Fire Chief Faces Ouster Over Citizenship Claim
A political feud within the Seattle Fire Department takes a turn as a rejected applicant accuses the Chief of being an alien.
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. B. Hunt, chief of the fire department, is to be asked to resign on the ground that he is not a citizen of the United States, and therefore ineligible to hold office. William Kelley, a substitute who was rejected at a meeting of the commissioners Monday night, has provided information alleging that Hunt's naturalization papers will not hold. The move follows months of internal friction. T. A. Kelley, a brother of the rejected applicant, had previously supported other candidates for the position and claimed that Hunt’s appointment was tainted. Hunt declined to comment, stating he would wait for formal written charges before discussing his citizenship status.
“Chief Hunt was seen about the reports last evening and said that he had nothing to say for publication one way or the other.”
This reflects the volatile nature of 19th-century municipal politics, where jobs and appointments were central to party patronage. It serves as a reminder that before modern civil service protections, the entire leadership of city departments could turn on the outcome of a bitter, personal political grudge.
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