The Fire Department Power Grab
A political showdown at the fire commission exposes plans to purge the force and replace the Chief.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A special meeting was held last night by the fire commissioners, at which a plot to oust Chief Kellogg, discharge every known Republican, and make a Democratic machine of the department very nearly succeeded. The mayor and all four commissioners were present to consider why Chief Kellogg had suspended Capt. A. B. Sullivan of engine No. 3. Chief Kellogg reported that Sullivan had maligned him, alleging the Chief conspired with others to defraud insurance companies, and was guilty of insubordination. The Chief's action was sustained. Kellogg then read a report noting that Commissioner Foster had compiled a list of sixteen names, intending to fire them after the election. Mayor Ronald asked Foster if the report was true. Foster produced the list, claiming the men had assigned their salaries against department rules. The Mayor retorted that he was also guilty of selling his salary in advance. After heated words, Foster moved to declare the office of Chief vacant, which passed on a 3-2 vote. The board then nominated A. B. Hunt for the position, but after Kellogg warned that such an appointment would disorganize the department, the board adjourned until Tuesday to investigate.
“Foster had been put in for the express purpose of getting Kellogg out and getting control of the department.”
City departments as political spoils is a classic 19th-century trope, though today's version is often fought through civil service commissions and union contracts. This struggle over the integrity of the fire department versus political patronage reflects the perennial tension between municipal governance and the 'machine' politics that once defined Seattle's civic growth.
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