More than a thousand soldiers from Camp Lewis, the army base (later named Fort Lewis) in Pierce County, were hustled into Seattle under cover of darkness, and on February 7 hundreds of volunteers showed up at police headquarters. More than 3,000 men were available by noon that day, armed with clubs, guns, and, in a few cases, machine guns mounted on trucks. They patrolled the streets and outlying areas and kept an eagle eye out for anticipated demonstrations by the strikers, but these never came.
Hanson didn't stop there. That same day the
Seattle Star published a front-page proclamation he wrote that catapulted him into the national spotlight:
"The time has come for the people in Seattle to show their Americanism. Go about your daily duties without fear. We will see to it that you have food, transportation, water, light, gas and all necessities.
"The anarchists in this community shall not rule its affairs.
"All persons violating the laws will be dealt with summarily" ("Proclamation").