ARKANSAS. 



41 



sustain the enforcement of that judgment, pending 



the ai'. 'e.i'., is without color of law, or moral pallia- 

 tion. 



The forcible ejection of tho chief magistrate from 

 ; Mowed by pfwmng*d aii'l 

 iMions to urinetl desperadoes to bar all 

 OOMS ' House of its legitimate occupants. 



Mr. HIM.'!;-, h.is issui-.l a p:ip.-r .'iititled a proclanui- 

 . whieli he distinctly announces his intention 

 .-he. I. 



Tho Executive of the State has but one obligation 

 perform that to which ho is bound alike by his 

 - a citizen an 1 his offlcial oath. The authority 

 of the law will be immediately and effectively assert- 

 ed, peaceably, if may bo, but asserted in any event, 

 vernment proposes to occupy the Capitol. As 

 nor of Arkansas, I appeal to the people of the 

 State to support the government of the State against 

 shameless usurpation. Under the solemn obliga- 

 timis of my oath of office, I renew my promise to be 

 true to them. I ask from them the support which 

 they owe to their chief magistrate. 



ELISHA BAXTER, Governor of Arkansas. 



On the following day, April 17th, Captain 

 Rose, being in command of tho barracks at 

 Little Rock, and having received instructions 

 from Washington to " take no part in the po- 

 litical controversy in the State of Arkansas, 

 unless it should be necessary to prevent blood- 

 shed or collision of armed bodies," sent the fol- 

 lowing communication to Baxter, and a copy 

 to Brooks. 



HEADQCARTEHS, LITTLE ROOK BARRACKS, I 

 LITTLE ROCK, April 17, 1874. ) 



SIR: I am informed by the United States Marshal 

 of this district that there is danger of a collision be- 

 tween tho forces under your command and those of 

 certain forces under the command of Joseph Brooks. 



I therefore have the honor to enjoin upon you that 

 you make no movement with your forces in any di- 

 rection in tho city of Little Rock, Arkansas, or its 

 vicinity, with a view to bring about such a collision, 

 o>- that may bring on such a collision, or to make any 

 movement that may possibly bring about a collision 

 with the United States troops under my command, 

 or to impede any movement I may wish to make with 

 the troops of my command to prevent the shedding 

 of blood and the collision of armed forces. 



Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



T. E. ROSE, 



:i 10th Infantry, commanding post. 

 General ELISHA BAXTER, commanding forces in the 

 State of Arkansas. 



Baxter at once replied that he would not ad- 

 vance his lines that night toward the enemy, 

 and added, u I trust that your request or in- 

 junction does not extend to the prohibition on 

 my part of any military operations." Brooks 

 replied that ho did not intend to move any por- 

 tion of his command from the State-House 

 grounds, and that hU force would " only be 

 used to repel any attack that may be made by 

 the forces under the command of Elisha Bax- 

 ter, having for its object the custody or control 

 of the State-House and State-House grounds. 

 Any and all such attacks will be resisted with 

 all the force at my command." A communi- 

 cation was now addressed by the Mayor of 

 Little Rock to Attorney-General Williams, ask- 

 ing^that the officers in command of the arsenal 

 be instructed " to aid the city police in making 

 the arrest of men who are openly violating the 

 law and setting the same at defiance." The 



mayor added that with such aid ho could pro- 

 servo the peace of the city without being com- 

 jirlli-d to take sides with either of tho contend- 

 ing factions, and wanted to know " if the Fed- 

 eral Government is powerless to protect the 

 lives and property or twenty thousand inhab- 

 itants who are situated as wo are." To this 

 communication tho Attorney-General sent tho 

 following reply : 



DEPARTMENT OF JCSTIOE, ) 



WASHINGTON, April 18, 1874. f 



FREDERICK KRAMER, Mayor of Little Rock, Ark. : 



You must be aware that the President cannot in- 

 terfere in the domestic difficulties of a State, except 

 in conformity with tho Constitution and laws of tho 

 United States. He cannot recognize a call made upon 

 him for military aid by the mayor of a city. He has 

 instructed the officer commanding the United States 

 troops at Little Rock to prevent bloodshed. That is 

 all he can do under the existing circumstances. I 

 will ask in answer to your inquiry whether the United 

 States are powerless to protect 20,000 people situated 

 as the citizens of Little Rock, if the people of Ar- 

 kansas have not patriotism enough to allow a ques- 

 tion as to who shall hold a State office to be settled 

 peaceably and lawfully, and not bring upon their 

 State the disgrace and ruin of civil war < 



GEORGE U. WILLIAMS, Attorney-General. 



A difficulty having arisen as to communica- 

 tions by mail and telegraph, since Baxter's 

 forces held possession of the telegraph-office, 

 and both contestants for the Executive office 

 claimed tho letters addressed to the Governor 

 of Arkansas, the following instructions were 

 issued to Postmaster Pollock and Captain Rose : 



WASHINGTON, D. C., April 17, 1874. 

 Postmaster, Little Rock, Arkansas : 



Letters addressed to Governor E. Baxter or 

 Elisha Baxter, Governor, should be delivered to said 

 Baxter. Letters addressed to Governor Brooks, or 

 Brooks, Governor, should be delivered to said 

 Brooks. Letters addressed " Governor of Arkansas," 

 you will withhold until further orders. 



JOHN A. J. CRESWELL, Postmaster-General. 



EXECUTIVE MANSION, ) 



WASHINGTON, D. C., April 18, 1874. j 

 Colonel ROSE, Commanding U. S. Troops, LUtkRock, 

 Arkansas. 



I have a dispatch from the Acting President of tho 

 Western Union Telegraph Company saying that Bax- 

 ter^ s officers now inspect all messages at Little Rock 

 before transmission, and will allow no messenger to 

 pass out with anv message for the Brooks party, 

 whether from the United States officials or otherwise. 

 Under these circumstances it will bo seen that this 

 company is unable at present to maintain the sanc- 

 tity of telegraphic correspondence. While the Gov- 

 ernment takes no part in the unhappy state of affairs 

 existing in Arkansas at this time, you will see that 

 offlcial dispatches of the Government, whether from 

 the military or civil departments, are transmitted 

 without molestation by cither of the contestants for 

 the gubernatorial chair. Report to the Secretary of 

 War tho situation of affaire. U. 8. GRANT. 



After Captain Rose had taken possession of 

 the telegraph-offices in obedience to the above 

 instructions, Governor Baxter sent the follow- 

 ing dispatch to President Grant : 



LITTLE ROCK, ARK., April 19, 187*. 

 To the President of the United States; 



A few days since, in tho absence of my counsel, 

 and at a time wholly unexpected, the Circuit Judge 

 of this county, a court of inferior jurisdiction, ren- 

 dered judgment in favor of Mr. Brooks against me 



