The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1850-07-16
The Congress or Trades and the I'm
Elections.


called Congress of Trades and b., others an Indus
trial Council, meets rgan ,his evening, when
the constitution viii be i1ally passed upon, and
the question will be determined which SO many
tradesmen anxiously desire to see solved, whether
the congress, or council, or convention, or what
ever else may be its designation, is to represent
the trades of this city, political, socialist and
hgious cliques, to such an extent as to drown the
true voice of the working man in a war cry Of
faction, TO be now commenced, and TO be kept up
till the elections pext fall.
motion will be made to limit membership TO
the trades, and thus to purge the body of men who
have no right to Sit in it, If this motion be carried,
it will make clean sweep of the politicians and
socialists and there will be some chance Of the
sound wisdom of the honest tradesmen having fair
play to work out practical redress of any real
grievances under which they may labor. But we
fear the sinister influences are too strong in the
body, and the schemers too numerous, TO allow that
proposition to prevail. II it should be defeated,
then all hope of accomplishing anything useful
through this body is lost, and it will fall into the
hands of a few wre-pullers, who will turn il to
their own advantage, and sell the trades to the
highest bidder. Then will be acted over again
the farces already played in this city, in which the
trades have been made the ladder of needy or am
bilious politicians, who kicked them away the
moment they gained the summit Of their aspira-
tons. Before such consummation can be real
lied in the present ms lance, every sensible trades
man will consult his own dignity and that Of the
trade he represents, by retiring from tho sonvsn-
tion and leaving the fools to be used by the knsves
The great error in this movement was, that
II did not begin right it did not originate
with the trades, but with knot of political trick
sters, and hence the peculiar composition OF
the body. What are its constituent parts We
shall know more fully when the roll which
was ordered shall be made out, giving the name OF
each delegate and the body he represents. In the
meantime, we may refer to some of the MEMBERS
as samples of the materials of which this socalled
congress of trades is composed. For example
Horace Greeley, his two reporters, Johnasson and
Otterson, and his printers devil, Henderson, re-
present party paper, the Metz York Tribune, the
organ of free soil whggery, and socialism. Then
there is on the other hand, Mr.. Daniel B. Taylor,
a well known politician, once member of the
Assembly, and mixed up with every election for
years. Ostensibly, he represents the hodmen, but
really the democrats and is working against fear
full odds for the interests CT his party. Take
or two more specimens of the delegates; Mr..
Baily, the chairman; and Mr.. Crate, the secretary
The former represents-whatl (Dont laugh,
readerD He represen ts the Church of Humanity
The latter represents some other body of men, but
they are not a body of tradesmen. If, then, the
chairman and secretary are to be regarded as tests
of the character of body, what is the legitimate
inference as to the component parts of that which
is misnamed a congress of trades! Why, even
10 hoe "A IN fha
working men in this assembly.
MIR. Barr, one of the leaders, who has his eye
upon a seat in the Common Council, or mayhap in
the State Legislature, let the cat out of the bag,
when he talked about the candidates 10 whom GER
tain questions were to be pat at the next elections.
He made this premature escapade on the spur of
the moment, provoked thereto by the keeper of the
room making a demand of 81 per day as, extra
wages. But we are credibly informed that he af-
forwards regretted IT. and that some of the cooler
knowing ones were much annoyed at the ebulli-
ton, rsmarkng after the meetsg was over, that it
would ell appear the Herald. 1t u worthy Of re-
mark, that it is wholly omitted from the Tribune,
Is well the mprudent, but significant, proposition
to make that journal the official organ of the con-
gress This last question, which was STAYED of on
the lart night Of meeting, comes up again to
night. The manner in which ii il decided,
xl .lso s..., N. r,hl;c IN sor,, fa, ..,;n,,s If
~ 90
The designs and motives OF the leaders In the con-
eress of trades.
Alderman Haw. the chairman of the Young
~, W.. C,... :. :-., -
nen wing commune, 10 w &c aSsoo's'oo WIN
Greeley IN the scrub race; hence his motion in
The board 10 give the congress the room, and the
,rs. mad. aho,, !, ., m. ,as, mae,;ng Roth
have, also, by a remarkable coincidence, turned
the tea room TO account. Haws, who, If we are
10 believe Alderman Miller, has made his phiz and
porauon supper table is now loud in his condemna-
ton of the abuse, and goes in for making political
capital out oft.
From all that we can see and hear, there is too