The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-18
e. $1,000 ~~-@-+-@-+-@~-@G


is one of the officers in charge of the
Casualties" troops enlisted into provts-
ional companies and awaiting assignment
to vacancies in the regiments now being
depleted in foreign service. The casual
ties were the troops engaged in the affair
of Sunday night.
The investigation is not likely TO be an
interesting one. There is no evidence
against the men except what Rehfeld. the
saloon man, can give, and at the time Of
the assault on his place most of his ener-
gies were bent on securing safety for him
self instead of evidence for any investi-
cation that might follow. The men who
were in the mob are not known and they
will not come forward to identify them
selves. and there is but one sergeant who
stands a chance Of being brought up to
any danger of detection. He is an infantry
sergeant Rehfeld saw in the crowd around
his saloon. The sergeant was not throw
ing any stones nor was he making any
noise or trouble, but he was in the crowd,
and the saloon man thinks he can recog-
nize him if he sees the man again. When
Rehfeld tries to give a description of the
sergeant, however, his chance of ever iden-
tifying him seems to be dim and distant.
The officers themselves have very little
hope of ever bringing any one to trial for
mobbing the place. The casuals are all
new men and not one in five is known to
the commanders. They are arriving and
departing all the time and personal &C
Quaintance with the casuals under their
orders is neither necessary nor usual with
the officers over them, and even il 1t were
none of the officers were on the ground
when the mob gathered to set fire to
Rehfelds whisky barrels. The troopers
who finally restored order had no time to
ascertain just who were the ones making
the trouble and Of the crowd finally gath
cred in there is no way of separating the
sheep from the goats-the good from the
bad-that is, unless some one confesses or
some one tells tales, and the soldiers will
do neither.
The process Of arresting suspected SOL
diers without combining them IS proceed
ing right along. Two men who had not
been spotted were placed on the list yes
terday and there were more to come but
the saloon is destroyed and the men know
the game is in their own hands. so arrests
are not dreaded.
If caught there IS punishment and
enough to spare for those who were gull
ty. They viii be turned over to the civil
authorities first and all the years of priS-
on the law provides for arson will prob
ably become theirs, besides collateral SEN
fences for malicious mischief, battery, as
sault TO murder, threats to kill and a
dozen other charges, and then when the
civil authorities have finished the mill
tary authorities will form a court-mar-
rial TO heal the breach in discipline and
a term on Alcatraz viii wind the thing
up.
on Saturday night is William r. Clark.
He is believed 10 be the one who struck
King and knocked him insensible, and
he has been identified as the aSSailant by
TWO soldiers who were in the saloon at
the time. But to the officers who ques-
toned him he declared he knew nothing
of the row and could not imagine why
he had been arrested King himself knows
nothing of the row on Saturday night
and nothing of the subsequent events on
Sunday night. He is now In the hospital
nursing two black eyes, the finest speci-
mems it is reported, that have been In
troduced to the institution, but no one is
allowed to see him. OF the others who
were in the fight Earl White is getting
along with the use of one eye, while he
keeps the other bandaged, and two or
three more are rubbing sore spots with
arnica~
The one most injured is Rehfeld. the
saloon man. He had $500 insurance on
the place, but he does not know whether
or not his policy is good under the cir
cumstance of mob violence. SO far as
Government are concerned he is not
hopeful. The case will have to be in
vesugated and reports will be made on
II for the next half year. but in the
meantime he has a wife and six children
to care for and they can hardly afford to
claims. He has no clear idea what he
will do about damages.
The question of responsibility is a nice
one. The property was beyond the limits
of the reservation, but 1t was DESTROYED
by Government employees. The question of
punishment IS an easy one compared to
the one of redress The civil authority
~ not disputed and the men will have to