The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-07-27

Eight Hundred and Seventy Thousand.
A Philadelphia correspondent, who pro-
fesses to have accurate information, sends
the HgRn.D some account of secret Or
ganization called the Knights of Labor.
which has, he assures US, membership In
almost every State Of the Union-141, 900 in
California, $4,000 in Pennsylvania, 7S,ooo
in Indiana, Ga, 900 in Ohio, 81, 600 IN North
Carolina, down to 5000 in Colorado-and
total Of $40, oOO The society, he thinks. has
drawn largely from the different labor or
carnations of the country, and intends
now to take hand in politics, its natural
afiliaticn being with the Green back-Labor
party.
Secret political organizations are not
effective in free country. There have
been q great many at different times In the
United States, but the most they have ever
accomplished was to ruin the reputation OF
few foolish politicians who thought TO use
them as stepladders and got SO bad fall
that they were political cripples the rest O.
their lives. Even the Southern negroes VIII
were drawn into Union Leagues when they
only the League candidates, discov-
cred presently that the League candi-
dates were an exclusive set OF white
rascals, and as the blacks are as
INSCRIPTIONS politicians as one can md
anywhere they presently set up opposition
leagues and broke up the whole system. In
country where every man may air his
hobby, where all men may speak and vote
as they please, and where no citizen is so
humble but that if he thinks proper and
can afford the luxury he may get up
political party of his own, secret politics
are absurd, and are encouraged mainly by
men who hope for some personal gain by
controlling and selling out the votes OF
Others The Knights OF Labor were not, as
we understand, originally political So
ciety. If they have any social objects OF
sufficient Importance to make the continu-
ance of their organization advisable we
should counsel them to keep out Of poll
ties as body, or to openly join
the Greenback-Labor organization II
the policy of that meets their views.
That is, like Citizen Schwab's Social Labor
organization, legitimate party, with pub
lie objects, policy which it desires to have
carried out, q platform, ticket, speakers,
conventions and all the other means by
which political parties in q free country
seek to convince the voters aud thus to Sc
cure majority at the polls. itf
The attempts hitherto made to unite the
workingmen in any of our States for politi-
cal action have been SO uniformly unsuc-
cessful that they have ceased, to alarm the
politicians. There is o great deal OF sound
and fury before the elections T; but, as a
rule, the workingmen go to the polls and
vote for one or the other Of the regular
candidates. Partly this arises from the fact
that the leaders Of the two parties are very
ready to adapt themselves to the will of
their constituents and topromise, on one
side or the other, whatever seems at the
time to be with some show of unanimity
demanded. But the main reason why labor
organizations have been inedectiveas politi-
cal machinery Is that they have almost
always planted themselves on impracticable
ground. Their platforms have put forth
glittering generalities, enunciated policies
contrary to common sense, or have made de-
mands which had not the consent Of the
people at large. When political
party begins by requiring oil abuses to be
reformed at onco it is pretty sure to fail.
because it undertakes too much. When it
sets out with hishfown declarations about
the rights of labor, the nobility Of the
laborer, and 80 on, it loses the sympathy of
sensible, hard working people. During the
late war some enthusiasts tried to get up
party with the professed design
of securing 'all rights for all :
believe, who Illuminated this formidable
and comprehensive doctrine, but when he
had spent all the money he could borrow
from few confiding adherents the journal
in which he printed his twsddle stopped,
and the IAN rights for all" party came to
everybody being agreed upon ''all rights
for ALL.
There is just now great deal Of discon-
tent with the two old parties. 1t is felt that
they have not served the country well that
they have lacked craftsmanship equal to
the wants Of the people that while the
country is OVERLOOKING with wealth of oil
kinds our rulers have not known how to
make this abundance produce general salts
faction. We agree fully in all this. 1t is q
iact that the two old parties have not served
the country we'll. We should like to see a
new party arise which would put able men
ut the head OF affairs, who would, as they
easily could, lead the country toward re-
newed prosperity and contcntment. But
here comes the Greenback-L Labor party, pro-
iessinga desire to do just this, and tells US
that the true road to prosperity is by cheat
ing the national creditors and flooding the