Kansas Governor John Martin of Topeka writes to the adjutant general with detailed instructions on how to proceed when calling the state militia into active service. The Sheriff of Labette County and the Mayor of Parsons, Kansas, requested the militia presence in response to striking railroad workers. The governor had been notified of disturbances in Parsons related to the 1886 railroad strike which the governor believed to be settled. In this letter, the governor clearly states "The purpose to be subserved is not to make war upon citizens, but to aid the civil authorities of the county of Labette and the city of Parsons, in preserving peace and order?"