The San Francisco call., 1906-04-29
What the general desired was that the

1
should give him in writing a reques,
that he should continue his work.
II fully appreciate General Greely':
point of view." said the Mayor. Fol
one, I cannot speak too strongly OF
what the army has accomplished for
us. I will say to you that the rela-
lively happy state Of affairs in which
we now find ourselves would not have
been possible IL it had not been for
the support Of the United States army.
am firmly convinced that we would
suffer great setback if we had at this
time to devise as civilians a system
by which might be carried on the work
now being SO admirably done by the
quartermaster and commissary depart
ments of the Federal arm. I ask of
you that you formally approve my ac-
ton in requesting the military to take
charge, and that you order that this
control be continued"
DR.. Edward T. Devine, personal rep
resentative Of Secretary of War Taft,
said he was also in receipt Of SINH
lar letter from General Greely.
In my Judgment" he added, .'it is
absolutely essential that there should
be no change in the present situation,
and it is my intention to answer that
letter in nearly the same language as
has been used by the Mayor"
Without further discussion a motion
e1nbodying the Mayors request was
put and unanimously adopted by the
citizens committee.
TROOPS ARE NEEDED.
General Greely was asked what
would be the effect Of the withdrawal
Of Federal troops IL such action should
be determined upon by the War De-
partment
WELL" said the general, "the city
SO far as the military is concerned
would be on the same basis as it was
before the earthquake and fire. The
soldiers would be assigned to their re-
spective posts and the routine Of the
army would be resumed as if nothing
unusual had occurred"
Do you think, general, that Secre-
tary Taft will order the withdrawal of
the troops from duty in this city?"
Il cannot answer that" said the gen.
eral. "but will say that I would great
ly regret such action. We are all
working for the goodpof the city Of San
Francisco and the State Of California.
and / am firmly convinced, after g
thorough review Of the situation, that
the regular troops should be kept on
duty. And do not mind stating that
I have fully Informed Secretary Taft
of my opinion IN the matter.
"Had it not been for the soldiers who
were here during the first day Of the
disaster and those following, riots and
pillage would surely have occurred.
The soldiers performed wonderful work
in fighting the fire and I believe the
fact that the residence portion Of the
city was not completely wiped out Is
due to General Funston's decision In
ordering the troops of his command
into action.
I'VE are subordinate to the munici-
pal authorities and we have taken no
initiative in the matter. We have not
made move that has not been made
at the request Of the Mayor, the Red
Cross and tho relief committee. AS
soon as the various bodies notify me
that they can handle the situation
without the aid of the Federal authori-
ties we will only be too glad to with
draw"
VIEWS OBJ GENERAL FUNSTON.
General Funston, commanding the
Department of California, made the
following statement regarding the me-
cessity Of the continuance in this city
Of the Federal troops:
"The situation here is q peculiar ono
The Government has never before been
called upon to cope with such condl-
tions as prevail here, and 1t is my be-
lief that the War Department does not
fully comprehend the unusual difficult
ties under which we are laboring.
1.-THE presence Of Federal troops IL
absolutely necessary for the good OF
the city. Neither the State, municipal
nor Red Cross authorities can ade-
quately perform their various duties
without ths assistance Of the regular
troops.
1.-THE impression seems somehow to
have reached the War Department that
our troops are doing ordinary police
duty. but this. Of course. is an errone-
Gus understanding Of the situation. The
troops are on duty and acting in con-
junction with the militia, the Red Cross
and the municipal Police Department
merely as a moral support, as 1t were.
The Federal troops are subordinate to
municipal control and, in my opinion,
should be retained on duty. In fact
we should have 5000 troops here TO
properly carry on the work instead OF
the $500 now on duty.
THE question Of transportation ami
maintenance of such great body Of
men is factor. The expense Of send
ing so many men to this city and tn,
cost Of feeding and clothing them Is
necessarily very great. We have 25o0
troops en- route to San Francisco. Some
Of them come from such distant points
as Fort Sheridan. and the Government
must bear the freight expense Of bring
ing the men here"