We are with you to the end – Sam Davis and Carson City
Cartoon depicting Sam Davis’s support of the Goldfield miners’ strike and lockout.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-04-04
Your TR Source
Nevada--Goldfield
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Sparks
During the recent unrest in Goldfield, Nevada, President Roosevelt dispatched federal troops to maintain order at the request of Governor Sparks. Now that Sparks has summoned the state legislature, the troops will stay for three weeks. However, three federal officials have found after investigation that Sparks’s original action of calling for federal troops was not warranted, as it is the responsibility of Nevada to maintain the order. Troops in Nevada would have been capable of maintaining order.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-01-04
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Sparks
President Roosevelt received the letter from Governor Sparks of Nevada which makes it clear Sparks did not convene the legislature, as he believed troops were necessary for dealing with an ongoing labor conflict in Goldfield but did not think the legislature would request them from the federal government. The use of the troops under these circumstances would be against the Constitution, and the state does not appear to have made an effort to solve the issue. Roosevelt will remove the troops from Goldfield immediately unless Sparks convenes the legislature within five days of receipt of the telegram.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-12-28
Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Lawrence O. Murray
President Roosevelt directs Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Labor Murray to call on General Frederick Funston and question him regarding his recent telegram to the Adjutant General of the Army Fred C. Ainsworth. Roosevelt makes this request in view of his telegram to Nevada Governor John Sparks expressing his intention to remove the troops from Goldfield, Nevada.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-12-17
Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to John Sparks
President Roosevelt informs Governor Sparks of Nevada that he dispatched the troops to Nevada based on the telegram from Sparks, as well as information from Nevada Senators George Stuart Nixon and Francis G. Newlands, and Representative George Arthur Bartlett. There has now been no insurrection. He writes that the troops were sent to what was described as an emergency situation, but he will now be removing them unless there is further proof to justify their involvement, as they are not a substitute for state police function.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-12-17
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Sparks
President Roosevelt has received no response to his earlier telegram to Governor John Sparks regarding the troops in Goldfield, Nevada, and has heard from the Representatives from Nevada that Sparks will not take the steps to formally call for troops or form a state military force. He writes that federal aid and the government of the United States should not be used by the states in place of their own duties, and will be ordering the troops back to their former stations.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-12-20
Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to John Sparks
President Roosevelt has received Nevada Governor Sparks’ telegram and is prepared to send a detachment of soldiers to Nevada upon Sparks’ request. To warrant action by the president, the request must include a description of the situation that meets the requirements in Article 4, Section 4 of United States Constitution. Roosevelt will send no more than two companies.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-12-04
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Shaw Oliver
President Roosevelt tells Acting Secretary of War Oliver to direct General Frederick Funston to send an amount of troops “adequate to meet any emergency” to quell the conflict in Goldfield, Nevada, in accordance with Governor John Sparks’s formal request.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-12-06
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lawrence O. Murray, Herbert Knox Smith, and Charles Patrick Neill
President Roosevelt instructs Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Labor Murray, Commissioner of Corporations Smith, and Commissioner of Labor Neill to investigate the situation in Goldfield, Nevada and submit a report of their findings upon their return. All federal officials have been directed to assist them in this endeavor.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-12-11
Letter from William J. Arkell to Theodore Roosevelt
William J. Arkell introduces William G. Tiffany to President Roosevelt, and vouches for his character. Tiffany wishes to get water from Walker Lake in Nevada for Tonopah and Goldfield, but needs consent from President Roosevelt and Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock. Arkell mentions that Governor John Sparks of Nevada is also anxious for this to occur, and believes that although Sparks is a Democrat, granting this would bring benefits to Roosevelt.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1904-10-24
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to H. B. Lind
Theodore Roosevelt sends thanks to H. B. Lind in receipt of his telegram, conveying that Senator Dixon will contact him in regard to his message.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1912-07-15