Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-04-13
THE KNIGHT-LINEHAN MEETING.
Speech of H. L. Knight--Absurdit.es Of the
New Constitution Shown Up-Kearney
Flayed By Linehan-A Sand Lot Lout Rec.
ognigsd and Denounced as q Skulksr.

A large meeting of citizens op
posed to the proposed new Consti
tuition assembled at the Main stree
front of the Court House last eve
ming to listen TO addresses from MI
Knight and Mr.. Linehan, of Sar
Francisco. After several airs haG
been very effectively played by th,
High School Band, Mr.. Thomas A
Carey, Chairman, introduced Mr.
H.L.Knight, one of the founders ol
the Workingmen's Party of Cali,
fornia. Mr.. Knight said:
Mr.. Chairman and FelIoO Citizens:
I have had the pleasure twice be.
fore of addressing the people of Los
Angeles, and both times, l believe,
was listened to with respectful at
tentiOn. l don't doubt but tonight
you will maintain the same char
acter for impartiality and Justice.
Some of you will remember what
said to you when was here before,
and say to you now, that / stand
on the same platform that T oceu.
| pied then-I haven't changed a lot.
say now as [ said then, "rhe
Chinese must 60" Land monopo-
ly must cease in our State, money
and railroad monopoly must be re.
strained aud the law so administer
ed as to secure the safety and hap
piness OF the people, rather than
the vested rights of pampered mil.
lionaires aud property holders.
There is no change in my doctrine;
but there is little change in nv
attitude towards what is called the
Workingmen's Party and that man
Denis Kearney. When started
the Workingmen's Party, year
and half ago, Denis Kearney and
a man named Day were calling
meetings on the sand lot and pro.
posing soup houses for the poor,
and that the merchants and Super.
visors Of San Francisco should pro.
vide labor for unemployed Ameri.
can citizens at dollar a day.
Neither of them had any idea of
governmental policy, or public
economy, or domestic economy.
Think of that. 1 told the people ut
the sand lot that 1t was not soup
houses, or labor at dollar a day or
pity, or charity, that the Working-
men OF the State of California re-
quired. We wanted justice aud
such an administration OF the gov.
ernment as would raise them above
| nhnrItu Qnd -I
vide every man with employment
ut better wages than dollar day.
l was asked, "How do you propose
to do it," and responded with a
platform. 1 wrote first, "The Chi
nese must CO." Land grabbing
must cease. Monopolies must be
restricted. and the children of the
poor cared for and educated. L stand
before you now, an advocate of the
same things. Justice for humanity,
liberty tor humanity, protection
for humanity, and protection for
the little children-the wards of the
nation.
The speaker then referred to the
question of monopoly, and said:
1--WE have gambled off the good
things that God gave US, and we
have no right to slander those who
won the pot and drew the prize.
We would have done it ourselves
II we could. would have had a
land grant If / could. 1 would
have got u hundred millions from
the railroad if I could, and you
would have done the same. We
have no right to falsify LELAND
Stanford, or any other man, be-
cause they hold the fort and we
don't. The true philosophy is to
change the game. We can do It.
When we are sufficiently enlirht-
ened and imbued with power, we
can say, Stand off; you have gst
the pot In every land the Work
ingmen need better state-a law
securing their share of the good
things of this life, decent educa.
tion for their children, full stom.
achs, to save them from crime,
and degradation and hell. 1t ia to
be done by kindly feelings, and not
by brutality and slander.
IA little while ago we called for
an amendment to the Constitution
Of our State. We voted to have a
State Convention for that purpose.
The Convention met. Why did
you want the old Constitution
amended? Because evils ha 4 grown
up under 1t. The present Consti-
tuition of this State is a good one
well written, consistent, logical and
short. Instead Of being content to
make five or six plain, simple,
common-sense amendments, they
tore apart the old ship of state
every rope, and sail, and chain,
and timber; and I tell you those
men We're not competent for the
work. They have given us new
Constitution that is inferior to the
old one perfect nullity when it
shall come before the wise Judges
of cur Courts. 1t will cause twenty
years Of litigation and will plum
der industry and commerce of
fifty millions before il can be we'll
settled. AS a scholar, a critic and
a lawyer, 1 say that the document
is q disgrace to the State in its
scholarship, in its lack of legal
consistency, In Its balderdash dec.
lamation, in its false assertions,
and in Its statute law, that has no
business in Constitution. The
members of that Convention
thought they were everybody, and
everybody else was nobody"
The speaker referred at length to
many provisions in the new Con-
stitution which were apparently
aimed at the Workingmen and
which would, If adopted, work u
hardship to their best interests, and
closed by saying: I cannot bow to
Denis Kearney and will never SUBJ
NIT my Judgment to such a crea.
ture. If Denis Kearney and VIM.
Welleck and Carl Browne had let
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