The San Francisco call., 1897-09-26

lea up to the perturb bation are these.
When Colonel Jackson assumed his
duties as Collector of Customs he found
that under the rules there were only TWO
positions of importance in the Custom
house at his disposal. One was that OF
cashier, and this was filed by the ap-
pointment of another colonel, William b.
Hamilton. who with Nit Green made
fight for the election of George Q. Perkins
to the United States Senate last winter
The only remaining appoiu tment lett at
Colonel Jacksons disposal was that OF
Deputy Collector.
A paragraph in the civil service rules,
approved by the President May g. 1885,
reads:
There is excepted one chief or principal
deputy or assistant Collector in each customs
district whose employees number as many MS
$50.
There are but six OF these districts in
the United States, and San Francisco is
one of them. The Civil Service Commis-
sion, by order OF Congress, published last
year bluebook, entitled Executive Clvil
Service OF the United States, 1896. " On
page 204 of this book can bo found the
following classification by tho commits
sion:
District of San Francisco. CAL Collectors
office: Principal deputy. salary $4,000, ex-
cep:ed deputy Collectors (twol, salary T362o,
non-excepted.
The man who occupied the first OF these
offices was E. Is. Jerome. Ho has been in
the customs service some thirty years,
and, although . Republican, was not dis
turbed by Collectors Haeer and Wise,
Democratic APP ointees OF President Cleve-
land curing his first and second admins
trations.
The Collector wanted good place for
one of his sons, and being 10th to dispense
with the services of Jerome ho had TO re-
sort TO the alternative, which was TO
create vacancy by removing one of the
two deputies who were classified in the
bluebooK as in the non-excepted class.
In the San francisco CusIom-house on
the accession of Collector one OF his first
acts is the appointment of n special deputy
who is 10 act as his representative, ad-
wiser and assistant aud upon whom is con-
ferred plenary power to discharge all the
duties OF Collector in the latter's absence.
Jerome had thus been honored by long
over the other deputies and his word was
recognized as law. Collector Jackson did
not, however, follow the example of his
numerous predecessors in making this ap-
pointment promptly.
He left the position vacant and for the
first two months of his term lie himself
signed all documents requiring the sigma
ture of the Collector. In the interim he
wrote to the Treasury Department to the
effect that the civil service rules gave him
the appointment of one chief or principal
deputy; that he had but two deputies,
Tobin and Farley, and that it would be
for the good of the service that Tobin
should be placed in the excepted class and
that Stanley Jackson should be appointed
his successor. At this time Jerome was
not deputy. He was and is clerk No. l.
class 6.
The aftermath came q week or tw ago.
On the recommendation OF Special Agent
Moore Jerome's salary was cut down from
$4,000 to $500. which latte sum is $l25 less
than that received by the other TWO depu-
ties-Jackson and Farley. Following that
event, and within day or two ago, the
Treasury Department ann ounced tnat the
appointment OF Jerome as Special Deputy
Collector could not be confirmed, ana that
if any one is to be appointed it must be
the Collectors son, Stanley jackson, be-
cause it was on the understanding that
Stanley was to be the chief or principal
deputy, or Assistant Collector, in accord
ance with civIl-serVIce rules, that Stanley
hao been appoinI ed.