St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-05-26
The CIVIL SERVICE LAW.
Hale and SpoOner's Committee Hard al
Work,
EARNING THEIR SALARY,
An Investigation That Will Amount tc
Nothing at the End
of II.

NEW YORK, May 25.-The federal
senatorial investigation committee re.
sumed its hearing in regard to the adj
mlnlstratiOn of the civil service law in
the New York custom house this morn.
ing. Senator Spooner announced that
Senator Hale, chairman of the commit.
tee, agreed with him that under the
senate resolution appointing the com.
mlttee 1t was only empowered to investi.
gate the workings of the civil service
law under the present admin
lstratlon, and could not gc
back to previous administrations,
Dr. Edward Sherer, Republican, testi.
that he had been discharged from the
position of examiner of sugar on the
alleged ground that he was incompetent
ana that he was allied with the sugar
ring. His brother, John A. Sherer. was
removed without any assigned reason.
Wltness was shown black list of men
VINO were Republicans and of those con.
cerned IN the sugar ring charges. His
name was on the list. The next witness
testified that Sherer was competent and
correct, and the third that
HE WAS INCOMPETENT.
~. Il. Moore, an assistant appraiser,
ana member of Tammany hall. testf-
ned that Appraiser McMullin went ia
Washington to see the secretary of the
treasury. Mr.. McMullin told him that
the secretary of the treasury gave him
list OF men to be removed. Although
he was told that the men were good
and eflclent, the secretary insisted
on their removal. Witness had a con-
Versation with Assistant Secretary Nav
nard IN February, 1887, in which he told
Mr.. Maynard that if he was going to
remove the men for being RepnbIiean'
he 0he witness) was with him every
time, but if on charges he wanted to
know something about it. He told the
secretary that Maynard was incapable
OF making an investigation and that
his reports were false. Lewis Nc
Mullen, appraiser, testified that Sherer
and others who were removed
were competent men. When asked
why he recommended their removal, he
said it was because Secretary Maynard
had suggested to him that he should do
so. He knew of no cause for their re-
mOVal. He told the assistant secretary
Ihat the ShererS were men of integrity
and ability. A letter from Secretary
Fairchild, notifying Mr.. McMulIen of
the removal of Sherer and three others.
and suggesting that he recommend the
reinstatement of McElrea, who had been
discharged,
FOR DRUNKENNESS
was read. The witness adopted the
suggestion and he was reappointed.
Subsequently Civil Service Commits
sioner Oberley gave notice that the re-
appointment was illegal as no certificate
of eligibility had been given by the
commissioner to the board. The certifi-
cate was afterwards obtained under
the rule permitting the board
to grant such certificate without ex-
animation when the reinstatement was
to be made within wear of the removal
Senator Blackburn then took the wit
ness in hand. He asked him if he had
come before the committee prepared to
answer all questions and with his letters
and records arranged so that they could
be conveniently referred to. He replied
that he would be required to answer
the questions and produce the
letters. He did not tell Assist
ant Secretary Maynard that any
of his men, whose removal he sug-
geSted, excepting the Sherers, were good
and efficient men. He had no ground
on which to form an opinion as to the
influences that caused Mr.. McElrea'S re-
instatement. He did not know any
thing about McElrea's testimony in the
investigation of alleged INTERPRETATIONS
OF sugar. The
WITNESS DID NOT THINK
that the civil service law had been vio-
lated by the removal of Sherer and
others. He had never seen the report
of an investigation in their cases.
There might be abundant evidence in
it to convince the secretary and assist
ant secretary that the men at whose re-
m0val he suggested should be removed,
Witness said he was a Democrat in
the third generation of Democrats. He
said in conclusion that Assistant Secre-
tary Maynard and he had a general
conversation about the number of DEM
ocrats in the appraisers department.
At present from 40 to so per cent of
those in the department are Democrats.
In 1885 there were no Democrats, except
the witness himself, in the department..
John A. Sherer, eX-eXaminer of sugars,
testified that he had been unable to
discover any reason for his removal
He wrote to Secretary Fairchild asking
il there were any charges against him,
but received no answer. He had never
heard that it was rumored he was con-
nected with the sugar ring. EX-StOre-
keeper HOtchkiSS, Republican, who
was removed in February last, testified
that Collector MagOne told him there
was no complaint against him, but that
there were too many StOrekeeperS. Sew
eral stOrekeepers have been appointed
since. and he understood they were
Democrats. After hearing some minor
testimony the committee adjourned.