A situation fraught with present danger and untold future evil has arisen in Ashe county in this State. A band of about forty deserters have gotten together and are defying the civil authorities. It is a wild mountain country, and it is extremely difficult to locate and apprehend these men. Three days ago some of the civil authorities attempted to make an arrest, and one civilian and one deserter was killed. The whole county of Ashe and the adjoining mountain counties are deeply stirred by this situation, and unless it is remedied the enforcement of the Draft Law in this section will become impossible.

I am leaving in the morning for Ashe county for the purpose of personally investigating the situation, and I shall take every measure possible to relieve it without actual bloodshed.

If I shall fail in these efforts it will then become necessary for me to call upon the Federal authorities for troops. I do not think that it is right to expect the neighbors to turn out and shoot down these boys. If they have to be killed then it ought to be done by the Federal authorities and by troops who do not live in that section. I would be glad for you to make arrangements to have placed, subject to my call, a squadron of cavalry, and a battalion of about fifty infantry. I shall not call on them unless it is absolutely necessary. Of course if I do call upon them I will provide local officers to act as scouts and guides. I feel that to a certain extent the future efficient administration of the Selective Service Law is going to depend upon the way this Ashe county situation is handled.

I would be glad for you to caution your forces to say absolutely nothing about this letter to any one as I do not want any newspaper discussion of the situation. You may be surprised at my suggesting this caution, but last year I thought at one time it might be necessary to call for troops in North Carolina, communicated my fears to the War Department, and the next morning what I had said was published in every paper in Washington City.