The Labor enquirer., 1883-09-08
DENVER, COLORADO, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER s. 1883
army. Jay Gould met and vanquished
the telegraphers on another field of Phil

/
| lippi. "
had entertained an exalted opinio
of chairman O'Connor, / am now grieve
beyond measure at his cowardice. Fl
and many of his underlings affect Il
believe that the Knights of Labor off
GERS should have ordered an assessmen
for the benefit of the strikers. Ignor
ance or malice alone is the groundwork
| for such belief. The law of the orde
explicitly forbade the levying of al
assessment. mo assessment runs tn
constitution, "can be levied in the or
ganization for the support of strike
either by the grand officers or the exec
utiye board. Where twenty-five or NOR
members in any one local or district ar,
discharged by employers, simply because
they are Knights-of Labor, the executive
board are empowered to thoroughly in
vestigate such cases reported to them
and if the board are satisfied beyont
doubt that the brothers were yictimizec
and driven from employment for NJ
other reason than that they were
Knights of Labor, the board may ordel
an assessment to be levied on the entire
order, to protect such yictimized broth
ers from suffering and want. Not mors
than ten cents per week, however, can
be levied at any one time"
Mr.. OConnor, in the interview here
tofore referred to, is fagrantly disingen
uous. mo money" he says, twas
received in the brotherhood's treasury
at any time during the strike from the
knights of Labor as an organization. II
is true that much assistance of local
nature was given to branches of the
brotherhood in the cities and towns
but that was entirely local matter,
and had nothing whatever to do with
the treasury of the brotherhood as a
whole. Our executive committee had
llO SlalIh W vi COllIOI ONcI IIlc
thus given, and had nothing to do with
the dlspensation thereof. | again repeat
what l have said on previous occasions,
that believe proper spirit of frater-
nifty was entertained for US by the
Knights of Labor, but that their grand
officers failed to keep the contract"
Now, if all local organizations of the
Knights of Labor contributed literally
to and provided for all local branches of
the brotherhood. for what, in the name
of Heaven, did the treasury of the
brotherhood as a WHOLE" need money {?
Will Mr.. O'Connor or his colleagues deny
that local assemblies did the very best
they could for the strikers? What trade
union, indoctrinated with knightly prin-
ciples, did not respond to the general
appeal? Fudge, O'Connor, with your
treasury as whole"
Il believe" says O'Connor, "a proper
spirit of fraternity was entertained
for US by the Knights of Labor, but that
the grand officers failed to keep their
contract" is, failed to issue an ap-
peal for aid. boldly assert that when
O'Connor says that Powderly promised
to issue an appeal for aid he makes a
deliberate, malicious misstatement. If
Powderly y had issued such an appeal he
would have violated provisions which
he has so solemnly sworn to support.
"All appeals for aid, says the constitu-
ton, must be made direct to the exec
utive board, through the secretary of
the same. The executive board can issue
an appeal for voluntary contributions in
aid of any district or local on a strike,
when, after due examination, the board
are satisfied that all means of preventing
the strike had been exhausted before the
members were ordered out"
Now, the means Of preventing the te-
legraphers' strike had not "been ex-
hausted." If they desired to have the
whole enginery of the knights of Labor
employed in their behalf they could have
averted the conflict until after the meet
ing Of the grand assembly on Tuesday
next Then and there they could have
explained their intentions, counseled
with Scared veterans, mapped out their
line Of battle and made arrangements for
provisioning and generating their undis
ciplined army. But, no; they rushed
,pell-mell into the strife. They proposed
to dragoon Powderly and his executive
board. And, now, some of them are
emptying buckets of filth upon an order
whose wise laws they disregarded, and
striving to cast odium upon men who
have devoted long lives to the cause of
oppressed humanity.
In your next issue. Mr.. Editor, pro-
pose to outline the causes contributing
to the failure of the telegraphers' strike.
l shall probably criticise the manage
ment>severely. am neither croaker
nor an enemy. An honest review of the
conflict will prove profitable, if not
pleasant reading. want it understood,
too, that I am friend of the operators.
They made noble fight. They stuck
together most heroically. Their valor
does them honor and casts lustre upon
the organized labor of America. Their
triumph is merely deferred. JUNIUs
WENDELL PHILLIPS.