The copper era and Morenci leader., 1918-06-07
My dear MT. Carmichael:

My absence from the city has de- 1ayed acknowledgment of your letter of recent date, in which, apropos of my recent message to the Legislature you reopen subject, discussion of ! which at this time would appear pe- culiarly untimely.
 l truly deplore your apparent bit terness regarding the industrial con- .ditions that prevailed in the Clifton Morenci district during the fall and winter of 1915-16 I had sought to erase from memory the unfortunate incidents of that period and had al- most acquired a forgiving, tolerant spirit toward the managerial attitude which first precipitated and after wards prolonged the strike in that dis tict. But inasmuch as you have re- opened old wounds, it becomes my duty to cleanse them as best I can from the virus of your anger.
 I suppose I should not be astonish- ed by your voluble, if inaccurate de- scription of the conditions in the Cliff ton-Morenci district durng the strike. Brooding memories in time produce distortion, and hearsay unwittingly takes on the qualities of facts. l state this because you and others will readily recall that during most of the strike you were sojourning with your fellow-managers at hotel in a neigh boring state, and I assume that the grotesque impression of those con- dftions that you have acquired and retained emanated from the various strike-breaking detective agents re- porting from that district during those days.
 My executive policy during that period was first and foremost to se- cure compromise settlement be- tween the managers and the workers and during the negotiations to pre- vent the introduction of hired strike breakers and would-be assassins into the Clifton-Morenci district, and to keep the helpless families oe uner1- ployed miners from starving and freezing to death. This policy was made the object of inquiry by iul- partial Investigators, including the mediators of the United States gov ernrlcnt. and no criticism has come from any source excepting yourself, your associates, and the newspapers subservient to your interests. On the contrary, that policy was endors- ed by leading independent publica- tions throughout the country, to which, if you are really interested in ssthe truth of this bit of ancient his tory. shall be very glad to refer you And above any other consider that policy was afforded by the rights tkis State, and by my determination, which is exactly the same now as it was then, to prevent such heartless slaughter of men, women and child ren as disgraced Ludlow, Colorado, Youngstown, Ohio, and many places in West Virginia, during the strikes. But to that end it was not necessary to. resort to unlawful deportation: 1t z was necessary. however, to lawfully arrest r:iany people intent upon melt ing violence or provoking blo0dshed upon the inhabitants of Clifton and Morenci. All such persons were le- sally arrested and legally dealt with.
 Regarding the Duncan refugee camp. as you are pleased to term it. this is my first intimation that the sixty thousand dollars expended to maintain that encampment were de voted merely to philanthropic en- deavor. I had been informed it was the purpose to assemble a force of strike-breakers and gunmen who might at the opportune moment, in- wade, by force of arms, the Clifton Morenci district and there abuse the resident workers and their families Possibly, but not probably, in tbis respect my information was as unre- liable as yours. But, at least, was on the scene. I gathered most of my information first hand and I can11ot forget you and your fellow managers peIsistently resisted arbitration Of ex- isting difficulties; that you spurned reasonable basis of settlement at the very inception of the strike; that the paid publication of false and pre- judiced strike stories in the Arizona press led to the conviction of a cor respondent in the Federal court, and that you and your conferes, refusing to treat with your employees, tcok ingnominious flight on a switch en- zine to Fl Paso, Texas, and there remained in naughty seclusion for many months, when fair compro- mise with your former workmen might, at any time, have been affect ed.
 In conclusion permit me to assure you that I stand ready, at all times, to accord justice and fair-dealing, but not special privilege, to anyone in Arizona, be he employer or employee, rich or poor, influential or humble, and that against you personally bear no malice, despite your intem- perate cudgling of myself as public official I have a duty spiritually greater than being Governor of Ari, zona, and you certainly have greater duty than neing spokesman for the copper companies of this State. Our greatest duty is to civilization, fight ing for freedom. In Arizona, 1t is true, there are a number of men who do not appear willing to accept the tenets of democracy as expressed by our President, and by the govern. ments of our allied countries, Eng. land and France; however, I have too much respect for your intelligence to place you in that category. But, what ever our differences of opinion con- corning democracy at home, I know ,r-o ..ra TIT, O r,ir1not1clv oraad fhnf Izxe