The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1867-08-24

liShed in several trades. As % little VA
aocQmp lished. and the ssssion OF TIE Na
tional Labor Uuion was near at hand, wher
| the whole systsm would be revised and al
tered, I lstterly withheld further appoint
ments
By theIsw, authority was given 10 tb,
ExsDutive Board I" to levy q tar Of Is cent?
a30r upon each member belonging 20 ths
NAsional Labor UnioB.n II may be asked
whY that authority was not exercised, q
wewere 20 much In want of money ? Thert
were many diihculties In the way, and many
reasons why no tar was assessed. IL was
rsfher difhcuit 20 determine accurately who
wers the " members" bslonging to the Ma
tional Labor Union, = the constituency Of
that body had been vsry indistinctly de6ned
and bus questionably establisbsd and even
hsd tax been assessed, the slowness with
which il would have been received, Il rc-
csised at ell, judging fscm ths delay 10 sub
s@1oing Tor Soc proceedings, would have
rendered 1t Of bat little advantage. Fur
thermorc, 1t has been my opinion that the
money that might have been thus abstracted
from the States would have been much more
usefully applied II kept within and useo by
thu States themselves. The smouat that
might have been obtained would have been
comparatively small in the aggregate, and OF
bus little valne in forwarding the general
designs of the National Labor Union, while
the difficulties that have arisen IL many OF
the States show that they needed all they
had. Besides, taxes are always Objectionable &,
and il was better to let them work on in the
cause in their own way without additional
taxation, contenting ourselves for the pre-
sent with serving as a rallying point for
them, and thus, though seeming to do no
thing, by giving direction TO thci5 efforts We
would be accomplishing much.
The itiluFe u pnbIsh the proceed ngs
ard delay in publishing the address operated
as a drawoack. had relied uron those
things 10 fairly N raduce us to the work ng
people and give identity 70 the National
Labor Ueion, which having been ba, recent-
ly erected, needed something Of the kind to
fairly start It on Its career. Those things
we're oked for, too, by the wo-zingmeB.
and no doubt contributed to temporarily
cheek the progress of the National Labor
Union but the injury done is immaterial, I
believe, and may be entirely eficed iu a
short while, il the proper steps be taken by
ron to strengthen the organization and con-
solidate the different classes Of labor 80 as
to bring them within the sphere ot yoGF JON
troll.
TO contriLu to the agitation Of the sub
iect Of labor reform | concurrcd in the pub
lication Of the ACCOMMODATING address,
which was written by and published at the
expense of our energetic Secretary Gibson,
Of Connecticut, before the appearance oil. the
National Address.
| would also invite your attention to
his annual report, which is submitted here
wilh.
The experience Of the past year has con-
yinced me that one Of the most difficult and
get most necessary questions with which the
National Labor Union will have TO deal il
that Of establishing a fixed revenue to M sst
its pecuniary requirements. Ia an under
taking of such vast proportions as is con
templated By the action Of the Labor Con-
gress, however economically it may be con
i9cted, much money will be needed to make
il effective, and every safeguard will have TO
by thrown around its disbursement to prevent
its misuse. And It is also essential that
the rsturns should be made steady aud re-
liable. The plan that to me seems best Is
tglAssessu per capita lax upon the entire
Membership or constituency ). those shte-na-
I. snal Unions or Union now represented in the
Congress or hereafter becoming members OF
the national organization, said tax TO be
paid by the Unions represented, and by
them collected from their constituency. 10
reference to trades Assemblies, their con-
stitaency being indefinite, il would be bette.s:
think, 70 assess tax tarsctly upon them
without an exact count Of membership. As
to the sPhvunt o. thai tax, it Will depend up
oa fhe number represented end the esti-
mafed expetss % OF the current year, and
tn9se expense !, II course, will depend upon
your lesislari ya.. think il would be ad-
visable, as T. . purce OF small revenue, and
TO give more ! .nArastsr and effect to mem.
bership IN the National Labor Union, thal
an engraved certificate or card Of member
ship be ros-sred and issued, upon paym en-,
OF remune rativc sum, To those ass0cla
lions belong ing to the national organization
In c0nn COTTON with the sablect 0f revenue
and expe mixtures, would recommend that
provisivs- De m d., if possible, for paying
The Pres ident and Secretary a salary suih
cieLt to support them, that they may gist
their undivided attention to the duties o
their positions. To give that attention ne
cessa ry Ol the part Of either or both those
olics srs, and ~ the same time pursue theiI
usufil avocations, is incomratibie and can
not be done. To attempt it is to impose
up on them more than they can well accomp
Ill Sd, and to seriously impair their efficiency
a well as to injure the cause.
.A.Dother subject to which would respect
fully call your attention, IS that Of estab-
lisbing a National Organ. lfs want has
been much felt during the year, and Il Is IS
be regretted that some plan vas rot adopted
by the Labor Congress to furnish such de-
sideratum. II Will be found absolutely es.
sential for the officers to have some paper
through which to hold communication with
the masses; anl it win also be found, I be-
lieye, Of incalcuiable advantage TO the work
ingmen as A medium through which to CON-
nunicate the status of their trades and TO
discuss the principles of the labor movement.
la my opinion. to truly subserve the purposes
Of a workingnan's representative paper and
meet their wants, il should be made daily
newspaper. Its editorial columns should be
devoted TO the defense of tse rights Of labor
and to an inculcation Of the principles OF
the reform, while its news columns should
chronicle current events, and BY competing
favorably with the other daily papers, flI
their places. Every workingman viii have
a newspaper. and il one devoted to bis in
terests will furnish him With the ssme gem
eral news that he has been getting from one
cot SO devoted, it is but reasonable to sup
pose chat be will give up the latter and take
the former.
The manumission Of the slaves has placed
that class 10 new relation to the whites,
and calls for some expression OF opinion
from you upon Ihe subject OF what position
they are to occupy n relation 70 the labor
reform movements. They are here amongst
Us, and here they viii onquestionably re-
main. Their freedom has forced apon them
the necessity OF learning to think and pro-
vide for themselves, and they are rspidiy be.
Ing clothed with al the. rights Of citizen
ship. Prom the possession Of those rights
must follow the estabIishment or schools
and the spread of edacation- Az they be-
come edaeased shey viii, 70 great extent,
~ - =. :. A