The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-06-17

~@-EN ~
comprises that nation added to the natural
resources that God has given His beneficent
to His children of the earth.
when we have organization
is a combination still of the individual
and we must not expect that the organiza-
lion a be any better than the average OF
the men that compose it. We have all
Of men because we have all kinds OF
minds. Our organization shall be then
just as good as you and I make it. Our
impulse is to combine for mutual
strength and mutual protection. When we
have Joined in our trade union strong and
in power, we feel something lacking.
Let me Illustrate.
no ORGANIZATION EXISTED
the face of the earth than the knights
OF st. Crispin, as it was organized all over
America in 1870. 1t embraced every shoe
in the country from Maine to Texas
and from the Atlantic to the Golden Gate
and away across the border into Canada.
So strong they were that they could al
most dictate terms to the men h emf
ployed them. The time came whenthat Or
strong and powerful as it was,
broken and shattered; when every
man became an Ishmael of labor, his hand
raised against his fellow man and that OF
his fellow man raised against him. Where
it was every man for himself and the devil
take the hindmost. If a single trades Or
ganization solved the problem OF labor
unions, that would seem to be agood exam
pie, but they found it did not work. Why?
Because the cornerstone of the %organiza-
ton was selfshness.~ The shoemaker in
Massachusetts SO long as he was able to
earn his fifty or sixty or even his eighty dol
lars a week as the result of his labor, what
cared he for the miner mining coal in Penn
sylvania? what cared he for the h~od-carrier
or the farmer? He was making shoes. 1t
was hay time for him. He didn't care for
the grass growing for anybody else. But
the time came for him to learn a lesson. l
had this come hometo me in a visit Imade,
when we tried to %galvanize the dead corpse
of Crispinism into life. They made me
Grand Scribe of the Grand Lodge OF Massa-
chusetts; and afterwards was OF the
International Grand Lodge. 1t was
my duty to visit the shoe towns and try to
revive the interest. made two visits, one
for the organization and another in on
nection with our Order which had then
come into existence and was sowing the
seed OF organization broadcast. l went to
the town OF Spencer in our State, which has
one of the largest boot factories in the
world. Now
AM A YANKEE
and I like to learn by seeing and object
teaching. know that to observe is to
learn, and that spirit led me to investigate
somewhat your mining interests here. 10
learn something OF the details OF these
mines. To see the manne OF sinking a
shaft. To learn the difference between a
from the other, and l found the shaft came
to the surface and the Wine was a back
stair case which didn't come to the surface.
l went to Spencer, and through the cour-
tesy of the owner [ visited the boot fac
tory. l kept my eyes about me and when
1 came to one place l found them making
boots covered all over with hob nails. My
curiosity was aroused and l knew that l
would learn a great deal more by not ask
ing questions. Shortly after this | was Wis
iting one OF the best men that God ever al
lowed to breathe, the present General Mas
ter Workman Of our Order, Brother Pow
derby, [Applause] at his own home in
Scranton. While | was there with him l
took in a new experience, n as doubtless
many of you have done, I went down in a
coal mine. l learned something. l learned
something Of the degradation OF labor. We
were taken in charge by the "mine boss"
l wondered what a "mine boss, was, but
thought | would find out after a while. We
came to the bottom and took safety lamps
and went along through the mine. The
''mine boss" explained the differentfeatures
of the mine, and we went to the head Of a
breast and saw them fix a charge ready for
firing it off. We went around a pillar and
saw the operation of firing off the blast.
Then he asked me
IF EVER SAW u DAMP.
l said I never did. He said 'you wait here
until l see if it is all right" l wondered
what he meant. l saw him going along the
wall and he passed a lamp along like this,
and with that instantly the mine was on
fire which they put out with water. Then
| found out what the mine boss was. He
went down in the mine in the morning to
find if the fire dampwas all right. If it was
came up and told them SO. If it was
not. somebody else more courageous than
the rest had to go down and gather up his
mangled remains and carry them home to
his family. He was receiving $1.37R a day
to thus risk his life. You couldn't hire me
to do it for $1.37h IA second. Applause.
But what / found in that mine was this:
Some of the miners wore hob-nailed boots
that were made in Spencer, Mass, and |
then-it came upon me as an cleo
trio shock-that there was between work
men a bond of union, binding them together
closely-so closely as never to be broken
the shoemaker of Massachusetts and the
miner OF Pennsylvania. We couldn't sell
our hob-nailed boots unless the miner
could buy them, and he couldn't sell his
coal-yes, he could-for we nave to have
coal to warm our homes-but we would
only buy actual necessaries. So with the
When the farmer was burning his
on the western prairies, we paid for it
60 to 80 cents a bushel on the coast, and
we were applying for work to make
owing to the ''over-production," the
farmers children were running barefoot on
the western prairies. Now, there is
BOND OF UNION,
binding together all branches of honorable
toll. And so all the way through we learn
this lesson that organization of the future
must be no organization of shoemakers; no
organization OF miners alone; no organiza-
ton OF farmers; no organization OF bod
carpenters, machlnlsts, black
smiths, or any of the thousand and one
trades alone, but one grand confederation
of labor chat should bind together all
branches of honorable toll. Applause.
Such organization, my friends, is that
l have the honor to represent here
to-night-the organization known a the
Knights of Labor. [Applause.] Now,
| come to speak or the mission OF
that order, what better could [ do than to
read to you our Preamble and Declaration
OF Principles, which is scattered broadcast
over the land and which should be read,
which should be studied by every working
in America. When he has read it and
it, and when it's principles have
sunk deep into his heart, he ought to allow
his good impulses to control his action and
lose no time until he enrolls himself on the
roll OF honor in this great organization.
[Applause.] The preamble is as follows:
ssThe alarming development and agrees
OF great capitalists and corpora
tions, unless checked, will inevitably lead
the pauperization and hopeless d%egrada-
ton of the toiling masses.
at is imperative, if we desire to enjoy the
full blessings OF life, that a check be placed
upon unjust accumulation, and the power
for evil of aggregated wealth.
"This much desired object can be eco
only by the united efforts OF those
who obey the divine Injunction, 'In the
sweat OF thy face shalt thou eat bread"
Therefore we have formed the Order OF
Knights of Labor, for the purpose o forgan-
ling and directing the power OF the indus
trial masses, not as a political party, for
it is pore-in it are crystallized sentiments
and Measures for the benefit of the whole
but it should be borne in mind,
exercising the right OF suffrage, that
most OF the objects herein set forth can
L $500. -~l