How Oil Is Inspected

The Barrel Shipped to Chelsea was for Switches.

THE CHELSEA ACCIDENT Of A Few Days Ago was Similar to the Detroit Accidents.

Chelsea, Mich. , Aug. 17. -- The barrel of oil which the various papers have stated as having been shipped to Chelsea, which contained part of the dangerous gasoline mixed with the kerosene, was not shipped here for general consumption. It was one of the 40 barrels of kerosene purchased by the Michigan Central for switch oil, and all of these 40 barrels have been recovered by the road.

The question has arisen why were not these barrels inspected. Deputy Oil Inspector Wilkinson, when asked about it, stated that when oil is put in barrels in this state, the oil in each barrel is not inspected but the oil in the whole tank. Each barrel of oil received from out the state is inspected. But oil shipped into the state in tanks is inspected in the tanks and the barrels filled from these inspected tanks ought to in all cases come up to the test.

In accordance with this custom, the tanks received in Detroit were properly inspected before being dumped into the receiving tank. But the state oil inspectors have no authority over gasoline and do not inspect it. The difficulty probably arose from a tank of gasoline having been by some carelessness, dumped into the big receiving tank and thus mixed with the kerosene.

The district in Detroit where the seven serious burning accidents occurred in which many were fatally injured is not nearly as large as the district where the bad oil was sold. One who is acquainted with the district says that it will be noted that in nearly every case the names are Polish. He says that they are more apt to kindle fire with kerosene. Many of them gather up cedar blocks, which are wet and soggy and will not burn without oil. In this way he accounts for the limiting of the accidents to the Polish district.

The accident in Chelsea by which Will Lehman was burned by the explosion of gasoline, Mr. Lehman states was incorrectly reported. He had no knowledge that the oil with which he saturated the refuse he was trying to burn in the open air was gasoline. He used the kerosene oil can but he found that the children had been fooling with the oil cans and thinks that they must have poured a little of the gasoline into the kerosene can. A very little gasoline will cause a terrific explosion. Mr. Lehman is fully recovering although his face is still scarred.