IREDELL MEARES
ATTORNEY AT LAW
WILMINGTON - - N.C.

July 10, 1916

TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE
GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA,
Raleigh, N.C.

Dear Sir:

I wired you on Saturday night¹ a series of resolutions passed at a large mass meeting protesting against the presence of state troops in this city as unnecessary, either in the first instance or at present. On Sunday morning I received notification from the telegraph company that there was no one present at Raleigh to receive the telegram officially, that you were absent at Asheville and had left no instructions for the transmission of messages. I presume that the message has been officially received today, but I nevertheless enclose you a copy of the resolutions, which explain themselves, as set forth in the newspaper reports of both the “Star” and the “Dispatch.”

I believe that I express the concensus of the opinion of 90 per cent of the people of this city in saying that there never was any necessity of these troops having been sent here and there is no necessity of there remaining here. The Mayor of the city was not consulted by those who induced your action. Neither he nor the chief of police, as they inform me, knew of their coming until announced in the paper. There has been no rioting or threats of rioting, no assaults nor threats of assault, and no set of men, as is universally conceded, behaved more orderly than did the strikers themselves. The labor organizations of this city circulated handbills requesting the public to observe the strictest order. The few incidences of the violation of the law were admittedly not by members of labor organizations and were no greater than might have happened on any occasion where crowds were assembled and were promptly repressed. The strike, happening on the Fourth of July, when the car service to the Beach was interrupted caused large crowds to assemble on the streets, but it was generally remarked that it was a good humored crowd both then and on the following days. The sheriff swore in deputies as a precautionary measure but they have had little to do except to ride on the cars. I think the commanding officers of these troops will concede they have had nothing to do since their arrival and they have found no condition whatever of lawlessness in the community.

For these reasons there has been a very decided feeling in this community that the men who induced your action in ordering the troops here, however sincere, misunderstood the situation and the temper of our people, and the community does not think it ought to be subjected to the imputation that it cannot control the order of the city and to the expense of five or six thousand dollars that the county will have to bear because of these troops being sent here.

As Chairman of the meeting in question, I submit these views and the resolutions by request of the meeting. I beg to remain, with respect,

Yours truly,

Iredell Meares

1. Item not found among the papers of Locke Craig.