The morning call., 1894-03-23
OIL WAS SCARCE.
A Big Scandal Among
Army Privates.
Now Colonel Shafter Can Say "Let
There Be Light" and Feel Certain
of Being Cbeyed.

The discovery has been made on Angel
Island that the soldiery of that station
have partially abandoned whisky for coal
oil. Leave Of absence granted to nun.
Der of high privates has not been occupied
by them in humbling them elvss TO the
influence of John Barleycorn, but has in
stead been spent by number of them in
carrying on a lively traffic with Tiburon
saloon aud store keepers with coal oil as
the principal article of trade.
For at least one year past the command
ing sergeant of the post has noticed an
alarming monthly deficit in his supply of
light producing fluid and sundry hairs OF
his cranium have changed from beautiful
dark brown to a sort OF Con federate gray.
Nor has the worrying ca pacity of Colonel
Shaiter himself been exempt from being
taxed by the problem of Where has al
the nations oil disappeared TOP"
Surely" argued be, mo troubled wa
ters trptch between the island and the
mainland, and it cannot be that my men
have besmeared Neptune with the illu-
mi ating product of PENNSYLVANIA"
The mystery deepened. Many expedients
were thought of and rejected. ReQuisitIons
for coal oil were forwarded TO the depart
ment a. Washington, which the commits
sary referred to was actually ashamed to
SlSUs anu at LlIUce tllt pUcb was
on the point Of ordering The bugler to
sound ''lights out" one hoar earlier than
rovided for by the revised tactics of the
United States army.
Perhaps Angel Island would have re-
manned in a state of uncertainty regarding
their oil supply until time indefinite had
not the price ut Kerosene dropped at
TiburOn to such a low figure that dealers
commenced to complain and ask question S
of the San Francisco wholesalers as to the
status of the oil trust.
Certain stores at 1iburon charged 50 O.,
per case for oil and found active competi-
ton at the hands OF re tailers of their town .
who offered the same articles for 81 so
the case. This set the town constable to
thinking, with the result that a gang OF
oil thieves were located and yesterday a
number of its members were brought to
justice.
Several petty officers were arrayed in
citizens clothes and stationed at Tibnron
to watch the posts soldiers. They did not
have long to wait before a boatloa OF
coal oil cases was observed making for the
beach below the town from the direction
of the island. The officers hid on the
beach until the boat landed and succeeded
in arrestiDg two soldiers and a Tiburon
boatman.
Later the workings of the entire gang
were discovered. and arrests folio wed up
to yesterday, when John aud w. d. Kelly.
storekeepers, PrlvateS Wilson and Keys
meyer. two b0atmen ana a young man
named Amorel were placed urdrr arrest.
A confession is said to have been extorted
from one of the soldiers impllcating q
dozen or more blueja kets and showing
thai alb ut 300 cases of oil, besides gun
powder, clothing and stores, have been
smuggled from the commissary depart
ment at the Island during the past twelve
months.
The civilians arrested at Tiburon were
taken to Sausalito in he launch Belvidere,
where they were charged with grand lar
ceny. They furnished bah in the sum of
$500 each.
The olen goods were removed from the
island by means of rowbUats, which we're
operated at night
1t is said thai good deal OF the stuff
was sent 10 Sausalito as well as TiburOu
and th the officers on the island cannot
say just how much booty the robbers got
away with.
rnmor was current during the day that
several petty officers were involved IN the
scandal, but the report could not be veri-
fed.
No information was made public through
Colonel Shafter, and ali that was obtain
al bic OF the story was secured from the
local authorities here and on the other SIDE
of the bay.