and that until said bond was furnished and the fees paid by the city as the law provides, your res pondent could not give a bond. That, none of these things or acts were done by the city officers and no bond hug ever been tendered or required of the respondent by any department of the city or any officer or agent of the city. Section 2. As to specification sec ond: "That he failed to make -a monthly report to the board of aldermen of the fines nnd costs collected by him," and third: "That he failed to make a report to the board of aldermen of the un collected fines and costs and for which he was responsible." . Your respondent will answer them together: . Your respondent admits that he has not made a report of the fines collected to the board of aldermen, nor a report of the fines uncollected to the board of aldermen; from the year 1905 to the present date, but he alleges that he has made a proper report to the proper officers of the fines and cost collected by him as Is required by law and in order that this matter may be fully understood your respondent will attempt to give a slight history of the charter and or dinance requirements as to these mat ters. The city charter of 1885 pro vided: "That each town and city con stable, or any other officer author ized by any corporate town or city to collect taxes, fines, or penalties, shall make a monthly settlement of all monies coming Into his hand to the town treasurer or other officer authorized to receive the same." And the same charter appropralted all tines and penalties imposed and collected under tho judgments of the mayor of the,' city of Raleigh to the exclusive benefit of the city; the or dinance of (be city of Raleigh of said date, being Section 4 of Chapter 11, provided: "The chief of police shall, on Wed nesday before the first Friday of each month, reader on oath to tho city clerk a settlement in total of all monies by hlin received as chief of police during the preceding month. The statement shall contain the sums received, from whom received, the date of such receipt, from what source or for what purposes, and be accompanied by the receipts of tho city treasurer for the full amount col lected. It shall be. the duty of the city clerk to file such statements among' the records of his office. Upon the failure of the chief of po lice to render the statement as herln ordered, he shall be suspended from duty by the mayor, who shall report such cucjenslon to the board as aoon ,.":..V!-' s: ,, ':Y,. .t'-X'i ., ':,;'. as practicable, and shall not be rein stated except by a vote of the .board of aldermen." ; At this time the fees Imposed by the mayor's' court belong to the mayor and chief ''of - police-'personally,- so that no report as to fees collected was required. f!y reference to the city charier, and ordinances of. 19.7 it will be seen that the same charier provision and the Mime'.'- ordinance wilh no material variations- still ex isted as to the' collection of fines by the chief of police and his report of tin? same. By reference to tho -charter of-1X99 of the board of alder men .and the 'ordinances .of liiou it will lie found that the: fines imposed and collected by the mayor's court-of tho city of Raleigh belong to Hie. cily exclusively: That the same records were 'required to be kept; that the same reports required to be -made The object of the law in tin:; case was to, first appropriate for the e. cluuivp ii"e and benefit of the cii v 'of Raleigh, ar a revenue, all of the fin imposed and collected by the -.maor'!-: court, and thi revenue went into Hie general fund to defray' the; expense:': of adrniuc-.toring the cit.v govern ureal and affairs. The charter and ordi nance' required that the chief of po lice -should do certain duties as to Hie collection of fines and other imui les and that he should make 'monthly reports and settlements' of t hese ninn ies coming into his hand to tho-hoard of aldermen and city .clerk, because these monies belong to the cily of Raleigh. It did not require the cost collected to he reporter or accounted for because this cost belonged to Hie chief of police and tho mayor per sonally. And it required a bond of the chief for the faithful performance of bis duties. ) -i ----- - In the year 1905 a new charter was passed for the city of Raleigh, which, to some degree, changed the method of administering the city affairs; in stead of the chief of -police or other officers collecting money belonging to the city, settling and accounting with the city clerk and the finance commit tee of the cty of Raleigh, a board of audit, and finance was created and the chief of police and all other officers having money in their possession by virtue of the'r office belonging to the city of Raleigh were required by the charter enactments to make their set tlements with the board of .audit and finance which abrogated and done away withe the old method of settling with the city clerk and the finance committee; These settlements with the board of audit and finance were governed by many stringent rules and regulations, seeking to enforce a strict accountability of all monies due to the city by the officers having the same in their possession. A new court Was established called the po lice justice court with greatly ex tended authority and jurisdiction and the chief of police was required to collect the fires and cost that were imposed In city court according to the flnaj judgment of the police justice. Another important change in the charter was made, all officers were taken off of the fee basis and were put upon flat salaries, the charter permitting the collection of fees as heretofore but directly that such fees should be accounted for and paid over Into the city treasury, which had to bo done under the charter through the board of audit and fi nance and not through the city clerk and finance committee as heretofore. And it therefore becomes material to ascertain what monies belongs to the city of Raleigh In order to detel--mlne whether the chief of police has made reports -required by la W; The charter of 1905 and 1907 appropriat ed all fines and penalties and for feitures Imposed nnd collected by vir tue of the judgment of the police Jus tice court to the .exclusive. use and beneht of the city of Raleigh, and also appropriated all fees collected by the police justice or chief of po lice to the exclusive use and benefit of the city of Raleigh. Before the en actments of this charter the supreme court ot the state of North Carolina. In the case of the Board of Education vs. Henderson in the 12li North Caro lina Report, pago 089, decided that the provisions of the charter In the various towns and the provision of the code relating to till towns, to the effect 'that the fines collected for the violation of city ordinances by the mayor's court should remain and be- long to the exclusive use of such city or town, was unconstitutional, as It appropriated fines imposed and col lected for the violation of the crimi nal, penal or military laws of the state belonging to the school fund. The supreme court held that these monies did not belong to the tow,ns (Continued on Page Two.) . AN ABATTOIR IS DEMANDED BY THE PEOPLE OF CITY Another Dangerous Side of the Meat Question Brought Out OPEN WAGONS A MENACE Mm! Hauled From the Slnughtei Pens in n Open Wagon is a Source of (ireat Hanger, Kays a Physician, Dust, Pi lied With Germs, Settle en it and is a Heady Menus Of In fection People Are Anxious for n Slaughter House and for Coinpe. tent. Inspection of Meats Crema tory Also Demanded Takes Phy sical 'on rage to Visit Some ol These Places. There Is one feature, of .the meat business In thi:; city that, is especially dangerous to the health of the people if the teclimony of the leading physi cians of the city coiuiis for anything on the disease quest ion. Said a prom inent physician to The levelling Times man yesterday, "Yhere is one side of the. meat question, that is even more dangerous than anything you have mentioned yet. It is a fact thai the fresh meat is hauled in open wagons from the slaughter pens to the mar ket house. T'ne fresh meat is simply thrown into the open wagons and hauled to the city' market, probably a mile or more, through the dusty filthy streets, and there is no care whatever taken to cover up this fresh meat .as it Is ; hauled through.- ibe dusty streets. All the dust and germs from the street settle on the fresh meat, which is fresh and warm and very susceptible to any germ or dust Hint strikes it. This forms the sim plest and surest way to contract dis ease in this city. All the germs from the refuse and expectoration on the streets rises up as a fine dust and set ties oh. 'the fresh meat and is the most direct, Vay to contract all kinds of diseases. All meat should be thor ouglily covered before it leaves the slaughter pens and care should be taken .so' that no dust could possibly reach it until it Is placed In the re- frigerators (?) at the market house.' This from one of the leading phy sicians of the city, A man who knows and treats all kinds of diseases, and yet we find it to be the case. The old dusty, dirty, filthy, bloody, slimy wa gons used to haul the fresh .meat .to the city from the slaughter pens are open and no covers are used on the meat as it is hauled to the market house. Any person standing on Fay- etteville street can see the old meat wagons coming down Fayettevllle stioet in the thickest of the dust (raised by the cars' or the street cleaner) filled with this fresh meat that is to go to the nice tables of this city. . By the time it reaches the mar .ket house it is completely .covered with dust from the street, -(dust that contains all kinds and forms of dis ease germs, according to the best physicians in this city) and yet noth ing' is being done to stop this condi tion or to make these butchers bring the meat in wagons that are clean and the meat thoroughly covered. : The people of thl sclty are ununl nious in their demand for an abattoir where all the meat of the cit.v will be slaughtered and under the inspection of a competent man. This abattoir would insure perfect eoiid it ions where the meat Is slaughtered and would give tile people clean and pure meat Kach butcher could have his animals slaughtered here and all that is lei of the an'mal could either be used or binned and turned into fertilizer. By this means all of the animal would be saved and the meat would bo given to the people in a sanitary condition An abattoir would be a paying invest incut for the city and would also be a paying investment for the butchers of the city, because the people havo made up their milids that they will never eat any more meat from the filthy liens that now exist. The sprinkling of a little lime on the dirt and llltli and rottenness will not be enough. The people havo. opened their eyes nnd seen for themselves what tlfey have been eating, and tin til Raleigh has a modern slaughter house and the people are furnished clean and pure meats under an in spector there will be no more meat sold or eaten in this city. Public sentiment demands an abat toir. Public sentiment demands a crema tory. : -,- - Here Is a letter from one of the "United Status officials here, "wbo has been investigating the things which The Evening Times has been expos ing, i The opinion of such men as Mr. Thiessen is worth a lot in such an in- estigation: Raleigh, N. C, May 10, 1909. Mr. J. V. Simms, General Manager Evening Times, Raleigh, N. C. Dear Sir: I have read with much nterest your articles on the slaugh ter house and bone yard conditions near Raleigh. The descriptions were ucli that most people would like to go without meat until a modern abat toir is built, and the meat inspected by. a competent person. It takes moral courage to do the work you are oing .and physical courage to actual ly visit the scenes of your writings. 1 wish that you would go still fur ther and agitate a movement to clean up the hack yards, and to abolish all pi-hies in the city limits, Very respectfully. A. H. THIESSEN. Butchers Lose a Customer. Mr. Hardest-, steward at the asy- um, met I he limes man on the street yesterday and warmly com mended Hie work being done by this lupdr for the cause of health '.-and leaiilinoiis. Air. Hardesty has in barge the procuring of food supplies or (100 or 700 people. Said Mr, Inrdesly: "I would be glad to buy all the meats we use from local butchers. It would help them along, and, incidentally, help the commun ity, for we iit'.e a great deal of. beef. But I have known for some time that the beef used in this city was prepar- eo for market under unsanitary con ditions, and that the use of it was un safe. We are responsible for the health of a great, many people and can't afford to run risks. Because of bese facts, I have bought no beef rom local butchers for some time nnd I'm not going to .buy any from hem until - conditions are changed, 'm afraid to." The fact that a clear-headed busi ness man of Mr. Hardesfy's stamp nd calibre avoids the local markets and goes to the Inconvenience of buying his meat In Richmond and other markets, Indicates the pressing need of a change. Mr. Hardesty would prefer to buy his supplies here and thereby keep at home the money which the great institution 'he 'serves is sending- from the state. From every standpoint, a city abattoir r clean, modern and up-to-dateis an absolute necessity. The butchers themselves, who have been growling nnd grumbling since The Times laid bare the filth and rottenness of their methods, should be first to welcome the change to better things, Abso lute certainty as to the cleanliness of the meat they buy would greatly in crease the number of customers in this city and thereby greatly benefit the butchers. Do they wish to line up as advocates and defenders of filth? "If that is their wish, it is high time that the city of Raleigh should have a new set of butchers. - GREAT PROGRESS Washington, May 11 According to advices just received from Colonel lieorge V. Gtfethals. at the Washing ton office of the Isthmian.. Canal Commission, the Panama Canal, '.'at the present rate of progress, will be completed, so far as the excavation is concerned, in less than two more years and three months, or by August 1911. The total amount of excavation since May 4, 1904, when the tinted States undertook the work, has been 3,12-1,819 ..'. cubic . yards. Of this mount more t han one-half, or 38,- 059,190 cubic yards, has been taken out in the last 12 months. It is es timated that there remains lo be ex cavated 101,511,741; cubic yards. As every form of physical difficulty has been overcome in pas!' operations, it is believed that if the present prog less can be kepi up 'l he length of time necessary to complete Hie work is a' matter, of simple arilhineilc. Concord News. Concord, .May 1 0 The closing ex ercises of Hie Concord graded school are now on.. All the town churches were Hosed yesterday and union services held In central building, which was packed to overflowing, Sermon was preached to the graduat ing class and school by J. M . drier, I).l) of the First Presbyterian church. At 10 a. in. today certificates- were presented to the 22 boys and girls, by H. H. Harris, chairman of the school board, following the lit erary address of T. W. Blckett, at-lorney-general of North Carolina. We had heard much of Mr. Blckett, and were expecting much, but the half hud never been told. His subject was "The Dollar and the Mun." If Mr. Blckett will go on the platform his fortune. Is made. He knows and he can tell what he knows as few men can. , Trinity scholarship was award ed to L. D. Coltrane, Jr. ON PANAMA CANAL THE HEARING OF MULLINS BEGUN THIS MORNING Charges Formally Read Lengthy Answers Filed by Mullins' Attorneys DEFENSE ASKS DELAY The Hearing; of ex-Cliief Mullins Be gun TIk's .Morning at 10 O'clock Charges Koriuulated by the Police Commission Formally'.' -"Read-Answer of the Defendant Read by Attorney AVtitson Ex-Governor C. It. Aycock Offers in Evidence Por tions of Mullins' Answer and Sec nances Defense Seeks Delay Hearing Continued. The hearing of the charges against ex-Chief of Police J. H. Mullins be fore the police commission began this morning at 10 o'clock. The charges were formally read by Attorney Ay cock and the answer of ex-Chief Mul lins was read by Attorney Watson. The answer, which was a long one, went carefully over the charges, ad mitting that Chief Mullins did not give his bond in 1905 and 1907, also admitting that he did not make his reports to the board of aldermen, as required by the charter, declaring that by the creation of the bourd ot audit and finance the law in this re spect was made inoperative. He gave the bond required for his office after his election in 1899 and this band was kept in force by re newals with the bonding company, approver; by the city attorney. The last bond on file was dated 1901. He gave no bond in May, 1905, for the reason that his election did not take place in May, but by reason of a change of the charter, took place in October, 1905. He says that accord ing to the charter of 1905 the board of audit and finance was compelled to secure for him a bond in a bonding company and present it to him and this was not done. He avers that he has made monthly reports of the fines collected and costs imposed to the board of audit and finance as requir ed by the change of charter creating that board. He also declares it a well known fact that many of the fines were uncollected, many or tnem De ing reduced or stricken off by the court in the exercise of Its discretion. Governor Aycock offered these sec tions of the answer in evidence, also various sections of the charter of the city of Raleigh and a section of the revisal of 1905, providing a penalty of $500 for failure to give bond as re quired by law. After . the prosecuting attorney had ceased speaking Col. J. C. L. Harris asked for time in which to answer the charges laid down by Governor Aycock, -.claiming that it was the first time that the charges had been made plain and explicit and that all the defense wanted was a cliancu to answer to the charges. He asked that the stenographer lie or dered to write out the charges and al low him time to answer and not lorce Air. Mullins to trial. He said Hint all be wauled was u fair and im partial trial. - Governor Aycock said that there was no need lor: delay, that the charges were preferred plainly and explicitly and that all lie had done was to present evidence sustaining the charges. The board then took a recess until 12:15 at the request o Col. Hams. The hearing was resumed promptly at 12:15. Attorney Watson offered in evidence. 'the answer of Mr, Mullins and the charier of the city under date of 18S5; charier and ordinances ot lS'.i5; ordinances of 1897; charter ot 1S99; ordinances of 1900; charter of 1905; charter of 1907; ordinances of 1908. No other evidence was offered and the w itnesses summoned for the prosecution were dismissed. After a consultation between the attorneys', for Mullins they offefed to submit the case without argument. Ex-Governor Aycock, for the prosecu tion, agreed to this and it was left to the board to say whether they wished to hear argument in the case. The board decided that they would not hear argument of counsel unless mat trs arose on which advice was needed. : It was then decided to hold a meet ing tomorrow morning at 9:30 o'clock at which time the board will; If possible, announce Its decision. The attorneys for both sides will be present and the matter will be finally disposed ot.
The Raleigh Times (Raleigh, N.C.)
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May 11, 1909, edition 1
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