Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-03-19
DANGEROUS ABUSE or POWER


DANGEROUS ABUSE or POWER
Grand Master Workman Powderly, tn,
head Of the knights Of Labor organiza
ton, said some things in recent tall
that ought to set his followers thnking
Speaking Of the knights Of II.;,.,or ant
their fondncss for k5ycotts, he said "lt
(the ordes5 cannot afford to iritter ltsel
sway upon every little pretense Of
wrong, hastily formulated and plggishty
insisted upon. The growth OF the power
of labor should be an occasion for calm
deliberatlon. The workingmen should be
careful TO see 10 1t that they do not sap
and undermine their strength BY extreme
demands and unreasonable assumptions
Of Importance and powern "H
Is dangerous 10 0buse his porc"
Dangerous to whom? TO the knights
of Labor or to the publicy Evidently
Mr.. Powderly means that it is dan
gorous to his order. He says that the OF
der "cannot afford TO fritter itself away
upon every little pretense of wrong,
hastily formulated and piggishly insisted
upon" There is danger In such ill.ad-
vised action, for 1t perils the conference
and integrity of the order As long as
the power OF the Knights is not abused the
public is with them in any reason.
able demand. As long as their
action is set upon reasonable ground,
there will he no division OF opinion
among the members Of the order as to
the rightness of that action, and it will be
supported without thought OF dissent
by every member for the Justice Of the
cause contended for. But when this
power is abused, then there is danger to
the solidarity of the organization, as Mr..
Powderly says. For there will be many
who silently protest against strikes and
boycotts when there is not the most
pressing demand for them. These men
may say little, but they begin to doubt;
they question whether any real good can
come out OF an action which throws them
out of work, and by violent measures
sets the hard, bitter feeling of the com.
munity against them; their loyalty to
the order is shaken; and divisions will
ensue, and some will fall off. That Is
the danger which Mr.. Powderly warns
against.
And who will say tLat the power Of the
Knights of Labor has not been violently
abused here in Texas ? Boycotts have
been ordered upon the most nlinsy pre-.
texts, chastity formulated and piggishly
Insisted upon" Newspapers have been
boycotted for using the liberty which
their national and state constitutions
guarantee them, Of crltcising the wisdom
OF action OF the knights. Merchants are
boycottcd for buying their goods where
they can get them to the best advantage,
and other merchants are put under the
ban for buying from these boycotted
firms. clearinghouse keepers are Or
dercd not TO lodge and feed certain men
whose sole offense Is that they persist in
working Tor living without FIRST asking
the consent OF the knights as to the
terms upon which they shall work; and
when these boarding house keepers dare
to entertain the accommodated men,
their butchers and bakers are ordered to
refuse to sell them provisions, their land
lords are ordered to eject them from
their premises, and every method of
intimidation aud tnrrnrten, T. rogo.,.l .
TO bring them to subsection or to ruin
them. The country has never known
tyranny half so odious as this.
Mr.. Powderly would call this an abuse
of power aud he would not countenance
1t, lie condemns 1t, because he knows
1t is dangerous to the organization which
he wishes to make useful agent In bet
tering the condition OF the workingmen.
The spirit of the boycott showing itself
In obstruction to the operation of rail
roads, has been denounced by public
meetings at sherman, Dallas, Big Springs
and elsewhere along the lines of the
roads effected. These denuncations
breathe an unspoken feeling that is grow |
ing wider and deeper and intenser against
the knights of Labor, The leaders of
that order in Texas are not wise not to
see the danger that their supreme chief
warns them against. When they have
lost public sympathy thoy have lost more |
than they can make mp for by boycotts
and strikes They are, to quote again
from their leader "sspplng and undcr.
mining their strength by extreme de-
mands and unreasonable assumptions of
Importance and power" and II they do
not change tactics the danger against
which they are warned will oyertake
them and their order.