The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-21
NOT WILLING TO
DO POLICE DUTY
President Roosevelt Directs the
Withdrawal of the Troops
From GOldfieId.
TELEGRAM TO GOV. SPARKS
STATE OF NEVADA CANNOT
SHIRK ITS DUTY.

q g q e g g q q e. % . g q @ . q 9 -
g Reno, New, Dec. 20.-Republi- d.
% can National Committeeman H. g
@ L. Flanagan of Nevada has tele- q.
g graphed to President Roosevelt q
6. that the action of Governor g
@ Sparks in calling for troops for 9
9 GOldfield had the endorsement of q
g every reputable citizen of Neva- q
q da, and that the withdrawal of &.
:. the troops would be followed by o
a return to the dangerous condi- q
. tons that prevailed before the q
p soldiers arrived. Tonight the dis &.
4: patch TO the president was signed &.
{: in addition by 200 of the leading g
g. business ana professional men of 9
6. Reno. g
Q %~~#~#~~%~@#4~%%@%
Washington, Dec. 2O.-President
Roosevelt today directed the with
drawal of United States troops sta
toned at Goldfeld, New, on Monday,
Dec. 80, next.
kilograms on which the decision TO
withdraw the troops is based were
given out at the White House today.
The first, under date of Dec. II, direct
ed to Governor Sparks of Nevada and
signed by the president, reads:
Trouble Failed to Occur.
I sent troops at your request. be-
cause from the tenor of your telegram
and from the representations made me
by the two senators from Nevada and
the members of the lower house of
congress from Nevada, it appears that
an insurrectiOn was imminent against
which the state authorities would be
pOWerless. The troops have now been
i'm GOldfeld ten days and no insurrec-
circumstances exist to justify your
calling on me for action by the troops
under the provision of the constitution.
The troops were sent to GOldfield to
be ready to meet a grave emergency
which seemed likely AT once to arise,
and not to provide substitute for the
exercise by the state of its police
functions. I don't feel at liberty to
leave them indefinitely under such cir
cumstances that they viii in effect be
performing on the part of the United
States those ordinary duties of main
tanning public order in the state of
Nevada which rest upon the govern
ment of the state. As the legislature
of Nevada has not been convened, 1 am
bound to assume that the powers al
ready vested in the police officers of
the state are adequate, and that if they
choose to they can maintain order
themselves Under these circumstances,
unless there be forthwith further
cause shown to justify keeping the
troops at Goldfeld, I shall direct that
they shall return to their former sta
ton.
CSigned)
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
Telegram to Sparks.
The following telegram was sent to
Governor Sparks today by the presi-
dent:
q have received no answer from you
TO my telegram of Dec. II in which I
said that unless there was forthwith
further cause shown to justify keep
ing the troops at Goldfield I should di-
rect their return to their former sta
tiOns. I am Informed by the three rep
Iresentatives of the department of com
merce and labor who are In GOldfieId
by my order. that you have stated to
them in writing that you will not con-
vene the legislature to consider a call
for troops nor take the necessary steps
TO form a safe military force Their
re port further satisfies me that there is
no disturbance threatened which the
government of Nevada ought not to be
able to control is it starts to work with
a serious purpose 10 do so, but that no
effort is being made by the govern
ment of Nevada to take the steps nee
essary in the matter. I stand ready to
see that the national government does
its full constitutional duty in this mat
ter of preserving order. but this readi-
ness on the part of the national gov
eminent does not excuse the state
government for failure TO perform its
full duty in the first place. Federal
aid should not be sought for by the
state as a method of relieving itself
from this duty. and the state should
not be permitted to substitute the Unit
ed States for the government of the
state in the ordinary duties of main
tanning order within the state. For the
reasons given in this and my former
kilograms 1 have accordingly directed
the troops to return to their former
station on Monday, Dec. 80, Rext
(Signed)
sarJEODORE ROOSEVELT n"