The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-07-19
Governor Mathews Calls ON the
Government for Troops.

Governor Mathews realized yesterday
thStthe trouble along the line Of the BAL.
timors & Ohio road, and especially at
MartinSburg, had taken on nsuch formula.
BILE dimensions, and was animated by such
4 determined spirit, that no force at his
immediate command could possibly cope
with it, and therefore in pursuance Of his
duty, as prescribed under such circum.
stances, applied to the Federal Govern.
ment for the assistance necessary
to enable him 10 enforce the laws
and protect the lives and proper.
ty committed to his charge as
the chief Executive OF the Common.
wealth. The Government after duly con.
sidering the application was impressed
with sense Of the gravity Of the situa-
tion, and, as in duty bound In all such
cases, responded to the. Governors reqni.
sition for aid by ordering the necessary
troops from Fort McHenry and Washing.
ton Arsenal. These troops are, no doubt,
at Martinsburg this morning, and we
are led to hope that their presence
will have the effect to restore peace and
prevent all further interference with the
passage Of trains at that point.
We presume that there ure some per-
sons who will be ready to arraign the
Governor for thus calling on the general
government to suppress this insur-
rection. They will insist that he
should have called on the people of the
State to quiet the disturbance, and to
have fought it out on this line il it took
allsummer, which it probably would, and
even then, in all likelihood, have failed.
The wiseacres of West Virginia, who
were our law makers in 1875, did not be.
lieve with the fathers OF the Republic
that ia we'll regulated militia Is necessary
to the security Of free State" and there.
fore prohibited a militia enrolment, and
thus left the Governor to protect life and
property within the State the best way he
could in case Of an emergency like the
present insurrection.
The facts Of the case are simply that,
except at great expense and after, per
haps, fatal delay, the Governor could not
have gathered together force sufficient
to overcome the wide spread uprising
along the line oil the Baltimore & Ohio
road. To begin with, he would have had
to call for volunteers, then 10 have or
genized them, and, next, to have armed
them. And where are the arms? And
what would have been the condition Of
affairs by the time arms and organization
could have been had? We pause for a
reply from some able.bodied critic.
No! the simple, effective, inexpensive
and really humane way to dispose Of the
present trouble was just to call promptly
on the General Government for aid-ior
aid which was ready at hand, and that is
worth more as to moral quality than all
the militia that the Governor could gath.
er and equip in weeks time. We know,
Of course, that it is very repugnant
to the general Democratic mind to
call on the Federal Government to in
Vade the sacred soil OF a sovereign
State, and that, like Dr.. Sangrado, the
party would rather that all the people
in Valladolid should die than depart
from their creed, but at the same time
when one Of them becomes Governor he
finds that the creed is better for cam
paign buncombe than for actual wear and
tear in the face OF a crisis full OF grave
consequences. Those Of US who do not
lie awake at nights in dread OF the Fed.
eral government are not averse to seeing
riotous disturbance disposed Of by
United States troops. We know that
they are lsss apt to make bungle OF it,
and that ii saves lives, money, time and
property to give them the contract.