St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-07-24
THE LAsOz PROBLEM.
II. ". POwderiy Addresses a Larg,
Audience on this Topic.

II. ". POwderiy Addresses a Large
Audience on this Topic.
I. V. Powderly. general master work.
man of the Knights OF Labor of the United
States and Canada, delivered lecture in
Market hall last night, TO an audience mum
bering upwards of 1000, ON the labor
problem. Mr.. POwderly is a pleasant
speaker, and handles his subject with
al eamestness born of conviction.
lie Is conservative in his views,
pacific in his utterances, and held his
audience for more than two hours. The
speaker touched upon the necessity of or
ganiZation, the selfishneSs of the old trades
unions and enunciated the broad and COM
prehensiye principles embodied in the
declaration of principles by the Knights OF
Labor. lie demanded that the women per-
forming the same labor rs men should re-
eeive the same pay therefor, and instanced
the manifest injustice of the system which
held them at a pittance ON branches OF
industry at which men received higher
wages.
The gentleman is an advocate of eight
hours labor as a days work, and he took up
the argument for and against the system,
defending his position with ingenuity, at
lacking the objections TO the plan with
skill, exposing the fallacies with which the
opponents sought to maintain their attitude.
AT some length Mr.. Powderly reviewed the
scheme of ACKNOWLEDGEMENT whereby foreign
capitalists were possessed OF
MILLIONS OF ACRES
of American lands, thereby preventing citi-
Zens from settling there and making for
themselves homes. He advocated return
OF these lands to the people, TO whom they
belonged, not by cOndemning them and
paying for them what they were worth, nor
by taking them without paying for them at
all. Take these millions of acres of
land" said the gentleman, land pay for
them just what they cost the foreign lords
who own them"
1t was shown that the poor emigrant who
lands in America 10 build for himself a
home, is met at Castle Garden by the agent
OF the foreign land grabbers, is induced by
the most advantageous offers TO enter into
contract with the agent, who advances
money and settles the emigrant on the far
Western lands. OF course it is not long
before the mortgage is foreclOSed, the
settler loses his home, and the farm passes
into the hands of the foreign land mOnOpOlist
10 swell the number of his acres. Mr.. Pow
derby wanted a congressional enactment
preventing foreigner from owning foot
Of American soil, until he had declared his
intention OF becoming an American citizen.
He declared that those foreigners had no
interest in American Institutions, many of
them had never set foot upon American
territory, and all stood ready TO throttle
Republican institutions at the first Oppor-
tunity.
The system of child labor in eastern fac
tories was also dwelt upon, and it was
demonstrated that state of affairs prevails
there which closely borders on slavery. He
wanted legislative enactment 10 prevent
child labor until the minor had reached the
age Of fourteen years, i'm order that an OPP
poTtunity could be offered for the acquiring
of knowledge. Numbers of men were
taken to the polls on presidential election
days and voted who could not read the
name which their ballot bore, and why?
VOTED AT THE DICTATIoN
of their employer on penalty of discharge.
which meant more 10 them than the people
toward the Occident were wont To believe
Convict labor was denounced, yet il was
not proposed TO support the criminal in a
life of easy confinement at the expense of
the honest labOrer. There are roads i'm this
broad country which need to be put i'm pass
at present to engage upon the
work. Why not build the roads
Of the country with convict
labor. There are roads enough 10 make
10 employ the convict labor for the next
fifty years 10 come. make a surgeon of
the convict who eyinceS a disposition to
carve his fellow men, and does neat job
of throat-cutting." said Mr.. Powderly.
sand make lawyer of the convict who
has shown himself skillful in executing a
robbery, and the honest woriingmen will
not be alone in his cry of down with con-
Wet labor"
The speaker was frequently interrupted
by applause and was attentively listened to
by all. There was n goOdly sprinkling of
ladies in the large gathering. Mr.
POwderly, whose likeness was given in
Sundays GLOBE, is man a little above
the medium height. is bald from forehead
to the crown of his head. wears a heavy
mustache and spectacles, gesticulates but
little. Is easy i'm movement and self-poS-
seSSed, and an entertaining speaker. He
leaves St. Paul this morning for the East