THE LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002355885 iC&it^ y^^^^ Thirty •> Years •> of •> Labor. 185© to 1889. IN WHICH THE HISTORY OF THE ATTEMPTS TO FORM ORGANIZATIONS OF WORKINGMEN FOR THE DISCUSSION OF POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC QUESTIONS IS TRACED. ^\ie OabioDal Isakop Union of 1866, ^\ie Icda^hpial gr^ot\iep\i°°r3n M M^^ CORNELL UNlVERSiXy SOIvD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION. columbus, ohio: Excelsior Publishing House. Copyrighted, 1889, by Excelsior Publishing House, Columbus, Ohio. ELKCTROTYPED AT FRANKLIN TYPE FOUHORV, CINCINNATI. (2) ff pre:facb. i K~^^'-^n^^^i<- Three years ago it was suggested to the author that he write a book on the labor question. The stirring events of that year, in labor circles, at- tracted the attention of all classes toward the labor problem, and for the first time in the history of America did the industrial question assume such pro- portions as to become the theme of conversation in public and private. Taken up with the affairs of the organization of the Knights of Labor, the author could not, in justice to the charge entrusted to his keeping, devote the necessary time to the compiling of the work required of him. During the hours which have flown since 1886, the material has been gathered on which the following pages have been written, and although the time in which the work was done was stolen, here and there, as occasion presented itself to the author, the subjects treated in these chapters have had his earnest attention for the last fifteen years. Within the period of three years many books have been written on the labor question by men who were interested in the subject. Any one of them would win a place for itself on the shelves of any library under the name of its author, but sev- (iii) ^ PREFACE. eral of them were published and advertised in such a way as to create the impression that the author of Thirty Years of Labor was either associate au- thor or in some way concerned in their publication. This is the first and only book that has been writ- ten by the undersigned ; it is the only one in which he is or was interested, directly or otherwise. He does not make this statement for the purpose of detracting from the merits of other works on the subject, but merely to state a fact in connection with, his name, which has been made use of for advertis- ing purposes ; he would advise all to read these books, for they deal with times and subjects which he does not touch upon in these pages. The necessity for organization among producers becomes clearly discernible when one takes note of the tendencies toward centralization of power in. the hands of those who control the wealth of the country. Combinations, monopolies, trusts, and pools, make it easy for a few to absorb the earn- ings of the workers, and limit their earnings to the lowest sum on which they can sustain life. Combi- nation, in America, is heartless in the extreme, and has reached a point where it hesitates about going still farther only through the fear of crowding the poor to a condition "where the brute takes the place of the man." And yet these combinations and pools are educators; they are teaching the American people that if a few men may success- fully corner the results of labor, and the wealth ta purchase them, there is no just reason whythie, PREFACE. g many may not do so for the benefit of all, through agents of their own selection. Natural opportuni- ties are being controlled, monopolized and dwarfed by artificial means; production is limited because consumption is checked through poverty. To free the earth and its treasures, and allow man to have free access to his natural rights is the aim of organ- ization to-day. Bitter was the opposition shown to governmental control of corporations a few years ago ; to-day that opposition is insignificant in com- parison with what it was even five years ago. This result is due to the marching and counter-marching of the Knights of Labor, Farmers Alliances, Pat- rons of Husbandry, and kindred organizations. The organization of labor means far more in 1889 than it even shadowed in 1859; then the supplica- tion was : " Give us an advance in wages and shorter hours of toil, and we will be content with our stay on earth." To-day the demand is : " Give us the ■earth and all that it can produce, for to no man, or set of men, belongs the right to monopolize it or its products. We do not mean to deprive any man of his natural rights to the soil, but we do intend to •oblige every man to render an equivalent for that which he receives by establishing an equitable stand- ard of taxation." As to the manner in which these pages have been written, it becomes the author to say but lit- tle. He is painfully conscious that they contain nu- merous imperfections, that they will not be regarded with favor by many, and that others will be disap- 6 PREFACE. pointed on reading them. He is also conscious that there are thousands entertaining the same views that he does, who could have placed them before the world in a far more pleasing and comprehensive manner. His aim has been to tell the story of one movement in a given direction for a short period of time, and his greatest trouble was to keep from diverging. There is so much to say that when the closing lines were written, the author felt that only a beginning had been made and that he should proceed. The merest outline has been given, the great strikes and upheavals were briefly referred to, their discussion has been deferred until justice can be done the subject. The author has not aimed at rhetorical effect ; it has been his aim to answer a number of questions concerning labor organizations which have been put to him within the last three years ; he has avoided saying whgit has been written before as far as he could. If the reader discovers any reasoning in conflict with his own, let him not resort to abusive epithets in order to disprove what is said in these pages ; rather let him show wherein the error exists,, that others may profit thereby. If the reader can show wherein the author has erred, it is his duty to do so, for by that means the cause of truth will be advanced. The author felt that it was his duty to unveil the early history of the Order of the Knights of Labor, dispel the mystery which enshrouded it, and disprove the oft repeated assertion that it was of foreign origin and an offshoot of the International PREFACE. 7 of Europe. Well aware that it will meet with ad- verse criticism, the author takes consolation in the knowledge that the productions of the brightest minds have met with the same reception ; he does not expect to receive any more consideration than they. He might have made these pages more inter- esting had he spoken in detail of the various men who were actors in the scenes referred to, but the limits within which this may be done with propriety, and without giving offense, are so circumscribed, that he deemed it best to speak only of their deeds. They will be satisfied to know that they were right, although it cost them many a comfort and pang. "To brave opinion's settled frown, From ermined robe and saintly gown, While wrestling reverenced error down." T. V. POWDERLY. ScRANTON, Pa., July 4, 1889. ^ppiiiBiiB^aatsasa8aiisiBaisatSiisa:8iiaiaa.S3iis SUBJECTS of CHAPTERS. PAGE 1. The Old Order Changes i8 2. The Awakening 48 3. Searching for the True Path 106 4. Making Progress 131 5. The Storm Breaks 186 6. Measures Before Men 223 7. The Labor Bureau 302 8. Land — Transportation — Telegraphy 328 9. The Circulating Medium 396 10. Introduction of Foreign Labor. 411 11. Co-operation under Difficulties 452 12. The Eight-Hour Problem 471 13. Anarchy and the Knights 526 14. Improvements 55^ 15. Temperance c8o 16. Building the Structure 627 17. Social Equality gci 18. Conclusion 66^ 19. Appendix 673 (8) '^p^p^g^^g^ The Old Order Changes. Isolation of labor organizations— Introduction of machinery— Abandonment of Tillage woiksbops— Machinery in factories and on farms— Stage coach and sail. ing vessel disappear— Government road gives way for the railroad— Paternal government— Granting lands to monopolists— Crowding of workmen into fac- tories — Association of capitalists begets organization of labor— Panic of 1857— Bankruptcy— The imported article preferred to the home production— Compe- tition between man and the machine— Louis Blanc on competition— Organiza- tion of Machinists' and Blacksmiths' National Union, the causes leading to it — Organization of Iron Holders' Union and Founders' League— William H. Sylvia, his address to Iron Molders' convention— Eight hour question Introduced— Eco- nomic and social problems discussed- Politics objected to— The Civil War- Convention of workingmen to express disapproval of attempts to foment sectional strife— Letter of William H. Sylvis, in Mechanic's Own— Committee of thirty-four— Uriah 3. Stephens, his opinion. The Awakening. The workman studies the "Bill of Rights "—Conditions of white and black slaves contrasted— The anti-slavery agitation and organization of workmen keep pace with each other— Daniel Webster's opinion of abolition agitation— Black slav- ery abolished— Workmen regarded themselves as hired for life — Higher ground — The strike the only remedy — Machinists' and Blacksmiths' Union passes reso- lution asking other unions to appoint committee to prepare plan for formation of a national assembly— Breaking out of the Civil War— Workmen enlist — owners of gold work their way into Congress— Representatives of eighty banks on the floor^Monopolies bom and nourished- Agitation for increase of wages —Two millions of men discharged from the army at the close of the war— Meet- ing at Louisville, Ky.— K. F. Trevellick and others discuss situation— Organiza- tion of National Labor Union at Baltimore — Eight-hour, Co-operation and Currency questions discussed— The public lands stolen— A national party dis- cussed— J. 0. C. Whalley, of Washington, elected president^John Hinchcliffe with committee waits on President Johnson, who discusses convict labor and land questions— Trevellick, Thomas A. Armstrong, Hinchcliffe and others a committee to prepare platform— Convention at Ionia, Mich.— Chicago conven- tion — National Labor Bureau proposed by Sylvis— New York session— The press silent except to rldicnle--Labor speakers derided — Polities kept out and politicians allowed in— Eight-hour law passes Congress— Rights of women rec- ognized — Platform of National Labor Union — Trades unionists indifferent to platform— National Labor Union dies for want of support. „. 10 CONTENTS. Searching for the True Path. The Presidents of the Machinists' and Blacksmiths', Coopers' and Iron Molders' International Union uiilte in a call for a convention— The first meeting a fail- ure — Second session held at Cleveland — Officers elected — Kesolutlons adopted — Convention styled Industrial Congress of the United States— Meeting at Koches- ter In 1874— Schilling re-elected president— President Eobert Schilling Issues call for another convention— Deputies appointed for thirty-one States— Currency question discussed at convention — Beasons advanced for adoption of currency plank— George E. McNeill objects- Preamble of the Industrial Brotherhood— A. Warner, St. John, and Eobert Schilling agree on name Industrial Brother- hood—Declared formula of the organization — Motto selected—" When bad men combine, the good must associate else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle "—List of deputies — President authorized to appoint additional deputies— T. V. Powderly appointed for Pennsylvania — Convention to meet in Indianapolis in 1875 — Apathy of trades unionists and workingmen generally— Comment of Public Ledger of Philadelphia on the preamble— Decay of the organization while the principles live on. Mahing Progress. The Garment Cutters' Assosiatlon— Its failures and final dissolution— U. S. Stephens and H. L. Sinexon discuss the situation— Plans for the future— Meetings In Fair- mount Park— Organization of Assembly No. 1— Meeting in the United States engine house— First election of offlcers—FIrst advertisement In public press — William Fennimore becomes a member— Resolutions allowing members to make known their connection with the Assembly— Resolution to admit other ttian garment cutters— Death of Henry A. Sennig— Memorial service— First person not a garment cutter proposed for membership October 20, 1870— Sojourn- ers admitted— Trade lines disappearing— First violation of obligation— Method of admitting members— Planting of the seed— To shield men from those In their own sphere and calling— A healthy public opinion on the subject of labor— The evils of the strike illustrated— Conditions to be Investigated— Officers of the As- sembly—Annual address of M. W. U. S. Stephens— Second address of Stephens —John Hobson, the second member, dies- Memorial services— William Fennl- more prepares and reads a poem— Second Assembly organized July 18, 1872— ^v Other assemblies organized In quick succession- The organization extends be- *i yond the limits of Philadelphia. The Storm Breaks. The committee of progress— Organization of District Assembly No. 1— New Jersey organized— District Assembly No. 2 founded In Camden— John M. Davis of Pittsburg, visits Philadelphia, is Initiated, and organizes District Assembly No. 3 at Pittsburg— L. J. Booker organizes assemblies in Western States— Dis- ■ trict Assembly No. 4 organized at Reading, Pa., by U. S. Stephens— Assembly No. 280 organized at Cincinnati, and admits Hugh Cavanaugh— First assembly in Lackawanna region organized by Frederick Turner and James L. Wright at Scranton— T. V. Powderly admitted to Assembly No. 88— Organization of Dis- trict Assembly No. 5— James Albert Clark, the first Master Workman— The great railroad Strike breaks out on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad— The strike extends to the Pennsylvania and Delaware and Lakawanna railroads- Its effect in Pittsburg and Soranton-The eflfect of class legislation— Pennsyl- vania legislature appoints a committee to Investigate the strike— Demands of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers— Resolutions of railroad men on D L &W. E. R.— The miners join the strike— Brakemen return to work— Miners stfll CONTENTS. IX out— Meeting at silk mill in Soranton— Mayor MoKune, ol Scranton, issues a call for assistance— He organizes a citizens corps- Tlie corporations provide arms and ammunition— Citizens corps meets August 1st in tlie company store of Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co.— Mass meeting at sUk mill breaks up in dis- order and separates— Men driven from the shops— The mayor assaulted— W. W. Scranton gives the order " shoot to kill "—Three men shot down on the streets of Scranton— The strike declared off, and minsrs return to work after three months of idleness. Measures Before Men, Early effort to make name public— Attempts to form national head— Proceedings of early conventions— Call for convention January 1, 1878— The convention at Reading, Pa.— The General Assembly organized— List of representatives- U. S. Stephens elected Grand Mjister Workman— Charles H. Litchman elected Grand Secretary— Constitution adopted— The preamble of the Industrial Brotherhood adopted— Measures adopted to provide a revenue— No money in the treasury- Adoption of a seal—" That is the most perfect form of government in which an Injdry to one is the concern of aU"— The preamble a call to action— Misman- agement of public affairs to be remedied— Constitutions and supplies issued to the order^The gallows in Schuylkill County, Pa.— Molly Maguires— Attack upon the order by a clergyman— Call for a special session of the General Assembly- Thereasons for it — The propositions submitted— Kichard GrifSths- The first and second sections of the preamble discussed— Knowledge the standpoint for action— The aid of Divine Providence invoked to enslave the laborer — "Servants, obey your masters" — "Does the Almighty favor the rich? "—The difference between the real and the sham In religion— The mon- uments of the past not erected to the memory of the workmen— The slayers of men remembered- and rewarded, while the builders of cities and homes are consigned to oblivion— The politician's indifference to the wishes and welfare of the people— The people to blame— Politics to be discussed by workingmen— Education the watchword- Parties good only as they serve the people— The G. M. W. replies to a " prominent Democrat "—Labor party not likely to be- come a success— The interest centres in the candidate— The G. M, W. makes a political speech— Is asked to make others— His reply to committee at Philadel- phia—The influence of corporations in elections— Men compelled to vote as corporations dictate— The voter must be allowed to deposit his ballot free from Interference or scrutiny- Traders at the ballot-box are traitors to the State- Make election day a national holiday— The General Assembly passes resolution favoring it— The preamble to be discussed at all meetings. The Labor Bureau. The third section of the preamble— Changed to suit the conditions under which the Knights of Labor worked— The establishment of the labor bureau— Its first effects on the workingman— Its benefits as compared with the hardships brought about by its introduction— The employers opposed to making returns of their business affairs — Corporations intended to benefit the public — Hon. M. A. Foran presents a bill to create a bureau of laboi^The establishment of bureaus in various States— A National Labor Bureau established at Wash- ington— Powderly and Jarrett applicants for the position of Commissioner of Labor — Employers send in remonstrance against Powderly's appointment — Jarrett's name sent in to the Senate— Its withdrawal— Appointment of Carroll D. Wright Benjamin F. Butler recommends Wright— The Senate attempts IS . CONTENTS. to divert the work of the National Bureau from its proper course— Gathering divorce statistics— Worklugmen indignant— The General Assembly instructs the Legislative Committee to work for a Department of Lahor— Establishment of a Department of Labor at Washington — What is hoped for from the labor bureaus — Old-time slavery {is compared with the new. Land— Transportation — Telegraphy. Land agitation began when the Federal Constitution was adopted— The Pre- emption acts— Kesolution adopted by the Free Soil Democracy in 1852— Galusha A. Grow introduces Homestead Law— President Buchanan vetoes It— Passes Congress and is signed by President Lincoln — First grant to a railroad in 1833 — The Union Pacific chartered— Land grabbing under way— The declaration of the National Labor Union and the Industrial Brotherhood- Adopted by the Knights of Labor— Address of the G. M. W. at Pittsburg in 1880— At New York in 1882, and at subsequent sessions- The fifth declaration in the preamble is changed at the Philadelphia session, and goes out from the convention as the fourth— Action at the Hamilton session— The Cleveland special session— J. P. McGaughy advises that the co-operative funds be used to locate members on land— Report of the committee on public lands of the House of Eepresenta- tives— Views of the author on the land question— Land held for speculation a tax on industry— Workmen in coal regions purchase homes from employers — Coal lands escape taxation— The man in the city deludes himself when he im- agines that the land question does not relate to him— The process of settling immigrants on land— The sheriff takes what the tax gatherer left after him — The newly-landed immigrant and the evicted farmer meet at the factory door— Hours of labor will be reduced in vain when thousands are driven from the land into idleness — Trades unionist shouts "hayseed" to the man who would call his attention to the land— The demand for a graduated income tax of no avail— Unjust rating of taxable property in cities— Not possible to learn what the incomes of railway operators are— The industrious at the mercy of the lazy and shiftless— Conditions must be equalized before an income tax can be collected- The greed of corporations more potent in shaping legisla- tion than the wants of the people— The number of acres can not be deter- mined—No just title to absolute ownership of land— The "sing;le tax"— What taxes are now levied— Tax according to the rental value, and rents will be reduced— If opportunities are equal no one can complain— Will the single tax ruin the farmei^-Organization of the National Grange of the Patrons of Hus- bandry in 1873— Farmers Alliance not organized to fight the drouth alone The "single tax " not a cure-all for every ill— Government ownership of rail- roads advocated— Transportation facilities must be afforded the whole people under government control— Norvin Green on control of coal lands— The Interests of the workers, whether in town, city, or country, identical. The Circulating Medium. The XVIIIth section of the platform of the Industrial Brotherhood— Sylvls said that " when a just monetary system has been established there will no longer exist a necessity for trades unions "—The Beading General Assembly makes a change— The circulating medium of the nation under the control of banking institutions— The value of money fluctuates in various parts of the country- The rates of interest in various States— The standard of weights and measurei can not be fixed except by Congress— The First National Bank of New York withdraws its circulation in 1888— The volume of currency in 1865 and 1869— CONTENTS. ig The supply per capita but «25-That of France 850.75— The nation, like an indi- vidual, requires a sufficient amount of capital to do business with— Inflation not to be dreaded so much as usury- To the interest of the national banks to keep the volume of currency contracted- Wall Street dictates what Oongress shall do— The President ol the United States must bow to Wall Street in select- ing his cabinet— The Bland Act of 1879— Its provisions not lived up to as required by the people— National banks ask for increase of circulation- Legislation in the interest of the banking fraternity goes through Congress silently— The Philadelphia General Assembly makes a change in the preamble— Every Knight of Labor in duty bound to work for the establishment of a people's money— When it is established only the Improvident, Intemperate, and those afflicted by nature or accident will want. r— Introduction of Foreign Labor. The platform of 1869 opposed to servile labor— Importation of the Chinese to North Adams by a shoe manufacturer— To Beaver Falls by a cutlery firm— Threats of bringing them to the coal mines— The protest of the Industrial Congress— The Burlingame treaty— The Coolie trade— The Six Companies— Condition of work- men in California owing to Chinese competition— Congress acts— The law evaded and violated — Massacre of Chinese at Rock Springs— Foreign and Amer- ican papers advertise for workmen where none are required— Immigration of various races other than Chinese— Testimony of Jay Gould on his peculiar methods of stimulating immigration — Steamship companies interested in send- ing over large numbers of immigrants- The manufacturer a protectionist for himself only— The pauper permitted to land while the product of pauper labor pays a duty— Every one a free trader or protectionist, as self interest dictates- Letter on immigration copied from journal of United Labor— Glass manufact- urers import foreign workmen — The courts asked to enjoin workingmen from talking to each other— General Assembly adopts the bill of Local Assembly No. 300 on the importation of foreign labor under contract— First labor com- mittee of Congress— Hon. M. A. Foran introduces bill— Hon. Thomas Ferrell in- troduces bill— General officers go to Washington to work for passage of bill— The General Assembly of 1884 adopts an addition to the preamble on imported labor— The G. M. W. writes to the chairman of the United States Senate, Hon. George Edmunds— Bill passes Congress— Attempts to violate the law— Passage of amendment to law— Attempts to enforce the law— The hopes of the monop- , olists that labor may be divided. Co-operation under Difficulties. The establishment of co-operative institutions recommended— Most of the reforms called for must come through political action— The government looked to on all occasions— Reforms to be lasting must be of slow growth— A. T. Stewart led the warfare on the small dealers— The transportation of a ton of coal costs as much as the coal is worth— A fifty dollar lot increases in value until the owner asks twenty-five thousand dollars for it— All the comer lots taken— If the price of labor increased with that of comer lots, labor would be worth 8125 a day— A matter for congratulation that the monopolists are so few— The eflfort to establish a productive and distributive co-operative establishment at Cannelburg, Ind. — Until the avenues of distribution are controlled by the people, co-operation will not be successful- First laws on co-operation- Recommendations to the Gen- eral Assembly— Report of the board— Co-operative institutions carefully planned 1^ CONTENTS. are successful, but those entered upon at the end of strikes are failures— Indus- trialists must co-operate in the affairs of government before they can do so with satisfaction in any other way. The Eight Hour Problem. Hours of labcr reduced to ten per day in 1825— Congress asked to legislate— Act of De- cember, 1861— Work of Wm. H. Sylvis in the interest of shorter hours-The remarks of Sylvis on the agitation of 1867— The law of 1868- United States officials op- pose the law— President Grant favors it^Death of Sylvis — Travellick continues work— Address of U. S. Stephens to the General Assembly in 1879— Addresses of Powderly and Litchman contain recommendations on the subject in 1880— The reduction of the hours of labor of employes of the Order of Knighcs of Labor to eight per day— Resolution of D. A. 41 of Baltimore— The preamble changed at the Philadelphia General Assembly in 1884— The secret circular of December 15, 1884— Letter in the North American Eeview— Washington's birthday named as a day to begin an agitation— Remarks of the G. M. W. at the Hamilton ses- sion of the G. A. — Public attention fastened on the Order — The article in the N. Y. Sun— Five men control the chief interests of five hundred thousand workingmen— The Sun article sensational— An undesirable element works Its way into the Order as a result of the publication— The secret circular of March 13, 1886— Federation of Trades name May 1, 1886, as the day to inaugurate the eight hour system— The resolutions of the Federation— No plan outlined by the Federation to put the short work day in operation— The strikes of May 1, 1886 —A lack of education on the subject— The special session of the G. A. at Cleve- land, O.— Remarks of Mr. Norton— The Richmond session and action taken there— Address of the G. M. W.— Letter in Journal of United Labor- Record of the work of the Federation of Labor in December 1888— Machinery rules the man— Until the masses control machinery, land and currency, the machine will control the man and dictate his hours of labor. Anarchy and the Knights. Discontent among workingmen brings anarchists to the front— Socialists flock to labor meeting to disrupt it— Webster defines socialism— Socialists misconstrue it— Webster's definition of anarchy— The definition given of anarchy by its apostle— Herr Most's Beast of Property— The anarchist cowardly and deceitful —Haskell's rising of the "blind, ignorant producers "—Education not relished by the anarchist— Uriah S. Stephens on the socialist— Anarchist meetings held in saloons— Meddling of the I. W. A. in the telegraphers' strike of 1883— Osborne Ward lectures in Scranton— Powderly presides at the meeting— The G. M. W. asked to issue a manifesto declaring that " property is robbery"— Anarchists pa- rading themselves as mouth-pieces of the K. of L.— The secret circular of Decem- ber 15, 1884— Confession of a lawyer that monopolists had purchased anarchists to enter the K. of L. to destroy the Order— Anarchists kill the Order on the Pacific coast— They pass resolutions to capture the Order— Plans to capture the United States government— Eight hour strike of May, 1886— Resolution asking clemency passed at Richmond General Assembly— Speech against the original— The idea conveyed that the anarchists were Knights of Labor— The Minneapolis session —A resolution of sympathy with the anarchists ofl'ered by James E. Quinn— Ruled out of order by the G. M. W.— Joseph L. Evans takes an appeal— The G. M. W. sustained— He is asked to give his reasons— The speech of the G. M. W.— No report of it ever given before— It has been distorted by anarchist historians —The anarchists driven from the Order at Indianapolis General Assembly— Their attempts to make anarchist schools of the Knights of Labor. CONTENTS. 15 Improvements {?) Abolition of oath ol secrecy creates dissatisfaction— Members in New York object to its abolition— Bequest the G. M. W. to set aside the law, and charge him with autocracy for refusing— The subject referred to in annual address— The representative from D. A. 41 gets drunk and misconstrues what he hears— The Improyed Order of Knights of Labor organized in Washington and Balti' more— The General Assembly expels all who attach to it— The pledge of the Improved Order— Whisky sellers admitted— The object political— The trouble at Binghampton, N. Y.— Another new Order founded— It is called the "Ex- celsior Assembly No. 1 of the Independent Order of Knights of Labor"— Five members of the Order attach to it and the press dispatches magnify them into three hundred and fourteen — Fowderly's autocracy consists of his refusal to override the decision of the General Executive Board, a power not conferred on him by the constitution- The qualification for membership— Whisky can again secure admission— Death benefits to be paid— The first death and first assessment — ^The organization burled in the grave with the deceased member— A lull in improvements— The Provisional Committee of 1887— Manifestoes issued — Meetings held— Two members of the General Executive Board co- operating with the Provisionals— The communication to Bailey— The Found- ers' movement— Six charters issued— The pledge — No excuse for the existence of such an order- It dies— Every movement against the Knights of Labor founded in ambition of individuals— No deviation from the rule so long as the General Assembly endorses what has been done. Tem^perance. Liquor a foe to labor- Despair on being discharged from the workshop causes the wortTUBSTto seek the rumshop — The rumseller a member of old-time labor societies— His perseverance in securing admission— His infiuence'a pernicious and selfish one — Liquor the cause of the deeds of the Molly Maguires— Press, pulpit aud politician silent on the causes which drove men to the saloon and desperation in the Pennsylvania coal regions— Monopoly and liquor twin evils- Attempts of the rumseller to gdin admission to the Knights of Labor— His partial admission— Decision of Stephens — Advantage taken of it— The keeper of the wayside inn— Grand Secretary Litchman on the rumseller— G. M. W. Powderly makes a decision which debars the rumseller— The relatives of saloon-keepers excluded— The wife of a member must not sell liquor— The General Assembly passes a law against liquor selling on the part of members— The G. M. W. denounces the practice of rum drinking in his address to the General Assembly of 1882— Again in 1883— The company store retails strong drink— The G. M. W. addresses the General Assembly again on the question in 1884 — In 1885 he warns the General Assembly against the election of intem- perate officers — The strikes of 1886 caused an influx of intemperate members— The G. M. W. issues a secret circular in which he advises the boycotting of liquor for five years — Many members take the temperance pledge — The Cleve- land session passes a law against allowing organizers to act while under the influence of liquor — Organizers required to promise to abstain during term of office — The General Assembly promulgates a law against allowing beer to be sold at pionics^Speeches of the G. M. W. in Boston and Lynn subjects him to censure— His letter on the justice of his position — Good legislation hindered by drunkenness- Rum a potent factor in elections— The "personal liberty " argu- ment not well grounded — The Detroit manufacturer who gave $15 to debauch his workmen— Poverty a cause of intemperance, but intemperance brings 16 CONTENTS. ruin along with poverty— The habit ol treatinfj— Intemperance reduces wages- Coffee-houses, reading-rooms and billiard halls should take the place of saloons— The iacts all against rum. Building the Structure. The St. Louis General Assembly— The officers elected— New District Assemblies or- ganized—Third session held in Chicago, 111.— Stephens, broken in health, gives way— A resolution to admit women introduced, fails to receive a two-thirdi vote— The fourth session held in Pittsburg, Fa.— A committee appointed to draw np a ritual for women— Women permitted to become members— The Detroit session— The name of the Order made public— The words, "noble and holy " abolished in the title of the Order— The vote to admit women promulgated — The sixth regular session held in New York— First boycott— 111 feeling— Officer! elected— Benefit insurance establisbed— Charles H. Litchman elected secretary of the association— The Cincinnati session— Frederick Turner elected 6. S.— Salary of G. M. W. raised— Secretary of the G. E. B. directed to give his whole time to the Order— Eighth session held in Philadelphia— First change in the preamble— Time of holding convention changed to October— The Hamilton and Richmond sessions— Special session— Trouble between the Order and trade unions— Board ordered to purchase home for the family of Stephens— To pur- chase a headquarters— Mrs. Leonora M. Barry elected General Investigator— Min- neapolis session— J. K. Buchanan refused admission— Bailey and Barry revolt —The Provisional Committee formed— Barry expelled — The Indianapolis session —Officers elected— The 6. E. B. ordered to work for passage of ballot reform laws— First representative from Europe present— The G. M. W. elected to rep- leseut the Order at the World's Fair in Paris, in 1889. Social Equality. Governor Lee requested to deliver address of welcome— D. A. 49 elects a colored representative-7-Is refused admission to a Richmond hotel— Frank J. Ferrell se- lected by the General Master Workman to introduce— Speech of Mr. Ferrell— Mr. Ferrell attends a theatre and occupies a choice seat— The laws of social equality said to be violated— Threats of violence— A mob gathers outside of the theatre— Representatives fear violence— The chief of police appealed to— The General Master Workman publishes a letter on the situation— The General Master Workman is offered a position as coachman— Social equality ignored and set aside by those who are its public advocates— The Negro not ostracised alone— The Negro making energetic struggles to gain an education. Conclusion. The good that has been done cannot be estimated— Lawyers, doctors, clergymen scientists and philosophers educated on the labor question— The great work still ahead— A revolution has taken place— Others are to come— Men who toil for a master da;re not raise a voice in their own behalf— The number of labor's advocates growing greater day by day-What just man need fear a revolution ? —Who would not prefer a nation of men who would rather fight than be slaves to a nation of creatures who would rather be slaves than fight?— Why should the laborer care for others when no one cares for him ?— The sound of the ham- mer drowned in the clink of the dollar— Murray Hill the shrine of wealth in- stead of Mount Calvary-Better heed the voice of warning while men can be reasoned with-The world growing bettei--The bloodless revolution of Knight- hood will do more good than those which spilled the blood of humanity through all the centuries of time. TO THE MILLIONS OF WORKINGMEN AND WORKINGWOMEN OF THIS COUNTRY TO WHOM JUSTLY BELONGS THE WEALTH CREATED BY THEM, THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED. ^^■^=^H**- (.17) -,>>■>>> ■>■>> -^S ■>^' ■5i^*<— '■'*- ■«r-— V- ^-^V'^-*'^ T5e>i^ Did ^ OrdeP^ (Jjange?. 3 da BB- ] — Hia — aa- Tffl-T ^ i jj igi— igi— igi— qy— qy □Q Ba 15a HB— . ■BB aQ eu BH- r " Not In vain the distance beacons. Forward, forward let us range. Let the great world spin forever Down the ringing grooves of change." -Tennuaon. Isolation of labor organizations— Introduction of macHnery — Aban- donment of village workshops — Machinery in factories' and on farms — Stage coach and sailing vessel disappear — Government road gives way for the railroad — Paternal government — Granting lands to monopolists— Crowding of workmen into factories— As- sociation of capitalists begets organization of labor — Panic of 1857— Bankruptcy— The imported article preferred to the home production — Competition between man and the machine — ^Lotiis Blanc on competition— Organization of Machinists 'and Black- smiths National Union, the causes leading to it— Organization of Iron Molders Union and Founders League— "William H. Sylvis, bis address to Iron Molders convention— Eight hour question introduced— Economic and social problems discussed— Politics objected to— The Civil War— Convention of workingmen to ex- press disapproval at attempts to foment sectional strife- Letter of William H. Sylvis in Mechanic's Own— Committee of thirty- four— Uriah S. Stephens, his opinion. NTIL quite recently the movements of workingmen in the direction of organiza- tion did not attract much attention. The historian did not feel called upon to take more than a passing glance at labor societies until with- in the last five years. Associations of workmen (IS) if THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. 19 were confined, principally to the trades, while the great mass of the laboring men were not counted, or considered, in the make up of the labor organi- zations of the past. No trade organization ever succeeded in gathering within its folds all who fol- lowed a special calling, and as a natural conse- quence no particular organization was considered formidable enough to attract public attention for any fixed period. On the other hand, no concen- trated effort of the rarious organizations of labor ever assumed sufficient proportions to be regarded as having a bearing on the relations existing be- tween EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYE. The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few has grown very rapidly during the last decade ; so alarming and aggressive have been the movements of the owners of wealth that the alarm which was sounded by a few leaders of thought less than thirty years ago, has been taken up and echoed through- out the whole land within the last five years. Dur- ing that period several distinguished authors have written histories of the movements of workingmen in past ages and centuries. To these writers we are deeply indebted for very valuable information concerning the early history of the Gruilds and Trades Unions, of Europe and America, It is not the intention, in this work, to enter into an elaborate discussion of the various phases of the Labor question. Neither is it the design to launch into a philosophical treatise on the subject. What $0 THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. is intended is simply to trace a movement which had its origin within the last thirty years, and follow it up to a point where the public is already familiar with it. Other writers have sketched the doings of several organizations. In the chap- ters to follow, the \70rk in one given direction will be traced, and only such associations as were instru- mental in lending aid, or strength, to the movement in question will be introduced or referred to. To give the history of each organization would not be possible in the few pages of which this work will be made up, and inasmuch as other writers have devoted a great deal of time and space to trade organizations and their efforts, these pages will be devoted chiefly to the causes which led to the introduction to the world of industry of the Order of the KNIGHTS OF LABOR. Organizations of workingmen have in one form or another existed for centuries. Under various names the mechanics of the world have at times been associated together. At no time in the his- tory of mankind have the various branches of labor been banded together in one organization, although many attempts have been made to bring about such a result. The number of organizations of artisans never was very large until the beginning of the present century, for the reason that men and women were not divided in their occupations as they have been since that time. The necessity THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. gl for organization was not so apparent when the number of occupations which the toilers followed was so limited. To illustrate, — the man who was called a shoe- maker thirty years ago, made shoes; the man who claims to be a shoemaker to-day, makes only a part of a shoe. What was once a trade in itself is now a multiplicity of trades. Once there were shoemakers, now we have Beaters, Binders, Bot- tomers. Buffers, Burnishers, Channellers, Crimp- ers, Cutters, Dressers, Edge Setters, Eyeletters, Finishers, Fitters, Heelers, Lasters, Packers, Pas- ters, Peggers, Pressors, Rosette Makers, Stitch- ers, Treers, Trimmers, Welters, and several other workers at the shoe trade, iand they all call them- selves SHOEMAKERS. What is true of the shoe making trade is also true of other trades, only there are fewer subdivis- ions in the other occupations. Half a century ago the traveler found the village blacksmith shop, the wayside shoe shop, and the country tailor shop on every hand. The ring of the anvil^ the song of the tailor, and the sound of the shoemaker's hammer could be heard at every corner. The traveler of a half century ago made use of the stage coach, the private conveyance belonging to himself or neigh- bor, or else he used only those powers of locomo- tion with which he was gifted by nature. To-day we travel by means of the elegant passenger coach Z2 TSE OLJD ORDER CHANGES. drawn . by the swift running locomotive ; soon we will be flying through space aided by electricity or the flying machine. If the traveler of the present day and generation could take time to scan the country he traverses, he would not find the slightest trace of the old fashioned blacksmith shop, nor would the shoe and tailor shop greet his FLEETING VISION. This change is not attributable to chance, nor did it come about all at once or because the toilers were ashamed of the old fashioned methods of earning a living. The march of invention had startedj and with it began the sharp competition between the men and women of toil. The compe- tition was not between man and man so much as between man and the machine. The locomotive was in its infancy. The steam engine as an aid to navigation, played but an insignifieant part. Steam was at that time beginning to make itself known. It was scofifed at by some, ignored by others, and treated with contempt by many who thought that " the old way was the best, and that new fangled notions could never do away with the good old plan." Soon the roar of escaping steam was heard throughout the land, and mingled with the hissing sound we heard the hum of many machines, that were up to that time only in embryo, or unknown to mankind. The mighty trip-hammer began its work with steam as an assistant, the lathe that was up ta THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. 0S that time propelled by water, hand or foot-power, took on new speed under the impulse given to it by steam. The man who stood by the lathe held the tool against the revolving metal or wood, and pressed against it that he might make his power felt. To-day he fastens the tool in a "rest," moves the shifter and looks on while steam does the work. The McKay stitcher, up to that time unknown, has appeared on the scene, with scores of other ma- chines, to make shoes more rapidly, and the old fashioned shoemaker " waxes his end " no more. One blow from the mighty steam hammer does the work of ten hours hard effort on the part of the blacksmith with his hand hammer. One hour of the planing or slotting machine and the result of a week of hard labor on the part of the machinist who works by hand, is piled up around the ma- chine. One machine is set in motion in the woolen mill, and fifty employes stand still to look on while it does the work which their united effort once per- formed. One iron man is set in motion and three moulders cease to toil in order that the machine may have WORK TO DO. The ploughing machine, the reaping machine, the binder, the grain sower take to the field, and hundreds of men turn away from the farm to seek employment in the cities, where other machines have thrown other men and women out of employ- ment. The old sailing vessel has gone to rest, S^ THM OLD OMDER CHANOES. and the mighty steamer ploughs the deep, the sailing vessel with its fifty passengers and three months voyage across the ocean, gave way long ago to the steam propeller, a six-days passage and fifteen hundred passengers. The old fashioned carrier system has disap- peared; the letter, as a medium of rapid communi- cation between men, has given way, except among the poor toilers, and the electric telegraph makes miles inches between nations. A flash of elec- tricity, and our crowded centers of trade are filled by poor foreigners from other lands, who come to find that they are crowding on the heels of other unemployed ones who came before. The electric machine in the hands of the wealthy, does the bid- ding of the monopolist in the twinkling of an eya while the letter of warning sent by the poor man to his friend across thfe sea, does not leave our shores until the poor unfortunate has taken shipping from his old home at the bidding of wealth, which, ever greedy for more, cares but little how many bodies and souls are lost, so that a dollar MORE IS GAINED. The millionaire, tottering on the verge of the grave, will attempt to stay the hand of tim^ for "just a minute," in order to add one more dollar to his store, even though that dollar is taken from between the pinched, slender fingers of the starving needle-woman, whose "daily bread" may not come THE OLD ORDER CHAN0E8. ^5 until to-morrow in consequence of man's gre^d and inhumanity. With the introduction of labor-saving, or more properly speaking, wealth-prodUcing inventions, which, by the way, are often labor-making inven- tions as well, began the building of railways through new and old countries. The old govern- ment road was abandoned, but it did not give way to the government railroad, for shrewd, discerning men saw in the establishment of the railway, a chance to reach out for the acres of the people ; the opportunity was not thrown away, and soon the monopolization of earth began. Government aid was invoked to assist in getting access to the land, but the aid was given to those who had no personal use for it. It was given to speculators and shrewd manipulators. Willing tools were found in the halls of Congress, who, for their own aggrandize- ment and the country's misfortune, lent themselves to the service of mammon, and gave away the her-; itage of the whol'e people. Bills were passed, laws were enacted, and measures taken to aid in the construction of railways through the WESTERN STATES AND TERRITORIES. There was no talk then of a " paternal govern- ment," although the grants of land that were given to railway corporations were given for " the public good;" every speech made in the halls of Congress -in behalf of a grant of land to a corporation, had as its basis, "the public good," and, under that $6 TBE OLD ORDEB. CHANGES. plea, millions of acres of the people's lands were given away. Recent developments have shown that the contracts under which a great deal of this land was bestowed have been either totally ignored, or OUTRAGEOUSLY VIOLATED. With the introduction of machinery, large man- ufacturing establishments were erected in the cities and towns. Articles that were formerly made by hand, were turned out in large quantities by ma- chinery; prices were lowered, and those who worked by hand found themselves competing with something that could withstand hunger and cold and not suffer in the least. The village blacksmith shop was abandoned, the road-side shoe shop was deserted, the tailor left his bench, and all together these mechanics turned away from their country homes and wended their way to the cities wherein the large factories had been erected. The gates were unlocked in the morning to allow them to enter, and after their daily task was done iJie gates were closed after them in the evening. Silently and thoughtfully,these men went to^thjeir homes. They no longer carried the keys of the workshop, for workshop, tools and keys belonged not to them, but to their master. Thrown together in this way, in these large hives of industry, men became acquainted with each other, and fre- quently discussed the question of labor's rights and wrongs. They saw that they no longer were en- THE OLD ORBEB CHANGES. gy gaged in that competition which is "the life of trade," they realized that it was a competition which ultimately meant death to manhood and in- dependence, unless through some means it became directed into a different channel. With the absorption of the land, farming on a large scale came into vogue. The produce once sent to market from many farmers began to come in under the control of syndicates ; these syndicates of farmers lived in large cities, and many of them never saw a farm. When machinery began to make itself felt, THE FAEM WAS NOT FORGOTTEN. A man with a team of horses or a yoke of oxen, did good work once in plowing three acres of soil in two days ; five acres in as many days was re- garded as very rapid work. The three gang or double furrow plow, does the same amount of work in one day. The steam plow has superseded the double furrow plow, and makes it possible for one man to do in one day what he formerly did in thirty days. One man now plows for thirty, twenty-nine men leave the furrow to make room for steam. Once the farmer sowed the seed while walking from side to side across the newly plowed acres ; the seed is now placed in a hopper, a child mounts the box, manages the team, and in one day as great a quantity of seed is scattered over the sur- face of mother earth, as it formerly required ten B8 THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. men to sow ; ten more of the toilers of earth turn from the soil to seek a livelihood elsewhere. All the way through, from one end of the farm to the other, machinery has displaced from ten to thirty, arid in some instances fifty per cent, of those who worked the farms; planting corn, sowing grain, planting potatoes and gathering the harvest is now done by machinery, and the farmer who can not afford to use the machine, is haunted by the fear that his farm must pass into the hands of another, or else go to swell the acres of the " syn- dicate " with whom he has been competing. While the craftsmen were bidding farewell to their old fashioned workshops, preparatory to entering upon a life inside of factory walls, the man who tilled the soil began to look toward the city and town for SOMETHING TO DO. On public works, and in mills and factories, it became easy for one man to do the work of ten and sometimes twenty, or even fifty. On the farm one man took up the work where from ten to fifty laid it down. In the factory, the hours of labor were reduced a mere trifle after a bitter struggle on the part of those who did the work, but the reduction in the hours of labor does not begin to compare with the reduction in the pur- chasing capacity of those who make, buy, eat and wear the product of toil. The farmer still walks the furrow and scatters the seed from sun up to sun down, as before, unless he is the fortunate pos- THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. 29 sessor of machinery, and can hire others to man- age it. The year 1859 came upon the people of the United States, and found them suffering and in distress. Beggars and tramps began to ask for bread. In every large city and town numbers of people were without employment. Warehouses filled to overflowing, every thing cheap, and little or nothing to buy with. Bankruptcy stood at the nation's gate. The panic of 1857 had reduced many to beggary. The rapid march in inven- tions, which had just begun, had increased the producing capacity of the people of the United States, while nearly every thing that entered into consumption was being imported in LAEGE QUANTITIES. The people had not as yet become accustomed to the new order of things; it was a common thing to hear men and women say when asked to purchase a machine-made article, — " G-ive me the hand-made article, the machine does not do the work as it should." The merchant frequently heard the words : " Grive me the imported article, this country can not do as good work as the old world yet." While machinery was forcing itself into prom- inence and forcing men into idleness at the same time, it was working in competition with machine- made articles from across the water; it was making a name in opposition to the " imported article ; " the 30 THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. result was that tlie shelves were piled high with the product of toil, home-made and imported, and men walked the streets in vain searching for em- ployment, with no money to buy the wares that lay rotting or BUSTING ON THE SHELVES. Competition between man and man is healthy to both, but competition between man and the ma- chine is 'injurious to the former. He who offered to sell his labor after the introduction of machinery, could not hope to compete with a fellow-man in the work he proposed to do ; he was forced to compete with a machine, or a whole row of machines, being managed by boys oi; girls who worked for inad- equate wages. With the erection of the factory com- menced the combination of capital and capitalists. Every two, three, ten or fifty men, who united their wealth for the purpose of instituting a man- ufacturing establishment, formed a combination of employers, and to that extent were members of a union whose object was to make profit from the sale of their product, and to secure from other men as much labor as possible, at the lowest rate of compensation. For one workingman to attempt to successfully compete with a union of that kind was sheerest' nonsense ; such a thing was, and is, an impossibil- ity. Competition soon took on a double signifi- cance ; it began to be waged between the men who labored and the men who employed labor. In THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. 31 former times men of equal ability and attainments competed with each other and achieved success, or experienced failure, according to their merits. Beneath the shadow of machinery merit went for naught so far as man's natural ability to perform labor was concerned. It was of the latter day com- petition that Louis Blanc said about that time: " The principle on which modern society rests is that of isolation and antagonism ; it is that of com- petition. Let us consider a little what such a prin- ciple can "CAREY IN ITS TRAIN, " Competition is the perpetual and 'progressive increase of poverty. Instead, of associating forces, that they may produce the most useful results, competition perpetually places them in a state of warfare, and reciprocally annihilates them, destroy- ing one by the other What fortunes are formed solely of ruins ? And of how many tears is often composed the good fortune of those we call happy? Is it, then, a good state of society which is so con- stituted that the prosperity of one fatally corre- sponds with the sufferings of others ? Is that a principle of order, of conservation of wealth, which makes of society a disorderly confusion of forces, triumphing only by the incessant destruction of opposing forces f " Competition is a source of general impoverish- ment, because it induces an immense and continual loss of human labor ; because, every day, every 32 THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. hour, everywhere, it reveals its empire by the annihilation of vanquished industry; that is to say, by the annihilation of capital, of raw material, of time, of labor employed. I do not hesitate to as- sert that the mass, of wealth thus devoured is so great that any one who could at a glance meas- ure it WOULD RECOIL WITH HOKROB. " Competition is a source of general impoverish- ment, because it delivers up society to the gross government of chance. Is there under this system a single producer, a single laborer, who does not depend on the closing of some distant factory, on a failure which takes place, on a machine suddenly discovered and placed at the exclusive disposition of a rival ? Is there a single producer, a single laborer, whose good conduct, foresight or wisdom, can guarantee him against, the effects of an indus- trial crisis ? " After the formation of unions of capitalists, be- gan the formation of labor unions, and away back in the early days of the republic we can trace the organization of crafts here and there for their own advancement and protection. Step by step the organization of labor unions can be traced, until the year 1859 found men of all callings looking about them for a relief from idleness and want. Isolated organizations of mechanics were scat- tered all over the country, but no very successfill efforts at forming a national union of any one THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. 33 trade was made until 1859, On the 3d of March of that year, the various unions of Machinists and Blacksmiths came together in the city of Phila- delphia, and organized the first national union of these trades. Perhaps it would be well to quote the words of one of those who took a part in the formation of the Machinists and Blacksmiths Union, when, stating his reasons for the organiza- tion of these trades, SAID HE: "Unfair dealing on the part of eniployers had long been a grievance with the men. The baneful system of paying in orders was common. The taking on of as many apprentices as could possibly be worked, was considered the indubitable right of every employer, who, through the possession of labor-saving machinery found it an easy matter to get as much work out of the apprentice as he for- merly exacted from the journeyman. The per- emptory dismissal of workmen was another; hence, in dull times, men with families to support, woUld find themselves out of work, whUe the shops, whose doors were closed to them, were filled with appren- .tice boys. This inordinate rush of apprentices was remonstrated against in vain. " The writer of this was one 6i some twenty young men kept at work after the great financial crash of 1857, while there were sixty apprentices em- ployed. Over one hundred and fifty journeymen had been discharged from that shop within two 3 34 THE OLD ORDER CHANG ESi months. The extra amount of suffering in Phila-. delphia that winter caused the formation of the first Machinists, and Blacksmiths, Union of Pennsylva- nia, in the spring of 1858. The organization had no well defined plan of action, but they felt that some- thing mus^ be done or their trade, already low, would soon be the lowest of all mechanical call- ings. They realized that if the welfare and inter- ests of three thousand men in that one city could be trifled with by the one hundred employers, without their being able to make even the show of. resistance, that they would soon be but little BETTEK THAN SLAVES. "It must be borne in mind, that a marked dif- ference, had come over the , employers during the same time. In the early days of mechanism in this country but few shops employed many men. Generally the employer was head man; he knew his men personally ; he instructed his apprentices, and kept a general supervision of his business ; by that means every workingman knew his employer, and if aught went astray there was no circumlo- cution ofiice to go through to have an understand- ing about it. But as the business came to be more fully developed, it was found that more capital must be employed; and the authority and super- vision of the owner- or owners must be delegated to superintendents and under foremen. In this manner men and masters became estranged and the gulf could only be bridged by a strike, when, THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. S5 perhiips, the representatives of the workingmeri might be admitted to the office and allowed to state their case. It was to resist this combination of capital which had so changed the character of the employers that led to the formation of the Union." Before the adjournment of the Machinists and Blacksmiths, convention, a preamble was adopted to be sent out to all members of these trades, wher- ever found to be in need of organization; it was afterwards published in the preface bf the consti- tution of the order, and remained as promulgated by the convention of 1859. The following is the PREAMBLE. " Whereas, In the present organization of society, capital and labor being, as a matter of necessity, united in all kinds of productive in- dustry (and, as is generally the case, represented by different parties), it has come to pass : That, in consequence of the smallness of the number representing capital, their comparative independence and power, their ample leisure to study their own interests, their prompt co-operation, together with the aid of legislation, and last, but not least, the culpable negligence of the working classes themselves ; that, notwithstanding their joint production is amply sufficient to furnish both parties the necessaries, comforts and luxuries of life, yet the fact is indisputable that while the former enjoy more than their share, the latter are correspondingly depressed ; "And Whereas, The Machinists and Blacksmiths have in several localities effected an organization of their trades, by the formations of Unions for their mutual benefit and protection ; and as the experi- ence of our trades fully demonstrates the great utility of our Inter- national or Central Organization, and the said Unions have elected delegates to form and compose such Central or International Organi- zation : Therefore, we, the delegates elect, do ordain and establish the following as the constitution of the Intematipnal Union of North America, _, "And we hereby proclaim to the world, that so far from encourag- 36 THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. ing a spirit of hostility to employers, all properly organized Unions recognize an identity of interests between employer and employe, and we give no countenance or support to any project or enterprise that will interfere with the promotion of perfect harmony between them." " In the same year, 1859, the owners of iron found- ries in the Eastern and Middle States issued a call for the purpose of forming a National Founders League. Local strikes were in progress in sev- eral places, and the Founders determined to send abroad for Holders to come to the United States and take the places of the striking mechanics. Carefully watching the progress of the strikes, the condition of his trade and the efforts of the Found- ers' League, was a molder named Wm. H. Sylvis, who inaugurated a movement early in the year to bring about an understanding between the various branches of the Holders Union, with a view to having them united in a National organization. His efforts were eminently successful, for on the 5th of July, 1859, the Iron Holders Convention assembled in the City of Philadelphia and effected A PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. From the address issued by that convention to the Holders of the United States, some extracts are taken which give an idea of how the industrial situation was regarded at that time by one of the brightest minds in the labor movement, for the address was prepared, and read to the convention, by Mr. Sylvis. "Labor has no protection — ^the weak are de- THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. S7 voured by the strong. All wealth and all power center in the hands of the few, and the many are their victims AND THEIE BONDSMEN. " So says an able writer in a treatise on associa- tion, and, in studying the history of the past, the impartial thinker must be impressed with the truth of the above quotation. In all countries and at all times capital has been used by those possessing it to monopolize particular branches of business, until the vast and various industrial pursuits of the world have been brought under the immediate control of a comparatively, small portion of man- kind. Although an unequal distribution of the world's wealth, it is perhaps necessary that it should be so. To attain to the highest degree of success in any undertaking, it is necessary to have the most perfect and systematic arrangement pos- sible; to acquire such a system, it requires the management of a business to be placed as, nearly as practicable under the control of one mind ; thus concentration of wealth and business tact, conduces to the most perfect working of the vast business machinery of the world." That statement is in itself sufficient to show that the parent of the Iron Moulders Union was possessed of a mind so liberal, so broad and expansive that, while condemning capital for its grasping selfishness, he realized the necessity for the concentration, or centralization of business tact S8 TBE OLD ORDER CHANGES. and ability as well as capital, at the head of manu- facttiring arid mercantile concerns. That statement plainly indicated that Mr. Sylvis was not averse to what is so often termed "one man power." He knew that to keep a manufacturing establish- ment, or a business of any kind, running in proper order; all of the parts must be in hearty accord with the one selected to manage the business as president or director. It was because he wanted labor to profit by the example, thus set by capital, that he so forcibly called the attention of the con- vention to that particular point. He fully realized the possibilities of capital, properly directed, and sadly confessed that the probabilities were that capital would not deal justly by labor so long as labor took no steps to command a just recognition of its rights ; in witness whereof, I quote still fiirther from the "addeess:" "And there is, perhaps, no other organization of society so well calculated to benefit the laborer and advance the moral and social condition of the mechanic of this country, if those possessed of wealth were all actuated by those pure and philan- thropic principles so necessary to the happiness of all ; but, alas ! for the poor of humanity, such is not the case." Further on in the address, the greed of capital is arraigned in such terms as tend to show that Mr. %lvis foresaw that the cause of all laboring men fSE OLD OHDMR csanoeb. $$ was identical. He did not undertake to demon- strate that the interests of labor and capital were identical, but he forcibly pointed out to his craft the necessity for a clearer understanding between the various branches of toil. In proof of this, let the remainder of the address speak : "Wealth is power, and practical experience teaches us that it is a power but too often used to oppress and degrade the daily laborer. Year after year the capital of the country becomes more and more concentrated in the hands of a few, and, in proportion as the wealth of the country becomes centralized, its power increases, and the laboring classes are impoverished. It, therefore, becomes us, as men who have to battle with the stern real- ities of life, to look this matter fair in the face ; there is no dodging the question ; let every man give it a fair, full and candid consideration, and then act according to his HONEST CONVICTIONS. "What position are we, the mechanics of America, to hold in society ? Are we to receive an equivalent for our labor sufficient to maintain us in compara- tive independence and respectability, to procure the means with which to educate our children, and qualify them to play their part in the world's drama ; or must we be forced to bow the suppliant knee to wealth, and earn by unprofitable toil a life too void of solace to confirm the very chains that bind us to our doom? 40 THE OLD ORDEtt CSANQES. "in union there is STRENOTH," and in the formation of a national organization, embracing every molder in the country, a union founded upon a basis broad as the land in which we lire, lies our only hope. Single-handed, we can accomplish nothing ; but united, there is no power of wrong we may not openly defy. Let the mold- ers of such places as have not already moved in this matter, organize as quickly as possible, and connect themselves with the national organization. Do not be humbugged into the idea that this thing can not succeed. " We are no theorists ; this is no visionary plan, but one eminently practicable. Nor can injustice be done to any one; no undue advantage can be taken pf any of our employers. There is not, there can not be, any good reason why they should not pay us a fair price for our labor. If the profits of their business are not sufficient to remunerate them for the trouble of doing business, let the consumer make up the balance. "The stereotyped argument of our employers, in every attempt to reduce wages, is, that their large expenses and small profits will not warrant .the present prices for labor; thejiefore,, those just able to live now must be content with less here- after. "In answer, we maintain. that the expenses are not unreasonable, and the profits are large and, in the aggregate, great; there is no good reason why THE OLD ORDER GSANGES. ^1 yjQ should not receive a fair equivalent for our labor. A small reduction seriously diminishes the already scanty means of the operative, and puts a largie sum in the employers pocket. And yet some of the foundry proprietors would appear charitable before the world. We ask : Is it chari- table, is it humane, is it honest, to take from the laborer, who is already fed, clothed, and lodged too poorly, a portion of his food and raiment, and deprive his family of the necessaries of life,' by the common resort — a reduction of his wages? It must not be so. To rescue our trade from the condition into which it has fallen, 9,nd raise our- selves to that condition in society to which we, as mechanics, are justly entitled, and to place our- selves on a foundation sufficiently strong to secure us from further encroachments, and to elevate the moral, social, and intellectual condition of every molder in the country, is the object of our interna- tional organization; and to the consummation of so desirable an object, we, the delegates in conven- tion assembled, do pledge ourselves to unceasing efforts and UNTOLD SACBIFICES." So well were the assembled delegates pleased with the address, that they adopted it as the pre- amble to the constitution which they framed at that convention. It has stood well the test of years, for it still adorns the first pages of the constitution of the Iron Holders International Union of North 4% THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. America. That same preamble was afterwards adopted by the Association of Erie Railway Em- ployes, in 1869, and still later by the Anialgam- ated Association of Iron and Steel "Workers of the United States ; the latter organization still contin- ues to fight its battles under that same declaration _of,principles. Although Mr. Sylvis saw the absolute necessity for a closer bond of union between all crafts and callings, he was not successful in impressing his views upon the minds of the delegates who assem- bled at the first convention of his trade. He con- tinued, however, to agitate the question and worked unceasingly to bring the matter into prominence. He opened up a correspondence with the leading men in other trades, and, for the purpose of secur- ing their co-operation, he went before men who were in no way allied to the cause of the working- man except THROUGH SYMPATHY. With the members of the Trades Unions of that day, the wage question was paramount. Briefly stated, the time of every session of the convention, of every trade organization, was taken up in dis- cussing two measures — ^the question of wages and the regulation of the number of apprentices, other things being of secondary consideration. It became necessary for the organizations of labor to elect men to office who could devote all their time to the duties assigned to them; they ■THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. ^3 saw that in order to properly compete with capi- tal, labor must keep its agents actively at work in its interests. This soon brought the men of ideas in each organization into contact with each other, and soon an agitation began, which had for its ob- ject the bringing of economic, political, and social questions prominently before the WOKKINGMEN OF AMEEICA. The vast majority of the men who became mem- bers of the labor organizations^ which were estab- lished soon after the disastrous panic of 1857, did not realize that the daily wage of the workman was not the most important question with which he should deal, nor would the workman of that day tolerate a discussion of any length on any other subject in the society to which he was attached. It had not yet dawned on his mind, that no matter how much his wage was increased, the price of liv- ing went up accordingly, so that at the end of the year the purchasing power of his savings was no greater than before. The first departure from the old track was when the field of inquiry was invaded by those who began to question whether the hours of labor were not too long and wearisome. I. S. Cassin, who had been elected the first president of the Grand Union of Machinists and Blacksmiths, at the convention of March, 1859, in presenting his report to the con- vention of 1860, called attention to the eight hour question by suggesting that the matter be brought ^^ fEE OLD ORbER CltAA^GES. before the Congress of the United States. So far as can be ascertained that was the first intimation, on the part of a member of a trade organization, that Congress should take official notice of the reg- ulation of the HOUKS OF LABOR. The subject of shorter hours having been broached, it soon became a fruitful theme for dis- cussion in the various branches of the Machin- ists' and Blacksmiths' Union, the agitation soon spread to other organizations and took up a great deal of their time and attention. The ice once broken and attention having been directed toward other than the wage question, the eight hour pro- blem, the establishment of labor journals and the question of co-operation became food for debate and thought by members of trades unions. • The discussion of questions of a political char- acter was not tolerated in any of the trades unions of that day ; the word " politics," if mentioned in a union, would raise such a storm about the ears of the offender that he at once repented of his temer- ity and resolved to sin no more. The Civil War, whose mutterings had been re- verberating through the United States, came upon the mechanics of America at a time when they were putting forth every effort to perfect their separate unions. The war, when it broke out, found among those who were most bitterly opposed to it the trades unionists of North and South ; they THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. ^ saw in the coming struggle a menace to the welfare of the country which they would turn aside if pos- sible. The bonds of fraternity between the me- chanics of the United States was a means of causing some of the leading trades unionists to call a conven- tion for the purpose of expressing the disapproval of the workingmen of the attempts to foment SECTIONAL STRIFE AND BITTERNESS. The convention was held in Philadelphia, on the 22d of February, 1861, and was called to order by William H. Sylvis, who was among the most prominent in the agitation. From an old issue of the "United Mechanics' Own," then the only labor paper published in the 'United States, is copied a letter published by Mr. Sylvis, under date of Feb- ruary 12, 1861, in which he said : "We are going to have a workingmen's national convention in the city on the 22d. The call has been issued by the workingmen of Kentucky, and should be responded to by the workingmen of all sections of the country. Under the leadership of political demagogues and traitors scattered all over the land, north and south, east and west, the country is going to the devil as fast as it can. And, unless the masses rise up in their might and teach their representatives what to do, the good old ship will go to pieces. We hope to see every State rep- resented in the coming convention, if by only one man ; but let each State send as many as possible." At the convention which assembled in Phila- ^6 THE VLD ORDER CHANGES. delphia, on the 22d, and which was well attend- ed, a committee of thirty-four was appointed to sit and arrange for public, demonstrations after the adjournment of the convention. Writing of thi^ committee on the 23d of March, Mr. Sylvis said: "The business of this committee is to perfect and perpetuate an organization among the indus- trial classes of the city and State, for the purpose of placing in positions of public trust,men of known honesty and ability ; men who know the real wants of the people, and who will represent us according to our wishes ; men who have not made politics a trade ; men who, for a consideration, will not be- come the mere tools of corporations and aristo- c:ratic monopolies ; men who will devote their time and energies to the making of good laws, and direct their administration in such a way as will best subserve the interests of THE WHOLE PEOPLE." Among those who took an active interest in the work of the convention was a garment cutter named Uriah 8. Stephens, who, commenting on the work which it attempted to do, wrote the following : " It is too bad that the popular mind is not more fully in accord with the sentiment which is abroad among enlightened workingmen. Had caste not closed the eyes of so many to the true, real worth of the workers of the United States, more than toilers would have assembled at the convention. THE OLD ORDER CHANGES. 47 It failed in bringing about thes desired result, but it did not meet in vain." His words were prophetic, for that small, determined band of men laid the foun- dation for a grander structure than they dreamt of erecting when they were called together. "To fall'n humanity our Father said. That food and bliss should not be found unsought; That man should labor for his dally bread ; But not that man should toll and sweat for nought." Prom Com Law Hynmt. The workman studies the " Bill of Eights " — Conditions of white and black slaves contrasted — The anti-slavery agitation and organi- zation of workmen keep pace with each other — Daniel Webster's opinion of abolition agitation — Black slavery abolished — ^Work- m^en regarded themselves as hired for lite — Higher ground — The strike the only remedy — Machinists and Blacksmiths Union pass- es resolution asking other unions to appoint committee to pre- pare plan for formation of a national assembly — Breaking out of the Civil War — Workmen enlist — Owners of gold work their way into Congress— Eepresentatives of eighty banks on the floor — MonopoUes born and nourished — Agitation for increase of wages — Two millions of men discharged from the army at the close of the war— Meeting at Louisville, Ky.— R. F. Trevellick and others discuss situation— Organization of National Labor Union at Balti- more—Eight hour, Co-operation and Currency questions dis- cussed — ^The public lands stolen — A national party discussed — J. C. C. Whalley of Washington elected president — ^John Hinch- cliffe with committee waits on President Johnson, who discussed convict labor and land questions— Trevellick, Thomas A. Arm- strong, Hinchcliffe and others a committee to prepare platformTfs- Convention at Ionia, Mich. — Chicago convention — National Labor - Bureau proposed by Sylvis— New York session— The press silent except to ridicule-^Labor speakers derided— Pohtics kept out and politicians allowed in— Eight hour law passes Congress— Eights of women recognized— Platform of National Labor Union— Trades unionists indifferent to platform— National Labor Union dies for want of support. |0R several years prior to 1861 the constitu- tional right of man to " life, liberty and the j pursuit of happiness," was being discussed by men of advanced ideas, and a public opinion; was being moulded which held that property in' THE AWAKENING. ^Q man was iniquitous and degrading ; that it was en- tirely inconsistent with the " Bill of Rights," dan- gerous to morals, and a standing menace to the liberties of the toiling masses in all parts of the United States. The time had gone by when the American people believed that a nation should be regarded as the exclusive property of those who rule its POLITICAL DESTINIES. The experience gained since the establishment of the Republic was of a most beneficial character, and it was not thrown away on the reading work- ingman. He had learned to know that the right of kings to waste the substance of the people in riotous living, under the shadow of divine author- ity, was a myth, and that the doctrine once held to be sacred, was deserving only of the hatred and scorn of all lovers of equity and fair dealing. The rudiments of the science of co-operation in the af- fairs of government by all the people were being learned. That a portion of the dwellers on the soil should be bound down in chains, and continue to remain in that condition for any length of time after the doc- trine of industrial emancipation had been launched before the people, was inconsistent with every con- sideration of justice ; it was totally at variance with every aspiration of the men who pioneered the movement which had for its ultimate aim the es- tablishment of a system which would make the 4 6 THE A W4KENING. statement " that all men are created equal " a brill- iant, blazing truth instead of a mere empty sound. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are words that were being read and studied by the mechanics of the United States; every time that these words were read, they took on a deeper mean- ing. Liberty to live meant more than to be a slave to the whim or caprice of any man. The man who held ownership in his fellow-man had the right to so misuse that fellow-man as to deprive him of life, and, while the conditions of servitude were some- what different between the white toiler of the North and his sable brother of the South, yet the result was the same when the master decided to use his power. Shutting off the supply of food from the black slave while holding him to the plantation was no worse than the discharge of the white mechanic and the sending of the blacklist ahead of him when he left his home to seek for EMPLOYMENT ELSEWHERE. Only a change of color made it possible for the Southern slave owner to rule, with power most ab- solute, the destinies of his bondman. The white mechanic felt that only a change of conditions were necessary to place him in the same category with the colored man. No wonder then that the desire to secure freedom for all the inhabitants of the United States began to grow among the members of labor organizations, and gave them renewed zeal in the work of emancipation. The right to live, THE AWAKENING. 51 the right to work, and the liberty to work for home and family instead of for a master is inherent in man, but the mechanic could not feel secure in that right while the slave owner had it in his power to hold one portion of mankind in serfdom the most degrading and brutalizing. - . The anti-slavery agitation and the organization ^ of the mechanics of the United States kept pace with each other ; both were revolutionary in their character, and though the agitations differed in methods, the ends in view were the same, viz. : the freedom of the man who worked. Though both were revolutionary in character, one agitation reached the climax, burst into flame, was fought out upon the battle-field and resulted in victory for the black slave, whose walk to liberty was tracked in the blood of millions whom he had NEVER KNOWN. Daniel Webster once said, in speaking of the anti-slavery movement : " It is a succession of lec- tures in school houses, the mere efforts of a few hundred men and women to talk together, excite each other, arouse the public, and its only result a little noise." The lectures were not only held with- in, but they were heard beyond the walls of the school houses ; the efforts of a few hundred men and women to talk together caused thousands to think together, they did excite each other, and they aroused the public from its slumbers as did Paul Revere when he rode through the valleys and over 52 THE AWAKENING. the hills on that eventful night years ago to warn the slumbering people of their danger. But the re- sult was not "a little noise," for when the smoke of battle had blown away, when the sharp crack of the rifle and the mounted gun had ceased, when the terrijble sounds of human butchery no longer echoed through the land, and the roll of the drum for the last time called the troops together in grand review, it was told on the pages of history that the rule of the lash was over, that the cry of the bleed- ing slave that had ascended to heaven for mercy had been stilled in justice, and that human slavery in the United States WAS DEAD. Revolutions are not manufactured or made to order ; they are never successfully planned or de- liberately entered upon, they do not come at the bidding of one man or one set of men ; they grow -,and then come. A revolution which bursts to-day is apt to have had its origin away back in the past, and the leader who mounts to power and fame on the crest of the revolution of to-day may owe his elevation to a brain that has ceased to think, a voice that speaks only from between the leaves of books, a man whose mortal part has gone to rest between coffined walls. Wherever a few honest, earnest men or women gather together to deliberate upon and investigate an injustice, there will be found the beginning of a revolution. When the convention which as- THU AWAKENING. 53 sembled in Philadelphia on the 22d of February, 1861, selected the committee of thirty-four, it laid the foundation for a revolution yet to come, but a revolution that is working its way upward and on- ward to the goal of man's ambition without the aid of fire or sword. It was a difiicult thing to convince the rank and file of the trades unions of that day that there ex- isted the slightest necessity for an understanding, even, between the different trades organizations. Many of the members of these organizations seemed to regard themselves as being hired for life; they were content with demanding and ob- taining from their masters better conditions in the regulation of workshops and wages ; beyond that they did not think they had a right to venture, and many workmen could not be induced to enter a la- bor organization for fear of being required to go that far. This condition of afi'airs had a most dis- heartening effect on the leading men of the trades organizations, who clearly foresaw that to allow such erroneous ideas to prevail would entail end- less misfortune upon the workingmen over whose affairs they were CHOSEN TO PRESIDE. "While such men as Sylvis were struggling, on behalf of their constituents, to reach a higher ground on which to base the just claims of labor, their best efforts were being retarded by the men for whom they battled. It was the hope of the 5Ji. THE AWAKENING men who were in the fore-front of labor's hosts, but little over a quarter of a century ago, that the toiler would heed the call to reach forth and take ^ not only the ballot, but the man it placed in power, and make use of both for the common good. It is on record that when the circular, which called at- tention to the proposed formation of the National Labor Union, was read before a subordinate branch of a trade union, the president of the national body to which the union was attached was de- nounced most bitterly in a set of resolutions which were denominated by the framers as "a set of ringing and timely resolutions which called the head of the Order back to first principles, and taught him not to attempt to lead the rank and file into the tortuous paths of politics." The ef- forts of those who stood on the watch-tower were neutralized, but still they fought their way, man- fully, vigorously, and intelligently, even thouglf they were not as successful as they, in the first flush of enthusiasm, believed that they would be. IT IS THE PART OF WISDOM for a man to refrain from entering a contest or a controversy when the odds are sure to be against him ; if he permits his good sense to be overruled by the taunts or jeers of bystanders or friends, he is sure to enter a losing game. If he stands in dread of losing prestige by reason of a failure to show his strength or courage by engaging in a struggle of any kind, and for these reasons enters THE AWAKENING. 55 upon a struggle, he enters it with the chances against him. In such a predicament as that just pictured did the trade union leader often find him- self in the early days of trades unionism in the United States. >..The word arbitration was as yet unspoken; successful efforts at conciliation were unknown; neither employer nor employe thought of employing such weapons except in the rarest of cases. The strike, which was, at first, forced on the workmen in order to get a hearing, soon be- came the recognized weapon of defense with organ- ized and unorganized workmen. WHENEVER A DISPUTE AROSE between the employers and workmen, the latter crowded excitedly to the meeting-room of the union, if they were organized; if they were not organized, they would begin at once to look about for some means of gaining admission to a society. No matter what efforts would be made by the officers to restrain the men, they felt that to lose a moment would imperil their prospects., It very seldom happened that the strike was averted ; and once entered upon, whether legally or otherwise, the chief officers of the union were expected to approve of it. If a word of caution came from headquarters it was regarded as cowardice ; if the executive intimated that the men were wrong, it was whispered that he had sold out to the " boss," and the whisper once started gained in volume and sound until it became both loud and threatening. Se THE AWAKENING. It required the presence of a brave man at the helm to succeed in impressing it upon the minds of the laboring men that the strike was not the only remedy ; but brave men were found in every trades union who, having studied the question more closely than the rank and file, whose long hours of hard labor did not allow them much of leisure in which to read or study, came to the front and took the ground that laboring men had the same right to study social, economic, and po- litical questions that their employers had, and that until they did so act, their condition would con- tinue to grow WORSE INSTEAD OF BETTER. It was through the efforts of such men that the convention of the Machinists' and Blacksmiths' National Union, which met in 1863, appointed a committee, to sit during recess, and request of the other national and international trades unions to appoint similar committees to meet with them and draw up a plan for the formation of a national trades assembly, to facilitate the advancement of the interests of labor by the formation of subordi- nate trades assemblies. When this proposition came before the convention of the Iron Moulders Union in 1864, it was recommended by the presi- dent, Mr. Sylvis, as "being well worthy of the highest consideration of the convention, and should be acted on favorably." The convention adopted the resolution without THE AWAKENING. 57 any serious objections, and the committee was ap- pointed to meet with that from the Machinists'and Blacksmiths' Union and other trades unions. With the exception of the two unions named, no other organization took official action on the mat- ter, and it died without issue. During the first years of the civil war, the various trade organiza- tions made no progress, and most of them were entirely dismembered. The mechanics from every large center enlisted in the army, and among those who were foremost would be found the officers of the local union. It is on record, in Philadelphia, where one union enlisted to a man, the entry- made upon the records of the union reads : "It having been resolved to enlist with Uncle Sam for the war, this union stands adjourned until either the union is safe or WE AKE WHIPPED." In consequence of the disturbed state of the country, and the changes which were being made everywhere in the methods of conducting busi- ness, the trade organizations became almost a thing of the past until it was made apparent to the mechanics that their labor was not appreciated by their employers. They saw a condition of affairs surrounding them which rendered it absolutely necessary that steps should be taken to protect the laborer from the encroachments of unscrupulous employers, political hucksters, and land and money speculators. 58 THE AWAKENING. While the civil war was in progress, if the Pres- ident of the United States called for troops, the workingmen patriotically responded. If more troops than responded to the call were necessary, a draft was ordered and more men were taken from the forge, factory, mine and farm. It is true that men from other walks in life enlisted and did good service in the Union cause, but the great bulk of the army was MADE UP OF WORKINGMEN. While the workingmen were enlisting in the service of their country, the bankers and owners of gold were working their way into Congress; many of them had closed their vaults and refused to loan a dollar to the government except at the very highest rate of interest. They suspended payment and made every effort to depreciate the United States currency, and when the war ended they had control of Congress. A speaker on the floor of the House of Representatives said, after looking around him, " I see the representatives of eighty banks sitting as members of this house." These men enacted such legislation as was ben- eficial to themselves ; they dimished the volume of currency; reduced the price of labor and property; they demanded gold bonds for their almost worthless paper, and changed the terms of contracts to give themselves gold instead of cur- rency. Every thing that entered into consump- tion in the poor man's home was heavily taxed in THE AWAKENING. gg order to pay for gold. Monopolies were born and nourished, and the Congress of the United States gave them millions of acres of THE nation's lands. Two dollars, during the war, would not purchase as much as one dollar before the breaking out of the struggle, and, until the workinginen of the nation made a vigorous protest against the system of adhering to the ante-bellum price-list for labor done, the employers took no steps to advance the wages of their employes. The agitation for an increase in the prices paid to labor soon gained headway, and became successful without much effort ; men were scarce, owing to the vast num- ber who were required to serve as soldiers ; work was plenty, and the increased earnings of the workingmen soon enabled them to live comfort- ably and save a great deal of the money which they received. With the beginning of the agitation for in- creased wages began the reorganization of the unions that had languished or dwindled down dur- ing the early days of the war; the interest thus begun continued until the close of the rebellion, and greatly encouraged the men who had been so actively engaged in the organization of labor in 1859-60 and 1861. With the ending of the civil war came the dis- . charge, from the armies of the north and south, of upwards of two millions of men who had been 60 THE AWAKENING. doing the work of destruction for four years. While in the army they were non-producers, but others were producing for them ; when discharged from the army they at once entered into competi- tion with the men who had remained at home. Those who returned to the walks of peace after the war, flocked to the cities and towns in search of employment, where they were forced to the con- clusion that while the war for the preservation of the Union was over, the battle for the preserva- tion of life itself was still being waged WITH UNRELENTING FURY. The summer of 1865 saw four millions of men standing where there was room for but two mill- ions; dull times were coming fast, distress was making itself felt in many pla9es. Those who had served as soldiers in the northern army had re- ceived such small pay that they had saved nothing, and the soldiers of the southern army had served for nothing. The soldier of the civil war had no opportunity, while in the service, of paying any at- tention to his private interests, and many a dis- charged veteran would have had to walk to his home in the North had the government not fur- nished him with transportation to his destination. The soldiers had no opportunity while the war was going on, to engage in the profitable business of "blockade running;" they could not interest themselves in contracting with the government for the sale of "shoddy" clothing; they were denied THE AWAKENING. 61 the privilege of making cheap shoes for large prices to sell to the government for the use of its soldiers ; they were not permitted to engage in speculation in gold, for Wall street had a monopoly of that ; they had no chance to engage in the gambling and speculation which began to run riot while the very life of the Nation was hanging in the balance, and while they were periling life, limb and happiness to maintain the unity and honor of the nation, con- sequently they were through sheer necessity obliged to offer their services to employers for less than half what they were worth in order to maintain life, and wherever they did find employment, it was WHEEE OTHEES HAD BEEN DISPLACED. An advertisement for a mechanic, that would, during the war, run a whole week before an appli- cant would make his appearance, would bring a dozen to the door of the factory or mill, before the ink was dry on the paper in which it appeared, in the autumn of 1865. With so many men compet- ing for the same position, it became an easy matter for the employer of labor to dictate what wages he should pay. It then began to dawn on the minds of the wage earners that other remedies than the strike and the regulation of the apprenticeship question must be applied, and those who advocated organization on a broader basis than that on which the trades union was founded, at last secured an audience to listen to them. 6^ TEH AWAKENING. What failed of accomplishment in 1864, received its first impetus in 1865, when that small but de- termined band of men, headed by Captain Richard F. Trevellick, of Detroit, met in the city of Louis- ville, Ky., to discuss the best means of securing the attention of the trades unions to matters of greater concern than they had heretofore consid- ered. Twelve men assembled in Louisville, repre- senting none of the organizations to which they were attached; they came together after corre- sponding for some time, and met there to take counsel from each other in the hope of arriving at some conclusion that would enable them to arouse the toiler to a TRUE SENSE OF HIS SURROUNDINGS. Trevellick was at that time president of the ship- carpenters' union, Burleigh, of Indiana, was a mem- ber of the machinists' and blacksmiths' union, as was Bailey, of Missouri ; John Blake, of Chicago, was one of the owners of the Workingman's Advocate ; Wm. H. Gudgeon, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was of the shipwright and caulkers union, as was Thomas K. Knowles, of Buffalo, N. Y. ; John W. Krepp was a glass cutter from Pittsburgh, Pa. ; Whittier, of Massachusetts, was a member of the carpenters and joiners union ; Sinsnick, of Detroit, came from the printing office, and was a member of the printers union ; Clafflin, of St. Louis, Mo., was a carpenter ; Boyer, of Kentucky, and Wm. Harding, coach maker, of Brooklyn, N. Y., made up the THE AWAKENING. 63 twelve men who took the first step beyond trade lines in the organization of labor in America. These men adopted no platform at that meeting, but united in issuing a call to all organized bodies of workingmen to meet the following year in Bal- timore, Md., for the purpose of PEKFECTING AN ORGANIZATION. It was decided at the meeting to send Trevel- lick to the South for the purpose of making an attempt to rekindle the fires of organization that had died out during the war. On the 26th of March, 4886^ William Harding and Wm, H. Sylvis, held a conference with some others and de- cided upon the date of the Baltimore meeting ; a call was issued to all organizations to send dele- gates to Baltimore on the 20th of August fol- lowing. It is not known whether it was contemplated by those who issued the call to engage in politics from a party standpoint, but that it was the intention to take political action in some manner or other is evident from the call which went forth. After re- citing the recent depressions in the labor world and the evils which beset the mechanic from the over- crowded markets, it says : " The agitation of the question of eight hours as a day's labor has as- sumed an importance requiring concerted and har- monious action upon all matters appertaining to the inauguration of labor reforms, and it is essen- tial that a national congress be held to form a basis 64 THE AWAKENING. upon which we may harmoniously and concertedly move in its prosecution." Sixty-four representative men assembled in.Bal- .timore to attend the first convention, among them was John Hinchcliffe, of Illinois ; J. C. C. Whalley, of Washington, D. C. ; Thomas Dolan, of Detroit, Mich. ; A. C. Cameron, of 111. ; Wm. Gathers, of Baltimore, Md. ; Wm. Harding, of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Thomas A. Ariiistrong, of Pennsylvania ; John Ennis, of New York City ; Edward Schleger, of 111. ; John Oberly, of ; Phelps and Gibson, of Connecticut, and many other WELL KNOWN EEFOEMEES. When the convention assembled, Mr. Sylvis, through whose efforts more than those of any other man the meeting was successfully called, could not attend on account of illness. Mr. William Cathers, of Baltimore, called the body to order and read the call under which the delegates assembled. A. C. Cameron, editor of the " Workingmen's Advocate," nominated John Hinchcliffe, of 111., as temporary president of the assemblage. The discussion took a wide range, embracing such questions as related to eight hours, trades unionism as a means of elevating the workingmen, co-opera- tion, the currency and national debt questions, and the swindling of the people in the rapid absorption of the public lands. Such questions as these were en- tirely new to many of the delegates, who vigorously protested against allowing the debates to extend THE AWAKENING. 65 any farther than the eight hour subject ; but there were students in the convention who determined that it would not adjourn until at least a few of the evils which oppressed the people had been THOROUGHLY VENTILATED, As the debates progressed, a desire on the part of some to advise that political action be taken by the industrial masses made itself manifest ; a recom- mendation was offered which contained the follow- ing words: "that no workingman should vote for any aspirant to public office who fails to pledge himself to the eight hour doctrine." It is true that all who were present at that meeting were unanimous in the opinion that an industrial party should be formed, but the majority did not deem it prudent or advisable to inaugurate such a move- ment at that time ; they realized how hard it was to secure the attendance of the representatives of the trades organizations, and those who did not belong to such organizations did not insist on or advise the formation of a political party at that session. One of those who advocated the immediate or- ganization of a party said, during the debate on the resolution to form a National Labor Party, that he wanted "a specific and decisive plan of action which could not be misunderstood. A new party of the people must and will be in the minor- ity when first formed. But what of that? Perse- verance will win converts, and time will bring 5 66 THE AWAKENING. victory ; and if we are unwilling to make a sacrifice of time and employ persistent effort, we are unde- serving of victory now or hereafter. It is useless to hold conventions if we fear to rub against the time-honored prejudices of those who would be with us to-day. but for those prejudices, "A new party must be formed if we would win any lasting results, and it must be composed of the elements of American labor. We are shy of fight- ing the old political parties, but should not be so. If we are right, and I believe we are, let us go ahead. The free soil party originated with a few hundred votes, but had it not been formed, Lincoln would never have been president of the United States. This is a central committee of labor, and it must propose some definite plan of action for the future. A political question is one that is always decided at the ballot-box, and here MUST THIS QUESTION" BE MET." While many eloquent and forcible speeches were made in behalf of the resolution, it failed of adop- tion by a large vote. When the body adjourned, it had adopted as a name for the future, The National Labor Union. The preamble adopted declared that the "rapid and alarming encroach- ments of capital upon the rights of the producing classes of the United States have rendered it im- perative that they should calmly and deliberately devise the most effective means by which the same may be arrested." THE AWAKENING. Qy In the resolutions which were adppted, it was declared: " That the first and grand "desideratum of the hour, in order to deliver the labor of the country from this thralldom, is the enactment of a law whereby eight hours shall be made to constitute a legal day's work in every State of the American Union." Resolutions favoring other reforms were adopted, and workingmen were advised to watch more carefully the men who were elected to legis- lative positions. Co-operation was recommended ; i, the support of the newspapers devoted to the in- terests of the industrial masses was also recom- mended. A resolution which pledged the support of the members to the " sewing women and daugh- ters of toil of the United States," was adopted after a STORMY DEBATE, The tenement house evil, which had at that early day began its work of death, was denounced, and reforms advocated. A resolution which declared that the whole of -V. the public domain should be disposed of to actual settlers only was passed without a dissenting vote. When the committee on trades unions and strikes made its report, a lengthy discussion ensued, but the report was adopted. It recommended the or- ganization of all workmen into unions of their trades and the association of all who had no trades into general labor unions; a more rigid enforce- ment of the apprenticeship system as a preventive 68 THE AWAKENING. against filling shops with "botch mechanics," the establishment of workingmen's lyceums and read- ing-rooms. In regard to strikes the committee reported as their "deliberate opinion that, as a rule, they are productive of great injury to the laboring classes ; that many have been injudicious and ill-advised, and the result of impulse rather than principle and reason ; that those who have been the fiercest in their advocacy have been the first to advocate sub- mission, and on these grounds recommend that they be discountenanced, except as a last resort, and after all means of effecting an amicable settle- ment have been exhausted ; " and that each trade assembly appoint an arbitration committee for the settlement of all disputes between employer and employed, "by the earlier adoption of which means we believe the majority of the ill-advised so-called strikes WOULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED." The convention elected J. C C. Whalley, of Washington, a printer and a man of scholarly attainments and great executive abilities, as pres- ident. A committee that had been- appointed by the convention waited on President Johnson to present to him a copy of the proceedings of the congress. John Hinchcliffe wis chairman of the committee, and acted as the spokesman when in- troduced to the President, who, in responding to ^e address of the committee, said, that he was THE AWAKENING. 69 in thorough sympathy with them on the questions i of convict labor and the reservation of the public lands, and showed them his message to Congress, in which he said, after calling attention to the suc- cessful operation of the homestead act : " The home- stead policy was established after long and earnest resistance. Experience proves its wisdom. The lands in the hands of industrious settlers, whose labor creates wealth and contributes to the public resources, are worth more to the United States than if they had been reserved as a solitude for FUTURE PURCHASEES." Before adjourning, the convention, which did not , adopt a platform, appointed a committee to pre-; pare and present to the next meeting a declaration of principles ; this committee consisted of A. C. Cameron, chairman ; R. F. Trevellick, who at that time was in the South and could not attend the convention ; John W. Krepps ; Thomas A. Arm- strong ; John Hinchcliffe ; William Harding ; Phelps ; and one or two others. On the 14th of December following, a convention was called at Ionia, Mich., for the purpose of acting in concert with the IN'ational Labor Union. This convention drew up a platform, adopted and pub- lished it to the world on December 18th, 1866. The chairman of the committee which drew up the platform was R. F. Trevellick, who was elected delegate to the Chicago convention and there pre- sented the platform of the Michigan State conven- 7 THE A WAKENING. tion, which, with the substitution of the word na- tional for state, was adopted by that body. From the adjournment of the Baltimore conven- tion to the assembling of the Chicago meeting, but little was done in the way of organizing branches of the National Labor Union. In fact, there was little or no interest shown in the work by the mem- bers of trades unions, who gave what time they could spare to the building up of the organizations of their own PARTICULAR OCCUPATIONS. It was found when the convention of the National Labor Union met in Chicago in 1867, that no prog- ress had been made in the way of organizing sub- ordinate labor unions. The Baltimore convention made no provision for the raising of a revenue with which to push the work of organization, and, while it set forth certain principles, it took no steps to put any of them in practical operation. With the exception of calling on the President of the United States, there was no effort made in the direction of agitation. All the work fell on the shoulders of a patient, hard-working few, who labored zealously, and were instrumental in bringing the convention together in Chicago. That body, when assembled, saw a great many of the men who had been at the meeting the year previous, but they were not en- couraged by the sight of as many new faces as they had hoped to see. It was at this convention that the first reference THE AWAKENING. Jl was made to the establishment of a National Labor / Bureau ; to William H. Sylvis belongs the credit of making the recommendation favoring its estab- lishment by Congress, The FINANCIAL FEATURE was discussed at this session, and, although it met with a formidable opposition at first, it passed by a handsome majority after its advocates were ac- corded an opportunity of expressing themselves freely upon the subject. While this meeting ap. proached nearer to perfection than its predecessor, it was found after adjournment that little that was practical had been done to assist in the work of or-; ganizing during the year, and, as a consequence,! the work between the adjournment of the conven-' tion and the convening of the next session of the National Labor Union, which was held in New York City, in August, 1868, was insignificant. The agitation was not in proportion to the actual work which was done, for no steps that could be taken were left untrod to bring the principles of the union before the world. The number of labor papers in existence at that time was exceedingly limited; those that were being published received but little encouragement, and the subscription lists were in proportion to the encouragement. Up ,to this time a persistent si- lence had been observed by the daily press of the land as to the real aims of the organization. Its 72 THE AWAKENING. name was seldom mentioned in the papers except in terms of ridicule or reproach. The right of the workingmen to take action on the subject of the currency of the United States was at that time seriously questioned. It was an unpardonable offense to suggest to Congress that it should take notice of the "issue of legal tender pa- per money or an issue of government bonds bear- ing a low rate of interest." The name of the asso- ciation had been extensively advertised, however, between the sessions of 1867 and 1868, particularly among workingmen. A public meeting in the interest of labor at that day was a novelty, and the man who had the te- merity to address such a gathering would be sure to meet with a storm of ABUSE AND EIDICULE. It made no difference what was said or done at a meetings of workingmen, the report of the proceed- ings in the papers of the following day would be the same. The meeting would be characterized as a "gathering of the rag-tag and bob-tail of the com- munity; " " the worst element was out last night to hear a kid-gloved, oily-tongued, sleek-faced dema- gogue hold forth in an incendiary, blood-curdling speech on the rights of horny-handed workingmen." The editorials of the papers of that day, after giving a burlesque description of the meeting and the speaker, would sometimes suggest that such meetings should be frowned down, suppressed, or THE AWAKENING. JS discountenanced by the better element of society. Instances are not rare where personal violence has been hinted at as a preventive of such meetings. Among the names applied to labor speakers of that day we find: "Communist, socialist, molly maguire, incendi- ary, blood and thunder spouter, hungry-looking loafer, a sinister-faced wretch whose company could be dispensed with in this community, a fel- low whose appearance suggested a recent visit to the penitentiary; a fellow who violently gesticu- lated and frothed at the mouth for half an hour without saying anything ; and a blatherskite, who had the audacity to stand before a body of work- ingmen to tell them of their wrongs, while he himself was dressed in a suit of broadcloth. Such creatures should be treated as they deserve by the honest toilers, and sent out of the town in a suit of tar and feathers." •The above and many more CHOICE EPITHETS were applied to those who spoke from the public platform in that early day of labor reform. Not only was the speaker abused and ridiculed, but the chairman of the meeting was discharged in nearly every instance, and many of those who attended were "spotted" and stood in fear and trembling for many a day after the meeting was held. Nei- ther prejudice, abuse, ridicule, blacklisting, or the many methods which were resorted to to stem the 7^ THE AWAKENING. tide of agitation proved effectual, and from stage to stage the work of educating the laboring man to a sense of his duty to himself was continued by the few who had taken up the gauntlet in defense of the poor. From the time the National Labor Union was first organized, those who had been instrumental in bringing it before the public had busied themselves in agitating for the enactment, by the United States government, of a law establishing the EIGHT HOUR SYSTEM among the employes of the government. It was strictly enjoined upon those who were present at the convention at Chicago to call upon or write to as many congressmen and United States senators as possible, and to urge others to do the same. Communications appearing from time to time in the press advising and urging the nomination of a labor ticket, to be run in the next presidential cam- paign, were invariably coupled with the demand for the short hour working day. In this way the eight hour movement received an impetus which had its effect on the legislation of that year. The views of leading labor advocates were asked for by members of the National legislature, and bills were introduced having the establishment of the eight hour day in view. It was claimed tliat if the government would set the example by limit- ing the number of hours to eight, it would have a salutary effect on the employers of labor throughout THE AWAKENING. 75 the nation. With the government operating its works on the short hour plan, it was supposed that in time the factories of the land would adopt the plan, and establish the system everywhere. On the 25th of June, 1868, after a long and bit- ter debate, Congress passed a law which declared eight hours to be a legal day's work for employes of the government. The law will be found in the " Revised Statutes of the United States." It is in the following language : "Section 3738. Eight hours shall constitute a day's work for all laborers, workmen, and mechan- ics who may be employed by or on behalf of the Government of the United States." The passage of this law had a good effect on the agitation, which was carried on during the remain- der of that year, and called the attention of work- ingmen to the NECESSITY FOR ORGANIZATION as a means of improving their condition. This was the first thing that attracted the atten- tion of the leading papers to the movement, then going on among the organized trades, for the estab- lishment of a national organization that would em- brace all branches of toil. Up to this time silence was the rule in dealing with the question of organ- ization, the success which attended the efforts of those who advocated the eight hour system before the United States Congress, caused some alarm in manufacturing circles for awhile, but the move- 76 THE AWAKENING. ment had not reached such proportions as would justify either employer or press in making an at- tack upon it. JWhen the ITational Labor Union assembled in convention in New York, in 1868, considerable in- terest was manifested in its deliberations by men in various walks of life. It was not because the organization was expected to strengthen the polit- ical parties of that day that this interest was shown. The one absorbing question with many who assem- bled in New York at that meeting was: "Will the National Union advocate the formation of a sep- arate and independent political party before it ad- journs?" It was plain to most of the delegates that many of the reforms that were advocated must be brought to an issue through POLITICAL ACTION; as a consequence those parts of the platform of 1867, that favored measures requiring political ac- tion were bitterly opposed by many delegates who were so firmly wedded to party that the thought of voting for any but the regular candidate, even though his election would assure the passage of the desired measure, seemed like a sacrilege. Partisan prejudice was at that time strongly bed- ded in the workingmen, and it required an educa- tion, which they had not then received, to enable them to philosophically view the introduction of measures which might one day force them to take TSE AWAKENING. 77 action against the party to which they were at that time attached. They could not tolerate the idea of defiling labor by bringing it into contact with politics. Politics meant corruption and fraud. "Why should workingmen have anything to do with politics except as members of a party? There were trades unionists at that time who had been engaged in politics for years on their own account. They were not acting under any in- structions from the unions they belonged to when they took political action ; and it was well for them that their fellow-members were not aware of the extent of their bargaining, for it was a NOTORIOUS FACT that many men of pretended influence in trades unions had traded on that influence with both of the political parties. Such men were bitterly opposed to the introduc- tion of any resolution to a labor society that would tend to weaken their allegiance to the party of their choice. Politics were bad and politicians were corrupt, but, as bad and corrupt as they were, they were none too bad or corrupt to prevent many of those who were loudest in their opposition to politics among workingmen from selling their votes and pretended influence, to those who were foolish enough to buy. Among this latter class of workingmen, the planks in the platform of the National Labor Union, which suggested political action, were par- 78 THE AWAKENING. ticularly distasteful. The influence of this class of reformers was exercised in the various trades unions of the land. Political measures being new, and up to that time supposed to be foreign, to the trades union, these men had but little trouble in defeating resolutions which favored connection with the Na- tional Labor Union. In many of the unions that had affiliated with the National Union were men who secretly antagonized the movement. It was of this class that Mr. Sylvis must have been think- ing when, in 1868, he wrote : " The very greatest drawback to the labor re- form movement is the fact that the trades unions hold themselves aloof from it. This is not only a singular, but a very unfortunate fact. If it were possible to make all the trades unions in the coun- try see the importance of this movement, and ap- preciate the fact that if we can succeed in establish- ing our monetary system as the law of the land, it would so change the WHOLE FACE OF SOCIETY as to do away with the necessity for trades unions entirely. There would be no trouble to accomplish the whole labor reform movement in a very short time. I have long since come to the conclusion that no permanent reform can ever be established through the agency of trades unions as they are now and have been conducted. They are purely defensive in their character; and experience has taught all of us who have been for any considera- THE AWAKENING. J 9 ble time connected with them, that to keep them alive at all requires a continued struggle, and a vast expenditure of time and money. The organ- ization I have the honor to represent has spent money enough within the past ten years to have effected an entire revolution in our monetary sys- tem, and secure whatever Congressional legislation we may need. "Within the past ten years we have spent a million and a half of dollars ; and to-day we have the same struggles to maintain ourselves we ever had, and there will be no end to it until the work- ingmen of the country wake up to the necessity of seeking a REMEDY THROUGH THE BALLOT-BOX. All the evils under which we groan are legislative ; that is, they are the result of bad laws, and there is no way to reach the matter and effect a cure but by a repeal of those laws, and this can only be done through political action," In the convention of 1868 were men who favored immediate political action on an independent basis ; there were men who advocated the reverse, and claimed that the workingmen should not take po- litical action at all, and there were a number of men in the convention, wise, cautious, and far- seeing, who saw that to take action either way would not result in harmony, and they advocated the adoption of a platform containing such meas- ures as were political in their nature without sug- 80 THE AWAKENING. gestion as to how they were to be enacted into law. It was the belief of the men who took the conserv- ative middle ground that education would in time bring these measures prominently to the front, and make friends for them with men of all parties. It mattered little to them what the name of the party was, so long as it took up and advocated measures of relief for the suffering poor. When the conven- tion reached this frame of mind the adoption of a DECLARATION OF PKINCIPLES became easy of accomplishment. Those who ob- jected to it on the grounds above set forth with- drew their opposition, and the convention approved of the platform. After the platform was adopted the discussion^ ? on the formation of a political party was resumed,*'.' and the convention resolved that the organization should be continued in its present form for some time to come. It was also decided to instruct the officers elect to work for the formation of a new party, to be composed of all classes and grades of laboring men — "from mill, mine, factory, forge, and farm." A feature which was discussed at %at session with considerable warmth was that which related to the working women of the land. |Jp to that time the admission of women to labor s(%ieties was unknown, and the innovation on a time-honored custom was not hailed with any degree of enthusi- Nature never stands still nor souls either, they ever go up or go down. THE AWAKENING. 81 asm by many who ardently advocated the right of man to all the blessings of earth. The resolution which was finally adopted received the opposition of those who were not partial to its adoption for a long time after the convention adjourned. This convention elected William H. Sylvis pres- ident, and instructed him to proceed with the work of organizing subordinate branches of the National Labor Union throughout the United States. The platform on which the association entered upon its third year is as follows : Platform of the National Labor Union. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all people are created equal ; that they are en- dowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the. consent of the governed. "That there are but two pure forms of govern- ment : the Autocratic and the Democratic ; under the former, the will of the individual sovereign is the supreme law ; under the latter, the sovereignty is vested in the whole people, all other forms being a modification of the one or the other of these prin- ciples, and that .ultimately one or the other of these forms must prevail throughout all civilized na- tions, and it is now for the American people to de- termine which of those principles shall triumph. 6 SB THE AWAKENING. " That the design of the founders of the republic was to institute a government upon the principle of absolute inherent sovereignty of the people, that would give to each citizen the largest political and religious liberty compatible with the good order of society, and secure to each the right to enjoy the fruits of his labor and talents ; that when the laws are enacted destructive of these ends they are with- out moral binding force, and it is the right and duty of the people to alter, amend, or abolish them and institute such others, founding them upon the principles of equality, as to them may seem most likely to effect their prosperity and happiness. "Prudence will indeed dictate that important laws long established should not be changed for light and transient causes ; and experience has shown that the American people are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to change the forms and laws to which they have been accus- tomed. But when a long train of legislative abuses, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a de- sign to subvert the spirit of freedom and equality upon which our institutions are founded, and re- duce them to a state of servitude, it is their right, it is their duty, to abolish such laws, and provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient suffering of the wealth-producing classes of the United States, and such is the neces- sity which constrains them to put forth an organ- ized and united effort for maintaining their natural rights, which are imperiled by the insidious schemes THE AWAKENING. ^3 and unwarranted aggression of unscrupulous bank- ers and usurpers by means of unwise and corrupt legislation. " We further hold that all property or wealth is the product of physical or intellectual labor em- ployed in productive industry, and in the distribu- tions of the productions of labor. That laborers ought of right, and would, under a just monetary system, receive or retain the larger proportion of their productions; that the wrongs, oppressions, and destitution which laborers are suflFering in most departments of legitimate enterprise and use- ful occupation, do not result from insufficiency of production, but from the unfair distribution of the products of labor between non-producing capital and labor. " That money is the medium of distribution to non-producing capital and producing labor, the rate of interest determining what proportion of the products of labor shall be awarded to capital for its use, and what to labor for its productions ; that the power to make money and regulate its value is an essential attribute of sovereignty, the exercise of which is, by the constitution of the United States, wisely and properly granted to Congress ; and it is the imperative duty of Congress to institute, upon such a wise and just basis that it shall be directly under the control of the sovereign people who pro- duce the value it is designed to represent, measure and exchange, that it may be a correct and uniform standard of value, and distribute the products of 8J^ THE AWAKENING. labor equitably between capital and labor accord- ing to the service of labor performed in their pro- duction. "That the law enacting the so-called national banking system is a delegation by Congress of the sovereign power to make money and regulate its power to a class of irresponsible banking associa- tions, thereby giving to them the power to control the value of all the property in the nation, and to fix the rewards of labor in every department of in- dustry, and is inimical to the spirit of liberty, and subversive of the principles of justice upon which our democratic-republican institutions are founded, and without warrant in the constitution; justice, reason, and sound policy demand its immediate re- peal, and the substitution of legal tender treasury notes as the exclusive currency of the nation. " That this monopoly is the parent of all monop- olies — ^the very root and essence of slavery — ^rail- roads, warehouses, and all other monopolies, of whatever kind or nature, are the outgrowth of and subservient to this power, and the means used by it to rob the enterprising, industrial, wealth-pro- ducing classes of jthe products of their talents and labor. " That as government is instituted to protect life and secure the rights of property, each should share its just and proper proportion of the burdens and sacrifices necessary for its maintenance and perpetuity ; and that the exemption from taxation of bank capital and government bonds, bearing THE AWAKENING. 85 double and bankrupting rates of interest, is a spe- cies of unjust class legislation, opposed to the spirit of our institutions, and contrary to the principles of sound morality and enlightened reason. " That our monetary, financial, and revenue laws are, in letter and spirit, opposed to the principles of freedom and equality upon which our demo- cratic-republican institutions are founded. There is in all their provisions manifestly a studied de- sign to shield non-producing capital from its just proportion of the burdens necessary for the support of the government, imposing them mainly on the industrial, wealth-producing classes, thereby con- demning them to lives of unremunerated toil, de- priving them of the ordinary conveniences and comforts of life, of the time and means necessary for social enjoyment, intellectual culture, and moral improvement, and ultimately reducing them to a state of practical servitude, " We further hold that while these unrighteous laws of distribution remain in force, laborers can not, by any system of combination or co-operation, secure their natural rights ; that the first and most important step towards the establishment of the rights of labor is the institution of a system of true co-operation between non-producing capital and la- bor ; that to effect this most desirable object, mon- ey — ^the medium of distribution to capital and la- bor — must be instituted upon such a wise and just principle that, instead of being a power to central- ize the wealth in the hands of a few bankers, usu- 86 THE AWAKENING. rers, middlemen, and non-producer's generally, it shall be a power that will distribute products to producers in accordance with the labor or service performed in their production — ^the servant and not the master of labor. This done, the natural rights of labor will be secured, and co-operation in pro- duction and in the distribution of products will fol- low as a natural consequence. The weight will be lifted from the back of the laborer, and the wealth- producing classes will have the time and the means necessary for social enjoyment, intellectual culture, and tnoral improvement, and the non-producing classes compelled to earn a living by honest indus- try. We hold that this can be effected by the is- sue of treasury notes made a legal tender in the payment of all debts, public and private, and con- vertible, at the option of the holder, into govern- ment bonds, bearing a just rate of interest, suffi- ciently below the rate of increase in the national wealth by natural production, as to make an equi1> able distribution of the products of labor between non-producing capital and labor, reserving to Con- gress the right to alter the same when, in their judgment, the public interest would be promoted thereby ; giving the government creditor the right to take the lawful money or the interest-bearing bonds at his election, with the privilege to the holder to re-convert the bonds into money, or the money into bonds at pleasure. " We hold this to be the true American or peo- ple's monetary system, adapted to the genius of our THE AWAKENING. 87 democratic-republican institutions, in harmony with the letter and spirit of our constitution, and suited to the wants of the government and business inter- ests of the nation ; that it would furnish a medium of exchange, having equal power, a uniform value, and fitted for the performance of all the functions of money, co-extensive with the jurisdiction of gov- ernment; that with a just rate per cent, interest on the government bonds, it would eflfect the equit- able distribution of the products of labor between non-producing capital and labor, giving to laborers a fair compensation for their products, and to cap- ital a just reward for its use ; remove the necessity for excessive toil, and afford the industrial classes the time and means necessary for social and intel- lectual cidture. With the rate of interest at three per cent, on the government bonds, the national debt would be liquidated within less than thirty years, without the imposition or collection of a farthing of taxes for that purpose. Thus it would dispense with the hungry horde of assessors, tax- gatherers, and government spies that are harassing the industrial classes, and despoiling them of their subsistence. " We further hold that it is essential to the hap- piness and prosperity of the people, and the stabil- ity of our democratic-republican institutions, that the public domain be distributed as widely as pos- sible among the people, a land monopoly being equally as oppressive to the people, and dangerous to our institutions, as the present money monopoly. 88 THE AWAKENING. To prevent this, the public lands should be given in reasonable quantities, and to none but actual oc- cupants. "We further hold that intelligence and virtue in the sovereignty are necessary to a wise adminis- tration of justice, and that as our institutions are founded upon the theory of sovereignty in the peo- ple, in order to their preservation and perpetuity, it is the imperative duty of Congress to make such wise and just regulations as shall afford all the means of acquiring the knowledge requisite to the intelligent exercise of the privileges and duties per- taining to sovereignty, and that Congress should ^ordain that eight hours' labor, between the rising and setting of the sun, should constitute a day's work in all government works and places where the national government has exclusive jurisdiction ; and that it is equally imperative on the several States to make like provision by legal enactment. Be it therefore unanimously '■'■Besolved, That our first duty is now to provide, as speedily as possible, a system of general organ- ization in accordance with the principles herein more specifically set forth, and that each branch of industry shall be left to adopt its own particular form of organization, subject only to such restraint as may be necessary to place each organization within line, so as to act in harmony in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the whole, as well as each of the parts; and that it is the imperative duty of each individual, in each and every branch THE AWAKENING. 89 of industry, to aid jn the formation of such labor organizations in their respective branches, and to connect themselves therewith. CO-OPERATION. "Besohed, That in co-operation, based upon just financial and revenue laws, we recognize a sure and lasting remedy for the abuse of the present indus- trial system, and that, until the laws of the nation can be remodeled so as to recognize the rights of men, instead of classes, the system of co-operation carefully guarded will do much to lessen the evils of our present system. We, therefore, hail with delight the organization of co-operative stores and work-shops, and would urge their formation in every section of the country, and in every branch of business. woman's laboe. "Besolved, That with the equal application of the fundamental principles of our republican -demo- cratic government, and a sound monetary system, there could be no antagonism between the interests of the workingmen and workingwomen of this coun- try, nor between any of the branches of productive industry, the direct operation of each, when not prevented by unjust monetary laws, being to ben- efit all the others by the production and distribu- tion of the comforts and necessaries of life; and that the adoption, by the national government, of the financial policy set forth in this platform, will 90 THE AWAKENING. put an end to the oppression of workingwomen, and is the only means of securing to them as well as to the workingmen the just reward of their labor. '■'■Resolved, That we pledge our individual and undivided support to the sewing-women and daugh- ters of toil in this land, and would solicit their hearty co-operation, knowing, as we do, that no class of industry is so much in need of harving their condition ameliorated as the factory operatives, sewing-women, etc., of this country. CONVICT LABOR. '^^ Resolved, That we demand the abolishment of the system of convict labor in our prisons and pen- itentiaries, and that the labor performed by con- victs shall be that which will least conflict with the honest industry outside of the prisons, and that the wares manufactured by the convict shall not be put upon the market at less than the current market rates. IMPROVED DWELLINGS FOR LABORERS. "Resolved, That we would urgently call the at- tention of the industrial classes to the subject of tenement-houses and improved dwellings, believing it to be essential to the welfare of the whole com- munity that a reform should be effected in this re- spect, as the experience of the past has proved that vice, pauperism, and crime are the invariable at- tendants of the overcrowded and illy-ventilated THE AWAKENING. 91 dwellings of the poor, and urge upon the capitalists' of the country attention to the blessings to be de- rived from investing their means in the erection of such dwellings. INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT. ^^Besolved, That the formation of mechanics' insti- tutes, lyceums, and reading-rooms, and the erection of buildings for that purpose, are recommended to workingmen in all cities and towns, as a means of advancing their social and intellectual improve- ment. REMEDY FOR INSUFFICIENT WORK. ^^'■Resolmd, That this Labor Congress would most respectfully recommend to the workingmen of the country that, in case they are pressed for want of employment, they proceed to become actual set- tlers ; believing that if the industry of the country can be coupled with its natural advantages, it will result both in individual relief and national ad- vantages. ^^ Resolved, That where a workingman is found capable and available for office, the preference should invariably be given to such person." A circular was issued soon after the adjourn- ment of the convention by the president, in which he urged the immediate formation of local branches of the union. The document circulated principally among workingmen who were fortunate enough to 92 THE AWAKENING. be members of trades organizations. Among the many who knew nothing about the organizations of their trades, the circular never circulated. The laws of most of the trades unions at that time for- bade the discussion, or even the mention, of polit- ical matters in their meetings ; and as the circular issued by Mr. Sylvis strongly urged the formation of a new party, it was not received with any degree of enthusiasm among mechanics who were mem- bers of trades unions. The subjoined extract from the circular in question will explain why it was not receive4 with any warmth by those who were op- posed to political action : " The convention resolved to proceed at once to the organization of a ' Labor Reform Party, having for its object the election of representative men to our State and national councils.' " The organization of a new party, — a working- man's party, — for the purpose of getting control of Congress, and the several State legislatures, is a huge work; but it can and must be done. We have been the tools of professional politicians of all parties long enough. Let us now cut loose from all party ties, and organize a workingman's party, founded upon honesty, economy, and equal rights and equal privileges to all men. The day of mon- ster monopolies and class legislation must come to a close. Let our motto be, ' Our Grod, our country, our currency.' Money has ruled us long enough, let us see if we can not rule money for a time. We want equal taxation upon all property accord- THE AWAKENING. 93 ing to its real value, no matter whether it be in the shape of houses, lands, or government bonds. Let our cry be reform — down with the moneyed aris- tocracy and up with the people. " Now let every man and woman go to work. Do not wait. Remember that 'procrastination is the thief of time.' Let each one start out with a determination that we will make the president in 1872, and that between now and then we will con- trol Congress and the state legislatures. If we will but set out in earnest to accomplish this great work, obnoxious laws will soon disappear from our statute books, plain, practical laws for the protec- tion and encouragement of the deserving will take their place, and the drones who fatten upon the earnings of the poor will be compelled to make an honest living or starve. Don't let us wait to be pushed into a corner. Stop acting on the defen- sive — ^take the aggressive ; make war upon every opposing power ; have faith in the right, and suc- cess will come. I ask every one who may have a suggestion to make or a question to ask, to put it on paper and send it to me. I shall proceed, with the aid of others, to adopt a system of operations as fast as possible." The next convention of the National Labor Union was held in Cincinnati in the early part of the year 1869. It bore but little resemblance to the largely attended and enthusiastic gatherings of 1866, '67, and '68. Very few new faces were to be seen, and the greater number of those who had attended 9^ THE AWAKENING. previous sessions were absent. Notwithstanding the discouraging reports which were made by the ofl&cers and delegates, it -yvas resolved to continue to push the organization ;forward, and to. begin op- erations in the south at once. Richard F. Trevel- lick was elected president, and entered upon the discharge of his duties as hopefully as though he had a constituency running up into the millions, and as readily as though there were thousands in the treasury. Immediately after the adjournment of the con- vention, Mr. Trevellick started on his SOUTHERN TEIP, accompanied by Mr. Sylvis ; the latter was at that time president of the Iron Moulders' International Union. It was the intention to work jointly for the good of both organizations, but the apathy displayed by those who should be most enthusiastic and most deeply interested in the work of organization, proved, such a barrier to their progress that the work performed by Trevellick was not productive of much good. The seeds of dissolution had been sown, the novelty which attended the first appear- ance' of the National Labor Union had worn off, and the interest died away even while these brave, earnest men were putting forth their best efforts to build the organization up in strength and usefulness. It was not in the power of any man or set of men to overcome the obstacles which presented them- THE AWAKENING. 95 selves at every step. There was not a dollar in the treasury when the Southern trip was contemplated ; and when Sylvis and Trevellick started on their journey it was with the knowledge and under- standing that they would have to defray their own expenses. With them it was a LABOR OF LOVE, and the sacrifice they made was trifling compared with the work for humanity which they hoped to accomplish. The future, which seemed brightly opening up before them, was full of grand possibil- ities for the American workingman. Although the proceedings of the National Labor Union had never been published for distribution, the work which had been done, and the effort which was at that time being made by the prominent men in the movement, brought the platform of the organ- iziation prominently before the people, and leading men in both parties began to examine and study the principles on which the J^ational Labor Union laid claim to public favor. Students among working- men laid the document carefully away among their papers to be referred to at frequent intervals for in- struction and inspiration. Once fairly before the people and undergoing the ordeal of investigation, the evil influences of the political trader began to make themselves manifest. Men who were anxious for notoriety and political preferment sought entry to the organization, and began to advertise their membership to the work- 96 THE AWAKENING. ingmen of their localities, in the hope that such ac- tion on their part would assist them in a political way. This had a discouraging effect on the ear- nest men who had pioneered the movement, and who had given careful thought and years of toil to the rearing of the structure. They saw the very men who would profit most by the success of the association, — ^the workingmen, — turn away from it because it suggested to them that their safety lay in an honest administration of the political affairs of the government by the CHOSEN SERVANTS OP THE PEOPLE. They did not understand the needs of the hour, they rated good and bad as one in politics, and looked with suspicion on everything that suggested political action. This apprehension, or distrust, on the part of the workers was not without a cause. On many an oc- casion they had been duped by office-holders who had professed friendship for the claims of labor up to the day of election, and at the closing of the polls forgot all the promises they had given to the laborer. Duplicity among politicians had so long been the rule that the name politician was at that time synonymous with rogue or thief. In too many cases the application of these terms was just and proper, but the evil, corrupting effects of dishonesty on the part of public servants had well nigh worn out the patience of the people. They certainly THE AWAKENING. 97 caused the name of politician to be regarded with scorn by toilers throughout the land. The office-seeker at that time loved the working- man for the votes he gave, only this and nothing more. When he saw the friends of labor organiz- ing a National Labor Union, which held out a hope that the worker would eventually strive to better his condition in a political way, he at once became an applicant for membership in the local union next to him. If he did not know how to gain ad- mittance, he always found some recreant member who felt more of a regard for the party to which this SELr-CONSTITUTED WOEKINGMAN belonged, than he did for the Labor Union, and in this way his name would be brought up for elec- tion. If objections were raised on account of past political treachery to labor's interests, the excuse would be made that he was reforming, and would soon cast off the shackles of his party to work un- selfishly for the interests of the industrial classes. When this class of men gained admittance to the National Labor Union they at once set to work to create dissension among the members by hinting that the officers were robbing them ; that they were being petted and courted by politicians ; that they were selling out the interests committed to their charge ; that they were seeking to divide the work-; ingmen and make them powerless by withdrawing 1 them from the parties that would one day reform ; 7 98 THE AWAKENING. every abuse if allowed to do it without the inter- vention of officious labor reformers, who, having worked all their lives in the shop, knew absolutely nothing about politics or their management. By this system of deception, the ARTFUL, CRINGING SCOUNDRELS, who professed friendship for the workingmen, aided ,by knaves in the ranks of labor, soon gained a foot- hold in the National Labor Union sufficiently strong to neutralize in a month the work that such men as Sylvis and Trevellick had been doing for years. Pliant tools in the ranks of labor aided them, and soon the power of the organization began to wane until it finally disbanded. The convention which met in Cincinnati in 1869, at which Mr. Trevellick was elected president, was but the shadow of what it ought to have been, while the one held the succeeding year in St. Louis, Mo., was insignificant in point of numbers, and scarcely any better in point of enthusiasm. When the last session adjourned, it had made some additions to the platform. They were pub- lished, but the work of the association, so far as active effort in the field of organization was con- cerned, was at an end, and the year 1870 saw the death of the National Labor Union which, in 1868, had given promise of so much that was good to the laboring men of America. Were an epitaph to be written for the society, " murdered in the house of THE A WAKENING. 9 9 its friends " would be a line most appropriate with which to begin. Men strong of heart, giants in in- tellect, determined and honest as ever breathed, had stepped forward in the ranks of labor, and had given to the toiler a weapon with which to smite his enemy. These were the pioneers. They were few. Men, honest of heart and good in intention in the ranks of labor, listened to the voice of the .slanderer, THE POLITICAL DEMAGOGUE, the self-seeking fellow-toiler, the jealous-minded and the paid emissary of wealth. They were many. The many overruled the few, took from its hands labor's best defense, and while listen- ing to the voice of the siren who sings sweetest when her heart is full of hate, they said each trade for itself, each one for himself, each organization for itself; and while proclaiming their ability to stand alone, began to quarrel among themselves and fall, one by one, victims of their own jealousy and carelessness. Additional resolutions were adopted at the Cin- cinnati and St. Louis sessions of the National La- bor Union, but were never given to the public for want of funds to publish them. They are as fol- lows: "Resolved, That the claim of the bondholders for payment of it (gpld of that class of indebtedness known as 5-20 bonds, and the principal of which is legally and equitably payable in lawful money), is 100 THE A WAKENING. dishonest and extortionate; and hence we enter our solemn protest against any departure from the original contract, by funding the debt in long bonds, or in any increase of the gold-bearing and untaxed obligations of the government. ^'■Resolved, That justice demands that the bur- dens of the government should be so adjusted as to bear equally on all classes and interests ; and that the exemption from taxation of government bonds, bearing extortionate rates of interest, is a violation of all just principles of revenue laws. ^^Besolved, That Congress should modify the tariff so as to admit free the necessaries of life, and such articles of common use as we can neither produce nor grow ; also to lay duties for revenue mainly upon articles of luxury, and upon such ar- ticles of manufacture as (we having the raw mate- rial in abundance) will develop the resources of the country, increase the number of factories, give employment to more laborers, maintain good com- pensation, cause the immigration of skilled labor, the lessening of prices to consumers, the creating of a permanent home market for agricultural prod- ucts, destroy the necessity for the odious and ex- pensive internal taxation, and will soon enable us to successfully compete with the manufacturers of Europe in the markets of the world. "Besolved, That the public lands of the United States belong to the people, and should not be sold to individuals, nor granted to corporations, but should be held as a sacred trust for the benefit of THE A WAKENING. 2 01 the people, and should be granted, free of cost, to landless settlers only, in amounts not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres of land. "Besoked, That the treaty-making power of the government has no authority in the constitution to "dispose of" the public lands without the joint sanction of the Senate and House of Representa- tives. "Resolved, That as labor is the foundation and cause of national prosperity, it is both the duty and interest of the government to foster and pro- tect it. Its importance, therefore, demands the creation of an executive department of the govern- ment at Washington, to be denominated the De- partment of Labor, which shall aid in protecting it above all other interests. "Resolved, That the protection of life, liberty, and property are the three cardinal principles of government, and the first two more sacred than the latter; therefore, money necessary for prose- cuting wars should, as it is required, be assessed and collected from the wealth of the country, and not be entailed as a burden on posterity. ^'Resolved, That we are unalterably opposed to the importation of a servile race, for the sole and only purpose of tampering with the labor of the American workingmen. "Resolved, That the rights and interest of all useful industries are unitary, and, to be successful, must make common cause against their common enemies — ^unprincipled capitalists, dishonest legis- 102 THE AWAKENING. lators, and all monopolists of the products of hu- man labor. " Resolved, That we cordially invite and entreat all classes of workers, common, agricultural, and skilled laborers, and all persons who sympathize with our efforts to protect and improve the condi- tion of the producing classes, to unite heartily with us in placing in office men who truly represent the substantial interests of the whole country. '■'■ Resolved, That we view with apprehension the tendency to military domination in the federal government; that standing armies are dangerous to the liberties of the people ; that they entail heavy and unnecessary burdens on the productive industries, and should be reduced to the lowest standard. ^^ Resolved, That the Union was sustained in the late struggle by the working classes, the citizen- soldiers of the republic, who, when the battle was over, returned to the private walks of life and the productive industries, whereby the expenses of the war are being paid, the government supported, and the wealth of the country increased ; that the officers of the army, who receive the highest pay and do the safest wrok, get all the honors and the highest pensions, do the least and get the best ac- commodations, and are now clamoring for positions which are sinecures, resisting the efforts to retire the surplus, and to reduce their pay, demanding the continuance of a standing army beyond our ne- cessity ; and that all this shows that patriotism is THE AWAKENING. IQS in the people, ambition and plunder in the officers, injustice and ingratitude in the government. "Resolved, That we recognize in agricultural la- bor the base of all our supplies ; and this interest is second to no other; and that we specially and heartily invite the farmers and workingmen with us in our efforts to improve ourselves and the country. "Resolved, That what we call common or un- skilled labor is an essential and indispensable ele- 1 ment of support and wealth, and we cordially in- vite its co-operation in our efforts to improve the condition of the productive classes. "Resolved, That inasmuch as both the present political parties are dominated by non-producing classes, who depend on public plunder for subsist- ence and wealth, and have no sympathy with the working millions beyond the use they can make of them for their own political and pecuniary ag- grandizement ; therefore, the highest interest of our colored fellow-citizens is with the workingmen who, like themselves, are slaves of capital and pol- iticians, and strike for liberty. "Resolved, That the Indian has the same normal rights as any other type of the people ; that he has an original and inalienable right to maintain his tribal condition ; and that any attempt on the part of government to force on him an unwilling cit- izenship is grossly unjust, and a blow at individual liberty. "Resolved, That the management of our Indian 104 ^^^ AWAKENING. affairs is wasteful, abortive, and destructive of its own objects, and demands an immediate and rad- ical reformation. ''Besolved, That women are entitled to equal pay for equal services with men ; that the practice of working women and children ten to fifteen hours per day, at starvation prices, is brutal in the ex- treme, and subversive of the health, intelligence, and morality of the nation, and demands the inter- position of law. ^^JResolved, That we reaffirm our position in fa- vor of the necessity and justice of the reduction of the hours of labor, as well as the obligation of all able-bodied persons to contribute to useful labor an equivalent for their support." Almost simultaneously with the promulgation of these resolutions came the collapse of the organ- ization, and those who would have published them to the world with FAVORABLE COMMENT, had the society been strong in membership and treasury, scrupulously excluded all mention of them from the columns of the press. It is well worth the time and patience of the student to read carefully the platform and additional resolutions of the National Labor Union, as they furnish a key to the condition of affairs of that day, and show conclusively that these early pioneers in the labor reform movement were gifted with prophetic vision, for they clearly foresaw the evils which menaced THE AWAKENING. 105 the republic, and which, though apparently insig- nificant at that time, were destined to develop and stretch out on every hand, gaining strength and power as they grew in years. It will be borne in mind that these resolutions were written before the age of invention and elec- tricity had given to wealth its present wonderful and matchless advantages. They are all the more astonishing because of their accurate description of the condition of affairs which followed, and which we contemplate without wonder at the present day. "Never yet Share of truth was vainly set In the world's wide fallow. After bands shall sow the seed, After hands from hill and mead Shall reap the harvest jeillow."—Whiitier. The Presidents of the Machinists' and Blacksmiths', Coopers' and Iron Molders' International Unions unite in a call for a conven- tion — The first meeting a failure — Second session held at Cleve- land — Robert Schilling elected President — Ofllcers elected — Res- olutions adopted — Convention styled Industrial Congress of the United States — Meeting at Rochester in 1874 — Schilling re-elected President — President Robert Schilling issues call for another convention — ^Deputies appointed for thirty-one States — Currency question discussed at convention — Reasons advanced for adoption of currency plank — Preamble of the Industrial Brotherhood — A. Warner, St. John, and Robert Schilling agree on name Indus- trial Brotherhood — Declared formula of the organization — Motto selected — "When bad men combine, the good must associate else they will fall ope by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a con- temptible struggle" — List of deputies — President authorized to appoint additional deputies — T. V. Powderly appointed for Penn- sylvania — Convention to meet in Indianapolis in 1875 — Apathy of trades unionists and workingmen generally — Comment of Public Ledger of Philadelphia on the preamble— Decay of the organization while the principles live on. T is a noticeable fact that while the efforts of the owners of capital are redoubled in the direction of intrenching thenaselves more securely in their possessions, white they leave nothing urfdone to add to their possessions, (106) SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. 207 the men of labor neglect their organizations and pay no heed to the future. Steady employment at fair wages to-day drives all thought of loss of time, reduction of wages and poverty from the minds of the laboring men of America. Although times were not particularly brisk, they continued fair during the years 1870, '71, '72, and the early part of '73. The power and usefulness of the National Labor Union having died away, its members became hopeless of accomplishing any lasting benefit or re- form. Those who were members of trades unions took but little interest in these societies, and a con- sequent falling off in membership began to make itself manifest during the years 1872 and 1873. Many mechanics who had never belonged to a labor organization, having heard of the National labor Union, began to make inquiries as to the ex- istence of labor societies. The oflBcers of trades unions clearly FORESAW THE DANGER to be apprehended from a continuation of the apa-i thy which had fallen upon the members of these organizations. The presidents of the Machinists' and Black- smiths' Union, and the Coopers' International Union, whose headquarters were at Cleveland, Ohio, held a consultation and agreed to unite in issuing a call to the ofiicers of all labor societies in the United States and Canada. Through the col- 108 SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. umns of the journals of the societies above men- tioned the following call was issued : Industrial Congbess. " There will be an informal meeting of the pres- idents of the National and International Trades organizations of America, in Cleveland, Ohio, on the 19th of November, 1872, for the purpose of taking the initiative steps looking to the formation of an Industrial Congress of North America, to be composed of bona fide representatives of bona fide labor organizations. It is to be hoped that there will be a representative from every National or International Trades Union in America present at the meeting on the 19th inst. ! " The principal object in the formation of an In- dustrial Congress is to unite the workingmen of America more closely, and through a unity of ac- tion on their part secure to themselves and their children the fruits of their labor, now enjoyed by those who, having thus far succeeded by the aid of corrupt legislation to rob and plunder instead of laboring honestly for a livelihood. The informal meeting will no doubt result in issuing a call for a general meeting, to be composed of representatives of all labor organizations wishing or feeling dis- posed to send a representative. " If the meeting on the 19th inst. will so decide we expect to see a larger meeting of bona fide rep- resentatives of workingmen than any ever held SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. 109 upon this continent. We make the announcement in order to prepare our unions and give them time for reflection and a full expression to their views upon this important matter." The call, which was mailed to the officers of other labor organizations, was written by M. A. Foran, and was signed by him and two others — John Fehrenbatch and William Saffin; the latter was then president of the Iron Holders' Interna- tional Union. On the 19th of November only two men attended the conference, Messrs. Foran and Fehrenbatch. These two men resolved to give an expression of their views to the members of their respective organizations, and to members of ORGANIZED LABOR GENERALLY, through the columns of the journals which were published by them. Their efforts were not in vain, for the presidents of other labor organiza- tions, who were editing journals in the interests of their societies, took upon themselves a portion of the burden, and by patient effort succeeded in calling a convention together in Cleveland on the 15th of July, 1873. The only labor organization in America that pronounced against the movement was the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, with headquarters in Cleveland, and presided over at that time, as Grand Chief Engineer, by Charles Wilson, This congress remained in session for several 110 SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. days, and drew up a plan of action to be pursued ^during the coming year. No constitution was adopted, at least none was issued until the follow- ing year. The officers who were elected to man- age the affairs of the organization until the con- vening' of the next congress, were men of known ability and integrity. Their names and the posi- tions to which they were elected were : President — Robert Schilling, of Ohio. First Vice President — Warrick J. Reed, of Va. Second Vice President — Edward Sniggs, of N. Y. Third Vice President — Hugh McLaughlin, of Ills. Becording Secretary — Solluna Keeffe, of Penn, Treasurer — James Atkinson, of Ohio. The convention adjourned to meet in Rochester, N. Y., on the second Tuesday in April, 1874. Be- fore concluding its labors, the convention adopted a platform or series of resolutions, from which the following extracts are taken : "Whereas, The recent alarming development and aggressions of aggregated wealth, which, un- less checked, will inevitably lead to the pauperiza- tion and hopeless degradation of the toiling masses, renders it imperative, if we desire to enjoy the blessings of the government bequeathed to us by the founders of the republic, that a check should be placed upon the power and unjust accumulation of wealth, and a system adopted which will secure to the laborer the fruits of his toil ; and, " Whereas, This much desired object can only be accomplished by the thorough unification of la- SEABCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. HI bor, and the united eflforts of those who obey the divine injunction, "in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread;" and, "Whereas, While we recognize in the ballot- box an agency by which these wrongs can be re- duced when other means fail, yet the great desid- eratum of the hour is the organization, consolida- tion, and co-operative effort of the producing masses, as a stepping-stone to that education that will in the future lead to more advanced action, through which the necessary reforms can be ob- tained; and, "Whereas, While we fully recognize the power and efficiency of trade and labor unions, local and international, as now organized, in regulating purely trade matters, yet upon all questions apper- taining to their welfare as a whole, the influence of these organizations without closer union must prove comparatively futile, ^^Hesolved, That we submit to the people of the United States the objects sought to be accom- plished by the Industrial Congress." Twelve separate demands were made and sub- mitted with the above preamble. They were all approved without alteration or amendment at a subsequent meeting, and will appear in their reg- ular order later on. When installed into office as president of the congress, Robert Schilling opened up an active campaign, and proceeded to sow the seed from which it was hoped the new organization would im SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. take root. He encountered a great deal of opposi- tion from members of trades unions, who thought they saw the old National Labor Union's recom- mendation to take political action creeping to the front in the new organization. Some of the men who were elected deputies to aid the president in his work failed to render any service at all, and the entire burden fell upon his shoulders. With- out funds or assistance he struggled along until the following year, when he issued the call for the second convention, and sent out the appended cir- cular : "To ALL Labor Organizations in the United States. " On Tuesday, April 14, 1874, the second annual session of the Industrial Congress will convene in the city of Rochester, JST. Y. Every organization, having for its object the amelioration of the condi- tion of those who work for a living, is entitled to one representative upon payment of two cents for each of its members, for the purpose of defraying necessary expenses. I deem it entirely unnecessary to urge upon you the necessity of sending a representative. The events of the past few months have fully demon- strated the imperative necessity of a general unity of action among the toilers of the land. This can only be secured through a general congress of rep- resentative workingmen, and it is your duty to elect and send these on. Matters of the utmost SEARCHING FOB THE TRUE PATS. 123 importance to all workingmen will be considered at the session. Among others, the advisability of forming an organization of labor similar in its form, intents, and purposes to the Patrons of Hus- bandry; the applicability of the federative princi- ples to trades unions, co-operation, arbitration, prison labor, etc, etc. Let no organization entitled to a delegate fail to elect and send one, so that the session alone, irrespective of its actions, may ap- pear as a grand demonstration, and an emphatic protest of the industrial classes against the injustice done them by the consolidation of monopolies and the legislative powers of the nation. Yours in the cause of labor's redemption, "Robert Schilling, '^President of the Industrial Congress." Pursuant to announcement the Industrial Con- gress of the United States convened in the second annual session in the city of Rochester, N. Y., April 14, 1874; continued in session four days, and adjourned on the 18th. The ofl&cers elected for the coming year were as follows : President — Robert Schilling, Cleveland, Ohio, First Vice President — A. Warner St. John, Car- thage, Mo. Second Vice President — Jackson H. Wright, In- dianapolis, Ind, Third Vice Pres. — T. C. Claiborn, Richmond, Va. Fourth Vice President — Christopher Kane, Roch- ter, N. Y. 8 114 SEARCHING FOR TEE TRUE PATE. Fifth Vice President — 0. E. Powers, W. Meriden, Conn. Secretary — Byron Pope, Cleveland, Ohio. Treasurer — P. K. Walsh, Cleveland, Ohio. Deputies were appointed for thirty-one States, with power to organize local lodges of the order. The resolutions adopted at the previous session were amended and subjected to a number of changes. The preamble, or declaration of principles, re- ceived more attention at the hands of the conven- tion than the constitution, for the drafting of the constitution was left to a COMMITTEE OF SEVEN. Robert Schilling was made chairman of the com- mittee, and to him the other members of the com- mittee assigned the work of preparing and printing the constitution. All that was done at the conven- tion in the way of making a constitution was to dis- 1 cuss measures without arriving at conclusions. It . was left to the committee to prepare the constitu- \tion, and so arrange it that it would harmonize with the spirit of the debates which took place during i'the session. With the Declaration of Principles the conven- tion was more particular, and to its construction the delegates devoted more time, and though the greater part of the preamble was drawn up by Mr. Schilling, the instrument in full received the sanc- tion of the convention before it adjourned. Many of the delegates who attended that session had in SEARCHING FOR THE TRVE PATH. 215 former years been active as members of the JSTa- tional Labor Union. It was one of the latter who oflPered the platform of the old organization, and moved that it " be adopted by this congress as the •declaration of principles under which to fight the future battles of the laboring man." The resolu- tion was debated for some time, and was finally disposed of by referring the whole matter to a SELECT COMMITTEE, who prepared and presented a platform, which, after some debate on the financial feature, was "adopted. Many delegates opposed taking action of any kind which would appear as though the la- boring men were presuming to dictate to the gov- ernment what should be done in the way of provid- ing a circulating medium or currency for the people of the United States. One delegate from Massa- chusetts asserted that "the workingmen have no right to interfere with so important a matter as the finances of the nation." The sentiment of the con- vention was that they should give an expression of opinion on the currency question, and one delegate voiced the sentiments of the majority when he said : "The wealth producers of this nation are the men and women who dig, delve, and spin. Upon their shoulders rests the burden of giving to all the people that which money merely represents — the wealth itself. Without toil there can be no wealth. He who toils is a wealth maker. Being a wealth 116 SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. maker, why should he not look after that which he creates, and why should he not look after that which represents the wealth that his hands, his brain, his skill, and genius gives to the world. M'oney is only the representative of value. We make the value, why, sir, may I ask, should we not see to it that the value is honestly and fairly represented by an honest American currency based upon the real tangible possessions of the people of the United States, instead of a few imaginary golden dollars which are themselves of no more value than their equivalent in intrinsic worth, of any other metal which can be brought out of the earth ? If that which comes from the earth, and only a small part of it at that, is what we base our currency upon, why should we not base it upon the whole of the earth within? " At the close of his speech a vote was taken upon the adoption of the currency plank, and with one dissenting voice it was adopted. A delegate from Massachusetts was the only one who did not favor the measure, and he opposed it to the last. The document is as follows : Preamble of the Industrial Beotheehood. Th6 recent alarming development and aggression of aggregated wealth, which, unless checked, will inevitably lead to the pauperization and hopeless degradation of the toiling masses, render it imper- ative, if we desire to enjoy the blessings of the gov- SEARCHINO FOR THE TRUE PATH. 217 ernment bequeathed to us by the founders of the republic, that a check should be placed upon its power and unjust accumulation, and a system adopted which will secure to the laborer the fruits of his toil; and as this much desired object can only be accomplished by the thorough unification of labor, and the united eiforts of those who obey the divine injunction, that "in the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread," we have formed the Industrial Brotherhood, with a view of secur- ing the organization and direction, by co-operative effort of the power of the industrial classes, and we submit to the people of the United States the ob- jects sought to be accomplished by our organiza- tion, calling upon all who believe in securing "the greatest good to the greatest number," to aid and assist us : I. To bring within the folds of organization every department of productive industry, making knowledge a standpoint for action, and industrial, moral, and social worth — not wealth — the true standard of individual and national greatness, II. To secure to the toilers a proper share of the wealth that they create ; more of the leisure that rightly belongs to them ; more societary advanta- ges ; more of the benefits, privileges, and emolu- ments of the world ; in a word, all those rights and privileges necessary to make them capable of en- joying, appreciating, defending and perpetuating the blessings of republican institutions. III. To arrive at the true condition of the pro- 118 SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. ducing masses in their educational, moral, and financial condition, we demand from the several States and from the national government the estab- lishment of bureaus of labor statistics. ^ IV. The establishment of co-operative institu- tions, productive and distributive. v) V. The reserving of the public lands, the heri- tage of the people, for the actual settler — not an- other acre for railroads or speculators. VI. The abrogation of all laws that do not bear equally upon capital and labor, the removal of un- , just technicalities, delays, and discriminations in the administration of justice, and the adoption of measures providing for the health and safety of those engaged in mining, manufacturing, or build- ing pursuits. VII. The enactment of a law to compel char- tered corporations to pay their employes at least once in every month in full for labor performed during the preceding month in the lawful money of the country. VIII. The enactment of a law giving mechanics and other laborers a first lien on their work. IX. The abolishment of the contract system on national, state, and municipal work. X. To inaugurate a system of public markets, to facilitate the exchange of the productions of farm- ers and mechanics, tending to do away with mid- dlemen and speculators. XI. To inaugurate systems of cheap transporta- tion to facilitate the exchange of commodities. SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. 129 XII. The substitution of arbitration for strikes, whenever and wherever employers and employes are willing to meet on equitable grounds. XIII. The prohibition of the importation of all servile races, the discontinuance of all subsidies granted to national vessels bringing them to our shores, and the abrogation of the Burlingame treaty. XIV. To advance the standard of American . mechanics by the enactment and enforcement of equitable apprentice laws. XV. To abolish the system of contracting the labor of convicts in our prisons and reformatory institutions. XVI. To secure for both sexes equal pay for equal work. XVII. The reduction of the hours of labor to eight per day, so that laborers may have more time for social enjoyment and intellectual improvement, and be enabled to reap the advantages conferred by labor-saving machinery, which their brains have created. XVIII. To prevail upon the government to es- tablish a just standard of distribution between cap- ital and labor by providing a purely national circu- lating medium based upon the faith and resources of the nation, issued directly to the people, without the intervention of any system of banking corpora- tions, which money shall be a legal tender in the payment of all debts, public or private, and inter- changeable at the option of the holder for govern- 120 SEARCHING FOB THE TRUE PATH. ment bonds, bearing a rate of interest not to ex- ceed three and sixty-five hundredths per cent., sub- ject to future legislation of Congress." There was in existence at that time an organiza- tion known as the Industrial— Brotherhood. A. Warner St. John, of Carthage, Mo., was the leading spirit in the society, and saw in the organization which started out from Rochester with so much of promise an ally which he hoped would in time prove of great service to the cause in which he was engaged. Mr. Schilling conferred with the officers of the Industrial Brotherhood, which at that time had about forty branches in existence, and finally arrived at an understanding by which the name and ritual of the organization then in existence was adopted, and when the constitution was printed it bore the name of the INDUSTRIAL BKOTHEEHOOD. The two societies became one, and, from that time worked under the same code of laws, under the same ritual, and declaration of principles. The ritual provided for the initiation of mem- bers regardless of their affiliation with other organ- izations, and pledged each member to secrecy so far as the workings of the society while in session were concerned. It pledged every member to work with earnest zeal, and to the best of his ability to aid in bringing about the objects of the order as outlined in the preamble. The candidate for ad- SEARCHING 'FOB THE TRUE PATH. 121 mission was told at the threshold of the organiza- tion that " should you become one of us, you will be required to work with all your strength and en- ergy to secure the ends therein enumerated. You will be required to lay aside all selfishness and per- sonal motives as we have all agreed to do, because labor can only be elevated by concerted action on the part of all concerned. The condition of one part of our class can not be improved permanently unless all are IMPROVED TOGETHER. From this you will see that the task before us is not an easy one, and in consideration of this fact we will admit none to membership unless they agree to work with heart and hand, and with might and main to secure the amelioration of the produc- ing classes." The candidate would then be asked if he agreed to do as required ; if he consented, he was admitted to membership by being regularly initiated. After being admitted to full member- ship, the new member was taken before the pres- ident of the lodge, who administered to him the fol- lowing advice : " It is now my duty to add a few words of ad- vice. The great aim and object of our organization is to secure for the industrial classes that position in the world and in society to which they are en- titled as the producers of the necessaries and the comforts of life. It is a strange state of affairs that those who produce nothing, but live on the labor 122 SEARCHING FOB. THE TRUE PATH. of others, hold the highest positions, are most re- spected, and can live in ease and luxury, while those who earn their own bread, and the bread of others, in the sweat of their faces, are often suffer- ing from poverty and destitution, and in many cases in old age have no alternative but starvation or the poorhouse. " That such a condition of things is manifestly unjust none will deny, and for this reason we de- mand that worth, and not wealth, shall be the standard of greatness; that individuals shall be treated arid respected according to their industrial, moral, and social worth, instead of measuring their value by the length of their purses. To secure these desirable objects we should be willing to la- bor unremittingly and unselfishly, for only through hard and unceasing work can we expect to erad- icate and remove ridiculous prejudices that are now in our way. You have been chosen as one of these workers. See to it that you do not waver in your efforts ; allow no wily enemy or ignorant friend, no seemingly insurmountable obstacle, to lead you from the path of duty, but let the Redemption of Labor from oppression and prejudice be your goal. " Let your guides be truth, justice, and charity. By truth deceit and hypocrisy will be banished from our midst, sincerity and plain dealing will distinguish us, and the heart and tongue join in promoting each other's welfare, and rejoicing in each other's prosperity. Justice we should be will- ing to give all, as we demand it for ourselves ; and SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. 123 in being charitable toward the errors or failings of others, we only do that which we desire others to do unto us. " I now bid you a hearty welcome to the Indus- trial Brotherhood, and earnestly hope that you will work with us and for us, and remain of us, until the objects of our associating together are perma- nently secured, or until you join that great Broth- erhood above." Constitutions were printed and distributed, rit- uals were sent to deputies with which to proceed with the work of organization, but the sentiment expressed in the words: "The condition of one part of our class can not be improved permanently unless all are improved together" was not ACCEPTABLE TO TRADE UNIONISTS, who were selfishly bound up in the work of ameli- orating the condition of those who belonged to their own particular callings alone. The Rochester convention selected as a motto, which would, in few words, give a reason for the existence of the organization, the words of Burke : " When bad men combine the good must associate, else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." Bad men had com- bined to rob the nation of its liberty, to rob the children of America of the lands to which an all- wise Providence had called them ; to take from la- bor the very crust it held between starving fingers ; 124 SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. to stifle the cry of distress that it might not ascend on high to speak against the greed of man; to gamble in food, in money, and life itself Grood men and true were required to battle against such iniquities as these, and for that reason the Indus- trial Brotherhood was formed, for that reason did it select that motto. The deputies who were elected to carry forward the work of organization made little or no head- way. They were commissioned by the president, as follows : Alabama — Thomas Casey, Montgomery. California — ^Wm. Dunn, Sacramento. Colorado — Isaac Seely, Denver. Connecticut — 0. E. Powers, West Meriden. Delaware — Francis Bonner, Wilmington. Florida — J. McKay Smith, Milton. Georgia — John A. Warren, Rome. Illinois — B. J. Murphy, Chicago. Indiana — Jackson H. Wright, Indianapolis. Iowa — Jacob Goehring, Davenport. Kansas — Charles H. Messinger, Leavenworth. Kentucky — Maurice Coll, Louisville. Louisiana — Richard Swann, New Orleans. Maryland — John Matthews, Baltimore. Massachusetts — G-eo. E. McNeill, Cambridgeport. Michigan — P. Dwyer, Detriot. Minnesota — E. A. O'Brien, Minneapolis. Mississippi — James C. Greener, Water Valley. Missouri— Wm. T. Blaetterman, St. Louis. Nebraska — John Tracy, Omaha. SEABCHINO FOB THE TRUE PATH. 125 New Jersey— John Gr. Drew, Elizabeth. New York — G-eorge Blair, New York. North Carolina — Chas. W. Winn, Wilmington. Ohio — David A. Plant, Columbus. Pennsylvania — John Siney, St. Clair. South Carolina — Wm. H. Pratt, Helena. Tennessee— r^o&G^h. Hicks, Nashville. Texas — ^Wm. Gribbons, Houston. Vermont— Y. C. Meyerhoffer, Rutland. Virginia — C. W. Thompson, Manchester. West Virginia — Z. F. Brantner, Martinsburg. Wisconsin — Hosea P. Osborn, Milwaukee. The president was vested with authority to ap- point additional deputies as occasion might de- mand. John Siney, deputy for Pennsylvania, who at the time was president of the Miners' and La- borers' Association, had but little time to devote to the work assigned to him by the Rochester conven- tion of the Industrial Brotherhood, and President Schilling appointed as deputy for western Penn- sylvania, T. V- Powderly, a machinist, who was at the time employed in the machine shops of the Oil Creek and Allegheny River Railroad Company, at Oil City, Pa. The commission was ISSUED ON THE EECOMMENDATION of the president of the Machinists' and Blacksmiths' Union, John Fehrenbatch, of Cleveland, 0. Mr. Powderly was at the time a member of the Machin- ists' and Blacksmiths' Union. A subordinate lodge of the Industrial Brotherhood was organized in Oil 1B6 SEARCHING FOR TEE TRUE PATH. City, and another in Pittsburg, Pa. The commis- sion was issued by Mr. Schilling on the fourth of June, 1874. So far as known this is the only com- mission that was issued to any but those who were appointed at the convention at Rochester. The next convention of the Industrial Brother- hood was to be held in Indianapolis, Ind., on the first Thursday before the second Tuesday in April, 1875, but the continued depression in trade and the indifference shown by the mechanics to the work of organization proved fatal, and when the time came to call the convention to order, the or- ganization had received its DEATH BLOW from those who should be most interested in pro- longing its existence. Once again did history repeat itseK; once again did defeat attend the best efforts of good, earnest men, who lived ahead of their time ; once again did the employer laugh at the folly of men, who, while clinging to an association which had raised around itself a wall over which those of other trades could not climb, or to which none but the elect of the trade could come, allowed an organiza- tion which would bring all men of toil face to face at a point where the scales would fall from their eyes, where they would see their condition as it really existed, to die even while they were crying out against the evils which this association of all others could abolish. Once again could it be writ- SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. 127 ten on the tombstone of buried hopes and aspira- tions : "Murdered in the house of its friends." No matter what objections may have existed, or no matter what opposition may have been shown to the men who made up the conventions of the order, the officers, or the constitution of the order, it was not a sufficient reason for allowing the as- sociation to dwindle away and die of NEGLECT AND INDIFFEEENCE. The cry raised against the formation of local lodges of the Industrial Brotherhood was : " It's no use in having so many organizations ; we have our trade union and that is enough; we are not in favor of allowing our affairs to be discussed by those who know nothing about them, and we will Tiot associate with the common every-day laborers in any organization of labor; we do not object to meet- ing with them elsewhere, but to place them on the same level with ourselves is asking too much. Pretty soon they will want to take our places at the bench, and it is time to nip this thing in the bud." They did nip it in the bud, and at the same time nipped the hopes of the toilers in the bud. The ( rapid decline of the Industrial Brotherhood had a disheartening effect on the leaders of trades unions, who had hoped to see the new order win its way to favor among the rank and file of their associa- tions. The order had its birth among advanced trades unionists, and trades unionists gave to it \ 128 SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. the blow that drove it from the field of labor re- \ form ; but while the Industrial Brotherhood died, \its spirit still lived and took new strength in an- pther and more powerful order of toilers, who, prof- fiting by the errors of the past, began to creep be- 'fore attempting to walk in the face of opposition from capitalists, suspicion from the general public, and jealousy on the part of those who adhered to trade lines in the ranks of labor. If the convention which met at Rochester had been composed of men who were not connected with trades unions ; if it were possible for such to have the same experience in the affairs of labor as trades unionists had acquired, there is no doubt but that, as a separate organization, the Industrial Brotherhood would have made more progress than it did. The principles enunciated were so BROAD AND LIBERAL as to appeal to the sympathies of workingmen gen- erally, but those who had never been connected with organizations of any kind, understood little or nothing of the tendency toward centralization of wealth. The opposition to labor organization, even on the part of those who worked for a liveli- 1 hood, caused men to look askance at every effort in the direction of combination. The men who were instrumental in calling the convention were trades unionists. They were sin- cere and active workers in the unions to which they were attached, and they could not consistently SEARCHING FOR TEE TRUE PATH. 129 or conscientiously advocate the exclusion of trades unionists as such from the Industrial Brotherhood, ^ since their intention was to bind trades unions, as well as men, together. It is easier to bind men, whose interests are identical, together, than to cause associations,, whose selfish interests are paramount, to come to- gether and become a part of a united whole. Old ties must be sundered or strained, old forms must give way or submit to radical alterations, RECOGNIZED PRINCIPLES of trade regulation must be modified to meet the ever-coming changes. These things were not un- derstood, and the men selected to sow the seeds of the new organization known as the Industrial Brotherhood were obliged to travel over fields whose soil was already sown with another kind of grain. To induce one to take root while the other was growing, was next to impossible; and even though it had been done, it is a question if the re- sult would not have proved disastrous to both the old and new orders. But the principles of the Industrial Brotherhood were not permitted to die out of sight. The pa- pers of that day gave wide circulation to the work that was done at Rochester. The Philadelphia Ledger^ in commenting on the work done, said : "Altogether this is the best specimen of a plat- form we have seen for a good while — best in its clearness and force — ^best in its freedom from in- 9 130 SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE PATH. flated nonsense, mere "bunkum," or artful dem- agogical appeals to passion or prejudice. Some of the demands may be debatable ; none of them can be stigmatized as unreasonable, and most of them are perfectly right." The platform was copied far and wide. It was read by men who, though they were not members of any organization, felt that there was much food for reflection in what had been given out by the Roch- ester convention. Isolated organizations of different branches of trade were scattered all over the United States. Some of them were slumbering, others dying, and none of them flourishing. It is for the purpose of SCANNING THE PEOGEESS made by one of these associations that we now turn back the pages of history for a few years in order that the connection between the organization of tho past and present may be traced ; that the pream- ble, issued from the convention of the Industrial Brotherhood, in 1874, may be followed through the years in which it lay dormant until it was adopted, given new life, and sent out to the world by an- other organization that has made these principles known wherever men and women toil for bread ; wherever they meet to discuss their rights and wrongs, for they have been translated in every lan- guage now spoken, and are in the hands of work- in{jmen in all quarters of the globe. How slight a chance may raise or sink a soul. " standing still is cbildlsh folly, Qoing backward Is a crime: None should patiently endure Any ill that he can cure; Onward ! keep the march of Time." —Mackay. The Garment Cutters' Association — Its failures and final dissolution — U. S. Stephens and H. L. Sinexon discuss the situation— Plans for the future — Meetings in Fairmount Parle — Organization of Assembly No. 1 — Meeting in the United States engine house- First election of officers — First advertisement in public press — William Fennimore becomes a member — Eesolutions allowing members to make known their connection with the Assembly — Resolution to admit other than garment cutters — Death of Henry A. Sennig— Memorial service — First person not a garment cutter proposed for membership October 20, 1870 — Sojourners admit- ted — Trade lines disappearing — First violation of obligation — Method of admitting members — Planting of the seed — To shield men from those in their own sphere and calling — A healthy public opinion on the subject of labor— The evils of the strike illustrated- Conditions to be investigated— Officers of the As- sembly-Annual address of M. W.,U. S. Stephens— Second ad- dress of Stephens— John Hobson, the second member, dies- Memorial services— William Fennimore prepares and reads a poem— Second Assembly organized July 18, 1872— Other assem- blies organized in quick succession— The organization extends beyond the Umits of Philadelphia. MONGr the local societies organized in Phil- adelphia during the civil war was an asso- ciation of garment cutters. The demand for clothing to supply the wants of the army had (131) 132 MAKING PROGRESS. I brought to the front the speculator in shoddy, who attempted to palm off his worthless wares on the government and public. The great demand for clothing, and the inducements offered to contractors, created a corresponding demand for tailors, and drew the attention of men to that trade who had never sewed a stitch, or even pricked the finger end with the needle as apprentices. The specula^ tion which was indulged in at that period brought rich rewards to those who were directly interested. When the skilled workmen, those who had spent long years at low wages, and had served years as apprentices, saw the inroads that were being made upon the tailoring trade by the introduction of so many INCOMPETENT VTOEKMEN to the bench, they began to question whether it was not time to make an effort to stem the tide of ruin that was setting in against their trade. No action i was taken until the employers, encouraged by the 1 work they had done, and in the hope of realizing still greater gains, inaugurated a scheme to reduce the wages of the tailors. Among those who had been carefully scanning' ;the field of operations, and studying the signs of the times, were the garment cutters of Philadel- ) phia, who, as soon as the movement in favor of a reduction of wages made itself visible, called a meeting in the autumn of 1862, and passed resolu- tions which declared that they were entitled to a MAKING PROGRESS. 133 fair compensation for labor done, and would accept nothing less. From this meeting grew the organ- izatiqn aftewards known as the " Garment Cutters' Association of Philadelphia." It grew in strength and influence. It had on the roll of membership some of the ablest men who toiled for a living in Philadelphia ; and it was particularly fortunate in j selecting for the first corps of officers the best and brightest men in the craft. The care and attention which had been displayed in the election of the first set of ofiicers became a precedent by which officers were chosen at follow- ing elections, and gave to the ASSOCIATION A STANDING among the garment cutters which it would not oth- erwise have had. This association continued in existence for a number of years. Having served the purposes for which it was first ^ organized, it became a beneficial association, taking \ care of the sick and disabled members, and assist- i ing many members of the trade who were not in ' affiliation with the association. In the early spring of 1869, a lack of interest having manifested itself among the members, it was .deemed advisable by some to introduce new features, and ijaake some changes which innovations in work-shop regulation seemed to demand. One Sunday afternoon two members of the asso- ciation, Uriah S. Stephens and Henry L. Sinexon, met by appointment, and took a walk in the direc- 134 MAKING PROGRESS. tion of League Island. While sauntering along, Mr. Stephens complained bitterly of the lack of in- terest manifested by the memTsers of the Garment Cutters' Association ; he said : " There is more discussion in the cutting-rooms the day after a meeting than there is at any of the meetings. There is very little interest manifested in the welfare of the society. The members do not seem to have any conception of what organization means. I have been making an effort to have something done that will be of INTEREST To OUB PEOPLE, I but am becoming disgusted with the manner in which they receive it. The organization can not last long ; it will go to pieces, and I want to get to- gether some of the broad, thinking members and see if something can not be done to formulate a plan to prevent this loud talking in the cutting-rooms. Why, the floor-walkers, who are not connected with i the society in any way, carry every day to the counting-rooms all that has been done in our organ- ization, and they pick it up by hearing our loose- imouthed members discussing it at the bench." Mr. Sinexon asked his companion if he had given any thought to the formulation of any plans ; the reply was : " No, but I am determined to make an effort to institute something different. When the dissolution takes place I shall make an effort to get some good men together and originate something that will be different from what we have ever had." MAKING PBOGRESS. 135 Mr. Sinexon then discussed the features of the various societies with which he was connected, and contrasted their aims and methods with those of the association of garment cutters. He said: "I have been looking all my life for something that will be advantageous to the masses; some- thing that will develop more of charity, less of selfishness ; more of generosity, less of stinginess and meanness than the average society has as yet disclosed to its members. I can not find it, for from none of the societies with which I am con- nected can I carry home the feeling that I would wish to bring with me. We want to establish a society that will place. MANHOOD AND ITS NEEDS at the forefront instead of the dollar he pays in." In this way these two men discussed various measures of reform for several hours, and finally parted with the understanding that each was to in- vite a chosen few to meet at a certain spot in Fair- mount Park on the following Sunday. The meet- ing in the park was attended by eight or nine of \ the older and more reliable of the Garment Cut- ters' Association. They agreed to draw up plans for the organization of a new order, and to submit them at a subsequent meeting. On several Sun- days these meetings were held in the park. The , men who met would take three of the park benches ' and place them in the form of a triangle. They ' would then sit on the inside of the triangle, and 136 MAKING PROGRESS. each one would read off the plans he had drawn up during the week. Mr. Stephens usually occupied the post of honor in the center, and at the close of each meeting all papers would be placed in his pos- session for consideration. Should it happen to rain while they were in session, they would seek the shelter of one of the park buildings, and there con- tinue to perfect their plans. They continued to meet in this way for months. When the weather grew too cold for them to meet in the park they held their sessions in the homes of the members until their plans were well matured. On December 9, 1869, a resolution was offered at a meeting of the Garment Cutters' Association: " To dissolve and divide the funds among the mem- bers in good standing." The motion met with but little opposition, and its passage was PRACTICALLY UNANIMOUS. Immediately after the dissolution of the Garment Cutters' Association, several members from among those who had made a study for several months of the best means of inaugurating a new movement among the garment cutters, met in the hall of the American Hose Company, on Jayne street, below Seventh, and proceeded to organize by electing Jas. L. Wright as temporary chairman, and Robert McCauley as temporary secretary. After a free and deliberate discussion of the subject of organiza- tion, the question was put to each person present: " Have you any objections to connect yourself with MAKING PROGRESS. 137 a secret organization?" The following answered in the negative by stating that they had no objec- tions to offer : James L. Wright, Wm. H. Phillips, U. S. Stephens, Robert McCauley, William Cook, James M. Hilsea, Joseph S. Kennedy, Robert W. Keen, and David Westcott. Mr. Keen was then placed in charge of the door, a pledge of SECRECY WAS ADMINISTERED to all present, and a password was given out to be used on subsequent occasions. Various plans were considered, and the measures which had been under discussion for months by the few who had busied themselves with the work of bringing the new order into being, were referred to a committee consisting of XJ. S. Stephens, R. W. Keen, David Westcott, Joseph S. Kennedy, James M. Hilsea, James L. Wright, and Robert McCauley, with instructions to meet and prepare, from the documents placed in their possession, a secret work, such as would be suitable for the government of such a body. It was agreed at this meeting that no further mention would be made to any one who was not present, ex- cept those who had taken part in the preliminary discussions, which had taken place in the park and at other places. When that meeting adjourned it was to meet again in the same hall on the 23d of December of the same year. When the second meeting was called to order, the committee on secret work made 1S8 MAKING PSOGEESS. a partial report, which was the only subject dis- cussed. James L. Wright occupied the chair at this meeting. The third meeting was held at the house of Jos. S. Kennedy, on December 28, 1869. At this meet- ing the name of the new association was made a subject for discussion, and it was decided to call it THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR, and the local name of the body was to be Garment Cutters' Assembly. It was reported that a room could be secured in the United States Engine House, at Fourth and Vine Streets, and Messrs. Keen and McCauley were appointed to engage the room. The committee made a partial report, and recommended a form of obligation to which U. S Stephens, R. W. Keen, James L. Wright, James M. Hilsea, Joseph S. Kennedy, William Cook, and Robert McCauley subscribed. / This meeting began the permanent organization j of the first Assembly of the Knights of Labor. At the next meeting, which was held in the room which had been secured in the United States Engine iHouse, on December 30, 1869, the committee on ritual reported progress, and G. W. Cook, H. L. Sinexon, W. C. Yost, Samuel Wright, G. W. Horn- berger, and James JBarron, were elected to mem- bership. . On January 6, 1870, the first regular officers were elected after the committee on ritual recommended what titles the officers should be known by. It MAKING PROGRESS. 139 was decided to call the retiring presiding officer! Venerable Sage, the presiding officer Master Work- man. The next officer in rank to be known as Worthy Foreman. The other officers were to be i known as Worthy Inspector, Unknown Knight, Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary, and Treasurer. James L. Wright, who had occupied the position of presiding officer, was appointed Ven- erable Sage, and Uriah S, Stephens was elected the first Master Workman for the year beginning Jan- uary, 1870. It had often happened, during the experience of the founders of the Knights of Labor, that men who were given to the practice of indulging in strong drink had BROUGHT DISGEACE on societies to which they belonged by frequenting saloons on the meeting nights of their societies, and who either became drunk and disturbed the har- mony of the meeting, or else presented the specta- cle to the world of going direct from the meeting- room to the saloon, from whence they did not come until they were in such a condition as to reflect no credit on themselves or anything with which they were connected. Being composed of sensible, rea- soning men, the new organization determined thati nothing would be left undone to make the meet- ings pleasant and profitable; it was resolved to! offer a substitute for the amusement for which men sought in saloons,, and combine sociability with 140 MAKING PBOGRESS. /business by setting apart a time during each meet- ' ing when refreshments would be served. After a certain portion of the proceedings of the meeting would be transacted, usually after the in- itiation of new candidates, the Master Workman would declare Ihat the meeting would take a recess for refreshments. Hot coffee, sandwiches, cake, and lemonade would be served during recess, and when the regular order of business would be re- sumed, the bills for the same would be passed upon and ordered paid. Through this practice, I and through the watchful care of the members, no newly-initiated candidate was permitted to spend ,any time in a saloon until he became THOROUGHLY CONVERSANT with the purposes of the society, and understood the importance of keeping his business, as well as [that of the society, from those who were not mem- bers. At a meeting held in February, 1870, it was de- cided to fix the initiation fee at a dollar, and on May 5th, of that year, the first newspaper adver- tisemeiit ever published under the auspices of tn. assembly of the Knights of Labor was ordered by the Garment Cutters' Assembly. It appeared in the Ledger on May 10 and 11, 1870, and reads as follows : " Fountain of Power — K. ofK. officers and rep- resentatives. — A special meeting will be held on MAKING PROGRESS. 1^1 Thursday, 12th inst., to act on first report from State Labor Union, giving aid to Garment Cutters' Branch ; to resist the attempt of certain oppressive houses in the trade to reduce the wages of skilled workmen; secondly, shall the patronage of Indus- trials be given to establishments that refuse just remuneration? By order. L. A. Smith, M. E. W." When the meeting assembled, May 12, the Mas- ter Workman explained that he signed the adver- tisement L. A. Smith because it was not advisable to have his own name appear, for the reason that he was known so well in the craft that it would not have the same effect as though the announce- ment was made over the signature of some one unknown to the MAJORITY OF EMPLOYERS. It was also advisable to have it appear that there was a strange or new organization in existence in the city, one which had connection with a national association. The initials, L. A., signified "Labor Advocate ; " and the letters, " M. E. W.," were sug- gested by Mr. Sinexon, and by him interpreted to mean " Most Excellent Workman." When these explanations were made, the assembly ratified the action of the Master Workman, and passed a vote of thanks for the effort which had succeeded in bringing together so large a meeting. William Fennimore became a member of the t^2 MAKING PROGRESS. assembly on January 20, 1870, and contributed largely to the successful career of the association. On June 6th a special committee of five was ap- pointed on ritual. The committee consisted of Messrs. J. M. Hilsea, Joseph S. Kennedy, H. L. Sinexon, Robert McCauley, and Robert W. Keen. On the first meeting in July, 1870, a discussion arose as to the best means of securing members, and it was thought by some that it would be well to remove at least a portion of the secrecy which surrounded the member when asking a workman to join. The following motion was entertained by the chair on the evening of July 14th, and after a sharp debate was voted down : " To allow members to disclose to such persons as they wished to propose the existence of this order." At a subsequent meeting, held on August 11th, Mr. McCauley made a motion, which RECEIVED THE APPBOVAL of the assembly. It is in the following language . " That a member of this assembly have the priv- ilege to reveal his membership in this organization to those he desires to obtain for members ; Provi- ded always, however, That he does not reveal the name or names of any other person or persons who are members of this organization, according to the terms of the obligation." The adoption of this regulation allowed the mem- ber more freedom, and as a consequence he could MAKING PROGRESS. 1^ go further into detail when asking a person to be- come a member of the society. The idea of extending the benefits of the organ- ization to others than garment cutters was first in- troduced at a meeting of the assembly on July 28, 1870. A motion was made to "strike out the words Garment Cutters' Assembly," but it did not prevail. The idea was suggested by a member who believed that the doors of the association should be thrown open to workingmen of every trade or calling. On October 5, 1870, the first death occurred in the assembly. Henry A. Sennig was the first mem- ber of the Knights of Labor that an assembly was called upon to mourn. A memorial service was held, and the portrait of the deceased was placed in the minute book of ±he assembly. On October 20tW the first person not a garment cutter was proposed as a sojourner in Assembly No. 1. In order to SPEEAD THE BENEFITS of organization among workingmen, it was allowed to initiate good men of all callings, and to allow them the benefits of association on the same foot- ing with the garment cutters, except in deciding trade matters. Sojourners were not required to pay any dues until such time as enough of their own calling had been initiated to form a separate assembly. The sojourner was admitted that he might become a missionary among his fellow- IJj.^ MAKING PROGBESS. 1 tradesmen; he was to be an instructor and an or- ganizer. This departure from the original plan of the as- sembly was the first real step in advance of the old system of organization that was made, and from the 20th of October, 1870, dates this history lof the order of the Knights of Labor as something in advance of, and differing from, the exclusive i trade union. From its inception Assembly I^o. 1 was more exclusively a trade organization than any trade union that had ever existed in the United States. None but garment cutters, who could prove that they had served a stated term as ap- prentices, were admitted. The principles of co-op- eration and assistance were to be confined to a few who could pass examination as first-class work- men. The REAL WORK OF KNIGHTHOOD had not yet started, and the founders of the first assembly, with the exception of Uriah S. Steph- ens, William Fennimore, and Henry L. Sinexon, were as much interested in trade matters as any person who belonged to a trade union. Compared with the trade unions of that day the first assem- bly of the Knights of Labor was far behind them in toleration and fellowship. The idea which Stephens and Sinexon discussed at the outset was not put in practice until the adoption of the motion, made by the latter, threw open the doors for the admission of other workmen MAKING PBOORESS. 1^ than garment cutters. From that moment began the progressive work of the Knights of Labor. The ideal organization for which the workers in i the National Labor Union and the Industrial ! Brotherhood had sought in vain, loomed up before j the eyes of those who were members of the new I order in 1870. From that moment organization took on a new significance, and assumed more DIGNIFIED AND IMPORTANT proportions. Trade lines were no longer powerful enough or sufficient to encompass the toilers who sought protection, as much from their own errors through their ignorance of the rights and duties of each other, as from the encroachments of unscrup- ulous employers. The secrecy which enshrouded the new order made it difficult to organize, and it was a process slow of operation to propose, elect, and initiate a candidate. As secretly as they worked, the operations of the members could not be screened from the public gaze. On October 27, 1870, it was reported to the assembly that "one of the members had been so indiscreet as to reveal to several persons not only the existence of this organization, but also part of the machinery and the benefits to be derived there- from, as well as the names of the members." A committee was appointed to wait on the of- fending member, but no action was ever taken to prevent a repetition of the transgression, and the member who had violated his obligation made sat- 10 146 MAKING PROGRESS. isfactory excuse to the committee, and was forgiven on promise not to repeat the offense. When a member found a man who was consid- ered worthy of admission, he was questioned as to his opinions concerning the elevation of labor, and if his sentiments were found to be in accord with the objects of the society, his name would be brought before a meeting of the organization, the local name of which was " Grarment Cutters' Assembly No. 1." A committee would be appointed to make an in- vestigation into the qualifications of the person pro- posed. The member who proposed th§ candidate was not allowed to act on the committee, for the reason that he might be swayed or INFLUENCED BY FRIENDSHIP in making his report. When the committee re- ported, the candidate was balloted for ; if rejected, no further mention was made of the matter to any one. The candidate would be kept in ignorance of what had transpired; and the members, even those who had voted against his admission, would . treat him with the same consideration in the work- shop as before. If the candidate was elected the friend who pro- posed him would on some pretext invite him to a meeting, a party, a ball, or a gathering of some kind, and manage to secure his presence at the regular meeting-place of the assembly on the night of initiation, and when the candidate for the first time learned that he was to enter a society as a MAKING PROGRESS. 147 new member, lie was at the same time led to be- \ lieve that his friend had also been invited there for ! the same purpose ; so that in case of failure to in- > itiate, the elected one would not even then know ' that his friend was connected with the society. This method of securing members was kept up for several years, and became the rule with all fut- ure assemblies. The reason for this EXTREME SECEECY was because it was claimed that open and public associations had, after centuries of toil and struggle, proved to be failures in one way or another. It was also claimed that when the association worked openly, so that its members might be known to the public, it exposed its members to the scrutiny, and in time, the wrath, of their employers. It was deemed best to work in such a way to avoid com- ment and scrutiny. The troubles which were at that time attracting .attention toward the coal fields from which Phil- -adelphia received its principal supply of fuel, also influenced the members of the new order. Through -open and public association the men of the coaK fields allowed desperate men to gain admittajice to their societies ; and among the latter was the de- tective, who, in order to earn his salary, added to his treachery the crime of perjury and murder in order to make out a case against his fellow-men. Where associations of workingmen are working .openly it matters but little what laudable object 148 MAKING PROGRESS. they may have in view, men can always be had for a price who will deliberately enter a society as though actuated by the best of motives, and after ingratiating themselves in the good graces of the members, become leaders only to lead to ruin and death. Such things have been done in Pennsyl- vania, and it was to avoid the repetition of such a catastrophe that the first assembly of the Knights of Labor assumed the garb of secrecy which it wore until, with the rest of the order, it cast the outer covering aside, and announced to the world that there was such an organization as the Knights of Labor working for the EMANCIPATION OF THE "WAGE-EARNER. The seed that is carelessly sown, or scattered over the surface of the earth, is at the mercy of every wind. It may for a time take root, but so long as it is unprotected it can never be expected to grow and flourish. The rain, wind, and sun- shine, elements that would have destroyed it if left exposed at the outset, will contribute to its strength and future life if it is securely screened from expo- sure by being placed beneath the surface of the earth in the beginning. It was that the organiza- tion and its members might be protected as the seed in early spring-time that the veil of secrecy was first adopted; and the precaution was neces- sary, protection was necessary, not only from the employers, but from men who toiled for a living also. MAKING PROGRESS. I49 Jealousy, malice, and mean ambition were known to the men of labor as well as to others, and it was for the purpose of keeping profoundly secret their actions from men in their own sphere and calling, as well as others out of it, that the early pioneers of the Knights of Labor hid themselves from public view. They did not adopt the veil of secrecy to promote or shield wrong-doing, but to shield them- selves from PERSECUTION AND WEONG. In using the power of organized effort and co-op- eration they simply followed the example which capital had previously set ; for in all the diversified branches of trade, capital had its combinations, and too often, through their operation, had crushed the manly hopes of those who were gu^aranteed the right to live and be happy under the laws of the land. Humanity was frequently trampled in the dust that money might be exalted to the shrine at which the few worshipped. It was not the intention to create an antagonism! between labor and capital. No conflict with legit- 1 imate enterprise was contemplated, but the mem- bers realized that men who possessed wealth, in their haste and greed, blinded by self interest, often overlooked the interests of others less fortunate than they, and frequently violated the rights of such as they deemed helpless and defenceless. Stephens and his co-laborers meant to uphold the dignity of labor, and to affirm the nobility of all 160 MAKING PROGRESS. who earned their daily bread in an honest way, but they swore unending enmity to every form of vice by which the poor were being fleeced for the ben- . efit of the gamblers in the necessaries of life. It was their intention to work for the creation of a healthy public opinion on the subject of labor, — the only creator of values, — and to advocate the justice of its receiving a full, complete share of the values, or capital, it created. It was furthermore intended to support all laws that were made to HARMONIZE LABOR AND CAPITAL; for since labor gave life and value to capital, it was but just to place both upon an equality before the law..,, Laws which were intended to lighten the ex- haustiveness of toil were to be supported and ad- vocated, and .new laws were to be advised in the interest of the worker. Every lawful and honor- able means was to be resorted to to procure and retain employment for fellow-members, and it mat- tered not to what country, color, or creed the mem- ber belonged, if misfortune befell him, he was to receive' the aid and comfort of his fellow-members. Strikes were discountenanced, but when it became justly necessary to make use of that weapon, it was intended to aid such members as might suffer loss. In short, it was the intention to extend a helping, hand to every branch of trade which made a part of the vast industrial forces of the country. Members were not taught that idleness was to be respected in any one, and the newly-initiated MAKING PROGHESS. 2S1 soon realized that those who surrounded him were not there to spend their time in frivolous or idle amusement. The new member soon learned that to rescue the toiler from the GRASP OF THE SELFISH was a work, which, being worthy of the best of the race, was an undertaking in which he might well engage, to the end that he might help to divest la- bor of the evils to body, mind, and estate which ignorance and the greed of man ha^ fastened upon it. The fundamental principle on which the organ- i ization was based was co-operation, not a co-oper- ation of men for the mere purpose of enhancing the value of their combined contributions to any pro- ductive enterprise alone, but a co-operation of the various callings and crafts by which men earned the right to remain upon the earth's surface as con- tributors to the public good. The barriers of trade were to be cast aside ; the man who toiled, no mat- ter at what, was to receive and enjoy the just fruits of his labor and exercise of his art whether, as a skilled artisan or the humblest of the toilers of the earth. Such is but an epitome of the aims and objects of the new order which had its real beginning when i the Garment Cutters' Association voted to admit ( men of all callings. The old society admitted to membership none but garment cutters, but a rad- ical change was made in this direction by the new 152 MAKING PROGRESS. one. It recognized the right of all toilers to com- bine, and having admitted that they should do so, it was considered best for all that all should be as- sociated together in one fold, wherein the actions of all craftsmen would be known to each other, and thus avoid those errors of the purely trade society. In the early stages of organization in the United ! States, when a trade union felt called upon to take i action on a question of any kind, the feelings, wishes, or interests of others were never for a moment considered. To illustrate: If the iron moulder had a difference of opinion with his em- ployer, and could not settle it in a EEASONABLE TIME, he never sought the advice of the machinist to whose hands the casting would go after it left the sand into which it had been run as molten metal by the moulder. When the moulder struck against the decree of the employer, the machinist was forced to stop work ; the blacksmith, who did the forging for the same machine that the machinist and moulder were at work upon, suspended oper- ations also; carpenters, who did wood-working in connection with the establishment, had to leave off until the trouble was settled with the moulder. The boiler-maker, too, had to submit to a stay of proceedings. In fact, all the employes of that concern were prevented from working at their usual occupations on account of the strike in which they were all concerned, but in which they had no MAKING PBOGBESS. 153 right to have a voice, or to the settlement of which they could not contribute. When the employer had a diffetence of opinion as to wages, rules, or discipline with the machinists in his employ, and in a fit of anger ordered them to quit work until the difficulty was settled, he never took into con- sideration that he was at the same time depriving men of employment who, while they were con- cerned in the controversy, had no chance to offer a word of advice or ENTER A PROTEST against hasty action. Not only did a strike affect ' the mechanics who were employed in the partic- , ular establishment where it originated, but it af- \ fected other branches of trade apparently far re- ' moved from the scene of conflict. '' The shoe manufacturer, who made the shoes which were worn by the men employed in the foundry and machine shop, soon felt a depression in trade when the men who were on strike ab- sented themselves from his place of business, and no longer purchased so niany shoes as before for themselves and families. Then shoemakers were told to not come to work, and they too joined the ranks of the non-producers. The clerks, who stood behind the counters in grocery and dry goods stores, who, in that day felt that they were a step higher in the social scale than the men at the bench and in the factory, were dismissed until the strike was ended, and the men 154 MAKING PROGRESS. again were earning money with which to purchase shoes, groceries, and dry goods. The factory did not require any fuel while the men were out of work ; the shoe shop, if run by steam, did not re- quire so much coal to make steam, and blacksmith, carpenter, machinist, moulder, shoemaker, clerk, merchant and manufacturer did not PUECHASE COAL IN SFCH QUANTITIES as before the suspension of work. If the institution which had been thrown idle was a railroad shop, then the brakesman, the engi- neer, the fireman, the conductor, and the switch- man felt the depression when they were informed that they must remain idle until the trouble had been adjusted. The locomotive was run into the roundhouse, and no longer burned coal. Then the effects of the trouble between the employer and one branch of labor extended to the mines, and the demand for coal was not so great, and more men were told to remain idle until the trouble was se1> tied. More men were thrown idle along the line of the road on which the coal was transported to market. When the companies who mined coal saw so many men out of employment, they saw an oppor- tunity to reduce wages, and they made the at- tempt. The result invariably was a strike which added fresh recruits to the ranks of the unem- ployed. The trouble did not end there. Factories in other parts of the country suflfered fori want of MAKING PMOGRESS. 255 coal, and were shut down, not alone for the want of coal, but for the want of trade which was lost to them through the idleness of those already men- tioned. In other factories wages were reduced, other strikes took place and more men were placed on the list of non-producers. Reverse the beginning of the strike, lockout, or dispute, and let it start among the miners of coal, and the results would be the same in the end. One strike, if of any consequence at all, begets others, and entails losses on those who are powerless to either stay the hand that stops the first wheel, or to give advice to the employer who too often feels that, in the matter of advice, " it is better to give than receive," Co-roperation for a common end was necessary. That common end was to forever STOP THE SUICIDAL POLICY that debarred workingmen from entry to the work- shop because of a difference of opinion which should have been submitted to a tribunal where the inter- ests, not alone of the employer and his workmen would be considered, but a tribunal which wouldl carefully investigate the cause of the strike andj the effect of the stoppage of work by one branch of industry upon all others. It has somewhere been said that the order of the Knights of Labor grew out of a failure, but the details were not given, and they were not neces- sary; but the failure hinted at, and the failure 156 MAKING PROGRESS. which really led to the organization of the Knights of Labor, was the failure of the trade union to grapple, and satisfactorily deal with, the labor question on its broad, far-reaching basic principle : the right • of all to have a say in the affairs of one. It was because the trade union FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THE EIGHTS of man, and looked only to the rights of the trades- man that the Knights of Labor became a possibil- ity. Trade rules would not allow a common, every-day laborer to take a place in a shop as a mechanic until he had served an apprenticeship, but the tradesman, who religiously adhered to that doctrine, when on strike against an injustice of any kind, or when locked out by his employer, would not hesitate to take the shovel from the lean, half- starved hand of the laborer, and cause two men to stand where there was room for but one. The rights of the common, every-day laborer were to be considered by the new order, because the members of trades unions had failed to see that they had rights. The failure of the National Labor Union, the good and noble originators of which in vain strove to make it a power for good, was also a reason why the new organization should enter upon its mission. The founders of the Knights of Labor were fully acquainted with the attempts which had been made by the founders of the National Labor Union to bring tradesmen to a sense of their duty to the MAKING PROGRESS. 137 whole of labor's forces. They also knew that every effort to bring all branches of trade into i closer affiliation had proved a failure through the opposition manifested by the rank and file of the trades unions, and they knew that if their work should be done as openly as was the work of the National Labor Union, the same opposition would retard the progress of the movement. The unjust restrictions and greed of capitalists, the tendency to monopoly on the part of large concerns, and the SELFISHNESS OF THE MECHANICS of America, are the reasons why the Knights of Labor were first organized, and also furnish the reason why the early movement was shrouded in mystery so profound. It was observed by those who were members of the first assembly, that when workingmen of what- ever calling were engaged in a strike, they could rarely tell the why and wherefore of the strike; they could not say whether the establishment in which they were employed paid better wages than any other, or whether the rules of discipline dif- fered or were more severe in other workshops. The conditions of the workman in his home were seldom considered by the labor organization of that period prior to 1869. The new order deter- mined to investigate the conditions which sur- rounded the worker from the time he went to work in the morning until he again presented him- 158 MAKING PROGRESS. self at the door of the workshop to begin the next day's toil. One of the officers of the assembly was delegated to ascertain the full facts in regard to the work, wages, and manner of living of the laborer. The statistician, as this officer was called, was required to ascertain the names and locations of all who were members, the amount of money received and spent by them, as well as by the concern for which they toiled. He had the right to call for the as- sistance of all members in GATHEEING AND COMPILING STATISTICS. It was hoped that the profits of the man whose cap- ital was invested would become known to the pub- lic, and that knowledge, coupled with the informa- tion which would be gathered by the statistician of the assembly would enable the worker to decide how much of the joint product of his labor and his employer's capital should compensate the worker. Another reason why the full facts in relation to profits and compensation should be gathered and made known, was that a fair and impartial public could accurately decide the justice of every case brought before the tribunal of that healthy public opinion which the new association hoped to create on the subject of labor. The officer known as inspector was to keep a record of all employed and unemployed members, the number of unemployed was to be noted at every meeting, their names read off to the assem- MAKING PBOGBESS. 159 bly, and questions asked as to where employment could be secured for those who required it. Not only was the inspector required to know how many were employed, but it was also his duty to know why they were out of employment. The effect was to be traced to its cause so that steps could be taken to remove the cause. All of this came within the domain of Knighthood, and should not be over- looked in particular or detail. Ignorance of the law of the land, of the every- day affairs of life was considered a wrong, and it was told to the new member that he should learn to write his name in full, and learn to read it when written. In this way it was hoped all members would be secured against FALSE-HEARTED FRIENDS and designing enemies. The ofl&cers of the assembly were a master workman, whose duty it was to preside over the affairs of the society; a worthy foreman, who should perform the duties of the master workman in the absence of that officer; a recording secre- tary, to keep a correct account of what transpired at each meeting ; a financial secretary, who would receive the dues of the members, and keep an ac- count opened between the assembly and its mem- bers ; a treasurer, to whom the financial secretary should turn over all money that he received; a statistician, whose duties are outlined elsewhere in these pages; a worthy inspector, whose task 160 MAKING PBOGBESS. is also spoken of; an unknown knight, who was to take charge of all applicants for admission, and see that they were properly introduced to the meeting; an assistant unknown knight, whose name indicates what the duties of the position should be; an almoner, to visit all sick and dis- abled members, and relieve their distress. One feature of the almoner's duty was indicative of the broad, liberal spirit which animated the mov- ers in the new association, when the almoner found a brother-members in distress, he was authorized to ALLEVIATE THAT DISTEESS, and carefully conceal the name of the recipient. When he made his report and stated what he had done with the funds, that was sufficient. No names were asked for. His honor and the care observed in his selection were the only safeguards taken or required by his fellow-members. Confidence in the officers was instilled into the minds of the mem- bers by the careful method of selecting them for their, important duties. At a meeting, held January 12, 1871, Master Workman Stephens read to the assembly an an- nual address,- as follows : "A cycle is ended, the first in our history, and bears its record of labors and toils to the Dead Sea of the past. During the year Grod's toilers have worked and wept as of yore. The brain has throbbed and the heart has bled for wrongs they were powerless to right. Busy industry has strug- MAKING PROGRESS. 161 gled to heap in the lap of the world's commerce the usual amount of values. 'Rich in model and design; harvest tool and husbandry. Loom and wheel and engin'ry, secrets of the sullen mine, Steel and gold, and corn and wine, fabric rough or fabric fine, Sunny tokens of the line, polar marvels; and a feast of wonders, out of West and East.' "And -while the toiler is thus engaged in creating the world's values, how fares his own interest and well-being? We answer, badly; for he has too little 'time, and his faculties become too much blunted by unremitting labor to analyze his condi- tion, or devise and perfect financial schemes or re- formatory measures. " The hours of labor are too long and should be shortened. I recommend a universal movement to cease work at five o'clock on Saturday as a be- ginning. There should be a greater participation in the profits of labor by the industrious and intel- ligent laborer. In the present arrangement of labor and capital the condition of the employe is simply that of wage slavery, capital dictating, labor submitting; capital superior, labor inferior. This is an artificial and man-created condition, not God's arrangement and order, for it degrades man and ennobles mere pelf; it demeans those who live by useful labor, and in proportion exalts all those who eschew labor, and lives (no matter by what pretense or respectable cheat, for cheat it is), without productive work. "Living by and on the labor of others is dishon- 11 162 MAKING PROGRESS. est, and should be branded as such. Labor and capital should treat each other as equals. Let us hint to the world in broad and unmistakable terms our demands. Where lies the fault that this con- dition of things exists? Mainly with ourselves. Disjointed, inharmonious, no concert of action, not even much mutual respect ; prone to defer to wealth, to respect pretension, and bow to assumption, in- stead of boldly stripping it of its mask and expos- sing its hidiousness. " What is the remedy ? Cultivate friendship among the great brotherhood of toil ; learn to re- spect industry in the person of every intelligent worker ; unmake the shams of life by deference to the humble but useful craftsman ; beget concert of action by conciliation ; confidence by just and up- right conduct towards each other ; mutual respect by dignified deportment, and wise counsel by what of wisdom and ability God in his wisdom and good- ness may have endowed us with. " In our own sphere and circle much has been done in the year that has passed. Much prepara- tion before the foundation could be laid ; much ma- terial to be gathered. A retrospect of the year is satisfactory. Several have been steady in their sit- uation. Some have been changed to better, and many have been assisted to vacancies they would not have known of All this and more has been done, and all has tended toward the central point of keeping the remuneration up to a satisfactory standard. Influences are at work to reduce the MAKING PROGRESS. 263 standard. This must be watched vigilantly, and, if necessary, an effort must be made to counteract the evil by public, open work ; blows in the right place that will tell and hurt, for evils have their vulnerable points and can be reached. " There is work for the ready hands and willing hearts, and abundant harvest awaits the reaper. Let us be aroused ; labor's interests have suffered long enough, because the interested ones neglect to take care of them ; unwise counsels have too long prevailed ; suspicion and distrust have too long kept us apart ; let us reason together, and let our rea- sonings bear the fruit of action. Knighthood must base its claims for labor upon higher ground than participation in the profits and emoluments, and a lessening of the hours and fatigues of labor. " These are only physical effects and objects of a grosser nature, and, although imperative, are but the stepping-stone to a higher cause, of a nobler nature. The real and ultimate reason must be based upon the more exalted and divine nature of man, his high and noble capabilities for good. Ex- cessive labor and small pay stints and blunts and degrades those God-like faculties, until the image of Grod, in which he was created and intended by his great Author to exhibit, are scarcely discernable, and ignorance boldly asserts does not exist. Time will not permit us to reason out the details or en- force them by argument, but must leave their de- velopment to your own thought and investigation. To Grod and your own best judgment I leave the 164 MAKING PB06BESS. cause. Prophecy and inspiration assert the ulti- mate triumph of the principle." When five assemblies had been organized a com- mittee on good of the order was formed by select- ing three members from each assembly to meet in joint session for the purpose of discussing the af- fairs which related to the welfare of the whole. This committee continued in existence until the or- ganization of the first district assembly, which took place in December, 1873. At one of the meetings of the joint committee on good of the order, Mr. Stephens delivered an ad- dress upon the duty and purposes of .the assembly. This address was never before given to the public, and is so instructive that it not only deserves to be preserved, but ranks among the best literature of the order of the Knights of Labor. The address of Mr. Stephens was preceded by a selection, and is as follows : "The Ideal Organization. " Make for thyself a definition or description of the thing which is presented to thee so as to see dis- tinctly what kind of a thing it is in its substance, in its nudity, in its complete entirety, and tell thyself its proper name, and the names of the things of which it has been compounded, and into which it will be resolved. For nothing is so productive of elevation of mind as to be able to examine method- ically and truly every object which is presented to thee in life, and always to look at things so as to MAKING PROGRESS. 165 see at the same time what kind of universe this is, and what kind of use everything performs in it, and what value everything has with reference to the whole, and what with reference to man, who is a citizen of the highest city, of which all other cities are alike families ; what each thing is, and of what it is composed, and how long it is the nature of this thing to endure." — Marcus Aurelius Antonius. "The City of Refuge. " For untold ages men have seen and felt the vice and misery that spring from poverty, and an unequal distribution of the wealth produced by la- bor. They have seen and felt, too, that as the pos- sibilities and privileges go where the wealth goes, so do the burdens of society fall heavier upon them, and with more crushing severity as their just share of wealth recedes and hopelessly eludes their grasp. This has been the travail of the ages as they passed ; but the night of agony and despair is rapidly passing away. The day dawning of hope is illuminating the horizon, and as light spreads over the world, the masses begin to discern the remedy for the evils under which they have heretofore writhed, and divesting themselves of the impediments with which they have so persistently burdened them- selves, they are pressing toward the gates of the City of Refuge, over which is inscribed, in letters of living light, ' Organization.' " Within these gates, and as seen from the city side, these letters blaze with the ineffable glory. 166 MAKING PROGRESS. and sparkle with the unutterable truth, Universal Brotherhood. The babel of tongues is hushed within its sacred walls ; the discords of party strife are stilled; the war of creeds gives place to the white-robed angel of charity. Creed, party, and na- tionality are but outward garments, and present no obstacle to the fusion of the hearts of the worship- ers of God, the Universal Father, and the workers for man, the universal brother. "Men have not been idle in the past, nor un- mindful of their duty to themselves and their fel- low-toiler. Seer, prophet, and apostle have labored and kept vigil by the altar and the way ; but the result has mainly been to cry in the wilderness, and foretell of the good time to come in the dim and distant future, and the crown of martyrdom. Statesman, philanthropist, and scholar, too, have" wrought as best they could ; but the surrounding gloom of bigotry, ignorance, and selfishness has nullified their efforts, and craft and cunning bore off the rich increase of toil. A fatal want rendered their efforts nugatory, and left the masses hope- lessly in the toils of craft, which rioted in the lux- ury and plenty created by labor. That fatal want was organization, — combination, — based on high, noble, and holy sentiments, the mother of princi- ples, the nurse of reform, a tower of strength in numbers for the weak, a City of Refuge for the per- secuted and proscribed. " In the fullness of time it came, as messiahs have ever come, when the world was ready for MAKING PROGRESS. 167 them, could receive them ; as every epoch has come, when the conditions of growth were favorable ; as the leaf in spring, the fruit in summer ; as the in- gathering in autumn. Our beloved fraternity is here ! The world is ready for it. The conditions are favorable to its growth. It has come to stay ; it has a work to do ; it will do it. God's seal of approval has been set upon it in its increase, and the shape it has given to the thought of the coun- try, everywhere apparent in the hostility manifested by its enemies. Let us but do our duty. Ma- homet, whether right or wrong, was one of the most remarkable men in history. He gave to each one of his followers a promise, ' Victory or Para- dise ! ' and he was successful. We formulate the ^ great universal cry of the toilers of every land, — every phase of legalized robbery, as the greater contains the less, as the sum of all evils under which the masses groan, and the sum of all the remedies includes all incidentals — ' Land and Lib- erty ! ' " The work to which this fraternity addresses it- self is one of the greatest magnitude ever attempted in the history of the world. It enters a field occu- pied by no other organized effort ; is engaged in a work essayed by no other instrumentality in exist- ence, that of knitting up into a compact and homo- geneous amalgation all the world's workers in one universal brotherhood, guided by the same rules, working by the same methods, practicing the same forms for accomplishing the same ends. It builds 168 MAKING PROGRESS. upon the immutable basis of the Fatherhood of God, and the logical principle of the Brotherhood of Man, Beyond these two correlated and insep- arable truths, it neither seeks nor allows any inter- ference with man's religious faith, or the duty they owe to their family, their country, or their G-od. Inspired by these lofty principles, it moves ma- jestically forward to elevate the race to a higher plane of existence, — a truer, nobler development of its capabilities and powers, and a realization of the greatest good possible Avithin the limit of law. "Its work is the complete emancipation of wealth-producers from the thraldom and loss of wage-slavery. The entire redemption of the world's toilers from the political tyranny of unjust laws, and the annihilation of the great anti-Christ of civilization manifest in the idolatry of wealth, and the consequent degradation and social ostracism of all else not possessing it, and its baneful eflfects upon heaven-ordained labor. " Civil and religious liberty and theoretical equal- ity before the law we already have in America. That was achieved for us by our revolutionary fore- fathers, and bequeathed by them as a sacred legacy to us, their descendants and successors. But an ac- cursed slavery, a heaven-denounced tyranny, a de- grading, atheistical idolatry remains, has grown upon us, which it becomes our duty to ourselves, to our posterity, and to God and humanity, to de- stroy and utterly annihilate. This we must do for ourselves. If we neglect or refuse to do it, let MAKING FHOGBESS. 169 things remain as they are; we shall justly be the prey of monopolists, the serfs of lords of land, slaves of lords of labor, and victims of lords of law ; be simply bread-winners ; that and nothing more. Fortunate in succeeding in accomplishing that, and escaping the almshouse and a pauper's grave at last. No higher aspirations of manhood can be in- dulged, no brighter prospects in the future for our- selves, or the children to come after us ; no addi- tion to the legacy bequeathed us by our patriotic forefathers, who did what they could in their day for the upbuilding of humanity, but left an un- finished superstructure for those who came after them to complete. This must not be. The possi- bilities of humanity must not be circumscribed or rendered impossible by mere wealth, the creation of labor, or confined only to the possessors of it, however acquired, thus creating and continuing an aristocracy of the most pernicious kind. Labor must be r'endered and esteemed as much a heaven- given ordinance as matrimony, and its . increase just as sacred and inviolable to its producer ; and he that degrades or defrauds it, rendered as odious and infamous as the licentious libertine. The op- pressors of labor should be made to take their proper place with the slaveholder and tyrant of barbarous times, and the corrupt or unfaithful leg- islator justly placed in the category of fratricides, pirates, and outlaws. "Such is its work, undertaken in the fear and reverence of Grod, and with the same reliance and 170 MAKING PROGRESS. trust in His help and approval, and the same un- shaken belief in the justice of the cause as our fore- fathers felt and expressed when they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to achieve the civil and religious liberty of the Amer- ican colonies. "Watchman! what of the night? The day is dawning, the City of Refuge is in sight. 'And they shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build and another inhabit ; they shall not plant and another eat.' — Isaiah. "Clear seeing, a clear understanding, must al- ways precede action; for action, to be efficient, must be intelligent. "In giving a synopsis of its objects and pur- poses, its benefits, and advantages, a manual for the efficient working of its methods, and a realization of the ends sought to be accomplished thereby, it will be necessary to first define what it is not; for the reason that many are inclined to draw their ideas, or patterns of societary workings, and meth- ods of operations from the formularies of ' benefi- cial orders,' and the narrow range of the former trades union. "The A. is neither the one nor the other. It is as much more and greater as a week's work, with all its attendant interests, is greater than the giving of a dime for the relief of a fellow-mortaLin distress, or aiming to restrict the industry of the world to the production of Chinese fans. As the MAKING PROGRESS. 171 whole is greater than a part, so the A. is greater than any organization founded simply to protect one interest, or to discharge one duty, be it even so great as that of benevolence. " While it retains and fosters all the fraternal characteristics of the one, and the single trade pro- tection of the other, it gathers into one fold all branches into which productive labor is now sub- divided, and by the multiplied power of union protects and assists all. Isolation in the former method is weakness, and invites oppression, and has always experienced its crushing effects. The impregnable strength of compact union deters and prevents assault, ostracism, black lists, martyr- dom, and assures victory and triumph. " The fraternity of the one is here supplemented and intensified by our business and educational purposes, by our world-wide and universal scope, embracing as it does in its care the entire wants and necessities of the worker of to-day in every part of the globe, under every condition of life, in- dustrial and social. Its foundation of exact meth- ods produces exact results ; and the baffling and in- complete effects of the isolated trade society are avoided. "At the founding of an A. the Title deed of Heaven to Man of earth is read. Man's inalienable inheritance to his share for use is set forth. The right to life carries with it the right to the means of living. Human statutes that obstruct or deny deny these rights are wrong, unjust, and must give 172 MAKING PROGRESS. way, and in time be reversed and obliterated. Man, the child, must come into his inheritance from Grod, the Father, In Oriental language hill and mountain are metaphorical terms for govern- ments. The peoples composing these governments must have ' clean hands and pure hearts,' i. e., their acts righteous, their principles pure; and they * shall receive the blessing from the Lord. Such, and such alone, are the generation of them that seek him.' In those rich, poetical languages, 'gates' and 'doors' refer to instrumentalities — av- enues of accomplishment. So, in founding an A. the door is opened, the instrument furnished through which right may be established and jus- tice perpetuated among men. The tabernacle — the dwelling-place of God — is among men. No longer shall men pine, for justice, or perish for lack of judgment. ' And He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.' " ' Grod and Humanity.' How inseparably con- nected ! Grod, the Universal Father ; Man, the Universal Brother ! The sacred symbol can never be effaced from the memory, or the sacred obliga- tions we owe one to the other forgotten or neg- lected, without injury to ourselves. "The unbroken circle is an impenetrable shield, protecting man in his threefold nature, — ^physical, mental, and moral. Golden silence guards the as- sembly with the same jealous care that men guard their greatest treasures. Obedience to the ' officers of their choice ' — ^rendered with the same alacrity MAKING PROGRESS. 173 as at the outposts of ' Honor and Danger ' — is re- warded with the cordiality due to fidelity and safety. " Efficiency should be aimed at in every A. Feeble efibrts and feeble means are sure to result in failure. Failure, in this day of great results and gigantic enterprise, should be held as beneath the dignity of workers in a cause so great, a world so full of resources. The equipment should be complete; the location the best for the purpose. All the symbols are important object lessons, and have their teachings. All surroundings are inspir- ing, and have an elevating or depressing effect, as they are good or indifferent. Enlightened liberality brings better return than pinching par- simony in equipping the A., and gives stabil- ity. Accomplished officers always commit their work to memory. They take the floor, and do their work without a book or impediment of any kind. This is the universal custom. The open- ing service, when well done, has a harmonizing effect, and results in a more pleasant and prof- itable session. Precision in detail soon leads to efficiency of work in all that is undertaken. In no part of the labors of an assembly is this more ap- parent than in the ' covering ' of an initiate. First impressions are most indelible. In most men it colors and influences their societary life, and de- termine their stability and usefulness. No effort should be spared to render the ' covering ' as nearly perfect as possible. 174 MAKING PROGRESS. "After the two principle officers at the Base and Capital have given their lectures, the initiate may be taken to an anteroom, where the work of the center may be communicated by the V. S., and the important instructions of the I. in the secrets of the M. W. R. B., and the duties of the Almoner and F. S. given. These should never be omitted. In this way the business of the A. will be interfered with but a very short time. After receiving the instructions, the initiate can work his way into the sanctuary in the usual manner, and receive the short closing address of the M. W. The friendly greetings of the members can follow. But little time of the A. proper has been con- sumed, .yet a full instruction has been given. New and forgetful members, if they so desire, can, on permission of the M. W., accompany the V. S. and refresh their memories in the unwritten work. "Despatch of business depends greatly on the M. W. He should call to his assistance as many light-footed and competent brothers as will be nee- ' essary to execute trifling duties, without for a mo- ment quitting his station, except some important matter absolutely requires it. When so assisted he should politely give thanks in an audible tone of voice. When officially absent from his station, the A. should 'work from the Base,' as per form. The M. W. giving one tap, should say, 'The A, will now work from the Base,' and send the gavel to the W. F., by the hand of a messenger. The W. F., giving one tap, should say, ' By order MAKING PROGRESS. 175 of the M. W. the A. will now work from the Base.' Address is then made to, and motions put by, the W. F. On again resuming his station, the M. W. should give one tap and say, ' Work will now pro- ceed in form from the Capital.' " Time should always be taken to do all things decently and in order. If the world's workers are true to themselves they will not be long confined to evenings, in which the important matters of the industrial world must be hurried through. Shorter hours, 'five days for labor, one day for God, and one for humanity,' in every week, will give more time to devote to the momentous interests of the world's redemption. " It would be to some a startling proposition to hold society meetings in the day time, on one of the working days of the week. Some would think they could not spare the time, that they could not afford it, etc. All such considerations would be true in relation to a society with circumscribed ob- jects, though they were ever so good and laudable. But the A. is not a 'society;' it is a 'business firm,' every member an equal partner, as much so as a bank, a commercial house, or a manufacturing establishment. Each one is in duty bound to put in his equal share of money and time. Nothing, absolutely nothing, has been done when the ofl&cers have been elected, if they are expected to run it and the partners to do nothing, as is the case in mere ' societies.' In this earnest men quit playing 'society,' and get down to bonajide work Just in 176 MAKING PROGBE,'^. proportion as a broad, sensible view is taken of the situation of the toiler to-day, and broad, enlight- ened efforts are made to meet the requirements of the situation, will be the benefits derived. ' As ye sow so shall ye also reap,' fits exactly here, as much so as it does in the mercantile house, the fac- tory, or the bank. There' can be no ' silent part- ners ' in this business, and the working world will yet grow up to the giant idea that the labor ques- tion is the momentous question of the age, and overshadows all others. " Very few men have any just conception of the changed' condition that exists to-day between the productive labor of the world (which includes their own, of course), and that which existed before the introduction of machinery production and steam motive power, and the changed modes of conduct- ing the world's commerce, or exchange of products necessitated thereby. I " The individual producer is overwhelmed, lost sight of entirely, in the mighty combination of steam, electricity, and paper exchange. " The power of all these elements in trade have been developed to an almost illimitable degree in the few decades last past, whilst the power of one set of muscles, or one brain (one individual), has remained, and must still remain, stationary. What is the per centum value that one producer sustains to the world's commerce torday as compared with the value he bore when the world's work was done by muscle unaided or supplemented by power- MAKING PROGRESS. IJ'J driven machinery? What is the secret of this mastery of material over man ? Are human souls to grow of less value in exact ratio to the increase of wealth production by inanimate machinery? What will be the effect in a few years, or decades at most, of this domination of soulless material over the destiny of man ? It is a question of the moral quite as much as of the material well-being of the race. Both are involved and can not be separated. "The answers to these momentous questions can not be derived from narrow grounds or isolated in- terests. They must cover all or they will fail to cover any satisfactorily. Thinking men stand dazed in the presence of the oncoming condition of the toiler involved in the supremacy of mere mate- rial wealth, the creation of his own labor. The he- roic struggle of the trades unions was but partial and palliative, and contained no promise of ulti- mate cure. They had their uses, and are to be commended therefor. They taught their lessons to the toiling world, served their purpose, and left a legacy of experience for the guidance of the world to better methods, and means more in accordance with the existing order of things to-day. " " These are a few hasty glances at the situation to touch up and sharpen the outlines of the work to be done by the A., and a reminder that the world means business, and that labor efforts must conform to similar standards. "In the foregoing the founding and opening services were alluded to, and the covering instruct- 12 178 MAKING PROGRESS. ing touched upon. Let us now take the depart- ments in detail. " The business of an active A. necessitates a large correspondence by the secretary on matters of importance to the trades and callings of the membership. This correspondence should all be read and properly disposed of by the A. before leaving his table to take up any other business. This will lead to the methodical disposition of the correspondence, and originate many points of inter- est, and the development of fruitful sources of in- formation. It is the reception of the ' week's mail,' and parcelling the contents to the proper ' heads of business ' or departments for future action and dis- position further on in the session. It gives time for thought by members and consultation by com- mittees, thus avoiding hasty action and immature conclusions. Hasty action and incomplete consid- eration are the bane of labor councils, and will be as long as they are confined to evening meetings. What would religion be without one day in seven, or one-seventh of the entire time? What would the legislation of a state or a nation amount to if done in such a trivial manner ? Is the every-day interest of a life time so small, involving as it does the destiny of the race ? " It is a certain fact that the inventive genius of man, and the wealth-producing capacity of the country, were enhanced many fold by the adoption of the ten hour system. What, then, may we not reasonably expect from a further shortening of the MAKING PROGRESS. 179 "J hours, or what would be better, a reduction of the working days to five per week, and a consecra- \ tion of one whole day to the interests of labor? Committees are the hands of the A. by which it works, and the secretary's table is the place from whence the material is taken, and to which the fin- ished work is returned ready for this disposal of the A. He should receive the cordial assistance of every one. His minutes are the crystallized ac- tion of the whole A., and should be kept accord- ing to the best models, and in the technical lan- guage of the, order. Any other mode would be as improper as it would for the sailor to conduct the affairs of a ship in the terms of the farm. An ef- ficient navigator will not tolerate the landsman's phraseology on shipboard. Words and terms are more enduring than monuments, and have a direct influence on mankind. " The secretary should be stationed within easy, low-toned ear-shot of the M. W., and the two should act in perfect accord, for upon those two depend the successful conduct of the session. An efficient secretary is invaluable, and should not be changed except on death or removal of residence. Whilst the M. W. is the head, the secretary is the efficient right hand of the A. His table should be thor- oughly equipped with all the appliances necessary for the faithful discharge of his duties, and the rapid dispatch of business. When well supplied with all the appurtenances of the office an active A. will keep him busy, and an efficient secre- \ 180 MAKING PROGRESS. tary will keep the A. up to its work. His du- ties are distinct from that of the financial secretary, who is stationed at the Base, in the rear of the W. F." The manuscript of the remainder of the docu- ment is so torn and obscured as to be illegible. Sufficient of it is given to make clear the idea of the first Master Workman as to the duties of the officers and members of the society. At the end of the first year the association had elected one hundred and thirteen candidates, and initiated seventy into the mysteries of Knighthood. On the occasion of the death of John Hobson,, who died on March 10, 1871, it was decided to hold a memorial service in the sanctuary of Assembly No. 1, on the evening of March 16th. At the meeting at which the motion to hold the memorial service was made, the Master Workman requested that some member volunteer to compose an orig- inal poem in commemoration of the services of the departed member. William Fennimore tendered his services, and at the meeting held on the 16th he read a poem which was inscribed upon the min- utes .of the meeting. It is as follows : A FALLEN FRIEND. We Btand to-night, as some will stand again, To mourn a friend and brother of the past, That formed a link in love's cemented chain. Whose weary Umbs ha,ve found repose at last. MAKING PROGRESS. 181 Time's wheels that move with never-ceasing roll, Along the shores of ever-ebbing streams, Have brought another to his journey's goal, To sleep the sleep that's undisturbed by dreams. Once mpre the cold and raven-colored hand Has passed around the sable cup of grief For us to drink, though labor's tree may stand, To weep in sadness o'er the fallen leaf. His nature social, ever free and kind ; To give instruction, or assistance lend, With mind congenial to congenial mind, A hand to grasp the stranger or a friend. The head that once an active brain possessed. Is wrapt in slumber never more to wake To friendship's call ; but on its pillow rests. Till on his brow the final day shall break. The eye that beamed" with penetrating glance, That's faded now and withered with the brain, Will never more with love and pleasure dance. Or weep in sorrow with a brother's pain. The tongue is palsied, silent is the voice. And never more the kind and friendly word. To make the hearts at home or friend rejoice. Will at his home or by his friends be heard. The heart that throbbed with kindness warm and true Has ceased to beat and every pulse is still ; Its warmth is gone, and cold as autumn dew, Resistless lies in silence, awe, and chill. The hand that labored long has lost its grasp. And in repose is laid upon his breast; Yet memory holds the strong fraternal grasp, That linked our hearts in labor or in rest. Those passive feet have left a vacant place, And listening ear will never hear their tread; So let us leave with meek, becoming grace, Our friend to slumber with the dead. 18S MAKING PROGRESS. ADELPHION KKUPTOS, treasured in his heart, Was guarded well by silence, truth, and trust; For never deigning with the gem to part. His praise to speak is only speaking just. Then let us keep his memory ever green. In hearts as true as his we meet to mourn; Then when we fall by darts that fly unseen. True-hearted friends will think of us in turn. And where kind duty laid with many a sigh. His weary form in solitude to sleep; The rose shall borrow from the evening sky, Or give its blush for Christian tears to weep. And autumn winds shall through the branches moan, As though in sorrow o'er the silent scene; And vernal beauty when the blight is gone, Each year renew his grave with living green. On July 18, 1872, Assembly No. 2 was organized, and those who had been connected with No. 1 as sojourners took leave of the parent assembly for the purpose of organizing the ' SHIP CARPENTERS AJTD CAULKERS of Philadelphia and surroundings. The second as- sembly, once under way, the work of organization made rapid progress. Thomas Thompson, the Master Workman of Assembly No. 2, was an un- tiring worker, and left nothing undone to not only strengthen his own assembly, but to organize new ones. It was the practice to propose and initiate all sojourners in Assembly No. 1, and when a suf- ficient n amber were enlisted to draw them out, or allow them to sojourn to a new assembly of their own calling. MAKING PROGRESS. 183 The organization of new assemblies did not pre- vent the workers of No. 1 from initiating persons whose crafts were organized. When a member of No. 1 discovered a man who would make a good member, he proposed his name in No. 1, had him initiated, and then gave him a card with which to gain admittance to the assembly of his craft. On December 21, 1872, Assembley No. 3 — shawl weavers — ^was organized. No. 4 — carpet weavers — was organized shortly after. No. 5 — ^riggers — was founded by U. S. Stephens, March 27, 1873. Assembly No. 6 — carpet weavers — was organized at Kensington soon after the founding of No. 5. A SINGULAR INCIDENT occurred after the organization 'of No. 6. One day some of the carpet weavers were returning to the mill, after dinner, when they were accosted by two strangers who asked if they could get an audience with a number of carpet weavers. On being told that they were talking to carpet weavers, they stated that they were about to start a carpet fac- tory in Leavenworth, Kansas, and wished to secure the services of experienced workmen to go there to operate the factory. That evening No. 6 held a meeting. There were just enough members in- itiated to make up the number required by the men who represented the Kansas firm. They passed a motion to go to Leavenworth in a body, and take the assembly with them. Every man of 184 MAKING PROGRESS. ' No. 6 went to the West, and when they arrived in Leavenworth, established an assembly there under ' the advice and instructions of Mr. Stephens, who attended the last meeting they held in Kensington prior to their departure. After the organization of No. 6, assemblies were instituted very rapidly, and before the end of the year over eighty assemblies were in operation. No. 7 was composed of stone masons. No. 8 — ^bag makers — was organized May 8, 1873; No. 9, mar chinists and machine blacksmiths; No. 10, stone cutters ; No. 11, wool sorters ; No. 12, machinists, blacksmiths, and boiler makers ; No. 13, tin plate and sheet-iron workers ; No. 14, steel makers ; No. 15, pattern makers and moulders; No. 16, shop- smiths ; No. 17, machinists, blacksmiths, and boiler makers ; No. 18, house carpenters ; 19, bricklayers ; No. 20, gold beaters. Assemblies 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 were organized almost simultane- ously; No. 28 — ^gold beaters — ^was organized in New York City ; No. 30 was organized in Wilming- ton, Del. It was composed of ship carpenters and caulkers. No. 31, of the same calling,' was soon after organized in Camden, N. J. With the organization of assemblies outside of Philadelphia, there arose a necessity for a UNIFORM CODE OF LAWS, as well as for a printed form of ritual. Up to this time the ritual was not printed. The work was enlarged upon and perfected as the order pro- MAKING PROGRESS. 185 grossed. The committee on ritual continued to make its reports, adding new forms and ceremonies as the necessity for their use became apparent. It became necessary to have organizers stationed in the cities and towns where assemblies were organ- ized to answer the call for organization as it arose. A trusted member of the order would be selected, his name would be submitted to Assembly No, 1, and if it was deemed satisfactory he would be au- thorized to organize and found assemblies. When an ORGANIZER WAS COMMISSIONED in this way he was given a set of numbers which it became his duty to apply to the assemblies he founded ; thus, numbers 100 to 120 were given to one organizer, 121 to 141 were given to another, and in this way the numbers were given out. It was because of this practice that the record of a number of assemblies could not be obtained when the General Assembly was finally organized. Some times the full number would not be filled out by the organizer, and as a consequence no assemblies representing such numbers could be found. ©HE SOTOI^M Br^BAI^S. ■.^^^^w^^^-^-^-^T y j 'i ^jffj ' ^j ' j ' ^ w j i u r j s / is a a' Sfuv^^j i ^j ais' " Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless STOBM, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides. Your loop'd and windoWd raggedness, defend you From seasons such as these ?" Shaketpeare. The committee of progress — Organization of District Assembly No. 1 — New Jersey organized — District Assembly No. 2 founded in Camden — John M. Davis, of Pittsburg, visits Philadelphia, is initiated, and organizes District Assembly No. 3 at Pittsburg — L. J. Booker organizes assembUes in Western States — District Assembly No. 4 organized at Reading, Pa., by U. S. Stephens — Assembly No. 280 organized at Cincinnati, and admits Hugh Cavanaugh — First assembly in Lackawanna region organized by Frederick Turner and James L. Wright at Scranton— T. V. Powderly admitted to Assembly No. 88— Organization of District Assembly No. 5 — James Albert Clarke, the first Master Work- m'an — The great railroad strike breaks out on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad — The strike extends to the Pennsylvania and Delaware and Lackawanna railroads— Its efiect in Pittsburg and Scranton — The effect of class legislation — Pennsylvania Legisla- ture appoints a committee to investigate the strike— Demands of ths .Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers — Resolutions of railroad men on D. L. & W. R. R. — The miners join the strike — Brakemen return to work — Miners still out — Meeting at silk mill in Scranton — Mayor McKune, of Scranton, issues a call for as- sistance — He organizes a citizens corps — The corporations pro- vide arms and ammunition— Citizens corps meets August first in the company store of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co. — Mass meeting at silk mill breaks up in disorder and separates- Men driven from the shops — The mayor assaulted — W. W. Scranton gives the order "shoot to kill "—Three men shot down on the streets of Scranton — The strike declared off, and miners return to work after three months of idleness. N the fall of 1873 Assembly No. 1 appointed a committee of progress, consisting of five of the oldest and most experienced mem- A request went out to the other assemblies THE STORM BREAKS. 187 to take similar action. When the joint committees met they saw the necessity for the institution of a system whereby the representatives of the different assemblies could meet for the discussion of meas- ures of importance to all. It was decided to ORGANIZE A DISTRICT ASSEMBLY, and when all the assemblies in Philadelphia had instructed their committees to advocate the adop- tion of the new system, each assembly elected three delegates to attend a meeting for the purpose of or- ganizing a district assembly. The preliminarjl' meeting was held on the 18th of December, and the ! meeting on which the district was organized was held on Christmas day, 1873. Although the charter of District Assembly No. 1, which was not issued until February, 1878, shows that some of the assemblies were numbered as high as 262, they were not in existence at the date of organization, but they were attached to the district in 1878, when the first charter was issued. As- sembly No. 84, of New Brunswick, was organized prior to the formation of District Assembly No. 1, and Assembly No. 88, of Scranton, Pa., was or- ganized shortly afterwards. On October 14, 1874, District Assembly No. 2 was organized in Camden, N. J. It was composed at date of organization of Assemblies Nos. 22, 31, 52, 54, and 60. In two weeks afterwards Nos. 66 and 69 were added to the roll of District No. 2. In order to save space in writing, and to keep 188 THE STORM BREAKS. the names of the separate organizations as secret as possible,- even amoiig members, it was decided that the assembly should be known as "The A.," while the district assembly should be known as the "D. A." D. A. No. 2 was organized and founded by Mr. Stephens, and in a short time he was called on to organize some assemblies in Reading, Pa. It was the custom, whenever any prominent workingman visited Philadelphia, to initiate him into such as- sembly as would be in session during his visit. Engineers, and railroad men generally, who were running trains out of Philadelphia, were initiated with the EXPRESS PURPOSE of having them take the order to other points. When enough men had been initiated in Reading to form an assembly, Messrs. Stephens, McCauley, and Wright went up one Saturday night and on ; Sunday organized an assembly. They returned to ; Philadelphia on Sunday night, and were at work j as usual on Monday morning. They charged noth- j ing for their time or services, and voluntarily con- I tributed their car fare in order that the new organ- ! ization might flourish. ■ The organization having gained a secure foothold in the East, the attention of the active workers was turned toward the West. Pittsburg, constituting a vast hive of industry, was selected as the base of operations for the territory west of the Alleghenies, THE STORM BREAKS. 189 and the first opportunity which presented itself was taken advantage of by those who had carried on the work from the beginning. On January 9, 1873, John M. Davis began th^ publication of the NATIONAL LABOR TRIBUNE, OF PITTSBURG, i and in a short time run the circulation of the pa- per up to six thousand, principally among miners and rolling mill men. On June 25th of that year the miners struck, and about four thousand of the subscribers failed to pay their subscriptions to the paper. The strike continued until October, and when it came to an end it was feared that the paper would do the same for lack of financial support, but Mr. Davis persevered and kept the paper go- ing. He took in as partners Thos. A. Armstrong and Henry Palmer, on December 28th, giving each a third interest. While these gentlemen were associated with Mr. Davis, he heard of the existence of the organization, ; and in October, 1874, went to Philadelphia to be initiated. He was taken to Assembly No. 53 — cigarmakers — and was admitted to membership in October, 1874. On his return to Pittsburg he at once called together a number of his workingmen friends and organized Assembly No. 81. The as- sembly was composed of iron workers. James L. Wright and Frederick Turner went from Philadel- phia to assist in the organization. The next assembly was organized at Coal Valley. 190 THE STOBM BREAKS. It was No. 96, and was composed of miners. No. 98 — cabinet makers — was next organized in Pitts- burg. Then Nos. 100 and 106; the latter at Ga- litzin. Mr. Davis then began to push the organizar tion farther westward with the aid of deputies. One of the most active workers among them was L. J. Booker, who traveled through Ohio and In- diana in the interest of the organization. In March, 1875, Mr. Davis issued a call for a convention of delegates from the assemblies of Pittsburg and vicinity. All of the assemblies sent delegates, and it was decided to form a district as- sembly, but the convention was in doubt as to the method of procedure. It was not until August 8, 1875, that D. A. No. 3 was founded. Mr. Stephens responded to the call of Mr. Davis, and performed the founding ceremony. Mr. Booker was elected Corresponding Secretary of the district assembly, and Mr. Davis was called to the Master Work- man's chair. After the institution of D. A. No. 3, the officers put forth every effort to SPREAD THE ORDER IN ALL DIRECTIONS. The coke region was organized, assemblies were founded in Akron, Ohio, along the Ohio and Mo- nonghela rivers, and in various other parts of the West. During this time an assembly was organ- ized, through the efforts of Messrs. Davis and Booker, in Rock Springs, Wyoming. I There was much opposition from the start in THE STORM BREAES. 191 Pittsburg. It was very difficult to have the pro- ceedings and other work of the district assembly printed. Absolute secrecy prevailed, and only when Mr. Davis found time to write could he send out instructions to the various assemblies. He de- voted all of his means to the building up of the , order, and traveled from place to place on foot to / do the work. Mr. Booker, although a cigarmaker, bought a font of type and set up the proceedings with his own hands. Jealousy and trickery played their parts then as now, and secretly the efforts of the workers of D. A. No. 3 were opposed, but in the face of all obstacles OVEE ONE HUNDRED ASSEMBLIES were organized previous to January 1, 1876. Oi^ June 30, 1876, the last meeting of D. A. No. 3 was held under its old form, and after two years of struggle the officers of the district were obliged to yield to the pressure which was brought to beai! against them. All of this time there was but one assembly in Pittsburg — the iron workers — for the cabinet mak- ers had disbanded in a few months, because the socialistic idea was not more prominent in the order. The officers of D. A. No. 3 were very often em- barrassed by reason of the length of time necessary to receive supplies and communications from Phil- adelphia. They had to make their own pass-words, and in many other ways were obliged to depend on i9g THE STORM BREAKS. themselves for aid which should come from the of- ficers of D. A. No. 1, who were too busily engaged in the work of organizing the eastern cities and towns. / In organizing through the West, Messrs. Davis iind Booker were obliged to give out numbers to assemblies and districts, and in many instances they proved to be duplicates of those given out to eastern assemblies by D. A. No. 1. In rapid suc- cession district assemblies were organized in Con- nellsville. Pa., Akron, Ohio, and along the Ka- nawha river, in West Virginia. The district as- sembly organized in Raymond City, West Va., was No. 5. About the same time a district was founded in Scranton, and was given No. 5 by D. A. No. 1, of Philadelphia. L. J. Booker visited Cincinnati, Ohio, in the summer of 1875, and organized Assembly No. 280. Among the charter members was Hugh Cavanaugh, who had labored assiduously to keep a branch of the Knights of St. Crispin together in that city. Those who formed Assembly No. 280 were shoe- makers and members of the Knights of St. Crispin. It was understood that until a national organiza- tion was formed, D. A. No. 1 was to be the RECOGNIZED HEAD OF THE ORDER. All orders were to emanate from that source, and all numbers were to be given out under that au- thority. When D. A. No. 3 met with such phe- nomenal success in organizing new assemblies and THE STORM BREAKS. 193 districts, a jealousy sprung up between that body and D. A. No. 1. For a time this feeling threat- ened to destroy the chances for a harmonious blending of the various parts of the order. When the district was organized in West Virginia, D. A. No. 1 was not notified of it, nor of the fact that the new organization was to be known as D. A. No. 5, and in ignorance of that fact, as well as of the or- ganization of other assemblies and district assem- blies, D. A. No. 1 continued to duplicate the num- bers which were given by D. A. No. 3. D. A. No. 5, of Raymond City, West Va., and the district in Scranton, Pa., continued to work under the same number until the meeting of the General Assembly in Reading, Pa., in January, 1878. On January 23, 1876, Uriah S. Stephens founded D. A. No. 4 at Reading, Pa. The assemblies on the roll of the district at date of founding were Nos. 86, 99, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130, 165, 171, 172, and 173 of Reading, and 92 of Allentown, 118 of Potts- town, and 129 of Roy ers ford. The assemblies which were assigned to D. A. No. 4 by D. A. No. 1, BUT NOT EEPEESENTED BY DELEGATES on the evening on which the new district assembly was founded, were Nos. 90 of Bethlehem, 88 of Scranton, 91 of Allentown, 132 of St. Clair, and 133 of Bethlehem, Pa. The parent assembly in Reading, No. 86, was organized May 19, 1875. The Master Workman of D. A. No. 4 was Ged. Reiff; Worthy Foreman, Samuel Burkhart; Re-\l 13 194 ^^^ STORM BREAKS. cording Secretary, Wesley Horning; Correspond- ing Secretary, Thomas King; Treasurer, Greorge Corbett; Financial Secretary, George, Reisinger; and the Venerable Sage of the district was Samuel Whittaker. D. A. No. 4 made rapid progress, and in a short time spread over the greater part of the anthracite coal fields. Until the organization of the district at Scranton, all assemblies organized in the upper anthracite coal fields were attached to D. A. No. 4 of Reading. The first assembly in the Lackawanna Valley was organized May 15, 1875, by Frederick Turner and James L. Wright, who visited Scranton for the PURPOSE OF PLANTING THE ORDER in the upper coal fields. Acting under instructions from Mr. Turner, the stationary engineers, em- ployed in and around the coal mines, held several meetings for the purpose of making arrangements to form a society. But little interest was taken in the enterprise by the engineers, and when Messrs. Wright and Turner went from Philadelphia to or- ganize them, there were but eight persons at the meeting. With this number Assembly No. 88 was instituted, and for a long time it was a difficult matter to induce men to join the organization. The extreme secrecy which characterized the early days of Assembly No. 1 was emulated by their pu- pils of No. 88 ; in fact, those who were initiated were not told of the name of the society for weeks THE STORM BREAKS. 195 «.fter they were initiated. None but stationary en- gineers were admitted for over a year, at the end of which time Messrs. Wright and Turner paid a second visit. This time to found the assembly. On performing this ceremony they informed the members of No. 88 that they were at liberty to ad- mit men of other trades and callings as " sojourn- ers;" and that it was a part of their mission to make Assembly No. 88 the foundation for a POWERFUL ASSOCIATION of all trades and callings in the anthracite region. The first person not a stationary engineer to be admitted was a coal miner. His admission was contested for some time by the members who had not yet realized the necessity for a bond of union between all workingmen. The first master work- man of No, 88 was John F. Williams, who worked zealously for the success of the assembly ; and after the miners began to gain admittance, he had the satisfaction of seeing other names proposed. As soon as there were thirty miners enrolled they sojourned and formed an assembly of that craft in the upper end of the city known as Prov- idence. The number of the new assembly was No. 216. It was founded on July 3, 1876, by Greorge W. George, a member of No. 88, who had been com- missioned organizer by D. A. No. 1, under juris- diction of D. A. No. 4 of Reading. On the founding of Assembly No. 88 it was at- tached to District No. 1, of Philadelphia, but was 196 THE STORM BREAKS. transferred to D. A. No. 4 of Reading, when that district assembly was founded. A number of car- penters, who had been admitted to No. 88, so- journed from that assembly on August 29, 1876, and organized No. 217, of Scranton, Pa., with Dun- can Wright as Master Workman, and George Starkey as Worthy Foreman. A number of the employes of the Dickson Manufacturing Co.'s Lo- comotive Works were initiated in No. 88 during the summer of 1876, and on October 14th of that year assembly No. 222 was organized. On Sep- tember 6th T. V. Powderly was admitted to assem- bly No. 88. He was formerly initiated and in- structed, in 1874, at Philadelphia, but could, learn nothing of the whereabouts of the order until he was sought out by a member of No. 88. When Assembly No. 222 was organized, T. V. Powderly was elected Master Workman, Joshua R. Thomas was elected Worthy Foreman, and John Fitzgib- bons Recording Secretary. Organizer George found plenty of work to do af- ter' the organization of No. 222. No. 223 was soon after established in Carbondale. Assembly No. 224 was organized in Wilkes Barre, No. 225 at Dan- ville, No. 226 at Dunmore, No. 227 at Scranton, Nos. 228, 229, 230, and 231 were soon organized. When No. 231 was organized the question of ESTABLISHING A DISTRICT ASSEMBLY ■Was brought up at a meeting of representatives I from the Scranton assemblies, on January 1, 1877, THE STORM BREAKS. 197 and on the 19th of that month the first meeting, for the purpose of organizing the district, was held in Machinists' and Blacksniiths' Union Hall, Scranton. Each assembly was represented by three delegates, but none of them had ever at- tended a meeting of a district assembly, and with the exception of expressing their willingness to or- ganize, no steps were taken in that direction. George W. George was delegated to go to Reading and attend the next session of D. A. No. 4, and on his return to issue a CALL FOR THE DELEGATES TO REASSEMBLE. The call was issued for February 24th, and on that evening, in the same hall, D. A. No. 5, now No. 16, was organized. James Albert Clarke, then editor of the Scranton Free Patrol, and at this writing ed- itor of the Free Quill, Laurel, Md., was elected Dis- trict Master Workman ; Edward Black, of Wilkes Barre, was elected Recording Secretary; T. V. Powderly was elected Corresponding Secretary, and Joshua, R. Thomas was delegated to act as Treasurer. It was voted at the meeting to levy a per capita tax on each member of one cent per month for or- ganizing purposes. Joshua R. Thomas was elected organizer, and deputized to give his whole time to the work. He at once entered upon the perform- ance of his duties, and in a short time the work of organization spread through the whole valley. On July 1, 1877, D. A. No. 5 had one hundred and 298 THE STORM BREAKS. seven assemblies within its jurisdiction, and, al- though the work was carried on at fever heat, not a word concerning the order was breathed above a whisper, not a sentence that could be understood as having a bearing on the organization appeared in the press. A notice of a reduction of wages, the same to take effect on July 1, 1877, was served on the employes of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co., at Scranton. With the promulgation of this notice began an ag- itation among the men. No cessation of work took place on July 1st, but iron workers, who were members of the Knights of Labor, began at once to take steps to bring their fellow-workmen into the order. Wages at the time were low in conse- quence of the many reductions which had followed the panic of 1873, but it is not likely that a strike would have followed had it not been for a TRAIN OF CIRCUMSTANCES which led up to it. On July 16th the employes of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, who were engaged in transportation of trains at Martinsburg, West Va., struck against a reduction of wages, which was to take effect on that date. The strike spread along the entire B. & 0. system, and communicated to the Pennsyl- vania railroad on the 19th of July. The history of that strike has been written by others, and reference to it in these pages is for the purpose of explaining the connection of the Knights. THE STORM BREAKS. 199 of Labor with the great railroad strike of 1877. The men on the Baltimore and Ohio were not or- ganized, and no concert of action was taken by them, although the strike spread with amazing rapidity along* the entire system. On June 1st the Pennsylvania railway notified its employes that their wages would be reduced, and at once all railroads centering at Pittsburg be- gan to agitate the question of effecting a restora- tion of the ten per cent, reduction. On June 2d a meeting of railroad men was held at Allegheny City, and a "train men's union" was organized. The leading spirit in the move- ment was R. A. Ammon, better known during the strike as " Boss Ammon," owing to the fact that during one whole day he held absolute sway over the entire affairs of the Pennsylvania railway in and aroupd Pittsburg. The agitation continued until July 19th, and at that time was beginning to slumber, when the events on the B. & 0. R. R. rekindled the fires along the line of the Pennsylvania, and on the 19th the employes of that railroad struck work. I, .There were but few Knights of Labor on the Penn- sylvania, and as such none took part in the strike, but the members of the order in and around Pitts- burg took an active interest in the movement, and endeavored to effect a thorough organization of the "Train Men's Union" with a view to having a 200 THE STORM BREAKS. uniformity of action. The most active Knight of Labor at the time was Thomas A. Armstrong, ed- itor of the National Labor Tribv/ne. He was untir- ing in his efforts to keep down the boisterous ele- ment that flocked to Pittsburg at the time. He held several meetings with the train men, coun- seled moderation, and advised them to avoid con- tact with the idle element that at the time seemed bent on mischief. The advice that he gave was re-echoed by every member of the order who had any influence with the strikers. It is but just to the strikers to say that they followed the advice as far as practicable, and had it been left to them there would never have been an act of violence committed during the strike. The discriminations of the Pennsylvania rail- road against the city did not make many friends for that corporation in Pittsburg; and when the riot began it was noticed that business men every- where EXPRESSED SYMPATHY for the striking employes, and in many instances were found among the rioters aiding in destroying the property of the company. The Pennsylvania Legislature appointed a com- mittee to investigate the cause of the strike through- out the State. Referring to the feeling at Pitts- burg, the report of the committee says : "From the first commencement of the strike, the strikers had the active sympathy of a large THE STORM BREAKS. gQl portion of the people of Pittsburg. The citizens had a bitter feeling against the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company on account of, as they believed, ari unjust discrimination by the railroad company against them in freight rates, which made it very difficult for their manufacturers to compete suc- cessfully with manufacturers farther West, and this feeling had existed and been intensified for years, and pervaded all classes. A large portion of the people also believed that the railroad com- pany was not dealing fairly by its men in making the last reduction in wages, and the tradesmen with whom the trainmen dealt also had a direct sympathy with the men in this reduction, for its results would aifect their pockets. "The large class of laborers in the dififerent mills, manufacturies, mines, and other industries in Pittsburg and vicinity, were also strongly in sympathy with the railroad strikers, considering the cause of the railroad men their cause, as their wages had also been reduced for the same causes as were those of the railroad men, and they were not only willing but anxious to make a common fight against the corporations. This feeling of aversion to the railroad company and sympathy with the strikers was indulged in by the Pittsburg troops to the same extent that it was by the other classes, and as many of them had friends and relatives in the mob, it is not much to be wondered at that they did not show much anxiety to assist in dis- persing the crowd and enforcing the law." ( gOg THE STORM BREAKS. On Friday, July 20th, a committee of the strikers waited on the superintendent of the Pittsburg Di- vision of the Pennsylvania railway, and presented him with a written statement of the demands of the men. The following is a correct copy of the demands : "Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Pittsburg Division No. 50, Pittsburg, Pa., July 20, 1877. "To tJie Swperintendent Western Division, Pennsyl- vania Railroad : ^^ First. We, the undersigned committee ap- pointed by the employes of the "VVestern Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, do hereby demand from said company, through the proper officers of said company, the wages as per depart- ment of engineers, firemen, conductors, brakemen, and flagmen as received prior to June 1, 1877. " Second. That each and every employe that has been dismissed for taking part or parts in said strikes to be restored to their respective positions, '■'■Third. That the classification of each of said departments be abolished now and forever here- after. ^^ Fourth. That engineers and conductors receive the wages as received by the said engineers and conductors of the highest class prior to June 1, 1877. "■^ Fifth. That the running of double trains be abolished, excepting coal trains. THE STORM BREAKS. SQlT "Sixth. That each and every engine, whether road or shifting, shall have its own fireman. " Respectfully submitted to you for your imme- diate consideration. "J. 8. McCauley, " D. H. Newhart, •'John Shan a, "G. Harris, "J. P. Kessler, " Committee." Mr. Pitcairn declined to send this document to the president of the Pennsylvania company, Thos, A. Scott, and told the committee that the company WOULD NOT accede TO THE DEMANDS. Citizens of Pittsburg made an effort to have the company and men agree on some settlement, but the superintendent informed them that the matter was in the hands of the State authorities, and that the military would have to settle the matter unless the strikers withdrew from the company's property. On Saturday night and Sunday, July 21st and 22d, about sixteen hundred cars (mostly freight), including many passenger and baggage cars, with all of their contents that remained in them after the raid of the day previous; one hundred and twenty-six locomotives, and all the shops' mate- rials and buildings between Twenty-eighth street and the Union depot, were burned. It is not probable that so many locomotives ' SOA THE STORM BREAKS. would have been centered at one point were it not for the interest taken in the shaping of legislation by the agents of the railways during the previous session of the legislature. On the 22d of March, 1877, the Governor of Pennsylvania, John F. Hartranft, signed the law of which the following is the preamble and first section : "Whereas, Strikes by locomotive engineers and other railroad employes, and the abandonment by them of their engines and trains at points other than their schedule destination, endangers the safety of passengers, and subjects shippers of freights to great inconvenience, delay, and loss; therefore, Section 1. Be it enacted, etc., That if any loco- motive engineer, or other railroad employe upon any railroad within this State, engaged in any strike, or with a view to incite others to such strike, or in furtherance of any combination or preconcerted arrangement with any other person to bring about a strike, shall abandon the locomo- tive engine in his charge, when attached either to a passenger or freight train, at any place other than the schedule or otherwise appointed destina- tion of such train, or shall refuse or neglect to con- tinue to discharge his duty, or to proceed with said train to the place of destination, as aforesaid, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than THE STORM BREAKS. 205 one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court." The " Tramp Act " of the session of 1876, and the act of which the above is a part, had a ten- dency to cause workingmen to think that the LEGISLATURE OP PENNSYLVANIA was in sympathy with the corporations of the State, and a very bitter feeling existed against the corpo- ration in consequence thereof.,., The tendency of legislation of that day was in accord with the wishes of large corporations, and workingmen gen- erally felt that wealth had as controlling an inter- est in the halls of legislation as in the workshops which it directly controlled and managed. The damage to property, in Pittsburg alone amounted to $5,000,000, and, taken altogether, it was a costly experiment both for strikers and em- ployers. While the strike might not have taken place, it is certain that loss of life and property would have been avoided had conciliation been called into play in the beginning. When the news of the strike on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the one succeeding it on the Pennsylvania, reached Scranton, it found the work- ingmen of the entire Lackawanna and Wyoming valleys on the tip-toe of anxiety and expectancy. On Sunday, July 22d, the brakemen on the Del- i06 THE STOBM BREAKS. aware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad held a meeting at Scranton and passed the following res- olutions : ^^ Resolved, That we, the brakemen of the D, L. & W. R. R., know that our wages are not sufficient for the work performed by us, ^^ Resolved, That we, the brakemen of the said D. L. & W. Railroad, send a committee to confer with the superintendent of the railroad and state our grievances to him. ^^ Resolved, That we ask him to readjust our wages to the rate per day which we received dur- ing 1876, and that we send a committee to com- municate with the grand officers of the Brakemen's Brotherhood, and to solicit their support. ''^Resolved, That we ask our superintendent to let us know by six o'clock on Tuesday whether he he can comply with our request. " P. FORKIN, " E. McAlpin, "J. Gaghegan, " Committee." Wm. F. Halstead, the superintendent, received the committee, and informed them that he had no authority to restore the wages as requested, but would take pleasure in presenting their claims to the president of the company, SAMUEL SLOAN. He wired Mr. Sloan and received his reply, which was unfavorable to the employes, in time to lay it THE STORM BREAKS. 207 before the men on Tuesday afternoon, and on Wed- nesday morning the running of trains on the D. L. & W. R. R. ceased. At noon on Tuesday the roll- ing mill and steel mill men, employed by the Lack- awanna Trfvn^jifl final Do f]^iiit, wark^ and increased the number of idle men. On Wednesday morning the railroad men re- fused to allow any trains to run on the D. L. & W. road, and at ten o'clock that morning detached the passenger coaches from the mail car on the MORNING TRAIN FOR NEW YORK when it reached the Scranton station. The men telegraphed to Governor Hartranft and the Post- office Department at Washington expressing their willingness to allow all mail cars to go through. The governor advised that the mail cars be allowed to run, but the contract which the D. L. & W. Co. had made with the government only called for the carrying of the mails with passenger trains, and the superintendent refused to allow the mail car to proceed without the passenger coaches. On Wednesday, the 25th, the miners employed by the D. L. & W- Co. held an out-door meeting, and passed the following resolutions : " Whereas, We, the employes of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad Company, be- lieve that we are not getting a just remuneration for our labor, or a sufficient supply for ourselves 208 THE SORM BREAKS. and families of the common necessaries of life; therefore, "Besolved, That we demand a twenty-five per cent, advance on the present rate of wages; also, it is further "Besolved, That with the refusal of these de- mands all work Avill be abandoned from date, as we have willingly submitted to the reduction with- out a murmur or resistance, and finding that it now fails us to live as becomes citizens of a civ- ilized nation, we take these steps in order to sup- ply ourselves and little ones with the necessaries of life." A committee of six miners waited on the Gen- eral Coal Agent of the company, WILLIAM E. STORES, and laid the resolutions before him for his advice. Mr. Storrs courteously informed the committee that he would present their resolutions to the pres- ident of the company, and would give them his answer at the first possible moment. The answer sent from New York by Mr. Sloan, the president of the company, was unfavorable, and the strike of the coal miners was commenced. The strike in the coal fields took place between the sessions of D. A. No. 5, and that body, which alone had the right to decide such matters for the government of the assemblies within its jurisdic- tion, had no opportunity to deliberate upon the THE STOEM BREAKS. 209 matter until the strike was inaugurated. It would have made no difference in any event, for the wave of excitement was so swift and strong as to carry all obstacles before it, and had the district ordered the members of the order not to take a part in the strike the order could not have been obeyed. The strike in Scranton began among those who had no KNOWLEDGE OF THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR; they were not amenable to the laws of that order; knowing nothing of its existence, they could not take counsel from its members. The railroads thrown idle, the mines as a necessary consequence could not work for want of cars to take away the coal. The strike once inaugurated, a joint meeting of the assemblies located in the city of Scranton was held, and the following resolutions were passed and ordered read at all meetings of the assemblies represented : "Whereas, A general strike has been inaug- urated among all classes of workmen in the Lack- awanna Valley; and, "Whereas, Said strike was precipitated upon the miners, laborers, railroad men, and mechanics of all grades who are members of the * * * * * without consultation, and before the advice of the ***** ^g^g agked for or given ; therefore, ^^Resolved, That while expressing our sympathy ;4 BIO THE STORM BREAKS. for the men who are engaged in the strike, and while hoping for a settlement of the same upon a basis which will be favorable to their interests; and while counselling moderation in every action which may be taken, we urge upon our members to exercise the greatest caution, so that no evil ef- fects may be visited upon them at the termination of the strike. "Besolved, That we extend our moral aid to those who are engaged in this struggle, and pledge to them our best efforts to bring the strike to a suc- cessful termination through counsel and advice. '^Besolved, That under no circumstances shall any member of this order, or other person, have any claims against the order for injury to interests or estate. Said strike was not entered upon on the order of the ***** jg not being conducted under its auspices, and the ***** will not in any way hold itself responsible for anything that may occur during the continuance of the said strike. "JResolved, That we counsel all members of the ***** ^Q refrain from visiting saloons and public houses during the strike, and urge upon them not to attend any out-door or public meetings, except those called at the order of responsible per- sons, who may be authorized to call such meetings. ^^ Resolved, That we counsel the greatest moder- ation in speech and action, and urge upon all mem- bers of the ***** to assist in maintain- ing the peace and prosperity of the community " THE STORM BREAKS. 211 The miners were advised ,to hold meetings by collieries, and to select representatives to voice their sentiments at a general meeting. It was also ordered that all meetings be- held in what was known as the Round Woods, a tract of woodland situated on an eminence above the city. When- ever meetings were held in the Round Woods they were attended by miners who possessed influence enough to at all times prevent the passage of in- cendiary resolutions or motions. The presence of these men was never necessary to preserve order, for ail meetings held in the Rounds Woods were conducted with due decorum. On July 31st the BEAKEMEN AND FIREMEN YIELDED, and voted to return to work at the old terms. This action, when communicated to the miners, was re- ceived with anything but enthusiasm, and many expressed themselves as being unwilling to return until their demands were acceded to. Several prominent miners held a consultation and agreed to issue a call for a meeting at the Round Woods, where the miners, in mass meeting, could decide for themselves whether to return to work or not. The notice went out and everything was ar- ranged for the meeting at the Round Woods. Late in the afternoon of the 31st a rumor was circulated that the place of meeting was changed from the Round Woods to the silk mill. It was stated that there was more room, and that the location was B12 THE STORM BREAKS. more central than the other. Who started the ru- mor is not known, bnt it was industriously circu- lated through the streets. The men who had agreed upon holding the meet- ing in the Round Woods had gone home, and were not consulted as to the change. They alone had the right to call the meeting, but once called, others took it upon themselves to change the place. On the morning of the 1st of August crowds began to assemble both at the Round Woods and at the silk mill. The meeting at the silk mill was called for an earlier hour than the other, and before the chosen representatives of the miners had assem- bled at the Round Woods those who had gone there to attend the meeting had disbanded and gone over to the silk mill meeting. Between five and six thousand men assembled at the silk mill, and organized the meeting by se- lecting a chairman. Several men who were prom- inent in the Knights of Labor gained the platform after one or two speeches had been made, and at- tempted to address the multitude. The speeches thus far were calculated to APPEAL TO THE PASSIONS, rather than the reason, of the men, and the Knights intended to advise calm, deliberate action. No ac- tion looking to an adjustment of the difficulty be- tween the miners and their employers was taken for the reason that the committee having the mat- ter in hand had not arrived upon the scene. A THE STORM BREAKS. ^13 motion was made that a committee be appointed to wait on the men who were at work in the D. L. & W. shops, and the rolling mills, shops, and blast furnaces of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Com- pany. The number stated was twenty-five, but the chairman of the meeting, who was a discreet man, advised that a small committee be appointed in view of the fact that every man who served on it would be discharged. The advice of the chairman was accepted, and a motion to appoint a small committee was substituted, and would have been carried had it not been for the READING OF A LETTER. A man elbowed his way through the mass of hu- manity and handed a letter to the chairman to read. He glanced over it and handed it back with a disapproving shake of the head, and proceeded to put the motion, when the bearer of the letter de- manded that it be read, as it contained important developments. The chairman endeavored to sup- press it, but the insinuation was made that he dared not allow it to be read, and at once the cry, "read the letter," was taken up, and the voice of the presiding officer was powerless. The man who held the letter mounted the platform and read off the death warrant of one man who was not within a mile of the meeting, and knew nothing about what was going on ; another, who was on the outskirts of the meeting, who had no voice in the deliberations, and went with the crowd through curiosity; and ' 214 ^^^ STORM BREAKS. another who led, the crowd from the silk mill until it reached the scene of conflict. The purport of the letter was that the manager of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co., W. W. Scranton, had asserted that he would yet have the men working for three shillings a day, and would have them buried at the base of the culm heaps about the city when they died. The effect of the reading of that letter was exactly what the villain who wrote it anticipated. Whether he was em- ployed by the enemy of the workingmen to write it, or whether it was the product of HIS OWN VILE BRAIN, the eflfect was the same ; and if ever man was ac- countable for the blood of his fellow-man, the writer of that letter stands in the sight of heaven a red- handed murderer. The meeting broke up in disorder. The last subject before it was the appointing of a committee to wait on the men in the shops, and at once the vast crowd began to move in that direction. The Knights of Labor, who had attended the meeting with a view to heading off any disturbance, at once held a consultation, and determined to lead the men away from the centre of the city, and away from the shops. One man started across the river with the request that the men follow him ; another went up the hill, and a third started in another direction. Of the number who as- sembled at the silk mill about fifteep hundred THE STORM BREAKS. 215 started in the direction of the shops, and the re- mainder went in the directions named. When the strike was inaugurated, the Mayor of Scranton issued a call for assistance and appointed a committee of prominent citizens to advise with him during the crisis. He asked the councils to appoint a special police force, and to otherwise act in preserving order. The councils REFUSED TO TAKE ACTION, claiming that there was no occasion for it, and that such a step would have the effect of creating a breach of the peace. Committees from the rail- road men and miners waited on the Mayor and as- sured him of their loyalty to law and order, and offered to assist him. He organized what was known to him and its members as the " Scranton Citizens Corps." This company of men, — some fifty in number, — organized, and established head- quarters in the company store of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co. They were armed with Rem- ington rifles, furnished by the corporations. No knowledge of their existence was communicated to the public, and on the day of the meeting at the silk mill, when the crowd of men surged up on the principal street of Scranton, this body of armed men marched from the company store, and halted on the street crossing. Whether any cause and provocation existed for opening fire on the unor- ganized mass will never be known. Certain it is that a body of regular troops would have had no B16 THE STORM BREAKS. occasion to fire ; and had the. Mayor openly pro- claimed to the citizens that he had called into ex- istence an armed body of men, he would never have had occasion to call for their services. By many it was believed that the manager of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co. had written the letter which was read at the silk mill; and while threats of doing injury to Mr. Scranton were freely made by the angry men who surged up through the archway to the street on that August morning, it is certain that no premeditated or or- ganized attempt at violence was made. Mobs al- ways go on the impulse, and the miscreant who in- dited the anonymous letter knew that it would INFLAME THE PASSIONS of those who heard it read, and incite them to deeds of desperation. Those who know human nature know that when violence is once invoked in a labor trouble, the odds are from that time against the success of the strikers. It was believed by many that Mr. W. W. Scran- ton knew of the writing of the letter, but there was no evidence to prove it, or no foundation on which to base the belief except his natural desire to see the men do something desperate that he might have an opportunity to cast odium on their actions and efforts. When the men reached Lackawanna Avenue, the principle street of the city, the Citizens Corps i 4 1 ■'11 ;;-* ■-,% \ ""^^ W4 t^^ i^d Wml^m Gi 1 1 1 ^B \ 1 ■\[ Ai;V''V>-i C,;^ Sh' M ! r I 1 1 f N '1 /^ '■ ''' ■■ 1^ ^■|m ■! "■■ ■■• 1 , ^.'-. ^ :|i|C,^; 4 L _ . 9 f' ," ! l>-v'- ■-• ■■■"■■;'■■■ •'::i::,:| THE STORM BREAKS. 217 had started on its march, and soon came in contact with the mob. Some one threw a missile and then a shot was fired. The Mayor had been assaulted, and with blood streaming down his face gave the order to fire. His order was obeyed, and three men were killed and one wounded. Two events in that unhappy drama were deeply to be deplored : the reading of that anonymous let- ter, and the secret organization of an armed force by the mayor, who was assisted by the corporations instead of the legal authorities of the State. The knowledge of the existence of that armed body of men would have prevented the action of that por- tion of the meeting that would not listen to reason or any other argument save an appeal to force, and the speech made to the Citizens Corps in the com- pany store by Mr. Scranton would not have been necessary. In his testimony before the investigate ing committee of the Pennsylvania Legislature, page 769 of report, Mr. Scranton testified that he called the Citizens Corps together, and said: "I did not want any man who was not "WILLING TO SHOOT TO KILL, and said if there was any man who fired, I wanted him to shoot to kill ; that we meant no nonsense. There was only thirty-four of us ; there were three or four thousand of the others, and we wanted no fooling. We wanted them to obey orders to the last degree, and when they received orders to fire, to fire to kill." 218 THE STORM BREAKS. They fired, and fired to kill. They killed two innocent naen, and one who was engaged in leading the men on to destruction. On that evening Assembly No. 227 was to hold a meeting, that being the regular meeting night. The chief officer of the district issued positive in- structions that no more meetings should be held during the excitement. At the next meeting of the' district assembly his action was approved by a unanimous vote. Only in the direction of counselling MODERATION AND PEACEFUL METHODS was the influence of the Knights of Labor exercised in the labor troubles of 1877. The first meeting of D. A. No. 5, after the inaug- uration of the strike, was held at Carbondale, on August 29th. Previous to adjournment the follow- ing resolutions were adopted and ordered read in the assemblies of the district : "Besolved, That we do most earnestly urge upon all assemblies within the jurisdiction of D. A. No. 5 to take up the question of the present strike and make it a subject of discussion. '■'■Resolved, That we urge upon our members throughout the district assembly to use their influ- ence with their fellow- workmen to the end that this prolonged and useless conflict may be brought to a speedy termination. The further continuance of the strike can not be productive of any good to the THE STORM BREAKS. 219 workmen of this valley, and we, therefore, advise that all members of the order in D. A. No. 5 use every effort to at once set in motion the idle wheels and machinery in mine and workshop." On October 16th a mass meeting was held in the Round Woods. The question of resuming opera- tions was taken up, and by a unanimous vote it was decided to return to work at once. The officials of the various companies were advised of the action taken, and on the following day, October 17th, after THREE MONTHS OF IDLENESS, the miners of the Lackawanna and Wyoming coal fields returned to work on the same terms on which they struck work. D. A. No. 5, of Scranton, was organized Feb. 24, 1877, and on May 5th, of the same year, D. A. No. 5, of West Virginia, was founded at Raymond City. The assemblies represented, as recorded on the charter of the D. A., were Nos. 158, of Raymond City, 392, of Coalburg, 393 and 395, of Cannelton, and 394 of Lewiston. D. A. No. 6 was organized at New Haven, West Va., on October 20, 1877, with the following assemblies : Nos. 338, of New Haven, 329, of Clifton, and three others whose numbers were duplicated in other parts of the coun- try, and were afterwards changed to Nos. 1432, Mi- nersville, Ohio; 1501, Syracuse, Ohio, and 1502, of Pomeroy, Ohio. D. A. No. 7, of Ohio, was organized May 8, 1877, 220 TEE 8T0BM BREAKS. at Akron. It was known to the world as Sciota Assembly. Assembly No 120 was the first assem- bly organized within its territory, and was insti- tuted by Christopher Evans, on September 23, 1875. The first Master Workman was Thomas Lawson, and the first Recording Secretary, Wm. Shuttleworth. The assembly was organized in New Straitsville. The next assembly in Ohio was No. 169, of Shawnee. It was founded by Thomas Lawson, of No. 120, on February 5, 1876. The first Master Workman was William Davey; the ■ first Recording Secretary, John D. Phillips. When D. A. No. 7 was founded it was at a time when every society of workingmen was supposed to be in some way connected with the Molly Ma- guire organization of Pennsylvania, and wherever a meeting assembled the CURIOUS AND INQUISITIVE endeavored to learn something of the workings of the society whose name was spoken with dread, David Morgan, a puddler working in the rolling mills at Akron, was elected the first Master Work- man of D. A. No. 7, and Richard Jones,"^akQa mill hand, and working in the same mill with Morgan, became the first Recording Secretary. This dis- trict assembly continued in existence until 1886, when it became a part of National Trade Assem- bly, No. 135. D. A. No. 8 was founded September 23, 1877, at Pittsburg, Pa., and was composed of assemblies THE STORM BREAKS. 221 Nos. 281, 300, 305, 319, 322, and 484, all of Pitts- burg. These assemblies were composed of men who worked at thfe glass-blowing trade, and the D. A. continued in existence until the beginning of the year 1880, when it lapsed. On May 8th, of that year, the surviving assemblies, Nos. 300, 305, and 322 merged into one assembly under the name of Window-glass Workers Assembly No. 300. It takes in all who work at the window-glass trade, and is ONE OF THE STRONGEST trade assemblies in existence. D, A. No. 9 was organized on October 23, 1877, at West Elizabeth, Pa., with assemblies Nos. 96, of Coal Valley ; 109, West Elizabeth ; 124, JSTobles- town; 140, Walkers Mills; 147, Fayette City; 151, Coal Bluff; 157, Elizabeth ; 162, Mononghela City ; 168, Greenfield; 178, Hope Church, and 198, Mc- Keesport. Of District No. 10 there is no record either at the general office of the order or elsewhere. . , . D. A. No. 11 was organized September 11, 1877, at Conn ells ville. Pa., and was composed, at date of organization, of the following assemblies : Nos. 234, Frost Station ; 239, Dunbar ; 245, Scottdale ; 279, Connellsville ; 290, Fairchance, and 297, Mount Pleasant. "^ D. A. No. 12 was organized in Youngstown, 0., about the same time that D. A. No. 11 was insti- .tuted, but there is no authentic record to be had. D. A. 13 was organized August 1, 1877, at Spring- M2 THE STORM BREAKS. . fiel'd, 111., with assemblies Nos. 271, of Springfield ; 346, of Hollis ; 360, of Kingston Mines ; 415, of Liinestone, and an assembly from Peoria. D. A. No. 14 was organized September 13, 1877, at Knightsville, Ind. Its roll at date of organiza- tion had assemblies Nos. 299, of Cardonia ; 303, of Brazil ; 318, of Knightsville ; 455, of Harmony, and 456, of Carbon. , " Fourteen was the highest number assigned to a di:striQt assembly previous to the organization of a national body, which took place in January, 1878. CQbasui^es Bepoi^b GQen. j| "There is a poor, blind Samson in tliis land, Shorn of his strength, and bound In bonds of steel, Who may, In some grim revel, raise his hand, And shake the pillars of this Commonwealth. " Lonff/ellou). Early effort to make name public— Attempts to form national head- Proceedings of early conventions— Call for convention January 1, 1878— The convention at Reading, Pa.— The General Assem- bly organized — List of representatives — U. S. Stephens elected Grand Master Workman— Charles H. Litchman elected Grand Secretary— Constitution adopted — The preamble of the Indus- trial Brotherhood adopted — Measures adopted to provide a rev- enue — No money in the treasury — Adoption of a seal— "That is the most perfect form of government in which an injury to one is the concern of all "—The preamble a call to action- Mismanagement of public affairs to be remedied— Constitutions and supplies issued to the order— The gallows in Schuylkill County, Pa.— Molly Maguires — Attack upon the order by a cler- gyman—Call for a special session of the General Assembly — The reasons for it — The propositions submitted— Richard Griff- iths — The first and second sections of the preamble discussed — Knowledge the standpoint for action — The aid of Divine Prov- idence invoked to enslave the laborer — "Servants obey your masters" — "Does the Almighty favor the rich?" — The differ- ence between the real and the sham in religion — The mon- uments of the past not erected to the memory of the workman — The slayers of men remembered and rewarded, while the build- ers of cities and homes are consigned to oblivion — The politic- ian's indifference to the wishes or welfare of the people — The peojjle to blame— Politics to be discussed by workingmen — Ed- ucation the watchword — Parties good only as they serve the people — The G. M. W. replies to a " prominent democrat " — Labor party not likely to become a success — The interest cen- tres in the candidate — The G. M. W. makes a political speech- Is asked to make others — His reply to committee at Philadel- phia — The influence of corporations in elections — Men compelled to vote as corporations dictate — The voter must be allowed to deposit his ballot free from interference or scrutiny — Traders at the ballot-box are traitors to the State — Make election day a national holiday — The General Assembly passes resolution fa- voring it— The preamble to be discussed "at all meetings. No EFFORT to establish a national head, or su- preme authority, for the government of the order (223) ^124 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. of the Knights of Labor was made until 1875. At the first meeting, in October, of that year, a com- munication from Assembly No. 82, Flint Glass Workers, of Brooklyn, N. Y., was read in D. A. No. 1. It recited the difficulties under which that assembly labored in securing members, and wound up with a petition asking that D. A. No. 1, " as the head of the organization," take steps to MAKE THE NAME OF THE ORDER PUBLIC, so that workingmen would know of its existence. No action was taken for several weeks, although a resolution to declare the name of the order public was offered at the next meeting after the communi- cation had been received from Assembly No. 82. It was not until the matter was pressed by the New York assembly that a debate ensued in D. A. No. 1. After much discussion it was resolved not to take action on the matter until all assemblies had been notified, and given an opportunity to vote on the question. This discussion led to the subject of forming a national or central organization, and after much deliberation a call was issued to all assemblies, whose addresses could be obtained, to meet in con- vention, in the city of Philadelphia, on July 3, 1876. Pursuant to call the representatives of sev- eral assemblies convened at Red Men's Hall, Third and Brown streets, on July 3d, at ten o'clock A. m. The record of proceedings, while not of sufficient importance as a whole to merit publication, are MEASVBES BEFORE MEN. ^^5 worthy of reproduction in order that they may be preserved for comparison with the records of the sessions of the General Assembly, which have been held since January 1, 1878. They are not lengthy, and being the only copy now in existence of the proceedings of the first session at which an attempt was made to establish a national body, they are given in full, as follows : Philadelphia, July 3, 1876. In accordance with the resolutions adopted by District Assembly No. 1 for calling a convention in the city of Philadelphia, on the 3d of July, 1876, for the purpose of strengthening the order for a sound and permanent organization, also the promoting of peace, harmony, and the welfare of its members. MORNING SESSION. The convention met, and -was called to order by Bro. James L. Wright, of Philadelphia, No. 1. Motion was theu made that Brother George Rieff take the chair as temporary chairman ; carried. Brother RieflF then took the chair. On motion, that Brother William Farrell, of No. 23, act as tem- porary secretary; so ordered. On motion, that a committee of three be appointed on creden- tials ; carried. On motion, that a committee on permanent organization, of five, be appointed ; carried. Stewart Atchison, No. 23; Jesse Barnes, No. 68; Henry F. Esmerbrink, No. 118; Edward P. Brannon, No. 79; George C. Bowers, No. 165. Committee on Credentials — John Kelly, No. 86; U. S. Stephens, No. 1; S. J. Christian, No. 92. Committee on Credentials presented the following report: That we have received the credentials of the following delegates: TJ. S. Stephens, No. 1, Garment Cutters. W. Kelley, 86, Reading Iron Workers. S. J. Christian, 92, Allentown Shoemakers. Harry S. Rogers, 173, Reading Painters. 15 . MEASURES BEFORE MEN. William A. Bayes, No. 28, Joseph Auchenback, 171, James L. Wright, James McCambridge, 18, George E. Rieff, 19, Samuel J. Burchart, Andrew Burt, 95, Samuel Lamond, 18, George C. Bowers, 165, Charles Stroud, .100, Adam Grandes, 129, John Word, 116, Charles P. Miller, 14, H. F. Einerbunk, 118, William Farrell, 23. Frederick Schauble, 128, Millard F. Smith, 40, Charles H. Simmerman, 31, E. B. Brenan, 79, Jesse Barnes, 58, Jonathan Holt, 127, James Eeaney, 77, William Faing, 83, Jacob TJmstead, 82, John McCormick, 82, C. Ben Johnson, 59, Howard Seenley, 101, Samuel C. Miller, 126, Stewart Atkinson, George Blair, 156, Michael Keating, 174, Beading Boilermakers. Reading Heaters and StovecuttoB. District No. 1, Philadelphia. House Carpenters, Philadelphia. Reading House Carpenters. District No. 4, Beading. Pittsburg. Philadelphia Machinists. Railroaders. Iron Moulders, Chester. Philadelphia Iron Moulders. Philadelphia Stove Moulders. Philadelphia Safe Makers. Pottstown Iron Workers. Philadelphia Carpet Weavers. Reading Machinists. Philadelphia Painters. Camden Iron Workers. Philadelphia Moulders. Stocking Weavers. Reading Iron Workers. Reading Iron Workers. New York and Brooklyn. Philadelphia Cigar Makers. ■^,^ Brooklyn Flint Glassblowers. Pottsville AU Trades. AUentown' Machinists. Reading Moulders. District No. 1, Philadelphia. Brooklyn Boiler Makers. Greenland All Trades. Committee on Permanent Organization — That rules governing the House of Representatives is to govern this convention, and on mo- tion nominated the following as permanent officers: President— JAMES L. WRIGHT, of Philadelphia, No. 1. Vice Presidents— GEO. E. RIEFF, of Reading, No. 99 ; SAM'L LAMOND, GEORGE STROUD. Secretary— WILLIAM FARRELL. Assistant Secretaries— MILLARD F. SMITH, JOS. H. AUCHEN- BACH. MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 2^7 Treasurer— JAMES McOAMBRIDGE. Doorkeepers— J. FOETNER and SAM'L BURKHART. (Signed) Stewart Atcheson, No. 23. Jesse Babnes, No. 58. Henry F. Einerbunk, No. 118. E. P. Brenan, No. 79. Geo. C. Bowers, No. 165. President, James L. Wright, then took the chair, returned thanks for his election, and made some remarks as to the reason for the calling of the convention. On motion, that we adjourn to the north-west corner of the room on account of the noise on Third St. ; so ordered. On motion, that a committee of five be appointed to receive all communications; so ordered. U. S. Stephens, Geo. E. Rieflf, S. J. Burkhart, Stewart Atcheson and James McCambridge were then appointed. On motion, that these five be the Committee on Communications. On motion, that we devote the balance of the morning session to ten minute speeches; so ordered. On motion, that the session be from 9 to 12 o'clock a. m., and from 2 to 5 o'clock p. M. ; so ordered. On motion, that we adjourn. The vote was then taken, and there being a division called, resulted in the motion being lost. Adjourned until 2 o'clock p. m. AFTERNOON SESSION. A brother from No. 82 made a speech, stating that he represented ■over four hundred men who wanted to have information concerning the workings of the order. On motion, the two delegates be allowed to represent No. 82 by- one of the brothers, and the other have a seat but no vote. Amended, that one be allowed a seat and the other represent No. 82 ; carried. Whereupon the delegates from No. 82 retired for con- sultation. The Committee on Communications presented their amendment for action. On motion, that article first of the, amendment, which reads, " That the M. W., W. F. and W. Q. be elected and installed once every six months, and that the M. W. of the District may have the jsole power of installing the officers of subordinate AssembUes," be laid on the table. S^8 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. Bro. James McCambridge made a few remarkB, giving his own views on the subject of labor and the organization of the order. On motion, Bro. J. Fortner be allowed the floor. He stated the misunderstanding of New York delegates was owing to the negli- gence of Bro. Turner, and that bis Assembly, No. 28, became de- funct. Bro. C. B. Johnson was then introduced and called on for his. views, but asked to be excused- Bro. Simmerman advocated a very strict set of rules. Moved and seconded that the amendments to the Rules be taken up ; so ordered. On motion, the amendments be adopted as read ; indefinitely post- poned. Committee on Communications presented the following resolu- tions: Besolved, That we, as yet, do not believe that the order is suf- ficiently organized to warrant the employment of salaried officers. Whereas, The Constitution and By-Laws governing the difierent Assemblies of the K. of L. is imperfect, and does not meet general satisfaction, therefore, be it resolved, that a committee of nineteen be appointed to draft a Constitution for the government of the Assem- bUes under the jurisdiction of the National Convention, and report in writing to the next National Convention, Amended, that the Committee be nine — ^that they be five. Oflered as a substitute: Resolved, That the acting M. W. and four others be a commit- tee to report, on next Wednesday morning, a draft of Constitution for the governing of the National Convention of the order. Time extended fifteen minutes that the Business Committee be anbetituted for the committee of five ; lost The substitute was then adopted. Adjourned. SECOND DAY. The second day's session was called to order by the Premdent, Jas. L. Wright. The role of delegafes was called and the minutes of the- last session read and approved. Bro. Holt called for the reading of the following resolutions: Resolved, That this convention do declare itself the Grand Na- tional Convention Assembly of K. of L. Resolved, That this Grand National Convention is hereby de- clared the executive head of the order of K. of L., with power to act only in general convention MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 2^9 On motion, action on the resolutions be postponed for the purpose of letting the Oomniittee on Constitution prepare the laws for the Convention; so ordered. The Business Committee recommended the following : Resolved, That no one shall be admitted to membership in this •order except he be 21 years of age. Which was amended to read 18, in place of 21 years ; postponed. The Constitution was brought before the convention for action. Sec. 1st was then read, and, on motion, the name of North Amer- ica was adopted. The 2d Section, adopted. 3d Article, adopted, 4th Sec, adopted. Sec. 6th was then read, and, on motion, it was referred back to the Committee, with instructions to insert a clause to assess a certain sum to bear the expenses of the delegates to this convention ; carried. Articles 7th, 8th and 9th were adopted. Article 10th was amended to read Cushing instead of Mathias. Articles 11th, 12th and 13th were also adopted. On motion, that we go into discussion of the subject of who is eli- gible to become members of the order. Bros. Simmerman, Bieff, Blair, Johnson and Stephens were appointed a committee. Brother Wood offered a resolution recommending that no me- chanic or laboring man go to work before the regular hours ; adopted. A resolution was then offered that a committee of five be ap- pointed to draft a platform by which every member of the order may be guided, and submit the same for further action ; laid on the table. A resolution was then offered to make this Society a beneficial one; lost. A resolution, that when this convention adjourn it adjourn to naeet at Pittsburg, Pa., on July 10, 1877. Amended to be'Sth instead of the 10th. Laid on the table until to-morrow, to come up at 11 o'clock. Adjourned. THIRD DAY. Convention re-assembled at 9 o'clock a. m. President, James L. Wright, in the chair. The minutes of the last day's session were read and approved. On motion, that we take up the resolution relating to the next meeting. Amended to strike out Pittsburg and insert Beading ; Isud on the table until after the report of the Committee on A. E. The Committee on A. K. reported. Acted on by sections. 2S0 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. First and Second Sections read and adopted. Third Section read and adopted. That the office of Statistician be left discretionary ; carried. On motion, that we adopt relating to organizations; carried. On mo- tion, that it be left optional as regards writing of the name by the candidate before being admitted; lost. The matter of holding the next Convention was then taken up. Amended to strike out the tenth of July and insert first Monday in February ; lost. £e-amended to read in July, 1877 ; carried. On motion, that there be a committee appointed to draft a Consti- tution for the Districts, to report at the next meeting ; carried. On motion, that there be one delegate from each District, and one from New York. Amended, to appoint delegates from this conven- tion ; carried. Geo. E. EieflT, District No. 4, Pa. ; Geo. Blair, New York ; Chas. H. Simmerman, District No. 2, N. J. ; James L. Wright, District No. 1, Phila. ; Burt, District No. 3, Pittsburg, were appointed.. Kesolution relating to taking political action was offered; lost. On motion, that the recommendation of the support of labor jour- nals be adopted as read ; carried. On motion, that we go into nomination for Executive Committeer and that they be elected by scratch ; carried. The result of the election— George Blair, 26 ; Charles B. Johnson^ 22; Geo. C. Bowers, 22; J. J. Govan, 18 ; Andrew Burt, 17. On motion, that the Constitution and Amendments to the A. K. go into effect on the first day of August, 1876. Amended, to strike out August and insert September ; carried. A resolution in regard to the organization of Districts, which read as follows : '' That any five or more Assemblies may constitute them- selves into a District, provided that they are not in arrears to the: District with which they were connected; and, provided further, that no two Districts shall be formed in any one congressional dis- trict, town, or city, without the consent of all the Assemblies therein located," was adopted. A resolution that all members in good standing be assessed at least ten cents annually for the purpose of supporting the Executive Committee, was amended to read five instead of ten cents, and adopted. A resolution was offered that no one should be admitted to mem- bership in the order except he be a man of good moral character, sober and industrious, and thoroughly understanding the trade which he follows; carried. On motion, to grant the Executive Committee power to give thft passwords to the Districts, and the Districts to the subordinate As- semblies; carried. MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 231 A. vote of thanks was tendered the officers by the convention. Adjourned, to meet in Pittsburg, July, 1877. WILLIAM FAREELL, Secretary. CONSTITUTION. Sbction 1. This organization shall be known to its members as the National League, and to the public, should it be considered expe- dient to make any of its proceedings public, as the National Labor League of North America. Sec. 2. It shall be composed of two delegates from each District, and one delegate from each local Assembly. Sec. 3. Alterations of the A. K., which is hereby declared the su- preme law of this League as it is of the local Assemblies, whose dele- gates compose it, shall not be made except at the regular meetings of the League, and then only by a two-thirds vote of all the delegates present. Sec. 4. The object of this League is bring the local Assemblies into closer fraternal union with one another, to assist them as far as possible to share each other's burdens, and enable them to agree upon such modes of procedure as will make the members of the order a band of true pioneers of labor reform, pledged at all times and under all circumstances to do all things lawful and honorable, looking to the elevation of the working class generally. Sbo. 5. The officers of the League shall be a President, Vice-Pres- ident, Treasurer, Secretary, and Doorkeepers, whose duties shall be the same as those appertaining to the same officers in other delib- erative bodies, and who shall be elected immediately after the tem- porary organization of each succeeding convention. Sec. 6. At each meeting of the convention, immediately after a permanent organization has been effected, the President shall ap- point a Finance Committee of five delegates, one of whom shall be the treasurer, whose duty it shall be to ascertain the cost of the session and assess the same equitably upon all the Assemblies rep- resented. Sec. 7. Before the adjournment of each regular annual conven- tion there shall be a committee of five appointed, who shall be styled the Executive Committee of the National League, who shall hold office during the year, or until their successors are elected, and shall' %32 mea8vb.es before men. have power to fill all such vacancies as may, from time to time, occui in their number, provided that no two members of any one Assem- bly shall at one and the same time be members of the said commit' tee. This committee shall, in the interval between the regular ses- sions of the League, have sole .power to decide, by a majority vote, all disputed points as to the exact meaning of the A. K. or this in- strument, said decisions to be operative until the next regular session of the League, and final, unless set aside thereat, which setting aside shall require a majority vote ; only any District or local Assembly in which there may occur any disputes as to the meaning of the A. K., may address any member of the Executive Committee, whose duty it shall be to correspond with his fellow-members concerning the mat- ter in dispute, and see that a decision is rendered, and communicate the same to the Assembly interested without unnecessary delay. Sec. 8. All calls for the convention shall be signed when pub- lished by the Executive Committee. Tarnell's Manual shall be au- thority in all conventions of the League where it does not conflict with this instrument or the A. K. Sbc. 9. District Assemblies shall be organized according as the ses- sions of the League may, by resolution, determine, and shall be num- bered by the Executive Committee. Sec. 10. All legislative powers not reserved to this League, that are consistent with the A. K., are vested in the Districts, and when not reserved by the Districts, in the local Assemblies. Sec. 11. Conventions shall be held annually at such places and on such days as may, from time to time, be agreed upon by the League, provided, that the Executive Committee may, at their option, and with the consent of ten local or five District AssembUes, call special sessions at any time or place. TJ. S. STEPHENS, Chairman of Committee on Laws. ORDER OF BUSINESS. 1. The convention shall be called to order by the delegate from the senior A. represented. 2. Appointment of temporary Chairman. 3. Appointment of Secretary. 4. Appointment of Committee on Credentials, irhich committee shall be privileged to report at any time. MEASURES BEFORE MEN. ggg 5. Report of Committee on Credentials. 6. Election of Permanent Officers. 7. Appointment of Finance Committee. 8. Appointment of Business Committee. 9. Appointment of Committee on A. K., to whom shall be re- ferred, without debate, all propositions pertaining to the A. K. Each convention shall, under this constitution, be the pledge of the Qualifications of its own members, and shall have power to adopt an order of business to govern its sessions, after the regulations pro- vided for the first day shall have been complied with. JAS. L. WRIGHT, Chaibman. D. A, No, 3, of Pittsburg, was not favorable to the holding of the convention, and did not take the interest in the proceedings that was expected. For some reason not thoroughly understood D. A. No. 3, and the assemblies west of the Alieghenies, decided to CALL A NATIONAL CONVENTION at an earlier date than that to which the Philadel- phia meeting adjourned The chief cause of difference between the assem- blies west, and those east, of the Alieghenies was owing to the belief that the name of the order should be made public. At the Philadelphia meet- ing no action was taken in relation to the matter, although the calling of the convention originated in a debate on making the name public. The Pittsburg assemblies were of the opinion that they had done more to spread the order, and to establish it in various parts of the country, than D. A. No. 1, and felt that the call for a general convention should come from them. The feeling gS4 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. of jealousy which had sprung up between the East- ern and Western assemblies threatened at one time to frustrate the designs of those who were making an honest effort to establish a national head. On May 14, 1877, a conference was held in Pitts- burg, but many of those who had signified a will- ingness to attend, failed to do so, and the MEETING FELL EAR SHORT of what was expected. As a literary production the proceedings' of that session are unique and in- teresting. They are deserving of preservation in their original form for the reason that they were prepared and the type was set by L. J. Booker, who knew nothing about the art preservative un- til, as a matter of necessity, he conceived the idea of printing the proceedings himself so that they might not undergo the scrutiny of non-members if sent to a printing office ,for publication. They are as follows : FIRST APPROVED OF THE CHARTER CLAUSE. Preeeding of theConferance Committe The meeting was called to order by Bro, J. M. Davis Chairman. Bro C A. Broockmeyer Sec pro tern, the Chair stateing the object of the meeting in a long and neat address, stating what is wanted to make the order prosperous, namly. 1st A Charter. 2nd A change in the Ritual. 3th A chang in Signs Grip & c. Each Delegate made statment what he was in stucted to present May, 16th The Minuts of the first day's session, where read and approved. The Chair stated the first in order is the election of Na- tional Oiflcers. On motion it Resolved' that we go into a election of MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 2S5 OflBcers the following is the result, to be known as Por National Master Workman J. M. Davis, of Pittsburgh. For N. W. F. George Blair N. Y. For National Lecturer. G. M. Atkinson, of W. Va. For National Paet Workman Bro. Wright of Philadelphia. For N. W. G. Thos R. King of Reading Pa. For N. O. G. R. 0. Jones of Akron. N. I. G. Jos N. Glenn of St Louis. For National Organizer Chas A. Broockmeyer. of Charleston. Va. For National Secretary L. J. Booker, of Mt Washington Bro Chas. A Broockmeyer, Nationla Treasurer. KANAWA.W Va on motion it was Resolved, That this body, go into revising the Ritual and changing the signs, adodted. motion to procure a Charter, and appoin a committe to attend to the same, the committe to consist of three Brothers living in Pittsburgh, adobted the committe shall consist of Bro Davis Booker, and Bowie. Re- rolved. That the name of the Order be pubUc. On motion the Expulsion Claus where read and approved -On motion it was Resolved, That the Viseting and Traveling Cards have the name of the Order Printed on them Resolved, That it shall be duty of Past Master Workman, to in- struct the new Initiate that are of the Catholic Church, that their is nothing in this Order to prevent him from reciving the Sacrament, and if he considert it his duty, to confess to his Father confesser, he may have the power so to do. adobtede Resolved, That three Black Balls rejects, and the candidates can make application to any Assem- bly within three months by asking permission of the Assembly, from which he was rejected, adobted Resolved, That each District Assembly, be taxed ten dhllaes PEE ANNUM to defrau the exspences of national counsel, and Whereas it is neesary, to have Oi:ganizers out, therefor be it Re- solved That each Assembly pay ten cents pek member annual, pay- able Quartly ofall members on the Books, the Organizers to travel North, and South East and West, adobted. Resolved, That all Assemblies make applecation at once to the National Secretary, for aCharter, Rituals and Constitutios A full set will be sent for Five Dollars [$5] which contains Four Ritual ten Constituiion one Charter Notes As money is neated to carry out the plan it is the wish for the Assemblies to sent in the cash as soon as possible, as 1000 Charters and 10,000 Constitution and 4000 Ritual, will be printed. Resolved,That the National Secretary shall recive the sum of one $100 HUNDBKT dollabs ANNUM payable quartly. Resolved, That we adobt the Philadelphia Constitution with amend menta, The new order of business, 1st Reading of Minutes of last stated Meet- iS36 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. ing 2d Balloting on applicant. 3th Initiation' 4th Collection of dues 6th Unfinished Business. 7th New Busiuess. 8th Dicuss Labor and its liiterest. 9th Thus any member know of Brother are Brothers Family in distress. 10th For the Good of the Order. 11 Are their Brothers out of employment. 12th Are you all ready and satisfied to close Kesolved, That nexs our Corfcrece be held in Washington D. and the exspence to be paid for the Delegate by N . C. Resolved, That ex-district and the present district Offices are here- by declared Members of the National Councel. On Motion the Conference, adjourned to mest the first Monday Jauary 1878. L. J. Booker. N. C. S. While D. A. No. 3 had done excellent work, and had made marvelous headway, it lost sight of the fact that the patient years of toil which were given to the laying of the foundation of the order by the parent assemblies of Philadelphia were necessary, and that without them no organization could be properly established. The feeling which existed after the closing of the Pittsburg conference was not satisfactory to those who had taken a part in the meeting. No notice of the Philadelphia convention had been given to the Scranton assembly, in 1876, and although a large and powerful district assembly flourished in the Lackawanna and "Wyoming val- leys when the Pittsburg conference was called, the officers of that district WERE NOT NOTIFIED until the proceedings of the conference were mailed to them by the corresponding officer of D. A. No, 3, who had by merest accident learned of the exist- ence of the Scranton district. MEASURES BEFORE MEN. £37 When the secretary of D. A. No, 5, of Scranton, received the report of the conference, he at once communicated with such members of the order as had taken a part in the various efforts to establish a national body, and at the same time corresponded with D. A. No. 3, advising that proceedings be stayed until a convention could be called that would be truly REPRESENTATIVE IN ITS CHARACTER, one that would speak for all parts of the order. A correspondence at once sprung up between Wm. H. Singer, of St. Louis, Mo.; Richard Griffiths, of Chicago, 111.; George Blair, of New York; Chas. H. Litchman, of Marblehead, Mass. ; Frederick Tur- ner, of Philadelphia, and T. V. Powderly, of Scran- ton. The result of the correspondence was to give to the recognized head of the order, D. A. No. 1, a record of such assemblies as were in existence so far as the addresses could be obtained. When this work was commenced D. A. No. 1 de- cided not to hold the convention in Pittsburg, as agreed upon in the Philadelphia meeting, and post- poned the date until September, but a wave of po- litical excitement swept over the order about that time, and it was decided to lay aside all differences and unite with the western part of the order in holding the meeting in January, 1878. In order that neither Philadelphia or Pittsburg would have cause for complaint, it was agreed that the meeting should be held in Reading, Pa. To this proposi- ^S8 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. tion D. A. No. 3 consented, and accordingly the following circular was issued by the Corresponding Secretary of D. A. No. 1 : "CIRCULAR. " Philadelphia, August 2, 1877. "To the Officers and Members of * * * " Notice is hereby given that a Convention, for the purpose of forming a Central Assembly, will be held in the city of Reading, January 1, 1878, com- mencing at 10 o'clock A. M., and also for the pur- pose of creating a Central Resistance Fund, Bureau of Statistics, Providing Revenue for the work of Organization, establishment of an Official Register, giving number, place of meeting of each assembly, etc. Also the subject of making the name public, together with all business appertaining to the per- fection of a National Body, all of which assemblies shall vote upon, and instruct their delegates to re- port to the D. A. Each D. A. shall be entitled to three delegates. States having no D. A. shall be entitled to three delegates each, who shall be the members of the Organizing Committee in such States ; they to receive the instruction from the as- semblies in their respective States. The action of the convention shall be final, hence the importance of all assemblies discussing at once the subject- matter contained in this circular. Such assemblies shall take a vote on the subject of making the name public, and report the result for or against to MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 239 the D. A. and organizers, the delegates and organ- izers report to the convention. Two-thirds vote of the membership is necessary to declare the name public. By order of D. A. No. 1. " Feedeeick Tuener, " C. and R. Secretary. "Place of meeting shall be announced in due time." The secretary of D. A. No. 3, L. J. Booker, for- warded the addresses of such districts as he had organized to Frederick Turner, and a copy of that circular, together with blank credentials, was mailed to each of them. On January 1, 1878, the representatives of the various parts of the order met in Reading, Pa. Richard Griffiths, of Chicago, who had been elected by the Chicago assembly. No. 400, was not present, owing to the fact that he was not PROVIDED WITH THE NECESSARY FUNDS by his assembly, and he could not affijrd to defray his own expenses. He had deputized T. V. Pow- derly to represent him should it be decided that representation by proxy would be legal. The full proceedings of that meeting were pub- lished and sent in sufficient quantities to supply every assembly in the order. They are still in ex- istence, and it is not necessary to reproduce them here. Reference will be made to such parts as are of the greatest importance only. The following is 940 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. the list of names and addresses of the delegates at- tending the Reading convention : Beaumont, ttalph, Shoemaker, 210 West Hudeon st., Elmira, N. Y. Bowers, Wm. W., Moulder, 119 Rose St., Beading, Pa. Boyle, George S., Engineer, Hazleton, Luzerne Go., Pa. Burgess, John, Miner, Stockton, Luzerne Co., Pa. Burtoft, Edmund, Miner, Pike Run, Washington Co., Pa. Byrne, John L., Miner, box 103, Scottdale, Westmoreland Co., Pa. Chisholm, John B., Miner, Carbondale, Luzerne Co., Pa. Christ, Jacob, Locomotive Engineer, box 316, Waverly, N. Y. Crowne, Thomas P., Shoemaker, 138 Bridge St., cor. of Hi^, Brook- lyn, N. Y. Gallagher, Hugh, Miner, Walker's Mills, Allegheny Co., Pa. Gallagher, Thomas M., Machinist, Tower Grove Station, St. Louis, Mo. Geary, Patrick, Shoemaker, Canisteo, N. Y. Gibson, John A., Miner, Enightsville, Clay Co., Ohio. Hamilton, James A., Printer, Leetonia, Columbiana Co., Ohio. King, Thomas, Machinist, 933 Spruce st, Reading, Pa. Lamond, Samuel, Steam Boiler Maker, 160 N. 6th St., Philadelphia, Pa. Laning, John G., Nail Packer, Clifton, Mason Co., W. Va. (P. 0. address, box 337, Middleport, Ohio.) Larkins, Matthias, Locomotive Engineer, 2446 Tulip St., Philadelphia, Pa. Litcbman, Chas. H., Shoemaker, box 386, Marblehead, Mass. McCoy, Charles S., Gioas Worker, 1003 Carson st., Pittsburg (South Side), Pa. McLoughlin, Harry, Ghus Blower, 1109 Bigham st., Pittsburg (South Side), Pa. McMahon, Michael, J., Machinist, 336 West Seventh st., Elmira, N. Y. Powderiy, T. V., Machinist, Lock Box 445, Scranton, Luzerne Co., Pa. ReifF, George E., Carpenter, 430 Woodward st., Reading, Pa. Schilling, Robert, Cooper, OflSce Labor Advance, Cleveland, Ohio. Steen, Robert A., Glass Blower, 81 16th st., Pittsburg (South Side), Pa. Stephens, Uriah S., Garment Cutter, 2347 Coral St., Philadelphia, Pa. Thomas, Joshua R., Blacksmith, Lock Box 445, Scranton, Pa. Todd, Robert, Miner, Thomastown, Summit Co., Ohio. Van Horn, Wm. L., Teacher, Lewiston, Kanawha Co., W. Va. Welch, Morris C, Miner, Dunbar, Fayette Co., Pa. Williams, Richard, Miner, Audenried, Carbon Co., Pa. When the delegates assembled in Grouse's Hall, 508 Penn street, Thomas King, Secretary of D. A. MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 2^1 No. 4, and a representative to the convention, called the meeting to order, and nominated Uriah S. Stephens as temporary chairman. Robert Schill- ing nominated Charles H. Litchman as temporary secretary, and with these officers the convention proceeded to transact its business. Frederick Tur- ner, who was present, though not in the capacity of a representative, was invited to a seat without voice or vote. It was voted to call the body, whi'ch was then in session, the GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR OF NORTH AMERICA. The names by which subordinate bodies were des- ignated previous to that time were continued. It was at this meeting that the subordinate assembly • was first called Local Assembly, a term which has continued in use ever since. Two district assemblies appearing, through their"' representatives, bearing the number five on their credentials, it was resolved to allow the one which had already procured a seal and other property to retain the number. The Scranton D. A. surren- dered its right to the number, and accepted sixteen, by which number it has been known ever since. To the titles by which the officers of local assem- blies were designated was added the word grand. The chief officer of the general assembly was to be known as Grand Master Workman ; the presiding officer of the D. A. was to be known as District 16 Z^2 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. Master Workman, and the executive of the L. A, was to continue in office as Master Workman. '' Mr. Stephens was called home before the conven- tion adjourned, but his true worth was known to the assembled representatives, and when the elec- tion of officers took place he was chosen Gr. M. W. I for the ensuing year, and Charles H. Litchman and 'Thomas Crowne were delegated to install him in ; office on their way home. No nominations were made except in an informal way, each representative casting his ballot for that person whom he believed to be BEST QUALIFIED TO FILL THE POSITION. [ The first committee on constitution of the order of the Knights of Labor, appointed by Mr. Steph- ens, consisted of representatives Robert Schilling, Chairman ; Ralph Beaumont, Thomas King, T. V. * Powderly, and George S. Boyle. Two members of this committee, Messrs. Schilling and Powderly, were members of the Industrial Brotherhood ; and though neither one knew that the other would be present, both brought with them a sufficient supply ' of constitutions of the I. B. to supply the body. r The adoption of the preamble was left to these two, and a glance at it will show what changes were I made in the declaration of principles whose history pas been traced down from year to year since it Iwas first adopted by the National Labor Union of )l866. The committee on constitution adopted the con- MEASURES BEFORE MEN.. 248 stitution of the Industrial Brotherhood so far as ' practicable. The constitution, when printed, bore the same legend on the title page as was adopted at the Rochester meeting in 1874. The following is the preamble adopted at Reading, January 3, 1878 : " When bad men combine, the good must associate, else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." PREAMBLE. The recent alarming development and aggression of aggregated wealth, which, unless checked, will invariably lead to the pauperization and hopeless degradation of the toiling masses, render it imper- ative, if we desire to enjoy the blessings of life, that a check should be placed upon its power and upon unjust accumulation, and a system adopted which - will secure to the laborer the fruits of his toil ; and as this much-desired object can only be accom- plished by the thorough unification of labor, and the united efforts of those who obey the divine in- junction that " In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread," we have formed the ***** , with a view of securing the organization and direc- 1 tion, by co-operative effort, of the power of the in- dustrial classes ; and we submit to the world the objects sought to be accomplished by our organiza- tion, calling upon all who believe in securing "the greatest good to the greatest number" to aid and assist us : — I. To bring within the folds of organization every S44- MEASURES BEFORE MEN. department of productive industry, making_kjtto.wl- edge a stand-point for action, and industrial and Biorai worth, not wealth, the true standard of indi- vidual and national greatness. II. To secure to the toilers a proper share of the wealth that they create ; more of the leisure that rightfully belongs to them ; more societary advan- tages ; more of the benefits, privileges, and emol- uments of the world; in a word, all those rights and privileges necessary to make them capable of enjoying, appreciating, defending, and perpetuating the blessings of good government. III. To arrive at the true condition of the pro- ducing masses in their educational, moral, and financial condition, by demanding from the various governments the establishment of bureaus of Labor Statistics. IV. The establishment of co-operative institu- tions, productive and distributive. V. The reserving of the public lands — the her- itage of the people — for the actual settler ; — not an- other acre for railroads or speculators. , VI. The abrogation of all laws that do not bear equally upon capital and labor, the removal of un- just technicalities, delays, and discriminations in the administration of justice, and the adopting of measures providing for the health and safety of those engaged in mining, manufacturing, or build- ing pursuits. VII. The enactment of laws to compel chartered corporations to pay their employes weekly, in full, MEASURES BEFORE MEN. S45 for labor performed during the preceding week, in the lawful money of the country. VIII. The enactment of laws giving mechanics and laborers a first lien on their work for their full wages. IX. The abolishment of the contract system on national, State, and municipal work. X. The substitution of arbitration for strikes, whenever and wherever employers and employes are willing to meet on equitable grounds. XI. The prohibition of the employment of chil- dren in workshops^ mines and factories before at- taining their fourteenth year. XII. To abolish the system of letting out by 1 contract the labor of convicts in our prisons and \ reformatory institutions. XIII. To secure for both sexes equal pay for ■equal work. XIV The reduction of the hours of labor to eight per day, so that the laborers may have more time for social enjoyment and intellectual improve- ment, and be enabled to reap the advantages con- ferred by the labor-saving machinery which their brains have created. XV. To prevail upon governments to establish \ a purely national circulating medium, based upon ^ the faith and resources of the nation, and issued directly to the people, without the intervention of any system of banking corporations, which money shall be a legal tender in payment of all debts, public or private. 2Ji.6 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. After adopting a constitution and the preamble given above, the General Assembly elected the of- ficers for the. ensuing term, fixed upon St. Louis as the place to hold the next session, and adjourned with the following corps of officers : 1 Grand Master Workman — Uriah S. Stephens, of Pennsylvania. Grand Worthy Foreman — Ralph Beaumont, of K'ew York. Grand Secretary — Charles H. Litchman, of Mas- .sachusetts. j Grand Assist. Secretary — John Gr. Laning, of Ohio. Executive Board. Thomas P. Crowne, of New York, Chairman. James A. Hamilton, of Ohio, Secretary. John A. Gibson, of Indiana. Robert A. Steen, of Pennsylvania. William L. Van Horn, of West Virginia. The first session of the General Assembly was regarded somewhat in the light of an experiment, and the bodies of which it was made up were not as sanguine of success as the representatives. When the latter reported to their constituencies it was some time before they responded with sufficient enthusiasm to predict the successful continuance of the General Assembly as the head of the order of the Knights of Labor. The means provided by the General Assembly for the collection of revenue is outlined in the following section : MEASURES BEFORE MEN. g^^ "Section 1. The revenue of the G. A. of ***** shall be derived as follows: Fori charters to D. A., five dollars; for charters and! A. K. to L. A.'s, five dollars ; for each traveling, | transfer, or final Card issued, ten cents; in addi-, tion, all D. A,'s shall pay, in advance, the sum of one cent and a half every three mpnths for every member on the books of the L. A.'s represented therein." But few of the representatives, when making their reports, endeavored to impress upon the minds of their constituencies the necessity for a PROMPT REMITTANCE OF FUNDS' to headquarters in order that the work might be carried on as mapped out at Reading. The pro-\ ceedings were to be published, constitutions, rit- ' uals, blank reports, and forms of all kinds were to be printed and mailed. The salary of the Grand Master Workman was fixed at $200 per annum. The salary of the Grand Secretary was $800 per annum, and the salary of the Grand Treasurer was limited to |50 per annum. Without a dollar in the treasury the first corps of officers undertook the task of placing upon its feet an organization which aimed at the performance of more good to the cause of labor, more of reform and more educational facilities than any other organiza- tion that had ever taken up the cudgel in defense of the workingman. It was a herculean task, and &4S MEASURES BEFORE MEN. none but strong, true men were wanted ; none else were put at the head of the order. i The adoption of a seal for the use of the General Assembly was left to the Grand Master "Workman and the Grand Secretary. These officers, soon after the adjournment of the General Assembly, held a conference and adopted a design, of which the subjoined is a true representation. The in- scription, which appears around the edge : "THAT IS THE MOST PEBFECT GOVEENMENT IN ) WHICH AN INJURY TO ONE IS THE CONCERN OF ALL," was taken from the precepts of Solon, the Grecian sage and Jaw-giver. ' In the selection of this motto the grand officers were not actuated by mere sentiment, or a desire to make use of nicely worded phrases, or high sound- ing terms. They studied carefully and well before adopting that motto. / fn accepting the preamble of the Industrial j Brotherhood, the convention fully realized that for I the most part the reforms which were asked for in ithat preamble must one day come through political agitation and action. The chief aim of those who j presented the document to the convention was to 'place something on the front page of the constitu- tion which, it was hoped, every workingman would in time read and ponder over. It was their hope that by keeping these measures, so fraught with interest to the people, constantly before the eye of the worker, he would become educated in Jthe MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 2^9 science of politics to that extent that he would know that those things that were wrong in our po- litical system were wrong simply because he did not attend to his political duties in a proper man- ner ; that the righting of such things as were wrong would not be done by those who had the manage- ment of political aifairs up to that time, but by him- selC" Man, know thyself," is a good advice. Man, know thy rights ; man, know thy wants ; and man, know how to properly and temperately minister to these wants, and secure these rights, are WORDS OF ADVICE that should also be listened to "\The preamble to the Knights of Labor is a call to action. The motto of the organization is in- tended to direct the attention of the member to the form of government, in all the afiPairs of life, that will be brought about if Knighthood Js properly understood by its members and frienglg/ In the ordinary affairs of labor, in the daily ex- periences of workshop life, action is often taken which at first may seem to be trifling, and to con- cern only those who are the immediate participants. Itjoiten...dey.elopa that a trifling grievance in a ^o^?^ffiL.^^i^9?^®^^^y Ml .i^<^^^^.^3^^^-y liandled, will Jnvolve others far removed from the scene of actifin. The experiences of the past, the many miserable failures which had attended the efforts of struggling labor organizations of former years, were before the eyes of the men who selected the 250 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. inscription to place upon the outer edge of the seal, and they had in mind the duty which every work- ' ingman owed to his brother man. If an injury to one is the concern of all,, is it any- more than just to so shape the affairs of government that all_inay be consulted before action is taken. whiclLwi.U--af- fect all ? Is it not equity to allow every man who is concerned to have a voice in the adjustment of such difficulties as will in time be brought to the d oors. of all? \It was not contemplated to have all persons act on all matters, but it was the intention to through their representatives, to express an opin- ion on all matters which would in any way affect, or at any time be likely to have a bearing on oth- ers outside of the first parties concerned^ If an advance in wages became necessary in any depart- ment of labor, the old-fashioned remedy for every labor difficulty— the strike — ^was not to be entered into for the purpose of enforcing the demand for an advance, at least such a step was not to be taken until it had been ascertained how the strike would be likely to affect all the members of the or- ganization, and if it could be demonstrated that others outside of the department involved would be likely to suffer, then the representatives of all the departments, and all those likely to bq involved, must first be.consulted,.and the true state of affairs realized before action should be taken. MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 251 In this way, and in this way only, could labor take intelligent action, and it was to the end that the true condition of labor might be known that the various reforms advocated in the preamble of the Industrial Brotherhood were re-affirmed by the first national convention of the Knights of Labor. The reasons why the separate sections in the pre- amble of the Knights of Labor were adopted and kept in the foreground will be explained further on, and for the present they will occupy no more of the time or attention of the reader. Notwithstanding the fact that there were no funds in the treasury, and that the whole of the order was not represented at the Reading convention, the Grand Secretary, Mr. Litchman, PEOCEEDED WITH THE WORK, and before the end of March every district assem- bly and local assembly in the order was provided with copies of the proceedings of the convention, and sample copies of the constitution. Blank forms were sent out at the same time on which to make application for charters for the various as- semblies. Samples of traveling and transfer cards were also mailed by the Grand Secretary, and all of this was done before one dollar of revenue had been paid into the treasury. When the different assemblies saw that the sec- retary was attending to his duty, they began to respond, and by the end of the year 1878 every as- sembly, whose whereabouts could be ascertained. B52 MEASURES BEFOBE MEN. was in possession of a charter and a sufficient number of constitutions to supply all members. Confidence in the order and the grand officers was at once established, and the work of organizing new assemblies was at once begun, While^the organization was working secretly, yet the; stir in organizing sooh*attrac£ed"attehtion, and the firat^ move from the^^tside a^insTthe association „,came from the church. The events which preceded the erection of the gallows in Schuylkill county, Pa., were still fresh in the minds of residents of that place, and one of the first fields that opened up to the organizer was the MIDDLE COAL BEGION OF PENNSYLVANIA. lEverything in the shape of a society, which was at ,alT'secret or new, was supposed to be the outcome ;of Molly Maguireism. It became necessary to al- |low the name of the order to become known, but f the name was no shield from persecution, misrepre- sentation, and misunderstanding, and soon a scath- ing denunciation of the association came from the altar of one of the churches in Schuylkill county. ^'The members became alarmed ; many left the or- der at once ; others withdrew temporarily, while others, knowing the justice of the principles, de- termined to make an eflFort to have objectionable features, if any there were, removed. Grand Master Workman Stephens was written to, and after investigation a special session of the General Assembly was called to take action on the MEASURES BEFORE MEN. ^53 fatter of placing the aims and objects of the or- der in a favorable light before the publig^ The request for this call came from the middle coal fields of Pennsylvania. The workingmen of that region were sincerely desirous of having the features of the society prop- erly understood by every body. They still held in dreadful remembrance the TERRIBLE LESSONS that were taught at the foot of the gallows, when men ' were strangled whose guilt was never proven , and whose innocence is to this day believed in by those who knew them best. Whether the men who were banged in Pennsylvania were all guilty of murder is not known, but it is known that men were hung on the testimony of those who were themselves murderers. It is known that that plague spot on American civilization, the Pinkerton detective, had entered the council chambers of the workingmen of Schuylkill county, and under the guise of friend- ship urged the men on to deeds of desperation and blood. When the final day shall come, and the deeds of all men shall become known, the writer of this be- lieves that no man's hand will be redder, no indi- vidual will be steeped more deeply in the guilt and crime for which men died upon the scafibld in Pennsylvania than the men who controlled the corporations which were operating the coal mines at that time. Justice no longer knew an abiding 254 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. place in their hearts, honesty had given way to make room for the craze for gold ; and with one ambition constantly before them, is it any wonder that they cared but little if one of their hired as- sassins of character swore away the lives of the in- nocent with the guilty? Men of influence, politi- cians, business men, clergymen, and professional men united in condemning the Molly Maguires, but the voice of him who condemned the outrage- ous system which made the Molly Maguires possi- ble was never heard above a whisper. Men who had witnessed the terrible scenes of past years knew full well how easy men's lives could be sworn away; and when they saw the same men oppos- ing organization in 1878, they naturally became alarmed, and urged that a special convention be called at once to set at rest the fears of those who were as yet uninitiated. A convention was called as follows: K AND H. 0. OF THE » * * * * OF North Amebica. PEACE AND PEOSPEEITY TO THE FAITHFUL. To the Fraternity wherever found, Greetmg : Special Call. On account of what is believed by many of our most influential members to be an emergency of vast and vital importance to the stability, useful- ness, and influence of our order, and in accordance MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 255 with the power given me by the constitution, I do hereby call a special session of the General Assem- bly of the N. and H. 0. of the K. of L. of North America, to be held Thursday, June 6, 1878, at the Sanctuary of No. 1, north-west corner of Sixth and "Walnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pa. The session will commence at 9:30 a. m. The business is to consider the expediency of \ making the name of the order public, for the pur- \ pose of defending it from the fierce assaults and i defamation made upon it by the press, clergy, and corporate capital, and to take such further action as shall effectually meet the grave emergency. (Signed,) URIAH S. STEPHENS, Grand Master Workman. Issued through the oifice of the Grand Secretary, and the seal of the General Assembly affixed, this 16th day of May, 1878. (Seal.) Attest: CHA8. H. LITCHMAN, Grand Secretary. The General Assembly remained two days ir^ session discussing the various plans proposed for the adjustment of the difficulty which had arisen; to perplex the officers and members of the Knights ' of Labor. It was at this session of the General; Assembly that Richard Griffiths, afterward elected \ G. W. F. of the order, first made the acquaintance of the men who composed the supreme law-making body of the order. He had been elected to attend the Reading convention, but was not able to de- 256 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. fray his own expenses, and as a consequence he was debarred from attending the first session of the General Assembly. It was decided by the convention that it would not be proper to make any radical changes in the workings of the order until the various assemblies had been given an opportunity to take ACTION AND GIVE INSTRUCTIONS. The following resolutions were adopted and or- -4ered sent out to the order at large: ^^Mesolved, That all district and local assemblies, under the jurisdiction of the General Assembly, take into consideration and discuss the propriety of the following propositions : ( " 1. Making the name of the order public. "2. Expunging from the A. K. all scriptural passages and quotations. ■ " 3. Making such modifications in the initiatory exercises as will tend to remove the opposition coming from the church. \ " 4. Dispensing with the ceremony of founding district and local assemblies. / ^^^Resohed, That when the General Assembly jmeets in St. Louis, in January, 1879, a vote shall ibe taken upon each of the above questions, and it shall require a two-third vote of the total member- ship to decide in the affirmative." The resolutions, which were offered by repre- MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 257 sentative Powderly, were supplemented by a res- olution oifered by representative Litchman, which was also adopted and ordered sent out with the other : "Besolved, That each local assembly shall take an informal vote upon each of the above proposi- tions, and shall forward to the Grand Secretary, not later than December 1, 1878, a record of the number of votes in the affirmative, and the num- ber in the negative, upon each proposition." LlThis was the first step toward making public the name of the society, and from one stage to an- other it progressed, until the Jjeneral Assembly, which met in Detroit, in 1881yJ DISCARDED THE VEIL OP SECRECY in which the name of the order was shrouded, and declared to the world that there was such an or- ganization in existence as the Knights of Labor. The efforts of the order to throw off the secrecy in relation to its name will be chronicled in their reg- ular order as the history of the society is unfolded. It is proper at this time to give the ^reasons why the G-eneral Assembly of the Knights of La- bor adopted the preamble of the Industrial Broth- erhood. It is declared in that preamble that it is the mission of the order of the Knights of Labor: "To bring within the folds of organization every department of productive industry, making 17 258 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. knowledge a standpoint for action, and industrial, moral worth, not wealth, the true standard of indi- vidual and national greatness. " Second. To secure to the toilers a proper share of the wealth that they create ; more of the leisure that rightfully belongs to them; more societary advantages; more of the benefits, privileges, and emoluments of the world; in a word, all those rights and privileges necessary to make them ca- pable of enjoying, appreciating, defending, and per- petuating the blessings of good government." In order to successfully reach all who are en- gaged in " PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY," it is necessary that the members of the order should know who may appropriately come under that head. The belief was prevalent until a short time ago among workingmen, that only the man who was engaged in manual toil could be called a workingman. The man who labored at the bench or anvil ; the man who held the throttle of the en- gine, or delved in the everlasting gloom of the coal mine, did not believe that the man who made the drawings from which he forged, turned, or dug could be classed as a worker. The draughtsman, the time-keeper, the clerk, the school teacher, the civil engineer, the editor, the reporter, or the worst paid, most abused and illy appreciated of all toil- ers — woman — could not be called a worker. It was essential that the mechanics of America should MEASURES BEFORE MEN. ^59 know who were workers. A more wide-spread knowledge of the trufi-ilefinitionof ,the word labor must be arrived at, and the true relations existing between all men who labor must be more clearly defined. NARROW PREJUDICE, born of the injustice and oppressions of the past, must be overcome, and all_whLO„intexeaLthemselves in producing for the world's good must be made to undCTsteniJEafe. their ,iMicesti„M§^^^^ All the way down the centuries of time in which the man who worked was held in bondage or servi- tude, either wholly or partially, he was brought directly in contact with the overseer, the superin- tendent, or the boss. From these he seldom re- ceived a word of kindness; indeed.. it was the rec- ognized rule -to- treat all men who toiled as if they were_Qf inferior clay. The conditions which surrounded the laborer of past ages denied to him the right to dress himself and family in respectable garb. The coarsest ma- terial, made in the most untidy fashion, was con- sidered good enough for him. Not only did his employer and overseer believe that his dress, hab- itation, furniture, and living should be of the coars- est, cheapest material or quality, but he also shared in that belief, and took it for granted that it was ordained of heaven ; that the stay of the laborer on earth was only as a matter of convenience for his master, and that he must put up with every indignity, 260 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. every insult, and privation rather than violate the rules of government, which were held up to him as being as sacred as the Ten Commandments. The holy Scriptures were quoted to show to the toiler that it was said in holy writ that he should be content with his slavish lot on earth in order that he might enjoy an eternity of bliss in a future world, through the portals of which those who held him in subjection could not get a glimpse of the happiness beyond. "servants, obey your masters," was written on every wall in letters of fire for those who could read, and the story was told and retold to those who could not, until the worker believed that to ask for better things on this earth was al- most a ^sacrilege. It would be flying in the face of Divine Providence to even remonstrate against the injustice which the employer practiced upon the poor laborer. It was necessary to teach the laborer that it was not essential for him to grovel in the dust at the feet of a master in order to win his title deed to everlasting bliss in the hereafter; and it can not be wondered at that many who strove to better the condition of the toiler lost all respect for religion when they saw that those who affected to be the most devout worshipers at the foot of the heavenly throne, were the most tyrannical of task-masters when dealing with the poor and lowly, whose un- fortunate lot was cast within the shadow of their MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 261 heartless supervision. Men who kneeled before the altar of the Most High and asked for heavenly- grace; men who prayed for their "daily bread," were to be found among those who denied the meanest privileges to the workman, and not only denied to him the right to worship his God in a decent manner, but actually took from his mouth, from the fingers of his half-fed babes, the crust of hread on which they sought to sustain life itself. It was no wonder that to many workingmen religion seemed to be but a parody when they con- trasted their own condition with that of their em- ployers; when they were told that all were chil- dren of the same father, it could not be wondered at that some of them REBELLED AGAINST THE DECKEE which had rung in their ears for centuries : " serv- ants, obey your masters;" "we are children of the one father, and that father has given to one brother all the good things of earth, while to us he has given nothing. Can it be possible that almighty Crod has ordained that some of his children are but step-children from birth? Are our souls of as much consequence as those of our employers? Does the Almighty think more of them than of us ? Does He give all the good things to them, and place it in their power to take everything that we produce without a proper equivalent; and is it es- sential to the salvation of our souls that we grovel forever beneath the feet of wealth ?" B62 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. These questions began to loom up before the chil- dren of toil, and then their masters sought to fasten the screws still tighter upon them by bringing to their aid the powers of press and pulpit to convince the laborer that he should not aspire to the good things of earth, but should be content to live in that sphere to which it had pleased his Grod to call him. Workingmen are very imitative, and they saw that if it was possible for the man of wealth to save his soul while enjoying so much of this world's goods, it was also possible for them to do so, and they determined to take the risk and try to die in sin by acquiring some of the wealth which they had helped to create. When workingmen saw other men FEATHEEING THEIR SPIRITUAL NESTS at a salary of from five to fifty thousand dollars a year for little or no labor, they began to believe that so long as they paid heed to the command, " servants, obey your masters," they would stand but little chance of enjoying anything like ease on this earth, and they resolved, one by one, to test the command by breaking it. T^y did breakJL by reaching put for better wages, conditions,^and shorter hours of toil ; but in doing so they ran Jot^ rible risks of future punishment, fojF.all^ol these _• things were in direct conflict with the wiaheSL^of .thfi_ " masters " whom they were told to obey. The laborer gradually realized that while the gaunt form of poverty stood in his doorway from MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 263 one end of the year to the other, and at the end of each year his earthly store was smaller, his family larger, and his hunger keener, he was tempted to commit sin in order to get bread for his family and himself. Ljeaders _of_ workingmen_ believed that souls could be saved _withJbread as. well as with prayer, and they resolyed^ to make the attempt by bringing the men of toil to a SENSE OF THEIK DUTY TO THEMSELVES. The hope was held out as a sort of balm to the feelings of the tired wretches who worked and struggled along in poverty, rags, disease and dirt, that when final judgment came it would be " easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to gain entrance to the kingdom of heaven." As a recompense for the hours of misery and pain spent on earth, the toiler would have the happiness in the next world of seeing the rich man writhing in hell, while he roamed at will in the realms of eternal bliss. No creed taught this doc- trine, no religion said to workingmen that they should look at these scriptural passages in the light in which I have portrayed them, but that these im- pressions were created on the minds of the work- ingmen every man who toils can testify. It then became a question whether to acquire wealth was not a sin, and again the imitative qual- ities of man came to his rescue. He saw that the minister of the religion which he professed never made calls of a friendly nature on him ; his neigh- B64 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. bors, who worked where he did, never received a visit from the clergyman, but he saw that the man who could not get into heaven until the camel passed through the eye of a needle was often far vored with a visit from the minister who preached poverty and humility as a means of acquiring grace on earth and happiness in heaven. It became the duty of the workingman's friend to solve the camel question. How was it to be done? To make knowledge a standpoint for ac- tion, it was necessary to teach the toiler that it was THE USES, THE ABUSES OF RICHES, and the methods by which wealth was acquired that would be the test when the rich man would enter upon his race to eternity, with the camel as a competitor. The deep-toned voice of many a minister of God rang out in denunciation of the workingman, who, in his poverty, in his agony, in his very despair often struck against the systems which crushed him to earth ; and there were those in the ranks of toil, who, mistaking the false for the true, railed against religion because some of those who preached it and professed it failed most miserably in the practice of it. Knowledge for the workingman meant that he should be able to detect the difference between the real and the sham. Whenever a learned man said that which did not appear to be just to labor, he was to be questioned, publicly questioned, as to his base of actual facts. All through the centuries MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 265 toilers have erected the brass and granite monu- ments of the world's greatness, arid have thrown up on hillside and plain the material for other homes than their own. The weary feet of toil have trod- den the earth, and strong hands have formed the pillars of the bondage of old. All along the blood- stained march of the years that have flown, the struggling ones have given to earth more of rich- ness in the sweat which fell to earth from their throbbing foreheads; the grain which lifted its head for long ages of time under the care of the toiler, has been enriched by the sweat, the blood, and the flesh of the poor, plodding men of toil. While the sun kissed to warmth and life the wheat and corn which their hands nurtured and cared for, they received the HUSKS AND STALKS as their recompense for labor done. Their masters took the grain for themselves, but lifted no hand in its production. At the command of a profligate queen, the most enduring of the monuments of time were erected on the Egyptian sands. One stands by the Seine in Paris, one looks toward heaven on the banks of the Thames in London, and another stands erect to tell the wondering sightseer who visits Central Park, New York, that that which man does on earth will live for centuries after he has passed away. At the decree of Cleopatra, men, made in the same mould as men are made in to-day, wrought 266 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. with hammer and chisel upon the surface of the stone that still survives to testify to the skill of past centuries. The name of Cleopatra still lives. We may go back among the dust-covered crooks and crevices of time and search for the name, the memory even, of the mechanic whose skill designed the huge stone; we may search for the name of the artisan whose hand in by-gone ages cut into the face of the solid rock the characters which still remain upon its surface. Oblivion, mystery, gloom, and everlasting death surround the names of the men who worked out the emblems whose import is as a sealed book to the man who to-day looks in wonder and awe at the imperishable monuments to the genius of that by-gone age. Go to the base of the Pyramids and count the stones over whose peaks the sands of Egypt have failed for centuries to climb, and there, too, will be seen the evidence that MAN "WAS AS SKILLFUL in the past as he is to-day, but where is the record which tells the names of the men who erected the Pyramids or the names of those who chiseled out the obelisks of Cleopatra ? Time has marked its furrows upon the surface of the stone without removing the marks of the chisel, but it has obliterated the names, the history, and the fame of the workmen who toiled for future ages. Whether freemen or bondmen, no one can tell who did this wonderful work. In the city of Washington there stands a mon- MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 267 ument to the memory of the man who gave to the world a hope and to the toiler the right to enjoy political and religious freedom. Ask of the guide who attends your visit to that magnificent, awe-in- spiring pile, erected in honor of "the father or his countky," whose hand placed the first stone in its mortar-bed» and he will stand speechless as the marble itself. Pass up the East river beneath the " Brooklyn bridge," on sloop or shallop, ocean steamer or ferry- boat, and while gazing upward in admiration at the grandest witness to the genius of man that the world has ever produced, ask the names of those who made two cities one with a single span, and silence is the only answer. Look where we will at the mighty structures that attest the triumph of the present over the past, stand in wonder before monuments, the stones of which were cemented in human blood, and inquire who they were that toiled up from corner-stone to cap piece, and no tongue pronounces their names, no page in history records the story of their achievements. While the names of rulers have been handed down, the names of generals have been remembered for the lives they took, and the cities they destroyed, the names of those who ministered to the sum of hu- man happiness in erecting cities and adding to the store of the world's greatness and wealth have been forgotten, the recollection of their deeds have passed away with the entombing of their lifeless 268 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. clay. Those who destroyed have been remem- bered ; those who constructed have been forgotten. "Will it be ever thus was the question that was asked when it was finally determined that Knowl- edge should in the future be the standpoint for ac- tion, and that moral worth, not wealth, should in the future mark the contrast between the workmen of the past and those of to-day. / The rights of the people were usurped, their lib- erties were being gathered up in the strong hand of wealth, and the FINGERS OF DEATH were being circled around the constitution of the United States, when it was resolved to make " moral worth, not wealth, the true standard of individual and national greatness." Wealth had bought its way into senate chamber and council hall ; it had seated its pliant tool upon the bench, and placed the ermine the shoulders of its own. Politicians had made pledges only to break them, for they knew that to keep a promise and to break it would win the same reward from the toiler whose vote was cast for party and not for principle. The pol- itician knew that once seated in office he need not care for the opinion of the laborer ; he need not exert himself to do that which was indicated in the platform of his party. The platform itself was a living lie ; and while that " sum of all villainies " was allowed to exist on Anaerican soil, it contam- inated all who came in contact with it, and it sought MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 269 to come in contact with all men. The Declaration of Independence said one thing, and the people practiced an entirely different thing. All men were declared to be born equal, yet the people of a nation stood by and saw millions born into servi- tude, the most damnable and revolting. This taught politicians to be dishonest, for honesty was banished from the high places. It came to be the opinion of the partisan that the workingman was his legitimate prey ; as much his to command on election day as was the black slave the property of his master on every day. To work, then, meant to be ignorant of what a man's rights were to some degree, and the SELFISH POLITICIAN took advantage of everything that offered itself to him. He received bribes as though they were pay for lawful service ; he sought not to cover up his crime, for the long, dark days of slavery made it possible for the system of robbery to go on unmo- lested. Wealth, wrung from the back of the weary, bleeding slave, sat in the halls of Congress and in the Senate chamber ; moral worth was scoffed at as though it were a thing to shun, unless its possessor had wealth along with it, and then the latter was the standard by which men were judged, not only by men of wealth, but by the men of toil as well, for the shadow of that upas-tree, corruption, wa? over the heads of the workers, and each day grew darker for them. 270 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. To make moral worth the standard of individual and national greatness, the men of toil had to be roused to a sense of duty; they had to be taught what their rights and duties were. To do this the hollow pretenses of the political parties, which every year came before the country and on plat- forms of "glittering generalities" appealed for the suffrages of the people, HAD TO BE EXPOSED AND SHOWN to the people in their true light. \ Legislation for labor came through the halls of I Congress and State Legislature as a bone comes through the fingers of a stingy master to a half- starved dog, with the meat picked from it. The bone was there, but it only served the hungry one as a reminder that there should be something else. |When tested before a tribunal of any kind, nearly all of the legislation of that day would be declared unconstitutional. It was not, at that time, consid- ered unconstitutional to grant a whole territory to a railroad company, or to grant a valuable fran- chise to a corporation, but the moment the well- picked bone that was bestowed upon the hungry dog, — Labor, — was taken to the Supreme Court, it was declared to be only a bone, nothing more. A knowledge of who his friends were in each Congress, in each session of the Legislature, was to be made the standpoint for action when the time rolled round to select new legislators. Moral worth was to be established as the future standard, MEASURES BEFORE MEN. Z71 and why should not the laborer do his own legis- lating, instead of letting it out to a second party ? This was a question which was debated long and earnestly in the councils of the workingmen, and attempt after attempt was made, with little or no success, at first, to elect workingmen to serve as representatives of the people. Those who repre- sented, and those who were to be represented, were in need of education on the questions which concerned all alike, but it was evident that PARTIES WOULD NEVER EDUCATE THE PEOPLE. They gave out their platforms each year, and be- fore they were understood, they were exchanged for something else without accomplishing the re- forms they aimed at. ^ / Once every four years, in national contests, ques- tions of political economy were brought before the people on public platform and in ward meeting, but with the sound of the candidate's voice went the thought of what he said, for it was understood that he talked for himself alone. A change had to come, and with it the placing of the preamble of the Knights of Labor in every man's hand every day of the year, to be studied not one day in every four years, but every day in every year, so that those things that were pointed out in it would be carefully bedded in the mind of man or discarded as untrue, and therefore worthless. Parties would never provide the means of diflPas- ing such an education as was here sought for. 272 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. Something else hadi to be found to serve mankind, and that something was presented tb the American people when the order of the Knights of Labor was instituted. f' The electing of legislators was attended with /great difficulty at first, for the people still clung to the old idea of party preferment, j Education was I necessary in order to show the~~workingman his i duty to himself. It was a DANGEROUS UNDERTAKING to broach the subject of political economy in an as- sembly for fear of arousing the ire of some old party adherent, whose fidelity to party was as strong as his love of home or his fealty to his re- ligion. f In 1876-7-8 several elections were held in dif- 'ferent parts of the country, and workingmen were elected to office, but they did not give satisfaction in every instance, for the reason that the enemies of |the labor movement found too many willing ears to listen to tales of selling out, treachery, and general depravity on the part of the newly-elected ones. Those who were elected on new platforms, being new to politics, were sought by politicians of the old school, who generously took them under their wing and offered to show them how to legislate. Unac- customed to duplicity and double-dealing, many of them fell victims to treachery, for they found that in associating with the old school partisan they MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 273 simply invited the contempt and scorn of those who elected them. To elect men on a third ticket at that time was a reason why members of the existing parties should unite against the new members, and labor discov- ered that it was due to her to make use of the ma- chinery already in existence before erecting new parties. The measures of reform were all-impor- tant, and the name of the party of no consideration. This was the doctrine to teach the workingman, and it was taught to him. It is being taught to him every day. Parties are good only when they serve the best interests of the majority of the people. The ma- jority of all parties is made up of toilers, and their interests should RECEIVE FIRST CONSIDERATION. It was urged that inasmuch as the preamble of the Knights of Labor dealt with such questions as called for legislation, the order should at once be tbrmed into a political party. Each of the old parties^ sought to convince the members of the Knights ofr Labor that there was no use for the order ; that the party to which they belonged would efPect all re- form legislation if allowed to do so in its own way ; but the workingmen who had carefully watched the history of the years which followed the close of the civil war, felt certain that party leaders cared noth- ing for the people, and they were right in many instances. The party leader saw that the people 18 S74- MEASURES BEFORE MEN. cared nothing for themselves, and why should he care for the people ? The people took no interest in politics except during campaigns, why should the office-holder take any interest in the people ex- cept to get their votes ? Political leaders STRONGLY URGED THE DISBANDING of the Knights of Labor. They asserted that the ordinary trade union was sufficient to take care of the interests of the wage worker. On that subject the General Master Workman of the Knights of Labor, in reply to a letter published by a promi- nent Democrat, in which the latter urged that all labor organizations affiliate with the democratic party and give up their labor organizations, said in 1883: " A great deal has been said of late concerning the dismemberment of the Knights of Labor, and the forming of a federation of trades. The princi- I pal reason given for the proposed action, summed j up in a few words is, that each trade or craft, in : being organized for itself, can more easily and suc- cessfully engage in a strike. There are other ar- guments made use of to bolster up the ' federation ' idea, but that appears to be the principal one. At least it is the one to which the most prominence is given in the Eastern press. One thing is certain, the originator of that idea was neither a Knight of Labor, nor ,a member of a trade union, for mem- bers of these associations know that the tendency of MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 275 the times is to do away with strikes ; that remedy has been proved by experience to be a very costly one for employer and employe. " The trade union does not favor a strike ; it is regarded as a dernier resort by every labor associa- tion in the land ; and as no good can come of the dismemberment of an association which, among other things, aims at the perfecting of a system by which disputes between the laborer and capitalist can be settled without resorting to so costly an ex- periment as the strike is acknowledged to be, why the Knights of Labor and the various labor asso- ciations of the country are in no great danger of being disbanded. " I called the strike an experiment, and I would have every advocate of such a measure note these words. Strikes have been resorted to for centuries, and to-day, after hundreds of trials have been had, men can not embark in a strike with any assurance of success based upon a former precedent. Every one must be decided upon its own merits. I will never advocate a strike unless it be a strike at the ballot-box, or such an one as was proclaimed to the world by the unmistakable sound of the strikers' guns on the field of Lexington. But the necessity for such a strike as the latter does not exist at present. The men who made the name of Lexington famous in the world's history were forced to adopt the bul- let because they did not possess the ballot. We have the latter ; and if the money of the monopo- list can influence us to deposit our ballots in favor 276 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. of our enemies ; if we can not be depended on !» go quietly to the polling booth and summon to our aid moral courage enough to deposit a little piece of paper in our own interest, how can it be ex- pected of us to summon physical courage enough to do battle for our rights as did our fathers at Lex- ington? and if we do go to the tented field, will not the same agency that induced us to vote against ourselves induce us to thrust our bayonets into the hearts of our friends instead of our foes? I an- swer yes, for a faithless citizen never made a faith- ful soldier. "What, then, is the duty of the hour? Men may argue from what I have said that I believe our cause to be hopeless ; and did I not have faith in the Knights of Labor I would say, 'yes, the cause is lost,' Other men entertain diiferent opin- ions, and positively assert that the panacea for all the ills we suffer will come through the adoption of such advice as they have to offer. For instance, ' Democrat ' says in his letter of July 4th, that in order to secure the blessings we seek we ' have only to merge ourselves into the great Democratic party and help to swell the triumph of the plain people in 1884.' I must be pardoned for differing with him. I do not believe that it lies within the province of any party to protect the many against the unjust encroachments of the moneyed few, unless the many are properly instructed in the science of govern- ment. " The party is the concrete man. If the Individ- MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 277 uals comprising the party are ignorant of their rights, and must trust to the wisdom or discretion of party leaders, they either follow in the wake of blind leaders, or permit themselves to be blindly led along by their leaders. In either case it will not be the intelligence they display, or the instruc- tions they give, that will urge their leaders forward in an honest groove, and under such circumstances as these the duty of the citizen ceases as soon as he <5asts his vote, " Will ' Democrat ' assure us that if each of the as- sociations he names (the Grangers, the Knights of Labor, the Amalgamated Association, and the va- rious trades unions), should cease to work and ■* merge into the Democratic party,' that they would not be obliged to reorganize again in a few years to protect themselves from the Democratic party? Will any Republican assure members of these as- sociations that a general reorganization will not be necessary should they merge into the Republican party? Remember, I am not assailing parties. The party is good or bad, as the majority of its members determine. Who is to blame for the mis- deeds of a party? The majority. Who comprise the majorities in the Democratic and Republican parties? Why, 'the plain people,' of course. I believe that there is no man so good that he will not bear watching. "What is true of man is true of party, and in either case the watchers must be educated; they must be actuated by one common impulse. In Z78 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. other words, they must be organized. That there are men who believe that political parties require both watching and teaching, I am positive. Let me quote the words of a man whose fidelity to the Democratic party can not be questioned, but whose love of justice is stronger tha'ii his regard for party. In his letter to the Constitutional Club, of New York, Judge Jeremiah S. Black says : " ' What is the remedy ? No enforcement of the Constitution and laws, which command what is right and prohibit what is wrong, for that can not be effected without officers that are faithful. As it is our governors do not govern, and legislators laugh in your face when you tell them of their oaths. Shall we turn them out and fill their places with true men ? That is easier said than done. Mo- nopoly has methods of debauching party leaders, cheating voters, and deceiving the very elect, which perpetually defeat our hopes of honest government. If the power of the corporations increases a little more, they can put their worst rascal into the high- est office as easily as Caligula's horse was elected consul by the people of Rome. " ' You will infer from this that I am somewhat discouraged, and it is true that very recent events here in Pennsylvania have much disappointed me. But that is no reason why you should despair. You have what we have not, an organization to make your grievances known, and I hope that from your meeting the truth will go forth to res- cue and rouse up like the sound of a trumpet.' MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 279 "It may be inferred from the position I have taken in the foregoing lines, that the mission of the Knights of Labor is to become a political party, and that it is intended to take precedence of the Dem- ocratic party. The inference would be wrong. The Knights of Labor is higher and grander than party. There is a nobler future before it than that which clings to its existence amidst partisan rancor and strife. The Knights of Labor is a friend to men of all parties, and believing that the moment it assumes the role of a political party its useful- ness will be destroyed, it has refrained and will refrain from doing so. The moment we proclaim to the world that our order is a political party, that moment the lines are drawn, and we receive no more accessions to our ranks from the other exist- ing parties, with the exception of here and there a member who becomes a convert through conviction that we are right. " We have political parties enough. Every one of them in its early days was honest, and gave promise of good results, but the moment that suc- cess perched upon its banners, the vultures who feed upon spoils also perched upon its body, and to a certain extent frustrated the designs of its organ- izers. " The same would be true of the Knights of La- bor. If that order is not to become a political party, what good can it accomplish ? This brings us to the root of the question, and gives the reason Why there can be no dismemberment of the Knights ^80 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. of Labor. One reason why political parties degen- erate is because the masses of the common people are not educated. We may be able to read and write, but we are not educated on the economic and social questions with which we are brought in con- tact every hour. If we were we could more easily discern the difference between good and bad legis- lation, and we would not be clamoring so often for the repeal of bad laws. The chief aim of the Knights of Labor is to educate, not only men but parties ; educate men first that they may educate parties and govern them intelligently and honestly. Ralph Waldo Emerson gave this advice before leaving us. He said : " ' Let us make our education brave and prevent- ive. Politics is an after-work, a poor patching. We are always a little late. The evil is done,^ the law is passed, and we begin the up-hill agitation for repeal of that which we ought to have prevented the enacting. We shall one day learn to supersede politics by education. What we call our root and branch reforms of slavery, war, gambling, intem- perance, is only medicating the symptoms. We must begin higher ; namely, in education.' '"To supersede politics by education,' it first be- comes necessary to organize the masses into an as- sociation where they can be educated. Take fifty men of one calling, and place them in a room or- ganized under the laws of a distinct trade society, and they will discuss nothing but such matters as pertain to their trade. If they do not mingle among MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 281 those of other trades they will grow indifferent to the wants of others ; they will remain in ignorance of their own rights through their ignorance of the rights of others. Selfishness will be the rule, and the ' up-hill agitation for a repeal of that which we ought to have prevented the enacting ' will stare us constantly in the face. "I am aware that the Knights of Labor meet with opposition from the leaders of some labor or- ganizations. They anticipate that, in the event of their associations becoming a part of the Knights of Labor, their occupation, like Othello's, will be gone; but they entertain groundless fears. "We seek the co-operation of every labor society, the dis- solution of none. ,We seek and intend to enlist the services of men of every society, of every party, every religion, and every nation in the crusade which we have inaugurated against these twin monsters, tyranny and monopoly ; and in that cru- sade we have burned the bridges behind us ; we have stricken from our vocabulary that word fail ; we aim at establishing the complete rights of man throughout the world; we take as our guide no precedent ever set by mortal man unless it be right ; we tolerate no dissensions, and will have no dis- banding save as ordained by the Great Master Workman when He calls from our ranks each in- dividual member and bids him join that silent ma- jority, whose votes upon the questions of this world find voice only on the pages of the recorded past." That letter was written in August, 1883, and was B82 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. incorporated in the annual address of the Gr. M. W. to the General Assembly of the order which assem- bled in Cincinnati, in September of that year. The letter deals with other subjects than those which relate to politics, but that is the particular feature of the document to which the attention of the reader is now directed. To cause the worker to understand that to bring about reforms, which were political in their nature, without forming a new party, was a difficult under- taking. POLITICS MEANT PAKTY to a great many, and jthe_thou^t .of_gaining_con;^ trol of the existing parties did not oc cur to them . There were honest men who insisted that a new party should be made of Knights of Labor and in- dustrial organizations. They failed to see that if men would be led by the nose by leaders, and would let their thinking out to others to do in the old par- ties, these men would allow others to lead them in the new political party. Consequently a profitable field would be opened up to a new set of politicians who would naturally crowd to the front in a suc- cessful movement, no matter what its name might be. The duty of the Knight of Jjabor is to place citizenship above party. The success of the abolition movement and the formation of a party which eventually rode into power on that issue, was and is often given as an argument in favor of the formation of a new party ME AS USES BEFORE MEN. 283 of labor. .. .A labor ^artj is not likely to become a success-ior the reason that it is not in accord with the genius ^f American institutions to fpigri. a party of_any one class. American citizens vote not for party, not for a class, but for the whole community; and that party through which the most people can be benefited is the one for whose candidates the peo- ple should vote, even though they become guilty of political apostacy every year. Class distinctions have wrought almost irreparable injury to the peo- ple of the United States. The workingmen are making an HONEST ENDEAVOR to rid the country of them by purifying parties and purging them of the evil tendency to lay every- thing at the feet of monopoly. When the anti-slavery agitation was in progress there was but one issue before the people, viz. : the abolition of human bondage. It was easily under- stood. It appealed to the love of justice which finds an abiding place in every heart. Every body would admit that it was not right to enslave a man. The distinction between the black and white man was the one thing that kept the ques- tion so long in agitation before the final issue was reached. Again, the slave was in chains, he was helpless and weak ; he was ignorant of his rights ; he was powerless to speak out or lift a hand in his own behalf, and the chivalrous spirit of the Amer- ican people was finally aroused. It was only nee- 284 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. essary to secure the attention of the people. As soon as attention was directed to the attitude of the slave, as he crouched in dread of the lash, the vic- tory was won ; for a glaring wrong will not be tol- erated on the soil of the United States after the eyes of the people are turned full upon it, and it becomes the subject of thought and investigation. The elements which combined to make the party that picked up the slave successful were few, but they appealed most eloquently to lovers of liberty in all parties. To concentrate the attention and thought of every workingman and every student on the various phases of the labor question of the pres- ent day, and have each issue find warm adherents in all parts of the county at the same time is NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE. The interests of the different States arejaotjilways the same." TEat econoniic measure which would carry in a political campaign in one State would fall short of anything like a cordial supportin aiS-" other. At different times and under various names la- bor parties have been formed by earnest men who were actuated by a desire to have the very best thing possible done for the worker, but one after another they have failed for want of support ; and had any one of the labor parties which came before the people during the last twenty years been suc- cessful in the effort to secure control of affairs, it would be but a question of time when it would be MEASUBES BEFORE MEN. 285 open to the same objections that now find favor with those who oppose the political parties of the present day. The fault is not with the party, but rests entirely with the citizen. The party should be subservient to the will of the citizen, but the re- lations are changed in placing the party higher thanlcitizenshifL The duty of the citizen does not begin on the morning of the day on which he is to vote, nor does it end with the going down of the sun on that day, yet this is the practice of the vast majority of cit- izens of the United States who LABOR UNDER THE DELUSION that they are voting for the candidate, and that they confer a favor upon the officer-seeker in going to the polls on election day. As most of the measures advocated in the pre- amble of the Knights of Labor must come through political action, and as the greater portion of the ills of which the industrial masses complain, are the result of unwise or dishonest legislation, it i s essential that the people be educated. Jft know what is \mmg j,nd what isright in our methods of con- ducting public affairs. It was not the intention to place~lKe™pfeamble before the members and the country and say, "in this document we ask for measures of relief for the people, you must at once form a party, and push them forward into law." It is the intent of those who understand that doc- ument to have each measure carefully studied and 286 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. debated in the assemblies of the Knights of Labor, with a view to securing the very best effort and thought of the membership upon these questions, so that they may be thoroughly and clearly under- stood by all. If the preamble should be set forth as a political platform, and the people asked to vote for the candidate who advocated that plat- form, the interest would, in all probability, centre on the candidate, and die out with the sound of the last notes of the campaign. The preamble is set before the members for dis- cussion and thought, so that every one will know what is required, so that each one will know whether the preamble is the best that can be de- vised or whether a better one should take its place. It occasionally happens that when a labor party is formed, and a candidate put up on a distinctively labor platform, a failure to poll a respectable vote for the candidate is^re garded as an indication that LABOR HAS NO FAULT TO FIND with the existing state of affairs, ^nd matters be- come far worse than they were before. Again it is sometimes said that the order of the Knights of Labor favors certain parties, and it is given in evidence that the chief officer of the Knights of Labor made political speeches while acting in the capacity of General Master Work- man. The latter assumption is not correct, but it ■ is true that the G. M. W. did make a speech in fa- vor of the party which placed Henry George in MEASURES BEFORE MEN. S87 nomination for mayor of New York in the fall of 1886. Owing to the deliverance of that speech he was requested to again enter the political arena for the purpose of making a speech in behalf of a la- bor party, which was being formed in Philadelphia during the month of December, 1886. As the re- ply which he sent to the committee explains the situation as it then existed, it is given in full as follows : To the Committee: Gentlemen — I have before me your invitation to address the convention of the United Labor party this evening. While I am sensible of the honor conferred in selecting me to act as speaker of the evening, and while under ordinary circum- stances I would be pleased to lend my services in aid of the movement in which you are engaged, yet there are good and valid reasons why I should not respond to the call thus made upon me. To refuse to attend your meeting without giving my reasons would, in my opinion, be unjust, in view of the fact that I recently addressed a mass meeting in the city of New York in behalf of the Labor party. When the laboring people of New York nom- inated Henry George for mayor, they acted inde- pendent of party and without regard to the man that they placed at the head of the ticket. The nomination was made, not as a compliment to Mr. George, nor was it made on the impulse of the hour ; it was made after calm deliberation, and be- 288 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. cause it was necessary for the people of New York to show that they disapproved of the methods of public officials, who violated every principle of right and justice, instead of compelling those over whom they had control to demand a strict enforce- ment of the law. The nomination of Henry George by the laboring men of New York was a solemn protest against the manner in which the rights of the many were ruthlessly trampled under fpot by the ringsters of the party in power. The law requires that the people assemble at the regular polling places and nominate the men to be voted for at the general election. The wel- fare of the nation and of the people demands that the people shall name the men to be voted for ; but in this day and generation the people have as lit- tle to do with the making of nominations as the slaves of the South had to do with making nomina- tions in ante-bellum days. I do not charge that the entire blame for this state of aJBFairs rests entirely with the politicians; for if the politicians did not have willing subjects they could jiot operate upon them. The blame can not properly be laid to any one class of people. All are responsible. The millionaire does not go to the polls to cast his vote ; he simply awaits the re- sult of the election. He does not attend the pri- maries, but takes good care to see that his most powerful ally is there and at work. It may have escaped the notice of a great many who attend the primaries, but it is there that voters are interfered MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 289 with, insulted, and shoved away from the polling places. Timid men stay away ; decent men do not care to be treated in this manner; law-abiding men stay away rather than engage in quarrels. The consequences are that you will find men swagger- ing about and bullying those who have manhood enough to differ with them. Bribery is at work, and those who could not be reached by its influ- ences in any other way are filled with rum. The ally of the monopolist, to whom I referred a moment ago, is strong drink, I know that what I say in regard to it and its influences is true, and beyond the contradiction of any man. New York City is no exception to the rule. It is simply pre- eminent. The " heeler " of Gotham finds his coun- terpart in every city and village of the land. Had the men who threw the bombs in Chicago on the 4th of May aimed their missiles at the heads of these plague spots on our political system, I would have had no tears to shed. The work of the heeler was rated at the highest price by the leaders of all parties ; and it was not so much a question with them whether the people favored the nomination of a certain man as it was to find out how the heeler would take it. The peo- ple were regarded in the light of a machine whose sole duty it was to carry forward the work on elec- tion which had been mapped out for them by the manipulator at the primaries. While this state of affairs continued to exist with- out protest, the voice of labor could exert but little 19 290 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. influence in the legislative halls of State or nation. When the people petitioned for anything they were either refused outright or given some slight recog- nition in the way of legislation that meant nothing beyond the mere words contained in the act that was passed. The vast majority of those who were elected to legislative positions were lawyers, who knew as well how to make a law that meant everything or nothing as they did to enact legislation that could be interpreted in the interest of the whole people. I do not say this by way of reflection on the law- yer, but it IS unfortunately true that, when our government was founded, the fallacious idea took possession of the minds of the people of that day that none but lawyers could make laws. The con- sequences are that they have continued to make laws ever since, and the laws for the most part are made for lawyers only. If you doubt this statement, attend one of the sessions of the nearest court, and you will hear law- yers disagreeing as to the meaning of the simplest term in law. After the trial is over the learned judge will render his decision in accordance with his view of the law, and the chances are that if you watch the matter carefully some lawyer will carry the case to a higher court for a different kind of a decision. I do not charge that the lawyer is responsible for this, but it is in the nature of the lawyer's profession to take a fee. The experience of other days is constantly star- MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 291 ing him in the face while he holds his seat in the legislature, and the chances are that what would seem to be a bribe to other men would only serve as a fee to him. Again, it is natural for men to legislate for themselves and that class to which they belong. A plain, straightforward law would require no lawyer's services to interpret, and, as a consequence, the more complicated and intricate the law the better for the lawyer. I speak of this to show the necessity for representation in the halls of legislation according to occupation or profession, I would not deny the lawyer the right to take his seat in Congress or in the State legislature, but side by side with him should sit the representa- tives of other professions and callings according to the number of those who follow those callings and professions. If this is done and the people are properly represented by men of their own selection, we can have good laws enacted, and we will have only ourselves to blame if such is not the case. As it is, I claim that we are to blame for not at- tending more carefully to the work of enacting legislation. The work of enacting legislation be- gins at the primaries and among the people. This brings me back to the starting point. Why did I speak in New York, and why will I not speak at any other political meetings ? The people of New York made a nomination; every influence had been exerted to make the vote ridiculously small. Had Henry G-eorge received less than the thirty thousand votes that were pledged to him, it 29^ MEASURES BEFORE MEN. would have been said by the enemies of labor that it was a defeat for labor ; that labor did not keep its promise to its own agent. It would have been held that no matter what kind of treatment the working people received, they would still continue to vote the "regular ticket," and, as a conse- quence, but little respect would be shown the rep- resentatives of labor when they applied for the en- actment of just laws or the repeal of unjust ones. I have contended that inasmuch as we have a Department of War at the seat of our national government, we should have a Department of La- bor as well. We already have a Bureau of Labor Statistics, but that is not sufficient. The Presi- dent of the United States does not confer with the chief of that bureau when about to take action on an important matter, and Congress never reads the report of the bureau. What is wanted is to have established at Washington a Department of Labor, with the secretary of the department as one of the Presidential advisers, the same as the heads of the other departments now are. It may be asked why does labor ask so much, and the answer is because we require so much la- bor to_ manage the country, for without it we would make but little headway; everything depends on it. That being true, it is no more than right that the interests of labor should be considered before important action is taken by the President or his cabinet. We have asked that a Department of Labor be MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 293. established. We have been told that labor had no real grievances, and in support of that state- ment the labor vote of the country has been pointed to on many an occasion. I had all of these things in my mind's eye when I decided to go to New York to talk at the Henry George meeting. I wished to enter from a platform in the first city in the Union my protest against the influence of rum in our elections. I wished to ask of the workers of New York not to allow a small vote to be cast. I wished to have the vote so large that the blind- est of blind partisans could not fail to see that la- bor had a grievance. It was my desire to see that the vote would speak for itself when we again asked for legislation at Washington. It was my desire to make it possible for the Legislative Com- mittee of the Knights of Labor at Washington to be able to be answer the questions which were put to them last session: "Who are you? Whom do you represent, and what will be the effect on our political fortunes if we vote as you require? " Had Henry George died the night before the election, I would have urged the men of New York to vote as they did on election day as a protest against ring rule, corruption, and perjury. My name was used by partisans in New York to stem the tide. It was urged that I wrote a let- ter against Henry George, and that I opposed the movement generally. I knew of no better way of giving the lie to all of these false statements, and at the same time doing my part toward the estab- 294 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. lishing of a sentiment that would eventually tend to secure to labor some of the benefits that she asks for, than to go in person and refute the charges. I did it, and there my duty ended. In going to New York on that occasion I made a departure from a rule that I have observed for some time, and which I do not intend to break again, viz., not to speak at a political meeting again while I hold the position of chief officer of the Knights of Labor. While it might be entirely proper for me to speak at such a meeting, yet it creates the impression that the order of the Knights of Labor is being drawn into the contest, and it is my duty to do all that lies in my power to keep the order, over which I have been chosen to pre- sidgj above the tide of partisan politics. At New York/ 1 spoke as an individual^ voicing the senti- ment of united labor, and not as General Master Workman of the Knights of Labor. While I am General Master Workman I will never again oc- cupy a place either as speaker or officer on a polit- ical platform. I would advise you not to take any action as a party. It seems to me that it becomes the duty of all interested to endeavor to educate the masses to free the ballot box from the degrading influences of the bribe-giver and taker, as well as from that tool of monopoly — whisky. Put forth your every effort to discover what is wrong in the manage- ment of the municipal affairs of your city ; do not, as is too often the case, allow the interest to die MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 295 out on the eve of election day, but continue until you have located the cause of the trouble. You will find that in order to remove the cause of the trouble you will have to begin at the bottom and work up, instead of beginning at the top and fall- ing down. If your movement means what its name indicates, keep it up and enlist the services of all honest men, for all such are interested in honest government, regardless of their calling in life." The appended decisions of the Gr. M. W. will serve to show what the a-ttitude j£,ih.e.,,Qrder of the Knights of Labor is on the question of political parties as related to the organization : 237. The order of" the Knights of Labor is not a political party. It is more and higher, and must be kept so. It is jthe parent of principles. In it are born and, crystj,Jized,sentiments and nieasures for the ben£fii,of the whole people. 238, Our ord er is aboYe„ politics^and electioneer- ing for any candidate in the sanctuary must not be practiced. Our order teaches man his duty by ed- ucating him on the great question of labor. "Dis- cuss labor in all its interests," but not the merits or demerits of any candidate. 240. It is not compulsory to vote for a brother for any public office, but in choosing members for the assembly select none but men whom it would be an honor to vote for for any position. 241. Political economy, in a fraternal and ban- did^irit, may and should be freely and exhaust- S9e MEASURES BEFORE MEN. irely discussed in local assemblies. In this way, and in this alone, can members become thoroughly informed as to their rights as citizens, both in th,e abstract, or higher laws of Grod, and legally, or in the present laws of the land. In this way the jus- tice or injustice of their surroundings is made ap- parent, and they are enabled more intelligently to discharge the duties of citizenship, exercise the elective franchise, and realize exactly where they stand and where they consistently belong. But it should never be discussed in an angry, ungentle- manly or acrimonious manner. In that case the laws of Knighthood are imperative. The Master Workman must close the assembly. 259. Pplitical party action inust not be lak.ea in the local assembly, but must be done outside, in club or party organization, through which political sentiment may be crystalized into statute law. While citizenship is rated so low and party meth- ods so high, there will exist a necessity for a more GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE concerning the duty which the citizen owes to his family and his country. That action should be taken is an absolute necessity, the welfare of the country demands it, but that action must be care- fully planned ; it must be for the good of the great- est number, and a knowledge of all that goes to make the many poor and the few rich must be the standpoint for the action of the future. MEASURES BEFORE MEN. 297 Soon after men began to study the preamble to the Knights of Labor they began to act. Unfor- tunately for the movement many of those whose perceptive faculties enabled them to comprehend the full scope of the preamble in a short time, thought that others, not so well equipped mentally, should realize the full necessity for action. En- thusiastic and earnest men sought to realize a ben- efit for mankind by nominating candidates for of- fice whose past record would be a GUAKANTEE THAT THE PEINCIPLES of the K. of L. would be " crystalized into statute law." When candidates who entertained such views were nominated by either party, their elec- tion was always contested by the agents of corpor- ate power through every system of terrorism imag- inable, — ^bribery, treachery, blacklisting, threats of dismissal from position, and finally the espionage of the corporation oflBcial at the polling place. It is within the recollection of the writer that when contesting for a political position, in 1878, on a labor platform, in the city of Scranton, local super- intendents and bosses employed by the coal com- panies were stationed at the several polling places, where the men over, whom they had charge de- posited their ballots. . These mine superintendents took the precaution to place the ticket which they favored in the hand of every employe of the com- pany who came forward to vote; not that alone, but they watched the man until he cast his ballot. 298 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. In many instances^ men who refused 4o-yxittfi_jthe__ ticket thus forced on them were discharged from the service of the coal corporations of Lackawanna valley. Numberless instances can be pointed out to show that those who possessed the wealth of the nation were determined to control the legislation of the same. Massachusetts was cursed with the polit- ical tyrant, who stood at the polling place in that State until the indignation of the masses forced him to abandon his post. New Jersey is still un- der thel^ule of corporate pojve^v'so far as the FREEDOM OP THE EMPLOYES of corporations is concerned, for it is an established fact that at the election held in that State in the fall of 1887, men employed on the coal docks at South Amboy were called into offices of the cor- poration, and were provided with tickets which were numbered the same as the men are numbered in the service of the company. They were not told to vote the tickets, but they were watched by agents of their employers, and the man who refused was certain of dismissal from the service of the com- pany at the first offense. This system of compelling men to vote as the corporation willed has been so extensively prac- ticed, and has been made the subject of so much discussion and publicity, that it is unnecessary to bite any more cases. The mattex,iAsimply referred to to show that no matter how well qualified the MJSASURES BEFORE MEN. 299 citizenjDMi^^e to perfo^ duty atjjja.pjlla^he will not be likely to accomplish,much good in that direction so long as the door of the polling booth is held in the grasp of corporate power. A plan must be devised and adopted throughout the na- tioiPwhich will allow the__voterJ;o go to the polls and:~depositTiis ballot free from interference from the boss of corporation, saloon, or political party. Many plans are being discussed and perfected which aim at throwing a safeguard around the ballot. That one which will succeed, and which will best serve the interests of the American people, will be the one which will keep all traders away from the polling place; and traders at the ballot box are traitors to the State. THE EXPENSES OF THE ELECTION should be defrayed by the State, and in national elections by the national government. The candi- date should not be required to pay for the print- ing, cutting, folding, or distributing of tickets. He should not be obliged to pay the wages'^of the men who handle the tickets at the polls. There should be no men at the polls handling tickets who will have it in their power to tell who or what the cit- izen votes for. The tickets of all parties should be kept near the polling place. They should be given to every voter, who should be permitted to step into a room where he could make his own selection of candidates, unobserved by any other person. The casting of his ballot may be registered automatic- 300 MEASURES BEFORE MEN. ally, as it can he done through the agency oLoneL of the numerous inventions now heing perfected. No person should be allowed to stand near the ballot box while a citizen is voting. To stop another villainous practice, election day should be made a national holiday by act of Con- gress and State Ijegislature. The special session of the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor, which met in Cleveland, 0., in May, 1886, adopted the following resolution, which is a request for the recognition of election day as a national holiday : '■'■Resolved, That it is the sense of this Greneral Assembly that the occupation of the bribe-giver and the bribe-taker should be destroyed. To do this it will be necessary to educate those who suf- fer most through bribery and corruption, that it is as hurtful to the welfare of the nation to receive a bribe as to give one. "In order to deal with this question more effect- ively and intelligently, we should use every means within our power to secure for the toiler the right to protect himself upon that day which, of all days, is important to the American citizen — election DAY. That he may have an opportunity to protect his interests on that occasion, we should ask that election day be made a national holiday, on which no employer shall have the right to demand ser- vice at the hands of his employes." That resolution passed by a unanimous vote, and MEASURES BEFORE MEN. SOI met with the approval of the entire order. The reason why that was passed was because employers of labor were, and are, in the habit of working their employes up to the very hour of closing the polls on election day. It is a common thing in the coal regions for the corporations to insist on their work- men staying in and around the mines until too late to vote on election day, even though the mines were worked but half time during every other day in the week. Steel and rolling mills have been operated the same way, and the unfortunate work- man who would leave off before the last horn would blow ■WOULD BE DISCHAEGED from the service of the company. Such practices as these should not be tolerated, and there will be ' no system devised to jsheck the evil until the .day on which men register their ^-^^^^^^ Jg-JIpt jsax is declared a national holiday : until the citizen can exercise his will free and untrammeled at the polls; until he can vote freeJromthj^gjCOTtJiiy of political boss Vr cor^ratipn supeiiiiteiuieJJJU--. ~ ^^'^ith these reforms in view^ and with the pre- amble of the_ordex,,bei^^ ing, the member of the Knierhts of Labor must be- Gomo_ji_bettaf_giiae^^ -the organizatisa^ J Fhe knowledge w MchJlL£aias.ilY discussion^and study .of^^eaonomiajpestiQiia jadU constitute the standpoint jfor„action_ whig|i is sug- gested in the preamble ^ the Knights of Labor. " Every addition to true knowledge Is an addition to human power." —Horace Mann. The third section of the preamble— Changed to suit the conditions under which the Knights of Labor worked— The estabhshment of the labor bureau — Its first effects on the workingman — Its benefits as compared with the hardships brought about by its introduction — The employers opposed to making returns of their business affairs— Corporations intended to benefit the public— Hon. M. A. Foran presents a bill to create a bureau of labor— The establishment of the bureaus in various States — A National Labor Bureau established at Washington — Powderly and Jarrett applir cants for the position of Commissioner of Labor — Employers send in remonstrance against Powderly's appoihtinent— Jarrett's name serCt-in, to the Senate — Its withdrawal — Appointment of Carroll D. Wright — Benjamin F. Butler recommends Wright— The Senate attempts to divert the work of the National Bureau from its proper course — Gathering of divorce statistics— Work- ingmen indignant — The General Assembly instructs the Legis- lative Committee to work for a Department of Labor^Estab- lishment of a Department of Labor at Washington — What is hoped for from the labor bureaus— Old-time slavery as compared with the new. HE third declaration of the preamble of the Knights of Labor reads : . " III. to) arrive at the true condition of the producing masses in their educational, moral, -and financial condition, by demanding from the (302) THE LABOR BUREAU. S03 various governments the establishment of bureaus of labor statistics." An examination of the preamble of the Industrial Brotherhood will show that that body demanded "from the several States and from the national government the establishment of bureaus of labor statistics." When the Industrial Brotherhood made the demand, that body was composed of rep- resentatives from trades unions representing con- stituencies which existed within the United States, and the preamble was intended for the^ INHABITANTS OP THE UNITED STATES ALONE. When the preamble was taken up by the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor at Reading, it was changed only in those parts that referred to action at the hands of government;^ as the order was expected to be spread all over the globe, its declaration must be made to conform to the princi- ples and aims of the association, and instead of making a demand from any particular government, the intention was to make the demand " from the various governments." At the time of the adoption of the preamble at Reading, there were but four bureaus of labor sta- tistics in -existence. These were:fii:e,ated by State LegMatigresr:afc::the request of labor organizations in these States, and were^thgjfirst, fruits of the ag- itation begun on the questioa Jby. th« JJfational I^a- bor Union of 1866._, Massachusetts established a LaBoT Bureau in 1869, Pennsylvania in 1872, Mis- 3 04- THE LABOR B UREA U. souri in 1876, and Ohio in 1877. The Missouri bureau was enlarged in 1883 in order to afford greater facilities for the transaction of the legiti- mate business of the institution. It was the intention in organizing. these b urea,u a of labor statistics to procure from, the toiler Mmself statements concerning, his condition, in Jlife^ It was expected of him to give full and accurate informa- tion on all questions relating to his welfare, and at the outset many men were victimized for speaking plainly when interrogated by the agents of the bu- reaus. The agents of capital had access to the rec- ords of the bureaus, as the agents of labor could have had if they were as alert then as now. When workingmen discovered that their identity would be disclosed to their employers if they gave a true statement of the IMPOSITIONS PRACTICED on them, they became very cautious, and for a num- ber of years it was next to impossible to direct the attention of the laborers to the importance of mak- mg returns upon the blanks sent out by the bu^ reau. When it became known that the eyes of the workingmen were turned in the direction of these bureaus, and that they desired to have them con- ducted in such a way that no man would be dis- charged for stating facts, more interest was shown in the work of gathering statistics. Particular pains were taken by employeraJf) ef- fect the discharge of prominent men in the labpr THE LABOR BUREAU. 305 organizations, because of the reports which they made to the labor bureaus of their States. They felt that in time employers would be required to make returns to the State of accounts of actual earnings, and by discharging workingmen whose names and business were divulged by the labor bu- reau they artfully threw a veil over their own af- fairs. They reasoned that if a workingman knows he will be discharged because of the publication of his name or statement of condition, he will want to have his legislature protect him by keeping secret his name and business. If the workingman does not wish to have his own affairs exposed to public gaze, over his own signature, he will not be likely to ask for the PASSAGE OF LEGISLATION which will require that the affairs of his employer be made the subject of scrutiny at the hands of a bureau. The idea was advanced that it was not in accord with the spirit of our free institutions, that men should be compelled to make statements concern- ing conditions in life, earnings, and expenditures. It was claimed that it was an infringement on the personal liberty of the individual to attempt, by act of Legislature, to pry into the affairs of work- man, corporation, or individual employer. When Ig^s were passed creating bureaus of labor statis- tics, they were shorn of the power to become of real'value to the country at large, for the reason 306 THE LABOR BUREAU. that it was left optional with the employer and em- ^Sye'to give or withhold information, neceisaryjo^ make a complete return, of actual.£Qiiditions,-®ani- ings, etc. - Intelligent, thinking laborers at once availed themselves of the opportunities afforded them by these bureaus to place their real condition in life before the country. They determined to secure all of the advantages that were possible through these agencies. Other workingmen, who for years had suffered all manner of privations and indignities, and whose sensibilities were blunted by hard luck and ill treatment, attempted to create a sentiment in their favor by making extravagant, exaggerated, and untruthful returns. This had a tendency to CAST DISCREDIT on the institutions that were designed to benefit the toilers. The legitimate aim of the labor bureau is to as- certain~15eyond~ther shadow of "a dou^what the earnings of labor and capital arein firder^that^ jus- tLce may be done to both, in order that^uns^ug- Ijlous employers will not have it in their, power to rob labor of its just dues, and take all of thej)rofits of the combination of labor and capital for their own aggrandizement. When blanks were sent out for the purpose of securing reliable information, it was discovered that in making returns the employer would invari- ably make a return of what he paid his workmen. THE LABOR BUREAU. S07 He was disposed to be generous in the matter of stating what was paid to labor ; what labor could live on ; how much the workman spent for strong drink; what a fondness the workman had for canned goods, and such other information as could best be given by the workman himself. His own affairs were not considered proper subjects for pub- lic scrutiny, and not being obliged to state what his own profits were, or what he spent for strong drink, he made no mention of such insignificant trifles. The bureaus were established for the public good, and if it is for the public good that the affairs of an individual be made known, he should be compelled to state facts under oath. It is now well known to the public what the workingmen receive, and what they can live on. In some instances the labor bu- reau has proved to be of ADVANTAGE TO THE EMPLOYER, for if he learned ti^m!:^LJfe§.^i4 ^,.!^^6jbureau that "TiSTierp '^ could subsist on a dollar a day less, he was always inclined to reduce wages to, the lowest^ limit.~""lt is because the proper sphere of the labor" bureau has not yet been attained, that it has not proven so advantageous as was expected. Laws must be passed which will make it compulsory on employe and employer to answer every question in relation to their business that the public is at all interested in. The public has a right to know^ what a corporation earns. It is granted valuable 308 THE LABOR BUREAU. franchises by the public ; it lives on the public ; it is designed to benefit the public, and to the public it should render an account of its stewardship. The legitimate earnings of capital should become known to the people in order to put a stop to ille- gitimate profit-taking. The shield of the law should be thrown around the worker, in order that he may secure that to which he is justly entitled as a part of his investment (his labor) in the con- cern where he finds employment. The means by which employers or moneyed men acquire wealth will one day be made the subject of THE MOST EIGID SCRUTINY through the medium of the labor bureau. The law will one day set a limit to the now boundless ambi- tion of the money-getter, and he will be deprived of the power to get more than enough. He will not be permitted to get enough to place him in a position where he will stand as a menace to the State. The mode of living of the toiler must be improved, his condition while at work, his treat- ment by his employer, his moral standing, and the tendency to crime, which comes of his poverty, will all become known through the intervention the labor bureau. The_agitati0a-for-the establishmeht of laboi* bu- reaus was begun in the States where the Knights of Labor were intrenched in 1878, immediately af- ter the adjournment of the Reading convention. The agitation for the establishment of a National THE LABOR BUREAU. 309 Labor Bureau was begun after the special session, which was held in Philadelphia, in June, 1878. The New Jersey Legislature was petitioned dur- ing the winter of 1878 to establish a labor bureau. A bill was drawn up and presented to the House by a member of the Knights of Labor, who, al- though not a member of the Legislature, was deeply interested in the passage of measures of reform in the State. He had the bill drawn and given into the hands of the members of the Legislature. All of the labor organizations of the State took an active interest in the work, and the following March saw the establishment of the " Bureau of Statistics of Labor and Industries of the State of IN'ew Jersey." The " Bureau of Labor Statistics " of Illinois was established in 1879. In the Legislature of the State that year there were ten Grreenback Labor and seven Socialist members. Many of them were members of the order of the Knights of Labor, and both Socialists and Knights being committed to the LABOR BUREAU QUESTION, They introduced the bill and worked so successfully as to pass it into law before the adjournment of the session of 1879. A " Bureau of Statistics " was established in In- diana, but it deals with every question on which statistics are required. It makes no pretensions to being a labor bureau. During the session of the New York State Leg- 310 THE LABOR B UBEA V. islature of 1883, Hon. David Healy, of Rochester, a Knight of Labor, introduced a bill looking to the establishment of a labor bureau. The measure was successfully carried into law before the close of the session of that year. California also established a "Bureau of Labor Statistics " in 1883. The influence of the Knights of Labor was the prime factor in the passage of the bill. The Knights had been agitating for years on the Pacific coast, and in 1883 made a strong effort to gain recognition for labor at the hands of the law-makers of the State. In the effort to establish the " Bureau of Labor Statistics " of California, while the agitation was begun and continued by the Knights of Labor, they had the hearty co-oper- ation and assistance of trades unions and the Trade and Labor Assembly of the Pacific coast. Nearly all of the members of these organizations were members of the K. of L. To the Knights of Labor of Michigan IS DUE THE CREDIT of establishing the " Bureau of Labor and Indus- trial Statistics " of that State. The bill was drawn and presented by a Knight of Labor, and its pas- sage through the Legislature was carefully watched by the members of that body, who were also mem- bers of the Knights of Labor. The order through- out the entire State was much interested in the measure, and took energetic steps to make the pas- THE LABOR BUSEAV. 311 sage of the bill possible. The Michigan bureau was established in 1883. In the same year Wisconsin fell into line by en- acting a law creating a " Bureau of Labor Statis- tics." The measure was favored by the Knights of Labor of that State, and its passage through the Legislature was hastened by the active agitation, which was kept up while the bill was on its pas- sage. The bill originated with the Knights of Labor. In 1884 Iowa established a "Bureau of Labor Statistics," and Maryland passed a law creating a " Bureau of Statistics of Labor." In both States the measures were presented at the request of Knights of Labor, and everything that could be done to further the INTERESTS OF THE BILLS was done by members of the order in these States. In 1885 Kansas, through the influence of the Knights of Labor, established a " Bureau of Labor Statistics." The most active work in the way of aiding legislation that could be done was performed by the order in Kansas. Every member in the State petitioned and wrote to the Legislature re- questing that the bureau be established. Connecticut established a " Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics" in 1885. It is due to the order of the Knights of Labor that Connecticut boasts of a bu- reau, for they were the originators of the measure, 312 THE LABOR BUREAU. and were untiring in their efforts to have it become the law of the State, Five bureaus were instituted in 1887 in the States of Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, North Car- olina, and Rhode Island ; and it is owing to the un- tiring efforts of the Knights of Labor of these States that these bureaus were established. They were introduced and pressed by, and at, the request of Knights of Labor. In 1884, the measure which William H. Sylvis introduced to the National Labor Union_coiiven^ tion, of 1867, looking to the organization of a Na- tional Labor Bureau, became a law, and the " BUREAU OF LABOR " 1 was created at the seat of the United States gov- ernment. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Hon. J. H. Hopkins, of Penn- sylvania, who worked untiringly for its successful passage. _The members of the order of the Knights of Labor watched the various turns and halts whicIT theTS'ational Congress took in passing the bill into" law. The first concern of the politician found ex- pression in the inquiry : " How will the passage of the bill help my party ? " Labor need not feel flattered because of the pas- sage of the bill creating a NationM.Bureau_of La- bor, for it was love of party and fear of losing votes that caused over two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives to. pass the bill. In the Senate the hostility to the bill was equally as great, THE LABOR BUREAU. 313 and it was only when the members of Congress who belonged to the party in power felt that the interests of that party would not be likely to suffer that they allowed it to become a law. Before reaching its final reading the bill was so amended in the Senate that its passage, as amended, would be of no PRACTICAL BENEFIT to the workingmen of the nation. Those who la- bored for its passage in the House of Representa- tives insisted that the bill should not be shorn of its most important features, and asked for a com- mittee of conference, which was granted. The committees of the House and Senate agreed upon a bill which, although not so favorable to the in- terests of the masses as that presented in the House, was far in advance of that which would have been adopted by the Senate. President Ar- thur signed the bill creating the National Bureau of Labor June 27, 1884. AN ACT to establish a Bureau of Labor. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Bepresent- atives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be established in the Department of the Interior a Bureau of Labor, which shall be under the charge of a Commissioner of Labor, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Commissioner of Labor shall hold his office for 314 THE LABOR BUREAU. four years, and until his successor shall be ap- pointed and qualified, unless sooner removed, and shall receive a salary of three thousand dollars a year. The Commissioner shall collect information upon the subject of labor, its relation to capital, the hours of labor, and the earnings of laboring men and women, and the means of promoting their material, social, intellectual, and moral prosperity. The Secretary of the Interior, upon the recommen- dation of said Commissioner, shall appoint a chief clerk, who shall receive a salary of two thousand dollars per annum, and such other employes a& may be necessary for the said Bureau: Provided, That the total expense shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars per annum. During the neces- sary absence of the Commissioner, or when the of- fice shall become vacant, the chief clerk shall per- form the duties of Commissioner. The Commis- sioner shall annually make a report in writing to the Secretary of the Interior of the information collected and collated by him, and containing such recommendations as he may deem calculated to promote the efficiency of the Bureau. Approved June 27, 1884. When the National Labor Bureau wa^ estab- lishedjthe workingmen of the United States, feel- ing that the Commissioner of Labor, as the chief of the bureau was designated, should be in sym- pathy with them in their efforts to improve their condition, petitioned the President to appoint the THE LABOR BUREAU. 315 chief of&cer of the Knights of Labor to the posi- tion. District Assembly No. 66, of Washington, began the agitatidn by asking of the General Mas- ter Workman to become a candidate, and when he applied, in person, to President Arthur, he pre- sented petitions from fifteen hundred and sixty- seven branches of different labor organizations ask- ing for his appointment. In addition to the peti- tions, he also laid before the President editorial clippings, FAVORABLE TO HIS APPOINTMENT, from thirty-seven labor papers, and one hundred and fifteen from the daily press of the United States. The President informed him that he would consider his petition and claim to the position, but also said that a remonstrance had been handed to him from the manufacturers, in which the following statement occurred : " It is feared by the employers of labor that if Mr, Powderly is appointed by your Excellency he will exert his influence in opposition to the inter- ests of employers. It is also feared that he is in sympathy with the communist element, and that he will be influenced and guided largely by that ■ class." Many influential citizens and workingmen's or- ganizations petitioned the President to appoint John Jarrett to the position of commissioner, and were successful in having his name sent in to the 316 THE LABOR BUREAU. Senate for confirmation. In the meantime Mr; Jarrett's enemies were not idle, and produced evi. dence to show that, while making a political speech, Mr, Jarrett reflected severely upon the administra- tion of President Arthiir. This evidence was pre- sented to the President, who withdrew the name of Mr. Jarrett from before the Senate, and, after some delay, he sent in for confirmation the name of Carroll D. Wright, who, at that time, occilpied the position of chief of the Bureau of Labor of Massachusetts. It is said to be due to the influ- ence of Benjamin P. Butler that Mr. "Wright was selected by the President. For several years there has existed in the New England States a society having for its aim the EEFOEM OF THE DIVORCE LAWS of the country. The United States Senate passed a resolution instructing the Commissioner of Labor to gather, during the year 1888, statistics concern- ing the number and causes of divorce. The Com- missioner protested against this innovation, but in vain. It was not clear to his mind that the legiti- mate scope of the bureau took in the gathering of statistics on the subject of divorce. The working- men who took an interest in the gathering of labor statistics, naturally felt indignant, and protested against further departures from the work of the bu- reau. This interference on the part of the Divorce Reform Association had a good effect, for it directed THE LABOR BUREAU. Sll attention to the bureau and caused many to takq an interest in it who had hitherto regarded it with indifference. In his address to ,tih.e,,Qeneral Assembly, which met in Minneapolis, Minn., in October, 1887, the General Master Workman advised that an agita- tion be begun in the direction oif establishing a Na- tional Department of Labor at Washington. He said; •-- ••■--, «iBt>in**j(WS1' " I believe the day has come for united labor to ask at the hands of Congress the passage of a law creating a Department of Labor at the seat of the national government. I would respectfully ask of the Committee on Legislation to prepare a bill and introduce it to Congress at the next session. We have to-day a Department of War ; we do not need it at all in comparison to a Department of Labor. The Navy Department is not such an important one, for we do not require the use of a very exten- sive national navy. The prosperity of the whole country rests on the broad shoulders of labor, and there is nothing now so prominently before the na- tion and the world as the question of labor. Nearly every action taken now by the executive or his cab- inet deals in one way or another with the question of labor ; its ramifications extend everywhere, its power is felt everywhere, and its usefulness is now recognized everywhere. " All this being true, it is no more than just that the President should have as a member of his cab- 318 THE LABOR BUREAU. inet a man who represents more than war, more than a few vessels, more than a sentiment, more than a class. Labor can not be called a class, for it is everywhere. To have a man in his cabinet with whom to consult on the question of labor, the President would be in a better position to deal with the question of capital. Labor to-day is entitled to far more at the seat of government than a mere bureau, but it will not receive any more unless it asks for it. I recommend that we ask for the es- tablishment of a Department of Labor." The recommendation met with favor, and was UNANIMOUSIiY AGREED TO by the assembled representatives. The legislative committee appointed at the Minneapolis session, consisting of Ralph Beaumont, James Campbell, and John J. McCartney, were instructed to work for the measure. No effort was spared to bring the matter before Congress. Local and district assem- blies appointed committees to wait upon their rep- resentatives in Congress and request their co-opera- tion in aid of the measure. The bill was presented to the national legisla- ture by Hon. John J. O'Neill, of Mo., who, after consultation with the Knights of Labor Legislative Committee, decided not to ask that the head of the department be made a cabinet officer, for the rea- son that such offices are usually bestowed upon po- litical favorites, whose claims to recognition are based upon partisan service, while the head of such THE LABOR B UREA U. 329 a department, as that which would have to deal with the affairs of industry, should be selected be- cause of his ability and not because of his partisan- ship. The measure passed both houses Qf Con- gress, and on June 30^J888, received the official signature of President Cleyieland. AN ACT to establish a Department of^ Labor. JSe it enacted hy the Senate and House of Represent- atives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be at the seat of Gov- ernment a Department of Labor, the general de- sign and duties of which shall be to acquire and diffuse among the people of the United States use- ful information on subjects connected with labor, in the most general and comprehensive sense of that word, and especially upon its relation to capital, the hours of labor, the earnings of laboring men and women, and the means of promoting their ma- terial, social, intellectual, and moral prosperity. Sec. 2. That the Department of Labor shall be under the charge of a Commissioner of Labor, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate ; he shall hold his office for four years, unless sooner removed, and shall receive a salary of five thousand dollars per annum. Sec. 3. That there shall be in the Department of Labor, to be appointed by the Commissioner of Labor : One chief clerk, at a salary of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum; four clerks of 320 THE LABOR BUREAU. class four, all to be statistical experts ; five clerks of class three, one of whom may be a stenographer; six clerks of class two, one of whom may be a trans- lator, and one of whom may be a stenographer; eight clerks of class one ; five clerks, at one thou- sand dollars per annum ; one disbursing clerk, who shall also have charge of accounts, at a salary of one thousand eight hundred dollars per annum; two copyists, at nine hundred dollars each per an- num ; two copyists, at seven hundred and twenty dollars each per annum ; one messenger ; one as- sistant messenger ; one watchman ; two assistant watchmen; two skilled laborers, at six hundred dollars each per annum ; two char-women, at two hundred and forty dollars each per annimi; six special agents, at one thousand six hundred dollars each per annum ; ten special agents, at one thou- sand four hundred dollars each per annum ; four special agents, at one thousand two hundred dol- lars each per annum, and an allowance to special agents for traveling expenses not to exceed three dollars per day while actually employed in the field and outside of the District of Columbia, exclusive of actual transportation including sleeping-car fares ; and such temporary experts, assistants, and other employes as Congress may from time to time pro- vide, with compensation corresponding to that of similar officers and employes in other departments of the Grovernment. Sec. 4. That during the necessary absence of the Commissioner, or when the office shall become THE LABOR BUREAU. 321 vacant, the chief clerk shall perform the duties of Commissioner. Sec. 5. That the disbursing clerk shall, before entering upon his duties, give bond to the Treas- urer of the United States in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, which bond shall be conditioned that the said officer shall render a true and faithful account to the Treasurer, quarter-yearly, of all moneys and properties which shall be by him re- ceived by virtue of his office, with sureties to be approved by the Solicitor of the Treasury. Such bond shall be filed in the office of the First Comp- troller of the Treasury, to be by him put in suit upon any breach of the conditions thereof. Sec. 6. That the Commissioner of Labor shall have charge in the building or premises occupied by or appropriated to the Department of Labor, of the library, furniture, fixtures, records, and other prop- erty pertaining to it, or hereafter acquired for use in its business, and he shall be allowed to' expend for periodicals and the purposes of the library, and for the rental of appropriate quarters for the ac- commodation of the Department of Labor within the District of Columbia, and for all other inci- dental expenses, such sums as Congress may pro- vide from time to time. Sec. 7. That the Commissioner of Labor, in ac- cordance with the general design and duties re- ferred to in section one of this act, is specially charged to ascertain, at as early a date as possible, and whenever industrial changes shall make it es- 21 ■THE LABOR BUREAU. sential, the cost of producing articles at the time dutiable in the United States, in leading countries where such articles are produced, by fully-Specified units of production, and under a classification show- ing the different elements of cost, or approximate cost, of such articles of production, including the wages paid in such industries per day, week, month, or year, or by the piece ; and hours employed per day ; and the profits of the manufacturers and pro- ducers of such articles ; and the comparative cost of living, and the kind of living. " It shall be the duty of the Commissioner also to ascertain and re- port as to the effect of the customs laws, and the effect thereon of the state of the currency, in the United States, on the agricultural industry, espe- cially as to its effect on mortgage indebtedness of farmers ; " and what articles are controlled by Trusts, or other combinations of capital, business operations, or labor, and what effect said trusts, or other combinations of capital, business operations, or labor have on production and prices. He shall also establish a system of reports by which, at in- tervals of not less than two years, he can report the general condition, so far as production is concerned, of the leading industries of the country. The Com- missioner of Labor is also specially charged to in- vestigate the causes of, and facts relating to, all controversies and disputes between employers and employes as they may occur, and which may tend to interfere with the welfare of the people of the different States, and report thereon to Congress. THE LAB OR B UREA U. 323 The Commissioner of Labor shall also obtain such information upon the various subjects committed to him as he may deem desirable from different foreign nations, and what, if any, convictruiade ^oods are imported into this country, and if so, from whence. Sec. 8. That the Commissioner of Labor shall annually make a report in writing to the President and Congress, of the information collected and col- lated by him, and containing such recommenda- tions as he may deem calculated to promote the efficiency of the Department. He is also author- ized to make special reports on particular subjects whenever required to do so by the President or either House of Congress, or when he shall think the subject in his charge requires it. He shall, on or before the fifteenth day of December in each year, make a report in detail to Congress of all moneys expended under his direction during the preceding fiscal year. Sec. 9. That all laws and parts of laws relating to the Bureau of Labor created under the act of Congress approved June twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, so far as the same are ap- plicable and not in conflict with this act, and only so far, are continued in full force and effect, and the Commissioner of Labor appointed under said act, approved June twenty-seventh, ^eighteen hun- dred and eighty-four, and all clerks and employes in the Bureau of Labor authorized to be appointed by said act or subsequent acts, shall continue in 324 ^■ffS LABOR BUREAU. office and employment as if appointed under the provisions of this act, and until a Commissioner of Labor, other officer, clerks, and employes are ap- pointed and qualified as herein required and pro- vided; and the Bureau of- Labor, as now organized and existing, shall continue its work as the Depart- ment of Labor until the Department of Labor shall be organized in accordance with this act ; and the library, records, and all property now in use by the said Bureau of Labor are hereby transferred to the custody of the Department of Labor hereby created, and on the organization of the Department of Labor on the basis of this act, the functions of the Bureau of Labor shall cease. Sec. 10. That on the passage of this act the Commissioner of Labor shall at once submit esti- mates for the expenses of the Department of La- bor for the next fiscal year, giving in detail the number and salaries of officers and employes therein. Approved June 13, 1888. Up to the present time Bureaus of Labor and Industries have been established in twenty States. These, together with the National Bureau, which recently became a Department, are doing a great deal for the advancement of the masses. The^ag- itation_ and earnest work, which resulted in'^BF establishment of these institutions, came larggly- from the members of the Knights_of_Labor, jduv- acting on the third declaration in the preamble of,^ THE LABOR BUREAU. 325 the order, have been untiring in their efforts to leave the impress^ofthe organization on the statute books of State and nation. Wherever the power of the_orgaiiizaiion_hflLsJbeen usedJta. secure legisla- tion, it has been successful^particularly where the legislation is calculated to aid the toiler in his seareiUEac- better things. It^ hoped that thrxmgh-the aid of -the Labor Bureau the laborer will in time know how much of that which he produces belongs to .hijA as a reward for labor done. It is hoped that it wilL be. known how immense Jojrtunes are acquired, by men. who do not work. It i s hope d that the future will see A SYSTEM ESTABLISHED which will prevent the accumulation of such vast sums'pf money In the hands of one individual or one corporation. "XiT'the days of the old-time slavery a man brought in the market from six hundred to twelve hundred dollars. His master provided him with shelter, fuel, clothing, food, and medical attend- ance. The overseer, while he might at times be cruel, would not overwork the slave, for fear that the master would lose on the investment should the poor creature become unfit for service. To- day slavery is said to be abolished. The capitalist does not have to buy his slaves ; they dome to him in threes where twos could perform the required duty ; they receive less for their daily wage than Would be required to supply the necessities of the 326 THE LABOR BUREAU. old-time slave. The slave of ante-bellum days had no vote on which his master could depend, but the slave of the present generation thinks he has a vote until election day comes, when his master tells him that he must cast it for the party, or man, who stands the highest in thS estimation of the employer. The slave of former years had no debts hanging like a millstone around his neck, for his master paid for everything ; the present-day slave is never out of debt. The slavery of the olden time never produced a millionaire ; the new slavery has given us thousands of them to curse the nation with their baneful presence. Under the new dis- pensation it is hoped that the acquiring of immense fortunes will be impossible, so that moderate means may be afforded to every man who works with hand or brain. CAPITALIST AND LABOEEB should be compelled to make accurate returns when called on by the agent of the Labor Bureau. There is an old proverb which says, "there is a,lways room at the top." That is no longer true, for the man of wealth has monopolized the seat at the top, and there is no room for any but those who come with hands already full. The top so anxiously looked to a few short years ago has passed into the hands of a trust, and no poor man need look in that direction again until conditions change. The top has been monopolized the same THE LABOR BUREAU. 327 as the corner lot, and will continue to be so monop- olized until the true condition of the producing masses in their educational, moral, and financial status becomes known through the aid of Labor Bureaus and the other acquisitions to the store of knowledge which are being brought within reach of the workingmen of America. These millions of acres belong to man, And his claim is, that he needs. And his title is sealed by the hand ol God— Our God, who the raven feeds, And the starving soul of each famished man. At the throne of Justice pleads. Ye may not heed it, ye haughty men. Whose hearts as rocks are cold — But the time will come when the flat of God In thunder shall be told ; For the voice of the great I AM hatb said That "the land shall not be sold." A. J. B. Dagaimn. The Fourth, Thirteenth, and Eighteenth Declarations of the PREAMBiiB — Land — Transportation — Telegraphy. Land agitation began when the Federal Constitution was adopted— The Pre-emption acts — Resolution adopted by the Free Soil De- mocracy in 1852 — Galusha A. Grow introduces Homestead Law — President Buchanan vetoes it — Passes Congress and is signed by President Lincoln — First grant to a railroad in 1833 — The Union Pacific chartered — Land grabbing under way — The dec- laration of the National Labor Union and the Industrial Broth- erhood — Adopted by the Knights of Labor — Address of the G. M. W. at Pittsburg in 1880— At New York in 1882, and at subsequent sessions — The fifth declaration in the preamble is changed at the Philadelphia session, and goes out from the con- vention as the fourth — Action at the Hamilton session— The Cleveland special session — J. P. McGaughy advises that the co- operative funds be used to locate members on land — Report of the committee on public lands of the House of Representatives- Views of the author on the land question — Land held for spec- ulation a tax on industry— Workmen in coal regions purchase (328) 'L__^^;m. > ■ ' V ' ^ y S.,.f: i*»>. .•I / ■* •A-U ."^JjLd LAND— TBANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 329 homes from employers— Coal lands escape taxation — The man in the city deludes himself when he imagines that the land question does not relate to him — The process of settling immi- grants on land — ^The sheriff tates what the tax gatherer left after him — The newly-landed immigrant and the evicted farmer meet at the factory door — Hours of labor will be reduced in vain when thousands are driven from the land into idleness — Trades unionist shouts "hayseed" at the man who would call his attention to the land — The demand for a graduated income tax of no avail — Unjust rating of taxable property in cities — Not possible to learn what the incomes of railway operators are — The industrious at the mercy of the lazy and shiftless — Conditions must be equalized before an income .tax can be col- lected — The greed of corporations more potent in shaping legisla- tion than the wants of the people — The number of acres can not be determined — ^No just title to absolute ownership of land— The "single tax" — What taxes are now levied — Tax according to the rental value, and rents will be reduced — If opportunities are equal no one can complain — Will the single tax ruin the farmer— Organization of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry in 1873 — Farmers Alliance not organized to fight the drouth alone — ^The "single tax" not a cure-all for every ill — Government ownership of railroads advocated — Transportation facilities must be aflforded the whole people under government control — Norvin Green on control of coal lands — The interests of the workers, whether in town, city, or country, identical. jHE regulation- of tJie public laiids of the United States, in one form or another, has consumed much of the time of Con- gress, and has been the subject of a large share of public agitation since the adop- tion of the consti,tution of the United States. Various acts have been intro- duced and discussed having for their object the se- curing of the settler in the possession of his home- stead. The first of these that became a law was the Pre-emption Law of March 3, 1801, which gave S30 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. » the right of pre-emption to certain persons for lands lying between the Miami rivers in what was then known as the territory* of the United States north- west of the Ohio river. Under one act after an- other the benefits of pre-emption were extended until the law of June 30, 1880, which extends the right of settlement to unsurveyed as well as sur- veyed lands, with a credit of from twelve to thirty- three months which is given the pre-emptor by res- idence. PRE-EMPTION IS A PREMIUM granted* the settler on condition that he makes per- manent settlement and a home on the land which he lays claim to. By act of application at a land office, and the payment of a fee for the registration of his claim to the land, the right is conferred to occupy a certain tract of land of not more than one hundred and sixty, or less than forty, acres for a limited period, with the stipulation that at the end of that period the claimant shall pay to the United States 11.25 per acre for the land in the tract en- tered upon, or claimed, when a patent for the land will be issued. Actual settlement upon the tract claimed, for the exclusive use of the pre-emptor, and not for the purposes of speculation or sale, must be shown before the patent is granted. The pre-emption question was before the people and Congress until the year 1841, when the Pre- emption Act which was passed appeared to have settled the question. In 1852 the granting of free LAND— thanspor ta tion— telegraphy. 381 t homes became a national issue with the political parties of that day. On August 11, 1852, the Free Soil Democracy met in convention in Pittsburg, Pa., to nominate candidates for President and Vice-president, and having done so, adopted the following as the twelfth plank in the platform on which they went before the people : " That the public lands of the United States be- long to the people, and should not be sold to indi- viduals, nor granted to corporations, but should be held as a sacred trust for the benefit of the people, and should be granted in limited quantities, free of cost, to landless settlers." From the promulgation of that platform until 1862 the land question was a national issue with all parties. It was discussed in primaries and at mass meetings, the WHOLE PEOPLE WEEE AEOUSED, and Congress was obliged to take action as early as 1859. The march of the western settler had begun, and was sweeping across the prairies to the land of the setting sun. The demand for homes on the western lands became very great, and the pressure for the enactment of a law which would confine locators to small holdings with actual occu- pancy, improvement, and cultivation as requisites for possession, swept in upon Congress, and con- tinued until the passage of the Homestead Law of 1862. LAND—TBANSPOB TATION— TELEGRAPHY. In January, 1859, there was a bill before Con- gress relating to pre-emption. On the 20th of that month Hon. Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, moved the following amendment : " Be it further enacted, that from and after the passage of this act no public land shall be exposed for sale by proclamation of the President, unless the same shall have been surveyed, and the return of such survey duly filed in the Land office, for ten years or more before such sale." The amendment was adopted, but when the bill itself came up it was defeated. On February 1, of the same year, the bill before Congress was "A bill to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain." The bill passed the house by a vote of 120 yeas to 76 nays, and went to the Senate where it lay until the adjournment of Congress, although sev- eral attempts were made to bring it before the body for discussion. The bill was introduced by Mr. Grow in the House, On March 6, 1860, Mr. Love- joy, of Illinois, from the Committee on Public Lands, reported the same bill to the House. Again it received the APPROVAL OF THE HOUSE by a vote of 115 yeas to 65 nays, and was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Committee on public lands. Andrew Johnson, chairman of LAND— TEANSPOE TA TION— TELEGEAPHY. 333 the committee, reported a substitute for the bill, granting homesteads to settlers at 25 cents per acre. When this bill came before the Senate, Mr. Wade, of Ohio, moved to substitute the House bill, but the motion was lost. The Senate passed Mr. Johnson's bill on May 10, 1860, and a conference committee of both Houses considered the two measures and finally accepted the Senate bill with a few amendments. Both Houses having adopted a Homestead Law, it went to the President, and on June 23, President Buchanan VETOED THE BILL, and returned it to Congress with his objections. In the Thirty-seventh Congress, on July 8, 1861, Mr. Aldrich introduced a homestead bill, and after much deliberation and opposition it came before the House for discussion. On February 22, 1862, the Speaker of the House of Representatives an- nounced that the regular order would be the con- sideration of the homestead bill. After a short debate, and the olfering of a few amendments, the bill passed the House and went to the Senate, where it was again changed by amendment. The House at first refused to concur in the amend- ments, but on *May 15 both Houses agreed upon a bill, and it went to the President for approval. On May 20, 1862, President Lincoln signed the Homestead Bill, and it became a law. The act has been amended several times, but LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. the amendments have been in the direction of ex- tending its benefits. The first act conferring a grant of land upon a railroad was passed in 1833, and authorized the State of Illinois to divert the canal grant of 1827, and construct a railroad with the proceeds of the sale of said lands. The act was not utilized by the State. The act of September 20, 1850, was the first railroad act of any real significance or impor- tance. By it was initiated the system of granting lands to railroads, which prevailed until after July 1, 1862. On that date CONGRESS INCORPORATED, by a direct act, the Union Pacific Railroad. Un- der the provisions of this act they were to build a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific. With the granting of lands to railroads began the raid of the speculator and the crowding of the settler from his homestead. Railroads began to push their serpentine routes through prairies, over mountains, and across the plains. As they trav- eled westward the acres became scarcer for the settler, and he had to go farther away from civ- ilization to find land on which to erect his home. Millions of acres were granted to 'railroads, and they selected the best and most fertile portions of the public domain. Speculators, who could not gain possession of territory under the homestead laws, organized railroad companies in order to lay LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 335 claim to lands in the hope that the government would never declare them forfeited if they were not tapped the whole length by the railroad to which the grant was made. The ■CrediJ^MoMliex sqandals, th,e wholesale rob- beries perpetrated upon the.,gttEeKniaeffit by land grabbers, a.nd the tenclenicy to MONOPOLIZE THE BEST ACRES in the national domain for,SMai!Jaiixa4mxposes, question, and we find the National Labor Union speaking out on the subject in its platform. When the Industrial JDrothernood gave out its preamble in 1874, the fifth resolution, or demand^ was for " The reserving of the public lands, the heritage of the people, for the actual settler— not another acre for railroads or speculators." It was not that there was a dread[^of,jii^fi3irci±y of TanT'thrt*"IKs" demand was made. It had its birth in th e iiniust manner in which^the public lands were being absorbed, and although it was rioTai"" clear-cut a declaration as that which ema- TmtMTrbm the convention of the Free Sgil Democ- Tatyin 1852, it briefly expressed the- sentiments of those who endeavoxgd>±o.«at,tract.tbe attention of tfie" wage workers to greater issues Jhafl.JJie. wage qii5Stiv)nr -— -— ~^ "ffftEe^rst General Assembly of the Knights of Labor at Reading the declaration of the Industrial 336 LAND— TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. Brotherhood on the land question was endorsed and adopted. In the meantime those who had ac- quired lands through sharp practice or otherwise kept them in reserve, waiting for advanced prices, which always accompany a desire to occupy the land. The steady flow of immigration drove me- chanics from their homes in the cities, and many determined to till the soil in preference to working for reduced wages in the large trade centres. With his face turned toward the land, the workingman saw standing between him and the most VALUABLE ACRES the form of the speculator, and he determined to enter his pfotest against so unjust a system. At first his voice was not heard, but with the growth of organization he began to make his power felt, and he began to ask for something more than to keep the land from the speculator ; he wished to compel the speculator to make restitution. When the G-eneral Assembly met in Pittsburg, Pa., in September, 1880, the Grand Master Workman, re- ferring to the land problem, said : "Millions of acres have been stolen from the people, and while we may think that that question is of no interest to us here to-day, I sincerely be- ' lieve that for every acre of the land which God de- signed for man's use and benefit that is stolen, an- other link is riveted to the chain with which the land and bond lords hope to finally encircle us. A LAND— TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 33^ few short years ago, if the Representatives of La- bor met in convention such as this is, the land question would not necessarily intrude itself upon them; but during those few short years we have slept, and to-day, whether we will or not, it is thrust upon us." He urged upon the General Assembly to express an opinion upon the question, but no action was taken at that session, and the fifth section of the preamble remained unchanged, No reference was made to the matter at the Detroit convention, in 1881, but at the New York session, which convened on September 5, 1882, at No. 8 Union Square, the address of the Grand Master Workman contained the following : In_m.y_opmkm, the main, all-absorbing question of the hour is the land question. And did I allow this opportunity of expressing that opinion to %"e Knights of Labor of America to pass by without tak- ing advantage of it, I would prove myself false to my own convic- tions of right and justice. The eight-hour law, the prohibition of child labor, and the currency question, are all of weighty moment to the toiler. But high up above them all stands the land question. Give me the land, and you may frame as many eight-hour laws as you please. Yet I can baflfle them all, and render them null and void. Prohibit child labor if you will, but give me the land, and you children will be my slaves. Make your currency of what ma- terial you choose ; but if I own the land you can not base your cur- rency upon the wealth of the nation, for that wealth is the Land. You may make the laws and own the currency, but give me the land and I -nill absorb your wealth and render your legislation null and void. Look over our Western fields to-day and note the rapid strides with which monopoly is seizing upon the fairest acres our country contains. The people of Ireland sufier from landlordism to-day ; but a gleam of hope is ever before them, for if the worst comes 22 338 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. they can go to America. Let the robbery of the people's heritage go on in the United States in the future as it has in the past, and the hope of the emigrant will die out in his bosom, and soon a sen- tence to the mines of Siberia will be preferable to a residence in the land of his birth. The land is the heritage of God ! He gave it to all His people. If He intended it for all His people, then no one man or set of men has a right to monopolize it. We can not say that the whole people who now inhabit the earth can claim the land. That would imply absolute ownership ; and if one man has no right to own the land, many men can not own it. If all the people of the present day own the land we live on, what right will the millions yet unborn have to the earth to which their Creator will one day bring them? These are questions worth pondering over. There are men who fear the land question. There were men who feared the appearance of Banquo's ghost ; but that ghost was an honest one, and no honest man had cause to fear it. So it is with the land question, — no honest man need fear it. If I am told that our national legislature had a right to grant the lands to corporations, I ask the question from whom did they de- rive that right ? The answer must be, The people. Yet I deny that right, for a people now living can not give away what was ordained for the use of a people yet unborn. But granting that they had that right, then I challenge, nay, defy, any man to produce a petition coming from the people to Congress, asking of that body to give away the land. If, then, that body had no right to give away the land, it should be compelled to restore it. It may be said that such a proceeding would unsettle society. Very well, then, let so- ciety for the time be unsettled ; for it were better that a momentary disturbance take place now than a greater one later on ; for, with the rapid concentration of the land in the grasp of the few, and the rapid increase in population, the time is not far distant when men will arise in the morning, and, after eating their morning meal, they will turn away from the table not knowing where the next one is to come from. When that hour comes, the labor question will be harder of solution than it is at present. When that day comes it will take more than the sophistry now in use to convince these hungry men that one man has a right to own the land and all it contains, while they, the children of the same Father, have nothing. When that day comes the logic of a hungry stomach will settle the question which wise heads are now endeavoring to solve, and know- ing no law but that of want, they will obey that law, even at the risk of unsettling society. So it were better ithat we look to the LAND—TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 339 ■welfare of future generations, and do justice while it can be done peaceably. If I ever come to believe in individual, absolute ownership in land, I must, in order to be consistent, believe that the man who owns the land owns the people who live on it as well. If a man owns an island in the ocean, and he wishes to clear it of tenants, for the purpose of turning it into a grazing field, the man who ad- mits that he has a right to own the land in absolute title, must also admit that he has the right to order these people off its surface. If he orders them off there is no alternative but to obey. Suppose that through unjust exactions of rent the tenant has had no oppor- tunity of saving money enough to pay his passage to a toreign land; a very pertinent question to ask would be, Where will the tenant go? The only answer the believer in absolute ownership of land can give will be. Into the ocean. Does any sane man believe that God ordained that any man should have such power? Such a doctrine is monstrous. It won't do to say that such a case is only a supposition, and that no danger of its ever occurring exists. The question to consider is, would it be just or right for such a thing to take place? If not, then take steps to remove a system that would make such a thing possible. Give heed to this land ques- tion ; be not afraid of the taunts or jeers of our enemies; do not quail at the name of communist, if it is applied to you, for it were better to be called a communist than be a party to the plundering of a people of the inheritance ordained for them by God. "The Law condemns the man or woman. Who steals the goose from off the Common; But lets the greater felon loose, Who steals the Common from the goose." God hasten the day when the " greater felon " will be brought to justice ! And may our organization be brave enough to shoulder its portion of the responsibility, and share in the glory of the achievement. If there exists such a thing on earth as a just title to the ownership of land, I have yet to learn of it ; but in searching for it I found this in " Blackstone's Commentaries on the English Law":— " Pleased as we are with the possession [of land], we seem afraid to look back to the means by which it was acquired, as if fearful of some defect in our title * » » « ^e think it enough that our title is derived by the grant of the former proprietor by descent from our ancestors, or by the last will and testament of the dying owner. Not caring to reflect that accurately and strictly 340 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. speaking there is no foundation in nature, or in natural law, why a set of words upon parchment should convey the dominion of land ; why the son should have a right to exclude his fellow creatures from a determinate spot of ground because his father had done so before him; or why the occupier of a particular field, when lying upon his death-bed, and no longer able to maintain possession, should be entitled to tell the rest of the world which of them should enjoy it after him." With so highly respectable and eminent an authority as Black- stone to quote from, we ought not to fear to open up this question ; and if the few words I have uttered in passing will cause others to think, then the discussion to follow must lead to good results. The convention did not deem it prudent to take any action on the recommendation of the G. M. W. The order at that time was not known to many. Its influence was but limited, and the agitation of the land question was in its infancy. As a conse- quence, suggestions such as that made to the Gen- eral Assembly attracted little or no notice. The only attention given to the subject at the time was to subject the writer to no small share of adverse criticism because of the extreme views he advanced. When the next convention was held at Cincinnati, in 1883; the Grand Master Workman again pre- sented the subject to the body for its consideration in the following language : I deem it proper to again draw the attention of the General Assembly to the land question. I referred to it in my last annual address, and it is worthy of the most serious consideration that this body can bestow upon it. The public lands of this country are being filched from us, not slowly, but quickly and surely. What action will the toilers take to not only prevent any further stealing of the people's heritage, but to restore to the people every acre that has been stolen from them in the past 7 The people of Ireland are driven by enforced emigration from their native land; they flee LAND— TRANSPORT A TION— TELEGRAPHY. 3^1 irom the landlord, who has gained the right to demand rent for the land of Ireland, only to face him in a still worse form on this con- tinent. It is astonishing, but true, that alien landlords own mill- ions of acres of American soil. We do not permit Americans to go abroad and accept titles from monarchists, but we do permit mon- archists to come to this country, and without disowning their alle- giance to monarchy they are permitted to buy up the best lands we have on the continent. Seven titled noblemen living in England and Ireland, living in an atmosphere where they can not but hate everything that is American, own eight million, nine hundred and fifteen thousand acres of American soil. These men are all land- lords. In England they, by their influence, secure the passage by the British government of an "Enforced Emigration Act" for the purpose of driving their victims from their own land to this country, that these vultures may be enabled to face them again where they have absolute control of the soil, and can exact such terms as pleases them. It is not because I was born in this land that I speak so strongly on this subject, but because I believe that this country was intended, and should be held, for the oppressed of the earth. I am opposed to allowing any man to possess our soil who will not do as we do ; who will not do as the humble foreigner does ; that is, swear alle- giance to the flag that was born amid the struggle against tyranny, and baptized in the blood of men who hated royalty and oppres- sion. Monarchy could not retain its hold on this country one hun- dred years ago, the people were aroused ; but what the steel of the tyrant could not conquer then, the gold of the descendant of that tyrant has since. then succeeded in taking from us. I recognize no right on.the part of the aristocracy of the old or new worlds to own our lands. We fought to hold them once, and if it is necessary I am willing to advocate the same measures again ; but I will never cease this agitation while the foot of the alien oppressor has a resting place within our boundaries. This land question is the one great question of the hour ; open your eyes to its enormity, my friends, and act. I will in other places deal more exhaustively with this question of the land for the people, and for the present leave it in your hands. No notice was taken of the advice contained in the addre^, TSFtH^jreason that the land question appeared Jo, be a. rfiiiiote--issue,ajid one not likely to intrude itseltupaa...the.woikingnaen of the pres- 342 LAND—TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. enL century. The records of that session show that a great deal of valuable time was spent in legislating upon strikes and lockouts. With these harrassing details to attend to, the General Assem- bly was worn out before the time arrived when consideration could be given to such matters as were alluded to in the address of the Grand Master Workman. In the meantime the preamble remained un- changed. No alteration was made in it from the date of its adoption, and at the Philadelphia ses- sion of the General Assembly a change was recom- mended by the G. M. W. In his address he said: The fifth declaration made in otir " preamble " demands the re- serving of the pubUc lauds— the heritage of the people— for the actual settler ; — not another acre for railroads or speculators. While I entertain very decided views on this question, still 1 have no desire to force them on the members of the order, but I do hold that we should not stand still on a question of such magnitude as this land question is. On previous occasions I made recommenda- tions, or at least called the attention of the order to the land ques- tion. I now recommend that the section quoted above be changed to read: " We demand the reserving of the lands of the nation for the people of the nation, — not another acre for railroads, specula- tors, or gamblers of any description, whether citizen or alien, res- ident or non-resident,— and that all lands now held for the purposes of speculation by corporation or individual shall be restored to the care of the people." While the convention did not adopt the sugges- tion of the G. M. W., it made a radical change in the entire preamble, and when it went out to the order the fourth section referred to the land ques- tion, and read as follows : « LAND— TRANSPORTA TION— TELEGRAPHY. S^S That the public lands, the heritage of the people, be reserved for actual settlers ; not another acre for railroads or speculators, and that all lands now held for speculative purposes be taxed to their full value. Here and there throughout the order local as- semblies took up the subject for debate; others drew up resolutions expressive of their sentiments, and forwarded them to their representatives in Congress. No small share of public attention was given to the restoration of misappropriated lands during the years 1884-5-6. The G. M. W. mailed to each member of Congress copies of his annual addresses from 1882 to 1886, or that portion of them which referred to national aflfairs. The ad- dress of 1885, delivered at Hamilton, Ontario, in October of that year, contains the following refer- ence to the question of land legislation : At the last session of the General Assembly I called the attention of that body to the rapidity with which the heritage of the American people was slipping from under their feet. Native and alien land- lords are absorbing all of the fertile lands of the nation, and it can no longer be said: " To the West, to the West, to the land of the free. Where the mighty Missouri rolls down to the sea, Where man is a man, If he is willing to toll. And shall have for his labor the fruit of the soil." The man who goes to the West to-day, and is willing to toil roust toil for another, and the fruits of the soil which his labor produces must he given to the stranger. The man who takes up his claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land, provided he can find it unoccupied to take up, must compete in the market, in the sale of his products, with the men who hold farms of from fifty thousand to five hundred thousand acres each. It was thought that the in- troduction of bonanza farming would cheapen the products of the land when thrown upon the market. Such is not the case. The man who is wealthy enough to own and operate a large farm of from 344 LAND— TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. fifty to a hundred or fire hundred thousand acres, can afford to await an advance in prices, while the small farmer must sell his produce at once or lose. The bonanza farmer says to the small farmer : " I have a million bushels of wheat which I can throw upon the market now or wait an advance in prices. You must either sell to me at the price I now offer to you, or else I will glut the market with the wheat I have on hand, and you must sell for a still lower figure later on." The man who has never given this subject any consideration will say at once : " Such a step as that will have the result of cheapening food." The reverse of that is, true, for no sooner has the small farmer's produce been absorbed by the large one than the latter corners the wheat, and, no longer in dread ot competition from the man with the small farm, he demands a higher price for the wheat than before, and no matter how plenty the wheat may be, the large elevators of the country can hold it long enough to starve the people into paying the most exorbitant prices for it. It may be asked why do not the small farmers send their produce to market by rail? Because the owners of the large farms are, as a rule, directors or stockholders in the railways, and discriminate against all who do not comply with their demands. If they are neither directors nor stockholders, then the railroads will discrim- inate in their favor and against the owners of small farms. The practice of permitting aliens to hold large tracts of land while living in foreign countries, has beeh carried to such an extent that, as far as can be estimated, upwards of twenty-one million acres of American lands are owned by men who have never set foot on American soil. At the last session of Congress a bill was introduced by Mr. Gates, which reads as follows : " That no alien or foreigner, or persons other than citizens of the United States, and such as have legally declared their intention to become citizens thereof. Shall ac- quire title to or own any lands anywhere within the United States of America and their jurisdiction ; and any deeds 6r other convey- ances acquired by such after the approval of this act shall be void." We should insist on the passage of that law, and then have an- other one written upon the statute books of the nation which will forever prevent any person from acquiring title to or owning any more land than he can cultivate. The number of acres should not exceed one hundred. We must go still further than that, and de- mand that all lands now held for speculative purposes be restored to the public domain. This question is a living one, and is of such a nature that we can not shirk or avoid it. It may be intimated that I aim at dis- turbing "vested rights." I have all the respect in the world for LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGBAPHY. 3^5 vested rights, but have no respect at all for vested wrongs, and if the holding of such large tracts of land is not wrong, then never did a wrong exist. If it is the intention of a railway company to lay its tracks through a certain tract of territory, and if it happens that the route is surveyed through a piece naf land owned by a poor man, can he retain possession of his land under the plea that it would be disturbing vested rights? By no means. If he does not accept the price offered to him by the company his land is ap- praised by disinterested parties, and a price fixed upon it which he must accept, and in the transaction no thought is given to the "disturbing of vested rights." Under what plea is he obliged to surrender his right to the land ? That of ministering to the public good. It is for the public good that this railway should be put through ; the welfare of the people demands it, and it must be done. It is under the same plea that the lands now held in such large tracts for speculative purposes should be restored to the people. I believe that the burglar who enters the house at night while the inmates are sleeping, and carries off such money and valuables as ho can lay his hands on, has as just a title to these possessions as has many a man who now lays claim' to American lands. I have heard it said that if the land was offered to men who live in large cities they would not avail themselves of the oppor- tunity to go upon it and make homes for themselves. I admit the truth of that assertion, and go a step further and say that it would do them no good to go upon it unless they had some assurance of succeeding. The majority of men who live in large cities are not adapted to the life which a farmer must lead, and the minority, no matter how well adapted they may be to such a life, may be lack- ing in the experience necessary to the successful operation of the farm. But whether experienced or not, if the most careful, thrifty man be placed on a farm, admitting that the land, dwelling, barn, and out-houses are given to him free of charge, if he is lacking in the capital necessary to defray the cost of implements, seed, and stock, he will fail unless help is extended to him in this direction also. This being true, it need not be wondered at that men who have spent the greater part of their lives in cities and towns shrink from so important and hazardous an undertaking as settling upon land must naturally be. The real facts in case, plainly stated, are that very few men who have lived any length of time in the city or town have enough money laid by to even defray the expenses of themselves and fam- ilies to the land. There are in all of our large cities and towns a number of men and families who would make excellent farmers if 34 6 LAND— TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRA PHY. they were provided with sufScient means to give them a start in agricultural life, but they are deficient in means, and they must remain to compete with others in our crowded centres in the race of life. What is the duty of Congress in this matter? I believe that assistance should be given to all who wish to leave the citiea and adopt agriculture as a calling. This can be done if the people demand it. In the older countries the evil effects of centuries of misrule are so firmly rooted that the people seem to be powerless to defend themselves. In this country it is different. But we have in the past been very geiierous to large corporations. Laws have been enacted with a view to developing the countiy. Our govern- ment has fostered private enterprises, created and granted exemp- tions, and in many ways encouraged the developing of corporate wealth. All of this was done to build up the country. The object was a very good one, and it has been successful. But in building up the country immense private fortunes have been created, and through the possession of vast tracts of land and immense sums of money, some of the creatures of the government are as powerful, if not more so, than their creator. In the future the duty of the government must be to build up and guard the interests of its people. The laboring element of this country, which includes the agricultural, mechanical, and laboring classes, must be protected'; they must become so strong that they can resist the extremes of poverty and wealth. Some years ago Hon. Hendrick B. Wright presented a bill in Con- gress which sought to assist the poor man to secure a homestead for himself and family. The scheme was sneered at by legislators and business men, but the remedy offered by Mr. Wright was a good one, and should be put in operation. I am not prepared to say that the plan of his bill was the best that could be offered, but it was in the right direction, and may be improved upon in the light of the experience gained since then. Let us formulate a plan by which the people may gain access to the land without the fear of being disinherited. Following close upon the heels of the Hamilton session of the General Assembly came the agita- tions, disturbances, and strikes of 1885 and 1886. Every moment of the lives of the general officers, was devoted to the troubles which sprung up in the labor world, and for three years the attention LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 3^7 of the entire order was diverted in a different di- rection from that which pointed to the vital ques- tion of land reform. In none of his later addresses to the General Assembly did the G. M. W. refer to the subject, and but little time was allowed him to even give a thought to the matter. In his report to the special session of the Gen- eral Assembly, which met at Cleveland, in May, 1886, J. P. McGaughey, Secretary of the General Co-operative Board, urged that the co-operative funds of the order be devoted to the purchase of land for the relief of members who resided in large cities, but no action was taken on the report. Mr. McGaughey submitted a statement taken from the report of the Committee on Public Lands of the House of Representatives at Washington in relation to alien landlordism. It reads : The country had a magnificent possession in the public domain of that time, and under proper management would have afforded grand results for generations to come. Areas of land, sufficiently- large to make great States, were donated with reckless liberality to railroad and other corporations, and, by a lax, easy administration of injudicious laws, men of wealth have been illegally permitted to acquire other great areas of the public lands ; and now this gener- ation has seen the vast territory we had at its beginning so reduced that less than 5,000,000 acres of arable agricultural land remain for the settlers, and about 50,000,000 of acres only of lands susceptible of improvement by irrigation. These lands are becoming more and more valuable year by year, and tempted by the promise, sure to be realized, of immense profits, as well as the absolute security of the investment, these lands, by devious methods in many cases, have been secured in great areas and holdings by capitalists and corpor- ations, foreign as well as domestic. In the hands of many of these foreign owners and holders, these lands are made subject to a system of landlordism and con- 348 LAND—TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPBY. ditions totally un-American and kindred to that existing in the old world— systems and conditions which have spread ruin and misery ■wherever they have existed in Europe. Beside this, out of the her- itage of the American people — the public lands — we are at present permitting the coining of immense private fortunes in the hands of the foreign nobility and gentry at the expense of our own people, and giving these foreigners the control of the homes and happiness of the thousands of citizens or those who have come here to identify themselves with us. As an illustration of this, a published state- ment showing that 20,747,000 acres of land are held by foreigners, is appended. Among the large holders mentioned are the Marquis of Tweedale, Sir Edward Beed, the Holland Company, and several foreign syndicates, the possessions of each numbering milUons of ^res. It is unnecessary to enter into detail and give the facts and figures which prove that public lands were voted away by Congress in a MOST RECKLESS MANNER. It is not required that statements be submitted concerning the extent to which bonanza farming has been carried in the United States. This infor- mation will be found in an interesting volume en- titled "Land and Labor, by Wm. Grodwin Moody," and a repitition is entirely unnecessary, for those who care to inform themselves on these points will find the subject exhaustively discussed in the pages of that little book. The demand of the order of Knights of Labor is, " that all lands now held for speculative purposes be taxed to their full value." The great difficulty is to ascertain to what extent lands are now held for the purpose of speculation. While it is true LAND— TRANSP ORTA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 34. 9 that no greater evil exists than the holding of lands for such purposes, it is equally true that to properly estimate the number of acres thus held is almost impossible, and should a law be passed in compli- ance with the demand of the Knights of Labor, it would fall far short of the object intended, for the holders of lands would claim that they were not holding them for speculative purposes, and no one could prove that the contrary was true until they were oflfered for sale. Even then it would be diffi- cult to prove that speculation had anything to do with the sale. If the Knights demanded that " all lands held by parties, other than the government, shall bear an equal proportion of the taxation required for the maintenance of the government, and unimproved lands shall be assessed at the same rate as the nearest improved land," they would come nearer to the establishment of a JUST EATE OF TAXATION, and whether lands were held for speculation or not, they would not escape their just proportion of tax- ation. Through the operations of the system of holding land for speculative purposes, labor is drained of its last dollar, and poverty abounds where comfort would be found if we were living under a just and humane system of land owner- ship. Every acre of land held for speculative pur- poses is a tax upon industry; it is more, it is a legalized theft, and does more to promote discord 35 LAND— TRANSP OR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. and spreiad discontent than all other causes com- bined. While the present system exists it will be im- possible for any great number of toilers to secure homes of their own. Those who do earn enough to purchase homes are taxed for every act of labor that enriches the soil, and the conditions under which workingmen have to live after they purchase homes are such as to cause them to dread the idea of investing in land. In industrial centres, partic- ularly in the coal regions, workingmen as a rule purchase lands on which to erect homes from their employers, and through the possession of these homes, and the fear of losing them, they are in many instances forced to SUBMIT TO IMPOSITIONS which they would not tolerate if the fear of losing employment first, and the homes eventually, did not haunt them. The blacklist has often served to re- turn to corporations the building lots which em- ployes contracted for. A case is cited where five men purchased five hundred acres of coal lands adjoining a large city at a cost of |50,000. Upon the land they built, a coal-breaker, sunk a shaft, and erected machinery at an extra cost of |150,000, the total investment being |200,000. The surface of the land was staked •off into town lots and offered for sale to employes , and others who wished to buy. The prices of the lots run from $100 to • |250, according to location. LAND— TRAN8P OR TA TION— TELEGRAPH Y. 351 The centrally-located lots were kept off the market and reserved for future sales, — when a sufficient number of the cheaper lots had been sold to en- hance the value of those in reserve. In less than three years a town of about three thousand inhab- itants had been built up in that neighborhood. Stores, churches, schools, and one or two small fac- tories had been built, and the corporation had sold two hundred of the one hundred dollar lots, and one hundred and seventy-five of the others. The sum realized on the sale of these lots was $45,000. The lots averaged five to the acre, and after the sale of the three hundred and seventy-five lots, the company had remaining, including the spot on which the breaker and buildings were erected, TWENTY-ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE lots. Those who purchased from them paid inside of three years within five thousand dollars of the total sum invested in the land. At the end of three years the price of the remaining lots advanced to 1300 and |500, according to location. The company invested in more real estate, and erected more tenements for the use of those of their employes who were unwilling or too poor to pur- chase homes. In disposing of the lots each deed contained a clause reserving the coal and mineral beneath the surface for the use of the company, and at the end of the fourth year those who purchased lots had paid back to the company the $50,000 it LAND—TRAMPORTA TlON— TELEGRAPHY. had invested in the entire tract, together with the interest on the money. The title to the coal still remained vested in the corporation. Through this operation the> company had secured the coal be- neath the surface of five hundred acres for nothing, except an exercise of good business qualifications. The price of the second lot would never have been advanced had no purchaser appeared to take the first one. It was no act of the members of the corporation that raised the price of the lots to |300. It was the action of the community in locating in and around the centrally located lots. The corpo- ration did not speculate on the probable amount of labor each member would perform in the service of the company. It speculated on the probable number of lots that would be sold, and when the demand became brisk, the necessities of those who desired homes were taken advantage of, and the price of the remaining lots was ALMOST DOUBLED. The corporation paid taxes on their lands by the acre, while their purchasers paid by the lot, and, as nearly all of the lots were sold on contracts run- ning from three to six years, the interest at six per cent, paid the taxes and insurance of the corpora- tion. The workmen not only paid their own taxes while improving their homes, but they also paid the taxes and insurance of the company, and for every spade full of earth thrown up in the improvement of the LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 353 homes of the workmen, the company rated the remaining lands at higher figures than before, be- cause of the labor of other hands than their own. In this instance, and its parallel may be found in every community, the corporation not only spec- ulated in the land, but in the labor of those who occupied it as well. When the works were started the company paid a fair rate of wages, but after the first year the stock of the concern was WATERED TO ABOUT DOUBLE its original cost, and in order to draw interest on an honest investment of 1200,000, and on a ficti- tious stock of an equal amount, the wages of the workmen were reduced ten per cent. Those who had not invested in homes were at liberty to quit the service of the company, and move elsewhere, but those who had purchased, or contracted for the purchase of homes, were obliged to remain, and there were enough of them to carry on operations with the aid of a number of cheap imported work- men, who took the places of those who left the town to seek for more remunerative employment. Other exactions than reductions of wages were imposed upon the men who had been induced to locate in that town, and instead of the possession of a home proving a blessing, it turned out to be a hardship under the system in vogue at that point. This illustration will fit hundreds of cases to be met with in all parts of the country, and portrays 23 354 LAND— TBA NSP OR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. the iniquity of the system which permits speculation in land to throttle the independence of the citizen. From the window where I sit a view is had of a farm belonging to a large coal mining and carrying company. Part of this land is used for grazing purposes, some of it is under grain and vegetables. It is leased to different parties by the year. Only the surface is leased, however, and the corporation will not sell the land for building purposes, it is said, until they can command $1500 a lot, if they do then. This land is destined to become VERY VALUABLE. It is situated within a mile of the heart ot the city of Scranton, with its hundred thousand inhabitants, and is located on an eminence overlooking the busi- ness part of the city. The tract in question contains one hundred and forty-six acres of land. An examination of the tax duplicate of the city shows that it is assessed at a valuation of f 52, 740, and, at the tax rate of 20| mills on the dollar, pays in school and city taxes $1318.50, or a fraction over |9 per acre. The lots on the opposite side of the street sold, or were offered for sale three years ago, at the rate of |900 for fifty feet front and rear, and one hundred and fifty feet in length. When the lot on which the house I occupy was contracted for I was obliged to pay a tax of $6 per annum for school and city purposes, while the land around it paid at the rate of |1.50 per annum, or four dollars less than I paid for the LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 355 same number of square feet. Up to this time noth- ing had been done to change the appearance, qual- ity, or nature of the lot, only the act of transferring it to me for building purposes caused the assessor to demand |6 from me, while asking but |1.50 from the corporation. To-day the land on either side of mine, on the same side of the street, sells for |120O per lot. I have erected a house, and on that and the lot pay a tax of $50 per annum. On my LABOR AND IMPROVEMENTS I am required to pay at the rate of |50 a year, while a great corporation holds the surface of its one hundred and forty-six acres in reserve, waiting for others to locate in the neighborhood that it may demand |1500 per lot. If for the crime of improv- ing my lot I am fined $50 a year, why should not the corporation, which holds the adjoining lands for speculative purposes, be required to pay at least the same rate of taxation? It is being enriched every time I plant a tree, a shrubj or a flower. If I put a new coat of paint on my house I am re- quired to pay a higher rate of taxation for the la- bor done, and because I have performed that labor the corporation across the street advances the price of its land. It charges whoever will buy for my labor, and contributes little or nothing, in compar- ison to its resources, to the tax rate of the city, while expecting to derive a large profit from those who reside therein. 356 LAND— TRANSP OR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. The corporation will argue that it gives employ, ment to thousands, thus enabling them to purchase homes, etc. The reverse is true, for it is the labor of the thousands which makes the corporation rich and great, while it, through exorbitant charges for building lots, prevents the poor from owning homes, thus retarding the growth of the city. That is a question which will not be discussed here. In the one hundred and forty-six acres, lots the size of mine to the number of seven hundred and forty may be staked out and sold. If offered at REASONABLE PRICES to-day they would be sold, and dwellings would be erected on each one of them. Seven hundred and forty additional property owners would be contributing to the wealth of the city, but are held off by the avarice of those who have control of the land in question. These lands are now taxed as farm lands, although within a stone's throw of the city hall. If each lot were as- sessed as it should be, and required to pay its pro- portionate share of taxation, the taxes of every other resident of the city would be lowered in con- sequence, or the city would have that much more of a revenue with which to make improvements. At the rate at which I pay for improvement, these acres, if assessed, would pay |37,000 per year ; if assessed as my lot was when I purchesed it, and before I changed it a particle from its original state, this tract of one hundred and forty-six acres LAND—TRANSPORTA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 357 would pay |4440 a year, instead of $1318.50, as at present, and there is no just reason why that cor- poration and all others should not pay at the same rate as individuals do. Every acre escaping its proportionate share of taxation is imposing a burden on some other per- son, and to that extent is robbing that other person as surely and as effectively as though the pockets of that person were picked on the public highway. That the greater portion of the lands of the na- tion are held by INDIVIDUALS OR COEPOEATIONS is true ; that they do not pay their proportionate share of taxes under our present laws, is true ; that other persons residing in the nation must make up the deficiency and support the state, is also true ; that whoever contributes what these landholders should contribute, is being wronged, is as true as any of the other propositions, and it is certain that the laws which permit such violations of the rights •of the people are radically wrong. It is asserted that to prevent speculative land holding would injure the farmers of the country. There is not a vestige of truth in that statement. JFarmers do not cultivate their lands for the purpose of speculating in the price of the farm, nor do they sell their farms unless they intend to give up farm-, ing, or remove to another location. If they sell for the latter purpose, then speculation will work as 858 LAND— TRANSPORTATION—TELEGRAPHY. injuriously to them as to all others, for speculators are no respecters of persons. Large land owners are a menace to the farmer as well as to others, and it is as much to their in- terest to stem the tide of land-grabbing as it is to the mechanic or laborer in the city. The resident of the large city exists under the delusion that the land question has nothing to do with him. He is far removed from "the country," and will never engage in farming, as a consequence, he regards with indifference the agitation going on in the di- rection of requiring land to pay its just share of what is now WRUNG FROM THE ACHING BACK of the laborer. To bring the question squarely be- fore the resident of the city, we will accompany him to Castle Garden, and witness the process of "settling immigrants on land" when the steamer comes into port. A foreigner, who was a farmer at home, naturally wishes to become a farmer in America. The agent of the land grant company meets him when he lands, or used to do so before the company established an agency in Europe to send men over, and offers him an opportunity to take up land in the West at interest ranging from six to twenty per cent. The immigrant accepts the offer, and with his wife and family goes to the land. He is poor and has to borrow money to buy tools, stock, and seed. He pays interest on the money he borrows, as well as on the money he LAND— TRANSPOS. TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 859 hopes to be able to pay the corporation. At the end of five years he has not succeeded in raising the mortgage on his farm, and has barely succeeded in raising a living on it. It may be that his farm is part of a tract held by an alien landlord, pos- sibly the one who drove him from his home in Europe, but whether it is or not the effect on him is the same, for the instinct of the landlord is the same the world over, and when the time expires the mortgage must be paid as well as the rent. Not being in a condition to meet his obligations, our farmer is forced to SURRENDEB TO THE SHERIFF, and gives to the land owner every acre that he agreed to purchase from him, with all of his stock, tools, and fixtures that the interest did not eat up before. Penniless as when he landed, loaded down with a debt which he did not take to this country with him, older and as a consequence less able to earn a living for a family that has grown larger, he leaves the farm. He can not take up land any- where else, and his path lies in the direction of the city. On arriving there he goes to the factory to seek for employment among men who imagine that the land question does not concern them. Standing at the door of the' factory is another man who has just landed in America. Both" men are strangers to each other, but they are actuated by one impulse; they want bread for themselves and families, and their mission to that factory door ■S60 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. is to obtain employment that they may earn bread. The superintendent or foreman responds to the knock, and when he opens the door two men ask for work. The factory is running with a full com- plement of operatives, but here are two men seek- ing work. They are in distress and will work cheap rather than see their families starve. The third man at work on the inside is told that he must perform labor for a smaller remuneration or give way to one of the two who stand at the door, and he either quits work or agrees to remain AT A REDUCTION IN WAGES. In either event the number of the unemployed is not reduced, and the farmer from the West, uniting with the immigrant from the East, assist in reduc- ing the wages of the man in the middle, of the man in the city who scoffs at the idea of farming, or land, having anything to do with him. The trade unionist, basing all of his hopes on a reduction of the hours of labor, or an increase of ten per cent, in wages, does not realize that through our iniquitous land system men enough are turned away from the land every year to fill the factories should they strike for shorter hours or better pay. Blind to their own best interests, the trade union- ists refuse to strike hands with the farmers, the Knights of Labor, and others in the work of land reform, while speculation in land, the unequal pay- ment of taxes on land, and the operation of im- mense tracts of land on the bonanza farm principle. LAND— TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 361 drive hundreds of thousands away from the land who would never darken a factory door if they could till the soil, and make a living at it. All who can not find work to do must live on the labor of those who are employed, and an advance of ten per cent., if it comes under such conditions, is soon lost again where thousands seek for work. The hours of labor will be reduced in vain where hundreds of thousands seek for employment as a re- sult of unjust taxation and speculative landholding. Our cities are increasing in population at an alarm- ing rate. Men are swarming in from the country, claiming that it is no longer possible to make a living on the land. SYNDICATES, CORPORATIONS, AND MILLIONAIRES are engaging in agriculture on a magnificent scale; they claim that they are making bread cheap for the people of the cities. They are also increasing the population of the cities, and adding to the num- ber of those who can not earn the money with which to buy bread. Under such a system as this the farmer and me- chanic are at the mercy of the corporations who con- trol the factories and the farms. With machinery in the hands of corporate power, turning men out of employment while it turns out riches for the owners, with large farms being tilled by hired men who hold no interest in the land, and who go to the cities in winter; with mortgages driving farmers into the cities at all seasons of the year ; with the 362 LAND— TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. small landholder paying the taxes of the large one ;: with labor carrying the burdens which land should bear ; with railroads squeezing out of the shipper "all that the traffic will bear;" with it possible to learn a trade, or a part of it, in five days in 1889 that required as many years thirty years ago, how is it possible for the mechanic or laborer in the city to maintain a respectable standard of wages, or lessen his hours of toil ? It has become fashion- able of late for the trades unionist to shout " hay seed " at the man who belongs to an organization that would ELEVATE ALL MEN OF TOIL, but numbskull is the epithet that should be applied to the resident of the city who imagines that the question of land reform is not as important to him as the securing of increased wages or shorter hours. of toil. It is demanded in the thirteenth resolution in the preamble of the Knights of Labor " that a grad- uated income tax be levied." It is hoped by this operation to reach our wealthy men, and force them to pay a just proportion of the revenue necessary to conduct the affairs of state. The income tax may be levied, but who is to ascertain what a man's in- come is? It is easy to learn what the income of the workingman is, but go beyond the domain of honest, toil, and the chances of getting acquainted with the income of the wealthy are very few. Men's honor must be regarded as the standard by which ta LAND— TRANSP OR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 36S gauge the income of the wealthy, but the man who speculates in land will not tell the truth about hia income if he can save money by telling a lie. Honor will not oblige him to state the truth, for speculation smothers honor. Perjury will be re- sorted to to retain the wealth which unfair dealing- has won, and the greatest difficulty will be experi- enced in ascertaining what a man's income is. In the city of Detroit there resides a wealthy man who owns hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of property in the city. In his dwelling is a picture for which he paid $25,000. He admits that he paid $15,000 for it. His assessed valuation for all of the property owned by him in the CITY IS BUT 125,000. He deceived the assessor, he wronged the city, he- defrauded every other citizen in Detriot, and is as dishonest as though he were a forger or an embez- zler. How could we trust to the honor of such a. man to render a true account of what his income was ? His double may be found in every square in every town and hamlet in the United States; and in large cities it is an acknowledged fact that it is not possible to properly estimate the amount of property held by the wealthy. Take any of our great trunk lines of railway running through more than one State, and attempt to estimate the income of one of the directors, and complete failure must attend the effort. No law can be framed that will prove effective B6Ji. LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. in collecting an income tax. Wherever such laws have been in force they have failed of their object, and have proved to be unsatisfactory. One res- ident of New York owns a house and lot in that city. He is assessed for the value of that prop- erty. He owns stock in a score of railroads, and has a controlling interest in many of them. These lines of railway are inter-State lines. How will it be possible to arrive at a correct knowledge of the income of that man for each railway in which he is interested ? How can such a tax be collected, and who will compel that man to acknowledge that he is the possessor of stock in these railways when it is to his interest to deny ownership of it in order to escape the payment of taxes on it? If we trust to his honor to tell the truth, will it not be like lean- ing on a broken reed, when we know that that man has stopped at nothing SHORT OF MURDER to get possession of that stock ? The average man will have to become much better than at present before the levying of a graduated income tax will so far touch his heart as to cause him to pay it. The present method of assessing property is not equitable. Through its operations those who pos- sess the most pay the least for the use of it. The greater part of the burden is heaped upon the shoulders of those who are least able to bear it. The cottage of the mechanic, the hovel of the la- borer, and the homestead of the farmer pay accord- LAND- TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. S 65 ing to their full value, while the palace of the mill- ionaire is assessed for a tenth or a twentieth part of what it is worth. The laborer, farmer, and me- chanic tell the truth when asked what the value of their possessions is, while the millionaire resorts to the same methods to avoid paying his taxes that won for him so much more of this world's effects than his neighbors are possessed of Take another view of the matter and we are forced to admit that the graduated income tax, if it could be collected, would prove unjust and burden- some, as well as a stumbling-block, in the way of enterprise. Two men owning adjoining farms might start in the field of agriculture on equal terms. The opportunities might be the same at the beginning, the soil the same, the amount of wealth possessed by each of equal value. In all things their chances at the start might be equal. One might be THRIFTY AND INDUSTRIOUS; the other, careless and lazy. The thrifty farmer might reap a rich reward for labor done in the way of enriching his farm, raising a large number of horses, cows, and sheep. His buildings might be very valuable, and his farm, at the end of a few years, might be worth fifty times as much as at the start. With the lazy farmer the situation might be ex- actly the reverse, and if a graduated income tax were levied, the industrious farmer would have to S66 LAND— TRANSP OR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. pay for the other's laziness, the lazy man would have to pay no more than when he began farming, while the other would hare to pay dearly for being >enterprising and industrious. The premium would be on laziness in this instance. The income de- rived from the farm would be taxed. That in- come would represent the industry of the farmer, while the other man would not be required to pay anything for being lazy, and yet his farm might be equally as good as the other. The rule that would apply to the railroad king, the stock .gambler, or the bondholder would not apply to the industrious farmer. He would have to pay on the result of hard labor, while the others would not ad- mit that they possessed a great amount of wealth as a result of sharp practice, stock gambling, or railroad wrecking. The advocates of a graduated income tax would tax all incomes above a certain figure, allowing those under it to escape. Here is another WEAK POINT. It is also a loop-hole through which to escape pay- ment. Why should any one, or any income, avoid taxation if the opportunities of acquiring an income -are the same for all. If they are not the same for all, then the principle on which the graduated tax is levied is wrong. If the opportunities under the law are the same, and men do not keep pace with each other in acquiring incomes, it is because men are differently constituted, and the difference, be- LAND—TBANSP OR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 367 ing in the men instead of the opportunities, renders it absolutely impossible to legislate in an equitable manner on the collecting of a tax upon incomes. In admitting that the tax should be graduated on incomes, we recognize the fact that they will differ with different men ; that the conditions under which men labor are not equal, and as a consequence we should aim more particularly at equalizing the conditions than at graduating the incomes. To attempt to graduate the tax upon the incomes of the people of the present day would be vain, while we allow the conditions which make it so easy for man to cheat his neighbor to remain unchanged. The laws now in force which regulate the meth- ods of taxation should be amended in some in- stances, and in others repealed. It is the supposi- tion that laws are founded on the NECESSITIES OF THE PEOPLE, but such is not the rule of action in making laws of the nineteenth century. The necessities of the whole people are not so potent in shaping legisla- tion as the shrewdness, the lack of conscience, the use of money, and the influence of corporations. This statement every one believes to be true, and it is true unless the press, the pulpit, and the statesmen of the land have been deceiving the peo- ple for the last quarter of a century. The evidence to bear out their assertions is so conclusive that there need be no doubt of the truth of what they say. 368 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. The laws in force at this date were made as peo- ple understood them when made, and as people come to understand the necessity for a change they will change them. Agrarian agitator, communist, socialist, disturber, and demagogue will be shouted at the man who advises a change in a law by which a certain class is benefited, but once the law is changed according to the will of the people instead of the interested few, it becomes the voice of the people, and must be obeyed by that class as well as all others. Last year it would have been murder to take the life of a murderer by electricity in New York. The criminal would have to choke to death by hanging. To hang a murderer in New York for a crime committed since January 1, 1889, would be mur- der. The law has been changed, conditions are different. Hanging was law, and consequently recognized as right. Electricity is law now, and hanging is wrong. There were people who be- lieved that hanging was wrong, but they had to tolerate it while the law upheld it. Ten years ago the advocate of death by electricity for mur- derers would be scoffed at, but the advocates of electricity persisted, and to-day they are right be- cause the law says so. So will it be when changes are made in our land laws. They must be made. The people will understand the necessity for a change, and that point reached it is but a step to the change itself. Fifty years ago the cry was to teach the people LAND— TBANSP OR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 369 how to read ; to-day it is to get them to read, for they know how, and to understand what they do read, so thg^t the best possible use may be made of the learning. What is required most is a thor- ough education of the people on the subjects which relate to their well being. Through the ignorance of the people, as a mass, the class was permitted to "get there" it mattered not how, and having accomplished that feat they were permitted to "stay there" by those who did not appreciate the value of a change of legislation. A careful examination of the subject will prove that the levying of a GRADUATED INCOME TAX will not accomplish the desired result. The assess- ing of property now practiced will not place the burden where it rightfully belongs, and there must be some other remedy, some other means by which equity may approach nearer to us in the manage- ment of our affairs. It is oflfered as a solution of the difficulty that the number of acres to be sold to each individual shall not exceed one hundred and , sixty, and that a penalty be inflicted where viola- tions of the law are discovered. I once entertained such a belief. Such a law would be a dead letter from the be- ginning, and would inaugurate an era of fraud and perjury that would be lamentable to contemplate. Through one pretext or another men would procure the services of others, and under assumed names 24 370 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. would purchase lands exceeding the limit of one hundred and sixty acres. Bogus ownership, hold- ing in trust, fraudulent entries, and a hundred other dishonest practices would be resorted to to evade the law, and it could not be enforced. On the other hand, even at the limit of one hundred and sixty- acres, millions of people would be disinherited and deprived of their rights tp the soil, or to the use of the same. Pennsylvania contains about twenty-nine millions of acres of land. She has a population of upwards of five millions. Estimating the heads of families at one to five, there are one million people in the State who would be entitled to one hundred and sixty acres each should such a law be established. Divide -the twenty-nine millions of acres into sep- orate tracts of one hundred and sixty acres each, and we would have acres for less than two hundred thousand people. How would we provide for the remaining eight hundred thousand heads of fam- ilies should they demand the right to purchase one hundred and sixty acres each? Each person living within the State, who has not attained majority, would, at no distant day, HAVE A RIGHT TO LAY CLAIM to one hundred and sixty acres of the soil of Penn- sylvania, and it would be impossible to supply the demand, i Such a law would from the start be worthless and inoperative. We must admit that the natural right of each LAND— TRANSPOBTATJON— TELEGRAPHY. 371 individnal to the use of the soil is equal to that of every other individual ; and should it come to pass after the promulgation of such a law as is spoken of, that the required number of persons laid claim to the lands of the State, and became possessed of them, it must also follow that the remaining mill- ions would exist, if they existed at all, without po- litical life, they would be deprived of all rights which were born with them, and unless a new dis- tribution should take place they could lay claim to nothing within the State except that which was bestowed on them in charity by the fortunate pos- sessors of the soil. While, such a law would prove disastrous, and while it is only a " supposed case," it is well for the people to consider it in order that they may arrive at correct conclusions concerning the DISTRIBUTION OP LAND. Every one of those who would be entitled to the land would not want it. Some would not be con- tent with one hundred and sixty acres; others would be content with less than an acre, while oth- ers would prefer living as tenants for life. So far as the actual desires or wants of the people are con- cerned, they can never be regulated by law, either in the distribution of land or anything else. Not caring to enter upon the land for the pur- pose of cultivating it, and deprived of the oppor- tunity to hold it for speculative purposes, the ma- jority would take but little interest in the subject, 3 72 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. and in a short time we would find other laws grow- ing upon our statutes, and again, in another form, the rights of the people would be jeopardized through unjust enactments. Some want land for farming purposes, others require it for manufactur- ing purposes, others for stores and dwellings. The amount required by one would not compare, in pro- portion, with that which others would want, for we can not erect a fixed standard by which to reg- ulate the wants or necessities of mankind. It is presumed that each person at birth is en- titled to a place somewhere upon the earth's sur- face during existence. If the Creator intended that each one of His creatures should inhabit the earth, and have a right to stay upon its surface until He should call him to the future world, then it must follow that none of God's creatures should have the right to determine where his neighbor should stay while on earth. Every person has an EQUAL RIGHT with every other person to the use of the earth, and no matter what laws may be passed, the use of the soil is all that can be conferred. If it were possible to imagine a condition of so- ciety with the population so dense that there would be a scramble for the use of the soil, we would see the laws that now find place upon the stat- ute books swept away, the privileges, miscalled rights, which land owners now possess, would be disregarded, and laws, such as would deal out the LAND— TRANSPORT A TION— TELEGRAPHY. 373 greatest measure of relief to the greatest number, would be passed in their stead. The wants of society would regulate the holding of the earth's surface by mankind. Each individual, then, has a natural right to the use of the earth, no more or less, and no law can vest in him the right to hold the soil in absolute ownership beyond a time when the rights of others demand that he surrender that right for the good of the greatest number. What man may lawfully do to-day, may be looked upon in a far different light when the neces- sities of the whole people have changed the condi- tions under which he exercised that right. WE MAY SCOFF AT THE IDEA of ignoring the right of man to absolute ownership of the earth, but want will set aside "that right in the interest of a higher law. Those who now stead- fastly hold to the opinion that man has a right to hold in absolute title as many acres of land as he pleases, will not be willing to admit that other men have no right to purchase any part of the earth, even though they have the means wherewith to do so. The believer in absolute ownership must also be a believer in no ownership. He believes in abso- lute ownership for himself and no ownership for others. Those who own the earth to-day are up- held in that ownership only because necessity has not driven the many to the point where they re- quire the use of the land. When necessity drives 311 4- LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. men to that extremity, what is now called right will appear only as a privilege, and that privilege will have to give way to the requirements of the people. It is plain, then, that the use of the earth is all that man can lay claim to, and it is but equity that he should pay for the privilege of using it for his own purposes. Some do not want to use their portion, and may allow others to do so. These oth- ers should pay for that use, and pay for it in pro- portion as its possession benefits them, that the remainder may be recompensed for that which they surrendered to them. The advocates of a "single tax," the same to be levied upon the land, come the nearest to the remedy for the evils of the present system. Everything erected upon the earth's sur- face is the result of labor, but the industry dis- played does not confer ownership on the workman. The land made more valuable as the result of man's industry, escapes taxation, while he whose labor enriched it is taxed, and receives no part of the wealth his labor creates, save enough to keep body and soul in union with each other. The re- sult of labor is assessed, and as a consequence lar bor pays the assessment, while the land, which is made more valuable, escapes paying its due pro- portion of revenue to the State. At first sight it may appear that land does pay the taxes, and that there is no necessity for a LAND— TBANSPOBTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 375 change in the operations of the tax collector. While it is true that it is from the earth the la- borer extracts that which does pay the taxes, it is also true that it is the laborer who pays the taxes, and not the earth, from which he produced the wealth. We have a multiplicity of taxes to-day. We have water taxes, gas taxes, street taxes, city taxes, school taxes, mercantile taxes, taxes for the maintenance of the board of health, the corpse is taxed before it can be buried, the undertaker is taxed for burying the corpse, the cemetery, which escapes taxation, taxes the corpse for occupying a portion of it. Taxes for the payment of salaries of of&cers, state taxes, county taxes, bridge taxes, poll taxes, poor taxes, sewer taxes, taxes for keep- ing a horse, a dog, a cow, a pig, a watch. Every outhouse erected is taxed, a new fence adds to the taxation of the property owner. If the citizen is satisfied with a certain kind of an indispensable outhouse, which does not come up to the require- ments of the board of health, he is FINED FOE MAINTAINING A NUISANCE, and if he makes alterations and improvements upon it he is fined by the tax collector for doing so. The cartman is taxed for every hack, cab, omni- bus, stage, or animal he possesses, and if he does not keep them in a certain style he is fined for it. In Pennsylvania we pay an occupation tax. The laborer is assessed at a valuation of |50, while the millionaire is assessed at but $200. There is a 376 LAND— TRANSPOB. TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. multiplicity of taxes to pay, and by the time the tax payer goes the rounds and pays each one he is tired out and disgusted. It would be far easier to levy a "single tax," basing it upon land values, and have but one payment to make, at one place, instead of a score of different taxes at as many dif- ferent places, each one rated at a different valua- tion, according to the intelligence or disposition of the assessor, each tax paying a commission to the tax collector. As has been stated, the tax assessor can not ac- curately estimate the or its possible contents, by standing in front of it, and taking an outside view of it. He can not as- certain what the ravages of time have done to de- preciate the property; he can not examine the walls, cellar, garrett, or other parts of the house, and can not, does not, do his duty as it should be done, he simply guesses at the value of the prop- erty, and then goes to the owner to find out if he has guessed aright, and he always finds that he has guessed too high, unless the owner happens to be a friend of his, and then there is no fault to find. Taxes are not honestly levied at present, and under the law favoritism may be, and is, shown in every city and township. It is argued that it would not be fair or equitable to tax land values, and let the property erected on the land escape taxation. It is because the . property, such as I/AND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 377 houses, barns, stores, and factories, that now stand on the land, are not taxed as they should be, and because they can not be properly or equitably as- sessed, that a single land tax would prove to be the very essence of equity, that I advocate it. Every- thing is uncertain at the present time, but levy the tax on the value of the land, and a tape-line, properly and judiciously handled, will enable the assessor to decide with accuracy the exact valua- tion of the property he measures, and levy his as- sessment accordingly. One man may be content to live in a hovel, he may accumulate money in speculation, and hoard it away without adding to the wealth or beauty of the city or town he lives in by the addition of a coat of paint to his wretched home. His house may be situated in the heart of a city ; if so, HIS LAND IS CERTAINLY AS VALUABLE as that of his neighbor, who has erected a beautiful house, which is a comfort to the owner, and an ad- dition to the wealth and beauty of the town. If all of his neighbors adhered to the plan on which he worked, there would be no handsome residences or buildings in the place, business would shun the town and enterprise would die. If the property nearest to his is worth |10,000, and the miser is asked to sell his land and hovel, he, too, will ask $10,000 for them, and give as a reason that " my next neighbor asks that price for his place, and mine is worth more, for it is unen- 378 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. cumbered with much of anything in the shape of a house, and there will be no trouble in clearing it, so that the purchaser may build such a house as he pleases." If all his neighbors owned such places as he, they could not demand |10,000 for them. All this time the owners of the beautiful houses and grounds have been paying high taxes, while the miser has continued to pay a nominal sum. All this time the community has been enriching this man, and making his land more valuable; all this time the community has been paying the taxes on the miser's property, for through his greed he has escaped payment, since the improvements alone are taxed, and he, having made no improve- ments, does not CONTRIBUTE HIS JUST SHARE to the support of the community, but when the time comes to sell his land he charges the pur- chaser for the labor of those around him who have not received any of the benefits of enriching his land. Every resident of such a neighborhood is entitled to a share of the value of that property. They do not ask that the owner pay them a percentage of the proceeds of the sale, but they have a right to expect that he should contribute his share of tax- ation to assist in supporting the community. What is true of the lot in the city is also true of the farm in the country. The miserly farmer who drains his land of the last dollar, and hoards that LAND— TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. 379 dollar away from sight, injures the neighborhood he lives in by obliging the other farmers to pay a higher rate of taxation. Under our present laws there is no encouragement to the farmer or prop- erty owner to beautify or improve his place. He knows that he will be taxed for it, and he also knows that if he lives in a hovel he will escape tax- ation. The reward is not conferred for thrift, for improvement, for enterprise, but for niggardliness and improvidence. What would be an equitable basis on which to levy a single tax ? is asked. Ascertain the rental value of the property, and assess it accordingly ; assess all around in the same ratio. The SPECULATIVE VALUE of land may be said to be fickle and unsatisfactory. The owner of a piece of property may ask a certain price for it when speculating in land, and the ne- cessities of the seeker may not have pushed him to a point where he is willing to give that price. The speculative value of the land is not easy to ascer- tain, except on application to the owner, but the rental value of property is known to the whole community. It has been advanced as an objection to rating taxation according to the rental value of the land, that a city like Philadelplaia would have to pay taxes enough to maintain the whole machinery of the State, cities, townships, and all. That argu- ment may hold if we admit that the rents in Phil- 380 LAND— TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. adelphia are not too high, but there is no reason why rents should be so exorbitant. Here is thq point at which I wish to introduce the landless man, the worker in the city and town, the tenant who exists under the delusion that he is not paying taxes because he owns no property. The rental value of the land is increased or diminished, ac- cording to the necessities of the renters, the ten- ants. If tenants are scarce, and that is seldom the case, -then rents are low, and it should be observed that taxes do not fall whether the property rents well or ill. It is not the real value of the property that the proprietor exacts a high rent for, it is the NECESSITIES OF THE TENANT he taxes when leasing the place. It appears, then, that it is the tenant who pays the taxes of the man who owns the property ; and if taxes were levied on the rental value of the land we may rest assured that exorbitant rents would not be charged as at present, and taxation would be more equitably lev- ied and paid than under our present system. But taxes would not increase under this plan of •collecting a single tax, the same to be levied on the rental value of the land. They would be distrib- uted over a larger area, take in more tax-payers, reach the owners of unoccupied lands now held for speculative purposes, and as a consequence a greater number of persons would be contributing to the support of the State. The greater the number of tax-payers the smaller will be the amount each LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 381 one will have to pay ; the lower the rate of taxa- tion on property, the greater the stimulus to the workman to purchase a homestead of his own. But why should a large city pay so much more than the country ? is asked. It will not pay more than the country under such a system of taxation, for every community will pay an equitable rate of tax- ation. It is the surrounding country that makes the land in the city valuable. If no revenue came into Philadelphia from outside of the city limits ; if the inhabitants of Pennsylvania should decide to divert trade to Pittsburg, and not patronize Philadelphia again, the business of the latter city would naturally drift to Pittsburg. The surrounding country assists in PAYING THE TAXES of all of our cities, and should receive some of the benefits from their investments. Rents are not so high in small towns as in large cities, and as a con- sequence the rate of taxation would not be so high, but if all lands, whether in city or country, are taxed according to their rental value, then no lands will escape. No one man or set of men will have to pay the taxes of any other man or set of men, and all unoccupied lands now held for speculative purposes will contribute their full share to the sup- port of the State. But the poor man who owns a lot along-side of the residence of a millionaire will have to pay as much for his lot as the millionaire, and that would S82 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. not be fair, is another objection, one, too, that is often advanced. I know of no place where the millionaire and workingman own adjoining proper- ties, and if there is such a case in the United States at the present day it will be only a question of time when, under our present system of taxation, the millionaire will own the two lots. If land is worth anything to man in any part of the globe he should be willing to pay for the use of it ; and if that land is situated in the heart of a city along-side of the land owned by a millionaire, then the owner should pay for its use the same as the millionaire. We have millionaires now by the thousand where we once had them by the dozen, and they have become millionaires because they have been permitted to hold vast tracts of LAND FREE FEOM TAXATION. They have been permitted to absorb these lands while operating mines, factories, railroads, and other industries, through the operation of which they have made life unbearable to some of their work- men that they might drive them to the land, and there take advantage of them again. With land paying its full share of taxation, and that is all that is required, the millionaire of the future will be- come such through his own ability, if at all, for he will not have the land to speculate in while amass- ing wealth. The " single tax will ruin the farmers " is shouted -across the prairies and over the plains. If lifting LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 383 a part of the burden from the back of the farmer, and placing it on the shoulders of the man who holds more acres than the farmer without the pay- ment of a hundreth part of the taxes which the farmer is obliged to pay, is ruin, then indeed will the farmers be ruined. The farm may be decreas- ing in value, yet the farmer may have to keep up the same rate of taxation. He may have to invest a great part of his income in fertilizer and improved machinery to make his farm pay, but so long as he does not tear down his house and barns, and erect hovels and sheds, he will have to keep up payment at the same old rate to the tax gatherer. His yield of produce may not be as large as last year, but his yield to the tax collector WILL NOT BE LESSENED in proportion. If there is a class of men on the soil of America who are directly interested in se- curing the passage of a single tax law, that class is to be found where farmers are numerous. What troubles the farmer is that some one who knows nothing about the question has informed him that he will have to pay as much per square foot for his land as the resident of the large city will have to pay, and that taxes are to be levied the same on city land as on the farm. The rental value of the farm, according to the rate of the neighborhood in which it is situated, is all that he will have to pay, and at that same rate must the improvident farmer and the idle speculator 384 LAND—1'RANSPORTA TION— TELEGRAPHY. also pay. The industrious farmer will not have to pay, as he does now, for the indolence, niggardli- ness, shrewdness of his neighbor. Previous to the birth of the land speculator in the West, the farmer was hot troubled with such an encumbrance as a mortgage on his land. Now he has an abundance of them. It was not to fight off the single tax that the farmers of the United States met in national convention in Georgetown, D. C, in January, 1873, for the purpose of organ- izing the National Grange. They met because they were being gathered into the net of the MORTGAGE HOLDER, because of excessive taxation, and because of dis- crimination in freights. It was not the grasshop- pers or the drought that worried the farmers so much as the monopolist and speculator. They were being oppressed and are still oppressed. The for- mation of organizations such as the Farmers' Al- liance, Patrons of Husbandry, Wheel, and several local organizations, suggest the idea that the mar- ket in which the farmer buys and sells may have something to do with the case. To-day the farmer buys in the dearest market in the world, and is forced to sell in the cheapest. Until condi- tions change he has no say in the matter, for the means of transportation are beyond his control, and are held by monopoly. I do not believe, with many advocates of a sin- gle land tax, that it will prove a " cure all " for LAND— TRANSPORTATION—TELEGRAPHY. 385 every ill that industry is heir to ; far from it. Nei- ther would I have it take the place of a duty on imports from foreign countries. Several land re- formers would have the single tax answer all pur- poses of taxation, and in that they are right, hut there are many who do not regard a duty on im- ports as a tax. It is supposed to be a protection to American labor to have imports subject to a duty, and that question should be agitated, dis- cussed, and fought out on the line of protection until the end is made plain. It not clear to many that a tariff is a protection, and until all doubts are dispelled that question should not be obscured or confounded with the single tax discussion. If the day comes when men will realize the benefits to be DERIVED FROM A SINGLE LAND TAX they will also know whether the duties now levied in the name of protection serve the purposes for which they are levied. The agitation on the subject of protection has been going on for years. It is one on which men differ in various localities, and is a question which should be judged on its own merits while the land question is being adjusted. There are protection- ists among farmers as well as among mechanics. Free traders are to be found among both. Nei- ther will agree to abandon his pet theories until his pocket is touched, and it is a most difficult thing to teach either one that a tariff on imports is not what he thinks it is. Every man will re- 25 386 LAND— TRAmPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. alize the necessity for a change in our land system, and should not have other, and lesser questions, thrust upon him while discussing the taxation of land values-. If protection is the end in view then taxation has nothing to do with a tariff, but it should be first settled whether we are being protected. The fullest light should be had, and the people properly educated on that question before it is allowed to naerge into any other, and land reformers can very well afford to leave the question of protection out- side the pale of discussion until the end is made plain in the matter of land taxation. If protection is really the end in view, when we levy a duty on imports, then ABSOLUTE AND UNQUALIFIED PROHIBITION of the landing of imports alone will settle the ques- tion. We can afford to allow the tariff agitation to proceed independently while we settle the land question. That once done we will find that the other problems are easily solved. There are questions which deal directly with the land, and should be discussed by farmer and la- borer. The veins through which the life current of the country flows do not belong to the system to which they are indispensable. Fancy a man whose arteries do not belong to him, whose heart-beats are directed by another, by one over whom he has no control, and the reader will form an idea of the condition of this country, with the public highways LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 387 in the hands of corporations, acting independent of and, in sonae instances, in defiance of the govern- ment. The railroad and telegraph system of the coun- try are public highways. They take the place of the canals, water-ways, and government roads of fifty years ago. They have made it possible for the large cities to absorb the mechanic and labor- ing population of the nation. All except tillers of the soil are being allured into the cities, and soon there will be no middle ground. It is the tendency of the times to build up cities, and I see no great harm to follow if the connection between city and country, between farm and factory, is steady, strong, and satisfactory to both. It is NOT SATISFACTORY TO-DAY, and will not be until those for whom the railroads were built control them. The Mississippi river is a great national high- way, and every year Congress makes appropria- tions for its improvement. It belongs to no one, and is used by all. It is public property. The man owning land along its banks can not levy a tax on all that passes his door in boat or shallop. No coiTporation would dare to absorb or control it, for the reason that it is the means whereby the com- mon business of the country on either side of it for miles is carried. Why make an exception ? Why not turn the management of the great rivers of the nation over to private corporations ? It is, or will 388 LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. be, said that no corporation built the rivers, or caused them to flow, and that they differ from the railroads and telegraphs. There is not a particle of difference in the uses to which both are put, but the railroad will tolerate no interference from the citizen or resident, w:ill carry only what it pleases, and will not allow any person to run a train over its rails unless it be turned over entirely to the corporation owning the railroad. How different with the water highways ! Every person who wishes to may fit out a boat and act as a common carrier between points on the water front. The water is free to all, and is kept so by action of the government. The old government road was fitted out and kept in repair by the government. IT WAS FEEE TO ALL. The canal was free to all until the railroads came into existence, and took from the people the priv- ilege of using them. When the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor convened in Philadelphia, in 1884, they made an important addition to the preamble of the order in demanding : That the government shall obtain possession, by purchase, under the right of eminent domain, of all telegraphs, telephones, and rail- roads; and that hereafter no charter or license be issued to any cor- poration for construction or operation of any means of transporting intelligence, passengers, or freight. At the sessions of 1885 and 1886 no reference was made to this section in the preamble, but at LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 389 the Minneapolis session the General Master Work- man, in his annual address, said : The XVIIIth Clause in the Declaration of Principles Reads as follows: "That the government shall obtain possession, by purchase, under the right of eminent domain, of all telegraphs, telephones, and rail- roads ; and that hereafter no charter or license be issued to any cor- poration for construction or operation of any means of transporting intelligence, passengers, or freight." I believe that the time lost in delaying action on that clause is time wasted, and most respectfully call the attention of the General Assembly to the matter witlj a view to having some action taken. 1 believe that the government of the United States should operate its own lines of telegraph. I believe Ihat it is absolutely necessary for the welfare and prosperity of the country that the gov- ernment establish a telegraph system to be used in the interest of the people. The last presidential election witnessed a scene which no patriot wishes to see again. The fate of the nation hung in the balance. The country was in doubt as to which of (he candidates for the presidency had been chosen. It was plainly stated in the metropolis of the United States that one man, whose name I will not mention here, was tampering with the election returns from cer- tain parts of the country with a view to defeating the will of the peo- ple. It was not only stated that such was the case, but no one doubted it. It was only when threats of hanging him to a lamp-post were made that the announcement went forth that the returns would be given to the people as accurately as they came in. At that time the telegraph company, on whose wires the news came in, had a powerful and growing rival. To-day it has absorbed that rival, and is reaching out for more power. At that time the telegraph system of this country was under the control of many men and diflFerent managements. To-day it is under the control of one management, if not one man. The tendency of the present age is toward c^tralization, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that ifa the near future the railway lines of the nation will be under the control of one management, if not under the control of a single man. The history of the past decade, the tendency of the hour, and the rapid march of events in every walk of hfe, tend to show that the power of the corporation is giving way to the rule of the monopolist. Such being the case, is it not true that the individual 39 LAND—TRANSPOR TA TION— TELEGRAPHY. Who controls the telegraph and railway lines of the nation also con- trols the people of the nation? Men may say that it is socialism to talk of having the government assume control of the railways and telegraphs of the nation. Even so, is it not better to advocate- such socialism than to witness a defeat of the people's will— a de- bauching of the servants of the people? Is it not better for the people to attend to their own affairs in such a way that no indi- vidual will have it in his power to defraud them of their inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, than to allow a single man to manage that business, not for them, but for himself? " Title by eminent domain" is the title by which the government acquires an estate in the real property of an individual when the same is necessary for public use. The right of eminent domain, or the right to take private property for public use, is inherent in every government. A government also has power to exercise this right in favor of individuals or corporations engaged in prosecuting works of a quasi public nature, such as railroads, turnpike, and canal com- panies. But when property is so taken full compensation must bs made therefor to its owner, and that mode of taking it, which is prescribed by law, must be strictly followed." The government having the right to take, either for itself or for corporation or individual, the private property of an individual, has also the right to own property of the same description. The rights of all of the- people are more sacred in the eyes of thp government than the right of the individual. The right of the individual must not be tramifled upon by the government. What the government should not do the monopolist must not do, and in order to prevent the monopolist from infringing upon the right of the people the gov- ernment should interfere. I would not advocate the purchase of the property of the telegraph system now in use by the govern- ment. I believe that the government can easily erect, operate, and control telegraph lines of its own, allowing those now in existence to remain in possession of the present owner. The government cer- tainly can erect its own lines much cheaper than it can purchase the vast amount of watered stock now loaded upon the original stock of the existing telegraph system. We should have trunk lines of railways running North and South, East and West, through the United States, under the control of the government. The government could then ascertain at what figures passengers and freight could be carried, and the rates fixed by the government would be the standard at which other lines would carry passengers and freight. There would be no injustice in this, and those who would not care to part with their railways and telegraphs LAND— TRANSPORT A TION— TELEGRAPHY. 391 could continue to operate them at a reasonable profit. It is abso- lutely necessary that the government should take steps to protect itself against the hand of the traitor at home. We hear a great deal about our coast defenses being of little use. Suppose that our coast defenses were required, and it became nec- essary to transport troops from one part of the country to another ; then imagine the railways of this country in the hands of one man- agement, and that management opposed to the government, and you will see what a delay in transporting troops would cost the govern- ment. You may say there is no probability of such a thing ever happening. That makes no difference, a well-regulated government will never place itself in the power of an individual or a single cor- poration. With the rapid introduction of foreign airs and customs to this land, it is reasonable to suppose that not a few monarchial ideas are being imported also. I know that the case of the gov- ernment's connection with the Union Pacific Railway will be cited as a warning against the government having anything further to do with the management of railways. Because the dishonest transac- tions which characterized the management of the concern were al- lowed to go unwhipped of justice, and because the people allowed their own government to be swindled, is no reason why a like trans- action should occur again. I believe the government should control our railways and telegraph. The Legislative Committee was instructed to work for the passage of a bill to create a govern- mental system of telegraphs. The railroad ques- tion was not pushed for the reason that the conven- tion deemed it best to take up but one subject at a time. On November • 23, 1887, the General Master "Workman issued a circular letter to the order ask- ing their co-operation in securing names to petitions to Congress to establish a system of telegraphy to be managed in connection with the Postroffice De- partment. Blank forms of petitions were sent out with the circular. The request was made that they be returned to the general office early in January, LAND— TRANSPORTA TION— TELEGRAPHY. thus giving but a little over three weeks to act on the petition and circular. Promptly on time came the petitions signed by over 1,000,000 of people. They were entrusted to the care of Ralph Beau- mont, chairman of the committee, who placed them in the hands of the various Congressmen, by whom they were introduced. A bill was introduced and referred to a commit- tee, but the agitation on the question of TAKIFF vs. FREE TRADE overshadowed every other thing, and Congress ad- journed without taking action. The National Leg- islative Committee prepared the bill that was in- troduced, and submitted statistics and arguments in its favor. The National Board of Trade favored the taeasure, and worked for its passage, but the result was not satisfactory. Action is only delayed, for the agitation will continue and grow in strength as the people become educated to the necessity for managing their own business. That the monopoly now controlling the telegraphs of the country realized the danger which menaced it, and recognized the justice of governmental con- trol in at least some slight degree, is apparent to all who read the argument, or memorial, presented to Congress against the measure by Norvin Green, the President of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Said he : It may be worthy of suggestion, however, that if the government must go into this kind of business there are many articles of far LAND—TRANSPORTA TION— TELEGRAPHY. S9S more general use and consumption, which, if taken hold of and fur- nished at a cheap and uniform rate to the masses, would afford vastly more general relief to the public. Coal, a product of the earth, and unmined a part of the eminent domain, is essential to the preservation of life, and an absolute necessity to twenty times as many people as ever need to use the telegraph. The reason that so few use the telegraph at pres- ent is that it is beyond their reach, and they can not get access to it on reasonable terms. The same is true of coal. Thousands would use it where hun- dreds do now if Norvin Green's suggestion were carried out. While the use of coal is essential to the comfort of the individual, the control of the telegraph is essential to the FUTURE LIFE OF THE NATION, Coal is no more a product of the earth than the material of which the telegraph system is composed, and both are essential to the welfare of the people. As well might Mr. Green have said that when the telegraph was invented the people who knew noth- ing about it, who did not use it then, who could not understand it, or get access to it, would never use it because they had never done so before. The sending of messages will one day supersede in a great measure the sending of letters. The sending of letters is under the control of the gov- ernment, and is being managed much better and cheaper than it could, or would, be done by the cor- porations of the land. A letter weighing an ounce may be sent from Scranton to San Francisco for two cents. To send it under care of an express 394 LAND- TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. company would cost twenty-five cents, or twelve times more than the United States government charges for the same service. There is no reason why the placing of the means of transportation under the control of the govern^ ment will not cheapen the cost of transportation in all things as it did in the case of our mail service. The government does transact part of the business of the country now, and leaves oflF where its HONOR IS INVOLVED. A letter may be sent from New York to San Fran- cisco, or to any other point, in which an order for a thousand dollars' worth of produce may be en- closed. The government obliges the corporations owning the railways to carry that order for mate- rial, and it will, at the point of destination, deliver the order to the man for whom it is intended, but there its functions end, and when the order is filled and the material is ready for shipment, and carted to the depot, the government will not undertake to oblige the railway to transport the goods to the man who ordered them through the medium of the government. If it is right for the government to transact a part of the public business of the nation, it certainly is right for it to control all of it, and do so in such a manner as to give satisfaction and relieve the strain which now oppresses business. The passage of the Inter-State Commerce Law was simply an experiment in angling for the truth, but the only remedy lies in the control of the rail- LAND— TRANSPORTATION— TELEGRAPHY. 395 ways and telegraphs of the nation by the people of the nation. There is no reason why the stamp of the government can not be affixed to a bale of cot- ton, a barrel of oil, a car of wheat, a car of coal, or a package of goods as well as to a letter which carries an order for these things. If the control of the rail- ways and telegraphs is vested in the government, WHICH CONFERS THE RIGHT upon these corporations to transact the business of the nation, then the produce of the farmer may be conveyed to market by the cheapest and safest route, and the man in the city will receive his food without paying tribute to monopoly as at present. These questions of land and transportation go hand in hand, and are so closely allied that they become one when studied. Being one question their proper solution will cement, in indissoluble bond, the in- terests of the workers in town, city, and country, whether their names are written as farmers, me- chanics, or laborers. The Circulating Medium. "The hope of the poor may perish, The workman's song be stilled, And ruin wide, the land betide. Till theShylock's vaults are filled." —Mrs. S. M. SmttK " Take not usury of bim, nor more than thou gavest : fear thy Qod that thy brother may live with thee." — Leviticus x^v : 36. The XVIIIth sertion of the platform of the Industrial Brotherhood— Sylvis said that " when a just monetary system has been estab- lished there will no longer exist a necessity for trades unions" — J The Reading (General Assembly makes a change— The circulat- ing medium of the nation under the control of banking insti- tutions — Thfe value of. money fluctuates in various parts of the ' country — The rates of interest in various States— The standard of weights and measures can not be fixed except by Gongress— The First National Bank of New York withdraws its circulation m 1888 — The volume of currency in 1865 and 1869 — The supply per capita but $26— That of France $50.75 — The nation, like an mdividual, requires a sufficient amount of capital to do business with— Inflation not to be dreaded so much as usury— To the interest of the national banks to keep the volume of currency contracted— Wall Street dictates what Congress shall do — The President of the United States must bow to Wall Street in se- lecting his cabinet — The Bland Act of 1879 — Its provisions not lived up to as required by the peoplfr— National banks ask for increase of circulation — Legislation in the interest of the bank- ing fraternity goes through Congress silently — The Philadelphia General Assembly makes a change in the preamble — Every Knight of Labor in duty bound to work for the establishment of a people's money — When it is established only the improv- ident, intemperate, and those afflicted by nature or accident will want. Those who read the platforms of the National Labor Union and the Industrial Brotherhood will find that the men who attended the conventions of (396) p. 0) . ID H fc c -^ THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. 397 these associations considered the currency question the most important of all that came up for consid- eration. Mr. Sylvis evidently believed it to be of vital importance. In a document issued by him in 1868 he said : We must show them that when a just monetary system has been established there will no longer exist a necessity for trades unions. When the General Assembly adopted the pre- amble in 1878 it found the XVIIIth section as follows : To prevail upon the government to establish a just standard of distribution between capital and labor by providing a purely na- tional circulating medium based upon the faith and resources of the nation, issued directly to the people, without the intervention of any system of banking corporations, which money shall be a legal tender in the payment of all debts, public or private, and inter- changeable at the option of the holder for government bonds, bear- ing a rate of interest not to exceed three and sixty-five hundredths per cent., subject to future legislation of Congress. When the convention adjourned the XVth sec- tion of the preamble of the Knights of Labor read as follows : To prevail upon governments to establish a purely national cir- culating medium, based upon the faith and resources of the nation, and issued directly to the people, without the intervention of any system of banking corporations, which money shall be a legal tender in payment of all debts, public or private. In drafting that resolution, originally, it was not the intention to legislate for the workmen of any country beyond the limits of the United States. The Knights of Labor intended to organize in all countries; hence the substitution of " governments" S98 THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. for "the goyernment" as adopted by the Reading General Assembly. Those who assembled at that convention did not believe in bonds of any kind, and that part of the section referring to govern- ment bonds was abolished. No other section of the preamble has attracted less attention than that, and none other is of more importance to the people. Every Knight of Labor is in duty bound to labor with what ability he is possessed of to abolish the system by which so large a supply of the money of the country is placed under the control of banking institutions. Although the national bank is a creature of the United States government it affords no greater safeguard to depositors than any other banking concern. The gains are and that institution which flourishes beneath the protection of the government of the people is not in any way subordinate to the will of the people. The fifth paragraph in section VIII, article one, of the constitution of the United States, says that Congress shall have power " to coin money, regu- late the value thereof, and of foreign coins, and fix the standard of weights and measures." Instead of issuing money the government permits private institutions to do so. Instead of regulating the value of money within the boundaries of the United •States, banking concerns are practically permitted to do so by controlling the volume. In one part of THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. S99 the country money is worth two per cent., and in others it is as high as twelve, and in some places twenty per cent. The value of the money used by the people is not fixed or regular. It fluctuates at the will of those who have it to lend, or who are enabled, by reason of their control over a large por- tion of it, to withdraw it from circulation at their pleasure. The right to issue or coin money is a HIGH SOVEEEIGN PREROGATIVE, which should not be delegated to any lesser create ure than the government itself. The standard of weights and measure is fixed by the government. It is the same everywhere, but sixteen ounces of sugar can be bought much cheaper in a State where the rate of interest is but six per cent., than it can be procured for in one where the rate of interest is twice six per cent. No State can fix the standard of weights and measures ; no State can coin or is- sue money, but an institution, which is subordinate to no power beyond the extent of its circulation, is permitted to transact business beneath the great name of the national government, and regulate the value of the money it loans according to the neces- sities of the borrower. The credit of the bank is endorsed by the government, while it demands usury from the citizen. The fact stands squarely before every man who reads, that those who are engaged in speculation, in banking, in note shaving, in managing corporations J^OO THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. and trusts, are growing wealthy with amazing ra- pidity, while those who use the money, those who do the work of the nation, the laborers of the farm, mine, railway, and workshop, are growing desper- ately poor each day. The present system is fostered by the govern- ment, and is iniquitously unjust. In June, 1888, the First National Bank of New York City pub- lished a statement that its circulation was |423,- 220. In December of the same year it issued an- other statement to the effect that its circulation was but $45,000, a contraction of the people's money of $378,220 in six months. The government did not authorize the contraction of its currency, although it was charged, and without contradiction, on the floor of Congress, during the late presidential cam- paign, that 162,000,000 of "the surplus" in the United States treasury was being loaned to BANKS FREE OF INTEREST. It is an undisputed fact that this policy was inau- gurated years ago, and there is no reason to suppose that the administration which went out of office March 4, 1889, was any better in that respect than its predecessors. In 1860 the population of the United States was 31,000,000 ; in 1889 the population is over 62,000,- 000, or double that of 1860. The population did not increase between 1860 and 1865, owing to the civil war. In 1865 the circulating medium of the nation was about $1,900,000,000, divided as fol- THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. ^01 lows : State banks, $142,919,638 ; one and two year notes of 1863, $42,308,710; demand notes, $472,- 603; fractional currency, $25,005,828; compound interest notes, $193,756,080; national bank notes, $146,137,860; legal tender notes, $431,066,428; coin, $400,000,000 ; temporary loan, redeemable on ten days' notice after thirty days, bearing four to six per cent, interest, and paid out by the treasury on account and entering into circulation, $400,000,- 000 to $800,000,000. At that time the money was being used by the people of the loyal States only. Those lately in rebellion were just beginning to again make use of the currency of the nation. THE COUNTRY "WAS PROSPEROUS, and the pgople, individually, were practically free from debt. If the money of the United States had been distributed among the people in 1865 each man, woman, and child would receive about $61. Since 1865 the circulating medium of the nation has been contracted or reduced to less than $1,600,- 000,000. Our currency circulation is less by $300,- 000,000 to-day than it was in 1865, while our pop- ulation is double what it was then. Then we had $61 per capita ; to-day we have but $26 for every person in the nation should it be necessary to give to each one an equal share of the circulating me- dium. It is the same with nations as with individuals. If the purchasing capacity is cut down one-half, the power to consume is curtailed to that extent. With 26 402 THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. every inducement offered to men to employ money to-day, it is absolutely necessary that it be provided for their use. If a man required $60 in 1865 in order to supply his wants, he certainly should have more than that amount to-day, and yet he is forced to do business on less than half of that sum. The cry of inflation has often scared men away from the cur- rency question, but it should be borne in mind that those who demand of the government to issue a PURELY CIRCUIJATING MEDIUM do not ask that any man shall receive one cent of that circulating medium for which he does not ren- der an equivalent. No man is to get what he does not earn. It is because a few absorb the earnings of others now that the demand goes up for new measures, new laws, and a sufficient supply of cur- rency to carry on the business of the nation. We will liken the nation to an individual who has surrendered his right to handle his own money. He employs ten men to perform labor in his fields. Through their efforts the fields are made to yield double. In a short time twenty men are required to do the required work. When he employed the first ten he could afford to pay them |60 a month, but having surrendered the right to manage his purse, he finds on employing the additional ten men that, while he is richer, better able to carry on farming than before, and more in need of assistance than ever, he is not able to pay the men more than $25 a month. The inevitable result is that he will THE GIR C ULA TING MEDIUM. ^ 03 cramp his effort, try to do the work of twenty men with ten, and make a failure of it, the same as the United States government is now making of its at- tempt to do the work of 62,000,000 people on a capital which formerly enabled but 31,000,000 to carry on a very limited business, a business which did not bring to its aid the wonderful inventions of steam and electricity which now call for more in effort and means than the world ever dreamed of before. It is not inflation that we need dread, but the grasping of more than man can honestly ac- quire. Only the nation itself was in debt at the close of tl^e war. Now the people are in debt ev- erywhere. To contract the circulating medium of a nation to an amount which will not allow the full business capacity of its people to be put to the test, is a GROSS INJUSTICE, the full extent of which can not be estimated. Such a transaction operates solely in the interest of those who have money to lend. The system which per- mits it is such as will create a large borrowing class who must of necessity become the slaves of the money changers. So long as national banks exist the volume of money in circulation will not equal the demand for its use. When money is scarce the borrower will pay a greater price for its use than when it is plenty, and as the chief aim of the banker is to loan money at a high price, it will always be to his interest to ^04 THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. keep the volume of currency so low that the wants of the people can not be supplied except through the payment of high rates of interest. The law which permits extortion of that kind is injurious to the welfare of the nation, it is a law which permits one portion of the people, and a mere fraction at that, to take advantage of the necessities of the other, and greater portion. The CHIEF AIM OF GOVEEMENT, in a republic, is to do equity to all citizens and res- idents. In fostering such an institution as a national bank, the congress of a republic shows itself indif- ferent to the welfare of its people. The history of the legislation, by the United States Congress, on the currency question since 1862, is one record of partiality to a class that lives on the necessities of others. It is the history of favortism to Wall Street, New York. Such legis- lation would not be enacted if industry were con- sulted as well as that favored class which reaps the greatest reward from its exercise. When legislation bearing on the money question is presented to Congress, the ink is scarcely dry upon the printed proof before it is expressed to Wall Street for the opinion of its money-changers. Those who make the wealth of the country are never consulted. When a newly-elected president is making up his cabinet, the farmers, laborers, and merchants of the nation are not consulted, but Wall Street must give consent or the Secretary of the THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. ^05 Treasury will not be chosen. The press of the United States, without regard to party, always takes it for granted, editorially, that Wall Street has the right to dictate who shall handle the purse strings of a nation which owes everything in the way of prosperity and progress to those who till the soil, dig the coal, operate the railways, and run our factories, while all of misery, hard times, idle- ness, and starvation that make the nation mourn can be laid to the door where our presidents seek for men to manage the FINANCES OF THE COUNTBY. ' There is, no doubt, a reason for all of this. In- dustry can not afford to go farther in the Way of be- stowing rewards than the giving of the majority of the votes by which the president is elected. Wall Street can afford to be more generous, and if indi- cations are worth anything, she is liberal enough to those who serve her interests. Nearly every prom- inent official of the government, who was connected with the treasury department for the past twenty years, has been favored with a good position be- neath the drippings of Wall Street at the close of his term of office. Many of them did not wait to serve out their full terms, but took the first chance that was offered to them. This system of accept- ing reward, presumably for favors done, was not confined to one party. Under the recent adminis- tration the Secretary of the Treasury, the Treas- urer of the United States, and the Assistant Sub- 406 THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. Treasurer resigned to accept similar positions be- fore the close of the first four years of those who "turned the rascals out." It is high time that the vast territory embraced within the boundaries of the United States, and situated beyond the linaits of Wall Street, New York, should enter its protest against a policy which, has for years ignored the best interests of the people. The reader has only to pick up one of the daily papers containing the reports of the world's progress to realize that the UNITED STATES IS AHEAD OP OTHER NATIONS in its annual average of production. Labor, it is estimated, produces more than in any other country. If this be true it should follow that the necessary amount of money ought to be forthcoming to pay for the labor performed. The demand for money certainly is greater, and the supply per capita ought to be much larger than it is. France, with less natural need for money, has a supply per capita far greater than the United States. Here we have a per capita of $26, while France enjoys and makes use of $50.75 per capita. The Bland Act of February 28, 1879, directed the purchase of an adequate amount of silver each year to coin not less than $2,000,000, and not more than $4,000,000 annually. In the ten years which have passed since the passage of that act only $20,- 000,000 have been coined, the minimum fixed by law. This shows that the policy of each adminis- THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. ^07 tration has been opposed to the full remonetization of silver as well as to afiPording the people an ad- equate supply of money., Many people labor under the impression that if silver is coined into money we will have to carry and handle a cumbersome, heavy currency. The phrase "cart-wheel cur- rency " has been applied to the silver dollar. It does not follow that because the silver is coined into money that it must be used in transacting busi- ness, for Congress has by law directed the issue of SILVER AND GOLD CERTIFICATES, the same to be made of paper, and with these in circulatioii we have a paper currency representing the silver and gold which has been deposited in the treasury of the United States. These certificates now represent a material which lies idle in the vaults at Washington. A purely circulating me- dium is doing part of the work of the nation based only on silver and gold, which the government was forced to purchase from those who were fortunate enough to own gold and silver mines. Knights of Labor believe that a circulating me- dium, in sufficient quantity, should be based on the faith and resources of the nation itself, instead of being founded on a gold or silver mine owned and operated by any individual in the United States. They believe, or tKey ought to believe, that the supply should equal the demand, and if silver dollars to the extent of $4,000,000, may be coined each year, the necessities of the people require that 408 THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. the full sum allowed by law should be coined in- stead of the minimum of $2,000,000, which hag been issued each year since 1879. Congress be. lieves that the country should have a larger circU'. lating medium, but the money power of the coun- try holds a majority of that body too tightly in its grasp to allow the passage of any laws which will relieve the strain upon the industries of the nation. An attempt was made in January, 1888, to in- crease the circulation of the national banks ten per cent., but representatives Weaver, of Iowa, Bland, of Missouri, Anderson of Kansas, and Brumm, of Pennsylvania, took so decided a stand against it that the people of the nation heard the discussion which took place at Washington, and the measure was defeated. All legislation enacted in the inter- est of the banking fraternity has gone SILENTLY THROUGH CONGRESS. If a noise is made it is not so likely to go through, and for that reason the existence of such institutions as the order of Knights of Labor, Farmers' Alliance, and kindred organizations, is a necessity. These associations, representing the people, must counter- act the pernicious efforts of the Shylock element which rates six per cent, on money invested as of more consequence than the happiness of toiling hu- manity. When the Philadelphia session of the G-eneral Assembly adjourned in 1884, the XlVth section in the preamble took the place of the XVth on the THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. ^09 currency question. On motion of Ralph Beau- mont the following was adopted : The establishment of a national monetary system, in which a cir- culating medium in necessary quantity shall issue directly to the people, without the intervention of banks; that all the national issue shall be full legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private ; and that the government shall not guarantee or recognize any private banks, or create any banking corporations. That section speaks for itself. It does not call for any more than enough to do the business of the country. A "necessary quantity" is all that is demanded. It demands that the government of the people shall issue a people's money direct, and shall not delegate the authority to do so to any bank or other institution. Every Knight of Labor, who has studied the principles of the order, realizes that when the trans- portation facilities of the nation are managed by the chosen agents of the people under governmental control, the land system of the country is properly regulated, and speculation in the earth prohibited, and a national circulating medium established and issued direct to the people without rendering a div- idend to the middleman, — banker, — the prosperity of the whole people will be established, and that there will be less of poverty than now exists. Those who will be poor and destitute under such circum- stances will be the improvident, intemperate, and those afflicted by nature or accident. 410 THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM. To properly discuss the currency question would occupy more space than can be consumed in this brief chapter. Instead of quoting authorities I would recommend the reader to study a book called "Whither are we Drifting," published by George C. Hackstaff, St. Louis, Mo. It contains the his- tory of the legislation on the currency question since the breaking out of the civil war, and should be studied by every one. THE HISTORY OF THE CURRENCY QUESTION of the United States is being made every day. The legislation proposed and discussed during the Fif- tieth Congress on this important issue would, if recorded, occupy more pages than will be contained in this volume. The question is, apparently, very complex, and will continue to be so until it is solved by legislation, which will require that the circulat- ing medium shall be issued direct to the people without let or hindrance from any other institu- tion, foreign or domestic. IrilreduGtieri ef Fereign Labor. Of what avail the blood that's spilled, Of what avail our wounds and pains, To loose the fetters from the black. And bind both black and white in chains? The platform of 1869 opposed to servile labor— Importation of the Chinese to North Adams by a shoe manufacturer — To Beaver Falls by a cutlery firm — Threats of bringing them to the coal mines — The protest of the Industrial Congress — The Burlingame treaty — The Coolie trade— The Six Companies— Condition of workmen in California owing to Chinese competition — Congress acts — The law evaded and violated — Massacre of Chinese at Rock Springs — Foreign and American papers advertise for workmen where none are required — Immigration of various races other than Chinese — Testimony of Jay Gould on his peculiar methods of stimulating immigration — Steamship companies interested in sending over large numbers of immigrants — The manufacturer a protectionist for himself only — The pauper permitted to land while the product of pauper labor pays a duty— Every one a free trader or protectionist, as self interest dictates — Letter on immigration copied from journal of United Labor — Glass man- ufacturers import foreign workmen — The courts asked to enjoin workingmen from talking to each other — General Assembly adopts the biU of Local Assembly No. 300 on the importation of foreign labor under contract — First labor committee of Con- gress — Hon. M. A. Foran introduces bill — Hon. Thomas Ferrell introduces bill — General officers go to Washington to work for passage of bill — The General Assembly of 1884 adopts an addi- tion to the preamble on imported labor — The G. M. W. writes to the chairman of the United States Senate, Hon. George Ed- munds — Bill passes Congress — Attempts to violate the law — Pas- sage of amendment to law — Attempts to enforce the law — The hopes of the monopolists that labor may be divided. If the importation of Europeans to take the places of American workmen had been practiced (411) 412 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. prior to 1858, it had no appreciable effect on the condition of the laborer of that day, and was not taken notice of by the workingmen of the United States. In that year three strikes in the molding trade, all in progress at the one time, was the occa- sion for a meeting of "boss molders" at Albany, N. Y., where a combination was formed of those engaged in the molding business. From this meet- ing a circular was issued to the employers of labor throughout the country asking for the formation of a " league for the purpose of importing workmen from Europe to take the places of employes who, under the influence of the union agitation, had be- come so restless and dissatisfied with their employ- ers as to strike against their interests." Such was the language of the circular which was circulated, and it is the first known record of an organized EFFORT TO IMPORT HUMAN BEINGS to America to take the places of others who would not submit to reductions in wages, or agree to an increase in the number of apprentices in workshops. The largest and most determined strike of the three referred to was against increasing the num- ber of apprentices in a molding shop in Albany, New York. The experiment which was made in 1858 must have encouraged the employers, for we find that in ten years the practice of importing cheap men had grown until it became recognized as a menace to the welfare of the American worker, so much so that INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^Ig the convention of the National Labor Union of 1869 saw fit to engraft the following resolution in its platform of that year : Resolved, That we are unalterably opposed to the importation of a servile race for the sole and only purpose of tampering with the labor of the American workingmen. That resolution was aimed more particularly at the Chinese than at any other race. During the long strike of that year in the anthracite coal re- gions, the operators threatened to IMPORT CHINESE to operate the mines, and though the threat was never carried into execution in the coal regions, Chinese were brought over to other points in the United States. During the month of May, 1869, C. F. Sampson, a shoe manufacturer doing business in North Ad- ams, Mass., imported seventy Chinese, and em- ployed them in his factory. The workmen, whose places were taken by the Chinese, received $3 a day ; the Chinese contracted to work for $1. In July of that year Mr. Sampson brought over sixty more Chinese, and discharged more of his old work- men to make room for them. There could be no fault found with the Chinese because of their desire to secure large wages, but they were not a success at shoemaking. The only thing accomplished by their importation was the cheapening of the labor of the white mechanics, whose places were taken by the Mongolians. In 1880 the shoe factories of 414 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. North Adams saw the last of the Chinese, and with the exception of a few who are engaged in the laun- dry business there are none in the place. A firm engaged in the manufacture of cutlery at Beaver Falls, Pa., became dissatisfied with their workmen early in 1872, and on the third of July of that year seventy-five Chinese arrived in the town, were taken to the cutlery works and assigned to duty in place of the white workmen who were dis- charged. In the beginning of 1873 ONE HUNDRED CHINESE were employed in the cutlery works in addition to those brought over the preceding year. The white "workmen were paid from three to six dollars a day. They were all discharged, and Chinese to the num- ber of three hundred finally monopolized the work ■of the factory. They were contracted for through an agent named Odd Chuck, who made an agree- ment that they were to receive pay according to their skill. Some earned $18 a month, while oth- ers commanded a dollar a day. They were, according to the stipulations of the •contract, to work ten, but were employed for eleven hours each day. The gates of the factory were kept closed all day to prevent the egress of the ■Chinese, or the ingress of the workmen who were displaced by them. When the contract expired Odd Chuck entered suit against the company for ■compensation for the extra hour worked each day by the Chinese. He recovered between five and INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^15 six thousand dollars, but the Chinese workmen never received any of it. In North Adams and in Beaver Falls the Chinese subsisted on rice and pork. When a death oc- curred the corpse was, according to contract, shipped back to China. Their clothing and everything they required, except food, was imported from China. The cutlery firm lost, through the employment of the Chinese, over $42,000, which, at that day, was considered a large sum of money. THEIR BUSINESS WAS RUINED, and at the present time the residents of Beaver Falls know but little concerning the firm who did business in 1872, and who drove the white work- men away to make room for the Chinese. There are no Chinese employed in the manufacture of cut- lery in Beaver Falls at this time. Those who re- side there are engaged in the laundry business. These attempts to introduce the Chinese to the workshops were watched with anxious eyes by the workmen of America. There is no doubt but that they would have been brought to the coal regions to take the places of dissatisfied miners were it not for the fear that the law would not be powerful enough to protect them while at work. The at- tempt would have been made, however, had the ex- periments made in North Adams and Beaver Falls proven successful. Enough had been done -in the way of agitating the Chinese question to call the attention of the American workmen to the evils ^16 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. likely to be visited upon them should the importa- tion of Chinese continue, and the subject was de- bated in the meetings of labor societies of that day with a view to adopting a remedy for the evil which threatened the mechanics in the shape of cheap for- eign labor. When the first convention of the Industrial Con- gress was held in Cleveland, in 1873, it adopted and placed the following in the declaration of prin- ciples which emanated from that body : We demand the prohibition of the importation of all servile races, the discontinuance of all subsidies granted to national vessels bring- ing them to our shores, and the abrogation of the Burlingame treaty. The ratification of the additional articles of the Burlingame treaty were exchanged at Pekin on the 23d of November, 1869, and the question of CHINESE IMMIGRATION occupied no small share of the attention of the people of the United States at that time. As the treaty referred to is not easy of access, i it is deemed advisable to reproduce it so that its requirements may be better understood. Had the Burlingame treaty been abrogated the immigration of the Chinese would have continued. The danger which menaced the laborer would not have been lessened a particle. The " Chinese ques- tion," as it is called, would come under a more ap- propriate heading if called the Coolie trade, for only that class of Chinamen are imported or come into competition with American workmen. In China INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^17 the third or lowest class of society is composed of chair bearers and earth diggers. These are called "coolies," or "low laborers." When the Burlingame treaty was being made, a great many coolies were being imported to South America and Cuba. The tide turned toward Cal- ifornia about that time, and has continued ever since. There are in San Francisco six Chinese companies, or societies, for the protection (?) of Chinamen coming direct from China. Each compatiy REPRESENTS A DIFFERENT part of the Flowery Kingdom. Whenever a ship lands on which Chinese are passengers, an inter- preter goes aboard and registers the number of Chinamen, and the names of the places in China where they come from. These Chinese passengers, or coolies, are assigned to whichever of the six com- panies represents the part of China they were taken from. The companies are known to be traders in their fellow-countrymen. The Legislature of Cal- ifornia appointed a committee to investigate the Chinese question in 1877, and ascertained that the six companies held ownership in 148,600 China- men, as follows : Sam Yup Company 10,100 Yung Wo Company . 10,200 Kong Chow Company 15,000 Ning Yeung Company 75,000 Yan Wo Company 4,300 Hop Wo Company. 34,000 Total 148,600 27 418 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. The committee found that up, to the time of the investigation one hundred and eighty millions of dollars had been sent to China by the people of that race who resided in California, and that not one dollar had found its way back again. What the one hundred and eighty millions of gold would have produced if earned in this country and, ex- pended here by American workmen, is hard to im- agine, but it would have eased the strain of the hard times which made 1877 and 1878 TWO OF THE WOEST YEAES for labor that this country ever passed through. Nearly all of the Chinese women brought to Cal- ifornia were brought over for the purposes of pros- titution, and on their arrival were placed in "bar- ricoons," or places where they were forced to re- main until such time as they were taken by their masters. These women entered into contracts to sell their bodies for a term of years for the purpose of earning sufficient to enable them to live at their ease in China when the term of the contract ex- pired, or for the purpose of supporting some rel- ative, or paying some debt in China, but of the pro- ceeds of their immorality they received only enough to sustain life while under contract, and when set at liberty were fleeced of what was due to them. During their stay in this country the Chinese never associate with other people, never adapt them- selves to our habits, modes of dress or our educa- tional system ; they carry their pagan idolatry into INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^19 every walk in life; never pay heed to the sanctity of an oath ; see no difference between right and wrong, and live in the same fashion in California as their ancestors did in China twenty-five hundred years ago. The people of California, without regard to creed or political belief, deluged Congress with pe- titions to pass a law which would put a stop to the further immigration of the Chinese to this country. The agitation continued until 1882, when Congress passed a bill of which the following is the preamble and enacting clause : Whekeas, In the opinion of the government of the United States the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities within the territory thereof ; Therefore, be it enacted by the Senate and House of Eepresentatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the expiration of ninety days next after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of ten years next after the passage of this act, the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States, be and the same is hereby, suspended : and during such suspension it shall not be lawful for any Chinese laborer to come, or having so come after the expiration of said ninety days, to remain within the United States. The remainder of the law deals with the partic- ular methods of preventing the landing of Chinese laborers, and affixing penalties for infractions of the law. It received the SANCTION OF PEESIDENT ARTHUR, and was signed by him May 6, 1882. Since the passage of that act Chinamen have landed on Canadian soil, and have entered the United States across the boundary line which sep- ^20 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. arates the two countries. They have landed in American ports under assumed names, and in va- rious other ways. The great difficulty in detecting the difference between Chinamen, owing to the re- semblance they bear to each other, gives rise to no end of trouble in preventing the coming of this ser- vile race to America, and the complaint of the peo- ple of the Western States and territories that the law is being constantly violated continues to be made. In desperation the people of the Pacific coast have petitioned and demanded of Congress to do something to enforce the law, but the Chinese still continue to come. In various places along the Pa- cific coast and in the territories the citizens of cities and towns have REVOLTED AGAINST THE PRESENCE of the Chinese, and in many instance violence has been resorted to. On September 2, 1885, the coal miners at Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory, mas- sacred between thirty and forty Chinese, burned their dwellings, and drove many others from the place. That this act of inhumanity and butchery is inexcusable is true, but the precedent had been established that the law could be violated with im- punity by the Chinese, and those who desired to employ them. Exasperated at the success with which they had evaded the law, and insinuated themselves into their places along the Pacific rail- way, the white workmen became desperate and INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. Jf.^1 wreaked a terrible revenge upon the Chinese. Had steps been taken to observe the law, and had the Chinese been as rigidly excluded, as they should have been, the workmen at Rock Springs would not have steeped their hands in the blood of a people whose very presence in this country is contamina- tion, whose influence is wholly bad, and whose ef- fect upon the morals of whatever community they inhabit tends to degrade and brutalize all with whom they come in contact. In his address to the General Assembly at Ham- ilton, Ontario, October, 1885, the General Master Workman referred to the Chinese evil in the fol- lowing language : THE CHINESE EVIL. The law which was passed by Congress and approved on the 6th ■day of May, 1882, was intended as a check to the importation of Chinese into the United States and the territories. The violations of that law were so numerous and glaring that Senators and Eep- resentatives from the Pacific coast brought the matter before Con- gress at its last session, and demanded further legislation on the subject. Nine-tenths of the people on the Pacific coast, and of the whole country in fact, are opposed to the importation of the Chinese under any conditions whatever. It is not necessary for me to speak of the numerous reasons given for the opposition to this particular race — their habits, religion, customs, and practices have all been made the theme of newspaper comment and report for several years. Congress has been appealed to, but the necessity for speedy action was not apparent to that body — a false delicacy about ofi'ending a foreign power has caused much sufiering among our own people. The question of regulating the importation of Chinese, and the proper guidance of those already here, has been before the country «o long that it no longer rests with the people of the Pacific coast, nor with the people of the territories ; the whole people must act through their representatives, and put a stop to the further impor- 4^2 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. tation of tlie Chinese under any and all circumstances, for any pur- pose whatever, and for all time to come. , The recent assault upon the Chinese at Rock Springs is but the outcome of the feeling caused by the indifference of our law-makers to the just demands of the people for relief. No man can applaud the act by which these poor people were deprived of their lives and homes. They were not to blame. They were but the instru- ments in the hands of men who sought to degrade American free labor. Had those who made the attack upon the Chinese at Rock Springs, but singled out the men who smuggled them into the coun- try, and offered them up as a sacrifice to their own greed, I would have had no tears to shed. But even then the evil would not be checked. The taking of the lives of the Chinese, or those who im- port them, will not effectually prevent others from pursuing the same course in the future. I am pleased to state that no blame can be attached to organ- ized labor for the outrage perpetrated at Rock Springs. If the voice of the men who are associated together for the purpose of educat- ing and elevating the laboring people had been listened to some years ago, the historian would not be called upon to chronicle the fact that the men of Wyoming lost all respect for a law that was first broken by the power 'that created it ; for if our Congress had fixed a just penalty for infractions of the law ; if Congress had not winked at violations of the statute, and refused to listen to the plaint of those who suffered because the laws were outraged, the men at Rock Springs would not have taken the law in their own hands as they did. But they only destroyed the instrument ; the hand and brain by which it was guided still remains ; and nothing short of the en- actment of just laws and a full and impartial enforcement of the same will prevent other and far more terrible scenes of bloodshed and destruction than the one to which I have alluded. I believe that I am justified in saying that if the voice of free, dignified labor is not listened to, and that speedily, the hand of outraged, insulted labor will be raised not only against the instrument itself, but against the hand that guides it as well. The men of the West must not be allowed to fight the battle single-handed and alone. The evil they complain of is no longer confined to one section of this country. It is spreading, and its in- fluences are being felt in all of our industrial centres ; and if a desire to assist our brothers in a righteous cause is not suflicient to an- imate us, and spur us to action, then self-interest will soon prompt us to bestir ourselves. The .entire order must act as one man in this movement. I have copies of all bills submitteed to Congress INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. 4^3' upon the question, and will place them in the hands of the special committee on legislation, if such a committee is appointed at this session of the General Assembly. Examine them carefully, and draw up a bill and a demand for its passage, and let us approve of them ere we adjourn. Slave labor must die, and free labor must be its executioner. When the General Assembly convened at Rich- mond in October, 1886, a document presented by District Assembly No. 162, of California, was con- sidered favorably by the body. It sums up the situation so vividly and forcibly that I deem it worthy of a place in these pages. The undersigned committee, appointed by District Assembly No. 162, Knights of Labor, of the State of California, to present to the General Assembly a statement of the pressing necessity for action to aid in freeing our own race from the want and degradation being put upon it by the blighting effects of Chinese labor, and the fright- ful results of Chinese presence, hereby presents the following: The voting population of this State amounts to about 190,000, while the adult Chinese males amount to more than 100,000 ; in other words, more than one-third of our whole adult male population consists of Mongolians. More than 90 per cent, of all these are the slaves of what are here known as the Chinese Six Companies. They are coolie slaves. Their labor is slave labor. They live almost exclu- sively upon rice imported from China. They can work for twenty- five cents a day, board themselves, and save a profit. This kind of labor, under the direction of their masters — keen, shrewd business men who have imported it — comes directly into competition with the labor of our own people. It confronts them in every avenue of industry. In the workshop, in the field, in the mines — every- where, the Chinaman, with his foul presence, stands as a menace to free labor and to free men. The Chinaman is ignorant, con- scienceless, and corrupt. He is crafty, he is criminal, he is de- praved. His only virtue is his industry ; and in this he acts with deadly results upon that of our own people. He consumes practi- cally nothing springing from white labor. A thousand of them will occupy a building that would accommodate fifty Americans. They huddle together like rats in a room. Their very presence drives white people from the locality they inhabit. They patronize noth- 4^4 INTRODVCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ing American. They hate and detest our people. They have no conception of our free institutions ; they linow nothing of our schools, our charities, or our reUgiou. They are a set of thieves, cut-throats, and pagans. They exalt perjury to a fine art, and their language affords a perfect shield against its punishment Their vices are hydrarheaded. They crowd our men of families out of employment, and leave them to want and destitution. They make hoodlums and criminals of our boys, and drive our girls to worse than death by working for wages which to them means starvation. They establish among us courts of their own, secret tribunals, that to them super- sede the courts of law. They have murderous highbinders, profess- ional murderers, retained and paid for their work, who dog the steps of their victims until opportunity permits them to stab them to death, and perjury saves them from the penalty. They establish opium joints that afford the means of destroying the morals and lives of its victims. They make nearly all our cigars, clothing, boots and shoes, slip- pers, underwear, woolen goods, overalls, soap, matches, boxes ; they can all the fruit and fish ; they raise nearly all the vegetables; they pick nearly all the fruit, hops, and grapes ; they raise nearly all the potatoes; they make nearly all the salt; they catch nearly all the fish ; they make our brooms, cordage, ropes, brushes, candles, chem- icals, fringes, glue, linseed oils, matches, and pickles ; they make nearly all our shirts; they laundry nearly all our clothes ; thousands of them are servants in kitchens, offices, and banks;- they act as chambermaids in hotels, boarding houses, and private residences; and they run most of the sewing machines in all branches of their use. In one word, wherever there is a demand for labor you will find the meek-eyed but malignant-hearted Chinaman. It is no answer to all this io say that our people, who know all this, ought not to employ them. Greed and avarice are the same the world over ; and Californians find the same excuses for their exercise here that the corporations and moneyed aristocracy else- where find for the enslavement of labor. This evil grew upon us before we were aware of its danger. It is so deeply rooted that it has driven white labor out of its way, and now many employers, who would be willing to make a change, find it difficult to obtain the white labor to supplant it. Their course has manufactured tramps and petty criminals in the ranks of men made homeless and penniless by lack of employment only. It is the proArince of our noble order to break this thing down. It seeks to elevate, not to strike down labor. Its mission is to lift up, to dignify, to disenthrall labor, and to compel the purse-proud INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^25 io recoguize the manhood labor typifies. To that end this commit- tee, representing District Assembly No. 162, Knights of Labor espe- cially, but the entire Pacific Coast generally, prays the General Assembly to aid us in every way possible in tearing this evil up by the roots. We implore you to believe that the dark coloring herein given of the white labor interests of this coast is but a feeble picture of the whole truth. Despair writes itself in haggard lines over the features of labor. Sullenly but certainly disaster and death stalk abroad, destroying our cause. The weak and irresolute long since surrendered at discretion. It is only the bold and courageous that stand up to give battle to the oppressor. To fail now is to sur- render for all time the cause of Him whose right arm has builded, defended and maintained the heritage of our fathers, which a god- less few would rob us of forever. This yellow cloud of ruin has overrun California. It has sent its poisonous flood over the terri- tories, and it is now rushing its streams throughout the East. A few years at most will see the white labor of the whole country stagger in delirium from its fatal touch. The Chinese women on this coast are nearly every one to be found in houses of prostitution. Our courts furnish frequent evi- dence of the sale of Chinese women for purposes of prostitution. Home Ufe, as we understand and honor it, is unknown to them. Among all the Chinese population of this coast there can not be found a single Chinese family with the surroundings of an Amer- ican home. And the testimony of all physicians will prove that thousands of boys have their physical systems destroyed by disease contracted in these infamous dens of vice, and that in nearly every case they were enticed into them by Chinese courtesans. Hence, we beseech you to gird on the armor which shall encour- age the faint-hearted and call them back to the faith that the giant, Labor, will battle on and battle ever for, until the hated Mongol shall be driven from our shores, and until the banner of requited labor shall proudly ride the breeze of Emancipated America. This grand consummation will not be accomplished until the last Mongol has been sent from our shores. In the furtherance of this result the remedy adopted by the true- hearted Americans who threw the British tea into Boston harbor — that of non-patronage and non-intercourse— seems to be the most effectual. Avarice and greed will induce men to employ these Mongol herds simply because they can employ them for less wages, and thereby aid in reducing our laboring classes to the condition of serfs. The application of the boycott becomes a necessity to them, and an act of mercy and humanity to those they would enslave. We, therefore. 426 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. invoke it, not only as an act of justice to the poor, but as one of the highest patriotism to the republic. Meantime, we earnestly appeal for action by which the members of the order everywhere be requested to ascertain the position of their respective candidates for Congress upon the matter of abro- gating the treaty with Otiina permitting the immigration of Chinese to the United States, and to vote for those who most fully pledge themselves to so vote. Brothers, we turn to you in this hour of peril as the sheet anchor which can and will accomplish this greatest victory of mankind. Evolve this in your councils, and you will merit the everlasting chaplets of gratitude a regenerated and grateful people will twine upon your brow. EespectfuUy submitted, F. J. CLARK, J. P. DALTON, A. G. EEAD, Committee. At the Indianapolis session of the General As- sembly, District Assembly No. 49, of New York, presented the following resolution : That special efforts be made to organize the Chinese. The committee to whom the resolution was re- ferred reported unfavorably on it. and when it came properly before the convention a motion was made to concur in the report of the committee, a point of order was raised that there was nothing in the constitution to prevent the organization of Chinese. The Gr. M. W. decided that the point of order was not well taken, as three previous sessions of the Greneral Assembly had adopted resolutions unfavorable to the residence of the Chinese in America, and not being considered worthy of res- idence in America, they could not be regarded as proper persons to become members of the Knights INTRODUCTION OF FOBEIGN LABOR. Jf27 of Labor. The report of the committee was con- curred in by a vote of 95 to 42. Except on the Pacific coast the influence of the Chinese was not felt to any great extent. The east- ward march of the Chinese immigrant began when the Pacific railway was built, and ever since the proximity of that race to our shores has been a standing menace to the welfare of the American laborer. The method by which immigration to the United States was stimulated by those who wished to take advantage of the ignorance of the immigrant, was by means of ADVERTISING ABROAD FOR LABORERS. The practice began in 1869, and has been continued ever since. From a London paper, published in 1871, the following advertisement is taken : Five hundred navvies wanted in New York and Pennsylvania to work on railroads. Wages from $1.75 to $2.50 a day. Single men preferred. In the- ISTew York papers of that day advertise- ments were kept standing, in which inducements were offered to the newly-landed immigrant to pro- ceed to the coal regions of Pennsylvania. Such announcements as the following were of daily oc- currence : Two hundred men wanted to take contracts in the coal fields of Pennsylvania. Good wages guaranteed, and steady employment as- sured. When the New York papers reached England and the continent of Europe, these announcements 428 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. were copied by European journals in the hope of relieving the crowded centres of the old world of their overflowing populations. When an advertisement for two hundred men appeared in a metropolitan paper, it usually turned out that there were no vacancies in the ranks of labor at the point to which the men were directed, and the sole object in inserting the advertisement was to send more laborers into the coal regions than were necessary, so that where two men were seeking for the same situation, they would, in com- peting for employment, more readily consent to WOKK FOR REDUCED WAGES. Under the impression that the taking of " con- tracts " in the coal regions would afford an easy means of earning a livelihood, thousands of men flocked into the Schuylkill and Luzerne coal fields to find that the contract referred to only afforded the privilege of operating a chamber in a coal mine with an assistant, whose duty it was to load the coal, for so much a ton, after the contractor cut or blasted it from its bed. The immigration from Poland began to make it- self felt in 1872, and, though the Poles were poor and ignorant of our laws, they were anxious to> learn, and soon began to improve their condition. The tide began to set in from Hungary in 1877. The railroad strikes of that year created a desire on the part of railroad operators to secure the serv- ices of cheap, docile men, who would tamely sub- INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^29 mit to restrictions and impositions. Hungary was flooded with advertisements which set forth the great advantages to be gained by emigrating to America. The Italian immigration has been going on for several years, but no authentic record of the actual hiring of men abroad for service in the United States is obtainable beyond the year 1880. When the first session of the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor was held in Reading, in 1878, it was deemed advisable to omit the thirteenth section of the preamble, the one which called for the prohibition of the IMPORTATION OF THE SERVILE RACES. The subject was discussed for some time, and it was because the order recognized neither race, creed, or color that it was thought best not to in- sert anything in the preamble which could be construed as opposing any portion of humanity. While it was a beautiful sentiment which actuated the men who gathered at the first General Assem- bly, and while it appealed to the best instincts of the membership at large, it was found to be in di- rect opposition to the best interests of the members of the order. The basic principle on which the order was founded was protection, not protection from the manufacturer or employer alone, but from our own avarice, our weaknesses, and from cheap workmen also. Theoretically, it sounded very well to extend a welcome to all to a share in the protec- tion to be derived from organization, but it was 430 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. discovered that to carry out the practice would load this country down with men to whom the Amer- ican laborer could extend no aid, and who were too ignorant to help themselves. With the growth of organization among work- ingmen began an investigation into the methods resorted to by employers in order to secure cheap workmen. This investigation developed the fact that land grant companies, steamship companies, and manufacturers had agents in all parts of Europe engaged in the business of ADVERTISING FOR WORKMEN to go to America. In giving his testimony before the New York Senate committee, on December. 14, 1882, Jay Gould gave a partial insight into the methods by which emigl-ation to the United States was stimulated. A portion of the testimony will explain how the agents of American corporations add to the population of the country : Question — You stated that speculation promoted immigratipn. How does it do this? Answer by Mr. Gould — It induces the construction of railroads into new territory, and that induces the roads to send abroad to get immigrants to settle upon the lands. Q, — To what extent have you influenced immigration? Mr. Gould — That's impossible to tell. We are advertising in all lands abroad. The immigrant comes and may go on our lands or elsewhere. When I was in Europe you couldn't go anywhere but you saw agents of American land grant companies. Q. — Do all the roads have these agents? Mb. Gould — All the land grant roads. The Union Pacific, Cen- tral Pacific, Atchison and Topeka, Kansas Pacific, Chicago and Bur- lington, Missouri and Nebraska, Rock Island, Missouri, Kansas and Texas, Texas Pacific, and St. Louis and Iron Mountain. INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^31 The greater the number of emigrants sent out from European countries to America, the greater the profits of the agents who infested nearly every large city in Europe. Voluntary emigration never proved detrimental to the interests of the Amer- ican people, for under the old-time conditions men and women rarely left their homes abroad until they had a reasonable prospect of earning a liveli- hood in the new world. But under the stimulus of " so much per capita," the agent took especial pains to earn his wages by sending as many as he could to the land of the free. Thousands upon landing in American ports found THEMSELVES PENNILESS, and were forced to go "elsewhere" than to the points to which the agent directed them. The agent of the land grant railroad company was supposed to drum up customers for his com- pany, and to send only those who could afford to at least make a pretense of purchasing farms ad- joining the road in whose interest he was at work. The agent in many cases was also in the pay of a steamship company, and never allowed his con- science to prevent him from holding out induce- ments of the most alluring character to every man, woman, or child who could rake, scrape, or borrow the passage money. The presence of these agents in Europe was known to more than the land grant and steamship companies. Employers of labor in large establishments frequently held stock in many ^32 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. of the railway companies, or were intimately ac- quainted with those who did own stock, or were di- rectors in the railway or steamship companies. Whenever the surface of labor affairs became ruf- fled in consequence of a strike, or through any other cause, the services of the foreign agent were invoked in the interest of the employer that he might pro- cure cheap, docile labor, and the news of a strike, especially in the coal regions, was the signal for an influx of foreign workmen, who were hired to come to the United States under the impression that they were to receive good pay and steady employment, without a SACRIFICE OF HONOR in the acquirement of either. It finally became an established fact that the retention of agents abroad was a part of the practice of large corporations, and workingmen began to question whether it was wise to support a policy which made it possible for the employer to flood the market, free of duty, with strong, ablebodied laborers from the old coun- try, while the article which came in competition with that which was turned out of the factory of the American employer, would not be permitted to pass a port of entry except on payment of a tariff which was said to have been levied for the " protec- tion of American labor." With thousands of Chinese landing on the West- ern coast, and hundreds of thousands of laborers being imported into the Eastern cities and towns. INTROD VCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^3$ the struggle for existence began to grow fiercer for the American workingman. It caused him to think and to ask himself some questions, such as, Why does the United States Congress impose a tariff upon the manufactured article under pretense of protecting the workman, when in reality he re- ceives no better treatment under a high tariff than under no tariff, so far as his usage by his em- ployer is concerned; why is it that that which I make in the shop can receive recognition at the hands of my government, while I am not taken into consideration at all ; why is it that the article which the foreign workman fashions can not land on our coast except on payment of a duty, while the foreigner himself can land and enter into competi- tion with me free of tariff; why is it that my em- ployer so assiduously demands that a PHOTECTIVE TARIFF be imposed on these articles under pretense of pro- tecting the American workmen from foreign compe- tition ; why is it that he presents to me the petition to sign against the reduction of the tariff, telling me, as he does it, that it is to my interest to sign it, so that foreign cheap labor will not kill our industries, and at the same time be engaged in making terms with the foreign agent for the shipment of alien workmen to enter into competition with me and my fellow-laborers; if foreign "pauper labor" is what we are opposing when we establish a tariff, why is it that we only keep out the product of the " pauper," 28 J^34 INTRODUCTION OP FOREIGN LABOR. while allowing the "pauper" himself to land free of duty ? These were the questions that troubled the mindg of the mechanics and laborers of America, and they have not ceased to do so at this writing, for it is an undisputed fact that many of those who cry the loudest for protection to American labor are in re- ality actuated by the most selfish of interests, and care nothing whatever for the welfare of the Amer- ican workman as long as the article in which they are interested, as to its manufacture, is protected. "PROTECTION TO AMERICAN LABOR" is the watchword on which the American manu- factxirer enters the halls of Congress to ask for an increase of tariff on the articles manufactured in his workshops, and by his employes, but "every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost," is the motto which would be emblazoned on his shield if he wrote the truth upon it. This is the truth. Every man on American soil is at once a high tariff man and a free trader. Scratch a high tariff man and blood is drawn from a free trader, and vice versa. The manufacturer of steel rails will demand that the highest duty be imposed on the importation of steel rails, but when he is about to invest, either in articles for home consumption or for use in his mills, he will make an effort to get the cheapest article even if he has to import it. He, therefore, requires that a tariff be placed On steel rails only, letting all else in free INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^$5 of duty. The grower of wool clamors for a tariff on wool, but is heard protesting against a tariff on steel rails, so that it will not cost so much to construct the railway which will convey his wool to market. The glass manufacturer wants to have glass placed on the list of protected articles, but would clip off wool, steel rails, and everything else. The most RAMPANT FREE TRADER, while denouncing the tariff, will become a protec- tionist, in order to keep up the price of some par- ticular article in the manufacture of which he is interested. But high tariff man and free trader will both object to the payment of living wages to the American workman, and both will call in the services of the foreign agent when they require cheap help. The following, which appeared in the Journal of United Labor, in May, 1882, describes the situation as it existed at that time : " Immigration to America is becoming so large that an inquiry into the causes which prompt men, women, and children to flee from their homes, friends, kindred, and early associations, and seek a home in this country, is worthy of at least a hasty examination. In the year 1881 there came to this country 720,000 souls, a vast proportion remaining in the East, there being only 120,000 who sought homes in the West and North-west. The causes which have led to this unusually large immigration ^36 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. can best be ascertained by a careful reading of speeches of State officers and documents presented to trade councils and other deliberative bodies of the Old Word. "In a paper recently presented to the Chamber of Commerce, at Minden, Westphalia, the following alarming sentence occurs : ' The emigration from this district is lamentably large, and it may be per- mitted us as patriots to put the question : Has the German Empire been fovmded for the purpose of driv- ing forth its citizens into exile.' It has been admit- ted by close observers in Germany that the farmer is taxed from ten to twelve per cent, of his income. As though this was not enough for the honest toiler to bear alone, they have that unbearable military system to support which, taken in connection with failure of crops, general depression of trade, and ecclesiastical strifes, has proved sufficient to send to America in the year 1881 no less than 210,485 Germans. One day early in the year three steam- ers sailed from Bremen with nearly 6,000 of these exiles. "In the report of the American Consul for April, 1881, he says : "'The streets are crowded with these people to such an extent that they can not find lodging at night ; that the police authorities have frequently to care for them, not because they have no money, but that all lodging houses are full. They can not afford to wait here, and they crowd into the Lloyd Company's offices, and kneel before and kiss the INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^37 hands of the managers, praying with streaming eyes to be taken on board.' " Again, we are told that Germany, admitting a very lively emigration last year, has no hesitancy in pronouncing an exodus for this year. Men who by hard work have acquired a little property are throwing it upon the market at a "great sacrifice, in order to raise funds with which to reach the in- viting plains beyond the Mississippi. Her weav- ers and spinners who have produced, at starving wages, the woolens which have clothed American citizens, are becoming American citizens them- selves, and hope to spin and weave, at living wages, woolens for those left behind. "Again, another cause for the general distress prevailing in Germany is the American-raised wheat, which, owing to the low freight rates, both by water and rail, is causing the German agriculturist to either come down in his price or go out of the business, as the competition is too strong for them to hope to cope with us. In 1880 the poor found it cheaper to buy American wheat than to use Ger- man rye, although up to 1879 wheat was twenty-five per cent, higher. By this new competition the Ger- man food producers are kept down to barely living prices, and a farmer on less than twenty-five or thirty acres of ground must have some other re- sources in order to exist ; hence factory work is the main support of the present farmer. 4^8 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. " But look at the result of this change of farming to factory work. In the corset manufactories wo- men and children work ten hours per day for "six dollars and fifty cents per month, and expert weavers, working eleven and twelve hours, are paid seventeen to eighteen dollars per month. In Bavaria and the Thuringian States the opposite is true, as many factory men have taken to farm work, although they receive but from twen- ty-five to thirty cents per day. "The German government is now casting itself about to remedy this matter of wheat importation, as they openly admit that German agriculture is threatened with danger from America. But Amer- ica, furnished with technical science, capital, and richness of soil, has entered the arena, a rival of superior force ; and unless the German States place a protective tariff on American bread stuffs, or dis- criminate by railway freight against us, it is only a question of a very short time until the agricultural classes of Germany must abandon their fatherland and come to America in order to live at all. Like- wise the cattle-drovers of the plains of the great West will, through our improved means of trans- portation, render even stock-raising in Germany unprofitable. "In Austro- Hungary the bad harvests have worked a general feeling of alarm, and in many in- stances destitution of the deepest kind exists, al- IlfTBODXJCTI&N OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^$9 though the level prairie lands pf Hungary for a while can " BID DEFIANCE TO AMERICAN COMPETITION. " In the year 1880 the harvests were almost a total failure, and so generally destitute were the masses that the government was obliged to set her citizens to work on the public works, when men, women, and children gladly toiled for the mere pittance- of thirteen, nine, and five cents per day. Laborers were, in some instances, so weakened by destitution as to be unable to lift a stone weighting ten pounds. In 1881, owing to the large immigration to this country, the Austro-Hungarian deficit amounted to $24,000,000 ; and when the proposition was made for placing additional taxes upon the people, the farmers and peasants began to petition the Ena- peror to spare them, and in some instances the pre- senters of the petitions have gone down on their knees and implored the Emperor to help them in their great distress. *' But how can a reduction of taxes occur so long as the national safety requires the presence of large standing armies? And yet each nation realizes that to disband their army is entirely out of the question, unless they court utter destruction from their nearest neighbors. ^^ Great Britain and Ireland. — The condition of the toiling millions is too well known to invite any notice at our hands at this time. ^^ Italy. — While the average American is disposed 44-0 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. to loathing and contempt of this class of people, who have not troubled us to any great extent in the past, it might be well to inquire what is the cause of so many coming just at this time ? Again we find "THAT AMERICAN COMPETITION IN CORN is fast driving the small farmer to desperation. The quality of the American corn was equal to a measure and a half over that of the native produc- tion. This, .in connection with the low price, has struck terror to the heart of the Italian corn-grower, and bids fair, in a very few years, to completely control this staple. " Again, the disease of the silk worms has been disastrous to the poor. During the six years from 1870-75 the production of silk averaged 3,200,000 kilograms a year, which declined in the following four years, 1876-79, to 1,640,000 kilograms. This enormous failure in this one branch of industry was to the Italian laborer what the suspension of the coal or iron products would be to England or Amer- ica. This, in connection with the ruinous taxes imposed by the government, has been the leading cause in driving the sons of Italy from her shores. "An official statement declares 'that while an average family of Italian laborers earn $130 per year, the tax exacted of them is |15.44.' Carefully prepared statistics, submitted by Senator Pepoli to the Italian Senate in 1879, show that 19| per cent, of the income of the government is derived from such prime necessities as breadstuff's, meat, and INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. J^J^l salt, and nearly one-quarter of the revenue was so levied as to be unduly oppressive to the poor. Yet King Humbert, on New Year's day, 1882, strongly advocated the necessity of completing the military organization. " From the foregoing it will be seen that we may expect as great an influx this coming year as we have just witnessed in the past twelve months. The same causes exist now as ever, and so long as they do exist immigration to America will continue. The main causes of social discontent that still in- flict the poor of Europe may be summed up as fol- lows: Deficient crops, old, uneconomical methods, grinding povei-ty, over taxation, military burdens, and, above all, American competition. "this new perplexity in the troubles of Europe can not be offset by any advantageous change. As a power, it is young, vigorous, and constantly growing; and there re- mains for Europe but this final, and perhaps fatal, course : reduce taxation. If this is done her vast armies must be dispersed. Will any nation of Europe consent to do this, in view of the fact that to-day it costs two billions of dollars every day to maintain an armed peace; and even if this be done, in the face of such formidable competition as that now threatening them from America, can they find a new market for their produce ? " The common inference, then, is that since tax- ation can not be reduced, or wages for labor in- 44$ INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. .creased, and American bread stuffs and cattle sell- ing in their own markets for less than they can produce them, that the poor must seek a home else- where. And who, when the case is fairly stated, can blame them?" In 1883 manufacturers pf window glass entered into an agreement to IMPORT FOREIGN WORKMEN to take the places of American glass-blowers. Lo- cal Assembly No. 300 of the I^^nights of Labor had reached a stage in organization which approached nearer to perfection than any other asspciation of workingmen in America. They were enabled by means of a thorough and compact organization to meet with the employer on "equitable grounds," and so effectually resisted all attempts to reduce wages when the market did not call for a reduc- tion, that tlip manufacturers became desirous of overthrowing the power of Local Assembly No. 300, so that they might secure the assistance of cheaper workmen from ?ibroad, and through the presence in this country of more glass-blowers than could find employment, they hoped to render the reduction of wages a task which would be easy pf accomplishment. One glass manufacturer in Kent, Ohio, and an- other in Baltimore, Md., contracted abroad for the services for several Avorkmen. They were brought over QjUd set to work. In order that the members INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^^3 of the Knights of Labor would have no opportunity to acquaint the foreign workmen of the true condi- tion of aflfairs, the new comers were assigned to hoarding houses into which a member of Local Assembly No'. 300 would not be permitted to enter. The courts in both places were appealed to by manufacturers, and injunctions were served upon the members of the Knights of Labor restraining them from approaching, talking to, or in any way interfering with the alien workmen. Through its executive council Local Assembly No. 300 engaged the services of a lawyer for the purpose of ascer- taining what was best to do under the law. The advice of the attorney was to have a bill passed by Congress forbidding the IMPOETATION UNDER CONTRACT of foreign workmen. The advice was acted on. The attorney was instructed to draft a bill such as ^ould be likely to pass. The bill was prepared in August, 1883, and James Campbell, Master Work- man of Local Assembly No. 300, presented it to the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor, which met in Cincinnati, Ohio, in September fol- lowing. It received the unanimous and hearty en- 4orsement of that body, the officers of which were instructed by resolution to go to Washington, dur- ing the session of Congress, to urge the passage of the bill in the name of the organization at large. Petitions were circulated throughout the United States asking of Congress to pass the bill into statr 444 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ute law. The returns, made of these petitions, proved that the entire membership of the order was in sympathy with the measure. The cdngress which assembled in December, 1883, for the first time in the history of that body, appointed a committee on labor made up of the fol- lowing named representatives : James H. Hopkins, of Pennsylvania, chairman; John J. O'Neill, of Missouri; Martin A. Foran, of Ohio; Henry B. Levering, of Massachusetts; Edmund W. M. Mackey, of South Carolina ; Darwin R. James, of New York, and Martin A. Haynes, of New Hamp- shire. On January 14, 1884, Hon. Thomas Ferrell, of New Jersey, introduced a bill in the House of Rep- resentatives having for its object THE PROTECTION OF American workmen from competition with foreign contract labor. This bill was referred to the com- mittee on labor, but was not reported upon. The bill which was approved by the committee and re- ported to the house was introduced by Mr. Foran, but the clause which would have made it most ef- fective was stricken out before its final passage. In fixing the penalty for violation of the law, Mr. Foran's bill provided that of the fine of one thousand dollars to be pai|d by the offending party : " The one-half, or moiety, of said sum to be paid to the person bringing suit to recover the same, and the INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^^5 remaining half, or moiety, into the treasury of the United States." This was the section which re- ceived the UNANIMOUS ENDORSEMENT of the labor organizations of the country. Those against whom contract foreign labor militates are too poor to entgr suit against oflFenders. Many who are misled and induced to leave their homes to take situations in the United States would enter suit if poverty did not stand in the way, and with that vital part taken from the bill it became, to a great extent, a dead letter so far as the laboring people were concerned. On February 1, 1884, the general officers of the Knights of Labor, the officers of the glass-workers associations of the country, and of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers appeared before the Committee on Labor at Washington and presented arguments in favor of the Foran bill. Congress adjourned soon after, and while the bill was in the Senate, it having passed the House be- fore its adjournment. At the General Assembly of the Knights of La- bor held in Philadelphia in September, 1884, the foreign contract labor bill received a great deal of attention, and the question of amending the pre- amble to cover the case was debated for several hours. Before adjourning the following section was unanimously adopted and added to the pre- amble : 446 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. That the importation of foreign labor under contract be pro- hibited. That section still remains a part of the preamble of the order, and is regarded as one of the princi- ples of organized labor throughout the United States. It does not say that a certain duty shall be paid by the importer when he brings the for- eign workman to the United States under contract. It is emphatic and declares for the PROHIBITION OF THE IMPORTATION of such a class of immigrants in order that the fullest protection may be guaranteed. When Con- gress re-assembled in December, 1884, it was ex- pected that action would be taken on the bill in question, but nothing was done, and workingmen began to grow impatient. There is no doubt but that there were men in the Senate who felt that enough had been done when workingmen were rec- ognized by the introduction of a bill in which they were concerned. They thought that, as on previ- ous occasions, the workingmen would forget the matter, let it drop and think no more of it. This view of the case was not sustained by the action of the workingmen. On January 14th the following letter was mailed to the President of the United States Senate : ScRANTON, Pa., January 14, 1885. Hon. Gkokge Edmunds, President United States Senate: My Dear Sir — The National House of Representatives passed a bill " to prohibit the importation of foreign contract labor into the United States," and it went over to the United States Senate for conference. I do not now recall the date but believe it was some INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. jj.J^7 time iu June, 1884. Since that time nothing has been heard from it.'^You will, I trust, pardon the liberty I take in calUng the atten- tion of the Senate to this matter, but it is of importance to the la- boring men, the business men, and mechanics of the United States, to know what the Senate intends doing with this bill. Promises were made, pledges were given, party platforms spoke in unmistakable terms on this question during the recent political campaign, and now nothing remains but to fulfill these promises, redeem these pledges and confirm the statements made in the platforms of 1884. While the Senate was engaged in transacting important business, I did not wish to intrude, but now that the important work of the ses- sion has been completed, it is certainly time to call your attention to this matter, so that action may be taken ere Congress adjourns. I see in the ''reported" proceedings that days of valuable time are being devoted to the discussion of questions that are of no con- sequence whatever to the general interests of the nation. " The de- , fense of ex-Confederates," or the condemnation of ex-Confederates, are matters which would serve the best interests of the entire coun- try to bury in oblivion. No good can come of reviving dead issues. While the honorable gentlemen are fighting over again in wordy combat the battles which the powder and steel of the soldier have long since decided ; while the slavery of the past is being discussed in the Senate a new and more powerful slavery is being established, a slavery which will not only grind four or five million black men, but fifty millions white and black. One of the links in the chain by which the millions are to be bound is the one which permits the importation, under contract, of men and women who come only to degrade American labor. That link can be severed by decisive action on the part of the United States Senate. Do not think that I call your attention to this matter upon my own responsibility I but obey the request of the 700,000 workingmen who respectfully ask for the speedy passage of this bill. Very truly yours, T. V. POWDEELY. The bill was brought out of committee, was re- ported to the Senate, and passed that body about the middle of February, 1885, and on the 26th of that month it was approved by, and received the signature of. President Arthur. Several attempts were made in 1885 and 1886 to violate that law, but the demon of discord had 448 MTEOnUGTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. not been made sufficiently • well acquainted with labor organizations to turn their attention away from their own interests, and they were, as a con- sequence, on the alert. On each occasion the at- tempted infraction of law was reported, and steps were taken to have the matter properly adjusted. Those who reported the cases were too poor to en- ter suit against the violators of the law, and many immigrants were SMUGGLED THROUGH CASTLE GARDEN without detection, and their presence discovered only when it was too late to send them back again. Public officials took no steps to enforce the law, to scrutinize the character of the immigrants who landed, or to make investigations when asked to do so. /^ The Legislative Committee of the Knights of Labor brought the matter before several Congress- men immediately after the appointment of the committee. The result was the introduction of a bill to amend the foreign contract labor law. When this bill was presented to Congress every effort of the committee, of which Ralph Beaumont was the efficient chairman, was directed toward securing the votes of a majority in favor of it. The amend- ment received the approval of the House and Sen- ate, and on February 23, 1887, was signed by President Cleveland. Under that amendment the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to adopt and enforce reg- INTBODVCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^^Q Illations which would prevent the landing of im- proper persons. On March 24, 1887, Secretary Fairchild issued a circular to the " Collectors of Customs, Commissioners of Immigration, and oth- ers," to see that all immigrants were examined on arrival in order to ascertain who were entitled to land, and to make out a tabulated statement of the alien immigrants forbidden to land. He also re- quired that EXTRA CAUTION should be observed in preventing the landing of those who came under the provisions of the law, and that all such persons should be returned to the countries from whence they came. Congress made no provision for the payment of a part of the fine to the person who gave the infor- mation. As a consequence, there were but few who felt called upon to give information, and those who were most interested could not get the information to give. In the Deficiency Bill which passed Con- gress and was approved October 19, 1888, the act of February 26, 1885, was amended as follows : That the act approved February twenty-six, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, entitled " An act to prohibit the importation and migra- tion of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor in the United States, its territories, and the District of Colum-. bia," be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to an informer who furnishes orig- inal information that the law has been violated, such a share of the penalties recovered as he may deem reasonable and just, not exceed- ing fifty per centum, where it appears that the recovery was had in consequence of the information thus furnished. 29 450 INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. On November 20, 1888, the Secretary of the Treasury issued another circular to the " Collectors of Customs, Commissioners of Immigration and others " to enforce that law, and it is hoped that un- der its provisions the chances of escaping penalty will be materially lessened. During the year 1888, a political campaign being in progress. Congress ap- pointed a committee to examine into and report on the violations of that law, and to inquire into the manner in which immigration was being carried on. Many startling facts were disclosed, and re- ported to Congress. A volume of several hundred pages contains the report of the committee, and in its pages will be found MANY EXPOSURES of the actions by which employers of labor attempt to win large rewards for themselves at the expense of the workmen of the United States, and the good name of the nation. The question of immigration has been before the people for some time. The laws relating to im- ported labor are strict, and if the workingmen do not yield to the clamor of their enemies, and aban- don their organizations, they will one day make it impossible for an employer to bring aliens to this land to take the places of those who are unwilling to work for the mere pittance doled out to the la- borer of Europe. As the first half of the year 1889 draws to a close the monopolist of America is watching with INTBODVCTION OF FOREIGN LABOR. ^51 an anxious eye to note the tendency of working- men in the direction of organization. If they heed the advice of their enemies they will retire from their associations in disgust. Every device known to cunning and wealth is being used to drive work- ingmen away from the Knights, of Labor, for no other organization has ever grappled with such weighty problems. As a consequence no other or- ganization is so deserving of the opposition that the greed of the wealth-owners of America has aroused, and which will, if not checked, throttle the independence of the workman, and make him a more willing subject for discipline than he is at present. "Man upraised above bis fellows, Oft forgets his fellows then ; Masters, rulers, lords, remember That your meanest kinds are men ! Men of labor, men of feeling, Men of thought and men of fame, Claiming equal rights to sunshine In a man^s ennobling name.'* The establishment of co-operative institutions recommended — Most of the reforms called for must come through political action — The government looked to on all occasions — Reforms to be last- ing must be of slow growth — A. T. Stewart led the warfare on the small dealers — The transportation of a ton of coal costs as much as the coal is worth— A $50 lot increases in value until the owner asks $25,000 for it — All the corner lots taken — If the price of labor increased with that of corner lots, labor would be worth $125 a day— A matter for congratulation that the mo- nopolists are so few — The effort to establish a productive and distributive co-operative establishment at Cannelburg, Ind.— Until the avenues of distribution are controlled by the people, co-operation will not be successful— First laws on co-operation — Recommendations to the General Assembly— Report of the Board — Co-operative institutions carefully planned are success- ful, but those entered upon at the end of strikes are failures — Industrialists must co-operate in the affairs of government be- fore they can do so with satisfaction in any other way. HE fourth plank in the preamble of the Industrial Brotherhood called for " the es- tablishment of co-operative institutions, productive and distributive." When the preamble was adopted by the Knights of Labor in 1878, that («2) I CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. ^63 declaration was allowed to stand in the same lan- guage as section four of the preface to the constitu- tion of the old order. No changes were made until the General Assembly met in Philadelphia in 1884, when the section referred was given- a new number, and instead of demanding the " establishment of co-operative institutions," it was agreed that all Knights of Labor " endeavor to associate our own labors ; to establish co-operative institutions, such as will tend to supersede the wage system by the introduction of a co-operative industrial system." , While most of the reforms called for in the pre^ amble of the Knights of Labor require that political action be taken in one way or another, it was felt that everything should not be left to the STATE OR THE NATION ; that the worker should bestir himself in another way, while seeking for a reform in legislation, was required at the hands of every member of the Knights of Labor. The social changes that passed over the face of the industrial world so rapidly since the breaking out of the civil war were so numerous, so unex- pected and unparalleled in the experience of wage- workers, that they became perplexed and looked to old remedies in vain. Doctors sprung up on every hand who offered to cure the ills of the nation if their prescriptions were adopted. A panacea for every ill was proposed, and insane projects of every description were advocated by specialists who 454 CO-OPERATIOX UNDER DIFFICULTIES. dreamt that they had discovered the secret of per- petual prosperty for the people. All, or nearly all of them turned toward the government for the re- lief which they hoped to secure through the plans which they brought out of their hiding places, with the aid of the government, and a little of their own ingenuity, it was hoped to overcome all the evil tendencies of the times ; " at all events let the gov- ernment do something to help us in this hour of distress." It was expected by many that the rem- edies so eagerly expected could be brought about in a very short time. They forgot that reforms to be LASTING AND BENEFICIAL must be of slow growth, and inaugurated after plans are fully matured and well understood, and that while they could be planned and led up to by a careful system of training, they could not be forced or hurried. For the last thirty years the tendency has been to crystalize trade by consolidation of interests and wealth ; combinations of many systems and plants under one head sprung up on every hand, and small traders went down by the hundred to make room for the millionaire manufacturer, dry goods or provision house. The late A. T. Stewart led the few who engaged in the warfare on the small dealers, and in a short time others followed his example in other fields of industry and trade. Poverty was forced across the door-sill of many a merchant who was not lacking in push or enterprise to carry on CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. ^55 his business. People applauded the man who could build a palace of trade which would compel small dealers to sell more cheaply. They were called enterprising and thrifty who ruined thousands in their greed for large profits and sudden wealth. This craze for wealth has entered every avenue of trade. It has devotees in railroad circles, in banking houses, in manufacturing establishments and in every known calling, industry, or occupa- tion. Railroad competition, once healthy, has gone, and in its place we find the railroad pool. Farm- ers by the thousand have handed over their farms for little or nothing to the syndicate; operators who mine coal have pooled their issues against the INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE, until we pay as much to transport a barrel of flour or a ton of coal to market as the article itself is worth when it is landed at its destination. In the matter of coal three times the original cost is some- times added. To what does all of this tend ? Is there not a lesson for the wage-worker in all that he witnesses passing on around him to-day ? Does it not show that men of means have learned what he has been so slow to pick up, and that they are making every cent a dollar through co-operation ? I asked a man for a situation a few years ago, and was on the point of being engaged when I in- quired what price would be paid for my labor. The answer was not encouraging, and on making my Jj.56 CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. disappointment known to the old gentleman, he seemed very much surprised, and said : " When I was a young man I hired out to a farmer for twen- ty-five cents a day and board. I saved my money. Soon after that I came to this city and was able to buy a corner lot and several other pieces of valua- ble property. To-day I am rich as you see by my own industry and effort. I don't see why others can not do as I did." He was told that others could do exactly as he did if the conditions were the same. He stated that he paid fifty dollars for the corner lot when he bought it. I offered him fifty dollars for the same lot, but he would not part with it for less than $25,000. I asked him to point out a corner lot anywhere as near to a town as his was when he first invested, that I could procure for fifty dollars, but he did not do it. He told me, how- ever, that he had several hundred lots which he would sell at prices ranging from SIX TO TEN HUNDRED DOLLARS apiece on the outskirts of the city. He would be very reasonable, he said, in allowing me to make my payments, and would charge only the legal in- terest allowed by the State. Following out his own idea of making a living or getting on in the world, if working for twenty- five cents a day and board would enable a man to buy a corner lot for fifty dollars, and the march of improvement, genius, invention, and industry had so increased the value of the corner lot until it is CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. ^57 rated as being worth $25,000, why should not that which had more to do with enhancing the value of his lot than anything else, — labor, — be entitled to compensation in the same ratio ? Had the price of labor kept pace with the price of corner lots, he would have had to pay for my services at the rate of $125 a day instead of the twenty -five cents a day, to which he referred. But the land is all absorbed, and no matter how high the price of labor may be, the workman can not secure the corner lot as his predecessor did. True the corner lot is still there, but the man who was fortunate enough to be born first got his chance to grab it before his less fortunate neighbor was ushered into the world. The corner lots are all taken, but NEW LABOR IS COMING to the world every day. A co-operation of econ- omy, money, and chance has given to a few men corners in everything, as well as lots, on the soil of America to-day. What is to be done ? who is to do it? when is it to be done? are the questions asked on every hand. It will not do to ask of the man of wealth to let go his hold on the corner lot just yet. If he did do so it would be gobbled up at once by some other man who served out a "twenty-five cent" apprentice- ship when a boy. People will persist in being born into a world that no longer holds out the in- ducements which were offered to the man who took 458 CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. possession of the corner lot, but there are no more corner, or any other kind of lots being made. All of the lots are here and spoken for, with few excep- tions. Must the people stop coming ? Must they forego being born, or will it answer every purpose to let the greed for gain continue at the same rate that it is progressing to-day ? What is to be done? Money will not stop accumulating, talking from stump and rostrum will not check the aggressions of capital, no matter how eloquently or forcibly a man may plead for the recognition of the just claims of labor. Those who HOLD LABOB BY THE THROAT will not let go for a single instant unless it be to catch a fresh hold. No, argument will persuade the suckling to let go until the fount runs dry. Must we wait until that time comes? Will we look for relief to him who gets all the meat from labor's bone? How long will it take to educate the people to a true sense of duty? Will it take as long as it did to free the black slaves, and must history be repeated in the doing of it? The anti- slavery agitation might have gone on yet, and no one would have stirred hand or foot to remove the fetters. John Brown might have died, returned to life, and died again, and yet no chain would break, but when Sumter's gun was fired, then the nation spoke ; action was taken, and we know the result. The action necessary to free the twenty-five mill- ion wage-slaves which this nation holds within her CO-OPEHATION VNDEB. DIFFICULTIES. J^69 boundaries, will be taken when the competitive system of labor shall give way to the true co-opera- tive system. The results of the past thirty years have demonstrated that the present competitive system is rotten to the core, that it is crumbling of its own weight ; it is unhealthy, it is baneful, and through its operations a few men have rushed on to a point which other men could not reach. A few have grasped all, and in their greed they have struck down trade after trade, industry after indus- try, factory after factory. Workmen alone com- plained thirty years ago, yes ten years ago ; to-day merchants who have been crowded out, manufact- urers who have been ruined, and farmers who have been ground beneath the juggernaut of competi- tion are arraying themselves along side of the STARVING ONES who have never stepped out of the ranks of labor. What will they do ? Ask the men of wealth, " what will ye do," and the answer comes : "We will get, get, get until there is no more to get; no matter who starves, we will get; it is our mission, and we will fulfill it." Such is the answer, if we judge by the actions of the past ten years. It is a matter for congratulation that those who have accumulated all that is worth accumulating are so few, and the dissatisfied ones so many, for in that fact rests the solution of the problem. The many must act, and they must act together in a Jj.60 CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. system of co-operation that will stop the grinding process. Under the competitive system labor has no share in what it develops.' It has to take what the mas- ter deals out to it ; but once it receives a share in what it creates, industry will become a part of him who produces, and the secret of content is found. It is intended by the Knights of Labor to super- sede the wage system by a system of industrial co- operation, productive and distributive. The order has embarked in a number of co-oper- ative enterprises. Some of them have been suc- cessful, and none of them have proven entirely fruitless. In the winter of 1883 the coal miners at Cannel- burg, Ind., were forced out of employment by the Buckeye Coal Co., of that place, and were DENIED THE RIGHT TO TOIL in the mines of that company. The miners set to work to lease an adjoining property, sunk a shaft and equipped it. The General Executive Board of the Knights of Labor were asked to assist the men, and the aid was granted. Machinery and tools were supplied. The General Board advanced the funds, took charge of the concern, and made it the property of the Order at large. The mines were to be run on the co-operative plan. When every- thing was ready to ship coal, the Ohio and Missis- sippi Railway Co, was asked to lay a switch to the mine. They promised do it, but failed in keeping CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 46 1 the promise for nearly a year, ox until they felt that they had exhausted the patience and funds of the rival to the Buckeye Coal Co, It was then dis- covered that the work of combination had extended so far as to pool the issues of the coal and railway companies. The stockholders or directors of the railway company were the owners of the Buckeye mine. Every stumbling block that could reason- ably be procured was placed in the way of the new enterprise, and it was at last suggested that the two companies consolidate, and send their coal to- gether to the same market. LONG AND PAINFUL were the days that passed over the heads of those who had spoken in favor of co-operation. Here was a chance to combine the two kinds of co-oper- ation, productive and distributive. Produce the coal and distribute it among the customers. Surely nothing could be easier ; but when it came to trans- porting the coal from the producer to the consumer, the railway company pursued a policy of obstruc- tion, until the last straw was about to be placed on the back of the labor camel. The mines had to be leased to a company which entered into an agreement with the old coal com- pany. Although the Knights of Labor still own the mine, yet it is prevented from demonstrating that the co-operative system is the best by reason of the power that monopoly has secured over the legislation and transportation of the country. This 462 CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. was a lesson for the Knights. It taught them that distributive co-operation will not, can not, be a suc- cess while the power rests with the railways to do as they please, regardless of the interests or welfare of the people. It taught them that a co-operative system of railways must be established in the United States, or soiiiething so nearly akin to it as to satisfy the want which is being made known to-day. We may boast of the individual enterprise of the American people as much as we please, but it has NO CHANCE when thrown into competition with the combina- tion and the pool. / The individual, or the number of individuals, who attempt to embark in an enter- prise anywhere within the boundaries of the United States will do so, not at the will of the government, but at the order or dictation of the combination or trust. Once it was deemed a healthy sign to have different lines of railway running through a town- Cheap freight rates and easy transportation could be expected then; but to-day that hope is dead, and combination of interests will stand between the town and prosperity if the railways will it so. Labor, co-operating with the enterprising man who bought the fifty dollar lot, increased the price of his land until he pompously asserts to-day that his own habits of thrift have won for him such large gains. His thrift was but an insignificant factor in the enterprise; it was co-operation that made COOPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. ^63 him rich, but all the co-operators did not share in the profits of the labor done. The system that is coming to the front to take the place of the present one will give to every man who toils that to which he is justly entitled, and no system of juggling will prevent it. Its coming is inevitable, and they are wise who take the pains to read the handwriting on the wall, and prepare the way for the dawn of the new era in industrial life. While many of the attempts to establish co-op- erative institutions have been abandoned, and while many of them have apparently failed, the truth is that none of them, even those which ended the most disastrously, have entirely failed. EXPERIENCE ALONE will teach men how to co-operate, and wherever a co-operative enterprise has failed its failure may be attributed to the same causes as combined to re- duce other concerns to the same condition. Lack of business qualifications, lack of confidence in each other, hostility of those engaged in a similar line of business, the boycotting of the wares of co-opera- tive institutions, and a lack of the necessary funds, have been among the causes of failure of co-opera- tive institutions. While these causes combined to bring about failure, they also served as educators, and taught workingmen that education on the question of co-operation must precede action. The basic principle of the order of Knights of Labor is co-operation, but the first recommenda- 464 CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. tion to the General Assembly on the subject was made when that body met in Pittsburg, Pa., in September, 1880. In the address of the General Master Workman of that year the following ap- pears : Organization once perfected, what must we do 7 I answer, study the best means of putting your organization to some practical use by embarking in a system of CO-OPBBATION, which will eventually make every man his own- master,^very man his own employer; a system which will give the laborer a fair pro- portion of the products of his toil. It is to co-operation, then, as the lever of labor's emancipation, that the eyes of the workingmen and women of the world are directed, upon co-operation their hopes are centered, and to it do I now direct your attention. I am deeply sensible of the importance, of the magnitude, of the undertaking in which I invite you to engage. I know that it is human nature to grow cold, apathetic, and finally indifferent, when engaged in that which requires deep study and persistent effort, unattended by ex- citement. Men are apt to believe that physical force is the better way of redressing grievances, being the shorter remedy; but even that requires patience and fortitude, as well as strength. I need but point out to you the war of the Revolution, which took nearly eight years of hard fighting and persistent effort upon the part of men who fought for a principle. Had these men fallen into the same error which Labor has so often fallen into, there would be no in- dependence ; had they gone to their homes after the battle of Bun- ker Hill, there would be no Bunker Hill monument erected, even though the result of that battle was encouraging. To the subject of co-operation, then, do I invite your attention, and I liken it unto the Revolutionary war. If you decide upon carrying it out at this convention, it will be the Bunker Hill of In- dustrial Independence ; but you must also bear in mind, though the longest term allotted to man be yours to live, you will not see dur- ing that term the complete triumph of your hopes. The war for American Independence had its Bunker Hills and its Washingtons, but it also had its Valley Forges and its Benedict Arnolds. The enthusiasm of the hour will avail us nothing, and co-operation re- quires every Washington of labor to be up and doing. The labor- CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 465 ing man needs education in this great social question, and the best minds of the order must give their precious thought to this system. There is no good reason why labor can not, through co-operation, own and operate mines, factories, and raiboads. By co-operation alone can a system of COLONIZATION be established in which men may band together for the purpose of securing the greatest good to the greatest number, and place the man who is willing to toil upon his own homestead. There was no official action taken at that conven- tion. At the session held the following year, in Detroit, Mich., A. M. Owens, who was there elected General Treasurer, offered a resolution which had for its object the establishment of a CO-OPERATIVE FUND. Henry A. Fecker, of Indiana, presented an essay on co-operation to that session of the General As- sembly. The number of resolutions and amend- ments presented at that meeting was so large that they could not be acted on, and the General Exec- utive Board was authorized to compile and pre- pare the constitution. In doing so the first law looking to the establishment of a co-operative de- partment was prepared and inserted by Gilbert Rockwood, who had the compiling of the constitu- tion in hand. The law is given in full as follows : ARTICLE VIII. CO-OPERATIVE FUND. Section 1. Every male member of the order shall, on and after July 1, 1882, pay to the Financial Secretary of his local, a sum equal to ten cents per month, as a co-operative fund of the order, which fund shall remain with the local, to be used solely as provided for under the provisions of Article XXV of this Constitution. 466 CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. Women shall in like manner pay a sum equal to five cents per month. Sbc. 2. Every member shall receive from the Financial Secretay a certificate of stock in the Co-operative Association of the Knights of Labor of North America, for every thirty cents so paid, which certificates shall always be exchangeable at par, with the Grand Secretary, in amounts of not less than three dollars, or any multiple of three, for the three dollar Working Capital Certificates of the order. Sec. 3. All certificates of stock, of whatever value, shall be the personal property of the member to whom the same is issued, their heirs, executors, and assigns, and every holder of any three dollar certificates of stock, shall be entitled to an equal share, for every such certificate, of all profits arising from the investment of the funds, as hereafter provided for. Skc. 4. All certificates of stock must be registered by the Finan- cial Secretary, and a strict account of the co-operative fund kept in a separate book. At the New York session of the G-eneral Assem- bly the FIRST CO-OPEEATIVE BOARD was elected, and the disposition of affairs relating to co-operation was entrusted to it. When the General Assembly met the following year in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Co-operative Board had little or nothing to report, and made no recom- mendations upon the subject. Changes were made in the laws, and a new board was elected to take charge of the department. At the Philadelphia session the General Co-op- erative Board, in concluding its report, said : As our order will in all probability soon enter upon the task of establishing co-operative institutions, it is very important that the lessons here taught be carefully studied. The conclusions reached by the Board are: CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. ^67 1. That in establishing our co-operative institutions we must not forget that men reared under the conditions of wage service can not jump at once to the much higher level of co-operation. The man who has acted for a lifetime under outside pressure, when that pressure is suddenly removed becomes listless, apathetic, incapable of exertion. He is much as the locomotive is when the fireman neglects to pile on the fuel — the locomotive does not make steam and can not do its work. Therefore, it seems that in our institu- tions we must preserve that feature of the wage system which calls upon the man to put forth his best exertions, and to put them forth harmoniously, or be stricken from the pay-roll. 2. That individual incentive must be provided. It seems that, although the desire for social honor may be a motive force with many, yet after all the material benefits are the most generally de- sired, and that, therefore, gradations of wages must be retained. 3. That the executive officers must be endowed with ample power to discipline refractory members — of course always subject to appeal. 4. That the executive ofiicers be amply endowed with authority to select the men best adapted to the work in hand. The first part of the report detailed the routine of the board in conducting its correspondence. It related nothing of a practical nature. When the General Assembly met in Hamilton, Ontario, in October, 1885, the General Master Workman in his address thus referred to CO-OPERATION. A great deal of the time of the last General Assembly was de- voted to the discussion of co-operation in its varied forms, and fully as much of the time of this meeting should be devoted to the same end. We can not discuss this question too much, nor can we too heartily encourage the growth of a sentiment favorable to co-opera- tion. But many of our members grow impatient and unreason- able because every avenue of the order does not lead to co-oper- ation. This is a wrong impression, and is calculated to do injury to the very movement they advocate. We can not make men ; we must take them as we find them; and after a member has been educated in the principles of co-operation, he is wrong in supposing 468 CO-OPEBATIOn UNDER DIFFICULTIES. that every other man is as well informed on the subject as he is. The great fault with a great many co-operators is that they advo- cate the establishment of co-operative institutions on too large a scale. It frequently happens that no thought of co-operation is enter- tained until men are on strike or locked out. Then they get to- gether, talk the matter up, and decide to embark in co-operation. This is the wrong time to take so important a step, for at such a time , no preparations have been made, no funds laid by, and one of the first things the members do is to borrow money on heavy interest ; either that, or they go to some outside party who has plenty of money, and get him interested so far as to take a mortgage on the entire plant of the concern. They hang a millstone around their necks in the beginning, and it eventually pulls them down until the interest on the mortgage swallows them up, confidence in co-opera- tion is destroyed, and the men who went into it in that way are among the worst enemies of it afterwards. I believe that one of the first things to be done is to get the members of the assembly to make terms with some particular dealer in the start, purchase their goods from him, note the profits they make, And at the same time lay by a small sum each month for the purpose ot buying a stock of goods in the future. They should make it a special study, and, when they select any person to do business for them, they should choose a person who has a knowledge of the business he is to transact. I have seen co-operative ventures fail because of a lack of business qualifications, and nothing can remove the idea that the persons having the matter in charge were dishonest. Workingmen are not business men by any means; and as long as we continue the question of getting a few cents more in the day for labor done, and neglect to look after the matter of investing the money we do get to the best advantage, and in a way that will bring back the best results and the largest returns, we will continue to be ignorant of the laws by which business is governed. The Co-operative Board at that session reported having conducted a large correspondence with the order on the subject, but could not speak very en- couragingly of the results attained. The hesitancy in investing money in such institutions no doubt caused the board to make use of these words in concluding its report : CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 469 As one of the first necessities in instituting co-operative industries is ready money, the Co-operative Board would suggest that the Gen- eral Assembly empower the Co-operative Board to issue redeemable scrip in such amounts as the board may deem necessary for success- fully carrying on the enterprise for which such scrip may be issiied. We recommend that local assemblies and district assemblies use every effort to establish co-operative stores when deemed practicable by the Co-operative Board, as the readiest means for accumulating capital; for the improvement of their social and domestic condition; to buy or build their own cottages or dwelling houses, or for any other purpose conducive to their welfare. The Co-operative Board made no report to the Richmond General Assembly, nor did the G. M, W. have anything to say on the subject. Since that time a number of hasty attempts have been made to establish co-operative institutions, but they were not thought of until the parties interested were locked out of employment or were on strike. Every dollar invested under such circumstances IS A DOLLAB LOST, as far as testing the value of co-operation is con- cerned, for those who are directly engaged look for exactly the same results from the co-operative con- cern that they formerly expected from the railway company, the factory, or the mine. If they do not realize the full extent of their expectations they are as ready to strike against the co-operative institu- tion as the other ; and while education on the ques- tion is so limited, the success of co-operation will not be made apparent. Education on this subject is required. The odds will be against co-operation as long as the avenues of distribution are in the j^70 CO-OPERATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. hands of monopoly, for it is to the interest of the upholders of the present system to discourage every attempt at co-operation, so that the workman will abandon the idea of becoming his own employer. A number of co-operative stores, bakeries, and manufactories are being successfully managed by Knights of Labor in the United States and Canada, but they were instituted after careful planning and much deliberation. All others have proved to be failures. Until industrialists learn to co-operate in the affairs of government, co-operation in any other channel, or business, will be attended with many risks, doubtSj and fears. Hours of Labor reduced to ten per day in 1825 — Congress asked to legislate — Act of December, 1861— "Work of William H. Sylvis in the interest of shorter hours — The remarks of Sylvis on the agitation of 1867— The law of 1868— United States officials op- pose the law — President Grant favors it — Death of Sylvis — Trev- ellick continues the work — Address of IT. S. Stephens to the General Assembly in 1879 — Addresses of Powderly and Litchman contain recommendations on the subject in 1880— The reduction of the hours of labor of employes of the order of Knights of Labor to eight per day — Resolution of D. A. No. 41, of Balti- more — The preamble changed at the Philadelphia General As- sembly in 1884— The secret circular of December 15, 1884 — Let- ter in the North American Review — Washington's birthday named as a day to begin an agitation — Remarks of the G. M. W. at the Hamilton session of the General Assembly — Public atten- tion fastened on the order — ^The article in the New York Sun — Five men control the chief interests of five hundred thousand workingmen— The Sun article sensational — An undesirable ele- ment works its way into the order as a result of the publication — The secret circular of March, 13, 1886 — Federation of Trades name May 1, 1886, as the day to inaugurate the eight hour sys- tem — The resolutions of the Federation — No plan outlined by the Federation to put the short work-day in operation — The strikes of May 1, 1886 — A lack of educatfon on the subject — The special session of the General Assembly at Cleveland, O. — Remarks of Mr. Norton — ^The Richmond session and action taken there — Address of the G. M. W. — Letter in Journal of United Labor — Record of the work of the Federation of Labor in De- 472 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. cember, 1888— Machinery rules the man— tTntil the masses con- trol machinery, land, and currency the machine will control the man and dictate his hours of labor. ALTHOUGH the demand for a reduction of the hours of labor to eight per day was made by the National Labor Union in 1866, and still later by the Industrial Brotherhood, the agitation did not assume very great proportions until the Knights of Labor took up the question by the adoption of the preamble of the last named so- ciety in 1878. Before entering upon the task of placing before the public the history of the move- ment since 1878, a brief survey of the field of ope- rations previous to that date will prove instructive. In 1825 the question of reducing the hours of la- bor to ten per day was begun, and it was continued by the organizations of that day until it was recog- nized by the United States government. In 1837 Martin' Van Buren entered upon the discharge of his duties as President of the United States, and one of the most important acts of his administra- tion was to issue an order making TEN HOURS A DAY's WORK in all government workshops, although the em- ployes of other establishments doing similar work, obliged men to work eleven and twelve hours a day as before. The employes of the government worked but ten, and suffered no reduction in wages. Those who take pains to study the question of -< Ed « W K THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ^7J machinery and its effect on labor will at once ad- mit that it is absolutely necessary to reduce the hours of labor. The contrast between the hand labor of thirty years ago, and the machine labor of to-day furnishes a sufficient argument for those who take the side of shorter hours for the mechanic. I will not attempt to detail the efforts of Con- gress to give to labor a recognition of its ability to perform a sufficient amount of labor in eight hours each day, but a few of the acts of legislation will be cited to show that the movement has received THE SANCTION OF THE GOVERNMENT, and indeed, that is all the early pioneers hoped for, and having attained that end they were content to keep up the agitation on the line of shorter hours among the members of labor organizations in the hope that those directly interested would ultimately see the necessity for exerting themselves, and for making sacrifices, if required, in order to establish the short hour system. By act of Congress, passed December 21, 1861, and amended July 16, 1862, the wages of govern- ment employes were to be regulated according to rates paid in other establishments. The act is as follows : That the hours of labor and the rate of wages of employes in the navy yard shall conform, as nearly aa is consistent with the public interests, with those of private establishments in the immediate vi- cinity of the respective yards, to be determined by the command- ants of navy yards, subject to the approval and revision of the Sec- retary of the Navy. j^7Ji. THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. When the agitation was begun by the National Labor Union in 1866, William H. Sylvis threw himself into the work with all of his splendid abil- ity, and through his efforts more than those of any other one man, we owe most of the results accom- plished during the years intervening between 1866 and 1872. In a circular sent out by Mr. Sylvis to the Iron Holders' Union, in the early part of 1868, he said : The agitation of the eight hour queetion was very great during the greater part of 1867, and several organizations hecame involved in strikes to enforce it. Some of our unions were unfortunately drawn into these troubles. The strikes to enforce the eight hour rule, whether in our own unions or others, were entered into against my earnest protest. While I am in favor of the eight hour system, I have always held it to be unwise and eminently foolish to attempt to enforce the system by strikes. What we want is agitation, ed- ucation, and legislation. Convince the people that it is right, and then demand the necessary legislation. If our representatives refuse to give it to us, turn them out and put somebody in who will. The universal adoption of the eight hour system is only a question of time. If we want it we can get it. The demands of the National Labor Union and the trades unions of the United States were made with such vigor in 1867, THAT CONGRESS TOOK UP THE QUESTION, and in 1868 passed the following law, which re- ceived the approval of President Johnson on June 25th of that year : That eight hours shall constitute a days work for all laborers, ■workingmen, and mechanics now employed, or who may hereafter be employed by, or on behalf of the government of the United States. And ail acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act, be and the same are hereby repealed. THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. J^.'TB The Secretary of the Navy, Adolph E. Borie, ren- dered a decision in interpreting that law by which the wages of the government employes were re- duced one-fifth, and when the matter was brought to the attention of the Attorney General, E, R. Hoar, ' he coincided with the views entertained by the Sec- retary of the Navy. Mr, Sylvis at once took up the question and wrote to Mr. Hoar, requesting that a different construction be placed upon the law. He cited the petitions which had been sent in to Con- gress asking for the passage of the act, also the speeches of Congressmen and Senators on the meas- ure, but all to no avail, and he finally turned to Pres- ident Grant for redress. The President began at once to examine into the matter, and after investi- gation wrote Mr. Sylvis that he would make an ORDER DIRECTLY THE REVERSE of the decision which had been rendered, and on May 19, 1869, he issued a proclamation directing that no reduction of wages should follow a reduc- tion of the hours of labor in government workshops. No attention was paid to the proclamation by those whose duty it was to enforce the law, and again Mr. Sylvis appealed to the President. This time in person, but before action was taken the body of William H. Sylvis was laid to rest in Laurel Hill cemetery, on the banks of the Schuylkill, in Phil- adelphia. He died on the 22d of July, 1869. Richard F. Trevellick continued the agitation, and corresponded with the President on the subject 476 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. until the 11th of May, 1872, when President Grant issued another proclamation directing the heads of departments having the payment of employes in charge to make no reduction in, the wages of those whose hours of labor had been reduced to eight per day. This order also failed of effect, and Congress was appealed to. On May 18, 1872, Congress passed a resolution directing that all mechanics, laborers, and workmen employed by the govern- ment between June 25, 1868, and May 19, 1869, should receive compensation at the RATE OF TEN HOURS' PAY for eight hours' work. Evasions and obstructions have from time to time been thrown in the way of the accomplish- ment of the designs of those who worked for this important measure, but the principle had been recognized by the government that eight hours were sufficient for men to toil, and with that en- dorsement the agitation has continued ever since, and it will continue until the establishment of the eight hour work-day is an accomplished fact. That which now retards the movement is the lack of unity and education among workinginen and man- ufacturers on the exact method of establishing the system. In his address to the General Assembly at Chi- cago in 1879, Grand Master Workman Stephens, referring to the hours of labor said : THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ■ Jj.J'/ THE HOUES OF LABOR. It might seem to some almost superfluous to present anything for your consideration upon the subject of the hours of labor ; never- theless, I deem it highly necessary to call your attention to the ominous frequency of the attempts being made all over the country to break down the ten-hour standard, and enforce longer hours. Whether these movements are preconcerted, and form a part of an organized effort to offset and obstruct the eight hour movement, time will tell. They are sufficient to warrant us in using all rea- sonable means to prevent any growth in that direction. An open warfare in manufacturing districts in England against short hours, and a plain demand upon employes for an increase of hours of labor, show what may be expected in this country ; and they give us timely warning of the struggle and fierce opposition to be encountered before eight hours can be firmly established by statute law in the various States, backed as such laws will have to be by penal enact- ments for infringments in order to make them efficient. And, fur- thermore, they must be classed in the criminal code instead of the civil list. Active exertion and agitation will be necessary to bring public sentiment up to a point that will successfully carry the prin- ciple through the ballot-box. Until that is done absolutely nothing valuable has been gained. Beyond a generally expressed desire to push the agitation in favor of shorter hours, no action was taken, and the matter went over for another year. During the following year R. F. Trevellick, A. R. Parsons, Chas. H. Litchman, Samuel C, Hunt, and Dyer D. Lum, acting in the capacity of an eight hour delegation, worked for the proper recog- nition of the eight hour principle before Congress. Mr. Litchman, then Grand Secretary of the Knights of Labor, placed the matter before the Grand Mas- ter Workman, who, on his suggestion, issued a proclamation to the order asking that nothing be left undone to strengthen the hands of this com- Jl.78 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. mittee. Notwithstanding their zealous efforts in behalf of the measure they succeeded in accom- plishing but little, and weary of spending their time and means, for they received no compensation for their sevices as members of the committee, they were forced to give up the struggle. When the General Assembly met in Pittsburg, Pa., in 1880, the address of the Grand Master Workman contained an expression on the subject. Said he : THE EIGHT HOUR LAW must also claim a share of your attention. During the past year, acting upon the advice of several prominent members of the order, I issued a proclamation asking that an effort be made to aid this project, but it met with little success. And why? Because there was no law upon our statute book which obliged members to take action thereon. A reduction in the hours of labor is a necessity to which we can no longer close our eyes. To the inventive genius of the mechanic and laborer are due the new and varied improvements in machinery of all kinds. The man who sits comfortably clipping the coupons from his bonds never invents anything, unless it be a new way to squeeze more labor out of the toiler for less money. He must de- pend upon the man who labors for eversrthing, including the won- derful inventions in the way of improved machinery. Does the improvement of any of the machines in use, or the invention of a new one, add to his labors ? No. On the contrary, he is enabled thereby to reap a greater profit, for, if an employer, he discharges the man who invents the machine, and hires a boy to run it for less money. The wonderful machinery of to-day renders it poraible for man to perform tenfold more labor than a century ago. Have the hours pf labor been reduced accordingly? On the contrary, men are obliged to work longer in proportion to-day than they did in the past. If to the workman's brain is due these wonderful inventions, then to his body should come the rest made necessary by such drains THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ^79 upon his mental system; the only way to give that rest is to re- duce the hours of labor, and every opportunity looking to that end should be improved, but a mere request to lend assistance in reduc- ing the hours of labor will not avail. Men mvH he compelled to help themselves, and a law should be passed at this General Assembly re- quiring of each member to assist by voice and pen, by petition and means, every honest effort looking towards the amelioration of the condition of the wage slave, by reducing his hours of labor. I shall in future avail myself of the opportunities afforded by the publica- tion of The Journal to give my views at length upon this question. Grand Secretary Litchman, in his report to the same convention, said : One of the cardinal principles of the preamble of our constitu- tion is the reduction of the hours of labor to eight. The grand offi- cers have felt it their duty to aid in every way possible any move- ment for the accomplishment of legislation in that direction. Having been requested to serve as one of a committee to urge upon Con- gress the enforcement of the present national eight hour law, the Grand Secretary felt it his duty to accept the invitation, and do all in his power to induce members of the order to second the efforts of the committee by petitions to Congress and personal appeals to Congressmen. Circulars have been issued from time to time giving to the order full reports of the progress made. As a result of the labors of the Eight Hour Delegation, resolutions passed the House calling for a strict enforcement of the eight hour law according to the spirit and intent of those by whose labors the law was origin- ally adopted. These resolutions passed the House by an overwhelm- ing vote ; were laid over in the Senate by the objection of a single man, Senator Withers, of Virginia. The delegation has the assur- ance from prominent members and friends of the measure that it shall be called up and pressed to a vote early in the session when Congress convenes in December. It will be necessary that there should be some one there to look after and remind Senators of the former promises. I would strongly urge upon the General Assembly the necessity of having some one in Washington at the opening of the Senate to take such measures in the name of the united labor of America as shall convince the Senators that workingmen are in earnest in this matter. The ex- pense could not be very great, and the amount necessary would be well expended, as it would show to the members of the order that some practical good had resulted from the contributions they had 480 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. made to the treasury of the General Assembly. The importance of favorable action by Congress can at once be seen when we reflect lahat once the United States government declares in favor of an eight hour law honestly interpreted and faithfully executed, it is only a question of a very short time when each individual State will follow, and private enterprise from force of public sentiment be compelled to yield to labor less hours of employment as some compensation for the introduction of labor-saving machinery. Notwithstanding the earnest appeal of Mr. Litch- man the convention decided to take no action on the question ; in fact it could not do otherwise, for there were no available funds in the treasury to meet the expenses of the order, and no appropriar tion could be made to defray the expenses of the representative to Washington. Mr. Litchman and the other gentlemen associated with him on the committee continued their efforts untQ 1881, when they retired from the field fully impressed with the belief that to have any influence with Congress it must be made apparent that VOTERS, INTELLIGENT AND EESOLUTE, stand behind whoever acts as the spokesman of in- dustry. No reference was made to the short hour work day in the reports of the grand officers at the De- troit or New York sessions. At the Cincinnati General Assembly the Grand Master Workman offered the following recommendation, and it was adopted : As an organization we advocate the establishment of the eight hour system, but we are silent on that question where we can put it into practical operation ourselves. Let us pass a law limiting the THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. Jj.81 hours of labor of employes of the General Assembly to eight per day, and thus establish some claim to the right to say that we prac- tice what we preach, and remove any doubts from the minds of those who are skeptical as to the sincerity of our professions when we say we advocate the establishment of the eight hour system. Immediately upon the adoption of that recom- mendation the employes of the order, except the general officers, were instructed that their hours of labor for the future would be but eight per day, and for the same they would receive THE SAME KATE OF COMPENSATION as they received for ten hours work in the past. Since that session clerks employed in the general office have worked but eight hours. District As- sembly No. 41, of Baltimore, introduced the follow- ing resolution at the Cincinnati session : That the General Assembly be requested to proclaim to the order eight hours as a day's work, and name May 1, 1884, as the time when it shall be carried into effect by all district assemblies and lo(!al assembUes under its jurisdiction. Beyond the discussion which ensued no action was taken. At the Philadelphia session the year following, the General Statistician, Francis B. Egan, in his report on the statistics gathered by him during the year, said : By the following table it is seen that seven-ninths of our mem- bers work ten hours a day, one-ninth work less than ten hours, and one-ninth over ten hours. These figures are for the first five work- ing days in the week. On Saturdays four-ninths work ten hours, three-ninths work nine hours, one-ninth work eight hours and under, one-ninth eleven hours and over. This plainly shows that we are a long ways from the time when eight hours mt,!! be recognized as 31 482 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. a day's work. Nevertheless, let us not cease our efforts in endeav- oring to attain so desirable a result. It is not many years ago since twelve hours was considered a day's work, but through agitation it was reduced to ten, and through still further agitation it will be reduced to eight. No action was taken on the report of the statis- tician, but a radical change was made in the pre- amble. The XlVth resolution referred to the question of shorter hours, and up to that session remained as it was handed down to the General Assembly at Reading in 1878. When the Phila- delphia session adjourned the XXIst resolution in the preamble stood as follows : To shorten the hours of labor by a, general- refusal to work for more than eight hours. In the hurry to get through with the business that important subject escaped the scrutiny it de- served. It was drawn up hurriedly, read but once to the convention and passed along with the rest of the preamble. Many believed that the pream- ble was only intended to be a list of " GLITTERING GENEBAIilTIES," and that it mattered but little what it contained. The "general refusal" was interpreted by work- ingmen outside of the order to mean quite another thing than that which was intended by those who adopted it, and attempts were made to draw the order into strikes to enforce the "refusal." On December 15, 1884, in the same circular in which he referred to the actions of those who pa- raded the streets waving the red and black flags. THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ^83 the General Master Workman, in speaking of the eight hour agitation, said : Notwithstanding all of this, I ■wish to see a revolution; I wish to see some killing done ; I wish to see the systems by which the ■worker is oppressed killed oflf; and I long to see a revolution in the working time of those who toil. With that object in view I re- quest that all assemblies and district assemblies take up for discus- sion Section XXI of the preamble ; discuss it thoroughly during the ■winter, first in the privacy of the assembly, then in the public press and before the people. In your discussions remember this fact : that if legislation be piled up mountains high in defense of workingmen, the simple, inanimate thing called legislation will, do no good of itself unless backed up by the will of the ■workingmen themselves. It must be enforced, and those to whose interest it is to have it enforced are the workers. If the workers are too ignorant to see . the necessity for giving effect to legislEltion, they will need light; if they are too indolent to enforce it, they will require constant ag- itation ; and if they are too cowardly to take what is already theirs, then they will require light, agitation, the example of others and manhood. We have all three classes in the Knights of Labor, and we must get rid of them by educating them. Manufacturers everywhere are beginning to concede that shorter hours are necessary, but they can not compete with those who work their establishments ten and fifteen hours. Our preamble now says : " To shorten the hours of labor by a general refusal to work for more than eight hours." The general refusal must be preceded by a gen- eral agitation, and that agitation must be begun by this order. I ask that every assembly take up this question at once. Let each one have its members write short essays on the eight hour question. From the number let the assembly select the best for publication in the public press of the land, in the local papers, but do not publish them indiscriminately and at different times. When they are writ- ten withhold them until a day when they can all be published to- gether. Washington's birthday, the 22d of February, will be a day of public interest. The eyes of the nation ■will be turned toward the papers. I, therefore, name that day as the one upon which to have all these articles appear. If in your locality no paper appears on that day, then endeavor to have it in the one next issued after that date. Make no public announcement of your intention to do this thing until it is done. To have them appear simultaneously all over the United States and Canada ■will in itself be' very significant, and ■will cause men to stop and think. A feeble effort in that direction 484 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. will be made by me in the February number of the North Ameri- can Review. Let it be but the forerunner of more effective ones. Go outside of your assembUes, and get other societies to take up the agitation. Have it preached from pulpit and rostrum. After the ball has been opened, the agitation once begun, never let it die out until men and women, seeing the necessity for shorter hours, will regard it as a crime to work more than eight hours a day. Be still as death until the time named, then let the fire open up along the line from Maine to California. The circular contains other matter which does not relate to the subject of shorter hours, but the concluding words in it were : " Do not forget Wash- ington's birthday and the eight hour movement." The article in the North American JReview did not appear in the February number of that publication, but was withheld until the April number, and appeared under the title of: THE ARMY OF THE DISC(5NTENTED. In January, 1884, the following paragraph appeared in one of the daily papers : " It is estimated that at the present time one million and a half of men are out of employment in the United States; it is safe to predict that, if opportunities were offered to these men to drop into useful occupations, a large majority would not avail themselves of them." Since then, the number of the unemployed must have increased, for nearly every day we read such items as this : " The worsted mill connected with the Bigelow Carpet Mills, which employs about three hundred hands, shut down this morning for three weeks. This, with the five per cent, cut down at the Lan- caster Gingham Mills, where two thousand five hundred hands are employed, which also went into effect this morning, makes Clinton's business outlook decidedly poor." In the two years ending December 1, 1884, those employed in and around the coal-mines worked but little over half-time, and for the length of time that they were not at work they must be counted THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ^85 in with the unemployed. If the figjires above quoted were correct in January, it is safe to assume that at present the number will not fall short of 2,000,000. The census of 1880 shows that the number of persons engaged in gainful occupations was 17,392,099. Of this number 3,837,112 were engaged in manufacturing, mechanical, and mining pursuits, while 5,183,099 gained a UveUhood as laborers (ag- ricultural and otherwise). Thus in 1880 we had in the United States, between laborers, mechanics, miners, and those engaged in manu- facturing establishments, 9,020,211 persons. From a personal experience, I am led to beUeve that the greater portion of those who are now out of employment comes from occu- pations that go to make up the 9,020,211. It is safe to assume that the 2,000,000 unemployed persons are discontented with their lot; and not only are they discontented, but those who labor at the same occupations that they previously followed have every reason to be dissatisfied also. With so many men and women seeking employ- ment, the tendency of wages must be downward. It does not follow, because men are out of employment, that such articles as their fellow- workmen produce should decrease in value, or that the profit on the manufactured article, accruing to the owners of the establish- ments in which they work, should be any less ; on the contrary, the expectation is that diminished production will increase the price of the manufactured article, or at least prevent its depreciation when thrown on the market. Notwithstanding the reduction in the ex- penses of the mining company, we pay the same price for coal that we paid a year ago. It matters not that the carpet mills " suspend three hundred hands," the price of carpeting remains unchanged. The gingham mills and the cotton and woolen mills may reduce the wages of employes five and ten per cent., yet the price of gingham and caUco continues as before. Whether the manufactured article commands the same price in the market or not, the employer, know- ing that he can secure an abundance of help, reduces the wages of his employes. Those who are out of employment are no longer pro- ducers, and they certainly are not consumers to any increased extent. The wages of those employed having been reduced, their powers of consumption are limited. The merchant whose shelves are stocked with goods becomes discontented when he views the rows of men and women that stand in front of his store, peering with hungry- looking eyes through his windows at the goods so temptingly held to view, willing and anxious to buy these goods, but deprived of the means, through enforced idleness or inadequate compensation for services rendered. Ask the business man what the cause of the de- pression is, and he, parrot-like, will say, "It is all regulated by the ^86 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. law of supply and demand." A moment's reflection would show him that the law of supply and demaiid, like all other laws, is open to diflferent constructions. On his shelves is a supply of goods ; out- side of his window is a demand for these goods — a demand that is at all times equal to the supply. Why is it that the demand does not reach forth and secure the supply? The answer comes, "Because the medium of exchange is lacking ; because labor is too cheap and plenty, and money too dear and scarce." That a deep-rooted feeling of discontent pervades the masses, none can deny; that there is a just cause for it, must be admitted. The old cry, " These agitators are stirring up a feeling of dissatisfaction among workingmen, and they should be suppressed," will not avail now. Every think- ing person knows that the agitator did not throw two millions of men out of employment. The man who reads such paragraphs as this will not lay the blame of it at the door of the agitator. " Mrs. Sarah Jane Geary, an English woman, residing in this city, committed] suicide a few days since. Her husband is a miner, and owing to the frequent suspensions of business in the mines during the past winter, his meager earnings were insufficient to support the family. The fact preyed on Mrs. Geary's mind, and she resolved to end her life, that her children might receive her share of the food, other-BTse they would go hungry." The Cincinnati riots, that occurred less than one year ago, were not brought about through the agitation of the labor leader. If the demand for "the removal of unjust technicalities, delays, and dis- criminations in the administration of justice " had been listened to when first made by the Knights of Labor, Cincinnati would have been spared sorrow and disgrace, and her "prominent citizens" would not have had to lead a mob in order to open the eyes of the country to the manner in which her courts were throttled and virtue and truth were trampled upon in her temples of justice. That the army of the discontented is gathering fresh recruits day by day is true, and if this army should become so large that, driven to des- peration, it should one day arise in its wrath and grapple with its real or fancied enemy, the responsibihty for that act must fall upon the heads of those who could have averted the blow, but who turned a deaf ear to the supplication of suffering humanity, and gave the screw of oppression an extra turn because they had the power. Workingmen's organizations are doing all they can to avert the blow ; but if that day dawns upon us, it will be chargeable directly to men who taunt others with unequal earnings and distort the truth as was done in an interview recently had with Mr. William H. Van- derbilt : THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. Jj.87 " One of the troubles in this country just now is the relation of wages to the cost of production. A skilled workman in almost every branch of business gets every day money enough to buy a barrel of flour. I don't refer to ordinary laborers, but to men skilled at their trades. The man who makes the article receives as much wages in many instances as the arfacle is worth when it is finished. This is not exactly fair, in my opinion, and must be adjusted. Until wages bear a truer relation to production, there can be no real prost)erity in the country." I have seen no denial of the above, and take it for granted that it is a correct report. Mr. Vanderbilt starts out well enough, but he is in error when he says that "a skilled workman in almost every branch of business gets money enough every day to buy a barrel of flour." I know of no business in the United States in which a skilled mechanic, working regularly at his trade day by day, gets money enough for his day's labor to buy a barrel of flour. That they earn the price of a barrel of flour, I do not deny; but that they get it, is not true. It may be that Mr. Vanderbilt refers to superintendents, foremen, or contractors, for they are the only ones that receive such wages. The average wage paid to the skilled mechanic will not ex- ceed $2.50 a day. I know of but few branches of business in which ; men can command that price. The wages of skilled mechanics are ; on the decline, while the price of flour remains unchanged, from $5.75 j to $8.50 a barrel. If Mr. Vanderbilt will demonstrate how one can purchase a six-dollar barrel of flour for two dollars and a half, he will • have solved a very diflncult problem for the workingman. It is not the labor of the skilled mechanic alone that must be taken into ac- i count in computing the cost of the manufactured article ; the average i price paid to labor in the establishment should be the standard, if a--' standard of wages is required. An examination of the last census report shows that the number of manufacturing establishments in the United States was 253,852, and the amount of capital invested was $2,790,272,606 ; the average number of hands employed was 2,732,595 ; the value of the raw material was $3,396,823,549 ; while the product of the manufactured articles was $5,369,579,191. Deduct the sum paid for the raw material from the product of the manufactured ar- ticle, and we have $1,972,745,642. This sum represents the diflference between the price paid for the article when in a raw state and that received for it when manufactured. It is evident that something more than interest on money invested was required to give this ad- ditional value to the material. That something was the labor of the hands referred to. The total amount paid in wages to the eujploySs of these establishments was $947,953,795. Deducting this amount J^SS THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. from the $1,972,745,642, we have left $1,024,791,847. This sum goes to the manufacturer. It is estimated by some that the amount paid for raw material includes taxes, insurance, salaries, and repairs ; but, in the absence of reliable statistics, I am not prepared to prove that such is the case. By adding the sum paid for raw material to the amount of capital invested, we have $0,187,096,155, the total invest- ment of the manufacturer. From this sum we have, pitted against every one of the 2,732,595 employes, a fraction over $2,264. While the average yearly earnings of each employs were $720, he received in wages but a fraction over $346, or a trifle over one dollar a day for every working day in the year. Subtract the wages of the em- ploys from his earnings, and we have left $374. The employe re- ceives an average of $346 a year for his labor, while his employer receives $374 on an investment of $2,264. Instead of basing the cost of the manufactured article on the wages given to the highest-priced skilled mechanic, it should be based on the average wage paid to the men in these establishments. It thus appears that a barrel of flour costs several days' labor. It may be said that many of the employ^ of the manufacturing establishments are minors, and consequently can not perform as great an amount of labor as a corresponding number of adults. That ar- gument might have had some weight years ago, but now it is fruit- less. The age and strength of the workman are no longer regarded as factors in the field of production ; it is the skill of the operator in managing a labor-saving machine that is held to be the most es- sential. It is true that a child can operate a machine as successfully as a man, and that muscle is no longer a requisite in accomplishing results. It is also true that less time is required to perform a given amount of labor than heretofore. This being the case, the plea for shorter hours is not unreasonable. Benjamin Franklin said, one hundred years ago, that "if the workers of the world would labor but four hours each day, they could produce enough in that length of time to supply the wants of mankind." While it is true that the means of supplying the wants of man have increased as if by magic, yet man has acquired no new wants ; he is merely enabled to gratify his needs more fully. If it were true in Franklin's time that four hours of toil each day would prove sufficient to minister to the ne- cessities of the world's inhabitants, the argument certainly has lost none of its force since then. At that time it took the sailing-vessel three months to cross the ocean ; the stage-coach made its thirty or forty miles a day ; the electric wire was not dreamt of ; and the letter that traveled but little faster than the stage-coach was the quickest medium of communication. THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ^89 It required six days' labor at the hands of the machinist, with hammer, chisel, and file, to perfect a certain piece of machinery at the beginning of this century. The machinist of the present day can finish a better job in six hours, with the aid of a labor-saving machine. In a yarn mill in Philadelphia the proprietor says that improved machinery has caused a displacement of fifty per cent, of the former employes within five years, and that one person, with the aid of improved machinery, can perform the work that it took upward of one hundred carders and spinners to do with the tools and implements in use at the beginning of this century. In Mas- sachusetts it has been estimated that 318,768 men, women, and chil- dren do, with improved machinery, the work that it would require 1,912,468 men to perform if improved machinery were not in use. To insure safety on a passenger train, it is no longer necessary to have a brakeman at each end of the car ; the automatic air-brake does the work, while one brakeman can shout "All right here!" for the whole train. The employe that has had a limb cut off in a collision, must beg for bread or turn the crank of a hand-organ and gather his pennies under the legend, "Please assist a poor soldier who lost his leg at Gettysburg." He is no longer stationed, flag in hand, at the switch ; the automatic lever directs the course of the train and renders the one-legged switchman unnecessary. It is said that the iron-molder recently invented is capable of performing as much labor as three skilled workmen ; while the following dispatch to a Philadelphia paper, from Mahanoy City, shows what is being done in the mines: "For the past three years the reduction in wages has been sys- tematic and steady. When one of the officials of one of the great companies was interviewed on the matter, he replied that the ad- vance in labor-saving machinery had lightened the labor of the men. A miner at one of the Heading collieries says that some months ago he expended a large sum for a patent drill, which enabled him to do five times the usual amount of work. He was employed in driv- ing a gangway, the price paid being $10 a yard ; but at the end of the week, when the officials saw the amount of work he had done the rate was reduced to $4.50 a yard." Take the iron-molder as an illustration. Three flesh-and-blood men, who require shelter, clothing, recreation, and social intercourse, who must eat or starve, who must pay taxes to support the State, and whose bodies can be taken to defend the State in case of in- vasion or rebellion ; one iron man, who does not feel, sleep, eat, or drink, who never tires and never rests. Three flesh-and-blood men, 490 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. who have children depending upon them for bread ; one iron man, who has no family to support; and the three men whom he has displaced must continue to support families or enlist in that ever- increasing army of tramps. Heat, steam, electricity, labor-saving machines pay no taxes, municipal or national ; the men thrown out of employment through the introduction of these agents are de- prived of the means of contributing to the support of the State, and an extra burden is shifted to the shoulders of those who continue to work. The existence of such a state of affairs gives evidence that the introduction of machinery, from which the many should derive an advantage, is being used for the benefit of a few, who already feel the blow given to trade through the displacement of 8o many consumers. A great many remedies are recommended for the ills that I speak of ; let me deal with what seems to be the most unimportant— the reduction of the hours of labor to eight a day. Men, women, and children are working from ten to eighteen hours a day, and two million men have nothing to do. If four men, following a given occupation, at which they work ten hours a day, would rest from their labors two hours each day, the two hours taken from the labor of each, if added together, would give the tramp that- stands looking on an opportunity of stepping into a position at eight hours a day. It is said that a vast majority of those who are idle would not work if they had work to do. That statement is untrue ; but let us admit that five hundred thousand of the two million idle men would not work, we still have a million and a half who are anxious and willing to work. If but six million of the seventeen million producers will abstain from working ten, fifteen, and eighteen hours a day, and work but eight, the one million and a half of idle men that are willing to work can again take their places in the ranks of the world's producers. Need it be said that a million and a half of new hats will be needed ; that a corresponding number of pairs of shoes, suits of clothing, and a hundred other things, will be required ; that the wants of these men and their families will be supplied; that shelves will be emptied of their goods, and that the money expended will again go into circulation. It would entail hardship on some branches of business to require men employed in them to work eight hours a day. Miners and those working by contract could not very well adopt the eight hour plan without lengthening their hours of labor. Before giving the matter a second thought, many of these men look upon the eight hour agitation as of no consequence to them. If a mechanic is thrown out of employment and can not find anything to do at his trade, he turns toward the first place where an opportu- THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ^91 nity for work is presented. If he is re-enforced by two million idle men, the number that apply at the mouth of the mine, or seek to secure contracts at lower figures, becomes quite large, and the miner and contract man grumble because so many men are crowding in upon them in quest of work. Every new applicant for work in the mine makes it possible for the boss to let his contract to a lower bidder ; therefore it is clearly to the interest of the miner to assist in reducing the hours of labor in shop, mill, and factory, to the end that the idle millions may be gathered in from the streets to self- sustaining positions. The eight hour system, to be of value to the masses, must be put in operation all over the country, for the manufacturers of one State can not successfully compete with those of other States if they run their establishments but eight hours while others operate theirs ten or twelve hours a day. The movement should be national, and should have the hearty co-operation of all men. A Scottish clergyman. Dr. Donald Macleod, in a sermon on "The Sin of Cheapness," says that " the craving for cheapness and hunting after bargains is not only economically false, but a cause of great suflfering to thousands of men, women, and children." If men worked shorter hours, they would learn that when a man begins to look for cheap bargains he strikes a blow at trade everywhere. The employer looks for a better bargain in labor, and reduces his force or hires cheaper men. His employe must practice enforced econ- omy, which is no saving ; he drives sharper bargains for articles manufactured by others ; he can not purchase as good an article, or in such quantities, as before ; and the efiect is felt where these ar- ticles are made, taking the shape of a reduction either in the work- ing force or in the wages. When the President of the United States issued his Thanksgiving proclamation in 1884, there were mill- ions of men and women in want of bread, notwithstanding "the abundant harvests and continued prosperity which God hath vouch- safed to this nation," and the cry, not of thanksgiving, went up from millions of farmers of " Too much wheat! " Doubting as to the exact meaning of the Creator in growing so much wheat, they invoked the aid of such institutions as the Chicago Board of Trade, in the hope of thwarting the will of God by cornering wheat. These men in- voked blessings on their Thanksgiving dinners, and thanked God for the turkey, while they hoarded the wheat away from those who asked for bread. Give men shorter hours in which to labor, and you give them more time to study and learn why bread is so scarce while wheat is 80 plenty. You give them more time in which to learn that millions 492 THE EIGHT HOUM PROBLEM. of acres of American soil are controlled by alien landlords ■who have no interest in America but to draw a revenue from it. You give them time to learn that America belongs to Americans, native and naturalized, and that the landlord who drives his tenant from the Old World must not be permitted to exact tribute from him when he settles in our country. On Washington's birthday, 1885, a number of papers throughout the country contained commu- nications on the short hour subject, and the fact that so many papers had opened up their columns to the discussion o^ the question brought out a num- ber of very able editorials from several leading pa- pers on the necessity for SHORTER HOURS OF TOIL for the laborer and mechanic. The agitation was continued during the spring and summer of 1885, and interest in the movement was not centered in the workingmen alone. Manufacturers began to discuss the question and study its possibilities. A "healthy public opinion" was being created, and the tendency toward a reduction of hours was be- coming quite rapid when the annual conventions of the labor organizations ot the country were held. The Federation of Trades, at its annual session in 1885, named May 1, 1886, as the day on which to put the eight hour system into operation, but the • convention made no provision for the enforcement of the order. It was left to the discretion of each subordinate union to adopt its own plan of opera- tions. Those who passed the resolution did but little to secure its enforcement, and from the very THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ^9$ first the movement, so far as its operations on May 1, 1886, were concerned, was doomed to defeat. When the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor met in Hamilton, Ontario, in October, 1885, the General Master Workman touched upon the subject in his address in the following words: When the Secret Circular was issued on the 15th of last December, fixing Washington's birthday as the date on which to begin an agita- tion on the eight hour question, which is a political one, the answer which came from all parts of the country was astonishing. In the Dominion of Canada, and in every State of the Union, the papers gave special prominence to the question, and the agitation has con- tinued unabated since that time. The short hour movement has received more attention since the first of last January than it did in the ten years preceding that date. While speaking on the eight hour question, let me say that the proposition to inaugurate a gen- eral strike for the establishment of the short hour plan on the first of May, 1886, should be discountenanced by this body. The people most interested in the project are not as yet educated in the move- ment, and a strike under such conditions must prove abortive. The date fixed is not a suitable one ; the plan suggested to estabUsh the system is not the proper one. The convention took no action on the matter. There was no discussion on the subject. That part of the address was not considered, and the conven- tion adjourned without action. Soon after the ad- journment of the General Assembly THE STEEET CAR STRIKE of St. Louis, Mo., attracted the attention of the country toward the order, and inquiring minds be- gan to investigate the aims and methods of the or- ganization. Public attention once fastened upon the society, the press devoted much space to re- 494 ^^^ EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ports of labor meetings, and reporters were in- structed to gather "labor news" wherever they could get it. A reporter of the New York Sum, was delegated to get up a story of the strength and purposes of the Knights of Labor, and he performed his mis- sion in sending forth one of the most sensational and wonderful narratives that ever appeared con- cerning the order. The article started out with A FALSEHOOD, and in so misleading a manner that much harm was done, not only to the organization, but to the whole country. The introduction to the Sv/n arti- cle was in the following language : Five men in this country control the chief interests of five hun- dred thousand workingmen, and ean at any moment take the means of Uvelihood from two and a half milUons of souls. These men com- pose the executive board of the noble order of the Knights of Labor of America. The ability of the president and cabinet to turn out all the men in the civil service, and to shift from one post or ship to another the duties of the men in the army and navy, is a petty authority compared with that of these five Knights. The authority of the late cardinal was, and that of the bishops of the Methodist Church is, narrow and prescribed, so far as material aflfairs are con- ■cerned, in comparison with that of these five rulers. They can stay the nimble touch of almost every telegraph opera- tor; can shut up most of the mills and factories, and can disable the railroads. They can issue an edict against any manufactured goods so as to make their subjects cease buying them, and the tradesmen stop selling them. They can array labor against capital, putting labor on the offen- sive or the defensive, for quiet and stubborn self-protection, or for angry, organized assault, as they will. The publication of that introduction did incalcu- lable mischief. The correspondent for the Bum THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ^95 never obtained his information from a reliable source. He gathered it frona those who felt that to tell a wonderful story was the best means of Tjooming the organization. The organization began to boom, but those who sought its shelter were led to believe that they could secure the co-operation of the "500,000 workingmen," referred to in the Sun article, in the shutting off of the railroads," and in stopping the " nimble touch " of the telegraph "op- erators of America. When that story was written the order of the Knights of Labor was scarcely one hundred thou- sand strong, but in a few months, after the labor journals, the western press, and papers generally, had copied the sensational romance of the Sun, THE NUMBER DOUBLED, and the majority of the new comers was not of the quality the order had sought for in the past. In the early part of 1886 many of the new local assemblies began to pass resolutions favoring the " action of the Greneral Assembly in fixing the first of May, 1886, as the day on which to strike for eight hours." They sent them to the General Mas- ter Workman, who saw at once that a grave dan- ger threatened the order through the ignorance of the members who had been so hurriedly gathered into the assemblie&. They were induced to come in by a false statement. Many organizers assisted in keeping up the delusion for the purpose of mak- ing " big returns " to the general office. In order ^96 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. to avert the danger which threatened the order, and to place facts before the membership, the Gen- eral Master Workman issued a secret circular on March 13, 1886, in which the following occurs : It is evident that our members are not properly instructed, else we would not find them passing resolutions "approving of the ac- tion of our executive officers in fixing the first of May as the day to strike for eight hours." The executive officers of the Knights of Labor have never fixed upon the first of May for a strike of any kind, and they will not do so until the proper time arrives and the word goes forth from the General Assembly. No assembly of the Knights of Labor must strike for the eight hour system on May first under the impression that they are obeying orders from head- quarters, for such an order was not, and will not, be given. Neither employer or employe are educated to the needs and necessities for the short hour plan. If one branch of trade or one assembly is in such a condition, remember that there are many who are in total ignor- ance of the movement. Out of the sixty millions of people in the United States and Canada, our order has possibly three himdreo thousand. Can we mould the sentiment of the millions in favor of the short hour plan before May first? It is nonsense to think oi it. Let us learn why our hours of labor should be reduced, and then teach others. Many persons who blindly believed every state- ment made through the press or by interested par- ties, that it was the aim of the Knights of Labor to strike for eight hours on May first, GREW INDIGNANT to think that the General Master Workman should issue such an order since the General Assembly had resolved to act on May first. In the discussion of the proposed movement no prominence was given to any other organization, and the greater part of the reading public believed that the Federation of THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ^97 Trades was but a part of the Knights of Labor. Many members of the last named society were im- pressed with the same belief, and the General Mas- ter Workman felt that those who were so blind to their surroundings as not to know the name of the organization they belonged to, or the difference be- tween it and other societies, could not be trusted to go very far, or act intelligently in an undertaking of such magnitude as the establishment of the eight hour system must necessarily be. There never was a time when the Knights of Labor were so FLAGRANTLY MISREPRESENTED, or the aims and purposes of the order so misunder- stood. Designing and unscrupulous persons flocked into the order in all parts of the country. The time-serving politician, the trader in votes, the seeker for office, the spoils-hunter, who sought for a following that he might appear to have influence, and the sharp, shrewd shop-keeper, with an eye to business, all thronged into the assemblies during the spasmodic growth of the order. Each one anx- ious to further his own interests, and to stand well in the favor of those who surrounded him, encour- aged the belief that it was the order of Knights of Labor which issued the eight hour order for May first. The silence and indifference of the organization which did issue the order gave rise to the impres- sion that the whole affair must have been appropri- ated by the Knights of Labor. The anarchist ele- 32 498 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. ment, ever busy in meddling with the affairs of the organization, and particularly interested at that time in the attempt to gain control of the machinery of the labor movement, availed themselves of every opportunity to spread discord and distrust because of the alleged lack of support of the Greneral Master Workman of the Knights of Labor. That of&cer wished to see the eight hour movement succeed. It was due to his efforts, as much as to those of any other one man, that the agitation of 1885 was begun and continued. While he sincerely wished to have the system established, he regarded the plan of op- erations to be inaugurated May first as being rash, shortsighted, and lacking in system, he could not CONSCIENTIOUSLY LEND HIS SANCTION to the scheme, and felt it to be his duty to warn those whose interests he had in his keeping against entering into the struggle under a disadvantage, and while laboring under a false impression that it was the order of the Knights of Labor that named May 1, 1886, as the day on which to establish the eight hour system. The officers of the Federation of Trades did not hold any Communication with those of the Knights of Labor. They imparted to them no part of their plans, nor did they in any way seek the co-opera- tion of the order of Knights of Labor. As a conse- quence the general officers of the Knights of Labor knew absolutely nothing of the strength, wishes; or intentions of the other society until they were dem- THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. " ^99 onstrated in the strike for eight hours on May 1, 1886. When the convention of the Federation of Trades met in Washington, D. C, in December, 1885, the Furniture Workers' International Union intro- duced a series of resolutions bearing on the ques- tion of inaugurating the eight hour system on May first. They appear in the proceedings of that ses- sion as follows : Whereas, The last annual Congress of the Federation approved of the opinion expressed by Secretary Frank K. Foster, in his an- nual report that it would be in vain to expect the introduction of the eight hour rule through legislative measures, and that a united demand to reduce the hours of labor, supported by a firmly estab- lished and determined organization, would be far more effective than a thousand laws, whose execution depends upon the good will of aspiring politicians or sycophantic department officials. Whereas, The congress has adopted the following: Resolved, By the Federation of organized Trades and Labor Unions -of the United States and Canada, that eight hours shall constitute ■3, legal day's labor from and after May 1, 1886, and that we recom- mend to labor organizations throughout this jurisdiction that they so direct their laws as to conform to this resolution by the time named. Whereas, This resolution, and the views upon which it is based, namely, That the workmen in their endeavor to reform the prevail- ing economic conditions must rely upon themselves and their own power exclusively, have found an echo in the hearts of all those •organized workmen of this country, who are fighting for a principle and are willing to make sacrifices in order to secure an improvement of the condition of themselves and their fellow-workers, and as there is in many parts of this country a strong movement going on for the purpose of carrying out this resolution. Whereas, It is a well known truism that the success of work- men contending against capitalistic oppression is due to their policy ■of concentrating their forces whenever they desire to gain a point. Whereas, The workmen of this country interested in the reduc- tion of the hours of labor are considering the Federation of Trades and Labor Unions as a medium through which that concentration 500 « THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. of forces can be accomplistied, and to which belongs the leadership in this movement; and, Whekeas, The Federation has taken upon itself a great responsi- bility in regard to the movement inaugurated by this organization, as a failure of the same would be detrimental to all organizations, and would throw back the movement for the reduction of the hours of labor for many years to come ; therefore be it • Resolved, That the Legislative Committee be hereby instructed to again appeal to the workmen of this country for the purpose of pointing out to them the necessity of them acting on their own ac- count, and to call upon them to unite the different trades in their respective cities that they may be able to more thoroughly assist each other morally and financially. Resolved, That all organizations under the jurisdiction of the Fed- eration be called upon to report to the Legislative Committee on or before March 1, 1886, whether or not they have resolved to in- troduce the eight hour work day ; and if so, what steps they have taken in that respect, how they are organized throughout the coun- try, etc., whereupon the Legislative Committee shall request all of those organizations having npt yet determined to join in introducing the reduction of the hours of labor to assist such organizations with all the power at their command ; Provided, That, together imth the re- duction of the hours of labor, they do not ash for an increase of wages. Resolved, That all organizations intending to reduce the hours of labor on May first shall give an opportunity to the respective man- ufacturers and employers to give their consent by submitting a doc- ument to be signed by them to that effect, the contents of the said document to be prepared by the Legislative Committee, and the same to be forwarded to all organizations. To these resolutions two amendments were added, one by Mr. Edmonston and the other by Mr. Gom- pers. That offered by the former stands upon the record in the following words : We recommend to all labor organizations a thorough canvass in their respective trades for the purpose of securing the co-operation of as many as possible to effect this object. The amendment of Mr. Gompers was : Resolved, That the trades and labor unions be and they are hereby requested to forward to the secretary of the Legislative Committee THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. 501 on the evening of the first day of May, 1886, or as soon thereafter as possible, what results have been attained in the establishment of the eight hour law. The resolutions and amendments were referred to the committee on resolutions ; the result was the presentation of the following recommendation by that committee : « Your committee recommend the adoption of the eight hour res- olution presented by the furniture workers' delegation, with the amendments of Messrs. Edmonston and Gompers. The report of the committee was adopted by the convention, and no further action was taken at that session. That organization, as such, never again held a convention. When the trades unions met in annual congress in December, 1886, they met under the name of "the AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR," and have been known by that name ever since. It was not generally known that the Federation did not advocate the retention of the same rate of wages for eight, as that which prevailed under the ten hour system, and manufacturers universally re- garded the movement as having for its object a strike for ten hour pay for eight hour work. The mistake of the Federation was to assume that the workmen of the country regarded it as the only medium through which the eight hour system would be brought into effect, and that the leader- ship in the movement belonged to the Federation. Had the resolutions been published to the wdrld, and presented to other labor organizations for ap- 50^ THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. proval, a far better feeling would have prevailed, for the impression which pervaded the masses was that the resolutions of the Federation counselled a strike as the means by which to bring about the desired result. Why the Federation allowed this erroneous impression to prevail has never been explained. The strikes of May 1, 1886, have been made a matter of record in other histories. . . . They are still fresh in the minds of the many who watched the course of events at that time, and but a passing glance will be sufficient. When the first of May came around the move- ment to establish the eight hour work day was con- fined to a few of the large cities. Whether the recommendation of the Federation to " give an op- portunity to the respective MANUFACTUEERS AND EMPLOYERS to give their consent by submitting a document, "^ etc., was carried out is not certain. The organiza- tions to which the resolutions were sent, and on which they were supposed to be binding, could not, no doubt, reconcile the recommendation to give employers an opportunity to "give their consent" with the resolution which declared " that the work- men in their endeavor to reform the prevailing eco- nomic conditions must rely upon themselves and their own power exclusively." If they were to depend upon their own power ex- clusively they should not be required to gain the consent of the employers by any means, and it was THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. 503 upon that interpretation of the resolution that many acted. The strikes in the large cities afforded the Anarchist element an opportunity which it could not create or bring about itself. Being destructive in everything, these men could not construct an oppor- tunity, but on May first they found one ready-made. They availed themselves of it in Chicago, and sought to turn a peaceful, law-abiding strike INTO A REVOLUTION, which they, in their short-sighted view of the case, supposed would spread throughout the whole coun- try. The strike for eight hours would not have succeeded had the whole power of the Federation and the Knights of Labor been directed toward that end. The conditions under which labor operated were not favorable; the education among workingmen had not passed its A, B, C ; manfacturers, in dread of the result, were shutting down, and no hours of labor for a time seemed more probable than eight or ten hours. Until men are made to understand the question, ^nd know its full bearing upon their interests, they will work ten, twelve, and fifteen hours a day whenever the opportunity is offered to them. One has only to witness the avidity with which the chance to work overtime is taken advan- tage of in our large cities to know that poverty is a far more powerful factor in shaping the actions of men than principle. A few callings succeeded in establishing the eight hour plan at certain points, 604 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. but the same line of work in other cities continued to operate on the ten hour plan, and the inevitable result could not be otherwise than a return to the long hour work day in all of the establishments throughout the country. Owing to the phenomenal increase in member- ship, and the consequent accumulation of business at the headquarters of the Knights of Labor, the General Master Workman found it necessary to issue a call for a special session of the Greneral As- sembly, The delegates assembled in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 25, 1886, and remained in session until June 3d. The chief business before the con- vention was to discuss and take action on the ques- tion of STRIKES AND BOYCOTTS into which the order had been plunged during the few months intervening between the closing of the Hamilton session and the first of May. On motion of Robert Schilling, of Milwaukee, Wis., a series of resolutions were presented to the body and adopted, in which the actions of the General Executive Board and the General Master Workman, since the Hamilton session, were approved and endorsed. Not a dissenting vote was cast cast against the resolutions. The vote was all the more significant from the fact that the delegates to the special ses- sion at Cleveland were the same as those who had attended the regular session the previous October. Frank K. Foster, whose name appears in the res- THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. 505 olutions adopted by the Federation of Trades, was a representative to the Hamilton and Cleveland sessions, and it is presumed that if he were dissat- isfied with the action of the General Master Work- man on the eight hour movement of May first, he would have recorded his vote in opposition to the resolutions by which the course of that officer was officially endorsed. While the convention was in session at Cleve- land, a Chicago manufacturer, Edwin Norton, was present at the invitation of the General Master Workman, and read a paper on the eight hour movement, in which he outlined a plan for the GRADUAL INTBODUCTION of the system. His remarks were well received and left a marked impression on the minds of the representatives, but the exciting scenes enacted at that session in the controversy with the trades unions of the country took up the time and atten- tion of the members of the convention, and left them but little time for thought on such an impor- tant issue as was there presented to them. The recent fiasco at Chicago, and the ill feeling which ex- isted throughout the country between employers and employes created the impression that no im- mediate steps 'should be taken in the direction of securing a reduction in the hours of labor, and the convention adjourned without taking action on the the plan proposed by Mr. Norton. When the next regular session of the General S06 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. Assembly convened at Riclimond, Va., in October, 1886, the body was so large and unwieldy that it could not transact, in a satisfactory manner, all of the business which was presented to it by the assembled representatives of the order throughout the country. Six hundred and fifty-eight men and women assembled to legislate for a half million members. Many of them had not been initiated into the order six weeks, and KNEW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about its principles. They could not take action on everything that was presented, and although they were as intelligent, respectable, and progres- sive an assemblage of men and women as ever met on the American continent, their lack of knowl- edge of the routine work of the order placed them at a disadvantage in legislating for its future. The General Master Workman in his address, referring to the eight hour question, used the fol- lowing words : The eight hour strike, which took place May 1, was not success- ful except in cases where employers and employes were acting in harmony, or where employers were willing to adopt the plan. In many cases the old system of working long hours has heen revived. The Federation of Trades recommended May 1, but adopted or suggested no definite plan by which the short hour system could be inaugurated. I cautioned our members against rushing into this movement. I had the right to do it, and am firm in the belief that had I not done so great loss would have been entailed upoJi vast numbers of our assemblies. What I said in my secret circular of March 13 has been severely criticised, and I have been accused of opposing the eight hour movement. No statement ever was further THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. SO? from the truths I opposed the strike on May 1 because I knew that neither workmen nor employers were ready for it, because the ed-. ucation which must always precede intelligent action had not been given to those most in need of it, because no definite, business-like plan for the inauguration of the eight hour movement had been mapped out. In fact, no preparations had been made to put the plan, if it can be called a plan, into execution. These are the rea- sons why I opposed the movement in May, and for the same rea- sons do I still oppose it. A reduction of the hours of labor is a necessity, and sooner or later must be had, but we must not forget that in many places the ten hour plan has not yet been adopted. It may do very well for an organization which looks after the interests of but one craft or calling to neglect those who stand most in need of help, but a Knight of Labor must never close his eyes to the wants of the humblest of his fellow-creatures. The very discussion of the sudden introduction of the eight hour plan injured business, so much so that in many places men were reduced to half time or thrown out of employment altogether. Millions of dollars' worth of work was left undone because of the uncertainty in regard to taking contracts, or in making engagements to perform work. Never was it more clearly demonstrated that "An injury to one is the concern of all " than in the movement I am speaking of. The house-builder, through uncertainty as to how many hours of labor his employes would work for him, made no contracts to erect buildings, and the carpenter was thrown out of employment ; the man who made the window-glass, the man who made the nails — in fact, every man or woman engaged in the man- ufacture of articles which go to build or furnish a house — suffered through the attempt to enforce the eight hour system on May 1. The move was in the right direction, but the time and circumstances were not suitable. Before the eight hour plan is adopted the Knights of Labor and the trade unions of America must lay aside their jealousies and dif- ferences, come together, name a day on which to put the plan into execution, adopt the plan of action, which must be gradual, and such as will not inflict injury upon either employer or workman. The plan presented by Mr. Norton, of Chicago, to the special ses- sion of the General Assembly at Cleveland is a good one in nearly every particular, and if the workingmen's organizations and the manufacturers' associations agree upon putting such a plan into practice, it can be done without a jar or friction. No workingman need strike, nor need business be unsettled. Why should it not be 508 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. done ? Either adopt a plan for the perfection of this idea, or else place it in the hands of the incoming General Executive Board, with instructions to perform the duty. If we do not do either, let us strike the twenty-first declaration from our preamble, and no longer proclaim to the world that we are in favor of eight hours or a day's labor. No action was taken on the address of the G. M. W. except to approve of it and place it in the hands of appropriate committees for action. The order of the Knights of Labor could not, through its general officers, take any action on the eight hour movement on May 1, 1886. At the time when they should be preparing, had they been so in- structed, they were kept busy day and night in managing and settling THE NUMEROUS STRIKES which followed the publication of the false state- ments concerning the strength, aims, and objects of the order. The South-west strike was in prog- ress during the two months preceding the eight hour strike, the ofl&cers were taken up in the vain attempt to assimilate and educate the incoming tide of humanity which looked to the organization for relief, rather than to their own efforts in the organ- ization in behalf of all. That the course of the General Master Workman on the eight hour move- ment was approved by the General Assembly was made apparent when his re-election came to him without opposition. With the exception of keeping the eight hour question prominently before the members in the THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. 509 preamble of the order, the Knights of Labor have done but little during the last two years. On April 7, 1888, the General Master Workman again di- rected the attention of the organization to the question, and recommended that municipalities, towns, cities, etc., take up the question and intro- duce the short hour system on streets, roadways, bridges, and other public works. He said that in- asmuch as the majority of citizens in each munic- ipality was made up of workers, it followed that the employers of labor, on streets and public works generally, were workers, and if they did not take interest enough in the matter to establish the eight hour system among their own employes, they could not consistently ask of their employers to reduce the hours of toil in workshops and factories. The concluding lines of that article were : The workingmen and the common people generally are the rulers in our cities and towns, and they should at once begin to make their power felt in the matter of shortening the hours of labor of the em- ployes of these cities and towns. The order need not be made a political machine to do this. Do not be deterred from making the attempt by having it said that you have no right as an order to mix in politics. The order must not be dragged into partisan pol- itics, but our members should take an active part as citizens in the discharge of their duty at the polls, and afterward by voting for men who favor shortening the hours of labor of employes in mu- nicipalities. Begin at once to perfect a practical plan of operations looking to the inauguration of the eight hour day. Pass no resolutions declar- ing that you will do it on such a day ; pass no resolutions of any kind, but work on the plan, and when the the time comes to put it in operation it can be done without resolutions. Consult employers, get their views, arrange with them for meet- ings to perfect plans, and make an attempt to bring about a better SIO THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. feeling between worklngmen and employers than has existed for some time back. It is true that many employers will not condescend to meet with or talk to their employes. Pm'se-proud worms, who are to be classed among the " ignorant rich, ' will live to stand in their own and the community's light for ages to come; but the world does not move around them. The day is coming in this land when the employer who has the manhood, the patriotism and the sense to talk in a straight-forward way to his employes will be entitled to, and will receive, more of honor and wealth than the selfish fellow upon whom fortune has showered riches and nothing else, except it be an ill-nature. Up to the present time the work among Knights of Labor has been purely educational. The rapid accumulation of products of all kinds, and the con- sequent suspensions of workmen until the accumu- lated products are consumed tend to show that the machine is fast taking the place of the man, and that if the community is to reap any benefits from the introduction of machinery, the man must be protected and permitted to earn his livelihood by HONEST TOIL instead of spending one-half of his time in idleness. Idleness never consumes the product of toil. The greater the number of persons e.mployed the greater will be the amount of currency which will circulate in the community, and the greater the extent of the circulating medium, the greater will be the con- sumption of that which man produces. The ques- tion is an important one, and while the writer be- lieves that to introduce the short hour plan among the mechanics of the land would be but to medicate the symptoms without touching the seat of the dis- THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. 321 ease, he favors it strongly in order to give men more time to study how to eradicate the disease, root and branch. At its last convention, held in St. Louis, Mo., December, 1888, the American Federation of La- bor took action on the subject. The following, taken from the report of the meeting, shows what was done : REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON THE EIGHT HOUR WORK DAY. St. Louis, Mo., December 14, 1888. To the President and Bepreaentativea of the American Federation, of Labor: We, your Committee appointed to draft a plan for the accom- plishment of the eight hour law, very respectfully state that we have very carefully considered the question, and will say that we heartily endorse the sentiment expressed and recognize the great necessity of securing a reduction in the hours of labor, and believe it within the possibilities of accomplishment. Wheeeas, The advancement of science, the development of ma- chinery, and the ever-increasing sway of man over the forces of nat- ure, have enormously increased the productive capacity of society, and made it possible to supply all material wants with a greatly de- creased expenditure of the labor forces; and, Whereas, The length of the working day of the toiler has not been decreased in a just proportion to the effectiveness of labor. Resolved, That the American Federation of Labor in convention assembled, does hereby assert the right of the wage-workers of Amer- ica to a larger control of their time and greater leisure for the enjoy- ment of the benefits of this nineteenth century of civilization. Resolved, That we call on organized labor throughout the country to exert their every effort for the accomplishment of a reduction in the number of hours for the laboring class. Hence your committee most respectfully make the following recommendation : That the in- coming executive council shall arrange upon Washington's birthday, 1889, simultaneous mass meetings in all cities of the country, such meetings to be addressed by speakers appointed by authority of the Executive Council, and that on Independence Day, July 4, the aatoe 512 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. action under the control of the Executive Council shall be pursued, and that on Labor Day, 1889, a like action be again taken, to be fol- lowed upon the succeeding Washington's birthday, 1890, by another series of grand simultaneous mass meetings. Upon that question this is to conclude the period of agitation. The Executive Council shall also gather statistics from all the organizations in order to as- certain what hours prevail among such organizations, how many members will be affected, the condition of their finances, and approx- imately what financial support would be required. The Executive Council shall also prepare printed circulars which are to be issued to all manufacturing firms in the country, requesting them to meet rep- resentatives of this organization in conference, so that a friendly ar- rangement of a reduction in the working hours may, if possible, be affected. In addition to the agitation afforded by means of the mass meet- ings above suggested, we also enjoin upon the Executive Council the propriety of issuing a pamphlet giving a thorough exposition of the question of redacing the hours of labor. Your committee was unable to agree upon selecting a fixed date for the practical enforcement of a general demand for eight hours, thinking that the setting of a certain date for such an extraordinary effort for a practical demand can be best agreed upon by the conven- tion rather than by this committee. Bespectfully submitted. J. S. KiRCHNEB, Chairman. f. k. fosteb, Wm. H. Klives, [Signed] Wiluam Martin, Alex. Johnson, Henry Emeich, Wm. J. Dillon, Secretary. It was ordered that the report be acted on section by section. All the sections were unanimously adopted as reported by the com- mittee, excepting the last clause, fixing the date for inaugurating the eight hour system. Delegate Blackmore moved the date be fixed at June 1, 1890. Delegate Ferry offered to amend as follows : That the matter of fixing the date be referred to the incoming Executive Council, with the following instructions: The question be referred to afSliated unions for a vote, and re- tuTDB be submitted not later than six months, and the effort be con- THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. 513 fined to a union of those industries whose interests and methods of work are similar, which shall cast the largest percentage of major- ities on their membership in favor of an eight hour work day ; and the unions, or associated interests so designated, shall receive the support of all unions in affiliation with the American Federation of Labor, and the same rule to apply to the next in majority of votes cast when the first union, or associated interests, shall have met the issue and established the eight hour work day. Delegate LaVine offered an amendment to the amendment, that the eight hour movement be confined to the building trades exclu- sively. Delegate Applehagen ofiered a substitute to fix the date at May 1, 1890. After an exhaustive and well-tempered discussion, participated in by the bulk of the delegates, as to the ways and means to carry on the movement, the previous question was ordered. The vote was first taken on the proposition to fix the date at June 1, 1890, which was lost. The amendment ofiered by delegate Perry was next voted on, and was defeated. Amendment oflered by delegate LaVine, to confine the movement to the building trades, was next in order, and was not sustained. The substitute offered by delegate Applehagen, to fix the date at May 1, 1890, prevailed by a large majority. The question recurred on the report of the committee as amended, and on this the ayes and nays were ordered. Ayes — Ackerman, Appel, Applehagen, Anderson, Bechtold, Black- more, Cain, Daley, Dillon, Donnelly, Delabar, Evans, Fildew, Fitz- patrick, Foster, Forsberg, Goldwater, Gompeis, Haller, Hasson, Hill, Holland; Johnson, Kliver, Kirchner, LaVine, Martin, Shields, Mc- Gregor, McLaughlin, Mahoney, Ogg, Nutt, Penna, Volz, Weihe, Werdes, and Weaver. Total, 38 ayes. ' Nays — Archie, Bower, Emrich, Ives, Lake, Perry, Taylor, Rein- hardt. Total, 8 nays. Excused — Miller. Amid tumultuous cheers and enthusiastic applause, the motion to adopt the committee's report and fix the date for the inauguration of the eight hour work day at May 1, 1890, was declared adopted by a vote of 38 ayes to 8 nays. 33 S14 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. An agitation is now going on in trade union cir- cles looking to the establishment of the eight hour work day on May 1, 1890. Whether it is the in- tention to inaugurate a general strike on that day is not stated either in the resolutions adopted by the Federation or by any of the speakers who ad- dress meetings on the subject. The plan of action to be pursued is not outlined as yet, and beyond the lines of educational work nothing has been set- tled upon. The reason why men are forced to work long hours to-day is because machinery controls man- kind. and its wonderful achievements make it possible for the man who owns machinery to control those who manage it as effectually as though the slave ship had dumped its load of human chattels on the floor of the factory. To talk of reducing the hours of labor without reducing the power of machinery to oppress instead of benefit, is a waste of energy. What men gain through a reduction of hours will be taken from them in another way while the age of iron continues. It is certain that eight hours each day is sufficient for man to labor. He should not be required to toil longer than that ; but when the absolute ownership of machinery and the un- limited control of land are allowed to continue for the aggrandizement of the individual instead of for the welfare of the people, it will always be in the THE EIGHT HO UR PROBLEM. 515 power of those who control to render the lot of the workman so burdensome that he will consent to vi- olate the laws of the land and the laws of organiza- tions in order to earn sufficient bread to sustain life. The advocates of the eight hour system must go be- yond a reduction of the number of hours a man must work and labor for the establishment of a just and humane system of land ownership, control of machinery, railroads, and telegraphs, as well as an equitable currency system before he will be able to retain the vantage ground gained when the hours of labor are reduced to eight per day, as called for in the twenty-first resolution of the preamble of the Knights of Labor. PAPER EEAD BEFOEE CLEVELAND CONVENTION BY EDWIN NOETON, Esq. Oeneral Master Worhman and Members of the General Assembly, Knights of Labor : Gentlemen : — Through the kindness and upon the invitation of your General Master Workman, Mr. Powderly, I have the pleasure of addressing you briefly at this time upon a subject which is of vital importance to us all. The question of shorter hours for a working day is one that has been before this nation for a number of years, and which is con- stantly increasing in public interest. It has received the careful study of many of the greatest thinkers among the ranks of our work- ingmen, employers and political leaders. The politicians have, to all appearances, thus far had the best of it, for they have succeeded in enacting laws by which the legal number of hours for a working day have been reduced to eight, both in the United States government and in several of our States. This they have done with but little trouble or expense apparently to either themselves or their constituents. But how has it been when those most directly interested in this 516 TBE EIGHT SOUR PROBLEM. important question have undertaken to bring about the change? As long ago as the year 1867, united effort was made to reduce the number of working hours per day, but, so far as we are informed, without permanent success. Meanwhile various labor organizations have taken up the subject, and it has grown with their growth until the present year, whieh was fixed upon to again make the attempt to introduce the new order of things. The result thus far is already a matter of history, and to-day the eyes of the entire nation are turned toward this city, watching with great interest to see what action will be taken upon this subject by this honorable Assembly gathered here, as representatives of the largest body of organized workmen known in the history of the world. The events of the past month in this country have, I think, clearly demonstrated that the only practicable solution of this im- portant problem lies in the direction of peace and harmony. Ap- peals to violence can but end in opposition and delay, and it is apparent that the published principles of your Order, if faithfully lived up to by all its members, have in them the elements which will finally lead to a settlement of existing differences, upon a sure and lasting basis. The losses by reason of the strikes which have taken place during the past few weeks are estimated by "Bradstreet's" to be in wages to employes alone upward of three millions of dollars, while the losses to the general business of the country aggregate the enormous sum of thirty millions of dollars, and it is questionable if even this large amount will cover the entire loss from all causes attributable to the strikes. These figures would indicate beyond doubt that the estab- lishment of shorter hours, which is partially the cause of these strikes and lockouts mentioned, can only be found through a system in which strife and disturbance to the business of the country shall have no part ; but rather where thoughtful, conservative and level- headed men, from among both employers and employed, shall take counsel together, and act in harmony to eliminate, if possible, all sources of trouble between labor and capital, and by mutual conces- fiions save that which is otherwise lost in strife, and aim to bring about a more perfect understanding, of the conditions and relation which they bear to one another. I think it will be admitted by all present that from the standpoint of the employer of labor, as well as that of capital invested in manu- facturing industry, this question of fewer hours is one of the greatest importance in that it affects a vital point — the cost of production. THE EIGH T HO UR PB OBLEM. SI 7 This in very many cases has been reduced to a minimum by many years of patient work on the part of the employer, by thorough organization and subdivision of the labor employed, by the use of the most perfect mechanical appliances that thorough knowledge of his wants and ample capital will buy. Possibly he has seen from small beginnings his business expand into a large establishment, em- ploying at fair wages more and more men each year, finding them steady employment, but being obliged to watch carefully every source of loss in order to guard against failure ; the line drawn be- tween success and failure being in many cases extremely fine. Such an employer, when confronted with a demand for a sudden change of all his business methods, such as is involved in a reduction of the hours of labor from ten to eight at one sweep, can see but one end to it, and that end is failure. Most men who are conducting manufac- turing industries are busy men, who can not take the time necessary to a careful .study into matters of general public welfare without the risk of neglecting their own affairs ; and therefore they do not, as a rule, pay as much attention as they should to matters that concern them very closely, and are suspicious of any change, being fearful that the result may prove disastrous. If the question of shorter hours were simply one of sentiment, or one in which the employer could take sides in favor of without fear of endangering the very existence of his business through competition of those unwilling to adopt the plan, there is but little doubt that almost without exception they would vote in favor of it. If this is true, then it- follows that, providing some safe plan can be devised for bringing about the change, it would not meet with very strong oppo- sition even at first ; and that, as it became more familiar to employ- ers, it would receive their active support and co-operation. It is now generally conceded that American labor-saving machin- ery has within the past few years revolutionized the processes of manufacture in most lines, and so increa.sed the capacity of our coun- try to manufacture goods of superior quality at much less cost than that of any other nation. It is also claimed that the extended use of this machinery has made it more difficult for good and competent mechanics and workmen to obtain employment, and that there are now a great number of skilled workers throughout the country quite unable to get work at any price. This may be true, but I do not attribute this fact to the use of machinery, for, so far as my own ex' perience goes (being engaged in the use as well as the manufacture of labor-saving machinery), there is, and has been for some time past, a scarcity of skilled mechanics who can understand and speak 618 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. the English language ; but that the source of trouble lies in the fact that we are overcrowded with men from all foreign countries, who, many of them, have learned mechanical trades at home, where the practice is quite different from ours, and, having heard of this wonder- ful " free country " across the water, have determined to come here and get a portion of the wealth and prosperity that they are led to believe are to be had here for the asking. They arrive, and being usually out of money, and frequently without friends, are in no con- dition to dictate to employers what wages shall be paid them ; and being unfamiliar with our language and customs, as well as with our machines and mechanical appliances to a great extent, they accept whatever wages may be oflfered, and thus enter into active competi- tion with our American workmen; and to-day this element has grown to enormous proportions, and is constantly increasing from year to year, and stands squarely across the pathway of any change which looks forward to the betterment of the condition of the labor- ing classes of our people. This has indeed been a "free country" in every sense of the word, and we have been overstocked with foreign labor of almost every nationality, who have come here much faster than they could be assimilated, even in our rapidly-growing country. Many employers have encouraged this state of things in the past. Having some difficulty or misunderstanding with their workmen, they have concluded to employ " foreign help," and have filled their establishments with men of the class described above^ to the exclu- sion of our own citizens; and in many cases they have found out their error when it was too late to recede. Again, in this too rapid immigration to our country, we have received from Europe a class of men, who, bred under the iron rule of monarchical forms of govern- ment, have developed into apostles and teachers of anarchy and socialism ; and coming here with no care for our free institutions and a bitter hatred of all forms of established government, they are spreading among our people the ethics of destruction, and seizing upon every opportunity to destroy what all the world are trying to build up, and thus create anarchy and ruin in our land in the name of "labor troubles." They have no interest whatever in "labor." They are the enemies of all — both employers and employed — and should be given a wide berth by organized workmen, as they are by all organized governments. I am of the opinion that we can make no real and substantial progress toward the introduction of shorter hours without the active co-operation of your organization with that of other labor and trade THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. 5ig unions, acting in unison with a national organization of employers of labor, to bring about the change gradually, step by step, with ample time between each change to enable business to become adjusted upon the new basis. The plan which will be submitted for your consideration includes the gradual but fixed reduction of the hours of labor without a cor- responding reduction of present wages, to take effect as soon as the proper organization can be effected and a sufficient number of mem- bers enrolled to insure success. Workmen to be protected by the union of employers by an agree- ment on their part, among themselves, to give the preference, for a certain specified time during which this change is being brought about and firmly established, to workmen who were residents of the United States at the time the new rule is adopted, unless meanwhile the surplus of unemployed labor in this country is exhausted. In this plan it would appear that a fair and equitable basis of compromise would be reached, which ought to lead to a permanent settlement of all the differences of opinion regarding shorter hours which now exist between employer and employe, and lead to a much better condition of affairs for our American workmen. I propose also that we go one step further, and refase to employ for the same length of time apy foreigner who, having lived in this country for two years (the time prescribed by law), does not declare his intention to become an American citizen, and make proper application for papers of naturalization. Employers have in the past without doubt, as a rule, taken too little care to impress upon their employes, by force of example and otherwise, the importance and value of a knowledge of our country and its institutions, such as can only be obtained by a performance of the duties of citizenship. Those who come to our country with no expectation of becoming citizens should not, under existing circumstances, have all the privileges and consid- eration extended to those who do. And thus aiding our workmen by protecting them from this foreign competition during the few years lequired to bring about shorter hours, other benefits would naturally result in the nature of an increased interest in the welfare of our country, which would be taken by all, and a consequent better gov- ernment than can possibly exist under other circumstances. We should not discriminate against any nationality nor individual who would accept the conditions offered. All should be made heart- ily welcome who intend to become citizens of this great and good country. From present indications it would appear that we have room for no others here upon any terms whatsoever ; and upon the 620 THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. theory that " self-preservation is the first law of nature,'' there can be no question that we are justified in this course of action. I firmly believe that unless the employers of labor in this country unitedly take up this subject it never can be otherwise brought about. The politicians dare not ; but a national union of employers, aided by organized labor, who would be quite as much interested as employers in the enforcement of the rule, could without doubt make a success of the undertaking. A movement of this kind, having a national scope, would remove all the objections that naturally arise against an attempt to bring about a change in one locality, for the reason that our country is so united by railway and other means of communication that one section can not be aflfected without a corresponding loss or a corresponding gain in other sections. We are no longer limited in our competition to any one locality. Manufacturers in one section are closely watch- ing those in others, and are ever ready to take advantage of any industrial disturbance to improve their condition. The only means of regulating this question would be to have them all united in one organization, working for a common cause. Their interests would lie in the same direction, and, therefore, a national union might accomp- lish with perfect ease what otherwise would doubtless end in failure and loss to all if attempted. A national union of manufacturers, working in harmony with your organization to bring about this change of hours, would natu- rally do much to create and maintain a friendly spirit between employer and employed throughout the country, which in itself would be an end worth seeking, as it would be of great benefit to aU, tending to a better understanding of all questions of public interest that might arise afiecting either employer or workman. All such matters would be more easily adjusted than at present, and thus a peaceful way be opened up for the introduction of whatever would be of general public benefit. We hear it said by some employers, as an argument against shorter hours of labor, that it would be an injury to the workingman to have them, for the reason that he would, " if afforded more leisure time, only spend it in the saloons," and not with his family nor in improv- ing his condition, and that thus what was thought to be a benefit would prove a curse to him. I do not believe that this, as a rule, is true. I do not believe that any greater proportion of workmen spend their time in saloons than of employers. There is, without doubt, far too much time of both classes spent in this manner, but I believe, and so far as my own experience goes, I know that this statement is not true. THE EIGHT HO US PROBLEM. 521 It is the excuse of selfishness, and not worthy of consideration. Be- cause evil exists, those who have no interest in it should not he made to suffer. Far better take some united action for wiping out the evil. A little more friendly interest in this direction shown by em- ployers for the general welfare of their workmen will, in my judg- ment, reduce materially the profits of the saloons. The fact that all the manufacturing industries of our country are now based upon the ten-hour day, and that this system has prevailed for many years, should cause us to fully realize that a sudden and radical change would so upset values as to bring about a demoraliza- tion which would be terrible in its consequences; while the same result may be eventually brought about in a gradual manner, so that each change will be slight in its consequences, and that there will be no reaction nor cause to regret having undertaken it ; for in no case is the motto of your noble Order more true than in this : ''That any injury to one (employer) is an injury to all (his em- ployes)." This fact should be more forcibly impressed upon the minds of all. If, as we are informed by the various labor unions, workmen are willing to accept reduced wages in order to bring about a shorter working day, and in order that their fellow-workmen now unem- ployed may find work, it would appear as if they would still more readily indorse and support a plan which would check the supply from foreign lands from coming to our shores until such time in the fiiture as our present surplus of unemployed workmen now here could find work at profitable wages. There have been propositions made looking to the imposition of a tax upon all foreigners who come to this country, in hopes that this will stop the present ruinous competition from that source. But we have no laws at present which sanction such a course, and before they can be enacted we must of necessity educate public opin- ion up to that point where they will ask legislators to pass some laws which will fit the case. This we know to be a slow and tedious process. And even if a reasonable tax were by law imposed upon these people, it could only serve to slightly retard the stream of ar- rivals, and as soon as shorter hours obtained a foothold here, with a virtual increa.se of wages, they would be likely to come in spite of any reasonable tax which might be imposed as a restriction, and thus our army of unemployed would be increased, and any benefits arising from the shorter hours or increased pay for our workmen be lost by reason of the presence and competition of these foreign workmen. The more practicable plan would appear to be the one suggested. 5B£ THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM Let employers unite and organize, and publish to the world that " We have for many years taken in all the workmen they have sent us, and made them welcome; but that for a few coming years we can not continue to do so, for the reason that we have already here large numbers of unemployed, and we think it fair to state to them that we can not employ any more newcomers for the present until our surplus of unemployed have been provided with places at paying wages." We need not restrict those who cultivate the land, for we have ample room for all these in building up the wonderful broad and fertile acres of the West. Such action, if generally adopted, when it became known abroad, could not fail to have the desired effect, and put a check upon the coming here of these workmen, who, if contemplating immigration, would hesitate to take the risk of earning a living in a strange land when they had been informed in advance they would not be wel- come. In any case it would be better than to first tax them to the limit of their capacity to pay, and then bring them here without means of self-support, which would simply be making bad matters worse. The opponents of shorter hours argue that a less number of hours for work would be impracticable, and cause great loss, from the fact that expensive plants of machinery would lie idle a portion of each present working day, and that this would work to the detriment of business. My answer to this would be that, if at certain seasons there should be a demand for more goods than could possibly be manufactured in the regular working day, there would be no law against a reasonable amount of overtime. Workmen are generally reasonable in such matters ; and I believe, when operating under a mutual agreement to make a reduced number of hours the standard for a day's work, that for such overtime as it was found necessary to run they would be willing to accept the regular per diem wages, and not insist upon a higher rate for such overtime, as frequently pre- vails in the present ten-hour day. The reason for this lies in the fact that the shorter hours without reduced pay are an equivalent to quite an advance above present rates ; and were it understood that labor would be willing to perform such overwork as was neces- sary at regular current wages, it would go far to reconcile employers to adopt the change. The idea of having to increase the wages for overtime is one that looks unreasonable from the employer's stand- point, and I would suggest that at least up to ten hours no over- charge be made beyond the regular daily rate of pay. Another argument against shorter hours is this : that if the rate of THE EIGHT HOUR PJROBLEM. 523 wages should remain the same as at present workmen would not be- practically benefited by reason of the increased cost of living, caused by higher prices which would necessarily be charged for food, cloth- ing, rents, and all other living expenses. To this I would reply that if a gradual and not a sudden reduction of the hours is accepted by labor, values would be but slightly affected at any one time, and all branches of trade would have ample time ta prepare for each change, and so adjust their business as to avoid the losses that must ensue from sudden and sweeping changes, while at the same time, wages remaining as now, workmen and their families would not be cut down in their ability to buy and consume goods. A reduction of one-half hour per day would add to the cost of manu- factured goods five per cent, on account of labor, and probably not more than two and one-half per cent, in addition for interest on idle plant, rent, insurance, taxes and other expenses, which would be the same for a short as for a long day. It may be fairly considered, then,, that seven an& one-half per cent, would be added to the cost of living for each half-hour of reduced work, providing the capacity to pro- duce goods cheaply is not changed in the least. Now any person at all familiar with the inventive skill of the American nation will find it hard to believe that we have reached our limit in this respect. There is no doubt that each year a large portion of this increased cost would be met by improved methods, which would ultimately enable the amount of work formerly per- formed in ten hours to be turned out in the shorter day; and if this is true, then the laws of supply and demand would see that consumers did not pay more for goods than they are worth. I am aware that reduced cost of production would not apply in all cases, and we must therefore concede that somewhat higher prices- would have to be paid for the necessaries of life as a condition of shorter hours. But it is true that the present purchasing pow^r of money is much greater than at any previous time in the history of the country, and the advance would not be felt so much on that account ; while dividing the change into yearly installments would make it bearable by all. And if shorter hours are to be the rule in this country, this plan would seem to point out a safe means for bringing it about. As having an important bearing on this question, it should not be forgotten that all alike, employers and workmen, can not fail to be greatly benefited, should this plan under consideration be adopted, from the fact that there would be no further cause for strikes and lockouts to obtain this end, with their attendant losses, which fall 6^4 ^^^ EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. upon all classes alike ; that a business policy would be marked out for several years to come, which would give confidence to capital to invest in new enterprises ; that differences of opinion between em- ployers and workmen would be more readily adjusted than at present; and, finally, that no possible harm could arise from a trial of shorter hours, under the conditions named, even though it should fail to possess all the good points herein set forth. I will not occupy more of your valuable time to-day in further explanation, but, with your kind permission, will read a rough draft for an organization of employers, which has for its object the purposes which I have described as fully as possible in the limited time which I have occupied. Should these suggestions meet with approval by your honorable Assembly, that fact would, no doubt, go far to place the matter favor- ably before the American people ; and with an earnest wish for the betterment of the condition of all the workmen of our land, and thanking you for your kind attention, I will now read the circular mentioned, and respectfully submit the same for your further con- sideration : TO AMEKICAN MANUFACTUEEES. . Believing that a permanent settlement of the existing disturbed condition of business in our country can only be reached by a rea- sonable understanding between employers and employes, and that a gradual reduction of the present hours of labor under proper pro- tection and restrictions will not be detrimental to the best interests of all; And that during the gradual scaling down of the working hours, which would mean a corresponding increase of pay, our workmen should be protected by the united action of their employers from an influx of labor from foreign lands ; also; that a premium should be placed upon American citizenship in our workshops as well as in places of trust ; And, also, that a basis should be found for ultimately reducing the working day to eight hours without disturbance to our manu- facturers, and one which will meet with the co-operation of all labor organizations; and in the belief that this course of action will meet with the approval of those who have the best interests of all our people at heart; therefore, this union is formed for the perfecting and carrying out of the above purposes in the following manner: Section 1. This organization shall be known as "The American Manufacturers' Union," and all manufacturers of any article through- THE EIGHT HOUR PROBLEM. 525 out the United States shall be eligible to membership by signing the constitution and such by-laws as may be adopted. Sec. 2. The purposes of this organization shall be, first, united action on the part of manufacturers throughout the United States, looking to a gradual and fixed reduction of the present hours of labor, until eight hours for a working day (which is now the legal standard of the United States and of several States) have become the recognized rule throughout the country ; second, the protection of our workmen from the competition of foreigners, anxious to reap the benefit of their improved condition, by a refusal to employ during this period of change any persons who were not residents of the United States on the first day of January, 1887, unless, mean- while, we have exhausted the resources of our own country to fur- nish a supply of labor ; and, third, a refusal to employ after January 1, 1887, any persqn whatsoever, who, having lived long enough in this country to become citizens, do not willingly take steps to become such. Sec. 3. This organization shall adopt the plan herein set forth on the first day of January, A. D. 1887, and it shall remain in force for five years, or until the thirty-first day of December, A. D. 1891, and as much longer as a majority of its members shall desire. Sec. 4. All members of this union shall agree that during the year 1887 nine and one-half hours shall constitute a day's work ; and that during the year 1888 nine hours shall constitute a day's work; and that during the year 1889 eight and one-half hours shall constitute a day's work; and that during and after the year 1890 the present United States standard of eight hours shall be recognized by all members of this union throughout the country as a legal day's work. Sec. 5. Members of this union shall exact from all persons in their employment an agreement to accept the conditions herein set forth during the above period of time, and it shall be understood that no corresponding reduction of present wages shall be made on account of the reduced hours of work. Sec. 6. This action shall not affect farm laborers, but relates to mechanics and skilled laborers of every kind. Anarchy and the Knights, "Deep as I felt, and stern and strong, In words which Prudence smothered long, My soul spoke out against the wrong."— Whittier. Discontent among workingmen brings anarchists to the front — So- cialists flock to labor meeting to disrupt it — Webster defines socialism — Socialists misconstrue it — Webster's definition of an- archy — The definition given of anarchy by its apostle — Herr Host's beast of property — The anarchist cowardly and deceitful — Haskell's rising of the "blind, ignorant producers" — Education not relished by the anarchist — Uriah S. Stephens on the social- ist — Anarchist meetings held in saloons — Meddling of the I. W. A. in the telegrapher's strike of 1883 — Osborne Ward lectures in Scranton — Powderly presides at the meeting — The G. M. W. asked to issue a manifesto declaring that '' property is robbery " — Anachists parading themselves as mouthpieces of the Enights of Labor — ^The secret circular of December 15, 1884 — Confession of a lawyer that monopolists had purchased anarchists to enter the Knights of Labor to destroy the order — Anarchists kill the order on the Pacific coast — They pass resolutions to capture the order — Plans to capture *he United States government — Eight hour strike of May, 1886 — Eesolution asking clemency passed at Richmond General Assembly — Speech against the original — The idea conveyed that the anarchists were Knights of Labor — The Minneapolis session — A resolution of sympathy with the anarchists ofltered by James E. Quinn — Ruled out of order by the G. M. W.— Joseph L. Evans takes an appeal— The G. M. W. sustained — He is asked to give his reasons — The speech of the G. M. W. — No report of it ever given before — It has been dis- torted by anarchist historians — ^The anarchists driven from the order at the IndianapoUs General Assembly — Their attempts to make anarchist schools of the Knights of Labor. The feeling of discontent which became appar- ent among the working people of the United States (526) ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 527 in 1886 presented an opportunity to a class of men who affected to be "leaders of thought and action" to come to the front and take a part in directing the current of industrial affairs into a course which they hoped would bring about a revolution, destroy the governmental structure, and reduce the polit- ical affairs of the nation to a condition bordering on chaos. For years prior to 1886, whenever a la- bor meeting was called in any large city a number of men, calling themselves Socialists, would flock to the gathering, and either attempt to ofScer it or <;ause it to break up in disorder. To do either one was considered a victory by the "radical element," .as they were pleased to term themselves. Social- ism, as defined by Webster, is : A theory of society whicli advocates a more precise, orderly, and .more harmonious arrangement of the social relations of mankind ^than that which has hitherto prevailed. The definition of Webster and the practice of many who call themselves Socialists diverge at every point. It is true that many men became identified with the Socialist movement with a view to perfecting the arrangement of a more harmoni- ous condition of society; but there are Socialists who are not in harmony with the Websterian in- terpretation, and soon dispel the doubts of those who join them for the purpose of advocating such methods. The greater part of those who profess to ;be SocialistSj.andwho became prominent in the in- 528 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. dustrial affairs of late years, were Anarchists, and when the time came to make public their real in- tentions, they cast odium on the name of socialism, and misconstrued its very nature by advocating anarchy as a means of settling the disputes be- tween labor and capital. Many people believe that there is no difference between anarchy and so- cialism, but there is a wider line of demarcation between these two schools than now exists, or ever has existed, between the democratic and republican parties. SOCIALISM WOULD IMPEOVE the arrangement of social affairs ; anarchy would destroy every vestige of order and effect the op- posite of socialism. It is true that many who pro- fessed to speak for socialism knew absolutely noth- ing about it in its higher sense, and in advocating the extreme measures which they did, drove thou- sands away from them. Anarchy is susceptible of two definitions. The one given it by Webster is : Want of government ; the state of society where there is no law or supreme power, or where the laws are not efficient, and individ- uals do what they please with impunity; political confusion. That definition is more in harmony with the views of the extreme Socialist than the definition given of socialism, and is practised by them on all occasions, and in doing so they distort the aims and motives of the real Socialist. Anarchy, as de- scribed by its apostles, is a state of society in which the people will be good enough to live without the ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. SS9 restraining influences of law. It is contemplated that rules and restrictions for the government of mankind may be dispensed with as useless. Each member of society will have so high a regard for the welfare and happiness of his fellow-man as not to do anything that will intrude upon or injure his neighbor. In a word, no rule, no law, is the dream of the ideal Anarchist. Society, as it now exists, is to be dissolved. Those whose tastes are congenial will form themselves into groups, small at first but increasing in numbers as the acquaintanceship ex- tends. The groups are to be governed by the de- crees of nature, and being expected to live in strict accord with the rules which nature prescribes, NO VIOLENCE OR INJUSTICE will be done to any portion of humanity. Such is anarchy in the abstract, at least that is anarchy as described by its advanced teachers, but it is not the kind that is practiced by their dis- ciples. It may be thought that what I say of an- archism is too harsh, but it will be borne in mind that I am dealing with it as I found it, and not in the abstract. With its theories I have nothing to do, but of its doings I have had some knowledge, and speak of it only so far as that knowledge extends. Those who doubt the destructive tendencies of the Anarchists will have their doubts dispelled on reading the following from John Most's " Beast of Property," a pamphlet published by the New Ha- 34 530 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. ven group of the International Workingmen's As- sociation : Everything, therefore, is ripe for communism. It is only neces- sary to remove its interested inveterate enemies, the capitalists and their abettors. During this crisis the people will become sufficiently prepared for the struggle. Everything will then depend on the pres- ence of a well-trained revolutionary nucleus at all points which is fit and able to crystallize around itself the masses of the people, driven to rebellion by misery and want of work, and which can then apply the mighty forces so formed to the destruction of all existing hostile institutions. Therefore organize and enlarge everywhere the socialistic revolu- tionary party before it is too late. The victory of the people over its tyrants and vampires will then be certain. Instead of here developing a programme, it is under present con- ditions of far greater importance to sketch what the proletariat must probably do immediately after the victorious battle, to maintain its supremacy. Most likely the following must be done : In every local commu- nity where the people have gained a victory, revolutionary commit- tees must be constituted. These execute the decrees of the revolu- tionary army, which, reinforced by the armed workingmen, now rule like a new conqueror of the world. The former (present) system will be abolished in the most rapid and thorough manner if its supports — the beasts of property and horde of adherents— are annihilated. The case standing thus: If the peo- ple do not crush them they will crush the people, drown the rev- olution in the blood of the best, and rivet the chains of slavery more firmly than ever. Kill or be killed is the alternative. There- fore, massacres of the people's enemies must be instituted. All free communities enter into an ofiensive and defensive alliance during the continuance of the combat. Revolutionary communes must in- cite rebellion in the adjacent districts. The ^frar can not terminate until the enemy (the beast of property) has been pursued to its last lurking place and totally destroyed. In order to proceed thoroughly in the economic sense all lands and so-called real estate, with everything upon it, as well as all mov- able capital, will be declared to be the property of the respective communes. Until the thorough harmonious reorganization of society can be efiected, the proclamation of the following principles and measures might render satisfaction: Every pending debt is liquidated. Objects of personal use which ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 5,31 were pawned or mortgaged will be returned free. No rents will be paid. District committees on habitation, which will sit in perma- nence, allot shelter to those who are homeless, or who have inad- equate or unhealthy quarters. After the great purification there will be no want for desirable homes. Until every one can obtain suitable employment, the commune must guarantee to all the necessities of life. Committees on sup- plies will regulate the distribution of confiscated goods. Should there be lack of anything, which might be the case in respect to articles of food, these must be obtained by proper agents. Taking such things from neighboring great estates by armed columns of for- agers would be a most expeditious way of furnishing them. * « » * * * All law books, court and police records, registers of mortgage, deeds, bonds, and all so-called valuable documents must be burned. ««*.*»» Forced or procured marriages are unknown. Man- kind has returned to the natural state, and love rules unconstrained. Like all Anarchists, Most shirks the responsibil- ity of " developing a programme." A programme is distasteful to an Anarchist, for the reason that it has the appearance of order. To develop a pro- gramme would be to construct something, and as destruction is the chief aim of the Anarchist, if not of anarchism, he will not do anything that is not in harmony with his tendency to destroy every- thing in the shape of law, rule, and government, except such things as are prescribed by his own narrow, vindictive mind. The Anarchist in America is no more to be con- sidered a part of the labor movement than the man who sits up nights to work his way into a bank vault that he may enrich himself from the earnings of others. The Anarchist may consider that he works hard when preaching his doctrine of destruc- tion. The bank robber must also work hard in or- order to succeed, but such exertions do not come 532 ANARCBY AND THE KNIGHTS. under the head of "honest toil." Both are par- allels. The average Anarchist is cowardly and deceits fal. When he is asked to explain the principles of anarchy, he will give the definition which is ad- vanced by the apostles of that school of thought. This he will do if those who surround him are not Anarchists, but free him from such surroundings and he at once begins to rave in an incoherent manner of what will* be done if anarchy once pre- vails. If he is confronted by the definition given by Webster of anarchy, he will charge Webster with being "an aeistoceat, one of the bourgeoise; one who hates the prole- tariat." Take this same man to task on some other occasion with being a Socialist, for he will claim that he is also a Socialist, even though his every utterance gives the lie to his claim, and he will refer you to the definition given of socialism by Webster, and then defy you to show that there is anything wrong in it as he defines it. It would be wrong to charge all Socialists with being Anarchists, or all Anarchists with being in favor of the rule laid down by Webster, but those who come to the front as the mouthpieces of social- ism and anarchy advocate the use of force oftener than anything else, and as a consequence the coun- try has learned to distrust the man who admits that he is a Socialist no matter how pure his in- ANARCHY AND THE KNIGSTS. 533 tentiona raay be. This is the truth, no matter how much we may deplore it. A cardinal principle with the rampant Socialist and Anarchist is to propagandize on every occa- sion that presents itself. If a new society of labor- ing men is established these extremists become members of it, and attempt to force their ideas to the front. In canting phrase and with mock hu- mility they will insinuate themselves into the good graces of men who would scorn them were they to disclose their real feelings, and once they gain the good will of such, they have inserted a wedge be- tween the members of that society that sooner or later will drive them apart. THE SMOOTH-TONGUED ADVOCATE OF ANARCHY seldom does anything himself toward furthering the ends of the movement he is a part and parcel of. He secures the services of dupes who do his bidding, either through loyalty to principle or ig- norance. That they will play on the ignorance of workingmen is but too true; that they. despise every effort to lift the pall of ignorance that is low- ered over the fortunes of the toilers, is also true. If the people become educated they will have no use for either anarchy or monopoly, and every step in that direction is fought down by both extremes. In concluding a chapter on socialism, written Sep- tember 1, 1884, Burnette G-. Haskell said : When the rising — which will be one of blind, wrathful, ignorant producers — comes, then must the Socialists of America be prepared 634 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. ■ to unfurl the scarlet flag, and with it in hand, head the assault as the leaders of the people, pointing out to them not only their wrongs, hut their only^salvation: "Free land, free tools, and free money!" Mr. Haskell should know how to voice the views of that school of anarchy that has shown its head in this country, for he was at that time- one of the foremost men in that movement. Writing for the ignorant and pandering to ignor- ance, that statement is capable of two interpreta- tions, but its real meaning was that "the rising" was to be an ARMED REBELLION against the establishment of law. It was to be composed of ignorant men, and as a consequence anything that would dispel ignorance would not meet with favor in the eyes of the leaders of an- archy. The "pernicious activity" of the Anarch- ists made itself visible at every meeting of labor societies, and as an illustration I can not do better than to quote from a letter written by Uriah S. Stephens on the subject. The letter was written August 19, 1879, while he was Gr. M. W., and to a member of the Knights of Labor, who. had commu- nicated with him on the subject of the interference of Socialists. It reads : You must not allow the Socialists to get control of your aBsem- bly. They are simply disturbers, and only gain entrance to labor societies that they may be in better position to break them up. You can not fathom them, for they are crafty, cunning, and unscrupu- lous. I detest the name of socialism on account of the actions of the men who profess to believe in it. They rush to every gathering ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 535 and attempt to man or officer it. Having done that, and having driven all decent men away, they are supremely happy in the de- lusion that they have spread their ideas still farther. I have had an experience with them that you could not possibly have had, and I warn you against having anything to do with them either indi- vidually or as a body. They tear down and very seldom even at- tempt to build up. They do nothing for the cause of labor, save to do it harm. If the Socialists ever gain control of the * *" « * » they will kill off the work of years. If they were sincere they would build up their own societies. For the most part the meetings of Anarchists are held under the roofs and influences of saloons, and it is only when exhilerated that they ever ac- complish anything. / There is no instance on record where they have ever done anything in the interest of reform, but in many places they have DESTROYED THE HOPES OF MEN who were sorely tried, and who had almost gained what they were contending for when the incendiary speech of some Anarchist turned public opinion^ often very fickle, in an opposite direction. During the telegraphers strike in 1883 the leader of the International Workingmen's Association of the Pacific coast submitted to the group of which he was a member a proposition to destroy the prop- erty of the Western Union Company. A member of that organization, under date of August 18, 1887, writes the following : He informed certain members of the group that he had been requested by the telegraphers to furnish volunteers from the I. W. A. for the purpose of destroying such property of the Western Union Telegraph Company as would be pointed out to them by a commits tee of strikers. After procuring the required number of strikers. 636 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. and they were ready at midnight to do the work assigned to them, they proceeded to his house and were informed that he was in bed, and that the order was countermanded. Each member began to see that had they proceeded without him, as he expected, they would doubtless have been arrested, as they beUeved it a trap for them. This charge is made against the leader of that movement by men who were associated with him. It was not the I. W. A. that would have suffered through such transactions, for these things could not be done without the knowledge of the police of San Francisco, and the odium would not attach to the Anarchist society had the property been de- stroyed. The telegraphers would have been the victims. Such interference as that whenever a disturbance occurred had the effect of causing men, who were not connected with the labor movement in any way, to believe that it was THE BONA FIDE LABOR SOCIETIES that were responsible for the outrages that took place. A man may advocate a "more precise, orderly, and more harmonious arrangement of the social re- lations of mankind," and be regarded with favor by all classes, but let such a person say that he is a Socialist, and what is known as the " better ele- ment " will raise its hands in horror and forever after shun him as they would a plague. I can con- ceive of no other subject concerning which so much of ignorance is displayed as that of socialism, and those who display that ignorance do not do so because of a lack of education ; they are willfully ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. . 637 blind ; they will not study it, but take their inspi- ration from the garbled reports of "socialist meet- ings," as they appear in the press. They judge of the aims and objects of socialism by those who, un- fortunately for socialism, avow themselves to be advocates of that theory while belying their every utterance in their actions. Those who assert that socialism is destructive of law and order do not know what socialism is, for through its operations simpler, better, fewer, and more humane laws than now exist would be in force, government would not disappear, but a more equitable form of gov- ernment would prevail. The aim of socialism, in a word, IS TO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER. In 1880 Osborne Ward, a Socialist, lectured in Scranton to an out-door audience, and I presided at the meeting. Although not connected with the ' Socialistic Labor Party, I wished to hear all sides, and, therefore, presented Mr. Ward to his audi- ence, and was well pleased with his exposition of the principles of the party he represented. I did not in any way affiliate with the socialistic move- ment, but there were members of that organization who mistook my action in presiding at that meet- ing for approval of their doctrines, and it was pub- lished in their papers that I was a Socialist. In 1882 a member of the socialistic organization of New York City wrote to me asking that, as mayor of Scranton and Gr. M. W. of the K. of L., I 638 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. issue a manifesto "declaring that all property is robbery." I gave a negative reply, and took occa- sion in doing so to state my position on the ques- tion of the kind of socialism that bubbled to the surface from the depths of the beer saloon. From that day began the obstruction of the Anarchist element to the progress of the Knights of Labor. On every occasion they paraded themselves as the mouthpieces of socialism and of the K. of Ii. On December 15, 1884, during the prevalence of very hard times throughout the country, I issued a secret circular to the order in which I advised that a discussion be opened up on the eight hour ques- tion, and among other things, said : A change is slowly but surely coming over the whole country. The workers, though for a time oppressed, must in the end profit by it. The discussion of the labor question takes up more of the time and attention of men in all walks of life at the present time than it ever did before. Men who have no sympathy with the toiler are being forced into the discussion, and converts to the cause of humanity arc being made more rapidly than at any time in the world's history. Notwithstanding all of this the number of the unemployed at the present time is very great, and constantly increasing. Reduction in wages, suspension of men, stoppage of fac- tories and furnaces are of daily occurrence. With such a state of affairs staring us in the face, a word of warning can not be amiss. Indulge in no hasty or ill-advised action, no matter how great the provocation to strike against an injustice or a grievance of any kind. Count well the costs before taking action. Remember that the win- ter is upon us, the dull season of the year is at hand, the number of unemployed so great that the chances of filling the places of strik- ers are very numerous. Under such circumstances as I have pointed out it is but nat- ural for men to grow desperate and restive. The demonstrations in some of our large cities testify to that fact; but when men pa- rade the streets waving the black flag and the red one, threatening the destruction of property and the lives of other men, it in no way ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 539 advances the cause we are engaged in. Such outbursts do no good. If it were possible to get all workingmen out in martial array, and fit them out for battle, would it not be possible to array them in a calm, rational manner on the side of justice devoid of violence? I would like to see the men who talk of destroying life and prop- erty take a practical view of the matter. Suppose that we have a repetition of 1877 on a larger scale. Who will do the fio-hting? Who will do the killing, and who will be counted among the killed? Only the workingmen. Workingmen will be hired to fight working- men, and the men against whom the blow is directed will make a tour of some foreign country, and study the best means of suppress- ing mobs while the unpleasantness lasts, and come back in time to saddle the costs, in the shape of taxes, on the backs of the working- men who are unfortunate enough to escape being killed. It will do no good to hold up the refiection of the French Revolution as a beacon to light us onward. Those who preach such a revolution have never done duty as soldiers, or they would not talk so hghtly of warfare. They should remember that the men who led the French Revolu- tion in its incipient stages, and who led the people in their assault on tyranny, were themselves led to the guillotine before the revolu- tion ended, and their efforts brought to the front a dictator, who crowned himself emperor amid the plaudits of the same people who beheaded a king and overthrew the preceding empire. If we are to judge of revolutions by the example set before us in the French uprising, when we study its benefits, we must pronounce them fail- ures. The tendency of the present day in France is toward mo- nopoly in land and money, while the number of small farmers is growing smaller every year. There were Anarchists in the order, and the reading of that circular had the effect of INTENSIFYINa THEIR ANIMOSITY toward one whom they had hitherto endeavored to make a convert to their theories. They began a system a destructive tactics that well nigh drove the order out of existence. Their agents became members with the avowed purpose of sowing the seeds of discord, and in many places assemblies lapsed rather than follow the lead of Anarchists. 540 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. Not only have Anarchists of their own volition entered the order for the purpose of tearing it down, but they have been hired by monopolists to become members for the purpose of giving an an- archistic turn to the doings of assemblies, so that public opinion might be turned against the order-. This is no stretch of fancy, for a lawyer, an official of Utica, New York, while sitting by my side in a car coming from Washington in the early part of 1887, made this statement to me : We have succeeded in heading off your order, Mr. Powderly. We do not fear it any longer, for its power is killed through the fool- ish actions of its members. You may preach to them to be guided by wise counsels, but we have paid Anarchists to become members of your assemblies that they might stir up the devil and bring dis- credit upon your whole movement. That no misconstruction might be placed upon his language, I requested Mr. H to repeat his words. He did so, and I noted them down for future reference. He was slightly intoxicated, just enough to loosen his tongue, but not enough to be- numb his faculties. He stated that he was an at- torney for a manufacturers' association. Through the actions of the Anarchists the Knights of Labor were well nigh destroyed on the Pacific coast. They lost no opportunity to introduce some new element of discord at every meeting, until the members who were not connected with the I. W. A. withdrew in disgust, and severed all connection with the K. of L. An ex-officer of one of the An- archist groups made this statement to me over his own signature: ANARCHY ANP THE KNIGHTS. 5^1 I and many others know as a fact that it was the intention of the heads of the I. W. A, to capture the K. of L., as it was a pow- erful organization, ready-made to their hand, and would save them considerable labor in organizing if they could achieve their desire. Anyhow, it could be and was used as a recruiting ground for their purposes. While professing to be opposed to the continuance of the United States government, the Anarchists, at their convention in 1886, decided that " each mem- ber should prepare himself to occupy some high office in the government (of the people) when the I. W. A. should have gained control. Various high positions were then parcelled out to those pres- ent in the meeting with the understanding that they would PREPARE THEMSELVES. Those filling the various offices were to remain un- known to the people at large after the nation was captured, the heads of all departments meeting and transacting their business in secret. The same principle to be maintained in conducting the affairs of government as in conducting the routine of the I. W. A., the secret five issuing all orders and ex- acting perfect obedience, though they were to re- main unknown and consequently irresponsible." The above is in the language of one who still re- sides on the Pacific coast, and who knows the inside workings of the organization he writes about. The resolutions which were passed to capture the order of the Knights of Labor were forwarded to me pre- vious to the session of the General Assembly at 54-S ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. Richmond, and in an address to that body, while a debate on the admission of certain delegates was in progress, I intimated that it was the intention of that body, known as the International Working- mens' Association, to capture the order of the Knights of Labor. That declaration inspired the most virulent and uncalled for attacks from every quarter of the United States where there was a group of Anarch- ists, but they did not publish them to the world as coming from groups of the I. W. A. They re- sorted to a most EFFECTUAL MEANS OF DOING INJURY. Having secured control in certain assemblies of the Knights of Labor, they would decide in the An- archist group what should be done, and then have a local assembly of the order, of which I was the executive officer, pass resolutions against my ad- ministration. In this way the public and members of the Knights of Labor were deceived. The leaders of these groups were, for the most part, cunning and educated. Many of them were professional men, and knew well how to mould public opinion. ^Hay-VK ing the entree to the daily press, they(lost no op- portunity of spreading broadcast all manner of ru- mors concerning the autocracy of the officers of the Knights of Labor, while they themselves were un- der pledges to capture the United States govern- ment, and manage it in secret through a committee ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. Q^S of five, whose power would exceed that of the Em- peror of Russia. When the movement in favor of the establish- ment of the eight hour work day took place on May 1, 1886, the places where the greatest show of strength was developed were Chicago, 111., Mil- waukee, Wis., Baltimore, Md., Boston, Mass., and St. Louis, Mo. At Chicago the sound of a bomb did more injury to the good name of labor than all the strikes of that year, and turned public senti- ment against labor organizations so strong that it required the most strenuous efforts on the part of the officers of labor 'societies to keep their charges from being dragged down into the MIEE OF ANAECHY. The events of that year have been written, and such a short time ago that it is not necessary to re- produce them here, but there are matters in con- nection with the explosion of the bomb that did so much harm that should be known. Passing over for the present the events which transpired on and sijcceeding the first of May, 1886, we find the Greneral Assembly of the Knights of Labor in session at Richmond, Va, On page 240 of the proceedings of that convention will be found the record of the election of the General Master Workman. This occurred on October 13. On the 19th of that month his salary was fixed by vote of the Greneral Assembly. The record on page 285, and on the day after the fixing of the salary — ^page 54Ji- ANAECHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 288 — ^the following resolution was oflfered by a rep- resentative from New York City, James E. Quinn : That this General Assembly regards with sorrow the intended execution of seven workingmen in Chicago, and appeals for mercy in behalf of the condemned. The General Master Workman left the chair, and when an opportunity presented itself, he said : I do not approve of the resolution in its present form, and would ask of the General Assembly to give the most careful consideration to this question. I object to the word " workingmen " in that res- olution. The societies which favored the measures which were put into practice on May 4th are not made up of workingmen, nor do they pretend to be such. Even though they were, this convention should object, to the work done in the name of labor by these mis- guided men, instead of countenance it, or any part of it, by showing a morbid sympathy for them as worliingmen. The world regards all labor societies in the same light since May 1st; and had it not been for the imbecile act which afforded the Anarchists the op- portunity to do an evil deed while the eyes of the world were upon the men of labor, we would not be regarded with suspicion by all who are beyond our sanctuaries. If the word workingmen is stricken out of the resolution, and a condemnation of the methods which brought these unfortunates to their present condition inserted, I shall vote for it, but not other- wise. Under no circumstances should we do anything that can, even by implication, be interpreted as identification with the An- archist element; Their blind, unlawful act has cast a stain upon the name of labor which will take years to wipe out. Instead of owing them sympathy we owe them a debt of hatred for their un- warrantable interference at a time when labor had all it could do to weather the storm which had been precipitated upon it by men who appariently did not look very far into the future when naming the first of May as the date on which to put in operation a plan which, from 'its very nature, must revolutionize the industrial af- fairs of the country. We are apt to give too little thought to im- portant measures, and to view them from the standpoint of our im- mediate surroundings, ratiier than from the standpoint of common sense, and this is such a case. We see men in trouble and rush to their assistance without considering that our action may bring trouble ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. QJ^5 to thousands. Think well over this before you vote, and then vote on such a resolution as will not commit the order to any wild or visionary scheme which men, whom I believe to be its enemies, ■would like to see it become involved in. After the views of the General Master Workman were stated, a representative from Missouri offered a resolution in accord with the sentiments ex- pressed. It reads as follows : Resolved, That while asking for mercy for the condemned men, we are not in sympathy with the acts of the Anarchists, nor with any attempts of individuals or associated bodies that teach or prac- tice violent infractions of the law, believing that peaceful methods are the surest and best means to secure necessary reforms. That resolution passed unanimously and met with the approval of nearly all who were present. The few who favored anarchy did not relish it be- cause it lacked that indorsement of their ideas which they had hoped to carry away with them. In response to the address of welcome of Gover- nor Lee, the General Master Workman, in com- paring monopoly and anarchy, said : To remedy the evils we complain of is a difficult and dangerous undertaking. The need of strong hearts and active brains was never so great as at the present time. The slavery that died twenty-two years ago was terrible, but, bad as it was, it never developed a mill- ionaire, while the new slavery, which now reaches out with a far stronger hand than the old, has developed hundreds of them. The lash in the hands of the old-time slave-owner could strike but one back at a time, and but one of God's poor, suffering children felt the stroke. The lash of gold in the hands of the new slave-owner falls not upon one slave alone, but upon the backs of millions, and among the writhing, tortured victims, side by side with the poor and the ignorant, are to be found the well to do and the educated. The power of the new slave-owner does not end when the ordinary day laborer bends beneath his rule. It reaches out still further and 35 5Jj.6 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. controls the mechanic, the farmer, the merchant, and the manu- facturer. It dictates not alone what the price of labor shall be, but regulates the price of money as well. This new slavery counts among its victims servants of the State who have been chosen by the peo- ple to execute a people's will. Not alone does it control the legis- lator at the State capitol, but in the halls of our national Congress will you find its most willing, cringing slave. It reaches out even further, and holds in its iron grasp the judge upon the bench ; not that alone, but it has the power and does confer the judicial ermine upon its most subservient creatures. Do I overestimate its power ? Have I made a single misstatement ? If my word is not suflBcient, turn to the pages of the history of to-day — ^the public press — and you will find the testimony to prove what I have said is true. Ev- idence in abundance can be adduced to corroborate every statement made by the press. The lash was stricken from the hand of the slave-owner of twen- ty-five years ago, and it must be taken from the hand of the new slave-owner as well. The monopolist of to-day is more dangerous than the slave-owner of the past. Monopoly takes the land from the people in million- acre lots ; it sends agents abroad and brings hordes of uneducated, desperate men to this country ; it imports ignorance and scatters it broadcast throughout the land. It, and it alone, is responsible for every manifestation of anarchy that our country has witnessed. All men may not be willing to admit that the statement is true, but when monopoly dies, no more Anarchists will be born unto this country, for anarchy is the legit- imate child of monopoly. While I condemn and denounce the deeds of violence committed in the name of labor during the pres- ent year, I am proud to say that the Knights of Labor, as an or- ganization, are not in any way responsible for such conduct. He is the true Knight of Labor who with one hand clutches anarchy by the throat, and with the other strangles monopoly! We are told that it is because of the importation of so many ig- norant foreigners that anarchy has shown its head in our country. Eather is it true that because of the importation of foreign airs, manners, and graces by the wealthy we have forgotten what it is that constitutes the true citizen of the republic. The man who still believes in the " little red school house on the hill " should take one holiday and visit the mine, the factory, the coal breaker, and the mill. There, doing the work of men, will he find the future citizens of the republic, breathing an atmosphere of dust, ignorance and vice. The history of our country is not taught within these walls. ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 5^7 The struggle for independence and the causes leading to that strug- gle are not spoken of there ; the name of Washington is unknown, and the words that rang out trumpet-tongued from the lips of Pat- rick Henry are never mentioned. Our country, her history, her laws and her institutions are unknown to these poor children. How, then, can the child of the foreigner learn to appreciate the freedom which they have never been told about, much less experienced? The little red school house must fail to do its work properly, since the children of the poor must pass it by on the road to the work- shop. How can they appreciate the duties of citizenship when we do not take the trouble to teach them that to be an American cit- izen is greater than to be a king, and that he upon whom the man- tle of citizenship is bestowed should part with his life before sur- rendering one jot or tittle of the rights and liberties which belong to him? Turn away from these hives of industry, stand for a moment on a street corner, and you will see gaily-caparisoned horses driven by a coachman in livery ; a footman occupying his place at the rear of the coach is also dressed in the garb of the serf. On the coach door you will find the crest or coat of arms of the illustrious family to whom it belongs. If you speak to the occupant of the coach concerning our country, her institutions or her flag, you will be told that they do not compare with those of foreign countries. The child who graduates from the workshop dons the livery of a slave, covers his manhood, and climbs to the footman's place on the outside of the coach. The man who apes the manners and customs of foreign noblemen occupies the inside. The one who with strong heart and willing hands would defend the rights and liberties of his country has never learned what these rights or liberties are. The other does know, but has learned to love the atmosphere of monarchy better than that which he breathes in this land. Between these two our freedom is in danger, anarchism is fostered, and that is why we, as Knights of Labor, most emphatically protest against the introduc- tion of the child to the workshop until he has attained his fifteenth year, so that he may be enabled to secure for himself the benefits of an education that will enable him to understand and appreciate the blessings of our free institutions, and, if necessary, defend them with his life. During the year which followed no effort was spared to give out the impression that the con- demned men were Knights of Labor, and that they 548 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. had the endorsement of their local 'assemblies in acting with the Anarchists. It is true that it was not stated that any of the condemned were Knights except Albert R. Parsons, but the idea was con- veyed that they were entitled to the sympathy of the order. In his address to the General Assembly at Min- neapolis, Minn., October, 1887, the General Master Workman detailed the experiences of the year so far as his connection with anarchy was concerned, and asked that the convention speak out in the name of the order at large against the practices of the violent element which had gained admission to the organization. During the progress of the con- vention, on October 10, James E. Quinn, presented the following resolution to the body : Whereas, Considering that the development of the human mind in the nineteenth century has reached a point expressed almost uni- versally against capital punishment, or the taking of human life by judicial process, as a relic of barbarism; therefore be it Besolved, That this convention express sorrow that the men in Chicago were doomed to death, and that it use every endeavor to secure the commutation of the sentence of death passed upon them. When that resolution was read the General Mas- ter Workman ruled it out of order. He had pre- viously stated to those who said that such a resolu- tion would be offered that he would do so. In ruling on the resolution he said that if necessary he would give his reasons for the action taken. Joseph L. Evans, of Pittsburg, took an appeal from the decision of the chair, giving as his reason that he wished to give the G. M. W. an opportunity to ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 5^9 state why he made the ruling. The vote was put on the appeal, and the chair was sustained by a vote of 121 to 53. On a motion to reconsider the vote which sustained the decision of the Gr, M. W,, 14 representatives spoke against the decision of the chair and ten in favor of it. The question on the vote to reconsider was called when the G. M. W. was asked to state his reasons for ruling the motion out of order ; he spoke as follows : I know that it may seem to be an arbitrary act on my part to rule a motion out of order, and did I not liave excellent reasons for doing so I never would have availed myself of the privilege con- ferred upon me by virtue of the office I hold. To properly explain my reasons it will be necessary for me to take you back to the first ■of May, 1886, when the trades unions of the United States were in & struggle for the establishment of the eight hour system. On that day was stricken to the dust every hope that existed for the suc- cess of the strike then in progress, and those who inflicted the blow claim to be representatives of labor. I deny their claim to that po- sition, even though they may be workingmen. They represented no legitimate labor society, and obeyed the counsels of the worst foe this order has upon the face of the earth to-day. We claim to be striving for Ihe elevation of the human race through peaceful methods, and yet are asked to sue for mercy for men who scorn us and our methods, men who were not on the ■Street at the Chicago Haymarket in obedience to any law, rule, res- olution, or command of any part of this order; men who did not in any way represent the sentiment of this order in placing them- selves in the attitude of opposing the officers of the law, and who sneer at our every effort to accomplish results ; had these men been there on that day in obedience to the laws of this society, and had they been involved in a difficulty through their obedience to our laws, I would feel it to be my duty to defend them to the best of my ability under the law of the land, but in this case they were there to counsel methods that we do not approve of, and no matter though they have lost no opportunity to identify this order with anarchy, it stands as a truth that there does not exist the slightest resemblance between the two. I warned those who proposed to introduce that resolution that I 550 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS would rule it out of order, and that it would do harm to the con- demned men to have it go out that this body had refused to pass such a resolution. I stated to them that I knew the sentiment of the men who came here, the sentiment of the order that sent them, and know- ing what that sentiment was. a resolution that In any way would identify this order with anarchy could not properly represent that sentiment. You are not here in your individual capacity to act as individuals, and you can not take upon yourselves to express your own opinion and then ask of the order at large to indorse it, for you are stepping aside from the path that your constitutents instructed you to walk in. This organization, among other things, is endeavoring to create a healthy public opinion on the subject of labor. Each member is pledged to do that very thing. How can you go back to your homes and say that you have elevated the order in the eyes of the public by catering to an element that defies public opinion, and attempts to dragoon us into doing the same thing? The eyes of the world are turned toward this convention. For evil or good will the vote you are to cast on this question affect the entire order, and extreme caution must characterize your action. The Eichmond session passed a vote in favor of clemency, but in such a way that the order could not be identified with the society to which these men belong, and yet thousands have gone from the order because of it. I tell you the day has come for us to stamp anarchy out of the order root and branch. It has no abiding place among us, and we may as well face the issue here and now as later on and at another place. Every device known to the devil and his imps has been resorted to to throttle this order in the hope that on its ruins would arise the strength of anarchy. During the year that has passed I have learned what it means to occupy a position which is in opposition to anarchy. Slander, villification, calumny, and malice of the vilest kind have been the weapons of the Anarchists of America because I would not admit that Albert E. Parsons was a true and loyal member of the Knights of Labor. That he was member is true, but we have had many members .who were not in sympathy with the aims and objects of the order, and who would subordinate the order to the rule of some other society. We have members, too, who could leave the order for the order's good at any moment. Albert E. Parsons never yet counselled violence in obedience to the laws of Knighthood. I am told that it is my duty to defend the reputation of Mr. Parsons be- cause he is a member of the order. Why was not the obligation as binding on him. I have never lisped a word to his detriment, ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 551 either in public or private before. This is the first time that I have spoken about him in connection with the Haymarket riot, and yet the adherents of that damnable doctrine were not content to have it so ; they accuse'd me of attacking him, that I might, in denying it, say something in his favor. Why did not Powderly defend Parsons through the press since he is a Knight, and an innocent one? is asked. It is not my business to defend every member who does not know enough to take care of himself, and if Parsons is such a man he deserves no defense at my hands ; but Parsons is not an ignorant man, and knows what he is doing. When men violate the laws and precepts of Knighthood, then no member is required to defend them. When Knights of Labor break the laws of the- land in which they live, they must stand before the law the same as other men stand, and be tried for their ofienses and not for being Knights. This resolution does not come over the seal of either local or district assembly. It does not bear the seal of approval of any rec- ognized body of the order, and represents merely the sentiment of a membej^ of this body, and should not be adopted in such a way as to give it the appearance of having the approval of those who are not here to defend themselves and the order against that hell- infected association that stands as a foe of the most maUgnant stamp to the honest laborer of this land. I hate the name of anarchy. Through its encroachments it has tarnished the name of socialism and caused men to believe that socialism and anarchy are one. They are striving to do the same by the Knights of Labor. This they did intentionally and with malice aforethought in pushing their infernal propaganda to the front. Pretending to be advanced thinkers, they drive men from the labor movement by their wild and foolish mouthings whenever they congregate, and they usually congregate where beer flows freely. They shout for the blood of the aristocracy, but will turn from blood to beer in a twinkling. I have no use for any of the brood, but am satisfied to leave them alone if they will attend to their own business and let this order alone. They have aimed to capture this order, and I can sabmit the proofs [here the documents were pre- sented and read]. I have here also the expose of the various groups of Anarchists of this country, and from them will read something of the aims of these mighty men of progress who would bring the greatest good to the greatest number by exterminating two-thirds of humanity to begin with. Possibly that is their method of con- ferring good. No act of the Anarchists ever laid a stone upon a stone in the 552 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. building of this order. Their every effort was against it, and those ■who have stood in the front, and have taken the sneers, insults, and ridicule of press, pulpit, and orator in defense of our principles, always have had the opposition of these devils to contend with also. I can not talk coolly when I contemplate the damage they have done us, and then reflect that we are asked to identify ourselves with them even in this slight degree. Had the Anarchists their way this hody would not be in existence to-day to ask assistance from. How do you know that the condemned men want your sym- pathy? Have they asked of you to go on your knees in supplica- tion in seeking executive clemency for them? I think not, and if they are made of the stuff that I think they are, they will fling back in your teeth the resolution you would pass. I give the men who are in the prison cell at Chicago credit for being sincere in believing that they did right. They feel that they have struggled for a principle, and feeling that way they should be, and no doubt are, willing to die for that principle. Why, if I had done as they did, and stood in their place, I would die before I would sue for mercy. I would never cringe before a governor, or any other man in a whine for clemency. I would take the consequences, let them be w^hat they would. We may sympa- thize with them as much as we please, but our sympathies are due first to the order that sent us here, and it were better that seven times seven men hang than to hang the millstone of odium around the standard of this order in affiliating in any way with this element of destruction. If these men hang you may charge it to the actions of their friends, for while pretending to be friends of theirs, the dis- ciples of Most have lost no opportunity to strengthen the strands of the rope by their insane mouthings that it may do its work well. Be consistent and disband as soon as you pass this resolution, for j'ou will have no further use of any kind for, another General Assembly. You have imposed upon your General Master Workman the task of defending the order from the attacks of its enemies, and he feels that he is entitled to at least a small share of the credit lor giving the order its present standing. He has to the best of his ability defended the order, ^ut its friends will place in the hands of its enemies the strongest weapon that was ever raised against it if they pass this resolution. Of what avail for me to go before the public and assert that we are a law abiding set of men and women? What will it avail for me to strive to make public opinion for the order when, with one short resolution, you sweep away every ves- tige of the good that has been done, for mark it, the press stands read}- to denounce us far and wide the moment we do this thing. ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 553 This resolution is artfully worded. Its sinister motive is to place OS in the attitude of supporters of anarchy rather than sympathizers with men in distress, and it should be defeated by a tremendous majority. It is asserted that this does not amount to anything, and that it is not the intention to identify the order at large with these men. No more barefaced lie was ever told. That resolution would never be offered if we did represent so large a constituency, and if it passes twenty-four hours won't roll over your heads until you see Anarchists all over the land shouting that if these men are hanged the Knights of Labor will take revenge at the polls and elsewhere. In passing that resolution you place the collar of anarchy around your necks, and no future act of ours can take it off. If you sympathize with these unfortunate men why do you lack the man- hood to sign a petition for the commutation of their sentence, as individuals, and stand upon your own manhood instead of sneaking behind the reputation and character of this great order, which owes everything it has gained to having nothing to do with the Anarchists. Pass this vote if you will, but I swear that I will not be bound by any resolution that is contrary to the best interests of the order. You can not pass a resolution to muzzle me, and I will not remain silent after the adjournment of this convention if it becomes neces- sary to defend the order from unjust assaults as a result of the ac- tion taken. As an order we are striving for the establishment of justice for industry. We are attempting to remove unjust laws from the stat- utes, and are doing what we can to better the condition of human- ity. At every step we have to flght the opposition of capital, which •of itself is suflBcient to tax our energies to the utmost, but at every step we are handicapped by the unwarrantable and impertinent in- terference of these blatant, shallow-pated men, who affect to believe that they know all that is worth knowing about the conditions of labor, and who arrogate to themselves the right to speak for labor at all times and under all circumstances. That they are mouth- pieces is true, but they only speak for themselves, and do that in «uch a way as to alarm the community and arouse it to such a pitch of excitement that it insists upon the passage of restrictive legisla- tion which, unfortunately, does not reach the men whose rash lan- guage calls for its passage. Its effects are visited upon innocent ones who had no hand, act, or part in fomenting the discord which pre- ceded the passage of the unjust laws. Our greatest trouble has always been caused by extremists who, without shadow of authority, attempted to voice the sentiments of this order, and from this day forward I am determined that no 654 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. Bnivilling Anarchist will speak for me, and if he attempts it under shadow of this organization, then he or I must leave the order, for I will not attempt to guide the affairs of a society that is so lacking in manhood as to allow the very worst element of the community to make use of the prestige it has gained to promote the vilest of schemes against society. I have never known a day when these creatures were not ready to stab us to the heart when our faces were turned toward the enemy of labor. It is high time for us to assert our manhood before those men throttle it. For Parsons and the other condemned men let there be mercy. I have no grudge against them. In fact, I would never trouble my head about them were it not for the welfare of this, order. Let us as individuals express our sorrow for their unhappy plight, if we will, but as an order we have no right to do so. It is not the individuals who are in prison at Chicago that I speak against. It is the hellish doctrine which found vent on the streets of Chicago, and which, unfortunately for themselves, they have been identified with. No, I do not hate these men, I pity them ; but for anarchy I have nothing but hatred, and if I could I would for- ever wipe from the face of the earth the last vestige of its double- damned presence, and in doing so would feel that the best act of my life, in the interest of labor, had been performed. At the conclusion of that speech, which is for the first time given verbatim, a vote was taken on the mo- tion to reconsider, and was lost. The reason that speech is reproduced is because the sympathizers with anarchy, who listened to it, have malignantly garbled it to suit their own purposes ever since. For twa reasons it is best that it should be known, that there may be no mistake as to what was said, and that it shall find a place in history where it will be accessible to those who would know the truth. George A. Schilling, in a " Short History of the Labor Movement in Chicago," bends the truth past the breaking point when he says : Powderly ruled it [the resolution favoring the Anarchists] out of order. On the appeal from the decision of the chair by represent ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 555 ative Evans of District Assembly No. 3, of Pittsburg, the entire sub- ject became a matter for discussion. Powderly, as usual, spoke last and made a bitter attack on .the condemned men. « » » * » » » » # » Qjj roll-call fifty-two members voted against the de- cision of the chair, he being sustained by a large majority. The chair did not even attempt to speak during the discussion on the appeal from his decision. That vote was decided without interference from him, and it was only when he was asked to do so on the motion to reconsider that he did speak. The same historian of anarchy, in writing of the Richmond session, asks : Why did not Powderly rule the subject out of order at Rich- mond? Was it because he was looking for the increase of salary to $5000 per annum, and could not afford to oppose District Assem,- bly No. 49 with its sixty-two delegates who championed the resolu- tion for clemency. Those who take the trouble to do so will find the record as I have given it in the proceedings of the Richmond session, and they will learn that the General Master Workman was elected and his sal- ary fixed long before the resolution came up. That he did speak on the motion is not questioned by thope who were present, those who were not may read his remarks in these pages. It has been said by Anarchist sympathizers that the Minneapolis speech had the effect of causing the Governor of Illinois to refuse to commute the sen- tences of all the prisoners. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The Governor knew nothing of it, neither did he ever hear of a public expression concerning the condemned men from the G. M. W. S56 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. If George Schilling desired to he fair, he would have quoted from a paper called " The Knights of La- bor," and published by George E. Detwiler, of Chi- cago, a more scathing denunciation of the Anarch- ists than anything that was said at the Minneapolis convention. In its issue of May 8, 1886, four days after the Haymarket explosion, and before the An- archist trials, the paper in question said in a lead- ing editorial : Let it be understood by all the world that the Knights of Labor have no affiliation, association, sympathy, or respect for the band of cowardly murderers, cut-throats, and robbers known as Anarch- ists, who sneak through the country like midnight assassins, stir- ring up the passions of ignorant foreigners, unfurling the red flag of anarchy, and causing riot and bloodshed. Parsons, Spies, Field- ing, Most, and all their followers, sympathizers, aiders and abettors should be summarily dealt with. They are entitled to no more consideration than wild beasts. The leaders are cowards, and their followers are. fools. Knights of Labor, boycott them ; if one of the gang of scoundrels should by any mistake get access to our organization, expel him at once, brand them as out-lawed monsters. Do not even permit yourselves to hold conversation with one o( them ; treat them as they deserve to be treated, as human mon- strosities not entitled to the sympathy or consideration of any per- son in the world. * * We hope the whole gang of outlaws will be blotted from the surface of the earth. Those who still believe that the Anarchists of Chicago and the Socialists of America were one, should read a pamphlet issued by the Socialistic Labor party on June 1, 1886, in refutation of the charge that socialism and anarchism were one. It is entitled " Socialism and Anarchism, antagonistic opposites." Its first paragraph is : In reading the newspapers we find the two names mentioned above frequently put side by side. Nay, we find them also assooi- ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. 557 ated with the terms communiBm and nihilism, as though these four " isms " had the closest relation to each other. This is a mistake. Socialism and anarchism are opposites which have nothing in com- mon but their appurtenance to social science. Socialists and An- archists as such are enemies. They pursue contrary aims, and the success of the former will destroy forever the fanatical hopes of the latter. In the ajJpendix is given the aims and purposes of the Anarchists as taken from the Chicago Star of April 25, 1887. It is vouched for by those wha are in position to know that it contains the truth. It was from that document that I read the extracts which explained to the Minneapolis session the real aims of those who sought to cover up their DIABOLICAL SCHEMES, first under the name of socialism and later on by appropriating the machinery of the Knights of La- bor to do it under. From the close of the Minne- apolis session to the opening of the Indianapolis convention an open and persistent assault on the order was continued by the Anarchists and their sympathizers. Unfortunately for the order it had on its Executive Board ardent sympathizers with anarchy, and it was not until they, together with others, were deprived of the power to do harm to the order, that it was rid of an element that aimed solely at prostituting its highest, purest prin- ciples and rendering them subservient to that ele- ment which at all times advised violence as the only weapon to be used in destroying the evil ten- dencies of the times. The order can with a united 568 ANARCHY AND THE KNIGHTS. front, make headway against the assaults of mo- nopoly, for its principles are pure, and under no guise can monopoly attempt to become a part of the order for the purpose of carrying forward its plans of spoliation, but weighed down by a fester- ing, putrid sore, which irritated most when the ne- cessity for clear-sighted, conservative action was most apparent ; with such an active enemy work- ing to overthrow the order from within through agents introduced to the organization for that pur- pose, the officers and members who worked for the elevation of the toiler in endeavoring to put the principles of the order into practical operation, could do little else than give their attention to these destroyers, an attention which should have been undivided and centered wholly upon the aggress- ive, grasping monopolist and speculator. " They build their Babel In His sight, From founding unto coping stone. Their pride is monstrous; In a night They lie beneath It, overthrown."— Bofter. Abolition of oath of secrecy creates dissatisfaction — Members in Ne'w York object to its abolition — Request the G. M. W. to set aside the law and charge him with autocracy for refusing — The sub- ject referred to in annual address — The representative from Dis- trict Assembly No. 41 gets drunk and misconstrues what he hears — The Improved Order of Knights of Labor organized in Washington and Baltimore — The General Assembly expels all who attach to it — The pledge of the Improved Order — Whisky- sellers admitted — The object political — The trouble at Bingham- ton, N. Y. — Another new order founded — It is called the " Ex- celsior Assembly No. 1 of the Independent Order of Knights of Labor — Five members of the order attach to it, and the press dispatches magnify them into three hundred and fourteen — Powderly's autocracy consists of his refusal to override the de- cision of the General Executive Board, a power not conferred on him by the constitution — The qualification for membership — Whisky can again secure admission — Death benefits to be paid — The first death and first assessment — The organization buried in the grave with the deceased member — A lull in improvements-^ The Provisional Committee of 1887 — Manifestos issued— Meet- ings held — Two members of the General Executive Board co- operating with the Provisionals — The communication to Bailey — The Founders' movement — Six charters issued — The pledge — No excuse for the existence of such an order— It dies — Every movement against the Knights of Labor founded in ambition of individuals — No deviation from the rule so long as thfe Gen- eral Assembly indorses what has been done. The abolition of the oath of secrecy, in the obli- gation of Knighthood, by the Detroit session of the (559) 560 IMPROVEMENTS (t) General Assembly, in 1881, occasioned no little dissatisfaction among those who believed that the veil of mystery was more potent for good than the education of the masses in an open organization. Under the rule of an organization, the name of which no member could speak above a whisper, the aims of which no one could explain, it was as easy to assert that the aim of the association was the overthrow of go^iernment and society as to admit that its real object was to purify government and reconstruct society. The extreme secrecy afforded an excellent opportunity for scheming brains to PLOT, PLAN, AND EXECUTE evil as well as good. The G. M. W. recommended the abolition of the oath in his address to the con- vention. After alluding to the opposition shown the order by the church in many places, he said : Many of our members are not posseesed of sufficient intelligence to comprehend the nature of an oath, and ofttimes violate their vows without actually intending it ; others, more intelligent and at the eame time less scrupulous, break their obligations for a consideration. I maintain that a word of honor will bind a man of honor as se- curely as the most iron-clad oath, while a being devoid of honor will be bound by no obligation or law, either human or divine. I, there- fore, advise that a man's regard for his honor in this world be made the test, instead of his fear of punishment in the next. Members of the order in New York objected to the abolition of the oath, and requested the G. M. W. to grant a dispensation to use the old form. That officer was not at that time vested with au- thority to issue dispensations, and refused to allow IMPRO VEMENTS (?) 561 the retention of the old forms beyond the time al- lowed by law. From this refusal grew an opposi- tion to him which was bitterly prolonged for many years. When the Greneral Assembly met in New York the year following, the address of the Gr. M. W. contained these words : The changes made in the secret work of the Order at the Detroit General Assembly have been misunderstood by a few. Shortly after the changes went into effect I was written to for dispensation to allow certain localities to work under the old A. K. This I had no power to grant and of course refused. A revolt was contemplated but was not resorted to, the good sense of the members prevailing. Yet those who were active in exciting members to insubordination have lost no opportunity to blacken me whenever an opportunity presented itself. I care but little for this, but it can do an organization no good to find unnecessary fault with its officers. I can only say, watch your offi- cers with a jealous eye. Breathe not one word against them until you are certain they deserve it, then let your punishment be swift and sure. When an impartial person reviews the reason givfen for opposing the new work he fails to find a single convincing argument. Men who coincided with our views had no opportunity of knowing the po- sition we held, but now that we can go before the world and explain and define our position we have no difficulty in securing the active cooperation of labor reformers everywhere. The result is most grat- ifying. I need but refer you to the report of the Grand Secre- tary, which shows the increase in members, to prove that the changes made at Detroit have had no injurious effect. If our cause is just what need have we to fear the opposition of the whole world? I grant that members may be discharged and victimized for being members of the Order, but there is no good reason why the names or identity of members in any locality need be made more public than in the day when we practiced the utmost secrecy. A few Locals favor a return to the original secrecy of the Order, and would again bind men under the penalty of becoming perjurers to do their duty. The Order is powerless to punish perjury — that must come beyond the grave. I am opposed to an oath. I believe as Brutus did when he said : — 36 56Sg IMPROVEMENTS {f) No, not an oath. If not the face of men The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse, — If these be motives weak, break off betimes. And every man hence to his idle bed; So let high-sighted tyranny range on, Till each man drop by lottery. But if these, As I am sui;e they do, bear fire enough To kindle cowards, and to steel with valor The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen, What need we any spur, but our own cause To prick us to redress ? what other bond. Than secret Ilomans, that have spoke the word, And will not falter ? and what other oath Than honesty to honesty, engaged That this shall be or we will fall for it? ********** • * * * * * unto bad causes swear Such creatures as men doubt ; but do not stain The even virtue of our enterprise Nor the insuppressive mettle of our spirits. To think that, or our cause, or our performance. Did need an oath : when every drop of blood, That every Roman bears, and nobly bears, Is guilty of a several bastardy. If he do break the smallest particle Of any promise that hath passed from him. Among the representatives was one from Balti- more, who felt slighted because of something that happened during the session. What occasioned his displeasure was never disclosed, and being un- der the influence of liquor during the greater part of his stay in New York, it is not likely that he knew what it was that he took offense at. On his return to Baltimore he became insubor- dinate, and attempted to form another organization within the order of the Knights of Labor, About this time a number of congressmen, hearing of the IMPRO VEMENTS (?) 563 existence of the order, sought admission to its ranks. Some of them were lawyers and could not be received as members. Others were of that char- acter which did not find favor among members of the order in the localities where they resided, and were rejected in the local assemblies there. These men formed an organization and called it the " Im- proved Order of Advanced Knights of Labor." It never attained any strength, neither did it exist outside of the city of Washington, D. C, until it was instituted in Baltimore. The principal cause for complaint against the old order of Knights of Labor was that no saloon keepers, lawyers, or old-line politicians would be admitted, and it was thought that the time had come to start one more political party. To make a party a success it was necessary to have men of experience at the helm, and who so capable of manipulating aflPairs as the saloon keeper, or the political lawyer, who earned more through bribes as an office holder than fees as an attorney? The first circular sent out by the reformers of Baltimore was mailed in June, 1883. It is appended : IMPROVED ORDER OF KNIGHTS OF LABOR. The true labor movement must be so fixed, with proper checks and balances, that designing men can not use it for their own per- sonal gain; the humblest member in the movement must have a voice and vote for or against all important measures, thus rendering it impossible on the part of any to perpetrate and cover up fraud. The power of levying taxes, expending money at will, abolishing, altering, or creating laws, and granting dispensation is a power that can not safely be entrusted to individual ofiBcers or committees. An 564 IMPROVEMENTS {f) organization, in which the membership are at the mercy of a few ring-leaders or officers, with no power to investigate them, can never amount to other than a tax-paying body for the support and main- tenance of those, who in the end generally succeed in selling their supposed influence to political buyers or others. In these statements we believe that all fair-minded men will agree with us. The cry is coming up from all quarters for an honest and defined system of organization, a system that will allow subordinate branches of the movement to live, without impoverishing them by inordinate taxation to support foolish and excessive expenditures and the payment of large salaries to a host of unnecessary and idle officers. No one should be introduced into a labor organization without being fully informed of its aims and objects, and the plan upon which it is organized to work, and if he can not subscribe to the same, let him remain outside ; within the order all must be in hai^ mony as to plans and purposes. The I. 0. K. of L. is founded with a view to honest and eco- nomical management, and urges upon all workingmen, who have faith in the accomplishment of labor emancipation peaceably, by means of the workingman's ballot, to unite with us in the work. Address Jno. B. Eohledee, General Secretary, 128 Scott Street, Baltimore, Md. The secretary of District Assembly No. 41, of Baltimore, communicated with the G. M. W. on the subject, and asked what should be done with mem- bers who had attached themselves to the " Im- proved order." The reply is given in full as fol- lows : Office of Geand Master Wokkman, "1 ScRANTON, Pa., July 11, 1883. J Conrad J. Ekaft, Esq., Baltimore, Md.: Dear Sir and Brother — The "Improved order of the Knights of Labor " is a fraud. It is based upon nothing except a desire to de- stroy the usefulness of the order of Knights of Labor. Its preamble assails all labor organizations because they have no "regularly de- fined course of action," and it utterly fails to point out the course it intends pursuing itself. The only idea one can get is that the originators intend starting one more political party, and hope to win power on the prestige of the Knights of Labor by adopting its name. IMPRO VEMENTS (?) 565 There is room in this country for but one order of the Knights of Labor, and all improvements necessary can be made in that body, through the regularly accredited representatives of the order at large in the General Assembly which meets each year. The machinery of the Knights of Labor is in the hands of its members, to be retained in its present form, to be altered or amended as the majority shall decide. If any additional " checks or balances " are required, they can be adjusted much more satisfactorily by the membership at large than by any self-constituted " Provisional Gen- eral, Executive Committee." The men who started the " Improved order of the Knights of La- bor " in the latter part of last January were members of the Congress then in session in Washington. They wrote to several men, whom they supposed were not members, asking their co-operation. The names of four of these men are standing on the record books of the assemblies in the cities in which they live, and they are recorded as being black-balled because they were men " who stole the widow's house and orphan's bread," and know^ing that they could not gain admission to the Knights of Labor, or secure a re-election to Con- gress, they decided to start a new order to deceive members of our organization. They first called it the "Improved order of advanced Knights of Labor," but they met with no encouragement. The Knight of Labor who is not willing to help improve our order, and who starts a rival order, thus dividing the workers and attempt- ing to destroy confidence in the oflScers of the organization, is a trai- tor and merits expulsion. No officer of the Knights of Labor has ever been proved dishonest or unworthy of the position he held. There is room for improve- ment in every society, but the way to improve it is to correct what is evil in its laws and tendencies. If men want to start a new order they may do so, but they can not start one in opposition, use the name of our order, and at the same time remain members of the order of Knights of Labor that they may carry our secrets and do- ings over to the other. Such a man is an enemy, and our order would be improved by his expulsion. He must leave one or the other. See that charges are preferred against every member who belongs to the Improved order. Fraternally yours, T. V. POWDEKLY, G. M. W. The "Improved order" prepared and published a ritual from which the following is taken : 566 lUPRO VEMENTS ( f ) THE PLEDGE. I, , in the presence of these witnesses, understand- ing the object and purpose of this order, do solemnly pledge myself to labor with what zeal I possess for the promotion of its principles, and the accomplishment of its objects that from henceforth I stand severed from all party ties, and declare myself only in the move- ment of United Labor. I further promise to observe the forms and usages, a& laid down in the written and uii-written work of the or- der; and that I will never reveal to any one outside of the order the name of any of its officers or members, or the numerical strength of its organization, and when I resign or leave the order I will give due notice thereof. I moreover bind myself to labor for the good and welfare of all true Knights of the order ; and to at all times work for the interest of a brother Knight in all necessary administrations. Failing to be true to this obligation, and becoming false to the principles of the order, I hereby authorize myself by all its discipline to become an outlaw to its members, subject to all penalties due a perjurer and traitor. In the instructions given to new members we find the following : In introducing the names of candidates for membership you will; be strictly governed by the constitution of the order, which excludes bankers, brokers, slock and other gamblers and professional politic- ians, otherwise there is no bar to membership except a known lack of honor and integrity in the applicant. " The power to alter or create laws or grant dis- pensations " was not conferred upon the officers of the Knights of Labor, and there was nothing con- tained in the whole preamble or ritual of the new which could not be accomplished through the old order ; but it was necessary to have a rallying cry, and what so popular as to hint at dishonesty and autocracy on the part of officers. More of rascality and dishonesty have been practiced by so-called IMPRO YEMENIS (?) 567 reformers while outwardly denouncing these vices than by those whom they charged with the offenses. The order of the Knights of Labor had closed the door and locked it in the face of the liquor seller, and this new order was to so far reform the old one as to allow the dispenser of sudden wealth and happiness to become a member and practice his calling under the protection, and as a member, of the order. District Assembly No. 41 did not coun- tenance the new move, and presented a series of resolutions against it at the Cincinnati session of the General Assembly, which convened in Septem- ber, 1883. The G. M. W. briefly referred to the existence of the " Improved order " in his address, and said : Within the last few months a few discontented men, who were under the impression that men could he forced to vote as they were advised if they could only be brought into an organization in which they were sworn to vote for certain principles or men, have formed an association and called it the Improved order of Knights of Labor. I have no objection to the formation of as many societies as can find work to do for humanity, but I am of the opinion that there should be originality enough in the organizers of the movement to inspire them to chose a name of their own. The men who started the order referred to, unblushingly proclaim that they adopted the name of the Knights of Labor in order to catch the votes of our members. If men will not vote for principles, then names are powerless. The representative from District Assembly No. 41 offered a series of resolutions, which were adopted and ordered sent out to the order. They are as follows : Whereas, It is the duty of this General Assembly, and all true members of the order of the Knights of Labor of North America, to uphold the integrity and principles of the order; and. 568 IMPROVEMENTS {i) Whereas, There has been organized an association styling itself the "Improved order of the Knights of Labor of North America," under auspices of men who still claim membership in the order of Knights of Labor; and Whekeas, The self-styled "Improved order of Knights of Labor" admit to its membership liquor dealers and others debarred by our constitution and laws from membership in our order; and Whereas, By their actions they strike a blow at this organiza- tion and its principles ; therefore, be it Resolved, By the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor, that all persons who are members of this self-atyled " Improved order of the Knights of Labor" are hereby declared to be no longer mem- bers of the Knights of Labor, unless they sever their membership in the said Improved order, and district assemblies and local assem- blies under its jurisdiction are instructed to drop from the rolls of membership all persons who are members of the self-styled "Im- proved order of the Knights of Labor." Resolved, That all persons who are members of the "Improved order of the Knights of Labor" are not eligible to membership in this order. Resolved, That this General Assembly repudiate all connection with the so-called "Improved order of the Knights of Labor," and that this repudiation be published in the public press. The promulgation of these resolutions above quoted sealed the fate of the Improved order, and it was heard of no more. Shortly after the adjournment of the Cincinnati convention a disturbance took place in Local As- sembly No. 2186, of Binghamton, N. Y. The or- ganizer at that place selected a number of business men who were averse to joining the assembly al- ready organized. When he sent the application for a charter to the General Secretary, many mem- bers of Local Assembly No. 2186 protested, and caused the assembly to voice their sentiments in sending notice under seal as required by law. The organizer was expelled by his assembly. The pro- IMPBO VEMENTS ( ? ) 569 ■ test was presented to the General Executive Board, and that body refused to allow the organization to proceed. This action on the part of the board, although strictly in line with the constitution, incensed the men who had applied for the new charter. They had never been members and knew nothing of the organization, but three or four members of the par- ent assembly, who favored their admission, left the order because they were not admitted. These with the expelled organizer, not over five in all, assisted in organizing a new society which, all told, con- sisted of thirty -five members. The General Master Workman was not a mem- ber of the Executive Board that year, and with the exception of advising harmony was not, ofiicially, ooncerned in the difficulty in Binghamton. When the new society was established the following press dispatch was flashed over the wires from Bing- hamton : THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR DIVIDED. Binghamton, N. Y., Nov. 26, 1883.— There has been a break in the ranks of the Knights of Labor. It is determined by many mem- bers that it shall no longer be directed by one man. The cause of the dissolution is the arbitrary course pursued by Powderly, of Scranton, who has tried to ride two horses at once. He has been brought to a halt. The leaders in the revolt are William Secor, James Tozer, William Crosbyi and James Barnes. Three hundred and fourteen persons have signed the roll of a new order, and ap- plications for thirty-seven charters have been received. Over two hundred associations .of the Knights of Labor refuse to sustain the glass blowers in their strike, which was entirely uncalled for. The Independent order of Knights of Labor will help the sick, the or- phan, and the widow, but will not give one cent to Pennsylvanian -demagogues. It is intended that it shall be a benefit association. ■570 IMPROVEMENTS (f) The action referred to as being arbitrary on Pow- derly's part was when he refused to set aside the ac- tion of the General Executive Board, and issue a charter to the new assembly. The constitution gave him no such authority, and for obeying the law he was called arbitrary. When the new association was established it styled itself " Excelsior Assem- bly No. 1, Independent order of Knights of La- bor." A constitution and set of by-laws were adopted. The requirements for membership are summed up in Section 1 of Order 4, which reads : Any male citizen of the United States, twenty-one years of age, of unimpeachable moral character, of sound health, who actually earns a livelihood by honest industry, and who is a resident of the State within the precinct of an assembly, is eligible to membership in such assembly, and may join another by consent of the one., One of the alleged causes for complaint against the order of. the Knights of Labor, and the princi- pal one, aside from the case of " sour grapes," which caused the organization of the "Independent " move- ment, was that there was not charity enough dis- played in the Knights of Labor. In drawing up the by-laws the following was inserted : The funeral benefit is fixed at the sum of $100, to be strictly on the co-operative plan. A beneficiary must be in good standing, of six months' record^ and square on the books. No premium is required other than the regular entrance fees, dues, and assessments. On the death of a beneficiary an equal assessment for the $100 shall be made. Ko assessment is necessary when the funds are sufficient to pay a benefit. IMPRO VEMENTS ( t ) 57 1 The chief officer was never called on to render a decision as to what constituted " honest industry." He was relieved of that responsibility by the death of a member which occurred January 6, 1884, and, although six months had not elapsed, an assessment was levied on the members. Many refused to pay it, claiming that the constitution had been violated; that the officers had acted arbitrarily in levying it. A necessity for a new society became apparent at once. Those who took such a decided stand against the officers of the Knights of Labor for not VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION in their interest, were obliged to make good the |100 voted to the widow of the deceased. That as- sessment dampened the enthusiasm of the remain- ing members, and they left the organization one by one. The spring of 1884 saw the last of the " In- dependent order " of Binghamton. The dispatch which went over the wires, and re- produced in the foregoing, is much the same as has gone from every town and hamlet wherever a tri- fling disturbance has occurred ever since. Only five of the new organization had ever been Knights, but thirty-five men in all signed the roll of the Ex- celsior Assembly, yet the glowing and robust im- agination of the reporter saw "three hundred and fourteen persons " sign the roll. He saw applica- tions received for thirty-seven charters, and had two hundred associations of the Knights of Labor refusing to sustain a strike which really had no ex- S72 IMPR O VEMENTS ( ? ) istence as such, in which they were not concerned, and to the support of which they were not required to contribute. The "Improved order" and the "Independent order " having disbanded, there was a lull in im- provements for several years. When the minority could not control the sessions of the General As- sembly which met in Minneapolis, Minn., October, 1887, a few men resolved to organize a " Provisional Committee " to purify the order. The secretary of the committee, Chas. F. Sieb, of Chicago, sent out a circular setting forth that the general officers of the Knights of Labor were dishonest, extravagant, and untrue. In issuing the same circular to the assemblies of Cook county. Ills., after it had been mailed to other parts of the country, it was accom- panied by the following : At a mass convention of the Knights of Labor, held in the city of Chicago, Monday, November 21, it was decided to issue a circular letter requesting the local assemblies of Cook county to co-operate in the work of re-organizing the order of the K. of L. on an honest and substantial basis. A convention has been called to meet on Wednesday evening, December 7th, at 116 Fifth avenue, upper hall. Mail building. All local assemblies interested in this movement are requested to send delegates. Basis of representation, three delegates to each local assembly. While asking assemblies to co-operate in re-or- ganizing the order on an "honest basis," the secre- tary of the "Provisional Committee" was charged with failing to make an "honest" return of money which had been entrusted to his keeping by Dis- trict Assembly No. 24, of Chicago. The meet- ing was held, as per call, on December 7th, and IMPROVEMENTS ( f) S7S officers were elected to conduct the affairs of the Provisional Committee. Joseph R. Buchanan was elected Master Workman, E. A. Stevens Worthy- Foreman, and William Holmes Secretary. The chief cause of complaint against the general officers of the Knights of Labor was that they had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the funds of the order. In order not to leave themselves open to so grave a charge, and possibly to remove temptation from the path of their officers, it was not deemed expedient to elect a treasurer, the Provisional Com- mittee was expected to STEER CLEAR OF THE ERRORS of other organizations and as a consequence no funds were to be raised for any purpose. The "press dispatches" announced that large additions were made to the new order at this ses- sion, and that whole districts of the Knights of La- bor were turning over to their management. On January 14, 1888, a meeting was held in New York. It consisted of the dissatisfied element of that city and vicinity. Such dissatisfaction existed at the meeting that those who were present were not satisfied with each other, and the only thing accomplished was the issuing of another manifesto. A general convention of all attached to the " Pro- visional Committee " was held in New York City April 21, 1888, but there was nothing done except to dispute over methods of reform, and adjourn. Since that time the strength of the " Provisional " S7Jl. IMPROVEMENTS (f) movement has been confined to the press dispatches and newspaper interviews, which have been man- ufactured by interested jersons. Attempts were made to turn several numerically weak assemblies over to the care of the " Provisional Committee," but without success, only such persons or assem- blies identified themselves with the movement as were at heart opposed to the order of Knights of Labor from the time they became connected with it. Other movements in opposition to the Knights of Labor did not have THE SYMPATHY of any of the general ofl&cers. With the " Provis- ional Committee " the case was different, for two members of the General Executive Board were not only in sympathy with that committee, but they provided it with information concerning the affairs of the order, and assisted to weaken it wherever an opportunity presented. There is no doubt but that Thomas B. Barry and William H. Bailey kept the "Provisionals" informed of all that transpired, for they were in the confidence of the leaders of that movement. In 1887 an assembly cealsed to work in Jackson, Tenn. A member of the International Working- men's Association applied to Mr. Buchanan for in- formation which would lead to the obtaining of the property of the assembly by the I. W. A. or the " Provisionals." That there was an understanding between Messrs. Bailey and Barry of the Greneral IMPR YEMEN TS (?) 575 Executive Board and Mr. Buchanan is shown by the following extract from a letter received by Mr. Bailey, and by him left among the papers of the G. E. B. in Philadelphia : LIBERTY. EQUALITY. PKATBRNITT, OFFICE OP THE TENNESSEE CENTRAL COMMITTEE, International Wobkinqmen's Association. Joseph E. Voss, Secretary, North American Section, P. O. Box 197. Southeastern Division. Jackson, Tbnn., September 24, 1888. W. H. Bailey, Ohio — Dear Sir : On the third of September I or- ganized a local assembly under the Provisional Committee. There is a man here by the name of who has the charter, seal, »*#*»» and books. In my correspondence with Joseph R. Buchanan he said that perhaps you and Barry would give me an order for the articles, as they belonged to lapsed Local No. 4270, and we could have the charter renewed. If you send an order be sure and have the seal of the General Executive Board affixed, or it will not be recognized. **»»»»*»««»»*» » * * « Now, if you possibly can send me an order for the things that has, Buchanan will vouch for me. So will Georga F. Murray. Awaiting your answer, I remain fraternally yours, JOS. E. VOSS. When the Indianapolis session of the General Assembly of the K. of L. was called to order, the "Provisional Committee" was powerless for good or evil. Mr, Barry had beep expelled from the Knights of Labor because of his intrigues against the welfare of the order, and was refused a seat in the General Assembly. On the adjournment of the convention he, in retaliation, announced his in- tention to organize a new labor society to take the 57 6 IMPROVEMENTS ( t ) place of the Knights of Labor. The new society is being carried on 'outside and independent of the Knights. Its aims are not identical with those of the K. of L. It is intended to be a purely trade society, if we are to judge by the questions which every candidate is asked on applying for admis- sion. They are as follows : Is your trade organized locally or nationally 7 Are you a mem- ber in good standing ? Have you ever been a member of your trades society? If not, why? It is stated in the ritual that — If the candidate seeking admission ever went foul on his trade, that act disqualifies him from membership in the Brotherhood of United Labor until he settles with his trade. The remainder of the ritual is a garbled copy of that used in another labor society. It displays no originality or merit, and is NO IMPROVEMENT on that of other industrial organizations. A num- ber of curiosity-seekers gained admission to the Brotherhood of United Labor in its infancy, and when they withdrew the majority of its members had retired, leaving less than enough to conduct the business of the "branches," which were estab- lished in a few of the large cities. At the Indianapolis convention it became neces- sary, for the protection of the order, that the Gen- eral Master Workman should express his senti- ments concerning the election of a general secre- tary-treasurer. In doing so he gave offense to the incumbent of the treasurer's office, who was a can- IMPRO VEMENTS {f) 577 didate for the position, by advocating the election of the then General Secretary, John W. Hayes. Frederick Turner, the General Treasurer, was de- feated, and, smarting over his failure to secure an election, he, with others, determined to start a ri- val organization. In January, 1889, Victor Drury, Frederick Turner, Henry G. Taylor, and four of the founders of the order, James L. Wright, R. N. Keen, R. C. McCauley, and Joseph N. Kennedy, agreed to institute a reform movement within the K. of L. by a return to the oath-bound secrecy of early days. But one of the founders was in good standing at the time, Jas. L. Wright. The others were either SUSPENDED OR DROPPED from the rolls. What good purpose the founders' movement had in view is not discernible ; in fact, there existed no reasonable excuse for its contin- uance after the adoption of the following, which oc- curs in the ritual adopted by them : Are you prepared to bind yourself to use your own judgment, and act according to the same, uncontrolled by any outside power, and absolutely independent of the dictation of any church, prince, potentate, or authority whatsoever, subject only to the rightful law of the land ? Every citizen is- expected to use his own judg- J ment and obey the "rightful law " of the land, and there existed no necessity for the propounding of such a question by the founders when a curiosity- seeker presented himself for admission. The found- ers' movement made no headway, and in less than 37 578 IMPROVEMENTS (f) six months from the date of its organization it had ceased to operate. But six charters were issued, four of these were procured by inquisitive persons, who organized for the purpose of knowing what was going on around them. Movements having their origin in personal mal- ice, ambition, or revenge, are not calculated to ad- vance the interests of the masses, and such associa- tions are naturally short-lived. The Baltimore movement was the result of disappointment, coupled with a desire to have something in the shape of an organization to trade upon in dealing with the BRIBE-GIVING POLITICIAN. The Binghamton movement was originated in the hope that the order of the Knights of Labor would relent and admit to membership those who were objectionable to the assembly already existing at that point. Spite had something to do with it also. The Provisional Committee of 1887 was instigated by designing members- of the International Work- ingmen's Association, who seized upon every pre- text that would afford them an opportunity to cry "fraud, autocracy," etc. Disappointed ambition also actuated the movers in the reform agitation of that year. The Brotherhood of United Labor, or the " Barry movement," as it is known, is not an honest attempt to reform existing evils, for its founder made no effort to reform while drawing his salary from the order of the Knights of Labor. JNot gifted with ability to manage a part of an or- IMPRO VEMENTS ( 1 ) 579 ganization it can not be expected of him to carry- on the affairs of an entire society, unless it be a very small one. Personal vanity and anger at his expulsion from the K. of L. actuated Mr. Barry, and afforded a stimulus in the early days of his effort to establish the Brotherhood of United Labor. The advice of seeming friends, who, knowing that he was susceptible to flattery, made it -appear to him that he would rise to fame on a tidal wave of organization. The founder's movement would never have had a beginning had Frederick Turner been elected General Secretary-Treasurer of the Knights of Labor at Indianapolis. Each move- ment discovered at the outset that THE VERY THINGS which they condemned in the Knights of Labor, viz : autocracy, expenditure of funds for the main- tenance of various parts of the order and central- ization of power, were things with which they would have to deal in the new movements. Not knowing how to deal with these matters in the old society it could not be expected of them in the new. To steer the course of the Knights of Labor clear of designing political managers on the one hand, arid the rule of incompetent, one-idea leaders on the other hand, has been no easy task. The great mass of the order has always been in active sym- pathy with the executive, and to that fact must be attributed the success which the order has met with in vanquishing its foes within and without. ^ "Oh! that man should put an enemy in his mouth to steal awajrhla iaaias."— Shakespeare. lignor a foe to labor — Despair on being discharged from the work- shop causes the workman to seek the rum shop^The rum. seller a member of old-time labor societies— His perseverance in se- curing admission — His influence a pernicious and selfish one-^ Liquor the cause of the deeds of the Molly Maguires — Press, pul- pit, and politician silent on the causes which drove men to the saloon and desperation in the Pennsylvania coal regions— Mo- nopoly and liquor twin evils— Attempts of the rum seller to gain admission to the Knights of Labor-His partial admission— Decis" ion of G. M. W. Stephens— Advantage taken of it— The keeper of the wayside inn— Grand. Secretary Litchman on the rum seller— G; M. W. Powderly makes a decision which debars the rum selle^ —The relatives of saloon keepers excluded— The wife of a mem- ber must not sell liquor— The General Assembly passes a law against hquor selUng on the part of members— The G. M. W. denounces the practice of rum drinking in his address to the General Assembly of 1882-Again in 1883-The company store , retails strong drink-The G. M. W. addresses the General. As- sembly again on the question in 1884-In 1885 he warns the General Assembly against the election of intemperate oflicers— The strikes of 1886 caused an influx of. intemperate members— The G. M. W. issues a secret circular in which he advises the boycotting of Hquor for five years— Many members take the tem^ perance pledge-The Cleveland session passes a law against al- lowing organizers to act while under the influence of liquor- Organizers required to promise to abstain during term of office— The General Assembly promulgates a law against allowing beer to be sold at pic-nics— Speeches of the G. M. W. in Boston and ■^^"'^(ffiO)'^^*^' him to censure— His letter on the justice of his :[«; ENGRAVED EXPRESSL-J^ F0R"THIRTY YEARS OF LABOR" g]; The tender ties of father, husband, friend, All bonds of nature in that moment end, And each endures while yet he draws his breath, A stroke as fatal as the scythe of death. — Charity TEMPERANCE. gsi position — Good legislation hindered by drunkennesB — Eum a potent factor in elections— The " personal liberty " argument not well grounded — The Detroit manufacturer who gave $15 to de- bauch his workmen — Poverty a cause of intemperance, but in- t,emperance brings ruin along with poverty — ^The habit of treat- ing—Intemperance reduces wages— Coffee houses, reading rooms and billiard halls should take the place of saloons— The facts all against rum. HE avarice and greed of the employer, his p disregard for the feelings of his workmen, and the indifference to their welfare, shown in the frequent and unnecessary reductions in their wages, are very discouraging to the man -of toil. The cruel blow inflicted when the superin- tendent informs the workman on Saturday evening that he is discharged, makes it doubly hard for him to face his family with the dreadful news. None but those who have experienced the feeling can •ever tell how hard it is for the mechanic to enter lais home, and appear cheerful and happy, after be- ing dismissed from his employment. At such a time the capitalist may appear to be an enemy, and ;so far as his interest in the workman is concerned lie really is his enemy when the line is drawn be- tween the man and the dollar ; but as bad as such •an employer is, and as disheartening as such treat- ment may appear, there is still another foe before "whom the hard-hearted man of wealth appears al- most as a friend ; a foe who inflicts more of sorrow and of agony than lays in the power of the employer to mete out of his workman. When a man is discharged he can impart the 582 TEMPERANCE. news to his wife and family in such a way as to rob the dread intelligence of a part of its terrors ; he can hold out a hope of securing another situation in a short time, and thus soften the blow as it falls upon the hope of securing enough of the comforts of life to keep the family in decent raiment and sufficient food. But when the poor unfortunate stops before going home after his dismissal, and tarries for awhile in the grog-shop to drown his sorrow in drink, he forms an alliance with a FOE WHO IS FAR MOEE TEREIBLE than the man who discharged him. The latter only dismissed him ; he did not deprive him of his reason. The employer only deprived him of the right to work for a certain man, but drink deprived him of the power to look for other employment. The presence of the man who robbed him of his employment would not intrude itself within the portals of the workman's home, but the foe whom he met on the way home not only crossed the thres- hold with him, but it remained and went to bed with him ; it deprived him of the power to keep up a cheerful appearance of good nature ; it added t» the misery and pain which the news of his dis- charge brought to his wife and children. It may be said that we should not begrudge the poor fellow the brief moments of oblivion to his suflfering and misfortune, which came to him while under the influence of strong drink. What right has a man to become oblivious to danger while it TEMPERANCE. 583 stands so near to him? What right has he to drown his own sorrow by adding sorrow to the un- happy lot of those whom he loves ? Is it not cow- ardly in a man to shut out the misery from his own sight, and by his own act magnify it in the sight of his family? Unless a man can remain drunk, as a means of happiness, why should he for a moment become happy at the expense of his manhood ? Such questions as these would not be asked of the workman a dozen years ago by his most inti- mate acquaintance, but to-day every workman will ask of himself whether it is WISE, HONORABLE, OR MANLY to do as he would have done a few years back. What has brought about the change? We see workingmen who belong to labor societies selling strong drink, and we are apt to say that it was not the influence of the labor society which wrought the change. We find men who work at a trade all day standing behind the bar in the evening dealing out strong drink to their shop-mates, who felt that it was a duty which they owed to them to give them a call of an evening just to show that they wished them well. The effects of this practice were demoralizing in the extreme. It robbed the frequenters of such places of their independence, and gave to the rum seller an influence over them in the society to which they all belonged. Had the workingmen of twenty years ago kept the rum seller out of their societies 584 TEMPERANCE. » it would have redounded to the good name of labor, and innocent men would not have perished on the scaffold for the crimes of others. Had not strong drink, in the name of friendship, allured men into the rum shops of their fellow-workmen, a McParlan would not have exercised the power which he wielded in the coal regions of Pennsylvania. No murders were ever deliberately planned in the dread days of what the world was pleased to call "Molly Maguireism," but men who sold liquor were allowed to become members of societies where workingmen found admission, and after the meet- ings adjourned it was a common thing for the rum seller to invite a half-dozen or more into his den and keep them there until brain, reason, and com- mon sense were DROWNED IN DRINK. I had it from the lips of one of the men who expi- ated his crime on the scaflfold, that he never entered into a conspiracy to injure any of God's creatures, but the crime of which he was accused must have been committed after he left a grog-shanty, and was on his way home in company with two or three others who had stayed in the place until liquor became the master of their senses. They saw the boss, and instantly the cruel treatment which he inflicted on them in the mine flashed before their frenzied brains, and his death was the result. Who was to blame ? Certainly the unfortunate wretch who drew his last breath on the scaffold TEMPERANCE. 585 was not alone implicated in that murder. The sa- loon keeper was a party it, the society to which both belonged was a party to it, and a false public opinion, which, in not daring to speak out against the rum hells of the region, lent its sanction to the practice which is here described, was also respon- sible for that murder. There were clergymen in the coal regions who, without investigation, denounced labor societies, and applied the vilest of epithets to those who belonged to them, one of them going so far as to say from the altar of God : '* Once we had Molly Maguires ; now we have Biddy Maguires," referring to a local as- sembly of the Knights of Labor which admitted women to membership. This man of Grod (?) did not dare to speak out against that which was THE LEGITIMATE PARENT of the Molly Maguireism of a score of years ago. He remained silent and shut his eyes to the yawning gates of hell, which were opened up to swallow the souls of his flock every day in the, week before his eyes. During the dread days of Molly Maguierism he was silent, and to his eternal shame be it said, condemned the poor unfortunates who were misled by the saloon keeper, but never opened his lips in denunciation of the real author of a part of the crime which fastened a stigma on the fair name of the State of Pennsylvania. Press, pulpit, politi- cian, merchant, and professional man were alike responsible for the crimes of the workingmen of 586 TEMPERANCE. the coal region, for they kept their lips sealed and never spoke against the accomplice of the monop- olist in driving men to deeds of madness and crime. These terrible lessons were not taught in vain, for when the Knights of Labor entered the field as a champion of the rights of man, it took up the gaunt- let against the intrusion of the agent of rum and forbade his entrance to an assembly of the order. The organization having groped forward in se- crecy from the institution of the first assembly un- til the General Assembly voted to make the name of the Order public in 1881, was not threatened very often by the invasion of the rum seller, but it often happened that a member of the Order who had a friend in the saloon business would bring his name before the assembly for admission. Such men seldom gained entrance, but when they were admitted there was no law to exclude them from the meetings, and as a consequence they remained as long as it was to their ADVANTAGE TO STAY. After the first session of the General Assembly at Reading, in 1878, the organization began to gain some publicity and strength ; members with an eye to business saw an opportunity to reap a harvest, and they embarked in the rum business with a view to securing the patronage of their fellow mem- bers. Mr. Stephens, who was opposed to the admission of liquor dealers, was also opposed to the retention TEMPERANCE. 587 of those who entered upon the sale of liquor after joining the Order. He was called on to make a decision in the case of a member who opened up a saloon, and the following is what was intended to keep members from embarking in the rum traflSc : Members going into the liquor dealing business shall apply for and be granted a final card, which is an honorable discharge, as with it they could renew their membership should they ever cease following that business. But in the goodness of his heart Mr. Stephens made another decision, which was intended to cover the case of a man who lived away from a thickly settled locality and kept a roadside tavern. The influence of the proprietor of a country hotel was not bad, and such a man would not do injury to the Order by becoming a member; in consequence thereof the following decision was made and pro- mulgated : Men of good report, respectable and honorable keepers of road- side inns, for the horM-fide entertainment of travelers and their ani- mals, with bed and board for the same, connected with the real in- terests of the locality in which they live, do not come under the classification of saloon keeper and liquor dealer, and may be admitted to membership under the " law of the ballot." The constitution of 1878 said that: "No person who either sells or makes his living by the sale of intoxicating drink can be admitted." The respect- able keeper of a roadside inn was not supposed to make his living by the sale of drink, and as be only kept liquor for the accommodation of his guests, he was permitted under the decision of the Gr. M. 588 TEMPERANCE. W. to remain a member while making part of his living from the sale of drink. While the constitu- tion and the first decision of the G-. M. W. were not favorable to the rum seller, a decision subse- quently made afforded the rum seller and his friends a chance to raise objections to his ejection ; the decision was in the following language : Initiation of improper persons must stand as a fixed fact, and can not be annulled. They can only be expelled for cause or crime after- yrards committed, and by due process and trial of court, the same as other members. Those who sell liquor will not admit that they are improper persons ; but here was a chance to make money by assuming that position, and under the wording of that decision the liquor dealer re- mained in the Order. On the other hand no one who sold liquor could be induced to admit that he was not respectable, and when the question was asked, " do you keep a roadside inn ? " the answer invariably was, yes. The keeper of the country grog shop was a " respectable, honorable keeper of a roadside inn," the man who run the worst rum- hole on the Boweiy in New York would assert that he kept an inn on the I'oadside, and no one dared to say that he was not " respectable and honorable." In a short time the liquor dealers began to learn of the existence of the Order ; they had facilities for finding out which others did not possess. Where men congregated of an evening and entered a hall in large numbers the curiosity of the saloon keeper was at once aroused; having an eye to business TEMPERANCE. gS9 he naturally wished to know why they assembled there, and lost no time in inducing one of the mem- bers with whom he was acquainted to drop into his place of an evening, and he usually selected one who was fond enough of drink to lose his senses by imbibing too freely. Once rum loosened the tongue of such a man it wagged on until the saloon keeper learned the name of the society, the names of its members, and the aims, objects and numerical strength of the society. Once in the power of the saloon keeper such a man would be obliged to do what he could to bring trade to the door of his betrayer ; not that alone, but the basest of means would be resorted to to bring the rum seller into the Order, MANY A HARD, BITTER FIGHT was carried on for the purpose of adding the dis- penser of liquor to the eligibles to the K. of L. Grrand Secretary Litchman, in his report to the General Assembly at St. Louis, in January, 1879, referring to the law which disbarred the liquor seller, said: Some misunderstanding exists as to the amount of rum a man has to sell to become a rum seller. My idea is, that no grander principle was ever engrafted upon the laws of a labor organization, than that law of ours which denies membership to the rum traffic. The two deadliest foes of labor are rum and ignorance. We should show no quarter to rum and its damning, blighting influence; but should rigidly prohibit membership to any one who sells even a tingle glass. Thus will this foe be conquered or made powerless. This is the first reference to the liquor problem made by a general officer to the Oeneral Assem- S90 TEMPERANCE. bly, and stands to the credit of Mr. Litchman upon the records of the association. The St. Louis and Chicago sessions of the G-en- eral Assembly left the constitution as adopted at Reading, so far as that part of it which related to the admission of liquor sellers was concerned. The first decision made by the new G-. M. W. after his election at Chicago, was one which virtually re- pealed those of his predecessor, so far as they re- lated to the rum seller, it reads : Bum sellers can NOT be admitted to membership, and any mem- ber engaging in the business of rum selling, directly or indirectly, whether by the barrel, gallon, quart, pint, or gill, who sells either by himself in person, or by proxy, must apply for and be granted a withdrawal card ; and if he neglects to make application therefor at once, the recording secretary of the local assembly shall notify him of his neglect, and at the next meeting a withdrawal card shaU be issued to the brother. It was thought that that would efifectually debar the rum dealer, but he was persistent and untiring, and soon invented a scheme by which he could draw custom through the instrumentality of the K. of L. Agents of wholesale liquor houses gained admission, and recommended certain retail houses to the members as being above reproach, and suit- able places wherein an evening might be spent with far greater profit than at home. It was also impressed on the mind of each member that to patronize certain saloons would help a brother mem- ber in gaining a livelihood, and, unfortunately, there were some who required no great amount of coaxing to assist in placing a '^shingle on the roof" of the TEMPERANCE. ggj agent of the liquor establishment. A new decision was required, and it was made in the winter of 1879. It is annexed : An agent for any liquor establishment (be that establishment wholesale or retail, or be he the agent, manufacturer, or dealer), is not eligible to membership. It was natural to expect that the friends of whisky would cease in their efforts to make it a member of the Knights of Labor, but they still persevered. When a man was about to become a rum seller he would endeavor to have his name proposed in an assembly of the Knights of Labor. When the investigating committee called on him and questioned him as to whether he sold liquor or not, he promptly replied in the negative, as though it were something to be ashamed of. After his election and before his initiation, he would engage in the liquor business, and thus evade the law, as he thought. Another decision was necessary, and it was accordingly made to cover the last point raised, as follows : If during the interval between the election and the initiation of a candidate he engages in the liquor trafSc, either for his own profit or that of another, he is disqualified, and can not be covered with our shield. Having failed in obtaining admission to the order, the dealer in spirits still persevered, in the hope that in some way the organization of the Knights of La- bor could be made of benefit to him. He could not get into the order, that was certain, and it was equally as certain that he would have to go out 592 TEMPERANCE. should he by any means run the gauntlet of the ballot-box, and be discovered in the act of selling liquor. A new plan was resorted to, and one after another the money makers began to embark in the sale of strong drink by proxy. It was reported to the G. M. W. that the wife of a member of the or- der was engaged in the saloon business. He was asked for a decision, and made the following : No person can be a member of the order whoBe wife sells liqnor. Se must either obtain a divorce from his wife or from this organ- ization. The latter can be granted in the shape of an honorable withdrawal card. When the General Assembly met in Pittsburg in 1880 the decisions of the G. M. W. were approved by a unanimous vote, and became the law of the order, although they were not given a place in the constitution until the following year, when the De- troit session of the General Assembly amended the constitution to read : No person who either sells or makes his living, or any part of it, by the sale of intoxicating drink, either as manufacturer, dealer, or agent, or through any member of his family, can be admitted to membership in this order. At the Detroit convention it was voted to make the name of the order public and allow members, local assemblies, and district assemblies to declare that they were Knights of Labor. The publicity given to the organization, and the exaggerated re- ports circulated concerning the numerical strength of the assemblies attracted the attention of saloon keepers everywhere. They saw a vast field open- TEMPERANCE. QQg ing up before them, and they determined to gather in the harvest by resorting to such means as would draw customers to their places of business. During the year intervening between the Detroit and New York sessions of the General Assembly, more attempts were made to reduce the order to a rum-consuming machine than were resorted to be- fore or since. The law so effectually shut the rum seller out that applications were frequently sent in to the Gr. M. W. to grant dispensations to allow the initiation of those who sold liquor. The applica- tions were all refused, and the Gr. M. W., in his annual address to the convention of 1882, said : THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION. Is a most important one, and I sometimes think it is the main issue. The number of applications from Locals during the past year to grant dispensation to allow the initiation of rumsellers was alarm- ing. I have persistently refused, and will enjoin my successor, if he values the future welfare of the Order, to shut its doors with triple bars against the admission of the liquor dealer. His path and that of the honest, industrious workingman lie in opposite directions. The rumseller who seeks admission to a labor society does so that he may eutice its members into his saloon after the meeting closes. No question of interest to labor has ever been satisfactorily settled over a bar in a rum hole. No labor society ever admitted a rumseller that did not die a drunkard's death. No workingman ever drank a glass of rum who did not rob his wife and children of the price of it, and in doing so committed a double crime — murder and theft. He murders the intellect with which his Maker hath endowed him. He steals from his family the means of sustenance he has earned for them. Turn to the annals of every dead labor society, and you will see whole pages blurred and destroyed by the accursed foot-prints of rum. Scan the records of a meeting at which a disturbance took place, and you will hear echoing through the hall the maudlin, fiendish grunt of the drunken brute who disturbed the harmony of the meet- 38 594 TEMPERANCE. ing. In the whole English language I can find no word that strikes more terror to my soul than that one word, rum ! It was born in hell ere the fiat of "No redemption" had gone forth. Its life on earth has been one of ruin to the bright hopes of youth, and the peace of old age. It has robbed childhood of its delights. It has stolen the laugh from the lips of innocence, the bloom from the cheek of manhood. It has touched the heart of old age like the tip of a poisoned arrow. Its sound as it gurgles from the neck of a bottle echoes through many a desolate household as the hissing of a thousand serpents. You may deem me too radical on this point. Yet I never interfere with the right of a man to drink if he so elects. I hold that I have a right to, and do shun rum as I would an en- raged tiger, neither meddling with it or allowing it to meddle with me. So long as it keeps its distance, I am content to let it alone ; but the moment it seeks to interfere with my rights by coming into the Knights of Labor, then my soul arises in arms against it, and I can find no words too bitter, no denunciation too scathing, to hurl against it. At the first session of the G-eneral Assembly held in Reading, a member of the order from a town in Ohio came on in the expectation of being admitted to the floor of the convention, and although not a delegate, he would have been allowed to sit with the representatives were it not for the fact that he became drunk and disgraced himself before the intelligence reached him that the convention had voted to admit him. His conduct was considered so reprehensible that an account of it was ordered sent to his assembly, with instructions to punish him for his misdemeanor. With that one excep- tion none of those who attended the first conven- tion indulged in strong drink. At the New York session of the G-eneral Assem- bly the representative from Baltimore indulged so freely in liquor that he became unfitted for duty be- TEMPERANCE. 595 fore the convention opened, and remained in that condition until the adjournment was reached. The New York session made no change in the law which related to the exclusion of liquor sellers, and during the year a most vigilant watch was kept over all parts of the order to see that no inroads were made from that quarter. When the Greneral Assembly met in Cincinnati, in 1883, the Gr. M. W., in his opening address, said : I wish to say to the representatives that no drunken or disgrace- ful conduct will be tolerated at this session. At the first session of the General Assembly a member disgraced himself and was published in the proceedings. The lesson was a good one, but at the last session a, representatiye got drunk and disgraced himself and his constit- aents on the floor of the General Assembly; the G. A. condoned his offense, and refused to do him justice by publishing him in the proceedings. On his return to his district he made the report to that body that the whole General Assembly was drunk, that the G. M. W. made an excuse that some of his friends were dead and left the G. A. in disgust, only to return when he heard that he was re- elected. I desire to say that a resolution to screen any member from the consequences of his wrong doing here will be of no avail, for I will see to it that his constituents are made aware of his doings if he does not represent them properly. The actions of the man I refer to had a most damaging effect on the district he represented, and in future the fullest light must shine on the actions of each and all of us. The caution was unnecessary, for every man who attended the session was a temperate man, and as such was capable of so conducting himself that no disgrace would attach to the order by reason of his actions. In the interim between the closing of the Cincin- nati session and the opening of the Philadelphia session, in 1884, the order experienced a great deal S96 TEMPERANCE. of trouble from liquor. At that time it was a com- mon practice with the proprietors of company stores to keep liquor for sale. Many a company store kept liquor and sold it without obtaining a license. It is on record where a certain company sold liquor to the employes, and entered the sales upon the pass books of the workmen as " sundries." It was a fact which could not be concealed that workingmen spent altogether too much money for liquor ; they spent too much valuable time in sa- loons and groggeries when they should have been at home or at the meeting of an assembly of the Knights of Labor. The laws of the order required that five cents a month be set apart from the dues of each member, the same to be used in case of necessity when a strike or a lockout would occur. Commenting on the unwillingness of the members to pay this fund, and the tendency to indulge in -strong drink, the Gr. M. W. said to the convention which assembled in Philadelphia in 1884 : I was asked to relieve one assembly of the payment of this fund, on the ground that the members were too poor to pay it. I attended a meeting of the assembly, and at the close of the same saw ten mem- bers go to a saloon. I accepted the inyitation to go with them for the purpose of witnessing how men make fools, lunatics and paupers of themselves. In my presence six dollars ($6.00), the result of hours of honest toil, went to uphold a system that damns the efforts of those who advocate the rights of the many to a share in the pat- rimony of the heavenly Father. The membership of that assembly was but thirty-three, the assistance fund due from that number would amount to four dollars and ninety-five cents ($4.95) for the quarter, but they were too poor to pay it. I will venture the assert TEMPERANCE. S97 tion now, "that the amount spent by membera of this Order for strong drink, since the fund was established, will double the amount paid into the hands of the Secretary of the Executive Board and the Districts of the Order." The old motto of " millions for defence, but not one cent for tribute," has by some been changed to " millions for the devil, but not one cent for assistance." This is a humiliating confession to make, but no one can deny that it is a truthful one. I would not have it so, yet I can not alter the existing state of affairs. We talk of reforming the world, why, we can not reform ourselves I Do not look upon me as a fanatic or a radical upon this question of TEMPEEANCE, for I am not, I only ask that the men who are in the vanguard of reform, men who would accomplish something of benefit for the race, to stop for one moment now and ask whether we should not go a step farther than others are willing to go in this direction. Is it enough to say that we are opposed to the introduction of the rum seller? Should we in organizing an assembly say to the new members, ad- mit no men who sell strong drink," and say nothing about patroniz- ing the men who sell it? If it is wrong to sell it, it is wrong to drink it. For years I have been accustomed to look upon crime in all its hideous deformity. I have had men and women brought be- fore me for almost every crime; they have acknowledged being guilty of drunkenness, and from that all the way down to murder, and the crime which inspired me with more of sadness, more of horror and more of regret, was the crime committed by the man who -stood before me charged with being drunk for the first time. To all the others I could say " you are near the end," to him I felt that it was only the beginning, only the entrance to that life of debauchery, degradation and misery, which falls to the lot of the confirmed drunk- ard. Intemperance degrades man and unsexes woman, while it damns both past hope of earthly redemption. When I meet a man whose reason has been drowned in drink, and look upon his face, I feel that I am looking upon a murderer, I am looking upon a person who has no regard for virtue or morality, for that which upholds virtue and sustains morality is lacking, the God-like gift of reason ; incapable of judging whether his next step will be for good or evU, he plunges madly ahead and takes the dagger with a willing hand from his worst enemy only to plunge it to the heart of his most cherished friend. The man who drinks to excess will sell his own honor and his wife's virtue, and for what? that his wife and children 598 TEMPERANCE. may wear rags ; that they may curse the light by which they were ushered into the world ; that they may say of him when he dies: " though hell has claimed its own, 'tis only the body that has gone, the remembrance of his blighting touch still remains to curse u» with its presence." To the session of the General Assembly, which, convened in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1885, the G. M. W- said in opening the session : DEUNKENNESS. If there is a time when men should conduct themselves with manly dignity and decorum, it is when they are in trouble. I have observed that when a strike is in progress, there are some men who- insist on making exhibitions of themselves at the price of their good name, and of the good name of the Order, that is held responsible- for their actions. It should be made an offense punishable with ex- pulsion from the Order, for any member to become intoxicated while the good name of the Order is hanging in the balance. It is a crim* inal offense, and the severest penalty known to the laws of the Order should be visited upon the head of the offender. We legislate against the admission of the man who sells rum, and make a member of the man who supports him; this does not seem just nor fair. The character of the society is judged by the char- acter of its members. If a member is seen upon the streets in a. state of intoxication, the society of which he is a member is blamed for his conduct. We must, therefore, look after the character of our members with a jealous eye. If a traveling member is discovered to be drunlr while carrying a traveling card of the Knights of Labor, it should be made a punishable offense. We have been altogether too lenient with offenders of this character, and we must adopt suit- able legislation for the regulatio of the evil I have pointed out. If a man given to the use of strong drink and a serpent applied for admission to the Order I would vote for the serpent in preference- to the drunkard ; for if the viper transgressed the laws by disgracing- us, we could crush the life out of his worthless carcass by stepping- on his head; but we mast let the other and worse transgressor live- to continue his villainous work. I do not ask of those who join us to be saints, but I have a right to expect, and I do ask of them, to be men. We can not shut our TEMPERANCE. 599 eyes to this matter any longer ; the crime must be punished, and a law for the government of the offense must be framed at this Gen- eral Assembly. At the same session, while speaking on the sub- ject of electing officers, the G. M. W., again refer- ring to the subject, said : We should make inquiry of the men who aspire to places whether they are in the habit of using strong drink. We can not be too careful in this matter, for sometimes a good man does some yery bad things when his wits create a vacuum in his head to be' filled by the fumes of rum. In our dealings with the men who control capital we are pitted against the most intelligent men in the nation, and we can not afford to lay aside any portion of our intelligence or cunning in dealing with them. The Hamilton session made no changes in the laws bearing on the admission of men connected with the liquor traffic ; indeed, there existed no ne- cessity for a change in the legislation bearing on the subject, for the order did not suffer from the influence of the rum seller during the year. In the beginning of the following year the order began to increase in numbers so rapidly that it became an impossibility to give that careful scrutiny to each applicant which the law required. The strikes of that period, particularly the great South-west strike, caused such a rush to the order of all classes of workingmen that many a man, who would at other times be rejected because of his intemperate habits, slipped into the order, and by reason of his mem- bership attracted the attention of the public to his misdeeds, many of which were charged to the or- ganization which his very presence disgraced. New assemblies being organized at the rate of seven 600 TEMPERANCE. hundred a month, gathered in the good with the bad. Whole assemblies were formed of men who, through curiosity, sought admission to the Knights of Labor. On the third of May, 1886, the G. M. W. issued a secret circular, in which he took occa- sion, among other things, to say : We have had some trouble from drinking members and from men who talk about buying guns and dynamite. If the men who possess money enough to buy guns and dynamite would invest it in the purchase of some well selected work on labor, they would put the money to good use. ********** To our drink- ing member I extend the hand of kindness. I hate the uses to which rum has been put, but it is my duty to reach down and lift up the man who has fallen a victim to the use of liquor. If there is such a man within the sound of the secretary's voice when this is read, I ask of him to stand erect on the floor of his assembly, raise his band to heaven, and repeat with me these words : "I am a Knight of Labor. I believe that every man should be free from the curse of slavery, whether that slavery appears in the shape of monopoly, usury or intemperance. The firmest link in the chain of oppression is the one I forge when I drown manhood and reason in drink. No man can rob me of the brain my God has given me unless I am a party to the theft. If I drink to drown grief, I bring grief to wife, child and sorrowing friends. I add not one iota to the sum of human happiness when I invite oblivion over the rim of a glass. If one moment's f orgetfulness or inattention to duty while drunk brings defeat to the least' of labor's plans, a life- time of attention to duty alone can repair the loss. I promise never again to put myself in such a position." If every member of the Knights of Labor would only pass a res- olution to boycott strong drink, so far as he is concerned, for five years, and would pledge his word to study the labor question from its different standpoints, we would then have an invincible host ar- rayed on the side of justice. The promulgation of that circular did much good in two ways. It had the effect of causing men who were known to be wedded to the use of liquor to TEMPERANCE. 601 leave the order, and it was the means of causing upwards of one hundred thousand members to take what they pleased to call the "Powderly pledge." Of this there can be no doubt, for the proofs are in the possession of the writer that at least one hun- dred thousand members took that pledge between the issuing of the circular and the convening of the regular session of the General Assembly in October. At the special session of the G-eneral Assembly of the order held in Cleveland, in May, 1886, the evils which follow the admission of drunkards to the organization became the subject of debate. The injury done the order in allowing an intemperate man to hold a commission as organizer and repre- sent the association, was also debated, and as a re- sult the following was adopted : Any organizer who shall attempt to perform his duty while under the influence of liquor shall hare his commission revoked. At the Cleveland session the doors of the Gen- eral Assembly were thrown open for the first time to admit a representative of another organization, and Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge, representing the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, was ad- mitted to the floor of the convention for the pur- pose of delivering an address of welcome to the as- sembled representatives. The courtesy shown to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was never accorded before or since to any other organ- ization. 60Z TEMPERANCE. Up to that time organizers were not required by- law to be temperance men, but the Gr. M. W. in- sisted upon each applicant certifying to his habits in that respect before a commission would be is- sued. It was a fact which could not be denied by the most ardent friend of the rum drinker that the order was cursed by a number of organizers who frequently and openly violated the laws of the or- ganization in instituting assemblies while under the influence of liquor. When a commission was applied for, the blank on which the application was made bore the following notice : Aaaemblies recommending organizers will be held responsible for their conduct. The officers of the assembly will certify below whether the applicant is addicted to the use of strong drink. If he is, no commission will be issued. If a false statement is made, charges will be preferred against the officers who signed the applica- tion. When the General Assembly met in Richmond, in October, 1886, the law in relation to the com- missioning of organizers was ordered changed, and each applicant obliged to certify as to whether he indulged in strong drink. Of the eight hundred and fifteen organizers appointed for the year end- ing November 1, 1887, over five hundred were total abstainers, and the remainder pledged them- selves not to drink to excess while serving in the capacity of organizers. Of the total number com- missioned only seven were required to return their commissions because of drunkenness. At the Richmond session the law was amended to read : TEMPERANCE. 603 No person who either sells or makes a living, or any part of it, by the sale of intoxicating drink, either as manufacturer, dealer, or agent, or through any member of the family, or who tends bar per- manently or temporarily, can be admitted into or remain in mem- bership in this Order. No local or other assembly or member shall, directly or indirectly, give, sell, or have any ale, beer, or intoxicating liquors of any kind at any meeting, party, sociable, ball, picnic, or entertainment what- ever appertaining to the Order. Any member found guilty of vi- olating this law shall be suspended, not less than six months, or expelled. No fine shall be imposed for this offense. Any local or other assembly so offending shall be suspended during the pleasure of the General Executive Board, or shall have its charter revoked by said Board. This law was not promulgated until June, 1887,, and was the occasion of a storm of abuse and rid- icule from those who favored absolute liberty on the part of the organizer to drink if he so willed. It was because of this agitation that the Gr. M. W. took so strong a stand, not only against the use of liquor by organizers of the order, but members as well. In a speech delivered in the old Mechanics' hall, Boston, June 11, 1887, he said: Let me say a few words concerning a cause which some years ago was not so popular as it is to-day. You who are going out will carry these words home with you. Tell them to every person you meet, whether K. of L. or not, that the greatest curse that labor has to contend with to-day it finds in its own home, in its own grasp; and the worst weapon that is wielded against labor to-day is held by the strong right hand of labor itself, and when that weapon is raised to strike the blow it is raised in the shape of a glass, that carries with it the rum which drowns man's reason. If I could put words in the mouth of every one leaving here to-night, I would have them say to every man, woman and child who labors throughout the length of the world, cast strong drink aside as you would an ounce of liquid eOJf. TEMPERANCE. hell. It damns, it blights, it sears conscience, body, and soul ; it de- stroys every thing it touches ; it reaches across the threshold of the home and ruins the family circle; takes the wife you have sworn to protect and cherish, and drags her down from the pinnacle of purity and love which is her rightful station, and tramples her in the mire, and then turns her into that house from which no decent, respectable woman ever comes alive. It takes her child from her grasp; it strangles innocence, purity ; aye, even life itself, at times. It takes the chair, table, furniture, the dishes, and the mirror from the wall, and it takes the little pictures your pennies bought and carries them all to the pawnbroker shop, and coins them into pennies again to be taken to the grog-shop, where your manhood is drowned in obliv- ion. When 1 see men going from the door of the saloon, one in that direction, one in another, and another taking a diflferent course; each one a thing for the finger of scorn to be pointed at ; each one a thing for all strong, honest, decent men and women to shun ; each one a thing to despise as you would a serpent ; each one reeling through the street in rags, with a face on which no intelligence is shown ; each one with every feature of man obliterated, and only that of the beast to be seen. I have seen these things rap on the doors of their homes; I have seen the women come to open the door ; I have seen the smile vanish from the face ; I have heard the cry of the child where the laugh should be heard ; I have seen them at early morn and at close of day ; I have seen them in my own city, have seen them in your city and State, have seen them in New York, and in every city east of the Mississippi, and I know that if there is a damning blight and curse to labor it is that which gurgles from the throat of the bottle at the command of the rum drinker. I have no hesitation in saying that the most powerful assistance we could have is a pledge from every man and woman; a pledge from every man to abstain from drink, and a pledge from every woman to help him on to success ; for I know the women do not drink, and from what they are doing in the Knights of Labor, I know that with their aid we can uphold the true and the good in our organization. If I could have the pledge of every man in our Order to-day, let it dwindle down to one hun- dred thousand or fifty thousand if it will, but give me one hundred ' thousand or fifty thousand sober, honest, earnest men, and I will wage the battle of labor more successfully than if you give me twelve million of men who drink either moderately or drink to ex- cess. On the following day, in the city of Lynn, the TEMPERANCE. 605 Gr. M. W. delivered another speech, in the course of which he said : Shoemakers drink whisky, so do machinists, so do hatters, and so does every other class of laborers drink whisky and beer. lu one county in the State of Pennsylvania, I am told that in one year seventeen million dollars went over the counters of the whisky seUera, eleven million dollars of which came from the pockets of the workingmen. Last October an assessment was levied for the support of our locked-out members, and among those who refused to pay it were the assemblies located in that county to which I refer. They paid the assessment to the devil cheerfully enough, but when the men they were sworn to protect asked for assistance they hesitated, ques- tioned, and spent an additional dollar in the rum saloon. Every dollar, every cent, every dime paid by the workingmen in a saloon is a paving stone for hell. No man has a right to spend one dime in a saloon. You have a right to personal liberty so long as you don't interfere with mine; but every member of the Knights of Labor who disturbs an assembly meeting with his drunken, maudlin talk, encroaches on the rights of others through the vaunted exercise of his personal liberty. Where, then, shall we draw the line ? I would draw it right before the nose and in front of the whisky glass as the man would lift it to his lips. There may be some here who do not like what I am saying. Permit me to say that I do not mind that, for what I say is God's truth and has to be spoken. One of the reasons why labor organizations have failed in the past, is because the leaders did not have the manhood to denounce liquor as a curse. Stop it, men, stop it! Not for a day or a week, but until God stops your life. It does no man any good. It does every one injury. For making these two speeches the speaker was subjected to a severe criticism from those outside of the organization, as well as from many members. Few had the manhood to attack the position taken by the G-. M. W. as being wrong, but they feared its consequences. Some of the members of the General Executive Board were not in sympathy with the views of the G. M. W., and when an old and valued friend of his wrote him as to the policy 606 TEMPERANCE. of his attack on rum, he wrote an article for the Journal of United Labor, in which he defined his position as follows : THE JUSTICE OF MY POSITION. Among the letters that came to me to-day I find one from an old friend who takes me to task for my words on the temperance ques- tion, spoken some ten or twelve days ago in Boston and Lynn. He says: " In the main you are right, even the rum-seller himself will not deny the justice of your position, but remember that in the very organization of which you are the head there are many good men who drink ; there are thousands who wUl not agree with you ; and, after all, why do you so bitterly arraign the poor drunkard? It is not required of you by the Constitution or laws of the Knights of Labor. You could well afibrd to remain silent, or at least neutral, preferring to teach rather by example than precept, etc. * * I very much fear that you will be misunderstood, etc." My friend makes the candid admission, in starting out, that in the main I am right, that even the rum-seller will not deny the justice of my position. Having said as much he should have stopped— even then he told me nothing new. I know that I am right ; I know that in refusing to even touch a drop of strong drink I was, and am, right. In refusing to treat another to that which I do not believe to be good for myself to drink, I know I am right. In refusing to associate with men who get drunk, I know I am right. In not allowing a rum-seller to -gain admittance into the Order of the Knights of Labor, I know I am right. In dvaising our AssembUes not to rent halls or meeting rooms over drinking places, I know I am right. I have done this from the day my voice was first heard in the council halls of our Order. My position on the question of temperance is right— I am determined to maintain it, and will not alter it one jot or tittle. If "in the main" I am right, why should I alter my course ? If the man who sells liquor will " not deny the justice " of my position, why should I deviate to the right or left? If he will not deny, why should he not admit that I am right ? I know that in the organization of which I am the head there are manv good men who drink, but they would be better men if they did not drink. I TEMPERANCE. Q07 know that there are thousands in our Order who will not agree with me on the question of temperance, but that is their misfortune, for they are wrong, radically wrong. Ten years ago 1 was hissed because I advised men to let strong drink alone. They threatened to rotten-egg me. I have continued to advise men to be temperate, and though I have had no experience that would qualify me to render an opinion on the efficacy of a rotten egg as an ally of the rum-drinker, yet I would prefer to have my exterior decorated from summit to base with the rankest kind of rotten eggs rather than allow one drop of liquid villainy to pass my lips, or have the end of my nose illumined by the blossom that follows a planting of the seeds of hatred, envy, malice and damnation, all of which are represented in a solitary glass of gin. Ten years ago the cause of temperance was not so respectable as it is to-day, because there were not so many respectable men and women advocating it. It has gained ground ; it is gaining ground, and all because men and women who believe in it could not be brow-beaten or frightened. Neither the hissing of geese or serpents nor the throwing of rotten eggs has stopped or even delayed the march of temperance among the workers. "Why do I so bitterly arraign 'the poor drunkard?" For the reason that he is a drunkard, and because he has made himself poor through his love of drink. Did I, or any other man, rob him of the money he has squandered in drink ; did I make him poor, the vilest names that tongue can frame would he apply to me. Must I stand idly by and remain silent while he robs himself? Did he rob only himself it would not make so much difference. He robs parents, wife and children. He robs his aged father and mother through love of drink. He gives for rum what should go for their support. When they murmur he turns them from his door, and points his contam- inated drunken finger toward the poor-house. He next turns toward his wife and robs her of what should be devoted to the keeping of her home in comfort and plenty. He robs her of her wedding ring and pawns it for drink. He turns his daughter from his door in a fit of drunken anger and drives her to the house of prostitution, and then accepts from her hand the proceeds of her shame. To satisfy his love of drink he takes the price of his child's virtue and inno- cence from her sin-stained, lust-bejeweled fingers, and with it totters to the bar to pay it to the man who "does not deny the justice of my position." I do not arraign the man who drinks because he is poor, but because through being a slave to drink he has made him- self and family poor. I do not hate the man who drinks, for I have 608 TEMPERANCE. carried drunken men to their homes on my back rather than allow them to remain exposed to inclement weather. I do not hate the drunkard — he is what drink has effected; and while I do not hate the effect I abhor and loathe the cause. Take the list of labor societies of America, and the total sum paid into their treasuries from all sources from their organization to the present time will not exceed $5,000,000. The Knights of Labor is the largest and most influential of them all ; and though so much has been said concerning the vast amount of money that has been collected from the members, yet the total sum levied and collected for all purposes — per capita tax, Jouenal, assistance fund, appeals, assessments, insurance and cooperation — up to the present time will not exceed $800,000. The total sum collected for the first nine years of the existence of the General Assembly was but $600,725.14. In nine years less than $600,000 were collected to uplift humanity to a higher plane, and to bring the workers to a realizing sense of their actual condition in life. It took less than $600,000 to teach the civilized world that workingmen could build up an organization that could shed such light upon the doings of landlords, bondlords, monopolists and other trespassers on the domain of popular rights that they were forced to halt for a time and stand up to explain. Less than $600,000 (not a dollar unaccounted for), and on the statute books of the nation you will find the impress of the workman's hand. On the law book of every State can be traced the doings of labor's representatives. Less than $600,000 to turn the batteries of greed and avarice against the Order of the Knights of Labor. Less than $600,000 to create a rev- olution greater, farther reaching in its consequences and more last- ing in its benefits, than the revolution which caused the streets of the towns and cities of France, to run red with human blood less than a century ago. Less than $600,000 to make men feel and be- lieve that woman's work should equal that of the man. Less than $600,000 to educate men and women to believe that "moral worth and not wealth is the true standard of individual and national great- ness.'' Less than $600,000 to cause every newspaper in the land to speak of the work being done by the Knights of Labor — some of them speaking in abusive terms, others speaking words of praise, ac- cording to the interests represented by the papers, or according as the work done harmonized with the principles of the Order. For paying less than $600,000 the members of the Knights of Labor have been told that they were being robbed. In one day an employer's association organizes and pledges itself to contribute $5,000,000 to TEMPERANCE. 609 fight labor. The next day the papers are almost silent on that point, but are filled to the brim with lurid accounts of the reclcless auto- cratic manner in which the oflScers of the Knights of Labor levy a twenty-five-cent assessment to keep over one hundred thousand locked-out men and women from starvation. Putting two and two together, it is not hard to guess why papers that applauded the action of the employers in one column, should in another column advise the workers not to pay the twenty-five-cent assessment. $600,000 for sober men to use in education and self-improvement. Now let us turn to the other side. In the city of New York alone it is estimated that not less than $250,000 a day are spent for drink, $1,500,000 in one week, $75,000,000 in one year. Who will dispute it when I say that one-half of the policemen of New York city are employed to watch the beings who squander $75,000,000 a year? Who will dispute it when I say that the money spent in paying the salaries and expenses of one-half of the police of New York could be saved to the taxpayers if $75,000,000 were not devoted to making drunkards, thieves, prostitutes and other subjects for the policeman's net to gather in? If $250,000 go over the counters of the rum-seller in one day in New York city alone, who will dare to assert that workingmen do not pay one-fifth, or $50,000, of that sum ? If work- LDgmen in New York city spend $50,000 a day for drink, they spend $300,000 a week, leaving Sunday out. In four weeks they spend $1,200,000 — over twice as much money as was paid into the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor in nine years. In six weeks they spend $1,800,000 — nearly three times as much money as that army of organized workers, the Knights of Labor, have spent from the day the General Assembly was first called to order up to the present day; and in one year the workingmen of New York city alone will have spent for beer and rum $15,600,000, or enough to purchase and equip a first-class telegraph line of their own ; $15,600,000— enough money to invest in such co-operative enterprises as would forever end the strike and lock-out as a means of settling disputes in labor circles. A single county in Pennsylvania, so I am informed, spent in one year $17,000,000 for drink. That county contains the largest Indus- ► trial population, comparatively, of any in the state. $11,000,000 of the $17,000,000 come from the pockets of workingmen. New York city, in one year, contributes $15,600,000 to keep men and women in poverty, hunger and cold, while one county in Pennsylvania adds $11,000,000, making a total of $26,600,000. Twenty-six million six hundred thousand dollars ! I have a conundrum to ask of you, Mr. Purdy : If the General Officers of the Knights of Labor are thieves 39 610 TEMPERANCE. because they levy an assessment which brings in less than a dollar apiece for each man, woman and child who needs it, what would you call the men who collect as a voluntary gift from foolish workingmen the sum of $26,600,000 in one year? The press, and not a few indignant workingmen, raved because the twenty-five-cent assessment was levied ; but both press and indignant workingmen remained silent while that damnable robbery of $26,- 600,000 was going on. Who arraigns the poor drunkard now ? Does he not arraign himself before the bar of condemnation every time he ranges himself before the bar in a rum hole ? The Eichmond session of the General Assembly voted $50,000 to purchase headquarters for the Order. $45,000 went to buy the build- ing on Broad street, Philadelphia. For complying with the order of the General Assembly the General Officers have been abused and slandered most vilUainously, principally by men who never contrib- uted a cent toward the purchase of the building. The enemies of the Order, or of the officers of the Order, have styled the headquarters " The Palace." On another street in the city of Philadelphia there is a saloon called " The Palace." I inquired of the proprietor what it cost him, and he said $20,000. Nine years ago he began business, selling rum, on a capital of $73, and in that time he has acquired the money with which to purchase the building and the lot on which it stands. He also owns $50,000 in railroad securities — all on an orig- inal cash capital of $73. His patrons are chiefly workingmen. Why do we not hear a protest go up against the means by which that palace was erected ? " It is not required of you by the Constitution or laws of the Knights of Labor." I know it. Neither is it stated in the Constitu- tion of the Order that I shall not stand on the public highway and rob the passer-by, yet I know that I should not do such a thing. If I saw a man about to hang himself, the Constitution does not specify that I should cut the rope. " You could well afford to remain silent or at least neutral, prefer- ring to teach by example rather than precept." If I cared more for the praise and approbation of labor's enemies than I do for the inter- est of labor I would remain silent. The man who remains neutral while his friend is in the grasp of the enemy, or while his friend is in danger, is a coward at heart and does not deserve the name of man or friend. Bemain silent and neutral while the house is on fire and you have nothing left but blackened, defaced walls and — ashes. Teach by example ! I can not in so large a country as this. If my example is good, then my words should proclaim it to the world. TEMPERANCE. QH 1 am no better than other men, but the virtue of temperance is good, even in a bad man, and that is what I wish to hold up before our members and workingmen outside of our Order. " I very much fear that you will be misunderstood." Do not fear; I will not be misunderstood when this letter is read. I am not a fa- natic. I do not damn the man who sells liquor. I have nothing against him. Many men who now sell liquor were once workingmen, and were victimized through a strike or lock-out. I would not in- jure a hair of their heads, but I would so educate workingmen that they would never enter a saloon. Then the money saved from rum and rum holes would go to purchase necessaries, and such an in- creased stimulus would be given to trade that the rum-seller could return to an honest way of making a living. I may be taken to task for being severe on the workingmen. It imay be said that I slander them even. If to tell the truth is to be .severe then on this one question, I hope some day to be severity itself; but I speak to workingmen because it is in their welfare that I am interested. I have not been delegated to watch or guard the fortunes of millionaires, and in no way can I hope to accomplish any thing until I state my policy freely and frankly to those I represent. We are seeking to reform existing evils. We must first reform our- ^selves. Some mischievous urchins once found a man sleeping by the road- side. They procured some soot and blackened his face. When he awoke and went into the crowded street every man he met laughed at him. He did not learn the cause of the merriment until a friend lield a mirror up before him. He became very mad, and for a time felt angry toward the man who held the mirror; but he soon came to his senses, laid the blame where it properly belonged, and thanked the man who showed him why others ridiculed him. I am holding "the mirror up to human nature. True, it exposes folly and vice. I amay and do receive condemnation, but if I can only show the men I speak to who it is that is blackening their faces, characters and hearts ; if I can only show Ihem how to remove the stains and be- come sober men again, I will be content to put up with their anger, for I know that they will one day thank me or bless my memory for the words I have spoken and written in the cause of temperance. No more cogent reason exists for the exclusion of the rum seller from the ranks of the Knights of Labor, than because of the influence exercised by 612 TEMPEBANCE. the saloon keeper on the politics of the day. It is a recognized fact that nominations for the ofl&ces of congressmen, State senators and representativfes^ mayors of cities, aldermen, and lesser positions are dictated by the men who sell strong drink. The organization of the Knights of Labor while' not pretending to be a political association, while it does not presume to dictate nominations or elec- tions, is a political organization in the highest sense of the word. It is not a PARTISAN ORGANIZATION, and seeks for measures through men and parties in- stead of for men for the sake of party. Its mem- bers have cause to know that many a good law has been defeated through the carelessness, through th& indifference of men who had been enslaved by the rum seller. Knights of Labor know that good legislation has. been frustrated by the drunkenness and debauch- ery of legislators, who fell victims to the use of rum, and gave their allegiance to the dispenser of that article rather than to the people to whom they owed their election. Unwise, pernicious laws have been passed, by enemies of the people, by steeping in the fumes of liquor the brains of men who were sent to enact legislation for the masses. Rum and its influences had on many an occasion dominated who should be nominated, who should be elected, and what laws should be passed. It TEMPERANCE. 613 was recognized by the officers of the Knights of Labor that the men who sold liquor, sold it not for the good of the masses but for their own aggran- dizement, and that he who yielded to the rum ele- ment went over to the enemy of labor. As a consequence, it would never do to send men to rep- resent the people in any capacity, when it was morally certain that LIQUOR HAD MORE OF AN INFLUENCE over them than those who cast the votes that elected them to office. Knights of Labor seeking for just, equitable leg- islation and the repeal of pernicious laws, could not depend on those who were under the influence of that which made restrictive laws a necessity, and, therefore, they must in every way discounte- nance the slaves to rum, by discountenancing the use of it. No better way could be devised to dis- countenance the use of rum, than to forbid the seller to cross the door-sill of the assembly as a member. As the rum dealer of past decades was supposed to control more or less of the " labor vote," it was a practice among politicians to leave a sum of money at each saloon, where the keeper claimed to exercise an influence over the workingmen. Where a workingman for any cause was engaged in the sale of rum, it was imagined that he had an influence over his former associates, and his saloon was the resort of politicians of all parties before election. 614 TEMPERANCE. To remove the stigma cast on the name of labor, it was deemed best to so separate the rum seller from the working man, as to cause politicians to hesitate before seeking for the votes of the toilers through the grog-shop. As far as .a labor organiza- tion could do such a thing, it has been done by the Knights of Labor. The member of the order who votes at the dictation of rum, is not obliged to do so because of any influence which can be brought to bear on him through his organization, which in no way stands as an ally to liquor or its devotees. Soon after the adoption of the constitution, in 1887, one or two assemblies of brewery employes threatened to withdraw from the order if the tem- perance feature was not altered or stricken out. The law which prohibited the sale of liquor at pic- nics, balls, etc., was objectionable to a great many who took the ground that it interfered with the per- sonal liberty of the member. It was claimed that the organization was drifting into the prohibition party, and would eventually go to pieces because of its temperance principles. The principal reason why the use of beer was prohibited at pic-nics and other gatherings of the order was because of THE TENDENCY TO DEGEABE THE MEMBER under the auspices of an assembly of the K, of L. Men who would not drink on any other occasion would flock to a Knight of Labor pic-nic, and under the impression that they were not doing anything wrong, would lose sight of reason and common sense TEMPERANCE. 615 while imbibing beer. The organization could not consistently afford to forbid the beer seller from en- tering the order because his mode of making a living was objectionable, and allow an assembly to make money or build up its treasury by selling the same article. If it was wrong in an individual to sell drink, surely the offense was not lessened when an assemblage of individuals engaged in the sale of it. The order of the Knights of Labor held from the beginning that the sale of drink was wrong. It re- quired no written statement to be made to certify to that, for the fact that the MAN WHO SOLD COULD NOT BE INITIATED was in itself a condemnation of the practice of sell- ing liquor. It was hoped that by keeping the man who sold rum out of the order it would serve as a means of teaching members that what was not good enough to come into the Knights of Labor was not good enough to associate with in places where strong drink was sold. Another reason why the sale of beer was prohib- ited at pic-nics was because enemies of the order seldom failed to take advantage of the weakness of some of the members on such occasions, and ply them with liquor until they became drunk. Men who never were members of the Knights of Labor were frequently seen reeling from pic-nics held un- der the auspices of an assembly of the Knights of Labor. Agents for liquor establishments, who had been refused admission to the order, have been 616 TEMPERANCE. known to pay men of dissolute habits to attend pic- nics and get drunk with the express purpose in view of raising a disturbance in order to cast dis- credit on the name of the organization. Members of the order were frequently taunted with such re- marks as : " Your order will not allow me to join because I sell liquor, but you will allow it to be sold at your pic-nics and gatherings when your as- sociation can make money out of it. We sell it only because we make money from the sale of it, and for the same reason your organization sells it when it can do so in such a way that no member can individually be held responsible." IT WAS A COWARDLY WAY of dealing with the question, and there was nothing else to do than to throw open the doors of the order to the rum seller, or else close them against the Sale of liquor in any form by the organization or any part of it at any time or place or under any circumstances. The argument used that it interfered with the personal liberty of the member to prohibit the sale of liquor at pic-nics, was not tenable for the reason that the personal liberty question had been settled the day the liquor seller was forced to leave the order. The liberty of the member to sell drink was in- terfered with when the law was passed which forr bade the seller of drink to cross the threshold of the assembly room. The personal liberty of the TEMPERANCE. 617 member was not interfered with when the sale of liquor was prohibited at pic-nics, for the pic-nic was not a personal affair; it was a Knight of Labor gathering, and was held under the auspices, not of the individual but the assembly. The member was not forbidden to drink, but the order refused t© give him drink. He could procure it elsewhere, but the good name of the order would not be tar- nished, and if he went elsewhere and became in- toxicated, and then returned to the K. of L. pic- nic, it would be known that he took such a step, since he could not possibly get drunk at the pic-nic WHERE NO LIQUOR WAS SOLD. The personal liberty cry is not worthy of consid- eration for a moment. There is nothing, I am sorry to say, in the laws of the Knights of Labor which will prevent a man from drinking as freely as he pleases ; his personal liberty is not assailed by the order, but the personal liberty of every other man is assailed by the man who drinks. No sober man would be allowed the liberty accorded to a drunken man, who may insult men, women and children, and be excused for so doing because he is drunk. If a labor organization selects a committee to do a certain thing, and one member of the committee gets drunk, the others have no right to interfere with his personal liberty, but he does interfere with the liberty of every member of the committee. If there is a strike or difSculty in progress the man who drinks is the man who becomes involved 618 TEMPERANCE. in a disturbance at the bidding of the agent of the corporation, in order that a disturbance may be made the pretext for invoking the aid of the law. The sheriff's posse or the State militia usually fol- low a too free indulgence in personal liberty on the part of the man who will not allow his rights to be interfered with, while he is violating in a most shameful manner the rights of others. On the evening of April 23, 1889, while going from Detroit, Mich., to Windsor, Ontario, across the ferry, a manufacturer of furniture, doing busi- ness in Detroit, introduced himself to the General Master Workman, and in the course of his conver- sation said : I have had occasion to employ a number of men at one time or another, and have had no little trouble with them. My uncle, a very kind man, could not get along with the men as he ought to, and we had no end to little annoyances. On every pretext the men would send a committee into the office to complain of some- thing or other until we became harassed beyond measure. I finally hit upon a remedy. I selected a member of the union and gave him $15, and told him next time we had any trouble with the men to take the most prominent ones to a saloon, and with that $15 treat the crowd. He did as he was told, and when they tried to hold a meeting that night they were so drunk that they did not know what they assembled for ; they became so mixed up that they adjourned without accomplishing any thing, and before they got around to it again it was too late. I found out how to manage my men, and since then have had no trouble with them, for I know how to head them off. I know that you may not like tp hear that this can be done, but it is true, and I now have complete mastery over the workmen in our employ. That confession of heartless immorality was made without solicitation, and during its recital the man who had disgraced his manhood in de- TEMPERANCE. 619 bauching his employes in the manner described, experienced a pride in explaining how he had out- witted the men who were employed by him. Here is a living illustration of the evil effects which fol- low a love of drink. It must not be supposed that it is a liking for liquor that induces men to fre- quent the saloons. The love of the beautiful is as strong in working- men as in others, and the majority of them can not afford to make their homes attractive. There are "fishers op men" whose duty it is to preach the word of God, but they open the doors of the house of Grod but once or twice a week. During their discourses they sel- dom attack the vices of the rich, although all who attend know that they have vices. The short-com- ings of the poor are arraigned in burning language. Once a week is this gone through with, and to the poor the church doors are closed until Sunday comes again. The home is scantily furnished, and that he may meet with his fellow-men to talk over the events of the day, the workman goes upon the street each evening ; no church door is open ; no reading room or public place in which he can enjoy himself, and chat, laugh and pass away the hour. The only door open to him, the only place where he may act without restraint is in the saloon, the door of which is always open, the walls of which are tastily pro- vided with pictures, and the trappings of which are 620 TEMPERANCE. displayed to the best advantage. Mirrors, paint- ings, statues, easy chairs, and comfortable sofas are at his disposal, and every thing is conducted m the most democratie manner ; rich and poor stand equal so long as the pennies hold out to purchase drink. The "fishers of men " do not display their bait so temptingly as do the fishers of dimes and dollars, and it is no wonder that many men are al- lured away from the home and the church after the visit to the gilded saloon. Few of the wealthy people who rail against strong drink and the evil effects of the saloon, are really sincere in their professions of FRIENDSHIP FOR THE POOR DRUNKARDS ; their philanthropy will never cause them to erect reading rooms, billiard halls, or coffee houses, for the entertainment of those who would not enter the saloon if such institutions existed. It is only while retaining his senses that the drinker enjoys the pleasure of his visit to the saloon, and it often happens that he drinks while there, simply be- cause he feels that he must do so while enjoying the hospitality of the rum seller. The scantily furnished apartments of the work- man, lacking the attractiveness of the saloon, causes the workman to leave his home of an evening for the purpose of visiting the saloon. This is given in evidence to prove that poverty drives men to drink, but it does not prove the charge by any means. Were other doors open to him he could TEMPERANCE. 621 bring his wife and children with him, but they must not accompany him to the saloon for fear of its contaminating influences. There is no good reason why poverty should cause a man to drink, and there are thousands of reasons why its presence should restrain him from indulg- ing in the use of intoxicants. Why should poverty make a drunkard of a man ? Is it because he is poor that he must do something which will make him poorer ? Is it to hide from himself the knowledge of his poverty that the poor man drinks? If so, does he not know that the awakening will find him POOEEE THAN BEFORE? Will those who say that it is poverty which causes men to drink, admit that when the poor man gets drunk he expects to remain so forever ; unless they do, they can not advance any good reason why he should for a time, and a very short time, lose sight of his misery. It is said that when a man is drunk he feels happy and rich. Will that be advanced as a rea- son why a poor man should drink? Will those who take the ground that poverty begets drunkenness, admit that those who drink for such a cause are fools; for none but a fool would do that which would make him poorer because he was already poor, and none but an ignorant man would attempt to drive away his poverty by a means which would make him forget it for but a moment, only to add to it when the forgetfulness had passed away. 622 TEMPERANCE. That poverty begets drunkenness is true, but the number of those who have been reduced to poverty through' strong drink is far greater than those who have been made drunkards through poverty. The most fertile source of drunkenness is to be found in the American habit of "treating." It is considered no disgrace to accept a glass of rum from a friend or an acquaintance. To offer a drink to a friend is considered good taste and hospitable. A drink will be accepted without a remonstrance or protest. Should the price of a drink be tendered to a man he would be insulted, and a breach of etiquette would be charged to the person who offered it. It is a false notion of friendship that causes men to recede from the stand which they have taken against the use of liquor when asked to take a drink. Poverty has done a great deal to make drunkards of men and women, but treating has made more drunkards THAN ALL OTHER CAUSES combined. To refuse to accept a drink when it is offered will subject the refuser to ridicule and in- sult. To the weak-minded it is easier to take the drink and break a good resolution, than it is to re- fuse the proffered hospitality, and thus incur the displeasure of a friend. Drunkenness in all its varied forms is condemned by the order of the Knights of Labor. Liquor sell- ing and the habit of treating is discountenanced, and the members of the Knights of Labor are TEMPERANCE. 623 taught that the person who either sells or gives strong drink to his fellow-man is not worthy of membership in the organization. By keeping it constantly before the member that it is wrong to sell or give strong drink, it is taught that to pa- tronize those who do sell or give liquor away, is also wrong. From a purely business standpoint the Knights of Labor are justified in excluding the liquor seller, and in making odious the habits of the rum drinker. It is unnecessary to give the statistics which would show what percentage of the earnings of labor go to the support of the rum trafBic, for that has been done by others in works devoted exclusively to the cause of temperance, but it is not putting the case too strong to say that THE WORKINGMEN OF AMERICA have spent enough money for rum to buy for each head of a family in the United States and Canada who toils for a living a comfortable, well furnished home. The liquor habit has a direct bearing on the wage of the employe in more ways than one. The habits of the drinker not only reduce the comforts of the home by useless and criminal spendings, but they frequently bring about a reduction of wages. The use of liquor degrades and brutalizes the workman, it blunts his finer feelings and makes him careless of the surroundings and welfare of his family. His employer, when he notices the condition to which the 624 TEMPERANCE. use of strong drink has reduced the workman, will take it for granted that the greater the compensa- tion paid to such a man, the greater will be the amount spent for rum. Here again the personal liberty cry of the drinker militates against the ma- jority, for the majority of workingmen do not drink to excess, but one man among a hundred who does get drunk will reduce the wages of 'the other ninety- nine. Employers, as a rule, are always willing to avail themselves of an opportunity to reduce wages, and the workman who reels past the door of the employer day after day is taken as the rule instead of the exception. It is said that the workmen are a degraded set who will not appreciate an act of kindness or good wages, and as a consequence their earnings may as well be reduced as not, for the savings of the home will be no greater than if THE MEEEST PITTANCE WERE PAID. Another argument made use of is, the smaller the pay, the less will the workman spend for rum. In nine cases out of ten, where wages are rieduced be- cause of drunkenness, it follows that the drunken employes are the exception instead of the rule, but the sober, industrious workman must surrender more of comfort, more of the necessities and more of the dignity which belongs to man because of the habits of drunkenness and consequent improvidence of his fellow-workman who does use liquor. The only argument used by the apologists of rum TEMPERANCE. 6X5 drinking by workingmen that has any weight is, that it cheers and brightens the surroundings of the rum drinker for a short time at least. That is not true, and not one instance can be adduced to prove the assertion. No man who has ever emerged from a fit of drunkenness has ever ac- knowledged that he felt the better for his debauch, or that he felt better while drunk, or that it made his surroundings more cheerful to become drunk, and if any such statements have been made they are untrue. If for a time the surroundings of the drunkard appeared to be more cheerful, he soon awoke to find that it was only a delusion. If he felt better while drunk he awoke to find that that feeling was only imagination, for it vanished with a return to reason. But while the surroundings of a man may appear more cheerful while drunk, it is an undeniable fact that they do not so appear to the wife and family of the drunkard, and a n^ore cowardly act can not be perpetrated by a man than to impose humiliation, disgrace, and sorrow on a defenseless woman and children for a momentary GRATIFICATION OF THE APPETITE. The use of strong 4rink weakens a man in mind and body ; it breeds disease ; it has wrought untold misery on the human family, or that portion of it that has to toil for a living, and never has the use of liquor done a single thing to elevate or ennoble the workers of this or any other land. Every ar- gument is against the use of liquor. The facts are 40 6^6 TEMPERANCE. all against it, and evidence of all kinds and statis- tics innumerable all go to prove that the use of liquor by working people is wrong, and does infi- nite harm to those who drink and those who come in contact with them. While the order of the Knights of Labor is not a temperance society so far as prohibiting members from the use of liquor is concerned, it has done more, possibly, than any other society to make workingmen see the enormity of rum drinking. Those who advocate temperance in the Knights of Labor are not fanatics, but they are sincere in de- siring to elevate the workingman to a more exalted station in life, and to make it easier for his family to secure the benefits of education and science. For these reasons the seller of rum can not become a member of the Knights of Labor. Building the Structure. ^y'>^xyy^!^v>and use of any piece of land gives a right of tendency from the State to the occupier as against any other person free, of rent at the pleasure of the State. APPENDIX. 689 " Decreed : That a department of lands be created to carry out this decree. II. " Decreed : That it is the right of every individual who supports the commonwealth to receive from it an opportunity to labor. " Decreed : That a department of production be organized, whose duty it shall be to carry out this decree. " Decreed : That the title to all machinery of production shall vest in the commonwealth. And that the individual manufacturers now claiming to ' own ' such machinery shall turn sitch over to the State officials without compensation, when it shall appear that the profits have, in times past, paid back to said owner the first cost thereof; but otherwise upon a compensation equal to a difierence between said first cost and the profits gained. " Decreed : That profit is abolished, and that the department of production shall turn over its manufactured goods to the department of distribution at cost. " Decreed : That nothing herein shall prevent any manufacturer who has not received back in profits the cost of his enterprise from continuing his business, if he so pleases, in competition with the State. ni. "Decreed: That a department of distribution be organized. ' Decreed : That the stock on hand of all wholesale and retail deal- ers is confiscated to the commonwealth without compensation, in cases where their profits have paid back their original capital ; but otherwise upon payment of the difference between the first capital and the amount of profit returns. IV. " Decreed : That a department of statistics be organized, whose duty it shall be to ascertain the productive capacity of the people and also their probable wants, and to certify the same to the proper de- partments. "Decreed: That a department of education be organized; that all printing establishments be placed under their charge ; that kinder- garten, athletic, mechanical, industrial, and technical schools be or- ganized. " Decreed : That interest for money be abolished. That money be abolished. That a department of exchange be organized. That cost 44 690 APPENDIX. be declared the limit of price and that temporarily (until proper statistics are obtained showing the true relations of the various classes of labor to each other), in State employ, the time of one man shall be held on equivalent value to that of any other. That clearing houses be established upon' this principle, and that the payment of workers and delivery of goods to the holders of labor notes be made upon the same principle. ■ That untU proper statistics are obtained goods .shall be sold at thirty-three per cent, less than their ruling re- tail price under the old profit system, and wages shall be fixed at a rate equivalent to $5 a day. VII. " Decreed : That sub-departments of pubKc justice, art, agricult- ure, transportation and communication be organized : " Decreed : That one year from date the first election for public functionaries shall be held, and that a provisional department to formulate a just system therefore be now organized. "Etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. " Each center or insurrection having pursued this course, immedi- ate steps should then be taken to federate the various localities. A congress should be called and the national organization efiected." "The system thus set in operation would gather strength and power every hour and day, and long before the year had passed when the people with a free ballot were to pass upon the work, its benefi- cent results would be felt by every citizen. The plebiscite would then but give it the sanctity of popular approval, and no power on earth could then for any length of time withstand its triumphant progress. " In concluding these necessarily crude and fragmentary remarks, we beg to emphasize our belief that the Pacific coast particularly, by reason of its peculiar population, its natural wealth, its position (such that a few determined men could isolate it from the balance of the world for months of time), and the agitation already started over its whole area, is peculiarly fitted to be the first to lead ofi" in active work when the time for that work shall come. " ' Workingmen of the world, unite I You have a world to -win and but your chains to lose ! ' "Final Wokds. — 1. Central committees will take measures to provide themselves with a regular agitation and expense fund. " 2. They will remit monthly to their State secretary for the post- age, circulars and other expenses of his office, five cents for each white card member on their roll. APPENDIX. 691 " As soon as practicable you ought to put your State secretary in a position of independence by paying him a salary, and requiring him to devote his whole time to the work. " 3. They will remit also to the bureau of information a similar sum for similar purposes. " 4. The State secretary and State executive is elected to hold dur- ing good behavior ; subject to recall at any time by the blue card mem- bers of his State. The national secretary and national executive may be elected similarly by the blue card members of the United States. " 5. Such men as have been for years prominent Socialists or work- era in the cause may be recommended by any central committee for a blue card without having made the actual converts required by the rules. " The blue card members are designed as the revolutionary force, and it is expected they will exercise their best thoughts in study and consideration of the points that ought to be dealt with. In future, by congresses and correspondence, plans will undoubtedly be formu- lated that will cover every emergency. " As it is of the utmost importance that only those who are tried, trusted and true shall hold the ' blue card,' you are urged to the most careful scrutiny of all new applicants for the same in your locality. Do not recommend any who are not of the very best mate- rial. Mere numbers are not so much of an object as men. " At present the most important work is organization, and to this every energy should be bent. " During the year 1885 all white card members are instructed to write and forward to headquarters carefully written essays upon the subjects named below. At the end of the year abstracts of each essay or class of essays will be submitted by referendum to the considera- tion of all white card members. " 1. How may the new social order be organized and administered; i. «., how may the change be brought about with the least jar? " 2. What should be our proper course of action in times of panic, revolt, revolution? " 3. What are the best means of oflfense and defense ? How may the success of the revolution be assured? " 4. Our policy in times of revolution. "In centers of insurrection— how controlled — seizure of public buildings — control of the press, telegraph, railroads, shipping— occu- pancy of armories — organization of the people— arming— arrest of prominent capitaKsts— seizure of military stores— guarding against 69^ APPENDIX. disorder — the rationing of the people— prevention of arson, murder, theft — reorganization of society — means of preventing stagnation of business — free justice — no rent — work for all — organization and fed- eration of the new society. " At conservative points — formation of secret revolutionary com- mittees — ^proclamations of intention — forcibly preventing departure of forces to aid capital at other points, etc., etc. " Arrangements have been made to commence before the end of the year, the circulation of brochures containing, in extenso, what accumulated knowledge we already have concerning newly discovered means of practically applying dynamite to organized (not sporadic) revolutionary wariare. But this is not a matter for haste. Organi- zation should be the watchword for the hour. " You should be, as well, particulary active in labor arganization. Every white card member ought to be, in fact, a leader. If possible, he should control some trade union or organization, molding it care- fully and steadily into such shape that it may be of use in the time of struggle. " Every white card member should thoroughly understand that it may be upon his efforts alone — upon his fidelity and persistence that the successful issue of the revolution depends. He must, for the sake of the cause, watch his fellow white card members, must advise with, strengthen, purify, and aid them upward." This is the Eed International in America as directed by Burnette Haskell ! A great number of dainty morsels might be quoted, but are omitted for lack of space. The Blacks, or the International Anarchist association, as an or- ganization, was introduced in America in Pittsburg in 1883, as the International Working People's association. It issued a long man- ifesto, which ended up as follows : "If there ever could have been any question on this point, it should long ago have been dispelled by the brutalities which the bourgeois of all countries — in America as well as in Europe — con- stantly commits, as often as the proletariat anywhere energetically move to better their condition. It becomes, therefore, self-evident that the struggle of the proletariat with the bourgeois will be of a violent, revolutionary character. "We could show by scores of illustrations that all attempts in the past to reform this monstrous system by peaceable means, such as the ballot, have been futile, and all such efforts in the future must nec- essarily be so, for the following reasons : APPENDIX. 693 "The political institutions of our time are the agencies of the propertied class ; their mission is the upholding of the privileges of their masters; any reform in your own behalf would curtail these privileges. To this they will not and can not consent, for it would be suicidal to themselves. "That they will not resign their privileges voluntarily we know; that they will not make any concessions to us we likewise know. Since we must then rely upon the kindness of our masters for what- ever redress we have, and knowing that from them no good may be expected, there remains but one resource — force ! Our forefathers have not only told us that against despots force is justifiable, because it is the only means, but they themselves have set the immemorial example. "By force our ancestors liberated themselves from political op- pression, by force their children will have to liberate themselves from economic bondage. 'It is therefore your right, it is your duty," says Jefferson, ' to arm ! ' " What we would achieve ds, therefore, plainly and simply : " 1. Destruction of the existing class rule, by all means, i. «., by energetic, relentless, revolutionary and international action. " 2. Establishment of a free society based upon cooperative organ- ization of production. "3. Free exchange of equivalent products by and between the productive organizations without commerce and profit-mongery. "4. Organization of education on a secular, scientific and equal basis for both sexes. " 5. Equal rights for all without distinction to sex or race. " 6. Eegulation of all public afiairs by free contracts between the autonomous (independent) communes and associations, resting op a federalistic basis. "Whoever agrees with this idea let him grasp our outstretched brother hands ! " Proletarians from all countries unite ! " Fellow-workmen, all we need for the achievement of this great end is organization and unity ! "The day has come for solidarity. Join our ranks! Let the drum beat defiantly the roll of battle: 'Workmen of all countries unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains; you have the world to Cornell University Library HD 8066.P7 Thirty years of labor.1859 to 1889. In w 3 1924 002 355 885 I i r, C r r r M i i L-