Whereas it is represented to me by the governor of the Territory of
Washington that domestic violence exists within the said Territory,
and that by reason of unlawful obstructions and combinations and the
assemblage of evil-disposed persons it has become impracticable to
enforce by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings the laws of the
United States at Seattle and at other points and places within said
Territory, whereby life and property are there threatened and
endangered; and
Whereas the legislature of said Territory can not be convened, and in
the judgment of the President an emergency has arisen and a case is now
presented which justifies and requires, under the Constitution and laws
of the United States, the employment of military force to suppress
domestic violence and enforce the faithful execution of the laws of the
United States if the command and warning of this proclamation be
disobeyed or disregarded:
Now, therefore, I, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States of
America, do hereby command and warn all insurgents and all persons who
have assembled at any point within the said Territory of Washington for
the unlawful purposes aforesaid to desist therefrom and to disperse and
retire peaceably to their respective abodes on or before 12 o'clock
meridian on the 8th day of November instant.
And I do admonish all good citizens of the United States and all persons
within the limits and jurisdiction thereof against aiding, abetting,
countenancing, or taking any part in such unlawful acts or assemblages.
In witness whereof I have set my hand and caused the seal of the United
States to be hereunto affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 7th day of November, A.D. 1885, and
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and tenth.