City Hall Under Siege: Mayor and Councilman Clash Over Police Graft
A heated feud erupts between Mayor Linck and Councilman Jamieson over alleged police corruption and the reopening of local 'cribs'.
The story, cleaned up
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Mayor Linck and Chief of Police Duley both emphatically declared today that they desire to have a grand jury called to investigate the Jamieson charges. Chairman Jamieson of the police and license committee and Mayor Linck are having a lively 'pot and kettle' time of it. Jamieson's report insinuated graft against the police department and administration for allowing the reopening of the cribs and he says he saw the open violation of the law. Mayor Linck comes back by declaring that Jamieson is a sworn deputy sheriff and therefore oath-bound to prevent the violation of law when he sees it, demanding to know how Jamieson ignores the law. 'Lies,' is the answer of Mayor Linck to the charges, intimating there is graft in the operation of the district. 'No officer of the police department has ever received a cent of fines or graft directly or indirectly from these women or from the vice syndicate,' said Mayor Linck.
“Jamieson, as deputy sheriff, has as high or even higher authority than the police for enforcing the law. Then why does he stand idly by and see the law violated?”
Tacoma’s struggle with managing vice districts and the political theater surrounding 'graft' investigations remains a recurring feature of city governance. The tension between reform-minded council members and established administration figures over the enforcement of moral ordinances continues to shape local politics.
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