ILLINOIS. 



397 



the police organization and the city government in 

 the preservation of order. 8. The military are in- 

 vested with full police power, and will be respected 

 and obeyed in their efforts to preserve order. 



Health Department, corner of Ann and Washing- 

 ton. K. B. MASON, Mayor. 



General Sheridan was urged by numerous 

 prominent citizens to assume military control 

 of the city, and, on the llth, Mayor Mason is- 

 sued a proclamation in the following words : 



The preservation of the good order and peace of 

 the city is hereby intrusted to Lieutenant-General 

 P. H. Sheridan, United States Army. 



The police will act in conjunction with the lieu- 

 tenant-general in the preservation of the peace and 

 quiet of the city, and the Superintendent of Police 

 will consult with him to that end. 



The intent hereof being to preserve the peace of 

 the city, without interfering with the functions of the 

 city government. 



Given under my hand this llth day of October, 

 1871. E. B. MASON, Mayor. 



The general immediately obtained eight 

 companies of the regular troops from Omaha, 

 Leavenworth, Jeffersonville, and Louisville, 

 and ordered Colonel Frank T. Sherman to or- 

 ganize a regiment of volunteers for twenty 

 days' service. The Governor also sent several 

 companies of State militia, which were placed 

 under the control of General Sheridan, who 

 disposed of all the force as he saw fit, for the 

 purpose of protecting citizens and property, 

 and preventing any kind of disorder. The 

 Governor appeared to acquiesce in these pro- 

 ceedings until the 19th of October, when he 

 telegraphed to the mayor to inquire what ad- 

 ditional police force would be required in order 

 to dispense with the troops. On the next day 

 he wrote a letter stating that the General As- 

 sembly had by ample appropriation provided 

 for the support of a police force in Chicago 

 that would be adequate to the protection of 

 persons and property, and he trusted no time 

 would be lost in making all needful prepara- 

 tion for relieving the military force under the 

 orders of Lieutenant-General Sheridan. "It 

 excited the greatest surprise," he continued, 

 " and has occasioned me the profoundest mor- 

 tification, that you failed to inform me, as you 

 could easily have done by telegraph, or through 

 my confidential secretary, who reached Chi- 

 cago on the 9th of October, of the necessity, in 

 your judgment, for the employment of military 

 force for the protection of the city ; and it has 

 pained me quite as deeply that you should 

 have thought it proper, without consultation 

 with me by telegraph or otherwise, to have 

 practically abdicated your functions as mayor. 

 Happily, there is no necessity, either real or 

 imaginary, for the longer continuance of this 

 anomalous state of things. The United States 

 troops are now in Chicago in violation of law. 

 Every act of the officers and soldiers of the 

 United States Army, that operates to restrain 

 or control the people, is illegal, and their pres- 

 ence in the city except for the purposes of 

 the United States ought to be no longer con- 

 tinued. It is due to you that I should confess 



that, under the trying circumstances that sur- 

 rounded you on the occasion of the late disas- 

 ter, it was natural that you should incline to 

 accept aid from any quarter, to enable you to 

 afford protection to persons and property in 

 your city ; but I regret that it did not occur 

 to you that your own powers, under the laws, 

 were adequate to meet the emergencies, and 

 that you were entitled, upon notice to me, to 

 the support of the whole power of the State. 

 From information, that I have not been af- 

 forded an opportunity to acquire officially, I 

 have learned that Lieutenant-General Sheridan 

 has rendered valuable services, for which he 

 deserves the thanks of the people of Illinois; 

 but it would have been more satisfactory to 

 them if he, as a citizen, had given to you the 

 assistance of his eminent abilities to organize 

 the people to act, in conjunction with the 

 civil officers, for their own protection. That 

 course would have been far preferable to that 

 of concentrating a part of the army of the 

 United States in Chicago, and the assumption 

 by him of the substantial military control of 

 the city. I hope you will at once inform Lieu- 

 tenant-General Sheridan of your readiness to 

 resume the complete government of the city." 



The mayor made a reply on the 21st, which 

 contained the following: "In the performance 

 of my official duties, I believed that the emer- 

 gency required me to take the step that I did. 

 I do not believe, when the lives and property 

 of the people the peace and good order of a 

 large city are in danger, that it is the time to 

 stop and consider any questions of policy ; but 

 that if the United States, by the strong arm 

 of its military, can give the instantly-required 

 protection to life, property, and order, it is 

 the duty of those in power to avail themselves 

 of such assistance. Before the receipt of your 

 communication, I had already, upon consulta- 

 tion with other city officers, decided to dis- 

 pense with military aid in a day or two, and I 

 am happy to inform your Excellency that on 

 Monday, the 23d inst., your Excellency will be 

 relieved of all anxiety on account of the assist- 

 ance of the military in protecting the lives and 

 property of this people." 



On the 23d the following was addressed tc 

 General Sheridan : 



MAYOR'S OFFICE, ) 

 CITY OF CHICAGO, October 23, 1871. ) 

 Lieutenant- General P. H. Sheridan, U.S.A.: 



Upon consultation with the Board of Police Com- 

 missioners, I am satisfied that the continuance of the 

 efficient aid in the preservation of order in this city, 

 which has been rendered by the force under ^your 

 command, in pursuance of my proclamation, is no 



longer required. 

 I will th 



erefore fix the hour of six p. M. of this 

 day as the hour at which the aid requested of you 

 shall cease. 



Allow me again to tender you the assurance of my 

 high appreciation of the great and efficient service 

 which you have rendered in the preservation of 

 order and the protection of property in the city, and 

 to again thank you, in the name of the city of Chi- 

 cago and its citizens, therefor. I awi, respectfully, 

 your obedient servant, E. B. MASON, Mayor. 



