The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 19, 1905, Page 4

datic s of tSay saich the pr olishmer sem Hoki s connected wit s hous s a whole s will § e interest " y you, and w frord m infinite to $28,880,000; nking firms, record of Is and eight- s and half a acquired ns of goods, v $35 ) and netting the Gov- ties nearly grow- Con- he- ad appro- strength- soaked por- er of Wad “ Appre of a new piace of one destroyed £ the rapid t San Francisco th Govern- ork lagged at after -drinking the first new build- 1y appearance Of the mor attended tt among the and of “the it the » the six- the veteran entered the em- d was later who Se who, 1w s not until the term that a d to the office of of this port, the Democrats, by irtue of their power in Washington, hav- ng enjoyed the local the on appointed a respected . citizen . of . to the positicn of Collec- selection was signalized by a the Custom-house, superseded by Repub- ho were known to be loyal. to Rankin entered office in a pe- when the influ- those in sympathy with the 1 Confederacy was being exerted t to place California in the list In those trying days the Custom-house were atly-on the qui vive. Rumors guns and ammunition were ly ‘shipped into this port by of the South to aid the plans of tie advocates of secession, and it required the strictest vigil on the part of the Col- Po: and other . Federal offi- > Insure the confiscation of these 1 arms. close of the war came as a great relief to the customs officers, except Col- lector Rankin, who, through a scandgi in Iraying department, with which one ves was comnected, was sub. eat deal of humiliating com- ollector Rankin was succeeded by Low on June 1, 1863 The latter, had higher political aspirations 1 gned same year to enter the ernatorial’ contest, in which he was »rious over the Democratic candidate, G. Downey. W, rwell, the Na- was temp y installed as of Port until Charles James en n those duties in October, 1863. ors were Jol F. Miller, Phelps, Thomas B. Shan- livan, W. H. Sears, John H. Wise, John P. Jackson Stanley Jackson, who temporarily the position after his father’s death, pa‘-ronzig.e of resident const: fe t way filled se men, excepting, of course, tor Stratton, the only 'survivor fs H. Wise, who, with the late Judge r, was favored with the appointment nt Cleveland. Timothy Guy s served two terms as Collector of and lived to regret that he ever ac- cepted the appointment for the second o His term was fraught with in the denartment, of ad no connection other than is confidence abused in se- ing men for positions under him. A at scandal was unearthed in the Ap- praiser's department that resulted in dis- closires that ‘erced the retirement o which he having had Levi and later of Sur- Appraiser C. M veyor of the Port D, Aside from the: the old Custom-house w. comparatively few d Occasional- ly a clerk would be d in petty pec- ulations, but his return of the money he had misappropriated and his resignation closed the incident so far as the Govern- ment was concerned, In charitable disposition of M. Cashin. the history of marked with . who was for years the recognized facto- tum the the customs department, saved guilty er from public expos- Jerome probably knew more about affairs of the Collector’s office than ny of the Collectors themselves, a fact : posed to have kept him at- ave tached to the department through the different political administrations. He sointed by Coliector Miller, who afterward went to the United States Sen- ate. He served as special deputy col- lector up to the time that John P. Jack- son assumed the office of Collector. In the capacity of special deputy the duties of Collertor of Port often devolved upon Jerome during the’ temporary absence of his superior. He was practically the ad- er of a number of the Collectors and the wisdom he displayed in his decisions in matters of importance pertaining to the office were frequently highly com- mended by ibe officials at Washington. Few, men the Federal service have enjoyed greater respect or made more n did Deputy Collector Jerome 2 term of office in the Cus- His death a few years ago p regret and revived the stories tom-house. caused of the m kind favors he had be- stowed upon those under him. In the eariy '60’s, when J. W. s'robasco first en- the Government's employ in the stom-house, he was known as an in- veterate tobacco chewer, and still bears that reputation. It was his practice to roll the tin foil from his tobacco into a ball, and as the years passed this ball grew 1o an enormous size; in fact, it grew =co finally found it necessary in annexing more tin foil to its sprface to roll the ball along the floor of the Custom-house, Eventually the bail passed to the custody of Deputy Jerome, who kept it in his office on the third floor of the building, and at regular intervals when business was dull he would add a layer or so of foll to the globe, which Probasco continued to supply. On the afternoon prior to a holiday it was Je- (‘uia"arf-j/ou.,f.!‘v THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL i ,.mw et ) LN FRANCIS (0 S/ T ’ { — < g \\ ETON AND BATTERY ST 7 /Vajmb'lflé DELMOLASIWED. Caf TOIT-HoveE, ON THE 5 : LAZA one would shout, as they were thus re- minded of the approaching holiday. ‘When the deputy collector passed away at his home in Oakland the old-time brokers met on the flogr of the Custom-house and adopted resolutions to the memory of thejr departed friend. In the midst of a eulogy delivered by one of the assembly ihere was heard a roaring noise on the floor above. Some one had gone to the third floor and sent the old tin foil ball thundering along the haliway, furnishing a- peculiar knell to the closing day in the life of one who is still remembered as one of the most faithful servants the Government ever had. Thomas Shannon's two terms as Col- lector of the Port are well remembered by the old-timers. If ever one had an in- herent liking for poker it was Shannen. In the days of his administration poker games were the daily pastime of the men in the customs service. They were In the habit of adjourning to the basement of the building, where a room had been fitted up for their convenience, and there spending hours of the Government's time {n} the pleasant indulgence of the game of “draw.” Frequently, it is sald, Collector Shannon formed one of the party of cara players, and almost invariably he lost his . money. One day, so the story goes, an INTEFIOF OF THE our CUS T - HONE N R rome’s amusing practice to roll thig big on the floor below, where the brokers and inspector, apparently &auawus to fngratiate ball down the hallway of the third floor, creating a rumbling noise that resembled the roar of a fortress’ guns. It was hcard wth“ were finishing up their day’s himeelf into the favor of his superior, re- ors. ported to Shannon that three of thé more “There goes Jerome's battery,” some prominent officfals of the Custom-house BN 1. £ v were in the basement engaged in a game of poker. “Do you mean to tell me,” remarked Shannon, with a certain degree of seriousness, “that those fellows are playing a three-handed game?” “Yes, sir," rejolned the inspector, thinking that he had made an impres- slon on his superior, “and if you doubt my word you can easily satisfy your- self by going down to the basement.” “Well, you go down there and tell those fellows,” replied Shannon, “that if I ever hear of their playing a three- nanded gaume again without Inviting me to take a hand I'll cause them to be dismissed from the service.” Shannon retired from the Custom- house absolutely broke. His financial condition appealed to the sympathy of his old associates In the building and on the eve of his retirement they ralsed a purse of $1500 for him. Later he secured another and more modest Government position, but his money went just as fast as when he was drawing a more lucrative salary and he finally died penniless. He was re- membered, however, as a man who had possessed many high qualitles, among them his upcompromising loyalty for the Union during the rebellious times. He was always a steadfast Republi- can and as such he served in the legis- lative halls of California as Senator and Assemblyman, a&nd also as Dele- ®ate to Congress from this State. Collector John F. Miller’s adminis- tration in the Custom-house, from 1865 to 1870, when he declined a renom- ination, wiAs known to the employes of the service as the earthquake pe- riod, for it was in October, 1868, that a great quake disturbed San Fran- cisco. A number of the more promi- nent buildings, among them the then comparatively new Custom-house, were badly damaged by the shock and several persons were serfously In- jured or killed by falling walls. The earthquake occurred shortly before 8 o'clock in the morning, an hour be- fore it was the custom to open the doors of the building for the day's business. The watchman had just emerged from the building when the shock occurred and undoubtedly es- caped death, for a few seconds later a large portion of the handsomely stuccoed wall of the main office of the Custom-house fell with a terrific crash / IEOIIA S TREET DESTHOYED ) By Fyee 7Y, 1957~ )4 3 to the floor as the pillars of the por- tico on the Battery-street side creaked and cracked in the midst of the terri- ble shaking. y Later in the day a survey of the building by the Government officials 2 fact that several of Its walls had been opened by the shock and large sections of the brown mas- d been covered dropped off. At the building were cov k flagging. the weight 2:d weakened the crossbeams and caused the flooring on the third floor to fall to the rooms be- low. . AS a result of the survey it was de- cided thai e building would have to be rebraced before it could be used again and was consecuently aban- doned for a ne ux be_accomplished. It was alse decided to remove the portico from the entrance, owing to the weakened condition of its supports, which-explained - the pecullar appear- ance of the Battery-street entrance in later years. Even to the day the build- ing was finally abandoned, two weeks ago, several big openings in the west wall under the roof, caused by that eventful earthquake, were plainly dis- cernible. In fact, in ‘one of them pigeons and their broods had long found a shelter. For years the pigeons were the particular pets of “Pop” Flint of the naval office, who also had a kind regard for the Custom-house cat, which, with its kittens, has refused to leave the old building, despite the threatening danger from fallen bricks and other debris. Although the chroniclers of the early incidents in San Francisco have usually referred to the files of the old papers ~ for their data, mueh of the latter could just as well have been secured from the records of the old Custom- house, for ameng the latter are found the reports of the city’s commercial ad- vancement; notes bearing on the many exciting affairs of the day, such as the frequent filibuster expeditios in the suppression of which the customs of- ficers took a prominent part; refer- ences to the outbreaks of the rufanly this work could element; of the disastrous fires and earthquakes, and of that importaat question, Chinese immigration, which is still agitating the people of the city. According t8 the records of the Cw tom-house, Chinese were among the earliest settlers in San Francisco. In 1849 more than 300 Mongolians grrived in port and the following years the lo- cal Chinese population was augmented by the arrival of 425. At first they were treated with considerable cour- tesy, but it soon dawned on the white residents that the Chinese influx was menacing to their intérests and the agitation against them began and for several years it was a subject of gem- eral discussion In later years, after the construction of the Custom-house at Washington and Battery streets, Chinese lmmigra- tion and the frauds that attended it demanded more attention from the cus- toms officials than any other business connected with the department. The Chinese restriction aet resulted in the ereation of the Chinese Bureau in the Custom-house and the laiter was the source of 90 per cent of the scandals In the service. Although properly under the control of the Collector of the Port and of- ficlally designated and for many years referred to as the Custom-house, the building now being removed had of late years been commonly spoken of as the Pestoffice building, which is easily attributed to the that the Post- office occupied the entire lower floor of the building for many years and was more generally patronized than the customs department. As the customs business grew so did that of the Post- office. Years ago the inadequacy of the accommodations in the building for postal - facilities became so apparent that the Washington officials fournd it necessary to make additions to the old structure until the original outlines of the Custom-house were almost obiliter- ated from publie view. While the en- trance of the Custom-house rémained on Battery street, the fact that the main entrance to the Posoffice was on Washington street caused many to suppose that the froit of the bullding really faced the latter street. To the brokers and old attaches of the Cus- tom-house, however, there was only one eptrance to the buyilding. They re- garded it as a violation of traditions to enter the building by any other en- trance thail the one on Battery street, and when they assembled for the last time in the old structure two weeks ago yesterday their final act was to have themselves photographed body on the Battery-sireet steps, which the majority of them had climbed the sands of times in the last forty years.