The San Francisco call., 1909-12-23
IRISH BEATS COOK
AS A DISCOvERER
Naval Officer Submits Numerous
Observations to Prove His
Job Has Real Purpose
General Stone, Who Succeeds
Colonel, Needs Only a Bond
and an Arm Chair

AOlOMel JOulls lIASls NlAOSO =" SSeNi
clutch on an annual federal pension of
$4,000 will soon be q matter of Cali
fornia's unhappy political past, has
demonstrated that as a discoverer
Cook, medico. has nothing on Irish,
warrior. Irish submits numerous OBJ
servations, apparently designed to
prove that the job which Irish has Lost
and which Stone has landed has use
fuI purpose other than the annual cir
culation of the easiest $4,000 a year
that the federal government lets go of.
When President Taft was in San
Francisco a few weeks ago he declared
that in his opinion the naval officer
served no useful public purpose and
that the berth should be abolished.
LONG HUNTED JOB
When Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury James B. Reynolds visited
San Francisco three years ago. he de-
clared that, in his opinion, the only
apparent purpose of the naval officer
was TO perpetuate the mistakes Of the
collector" Reynolds was then the
head of the United States customs
service. His opinion might be ac-
EtDlSA dS LlldI OF an expert, Dul llit
fact that Lydia Pinkham Stone hunted
that job for u years furnishes in itself
convincing proof that, Irish to the con-
trary Notwithstanding, Stone was firm
ly of the belief that the berth involved
nothing but a good salary.
Aside from Irish's accusation that
The Call had achieved the impossible
had DETAINED Stone-his letter is in
teresting. 1t affords the basis for in
sIo,,
Taft's opinion of the job and his selec-
ton of Irish's successor. Irish writes:
The naval office is. in function, the
cOntrollership Of the customs and
ranks all other positions in the Gus
toms service at the ports where it
exists"
If that statement was designed to
dismay Stone with either the terror of
work or responsible dignity, Stone may
dream on in ,the fullest assurance of
the realiza tion of the softest soft thing
he has ever fallen upon.
The naval office. instead of being the
controllership of the customs, is at the
seven ports where it exists. one of 19
departments. 1t is 'in function" not
the controllership of the customs and is
devoted solely to checking the amounts
Of duties received. There is nothing in
the records of the Office of the collector
OF customs at the port of San Francisco
to show that the naval officer "corrects
or supervises the accounts of the col
lector"
STONES NEW RANK
AS to the question of rank, Stone
may be doubly reassured. The rank
Of his new job will compare favorably
with that of his army rank and to the
customs service somewhat as that of
a sergeant of infantry in charge of an
outpost squad compares to that of a
corps commander. The sergeant ranks
l6 enlisted men. Stone will rank 13
clerks who do the work of controller
ship of the customs"
If Stone entertains any doubts about
the question of rank he may resolve
them by investigation of the single
instance when Irish attempted to con-
vince himself and the collector of the
port that the naval officer could give
and enforce orders. Immediately after
the earthquake Irish objected to the
release of a quantity of rice for the
Chinese refugees across the bay STRAIT
ton said release" and Stratton's order
stood. The collectors orders go, as
Stone can find out easily enough after
he gets Irish's meal ticket, by attempt
ing to enforce few of his own.
AS to supervision and control" of
His advice will be required only in
the matter of drawback and the
auditing Of the accounts of the collector
is done in Washington.
Nor need Stone lay out any con-
siderable portion of his income in the
acquisition of information touching the
tariffs of "our own and other coun- =
tries" So far as his duties are con-
cerned, his knowledge of tariffs may
continue to be an absent quantity He
will have nothing to do with the fixing
of rates of tariff or appraisement and
IN the matter of inquiries touching for
eign tariffs he may safely follow the
established policy of the customs serv-
ice in San Francisco. That policy in
wolves nothing more complex than re-
ferring anxious inquiFers to the resi-
dent foreign consuls.
FIGURES NOT>FERIFIED
Colonel Irish furnishes figures con-
cerning the work Of his office for an
undesignated period of IS days His
failure to fix the month referred to. has
made verification Of his figures and his
lnsistence that knowledge of book
ing is necessary difficult.
Men associated with the local ems
toms service for many years are un-
able TO explain what connection the
naval officer has with the clearing and
documenting of vessels. They hold out
more assurances for Stone, too, in that
they declare that for a period of %
years the returned errors in matters OF
liquidation have averaged about 20 a
month, and that all the accounts that
go to the naval officers division for
computation are checked and rechecked
in the auditors division before they
go to the naval officers staff.
And finally all the expert knowledge
required in the naval officers division
is furnished by Deputy Maslin and his
u subordinates, civil service EMPLOYEES
Stone should not permit Irish to
frighten him into spending easy money
on night school course. All he needs
TO fit him for the rank and responsibil
tiles Of his new job is a bond and a
new reclining chair