Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-12-05
LABOR MEETING.
A Lively Session Of Workingmen-The
Chicasa Evil Discussed.

sympathy with the belief that the Chinese
must peaceably go were invited The
object of the meeting was for the purpose
of making arrangements for future mass
meetings, when prominent speakers will
be present and deliver addresses.
Last evening long before the hour ap-
pointed, the room. which is in size 4Ox2O,
was literally packed, the hall and stairways
| full of people, and hundred or more were
down stairs upon the sidewalk who could
not gain admittance.
| The meeting organized by the selection
of the following officers President, VIM
Tanner Secretary, Patrick Hussey; Ser
| geant-at- Arms James Dooley.
The first speaker, w. H. Wier, was Just
| concluding his speech as the reporter sue
ceeded in elbowing his way into the room
His remarks were mainly directed toward
the evil arising from the presence of the
| Chinese; their control of the labor market
their forcing wages down to point where
a white man could not compete with them
and live; their introducing and dissent
mating vices that are annually running
| thousands of the youth Of both sexes !;
| their taking from the United States gold
and silver leaving the country as barren of
| wealth as western cyclone does of timber
I the land over which it sweeps. He closed
| by saying they leave nothing with us. not
| even their miserable carcasses after death
If the country is not good enough for their
putrid bodies to rot in, it is not good enough
| for them to live in Prolonged cheers.
| The Chairman said the meeting was
called for an interchange of ideas, and he
hoped any gentleman who had anything to
| say relative to the labor question or the
| Chinese evil, would not be backward, but
| come forward and address the meeting.
KNIGHT OF LABOR SPEAKS
Noble Fisher stepped forward and said :
| Mr.. President and Fellow-workers | had
no knowledge until to-day that this meet
| ing was to be called at this time | thought
| it quite strange that it should be called to
consider tonight the Chinese problem,
| when it is well known that large Con-
vention is now in session at San Francisco
discussing this same subject. The one at
San Francisco is called by the knights of
| Labor. and three members of that Order
from this city are there taking part in their
deliberations. The speaker before me said
he had fought four years to free the negro
Admitting that to be true, has he not
fought twenty years since to imprison
white labor? What are the Chinese Six
| Companies but corporate monopolies?
What brought this Chinese curse upon US
The railroads did it. Congress has given
them our eminent domain when it was
not theirs to give. You pay double price
for the odd quarter sections of land The
railroad fitch the land, and then you are
made to pay enough for what is left to
cover the whole The Knights of Labor
have grown in the last nine years in the
United States and Canada with a rapidity
almost unparalleled, and to-day we number
nearly 100000 members
WHO STAND SHOULDER To SHOULDER
For the emancipation of slavery. You la
boring men here tonight stand in the same
position as the yellow slave, except that he
has been introduced to degrade you to his
level if possible. The speaker then re-
ferred to the Hazard lien bill, which was
introduced at the last Legislature, and
claimed that it was prevented from becom-
ing a law by the corporations. That bill,
he said gave the laboring man rights he
did not enjoy; and for that reason it was
killed He was extremely bitter in his re-
marks against Assemblymen Jordan and
Firebaugh, whom he termed tools of the
corporations.
At this juncture man in the hallway
cried out, Adjourn to the street. There
are thousand men outside who want to
hear"
The President put it to a vote whether
! the meeting should adjourn to the side
walk, and it was voted down.
Mr.. Fisher continued The Knights of
Labor of this city can do nothing until the
work is completed by the Convention now
in session in San Francisco. 1t would not
do for us to take any steps at this time. He
then related an incident which occurred in
San Francisco on Thursday, to show the
dire eXtremities that
DESTITUTE WIDOW
Resorted to in order to get crust of bread
for her two starving children, which he said
was entirely attributable to the fact that the
Chinese laborers of San Francisco had closed
every avenue in the metropolis against vir-
tuous girls and pure women earning living
by honest toll. The American people can
be driven so far, but no farther. The man
who would starve himself. see his wife and
little ones die for want of proper food is a
cur. [Applause.] He then paid his re-
spects to the Courts and the law as admin
istered by them. You can, he said, convict
and punish a man for stealing a horse: he
is convicted and punished, but he who
steals a human life either is let go scot free
or they keep him so long that he dies on
their hands. The Chinese were brought
here for the purpose ofcrush;ng labor.
HE Is A DOMESTIC ANIMAL.
He has control of all the market garden
ing. When the Assessor invades his domi-
cile, he finds no wife and little children, no
property to assess-in fact he cannot find
| the bed upon which he sleeps. They will
make of or young men tramps, of our
| wives and daughters the vilest of the vile.
| We are not far removed from that condi-
ton now The speaker then referred to a
| large business house in this city, which he
said started in few years ago by employ
| ing large number of girls TO sew for them
They secured an immense trade he said,
and since then have discharged the white
girls, and in their stead now give employ
ment to $50 or 200 Chinese in Chinatown.
| And STILL he exclaimed your wives and
daughters patronize that establishment.
| He was exceedingly bitter toward the firm,
and said they had become so violent in
their opposition to white labor that they
had changed the original name of the
store from the fact that it had something
of labor ring. White labor, he says, go
to that establishment and
BUYS THE PRODUCT OF CHINESE LABOR.
| They are no worse, he claimed, than
many other business firms in the city
Where are the business men tonight?
Hands up if there is any in the house
They are not here. Natures gentlemen are
| those who work. Labor produces all and
the product belongs to labor
| The speaker read a lecture to the work
ing men of this city. He said they were
too apathetic. They would not turn out
in public demonstrations and assist the
Knights of Labor an organization that is
doing its utmost 10 remove the Chinese
from your midst. They have done noble
work in Washington Territory, Wyoming
Los Angeles, and are now at work in San
Francisco. Why do you pass the Knights
of Labor coolly by and ask the store
keepers to come up here? When the re-
suit of that meeting is reported we will
then move aud act, and until then let us
bide our time.
The Chairman, Mr. Tanner, said he was
one of the instigators of the meeting, and
from the remarks of Mr. Fisher he judged
the latter was trying 20 throw cold water
on them The object of the meeting was
...,,.-,-Sa don,