The Morning Brawl at City Hall
A deputy city controller’s public intoxication and volatile temper lead to a physical altercation and his immediate arrest.
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. F. Metzger, who for three years has been deputy city controller under Mr. Meads, was removed from office this morning after a noisy demonstration and fist fight in the municipal office. He spent the morning in the city prison for disorderly conduct. Mr. Metzger is one of the most competent bookkeepers in the city but occasionally gets on a spree. This morning he appeared at the controller’s office partly intoxicated. For some time he has not been on good terms with Frank White, another employe of the office, and the liquor this morning caused him to feel especially irritated at White. He began to assail White boisterously and before he got through, the two men met in a passage at arms in which neither suffered seriously. City Controller Meads arrived and Metzger was deposed from his position. He handed over his keys, cleaned up his desk, and got ready to leave, but kept things pretty lively meantime. He charged Meads with being utterly incompetent and was very bitter against White. Meads finally sent for an officer, and Detective Fackler came up and took Metzger downstairs.
“He began to assail White boisterously and before he got through, the two men met in a passage at arms in which neither suffered seriously.”
Office politics have moved from fist fights in the ledger room to digital dust-ups, but the tension between professional standards and personal conduct remains a constant in municipal administration.
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