, 1891-12-23
THOSE TELEGRAMS
WHICH PASSED BETWEEN COL.
HAINES AND GOV. FERRY.
The Full Decision in the Case
Against the Military board,
Recently Rendered by
the Supreme
TContinued from Tuesday, 4

Court
EContinued from Tuesday,
The sheriff Of the county for the purpose
Of carrying out the governors suggestion
in his first telegram of July I'd, requested
Colonel Haines to send company to New
castle, one to Black Diamond and one tt
Franklin; there being but one company al
the latter place, Company D having
been transferred to Gilman. On the 10Th
day of July, Colonel Haines accordingly
ordered Company @ to Black Diamond
Company G to Newcastle, and Company
to Franklin. The first two companies were
at the time the order was issued at theil
post in Pierce county, and proceeded by
virtue of the order to the station assigned
to them, Company l, of Port Townsend,
however, happened to be at Seattle for the
purpose of attending drill, and receiving
the order there proceeded to the station
assigned to it, These companies remained
in service until relieved from duty by the
Colonel commanding, Company G. being
relieved on the 18th day Of July, Company
on the 14th day Of July, and Company
on the 18th day of July. The various COM
panies were in service in the field about
three weeks, during which time the ad]u-
tant-general, being by virtue of his Office
quartermaster-g of the state, and
having under his charge uniforms arms,
ammunition, tents, blankets and all the ord
nance and quartermaster's stores of the
state, supplied the state from time to time
to the troops upon requisition from their
officers, for use in this service, no objection
being made at any time by any officer Of
the state to the troops continuing in such
service. or to their using the property of
the state in performing it.
Proper pay rolls were made out and pre-
sented to the board of military auditors for
the pay of these troops while in this SER
vice, by the paymaster, but aud it of the
rolls was refused on the ground that the
persons on whose behalf said claims were
presented were not, while the services for
which their claims were presented were
being performed, the service Of the state,
and We're, therefore, not entitled to pay
out of the military fund; in short, the
auditors held that the troops were a part
of the posse comitatus of the sheriff of
King county, and must be paid by that
county, if at all.
The statute in view of which Colonel
Haines' telegram of June 24th was ad-
dressed TO the governor is in the code Of
1881, as folloWs
Sec. S6O-lf three or more persons shall
be unlawfully, riotously or tumultuously
assembled, any justice of the peace, sheriff,
deputy sheriff, constable or marshal of a
city, or mayor or alderman thereof, shall
go among the persons SO assembled, or as
near to them as possible, and shall COM
mand them III the name of the state Of
Washington Immediately to disperse. If
the persons SO assembled do not immedi-
ately disperse, it shall be lawful for every
such officer to command sufficient aid to
seize, arrest and secure in custody all such
persons, and if necessary, an armed force
may be called out and shall obey the or
ders of any two of the magistrates or Off
GERS mentioned in this section, and if any
such persons shall be killed or wounded
by reason of their resisting the persons en-
deayOring to dlsperse or seize them, the
magistrates or officers shall be held guilt
less.'
In so far as this authorizes the officers
therein mentioned to preserve the peace by
using armed assistance it is merely the re-
enactment Of the common law. It be-
came the statute law of the territory In
1854, before any organization of the militia
was provided for. Several other sections
of the code Of 1881 stand with it and help
to make it Efficient VIZ: Section 1856,
which makes it a criminal offense to refuse
to assist an officer, and section 2769, which
relates particularly to the duty of sheriffs
1t has always been the duty Of magis-
trates and peace officers to preserve the
public peace even to the extent of calling
to their aid every person within their juris-
diction, and they are, at common law, in
dictable for not doing so to the extent of
their ability.
Rex VS.. Pinney, Carr & r., 254.
Brightly's Binns' Justice, 8O4
And it has always been equally an offense
for any person, qualified for the service, to
refuse the demand of the officer in a proper
case.'
Regina W.. Brown, / Carr. & M, ,314.
Comfort VS.. Commonwealth, 5 Wharf,
437.
Rex VS.. Montgomery, 1 Yeates, 419.
Thatthe force thus called out should be
armed in some way would seem to go with
out saying, if the body of disturbers were
large enough or defiant enough to require
it. Therefore that section, $50, speaks of
an armed force" is not in our Judgment a
conclusive or convincing argument that
the active militia of the state, as military
organization, is thereby intended
1t is pointed out to us that by the stat
utes Of certain states, as Massachusetts,
Iowa and California, the term sarmed
force" or armed body is used in connec-
ton with provisions which authorize mag
istrates and peace officers to summon the
officers of military organizations composing
portions of the state militia within their
Jurisdiction, to assist them in keeping the
peace and executing the law. But full ex-
animation discloses that in each instance
the authority thus conferred is expressed
in precise and unequivocal language, and
is hedged about with such formal safe
guards as under the perilous circumstances
justifying such use of the military must
to every one seem absolutely necessary.
In Iowa, by statute, when militiamen are
thus employed it is only upon the order of
the sheriff, who may summon those within
his county, and call upon the governor for
others, and in that state the county is re-
quired to pay the expense Of such military
assistance, But this is not SO in other
states, at least by any published statute
which we have observed, although in sew
eral others sheriffs and other peace officers
are expressly authorized to call out the
military within their several jurisdictions
without previously communicating with
the governor, who is invaribly the com
mander-in-chief The military, under our
governmental systam, in all ordinary cases
IS kept in strict subordination to
the civil power, condition which
is never removed except in case
Of invasion by foreign power, or
insurrection of such serious proportions
that all civil law is for the time suspended.
Hence the highest executive of the civil
power is invested with supreme command
of the army OF the state to be held by him
as a reserve for use only swhen the civil
power shall be about to fail without its as
sistance; then it is put forth as in the case
at bar cautiously and prudently to sup
port the local civil officer until excitement
subsidies, and men in their cooler feelings
resume allegiance to the laws.
ITO be continued.
Advertised Letters.
Letters remaining uncalled for in the
postoffice, Monday, Dec. 21, 1891.
Blair, Mrs. Emily McLannon,. John