THE CHAPTER XI. A COURAGEOUS PUBLIC OFFICER. HE courage displayed in the treatment of questions affecting corporations, the determination to preserve the honor and integrity of the State in its dealings with all that were subject to its jurisdiction, and the earnest endeavor to be guided by the Constitution and to fulfill, in spirit as well as in letter, the oath of office, Governor Cleveland carried also into his decisions on measures of a political character. None of his messages during this first year caused more favorable comment, and elicited more hearty approval, than the veto of the Buffalo Fire Department bill. read: STATE OF NEW YORK, EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, TO THE ASSEMBLY: } It Assembly bill No. 253, entitled "An act to amend chapter five hundred and nineteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and seventy, entitled 'An act to amend the charter of the city of Buffalo,' passed April twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy," is herewith returned without approval. The object of this bill is to entirely reorganize the fire department of the city of Buffalo. The present department was established in 1880, under chapter 271 of the laws of that year, and its management and control are vested in three commissioners, who, pursuant to said law, were appointed by the mayor of the city. The gentlemen thus appointed are citizens of unquestioned probity, intelligence and executive ability, and enjoy and deserve the respect and confidence of all their fellow-townsmen. Having very recently had official relations with this department, I cannot but testify to its efficiency and good management, and the economy with which its affairs are conducted. And yet, before it 1 has been three years in operation, it is proposed, by the bill under consideration, to uproot and sweep away the present administration of this important department, and venture upon another experiment. This new scheme provides for the appointment, by the mayor, on the first Monday in May, 1883, of a chief of the fire department, one assistant chief and two district chiefs; the city is divided into two fire districts, and it is made the duty of the district chiefs to take the charge and management of all fires in their respective districts until the arrival of the chief or assistant chiefs. I can see no reason for dividing, by law, the city into fire districts, unless it be to make new places to be filled by the city executive. The provision that the district chief shall have charge and management of a fire in his district, until the arrival of his superior, gives excuse for the chief of another district, though first on the ground, to refrain from interference. A fire department should be organized with a view to prompt and effective action upon a sudden emergency. Every member of the department should be, at all times, ready for service, and there should be no mischief invited, by rules too inflexible, as to who should have charge and management in time of danger to life and property. Although the mayor of the city, under the provisions of the bill, has the absolute power of appointment to these offices, he may, in case of vacancy by death, resignation, removal or otherwise, make special appointments, until permanent appointments are made. This was evidently copied from the charter of 1870, which allowed the mayor to appoint fire superintendents, by, and with the advice and consent of the common council. It was intended to permit the filling of a vacancy by the mayor during the time which should elapse before a successor could be confirmed by the council. But in a case where no confirmation is necessary, such a provision is needless, incongruous and mischievous. The mayor should be as well prepared to make a permanent appointment under this bill, in case of a vacancy, as a temporary one. This provision would seem to give him the power by calling an appointment a temporary one, to retain the appointee as long as he sees fit, and, under the pretext of a permanent appointment, displace him by another without charges, or an opportunity to be heard. By section six of the bill an appeal is permitted from the decision of the mayor upon the trial of any of these officers, to the Supreme Court of Buffalo. There is no such court in existence. But, waiving further criticism of details, my attention is directed to section twenty of the bill, which, to the promoters of this measure, is undoubtedly its most important feature. It provides that immediately upon the appointment and qualification of the chief, the terms of the present commissioners shall cease and determine, and that the terms of office of all the other officers, firemen and employes, shall also cease and determine, ten days thereafter. Great care is exercised to provide that the chiefs and all the firemen and employes appointed under the new scheme shall be discharged only for cause, and after due hearing and an opportunity for defense; but to those now in the service, numbering about two hundred drilled and experienced men, no such privileges are accorded. The purpose of the bill is too apparent to be mistaken. A tried, economical and efficient administration of an important department in a large city is to be destroyed, upon partisan grounds or to satisfy personal animosities, in order that the places and patronage attached thereto may be used for party advancement. I believe in an open and sturdy partisanship, which secures the legitimate advantages of party supremacy; but partics were made for the people, and I am unwilling, knowingly, to give my assent to measures purely partisan, which will sacrifice or endanger their interests. GROVER CLEVELAND. The declaration, in particular, with which it closed, was quoted far and wide throughout the country by the Democratic press as evidence that a Democrat, as determined and bold in the discharge of his duty as Andrew Jackson, had come to be Governor of the State of New York-an executive position second only to the Presidency of the United States-and that in the discharge of that duty he looked beyond the costly and delusive gain of the moment to the great principles of Thomas Jefferson, in which lie the abiding strength and perpetuity of the Democratic party. While ringing words and unqualified declarations, like some of those which have been quoted, were offensive to some whose projects were stopped by the interposition of the veto power, with the great masses of the Democratic party in the State and with citizens generally, Grover Cleveland grew rapidly in strength and popularity. Disappointed men were not able to suppress spontaneous approbation which greeted the more important of his acts during the first year. Besides the measures which have already been noted, in this session was passed and approved by Governor Cleveland a bill prohibiting the further sale of State, lands in the Adirondack forest region to corporations and individuals, in order that the great tract might be preserved as a breathing spot for the people of the State, and that the sources of water supply in these regions, which cupidity was threatening, might be maintained undiminished. In the selection of his appointees to office Governor Cleveland exercised the most scrupulous care. In obedience to established custom none but staunch Democrats were selected by him for office, although he was often urged to recognize in his appointments the large Independent element which had voted for him. In his appointments he was guided first by the requirements, which Thomas Jefferson had established years before, as the standard which every Democratic official should apply to subordinates, "Is he honest, capable, faithful to the Constitution?" The correctness of his judgment of men in every case was shown by the end of the year in the increased efficiency and economy with which all branches of government were administered. In the Insurance department alone, the expenses of administration were cut down $40,000 and the supervision of corporations made much more stringent and beneficial at the same time. On his first arrival in New York, on the shores of the United States, the Irish, German, French, Swedish, or Norwegian immigrant-the immigrant from any part of Europe, in fact-comes into direct contact with the government of the State of New York. Castle Garden and the institutions connected with it constitute a department of State administration. For many years abuses in the department had flourished and waxed strong by uninterrupted license. The immigrant, often unable to speak English, was seized immediately on his arrival and made the prey of officials who were paid by the government of the State to protect him. On all sides he was fleeced and defrauded by those whose business it was to protect him from fraud and imposition. These abuses brought frequent complaint from immigrants, and had become a matter of public notoriety and reproach. They had been investigated and charges verified by a special Committee of the Legislature. In his first inaugural message, Governor Cleveland directed the notice of the Legislature to the immediate necessity of reform in the administration of this department. In time, a bill was passed, substantially in accord with the Governor's suggestions, and was immediately approved by him. In the place of an irresponsible and inharmonious commission to administer Castle Garden, it provided for a single Commissioner, to act in conjunction with the Presidents of the Irish and German Immigrant Societies they representing the two nations from which the largest number of immigrants came-in the administration of the affairs of the institution. For this position Governor Cleveland named a gentleman, himself of Irish parentage, ex-Senator William H. Murtha. The Senate, which has confirmatory power over many of the Governor's appointments, consisted of 18 . Democrats and 14 Republicans. Just previous to the passage of the Immigration Commissioner bill, a bill had also been passed and signed for the reorganization of the State administration of the Port of New York, the need of which had also been indicated in the Governor's message. Both the immigration department and the department of the port of New York at this time were under the control of the Republican party, the appointees of the previous Republican Governor still holding office. The Republican Senators, therefore, determined to endeavor to defeat the confirmation of Governor Cleveland's appointees |