The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-07-26
VOLUME TX.
OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS
or THE
National Industrial Congress,
WHICH CONVENED Al
Cleveland, July Is, 1873.

ing at lS4, Superior street The meeting
was called TO order by Mr Fnran. Presi
dent of the International Coopers Union
who addressed the assemblage as follows
II. GENTLEMEN In Difference to the wish
es Of the balance Of those who signed tn,
call which convened this Congress, bu
much against my own desires, rise for tn,
purpose Of formally opening the Iadustria
Congress Of the uted States And being
a citizen Of the city selected for the inaug
uratIon of this great and suspicious move
merit, 1t may be proper that | should
slightly digress from the main question
ana IN behalf Of the workingmen Of Cleve
land and vicinity welcome you to our city. Ii
l. true that no glittering pageant smiled
welcome upon you upon your arrival IN
our midst. No heraldric blazonry, pre-
ceded your coming; no laundering
ordnance belched deep muuthed vel
come upon your advent here but, gentle
uvu, there are thousands Of honest,
whole souled, big hearted, braWny, iron
hsted sons of toll in the city Of Cleveland
| whose hearts and souls rejoice with eN-
ceedlng great JOY because you are here To-
! day anG the genuine welcome of honest
men honestly and freely eXten1ed is of
\ more worth and consequence than the use
less pomp If the grandest pageant We
are pleased and yratIhed to see you here
! for more reasons than one. 1t is always a
source Of pleasure and qualification to meet
and commlngle with those who are engag-
ed with US in the same common cause. and
whose hopes and aspirations are co-essenti-
ally couCldent with our own. But there
j. another and greater reason why we re-
JuIcr tp see you v our presence here,
from every important manufacturing sec
tiuu Of the American Union, is an emphat-
lu indication that a great social reform ;
at hand. Coming events cast their shad
ows before, said the great Scottish hov-
ellst and poet, and my friends. | can see
iu your presence here to-day the shadows
III coming event the upheaval OF an idea
that IS destined to ~ star IN the East to
the workmgmsn NJ America. look upon
this movement as the sign by which we
shall conquer. The dazzling sign which
Constantine saw glorifyug the heavens as
he Jourueyed toward Italy. gave that mon
arch no greater assurance If success over
ms enemies than Is afforded us over the
enemies OF right and lusuce by the sue
AtNSl uA ltlhu-l ~ AlAl~ Aifhz lbDkcu
for. long wished for industrial movement.
II j. really the shadow, east before. Of that
millennium for which wurkIngmrn have -
long and earnestly laborrd and prayed
But though We look upon i a. an omen Of
great hope and promise the star in the
East the blazun-d cross seen by COnstan-
tine. it should not surprise us If others
should hook upon II did odd BelShaZzaT,
upon those terrible and incumprehenslble
words which that awful finger wrote upon
the wall. and well may they So view II. 1t
Is the handwriting upon the wall to ali
those who reap where they have not sown.
Who live not by their Own but ~ the labor
Of others The Baby lonan king robbed
the very temple If the Lord he was a
great rubber. but no greater than he who
commits that SIN winch cries to heaven for
vengeance, defrauding the laborer Of the
Just fruits Of his toll God Is his own good
time wrote upon the wall the doom OF the
Syrian robber Cod in his own good time,
and firmly believe that time Is at hand,
will write upon the wall the doom Of the
social robber God moves IN a mysteri-
GUS way. The Egyptian mAgiclaus saw
the hnger of God when Aarons serpent de
voured theirs and | can see the huger of
God in the organization we are about 10
form, Inasmuch as IN II viii he merged ami
swallowed up all the essential elements of
strength and success found IN the various
trade organizations oi America Tis
Unitd fortior United strength is the
stronger Upon the principle that fifty
men acting together are nifty foId
stronger than one, the organization will
be as many fold stronger than any Of those
now existing, as there are organizations
composing it, and because your presence
here Indicates this much. we are reloiced
that YOU are here; but though ''gratula-
tIOns flow in streams unbounded, | trust
we Will not De unmindful Of the character
Of our hosts, but that We will make your stay
IN our city as pleasant and as agrees bic
1t Is possible for us to do.
Ii would be a work of supererogation for
me to enter into detailed statement of all
that is proposed by this movement TIE
call and the circular subsequently sent you
have made you familiar with the designs
and aims Of this association. II would be
a useless waste of time and words to again
specifically refer to the various causes
which have eliminated in our presence
here Nor shall /, i'll advance, enunciate
any particular object which We may have
In view, or the means by which we propose
to attain it / will say this much, how
ever we do not propose to form political
party at this time, and we certainly do not
propose to append ourselves to the tail Of
any party kite. We are here rs the repre-
sentatives of an idea, and that idea is op-
posed to Capitalization and monopoly; it is
.,npn.aI IN anpanlidatad onrnorattnna hav
ing for their object the enslavement of the
people; il Is opposed to that monstrous in
equality in our social system by which the
rich are being continually made richer and
the poor poorer; by which wealth and pro-
ductiOn are unevenly distributed; by which
powerful aggregations of capital are form
ed, leaving hollow vacuum of poverty,
misery and destitutiOn, in which the great
er portion of mankind drag out q misera-
BILE and execrable existence.
This idea means difflsiOn-the Just and
equitable diffusion Of production, the Just
and equitable diffusion Of intellectuahsm,
the Just and equitable diffusion Of every
thing God has created for mans use and
benefit. both material and intellectual. j
admit that this idea in yet but q mere &
ment of the mind, and If we can transfofk4
it into . tangible, subsisting reality, with
out going into the disreputable pool Of
politics, We will gladly do % but should
we fail we may be compelled TO redress our
wrongs at the ballot box, either through
some of the parties now existing, or
through great peoples party to be form
ed in the future, and composed Of both
physical and mental toilers. In srying
this much, however, desire to also say
that, in my opinion, this body sLould
never become political organization, q
the nucleus Of political organization II
ahould ever rsmain congress Of industrial
interests-
But II IL i found that the hagititioua
wronQs undsr whieh We labor cnn not b