The Saint Paul globe., 1901-06-14
ARMY OFFICERS DENY IT |
SAY TALK OF EXTENSIVE COMMIS-
SARY FRAUDS AT SAN FRAN
CISCO IS ROT
DETECTIVES SAY IT IS TRUE
Assert Large Amount az Military
Stores in Secondhand Joints
Points to Thieving From
Government

! SAN FRANCISCO, June 13.-Capt. A.
| w. Kimball, post quartermaster at the
! Preside, made the following statement
! today in regard to the alleged frauds in
! the sale of quartermaster's supplies be-
! longing to the government: Il am the
! officer that is concerned in this matter,
! yet no one has yet made any inquiry of
me. l am the only bonded officer at the
post, and the only accounting and
! disbursing officer If there has been any
! thing irregular, 1 would be pleased to
| give all the assistance in my power in
the search for the guilty men If there
are any.
''AIl the government things sold in the
pawnshops are sold by discharged sol
| diers from the returning volunteer regi-
ments'
Col J. B. Rawles, artillery corps, post
! commander, said:
'All this talk of fraud is perfect rot.
| People have been nagging for a year on
| the same subject [ have been aware
| of the soldiers selling their clothing for
a long time. One of the puzzling and
| perpleXing things in army management
| is to keep the soldiers from selling their
| clothing
Il am confident that no quartermaster's
! sergeant or civilian employe is implicat-
! ed in the selling of even a shoe string"
! A warrant has been issued for the ar
/ resi- u <AD6 ADIdIlS, SUI VI LOulS
| Abrams, the secondhand dealer, who,
with another son, is in custody. Detec-
! tive Reynolds reported to the federal au-
| thOrities today that he found twenty
pairs of government shoes in a Sacra-
mento street store last night.
THE OTHER SIDE.
Capt. Seymour, of the local detective
| force, said today:
''NO one can say, in view of all that has
transpired within the past few days, that
the frauds have not been going on. De-
tective Reynolds reports to me that the
| investigation has made stir among the
secondhand stores and those who deal
in the class of goods stolen from the
army, and that those who have not yet
been visited by Col. Maus are hurrying
to cover what government goods
they have. The quantities which
they were able to supply their
customers makes it seem conclusive to
my mind that there is some one or more
having access to the quartermasters de-
partment in collusion with them.
They will have hard time explaining
away the evidence against them
The announcement that the warehouse
full of stolen goods has been found,
which was made yesterday on authority
of Capt. Seymour, has been found to be
erroneous.
The person WHO informed the captain
was told to telephone that the property
recovered was being stored in the locality
mentioned, but misunderstood his in
structlons, and sent the message wrong.
WHAT SHAFTER HAS TO SAY.
Speaking of the alleged extensive
frauds in disposing of military supplies
supposed to have been stolen, Gen.
Shafter said:
-
found by the police were purchased from
the soldiers passing in and out of this
port. More than $4,000 men have passed
through this port during the war If
one man in every ten of these soldiers
sold to dealers a pair of shoes, 600 pairs
would thus be placed in the hands Of
outsiders. The same rule applies to
shirts and blankets
Notwithstanding the fact that those
having government property wrongfully
in their possession can be prosecuted on
a charge of felony and given a sentence
OF from one to five years confinement,
there are plenty Of men willing to take
the chance. The goods are first class
and can be purchased from the soldiers
at a ridiculously low figure
Soldiers can be prevented from sell
ing the stuff In disposing of it he leaves
himself short. The officer who issues to
@-ANAN
goods he has in his possession. If the
officer thinks he is amply supplied he
refuses to issue the goods the soldier
asks for. In this manner the enlisted
man is prevented from drawing more
than he needs.
''1n my opinion the police and federal
authorities are exposing a system Of
petty thieving. Owing to the large num-
Der of men these petty dealers have had
opportunity to deal with, their thievery
has grown to larger proportions than 1t
otherwise would nave.
The military authorities have now
nothing to do with the affair, other than
the seizure of government goods found
in the possession of civilians, the pos
session OF which cannot be satisfactorily
accounted for. The detection and prose-
cution Of these dealers rests with the
civil and federal authorities and [ nope
they will make a success of it.
so far as crookedness existing among
army officers is concerned, candidIy. !
do not believe that there is any
THE published statement to the ef-
feet that a large quantity of army sup
plies has been found in a certain ware
house, the location Of which was not
given, has not as yet been substantiated
by any subsequent Developments