The Republican journal., 1886-03-04
The Knights of Labor.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE Journal: The
character and objects of the knights of Labor
are SO little understood by business men that
should like through your paper to give all
account of them. In regard to their eight
hour movement, TO take effect on the first of
May next, their main object is not to get rid of
work, but to make more. The world demands
about so much work to be done, and when a
labor-saving machine is introduced one of two
things must be done. either some men must be
discharged or the length of the working clay
must be shortened Either course will counter
balance the introduction of the machine.
There was time when all worked as long a~
they could see. and also by candle light; but a.
machinery and improved tools We're introduced
an effort made, and succeeded. to shorten
the work day not to begin until sunrise and
quit at sunset. The opponents of this move
felt that all the twilight was thus wasted. The
next move was to shorten the day to eleven
hours and have an hour for dinner This was
called dividing the day equally between work
and rest. But eleven hours was found too
long for winter and the next move reduced
it to ten: in the short days in winter, paving
per hour. About twenty wears ago Congress
reduced the day in the Navy yards and on
other government work to eight hours per day.
But from about that time nearly all govern
ment work was let out on contract and the
eight hour day has been almost wholly di>re-
@arded. Labor saving machinery has contn-
uallv been introduced and when an over supply
of productions began to glut the market COM
petition suggested success to those only who
could undcrsclI, and there has been two ways
of doing this one was to cut down the en-
poye> pay and the other was TO make his day
longer.
As working people on an average spend all
their earnings, it follows that they buy three
fourth> of all that is sold and are in fact the
backbone of the worlds market. Working
over time glut> the market. and cutting OF the
pay of all working people is simply cutting oil
the purchasing power Of the world. 1t is USE
less to talk about keeping up business, trade
and commerce while the purchasing power of
the world is constantly being cut off by cutting
down wages. What is the remedy? Certainly
no one business man can raise the wages OF
his employees while he is forced to make his
goods cheap enough to catch low and falling
market. What then is to he done: The think
ing laborcr> say: Resist every reduction Of
wages, and by strike if necessary because
stopping the production will prevent the mar
ket getting worse and Your idleneS> during the
strike will stop the glutting Of the market a
little And as a general remedy they will all
join hands and strike for an eight hour day.
This eight hour move is expected to operate
In this way: 1t is estimated that working ten
hours per day with the labor->aving machinery
at hand. four-fth> of the working people are
able to do, and are actually doing all the work
the world requires, and onc-tifth of the work
ing people are consequently in enforced idle
ness. Therefore. if they can strike of one-ifth
from the length of the working day and make
it eight hours there will then be 4 days work
for Ill. Then that great number of people who
has been living on credit because out of work
will begin to pay as they 90 and thus strengthen
and encourage the business men. But this is
not all. The present great army of uncmploy-
Ell men are constantly undertaking those at
work. To Illustrate: \ is at work and Is is
not, X is the employer. b says to n II must
have work. my family is in need. will work
for less than you are paying A. So \ dis
charges 4. who was working for i dollar, and
hires b for >cvrnty-fivt cents. soon \ gets
hungry and comes around and agrees to work
for sixty cents; \ discharges B and hires 4.
Then b in turn gets hungry and comes around
and again underbils \, and 50 il goes oil. 1t
is, therefore, the unemployed who are cutting
down the markets of wages and consequently
the prices Oh all things and thus depressing and
killing the markets and consequently the busi-
ness of the whole world.
1t is therefore necessary to 50 arrange the
amount of labor to each that all will have
work and thus take these undcrbd,crS out of
the market. Labor having a regular and
healthy demand the price Of labor will rise of
itself and as that rises all prices will rise. The
storekecper. carrying less credit and finding all
his prices improving, can then afford to hire the
painter to paint his buildings and the carpenter
to build or repair; can afford another carpet,
more wall paper, an extra suit of clothes, ETC.,
thus increasing the business of paper makers,
carpet wcaS crS. tailorS and so on. The Knights
of Labor see but one way to accomplish all this,
and that is to resist every reduction and force
Il rise Of wages, wherever it can be borne. und
shorten the day, and then require that it be
shortened thereafter from time to time in pro-
portion as machinery is introduced. thus turn
ing machinery into a blessing and an actual
saviour from human drudgery. 1t is only those
who know nothing of the knights of Labor
that have an i'll opinion of them, and resisting
them will only drive the country into riot and
bloodshed. Allowing the country to run into its
present plight was as wicked as it was stupid.
The country is actually suffering from overpro-
duction, which is the most unnecessary suffer-
ing in the world. Under the present labor sys-
TEN, OF rather want of system, the people are
thrown out of work by over production, and
being idle are starving and freezing Think of
it! Starving too with too mach bread in the
country; naked with too much clothing in the
country, and freezing with too much fuel AS
ridiculous as it may seem, this is the actual
condition of the people, and it is quite time to
look the causes square in the face, and make a
move to set the matter right. 1t is quite prob
able the American people will refuse to starve
| and freeze because of ovcrproduction, and they
may refuse to do this in too emphatic a manner
if the remedy is delayed too long. 1t therefore
becomes us to consider thoughtfully what the
laboring people are demanding.
Stockton, Feb. 20. Z. 5. GRIFFIN.