Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-29
President Replies

THE WHITE HOUSE. WASHING
TON. Dec 2S, l907--Hon. John Sparks,
Governor, Carson City, New: Your tele-
gram of December rs is received. 1t IN
effect declares that you have failed to
call legislature together because in you.'
Judgment the legislature would not call
upon the government for the use of
troops, although in your opinion 1t ought
10 DO 80.
'.The constitution of the United States
imposes, not upon you, but upon the leg
islature If il can be convened, the duty
of calling upon the government of the
United States to protect the state of Ne
vada against violence. You now request
me to use the armed forces Of the United
States in violation of the constitution,
because in your Judgment the legislature
would fail to perform its duty under the
constitution. The state government Ger
iainly does not appear to have made any
serious effort to do its duty by the eff
sfective enforcement of its police func-
tions. l repeat again what l have al
ready said to you several times, that
ander the circumstances now existing in
the state of Nevada as made known to
me. an application from the Legislature
is an essential condition to the indefinite
continuance of troops at Goldfield.
circumstances may change, and II
necessities of the situation require so far
as my constitutional powers permit But
tho first need is that the state authori-
ties should do their duty, and the first
step toward this is the assembling of
the legislature.
1t Is apparent from your telegram that
the legislature of Nevada can readily be
convened You have fixed the period OF
three weeks as the time necessary to
convene and organize a special session.
IL within five days from the receipt Of
this telegram you shall have issued the
necessary notice to convene the legislat-
ure of Nevada, shall continue the sta
ton of the troops at Goldfeld during such
period of three weeks. If within the term
OF five days 1ch notice has not been
issued the troops will be Immediately re-
turned 20 their former station.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
Commission Reports
The special commission appointed by
the president to investigate conditions at
Goldfeld returned today after spending
week in the mining camp. report
was made to the president on his return
from Pine Knot. Nothing will be given
out in advance of the report.
Senator Francis G. Newlands of Neva-
da today sent the following telegram to
GoVernOr sparks:
My opinion is that in order to Justify
the national government in using its
armed forces to protect the state against
violence 1t is necessary, under the con-
stitution, that application should be made
by the legislature, or when the legisla-
ture cannot be convened, by the governor
1t is necessary, therefore, for you, In my
Judgment, to convene the legislature and
to obtain its decision as to whether appli-
cation should be made to the president
for protection, or an adequate law passed
for the organization of a state police
force which will maintain order and pro-
tect life and property.
Must Maintain Order
Individually / believe in the latter
course. and that the good name of Ne
vada requires that it assert itself. main
tain order and protect life and property
within its porderss and that its duty is
plain. The police force should not be
under the control or paid by either the
mine owners or the miners. but should
stand aloof from the Industrial contest
between them with a single eye to the
maintenance of order and the protection
of life and property.
In all that you have done recognize
the difficulty of the situation. your patri-
otic intentions and your desire to prevent
violence and bloodshed in the interest of
good; but 1t Is clear that the state must
sooner or later assert its sovereignty and
its firm determination, unaided by the
national government, to suppress all vio-
lence, and believe the time is now I
cannot believe that the legislature can